Stargate Command, eight months earlier...
"All personnel, evacuate to secure levels. A compromised SG team is within the base. Repeat, a compromised team is loose." blared General Hammond's voice over every loudspeaker, the old commander's tone carrying noticeable strain. Despite the obvious dismay and the faint yet recognizable sounds of gunfire in the background, he kept calm enough to give out orders. To nearly everyone in Stargate Command, the speaker cutting out was cause to worry.
But for one Nora Valkyrie, she was feeling all around great.
All except for the waiting part, she always hated waiting. It was boring, and she didn't like being bored. But she'd been doing her job long enough to know waiting and boredom were part of the routine, just something to put up with as best as she could. By this point, all the orange haired girl could do was tough it out and wait for some action. Like now. Now had the potential to be a fun time, like what she sorely missed from the old days.
The upper level armory door was wide open, the two clerks inside handing out Intar modified MP5s, M9s, and Zats to the growing number of anxious troops outside. They moved with speedy efficiency, although their fear was impossible to hide. As was the case for most of the men and women present in truth. Once armed they were massed before a thick blast door, half a meter of heavy steel between them and the next level.
"Sir, do we know what team is compromised?" asked one of Nora's work-teammates, gingerly accepting an MP5 from their commander. His hands shook a little while he pawed over the weapon.
"Negative." Captain Doug Austin, a sour faced man from a place called Florida, responded as he gave the soldier a Zat. Next on the short row was Nora, tapping her foot while she grinned, the sight of which caused him to take a breath. "That's why we're heading in with stun weapons, reduced collateral." he emphasized, fighting a scowl.
Nora shrugged with a wink, even as he roughly shoved the tiny weapon into her arms. She wasn't bothered though, going over the gun out of habit while risking a peek at Austin's hat covered head. For some reason, he was going prematurely grey. Nora did genuinely want to help him chill out, fearing he'd have a heart attack at a young age. Relatively speaking anyway; by her standards late thirties were old.
A nudge on her arm made her look over, a wide grin on her face. "Hey guys."
Beside her Jaune stood, flashing a weak smile before he frowned with worry. "Hey, have you heard which team came back?"
"No clue. Do you know?" Nora replied, leaning forward to smile at Pyrrha behind him.
"I'm not sure either." the redhead answered in concern. "I heard somebody say it was SG-3, another said SG-13, and someone else claimed it was the Russian team. Everyone's saying they're Goa'uld though."
"We'll figure it out." Nora shrugged cheerfully.
Around the trio of friends soldiers moved into a makeshift formation, the three SG teams checking their weapons over one more time. Everyone present had the usual green outfits and equipment vests of their jobs, although one group weren't looking as spiffy as the rest, due to returning from a mission barely twenty minutes ago. The orange haired girl was part of the returnees actually, but she didn't act like it.
Upon seeing the defaulted leader of the whole gang step into view, the three regretfully had to split, Nora giving her friends a tiny wave before coming to attention. Rolling her shoulders, she moved the MP5's strap to a more comfortable spot, a little afraid she would break it by accident. She chuckled at remembering her friends reactions to the guns, how all of them except for Ren had cracked up at the toy like weapons. They stopped laughing after being shot by stun bullets.
"Alright, listen up!" barked Jaune's jerk of a leader, Smith. The Major paced in front of the gathered crowd, his MP5 pointed at the ceiling while his hard gaze roamed over them. "There is a foothold crisis in progress. We're not sure what the situation is down below. Contact with the control center and the gate room has been lost, we have no idea which of our personnel are compromised or not, and casualties are an unknown. General Hammond's status is likewise unknown. SG-1 is currently locked inside the control room. "
Murmurs rippled throughout the small crowd. Nora wasn't one of them though; the bubbly girl was a little impatient, but she knew this stuff was important. Austin would yell at her if she accidentally blew something up again, so she had to pay attention.
"We're going to change that. Everything above this level is locked down, and all secondary exists have been sealed. SG-5 and SG-2 are moving in from the other end of this level, we're gonna meet them in the middle. Failing that, elements of Ranger Company Charlie are moving into the upper floors, if we screw up they'll sweep the entire base." Smith went on, stopping to point a finger. "Captain Carolina, your teams coming with mine down corridor B. Captain Austin, you're heading to corridor C."
"Yes sir." the two captains replied, almost in unison.
Smith nodded, leveling one more look upon the soldiers. "Assume all SG personnel you encounter in there are compromised. However, these are still our people. Shoot to stun, doesn't matter if they're trying to kill you or not. Secure everyone your find, watch your corners, and keep an eye on each other at all times. By the book ladies and gentlemen, now move out."
With a groan the hydraulics pried the thick door apart, Smith turning to face the abandoned corridor. Once it was fully open, he raised his weapon to aim while sweeping a hand forward, leading the way for the fifteen strong group. They poured through the open entrance, beginning the slow process to clear the SGC of any unwanted visitors.
Nora saw her friends leave with their respective teams, neither of them giving so much as a look back. Sighing to herself, the orange haired girl shook her head and powered in after Austin, her group splitting from the rest to head down a cramped and empty corridor. Down the tiny space they moved, cautiously sweeping heads and guns around for any strays. Flashing lights stung at her sight, but luckily the alarms from earlier were silent. Those blaring things always hurt her ears, so them being off was a welcome relief.
She searched long and hard for any snakified people, but despite her attentive looking he saw only her work-teammates. A frown crossed her as she swept the MP5 around, briefly playing with the red light on the bottom of the magazine. She made sure to avoid pointing it at anyone however, even though she knew the red bullets it shot only hurt (hurt a lot actually, as she found out during training). Now wasn't the time to get chewed out for 'being irresponsible.'
When Austin halted with a raised fist, Nora too stopped along with the others, a frown crossing her. Checking around, she saw the T shaped intersection, the grey walls covered in pipes, wires, and several kinds of strung up lights. She never liked tromping around this place at night, the walls always seemed to press down on her. None of her friends liked it either. Shaking her head again, she tried listening for whatever spooked Austin.
After a couple seconds she heard it; footsteps, moving fast and quick like the person was running, heading closer to them. Her captain took a breath and looked over his shoulder, laying an unhappy look on the girl.
"Valkyrie, take point." he softly ordered, a twitch flickering across his face at the order.
Nora flashed a grin and toed around him, finally raising the toy-like gun. If there were two things she knew he liked about her, it was her toughness and utter lack of fear. And if going first meant she could get her blood pumping in a real fight, then why complain? Checking on Austin one more time, Nora saw her cue: a resigned nod.
Dashing out from the corner, Nora bolted down the hallway at a breakneck pace. She saw her target: an SG team member clutching an M16, whipping around with a snarl. A flash from his eyes was her sign to act, if a loud curse in a language she didn't speak wasn't enough.
Heading right towards her victim, she jerked her weapon to the side, allowing her to curl up a fist. The girl smirked when he brought the rifle up to spray gunfire, jolting backwards from the charging madwoman in an attempt to flee. She felt a couple bullets bounce off her to ricochet into the walls; the heavier rounds actually did a number on her Aura, but she didn't show it. The few shots weren't even close to enough to stop her anyway. His rifle clicked empty just as she reached him, making her smirk grow.
At the last second Nora kicked off the ground. Her fist was flung out to deliver a punch right at his midsection, hitting him dead center and blowing the poor guy right off his feet. Normally Earth people were too squishy for her to go all out on, but since he had a Goa'uld in him, she could let loose a little. In this case, that meant punching her victim hard enough to fling him back a good ten meters, bouncing once before rolling into a wall.
Grinning, Nora almost skipped to the face down man with his back to her, bringing the MP5 around when she heard a weak groan. A twitch of movement was rewarded by a couple red fireflies from the modded gun, the pain meter set to max of course. On a level she pitied this guy, since those things hurt.
"Hey bud, sorry 'bout that." Nora said cheerfully to the unconscious man. Bending over, she grabbed his shoulder to shake, finding out he was definitely out cold but alive. A definite plus. She always felt bad after killing somebody, didn't matter who or what they were.
The rest of her work-team were moving down the hall to regroup, hopefully with something to tie the guy up. From several meters away she heard Austin sigh. "Good work Valkyrie."
Nodding, she was struck by a thought. "Let's see, now who are you?" she went curiously, rolling him over. "I wanna know so I can tell the real you I'm sorry later. Its nothing per-"
Nora stopped. Her smile vanished. Her cheer evaporated. In a split second, the optimistic and outgoing girl of SG-15 was gone. In the void came a wash of an emotion she rarely felt, one she did her best to ignore or bury. The stuff of her nightmares was in front of her eyes, brought to life and staring her in the face.
No, no, no.
She knew this man: his name was Gerald 'Gerry' Irons, a nice guy she chatted with a lot. Hailing from a fantastic sounding place called Chicago, or the Windy City as he referred to it, he was a guy who liked cream soda and horror films, on several occasions recently he offered to throw a big movie night for the enlisted personnel, like her and her friends. On a mission once, she plucked a giant bug off his back before he realized it was there, and they made an agreement to never tell anyone about it. While not part of her team, she knew him and his four teammates pretty well, due to hanging out with them as much as she could get away with. She liked his boss more than her own and wanted to swap, but she didn't have a say in those kind of things. Gerry was part of SG-14.
So was Ren.
"Roger, tango down." went Austin's voice into a radio, clearly relieved. "We'll secure the tango before we link up. Alright, Valkyrie, is the target-Valkyrie!" he suddenly shouted.
Nora wasn't listening, sprinting down the halls as fast as she could go. Without a second thought she left her work-team behind, silently cursing at the narrow space for not letting her run any faster. All of her thoughts had narrowed to one point, a truth she desperately wished it wasn't real. Under her breath, the terror stricken girl kept mumbling one word over and over, a hollow mantra to deny what her eyes told her.
"No, no, no."
She blew past another team, not registering the panicked gunfire which followed her passing. It wasn't important if they were friends or enemies, only one thing was on her mind. This singular focus accidentally led her to another snakified soldier, who took one flashing eyed look at the girl and wisely tried to flee. Mid sprint Nora swept his legs out and punched at his midsection, running away before she could make sure he was out cold. It didn't matter. All that did was finding him.
Hearing more gunfire, she switched directions towards the source, frustrated terror filling her mind at the lack of an answer. As she listened the guns were falling silent one by one, accompanied by all too brief cries. Redoubling her efforts, she tried her absolute best to reach the position before it was too late. Despite her speed, the shots vanished just as she passed a corner, finally getting her to slow down.
Breathing rapidly, she forgot everything the Earth people taught her as she jogged to the apparent battle, gulping in fear. Slowing to a careful walk, she heard the sounds of a fist fight in progress. One with a lot of yelping men being beaten to a pulp.
"Stop! No!" shouted a voice just out of her sight, making Nora's blood freeze. A heartbeat later a body flew from out of her sight to smack against a wall, the blonde hair making her breath catch. Jaune slumped limply, clearly unconscious as he collapsed to the floor.
Training from two worlds told the girl to help her friend. Instincts made her continue walking, tearing her eyes off him as she entered the small hallway.
Nora's wide eyes drank in the sight. The remains of SG-7 were sprawled around the hallway floor, the girl distantly hoping they were still alive. All save for one: Major Smith was grappling with a hand at his throat, red faced and gasping. He was trying to fight the arm lifting him up, snarling for breath and furiously punching the limb with all his strength, over and over again. A fist hit him between the eyes, sending him to the floor with the rest of his men, completely limp. The perpetrator was still for a moment, facing away from her while he briefly shook his hand.
Unable to help herself, Nora blurted out, "Ren!"
The figure paused. She could see he was clad in the usual green uniform and vest most troops around here wore, but he could be wearing a clown suit and she'd still recognize him. Standing up straight, he brought up a hand to crack his neck, his barely allowed hair length ruffling with the simple act. Rolling his shoulders, he turned around to face the orange haired girl.
"Ren?" Nora half whimpered, a tiny part of her hating how weak she sounded.
Stepping in place, Lie Ren made eye contact with her, his expression blank. For a moment he did nothing, his purple eyes roaming over her quivering appearance. Until a smile crossed his features.
"I've been looking for you."
His voice was unchanged, but Nora immediately saw the truth, the nightmarish reality now revealed before her eyes. Her oldest friend's tone was wrong, sweet yet filled with arrogance, carrying none of his usual soft assurance. His posture was stiff, not relaxed in the slightest. The smile was cold and dangerous, like he was sizing up a victim. Above all, the look in his eyes made the girl shiver. Never before had she see this kind of coldness in her closest friend. Never did she imagine it was even possible.
"Don't worry about a thing." the thing controlling Ren told her, smiling as he took a Zat from his holster. "It'll all be okay, Nora."
The deep double voice kept the sickly coldness from before, the comfort of a monster. Raising the weapon at her, he tilted his head back to smirk, his eyes briefly flashing gold.
Nora screamed. She didn't think, she didn't plan. All the girl did was charge at her best friend, tanking the Zat shot and barely slowing down. With wide eyes he tried to dodge out of her way, but her sheer speed was too much. Crashing into him, she grappled him as tight as she could and proceeded to carry them away, the weapon tumbling away out of their reach.
Her scream was abruptly cut off when he jabbed a hand on her back, a pulse of focused Aura staggering her. Nevertheless her momentum slammed them into a wall, hitting hard enough to shatter the thick concrete. Whipping back to throw a punch, he jabbed another Aura burst into her stomach, making Nora gasp in pain as she unwillingly recoiled. Although she was stunned for a second, he promptly followed up with a hook to her jaw.
No sooner was she pushed back did he grab her shoulders, grunting as he almost picked her up to fling aside. The orange haired girl hit the wall hard, crumpling a set of pipes behind her, and grimacing at the blow to her head. Yet she wasn't so hurt to lose awareness, jerking her head away from a punch which dented the space she occupied a second ago. A heartbeat after that he grabbed her again, this time to force her head down, to meet his brought up knee. Pain exploded from her face, though luckily he missed hitting her eyes, and the blow didn't hurt enough to daze her completely.
Tasting blood, Nora shoved it all aside to throw another punch, trying to forget who she was up against. The first blow was narrowly dodged, the young man whirling around with little of his usual grace. A second followed just as fast, but was met by the same result, shattering more concrete but getting her hand stuck. He quickly began to jab her trapped body, the girl's Aura barely able to take the infused strikes. Each one felt like she was being stabbed. He finished with an uppercut which flung her head away, and allowing him to focus more Aura into his hand.
Right as he lashed out, Nora hugged the wall as tight as she could, feeling the raw power crackle against her own Aura. Ignoring the taste of copper in her mouth, she broke free of the wall to catch the side of his face, almost knocking him out right there. It wasn't enough to stop him, but the attack did stagger her friend, dizzy from the blow to his head. A cry escaped her when she tried one more punch, hitting the face she cared for so much. Again he was pushed back, footing unstable as he wove in place. Tears threatened to sting at her vision, but she forced them back.
Not now, Nora thought desperately, attempting to shove the emotions aside and do what she needed to do. But no matter how much she tried, it couldn't be done.
Her next fist was slower, shaking, the will behind it about to break. This one he was able to catch in his own hand, the boosted strength letting him come close to matching her for the first time. The two of them were heaving for breath, slowly recovering. The fingers tightened, locking her in place. Swallowing a growing lump, Nora used her other fist to hit him, only for it too to be caught.
Locked hand in hand, he finally raised his head, the hair strewn in his face failing to hide the bared teeth of a scowl. Seeing her shrinking back made the vicious look on his face morph into a cruel smile, the monster behind him likely thinking it was about to win. Another taunting flash came from his eyes. "You'll make a fine host-"
Then his expression flickered. For the briefest second, his entire face began to twitch, the glint in his eyes shifting. The grips relaxed a faint degree, enough for her to twist them down. As Nora stared into his gaze, Ren slowly fought back, losing ground just as fast as he claimed it. Panting and struggling within, he said nothing to her, but he didn't need to. For three seconds he silently pleaded with her to act, to stop him while he was still vulnerable.
A double crackle sounded out, followed immediately by a wash of electricity briefly enveloping Ren, which vanished as quickly as it arrived. He jerked once then fell, his body collapsing into a pile on the floor. Just like that, he was gone again.
Nora watched the short display with horror, unable to help herself from falling to her knees beside him. Heaving for breath as she grabbed a fistful of his torso, she ignored the couple figures surrounding her, while others darted to the defeated team. Not even a hand roughly landing her shoulder caught her attention, until it snatched her chin to jerk her over.
At any other time, seeing Austin red faced and utterly furious would've given her pause. But not now. She met his anger with a hollow look, which only seemed to rile him further.
"Damnit Valkyrie, what were you thinking!? What in the ever loving fu..." Austin made the mistake of looking at the fallen man, and immediately he blinked. His snarl was broken, along with the redness his cheeks. Glancing back, he saw her gaze had drifted back to Ren, breaking the hard taught rules without even noticing. He swallowed a lump.
"Valkyrie. Valkyrie." he said authoritatively, shaking the girl's shoulder. "Nora!"
The bark finally made her snap her head over, but her look didn't fade. Austin sighed, briefly squeezing his eyes shut.
"Listen to me. We're gonna make him better, okay? I need you to keep it together for a few more minutes, okay?" he said softly, gripping her shoulder. "We're gonna save him. I promise."
Swallowing the lump in her throat, Nora took in a breath and nodded. Of course he knew; she told her work-team about herself so many times, wanting them to have a similar bond as her own friends.
Glancing up, Austin looked to his subordinate coming up to them. "What is it?"
"Sir, the last two tangoes have been neutralized. We have a confirmed five KIA, possibly more." he reported, eyes roaming over the trio but keeping from commenting.
"General Hammond? SG-1?" Austin questioned, nodding when another man showed up with a couple sets of thick handcuffs. These were bulky things, built to keep Goa'uld infested people nice and restrained.
"Alive and well sir." he reported with audible relief.
Nora was barely paying attention, her eyes locked on Ren's unconscious form. He looked alright to her, like he just got tired and passed out, something that happened many times over their lives. But she couldn't delude herself.
The moment he stirred two men were upon him, cuffing his arms and legs together and hauling him up. Barely listening to Austin, she grabbed him to drag, an easy task in spite of exhaustion settling over her body. After that was a blur, time losing all meaning as she shuffled him along, step by step. She saw the life flow back into him, but it wasn't the real Ren which came back.
Blinking, she suddenly realized she was in gateroom, and the Stargate was activating just a few meters away. A shiver crawled up her spine when the powerful whoosh buffeting the pair. There were probably more people around her, Austin at the least. Her boss whispered one more command to her before she started walking. "Don't let go of him."
Nora didn't need to be told that, but she nodded anyway, dragging Ren up the ramp and through the gate. There was the usual...
...sensation...
...before they were spat out the other side, into a bright and clear day. It was then Nora finally asked herself where they just gated to, the spike of worry breaking her numbness at long last. Ren's frightened gasp was her cue to look, peering at the artfully carved obelisk a few meters away.
Thor's Hammer flashed a white light over the two of them, the prickling sensation on her skin increasing as it settled on the sable haired young man. It grew more intense when the light turned an angry red, like a baleful warning at how badly they screwed up. Just as the light began to actually hurt, there was a powerful flash, ending what felt like a second later.
Nora didn't mean to let go, stumbling while her friend fell face first into the hard dirt. She felt woozy, gripping her head while she swayed. Clenching her teeth, she fought the vertigo back and righted herself, needing a second to relocate Ren. He was breathing deeply, obviously conscious and aware. And if he knew where they were (and she had no reason to think he didn't), then the thing inside him also knew it was a goner.
But he didn't try getting up, making her sigh resignedly. Approaching him, she steadied her nerves. She knew this place's layout, having traveled here a couple times in case this situation ever happened. All she had to do was find the exit, push him through the archway, then this crisis would be over. Then it'd be a bad dream, nothing more.
"Alright, it'll be over soon. Just gimme a minute, it'll all be fine." Nora tried talking soothly, like what he did for her whenever she was upset. "I'll make you some pancakes when this is all-"
"He blames you."
The orange haired girl stopped with her hand above his back, confusion overtaking her for a second. "What?"
"He blames you for their deaths." the double voice said simply, turning its stolen head to the side to look at her, grinning coldly. "Kuroyuri. His parents, his friends, all of them. They're dead because of you."
For the second time that day Nora was silenced, unable to process her thoughts. She was frozen in place, quivering as she gaped.
"T-that's...not-" she could barely speak, distant memories flashing through her mind.
"You know its true. You survived your town's destruction, and led the Grimm to his home." it gloated in Ren's corrupted voice, the accusation making her recoil.
"That's not true!" she stamped on the ground, her shout trembling with her body.
"If you had just laid down and died like you should've, his family would still be alive. But you were too much of a coward to accept your fate. No, you had to sacrifice others in your place, because you were so selfish." Upon seeing her shame, its grin increased. "He denies it to himself, but I know him better than he knows himself. You're responsible for all their deaths, and you know it."
Just as Nora was about to shout, a powerful numbness settled over her mind, her body going slack so quickly she almost fell. The anger, the shame, the fear, all of it was swept away. In its place was only a detached clarity, like what she experienced only twice in her entire life, both times scaring the girl to her core. Only one thing she knew of could do this. And right now, it was the only thing keeping her from shattering.
With her expression completely empty, Nora half staggered as she bent over, grabbing a fistful of Ren's to pull him off the ground. He didn't help her in any way; first by going fully limp, then by thrashing in her hold, letting his feet drag as she carried him. All the while, the double voice rambled.
It told her things while she walked, a babbling stream like what she always did, while she was silent in comparison. The irony wasn't lost on her. It told her about things she thought of sometimes, in the middle of the night, when she was in her quarters or in the infirmary, any place she could be fully alone with her thoughts. Secrets of his she never tried prying into were freely spewed, stuff like what he thought of her. His sheer vulgarity would've left her red faced with embarrassment before, but now she was only calmly blank, his words failing to affect her.
The closer they got to the labyrinth's exit, the faster he talked, and the more shrill his voice became. When it entered her sight Ren was almost yelling, even switching off the Goa'uld voice to plead with her. But the cold grip on her feelings didn't vanish, so his words meant nothing. A part of her wondered why it was working; did it not control Ren's semblance? Could it be using the power to try to affect her? Or was he fighting back in the only way he could? She didn't know.
He fell silent at last when she reached the small archway, putting an extra strong grip on him in case he tried something, or if the creature tried to flee the host. Despite the hollowness Nora couldn't resist one more look at Ren's face, a few centimeters from her own. She glanced at him, and he glanced at her. Wide eyes. Short of breath. Twitching expression. Fear. Of her, there was only that emptiness she avoided whenever possible.
Nora thought she would say something in a situation like this, some witty one liner or quip suited to the circumstances. She enjoyed action movies for this very reason, no matter how goofy or corny the lines were. Long had she imagined a moment like this, face to face with an evil Goa'uld at her mercy, and she would drop some memorable line before finishing it off. But she was silent.
A quick shove was all Nora did, pushing Ren into the archway.
He screamed. The boy she traveled with and fought alongside for most of her life screamed, and she did nothing. Meanwhile a red glowing field came to life with him in its grasp, humming dangerously as the old technology within detected, then destroyed the Goa'uld parasite inside him. Ren writhed in place while his voice switched between types, flailing yet staying upright. All while she watched from the outside, his semblance's effects gone.
Ten seconds of Ren screaming was what she witnessed, before the red field suddenly cut out. He went quiet at the same time, standing in a dazed trance for a second before he fell over.
Nora took the few steps closer to Ren, seeing his shallow breathing yet feeling no satisfaction. She was utterly numb, only just beginning to grasp that her worst nightmare had came and went. She ignored everything else and just focused on him, knowing he was okay. Indistinct figures appeared to surround him, turning him onto his back and checking him over, then picking him up to plant on a stretcher. One of the figures detached from the group to approach her, but Nora wasn't hearing them. She closed her eyes and let the darkness claim her.
...
00000
...
"Woke up in the infirmary a couple days later. Doctor Fraiser said I had a concussion, and I needed to sleep it off. Took Ren a couple more days to wake up, and another month before he could return to duty." Nora finished, crossing her arms. "Found out a couple weeks later SG-14 were captured by a System Lord named Baal. He infested the team and sent them back to assassinate either SG-1 or General Hammond. The SGC sent a nuke to one of his outposts for it."
Blake and Yang were dumbstruck, listening to her tale with undisguised terror. The entire time she spoke, Nora's tone never lost that faintly amused, faintly bitter aspect. Her smile was a tiny one, lacking any mirth.
At last Yang took a breath, her face wrinkled. "Why didn't you guys tell us about this?"
"Why didn't you tell us about your hand?" Nora replied, watching her flinch. "Yeah, I know what happened, read up on the news. You tried fighting Adam Taurus, and you screwed up. Lost a couple fingers and got stabbed in the gut for your trouble." she gestured, this time getting both to wince. "So why didn't you say anything?"
Yang grimaced, averting her eyes. Sighing, Blake cleared her throat. "You had to know we'd discover this eventually."
"Yep. He and I hoped it'd be years from now, instead of you finding out behind his back." Nora said with an insincere smirk, the attempted pun failing badly. "So, are you gonna go blabber to everyone about Ren being snaked?"
"No." Blake said, sending a glance at Yang when she opened her mouth. "We're not. I understand why, you can trust us with this secret."
"Y-yeah." the blonde reluctantly agreed, idly clenching her fist to hide it.
Nodding to herself, Nora shifted her weight to the other foot. "That's good. Don't wanna tell Ren this though, he won't take it well."
With that the orange haired girl turned to stride away, without so much as a bye. The two girls watched her leave for a second, still processing the story she gave them.
...
00000
...
The unofficial headquarters of Team RWBY was unusually silent this time. Unless it was late at night or no one was home, there was always a voice in the room going on about something. But minutes after Yang and Blake returned to Ruby and Weiss, no one had spoken yet. They had all sat down on the beds to glance at each other, each girl sporting a pensive look.
Finally Ruby sighed. "What happened?"
"Well..." Yang trailed off, glancing out the window to the cloudy sky. "How do I put this..." she gave up and peered at her friend hopefully, who hung her head and let out a pained sigh.
"Turns out Ren was infested by a Goa'uld eight months ago. The planet we went to, Cimmeria? That obelisk thing is part of a system to remove the parasite from people, it's why Jaune said the planet was safe. Thanks to that, it's probably one of the safest planets in the galaxy. The thing took it out of him around the same time as the Battle of Beacon." Blake explained, lifting her head to peer dejectedly at the twin stares.
After exchanging a wide look with her friend, Ruby took a breath. Weiss saw her silent plea, and reluctantly nodded.
"You guys?" Yang asked, missing her usual cheer. The white haired girl sat up, squeezing her eyes shut for a second.
"Well, turns out Jaune and Pyrrha have been dating for six months, and they've been trying to keep it on the down low. Its apparently a crime to date your subordinate, and Jaune's trying to become an officer so they can be a team again. And yes." Weiss raised a hand to stop an interruption. "We asked. Pyrrha wants to stick with Stargate Command, so they can't be open on Earth."
"Yeah, pretty much." Ruby added, her tone lackluster. A disappointed expression was on her face, temporarily beating the shocked look from a minute ago.
"Oh." Yang blinked. "That's... Yeah. I kinda figured there was something going on, they had that vibe to 'em. Um, congrats I guess?" she tried, shrugging fruitlessly.
"I was expecting worse." Blake commented, mulling on the idea.
"Yeah. So, Ren was, you know." the red huntress gestured in front of her, but none of them could make sense of her arms random flailing. She didn't appear to know what she was trying either, and after a second she let the limbs fall to her lap.
"Yeah, but he got better. We, uh, found out by accident." Blake said quickly, exchanging a look with Yang, who nodded very fast.
Weiss sighed. "Anyone else wish things weren't this complicated?"
"Yeah." Yang agreed, nodding slowly. "Makes me kinda wish we were with them back then, could've found the gate together. Avoided all this." she swept a hand around, but all of them knew what she meant. "If it were in the emerald forest, during initiation..."
"Its too late for that." Blake said, leaning back to stare at the bed strung up above her head.
Silence descended over the room once again, none of the girls knowing what to say next. Ruby brought her hands together to intertwine her fingers, glancing out the window like her sister with a thoughtful expression. The overcast sky had no answers, offering only the promise of rain in the near future.
Idly, she wondered how things were going up there, on the alien spaceship blissfully floating in the night sky. Ruby was sure they were having an easier time than her friends.
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A/N: so yeah, this happened. Hopefully this flashback centric chapter answered a few of your questions. And it's not eleven thousand words long this time, so hurray.
Review if you want to. Have a good day if you decide not to, its that time of year.