"Neo," came Blake's voice from behind her. Neo jumped and set it down, blushing in embarrassment and preparing to be scolded. "I miss her too. It's in a different way, but it probably hurts just as much for you." Neo nodded slowly and Blake wrapped her arm around the girl. "We can make it through this."
"Blake! Let's get going!" Coco shouted from the hallway.
"Just a moment!" Blake called back to Coco. She looked at Neo as they exited the room. "So, we don't normally do this, but Coco let Ruby pick her team for the mission tonight. It's gonna be Ruby, Reese, You, and Sun." Neo perked up immediately and her eyes twinkled. "Yep, get on out there." Neo nodded and saluted as she disappeared. Blake chuckled thoughtfully as she moved to the next room over and sat down next to Coco as she usually did. Coco handed her a few files detailing specs and other information about the Vale Prison as she put her earpiece in and handed one to Blake.
"Who's on errand duty tonight?" Blake asked.
"Scarlet," Coco replied taking a large sip of her coffee. She stood up and looked at the others in the room, the event had drawn a small crowd that was curious about how Ruby would do. Coco stood and addressed the crowd. "Okay people! The plan is to get in and out as quickly and discreetly as possible. Zero casualties is our goal, but things don't always go entirely as planned. If all of you are planning on staying, you're gonna help if needed, and you're all gonna stay quiet. Everyone clear on those rules?!" There was a collective murmur and nodding at Coco. She sat back down and checked the time on her scroll. "Damn celebrity huntress…" Blake laughed and Coco smirked as she turned away.
"Ruby, you there?" Coco asked.
"Team SRRN is here and ready!" Sun replied. Coco shook her head.
"Sun, Ruby is leading this mission. Also, what the hell would SRRN be?"
"Team Sun," he replied.
"How?" Blake asked.
"The 'R's are silent," he told them. Someone laughed in the back of the room and Coco glared at them as Blake snickered.
"Sage, don't encourage this." Coco turned back to her laptop and turned it on as she sighed. "Ruby, are you there?"
"Yeah, I'm here," she answered. "Neo's piloting the airship off the ground as we speak." Ruby turned to Sun and put her hand on his shoulder. "How about Team RSNR? The 'R's can still be silent!" Coco shook her head back at the base.
"Alright Neo. Entry point is going to be the roof of Vale's Maximum Security Prison. I'm guessing that we will have seconds between landing and being greeted by the guards. As soon as you land, program the roof's coordinates into the computer and tell the ship to auto pilot back here just in case," Coco explained.
"Nervous?" Ruby asked Reese as she sat beside the girl. Reese held her board, tucked under her arm, and looked up at Ruby shrugging.
"Not as much as I thought I'd be, but maybe it's because you're here," Reese offered. Ruby blushed slightly and waved her off.
"So, do we know where they're keeping Adam?" Sun asked.
"In the basement," Coco told them. Sun sighed.
"Of course," he replied.
"Oh, and Ruby," Blake said. Ruby perked up.
"Yes?" Ruby answered.
"Unless you absolutely need to, can we try to avoid using your eyes?" Ruby understood why. It wasn't an exact science yet and they were probably afraid she'd over do it and end up passing out again.
"Got it." She replied. The ship began shaking as bullets riddled the side of the ship and Neo came running from the cockpit. "What's going on!?" Neo grabbed Sun and teleported.
"I was hoping we could get the jump on them by doing this during the day because they'd have less security on the roof, but apparently they don't appreciate us flying so close," Coco replied. Neo appeared again grabbing Reese without any warning and Ruby ran to the door, leaping out and falling towards the roof. She noted that the men were knights and formed Crescent Rose into a spear, slamming into one the them that was firing up at her. She pulled it out and in one swift motion it became a scythe, slicing through another knight near her. Neo appeared behind Ruby as the ship flew away from the prison and into the distance. Sun back flipped over to them as Reese arrived on her board.
"Everyone okay?" Ruby asked. They all nodded at her. Ruby turned back towards the door several feet behind her to find two guards standing there that were shaking slightly.
"Hey! Rose Petals personnel only!" One of them shouted. Neo appeared between the two of them, holding her parasol out horizontally. She jerked it up and it slammed into both of their jaws, throwing them onto their backs. She waved for them to follow and proceeded inside. Ruby looked back at the other two, Sun shrugging as he stepped past and into the building. Ruby followed Reese into the building and the two soldiers stood up, staring at her in disbelief. "Isn't that…"
"It is! We gotta call Joseph, Weiss will want to know!"
Ruby stood at the front of the group at the end of a small hallway that would lead to a large multi-leveled, square room with several floors accessible by catwalks and stairs. She peeked around the corner and noted two guards that were turned away from her and having a conversation that she couldn't quite hear.
"What's our best approach as far as stealth is concerned?" asked Sun.
"Stealth's not a great option at this point," Ruby told him. "The guards on the roof that we took down are going to radio down here at any moment and with the way the jail cells are set up, someone somewhere in the room is going to spot us relatively quickly. Our best option is a defensive stance while we push our way down to the basement," Ruby told him. He smirked, spinning his staff above his head.
"Or a diversion? How many of me do you think you could make if we used your eyes?" Sun asked. Their comms came to life.
"Sun! Weren't you listening earlier?" Coco asked with bite.
"I was, but I was also kind of distracted," he replied.
"This isn't the place to be testing Ruby's power!" Coco sounded angry and Sun looked dejected.
"Fine. I'll try it with three then." Sun unleashed his clones and they ran out, leaping over the banister.
"Hey! There are people here! Sound the alarm!" Yelled one of the men. Bullets rang out as they opened fire and the clones led them on a chase. Ruby ran out into the room followed by the rest of her team and used her speed to quickly move to the two guards on the same level as them, knocking them out with a sweep of her scythe, using the staff to bat them in the head.
"Help! Please! Let us out!" Came a yell. Ruby looked towards the person calling. They all looked underfed and worn.
"I can help! Please!"
"I need to see my daughter, Bái!"
"My family needs me!"
"Over here!" Their pleas for help were overwhelming. Ruby was in no position to help these people and if she tried to save them all now, Rose Petals would have an army there within minutes to mow them down. She fell to her knees as their cries drowned her in uncertainty and a slight despair. Her teammates fought around her as the sound faded away and her ears were filled with a ringing silence.
You have this undeniable ability of giving others hope. If nothing else, you have the ability to keep us going Ruby and sometimes that's what we need more than a silver eyed fighter that could conquer all. Jaune had told her that. As long as the remained hopeful and others could see it, they wouldn't give up. Ruby looked up to see Weiss standing on the other end of the catwalk, motionless. She stared at Ruby, still unmoving. Ruby slowly found her feet, teeth gritted. That's what you want. Whoever you are. You want me to see Weiss as the villain. You want me to lose hope. Ruby turned Crescent Rose into its gun form and placed it on her back, running through the chaos towards Weiss and stopping just short. But I know better. A large shadowy figure loomed in front of Weiss and slowly took the form of Salem.
"You and your friends will bring about the destruction of Remnant." Ruby's eyes began to glow. "You can't escape your destiny Ruby. None of you can."
"Ruby!" Someone called out snapping Ruby out of it. She was still on her knees on the catwalk, scythe still in hand. She looked up, but Weiss and Salem were no longer there. "Ruby!" Ruby leapt to her feet and scanned the room, spotting someone waving from a cell on the next level down. Ruby swung over the side of the railing using her blade to ease over and ran around the outside of the room on the platform, arriving at the cell.
"Fox?!" She exclaimed. Coco spewed coffee all over her papers and lost her glasses. They slid across her desk and Coco leapt to her feet.
"Ruby, did you say that Fox is there!?" Coco asked in disbelief. Coco grabbed Blake's shoulder and shook it. "Fox is there!"
"I heard," Blake replied pulling away to grab Coco's glasses and return them to her.
"I thought I heard your voice coming from above earlier. I thought that you died at the wedding," he told her. She let out a short chuckle.
"Everyone did, but it's a long story and we don't have much time at the moment for details." Ruby moved back a few feet. "You may want to stand back." Fox shuffled back in his cell and Ruby swung through the bars twice. They clattered to the ground and Fox stepped out, smiling and nodding his head slightly.
"Any chance I can help?" he asked. Reese hit the wall next to Ruby and Ruby glanced up at the knight covered in purple armor.
"Uh, guys!? What is this thing I'm looking at?" Ruby asked. Coco managed to get her glasses readjusted and flipped through the prison's feeds.
"Dust Knights," Coco told Blake.
"Great," she replied. "Proceed with caution. It's a knight that has been programmed to use dust."
"Got it!" Ruby answered. Fox nudged past Ruby, putting himself in between her and the knight. "Fox! You don't have your gauntlets! Plus this guy's pretty dangerous!" He gave half a smirk.
"That so?" Fox ran to the knight in three long strides and caught the robot's fist. A shockwave rolled back towards the knight, first blasting the Dust armor off of its body and then shattering the rest of the machine. Ruby moved to help Reese up, her jaw slacked.
"That was crazy!" She exclaimed. Fox moved back to Ruby, picking up one of the iron bars from off of the floor and twisting it in his hand.
"This will do for now," He told her.
"Are you okay?" Ruby asked Reese. She nodded and stood on her own again, looking around her for her board. "How did you do that?"
"I can redirect kinetic energy back into my opponent," he explained.
"How did you know where he was?" She asked. He chuckled.
"That's a longer story," he replied sheepishly.
"Yeah! That's my Fox!" Coco cheered on the other end. "Someone give him a smack on the ass for me!" Ruby and Reese exchanged glances.
"We'll leave that to you when we get back," Reese replied. Sun landed next to them.
"I'll do it." Sun answered. Both of the girls looked Sun up and down. "What?"
"Nothing." Ruby told him. Neo strolled past Fox casually, complying with Coco's request and came to a stop beside Ruby. The three of them looked at her and she smiled back at them.
"Who was that?" Fox asked.
"That was Neo. She's with us." Ruby said. Neo curtsied and he held out his hand. She took it and gave it a firm shake.
"Nice to meet you Neo," Fox greeted her. She nodded at him vigorously, still smiling. He waited for a reply.
"Fox, she's mute," Sun said breaking the silence. Fox blushed slightly, rubbing the back of his head.
"I guess that's why she didn't answer me. Makes a little more sense now," he chuckled. Neo tilted her head and looked back up at Ruby. Ruby sighed.
"He's blind." Neo's eyes grew wide and she threw double takes between Fox and Ruby.
"This is great and all, but can we get back to work," Blake asked over the comms. Ruby motioned towards the next level down.
"Two more levels to go before we reach the main floor," Ruby instructed them. Sun gave a tsk and leapt onto the railing.
"All in favor of getting this party started, follow me!" Sun exclaimed leaping down. Reese shrugged at Ruby and rode her board off the ledge, leaping over the railing and landing on the board again as she descended. Neo grabbed Fox, winking at Ruby and teleporting to the bottom. Ruby ran back from the ledge and then vaulted over with a running start, her body dissolving into rose petals. They drifted to the bottom and she reformed as all of them stood back to back in a large circle. "Knights! And lots of them!"
"Keep attacking until they're all gone!" Ruby shouted out. Reese, Ruby, and Sun fired away as Neo and Fox focused on anyone who got too close.
"We got this!" Sun yelled. "Piece of cake!" At that moment, a large double door swung open and the group was faced with Yatsuhashi, Mercury, and Octavia. Ruby froze as her eyes caught Octavia's, her veins a sickly glowing green color and her eyes matched.
"So this is an angel," Ruby said to herself. A tear slipped from her eye as she continued slicing through the robots. They were right, these people didn't seem human, they almost moved as if they were zombies.
"Are you alright Ruby," Blake asked her. Yatsu slammed his swords against the floor, destroying the ground and sending robots and Nightshade members soaring through the air. Ruby found her feet first and looked at Octavia again before looking over at her teammates.
"Sun. Reese. Go on ahead and get Adam. Bring him to the roof and if we aren't there waiting for you, leave," Ruby instructed them.
"But-" Reese protested.
"Just do it!" Ruby demanded. Reese shook slightly, looking at the angels and then back at Ruby.
"Coco, I-"
"I put her in charge because she's the best. We need Adam if we're gonna learn anything more about this Jade character," Coco told Reese. Reese looked at Sun who nodded slightly and they took off down a corridor, Reese looking back at Ruby the entire time.
"What are we dealing with here?" asked Fox. Ruby readied herself, gripping her weapon tight.
"I'll take Octavia. Neo can take Mercury and we'll leave you Yatsu," Ruby explained. Fox nodded in agreement and Neo opened her parasol, spinning it behind her. "Blake, if I use my silver eyes here by mistake, Neo can teleport me out if things get really bad." Blake sighed and stood up, taking out her comms unit and setting it on the desk. She nodded her head at Coco and bit her lip.
"Ok Ruby. Just be careful. From what we know, these things seem to be able to fight way longer than they would normally. We're not sure about turning them back, so hit them hard, but don't kill them," Coco filled her in. Ruby's eyes glowed softly and she readied her weapon.
"Octavia, I don't want to hurt you," Ruby tried reasoning with her. She scoffed and crouched, placing sword directly above her head.
"If you're not with Weiss, then you're against us," She replied. Mercury leapt over Octavia and into the air. She used her fire Dust and swung up at him,causing an explosion and throwing him further into the air, allowing him greater velocity as he came down. His feet were coming directly for Ruby's scythe staff when Neo slid into the way, catching both of Merc's feet with her parasol. Merc launched off, sending Neo stumbling back as Octavia charged in. Ruby and Octavia exchanged glancing swings, as Fox caught Yatsu's blows with the pipe.
"What's wrong with them?!" Fox asked. The last blow sliced through the pipe. Fox looked at the two halves and shrugged, rolling under the next swing and leaping to his feet, striking Yatsuhashi in the shoulder several times.
"It's a long story!" Ruby called back. She knocked Octavia's sword away and turned away, placing the butt of the staff against her chest and firing, the recoil throwing Octavia backwards. "Snap out of it Octavia! I don't want to hurt you!" She grinned unnervingly, diving for her sword and rolling to her feet with it.
"You're gonna have to Ruby! I'm not gonna give you a choice!" Merc leapt up and kicked at Neo, she blocked it with her parasol closed but the force caused her to slide backwards. Octavia ran right for her and swung down, her sword crashing through the clone.
"It'll take more than that to force my hand!" She replied to Octavia. She sped towards Octavia, the light seeping slowly from her eyes as though trying to break free. She stopped short and transformed her weapon into its gun form, placing the barrel in her chest. "What about your teammates? If you're still in there, I know you care about the others still." Merc landed a boot on Ruby's jaw from her left and sent her flying across the room.
"Don't listen to her Octavia, Weiss is all that matters to us!" Merc reassured her. Yatsu swung down on Fox again who carefully and quickly caught the sword, the energy surged back up through it, and threw Yatsu back through the wall. Ruby stood slowly, beams of light shooting from both eyes. She could end this now. Neo touched Ruby's shoulder to check on her and the light slammed through Neo's chest, knocking her off of her feet. Fox ran to them as Ruby turned to Neo, her eyes dying down, but not completely.
"Are you okay Neo?" Ruby asked. Neo looked her hands over and nodded as she stood. Her eyes changed colors, both green and she sprinted for Octavia and Merc. Merc kicked her as she reached them and the clone shattered. Suddenly, both Octavia and Merc were hooked from behind and spun around, taking blows to the face.
"There's two of her," Mercury said in disbelief. Octavia swung through one and it teleported. It reappeared behind Mercury and as he moved to attack the Neo in front of him, the second batted him in the head, knocking him out. The Neo beside Octavia shattered leaving one that joined Ruby and Fox as Sun and Reese rejoined the group with Adam who looked like he had been knocked out.
"Time to get out of here!" Sun yelled at them as though something was following them from the hallway.
"What is it?" asked Ruby. Neo grabbed Adam and teleported quickly to the roof as the room filled with Grimm. "What did you do Sun?!"
"Why does everyone blame me right away?" He asked as they fought the beasts pouring in.
"It's usually your fault!" Reese replied. A Beowolf swatted Reese and Ruby caught her, setting her back on her feet and slicing through the carnage. Ruby's eyes lit up again and she made quick, calculated bursts through the mass, cutting them down quickly.
"We gotta go! Adam was our target and there are even more Grimm heading this way!" Sun explained. Ruby turned back towards Octavia who helped Mercury up as the team ran for the stairs.
"What about the others?" Ruby asked.
"I'm sorry Ruby," Coco's voice came over the comms full and anger and hurt. "We have to leave them behind. We just can't compete with the angels, especially if we don't intend to kill them." Ruby watched as Octavia and Mercury returned to Yatsu, disappearing out of sight, and she headed up the steps after her team.
Well, the team was successful in freeing Adam, but is it for the best? Their risky move may have gained them intel but at the cost of additional trauma to Ruby. Next week we'll see if Jade can succeed in breaking her next angel in Chapter 23 - Caged Qrow!
Weekly reminder, a huge thanks to OrganoidZero (Co-Creator / Editor) who helped me craft this story every step of the way. The overall concept was his idea and I wouldn't have been able to write it without him. Also a shout out to Zephyros-Phoenix (Artist), who drew our characters over on Deviantart. The story is now available on Archive Of Our Own! If you haven't heard of AO3 I recommend you try it out!
Phoenix's fan art for the story can all be found over at silent-celicadeviantartcom/favourites/72050617/Operation-Nightshade (Periods need to be inserted after celica and art in the address). Or if it's easier, look for Silent-Celica on Deviant Art and find the Nightshade folder in my Favorites tab! Let us know if you drop in! Until next week, stay classy.