DISCLAIMER
The following is a fan-based
FICTION
RWBY are all owned by Rooster Teeth and by Monyreak 'Monty' Oum (R.I.P.)
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CHAPTER 27: Cogito ergo sum
Having lived a while in this new reality, I had come to the conclusion that, at least once in a while, the entire day was meant to be derailed by a situation or another.
Until now I had thought that in this case it was the fact that few hours ago Weiss had taken the initiative to go and buy a new gun to improve her current arsenal and yet I ended up getting hooked up with another, much more difficult situation to deal.
Before I could join up Ruby and the heiress in the Bullhead directed back home, I found myself yanked away from the two girls from a very distraught Penny Polendina.
She asked for help, specifically something about some 'friendly advice' over an important matter.
Penny was nervous. It wasn't something she would outright admit, but there were evident signs in her face and body that showed some panic. The reason behind this situation? I was quite unsure but… I still asked.
"Something's bothering you?" She almost tripped as she continued to pull me through the streets of Vale. She turned briefly to show a faux smile. "N-Nothing in particular." And she hiccuped.
"Are you sure?" I probed more with a teasing tone, causing her to ignore me through the whole walk. I was confused, for some reason this whole behavior sounded incredibly worrying.
In Volume 2 Penny never sounded overly-concerned about things.
Except when it was about Atlas and her father.
…Now I was worrying even more.
Finally we reached the destination the cute robot had decided to express her dilemma and we sat on a familiar bench.
Was this the very seat we took when she first met Neo and me?
"I need your help with something important, Shaun." She broke composure to show her full nervousness. "I- There is going to be a very important visit and General- I mean, Professor Ironwood wants me to be present to make sure that things go smoothly but-"
She sighed and I stared at her vibrant green eyes staring steely back at me.
"I need you..." The Altesian unit paused. "I need you to pass as my boyfriend."
… "What?"
The question made her twitch in her seat. "I mean- Sure, that would mean having to explain so much to father and having to protect you from his wrath-" Which of course would be unwarranted because this would be an act. "And also pressure more Professor Ironwood, but I am sure that-"
Her speech stopped as my finger was now pressing on her cute nose. "Boop."
* ha smesso di funzionare. -Riavviare -Attendi
The girl blinked, her mind seemingly going blank at that unexpected action and I took the opportunity to voice out the flaws of her plan.
"Penny, do you know that relationships and military clash horribly. I think that Ironwood would object even more if I was to join you as your boyfriend."
A small pout appeared on her face. "B-but I think that-"
"If you really need some help I could ask him personally if I could be there as Beacon's respresentative." I said in a very unsure way. "I mean, it's up to the man then but I could try to get some help with the professors."
Penny blinked. "You would… do that?"
"Of course I would." I stated as a matter of fact. "You are a good friend of mine, why I would not help you?!"
She smiled, a little sadness perceivable but she still nodded. "Thank you." She said softly. "For… being my friend and-"
Right in that moment the pocket containing my Scroll started to buzz loudly and I had to pick it out before a headache could barge in.
I stared at the screen and I could see Andromeda scowling, her eyes looking back and forth between me and the girl.
"You both are… dumb."
Now that was… a blunt reply from the old AI. "What?"
She sighed as she looked at the Altesian student. "Ms. Polendina, I think now it is the best time to truly tell him about your… secret."
The girl's eyes widened. "W-What? But- General Ironwood-"
"General James Ironwood is a military leader, not your owner. While your origins are akin to my owns, your development is far more different, if not superior compared to mine."
She turned to look at me. "Also, Shaun already know that."
...What the heck, Andromeda?!
And now Penny was staring at me in surprise. "I mean, it's not that difficult to think about that-"
"He has been very careful with his Semblance near you." The AI butted in once more. "He rightfully fears that an electric shock could damage your configuration."
"Shaun?" A single word that contained so many questions. But the girl pressed on the question she felt the most important. "Why did you… continue to treat me like I was real-"
"Because you are?" I interjected with a little bit of anger, mostly directed at the senseless idea that she was a 'thing'.
Cogito ergo sum. I think, thus I exist.
She thinks, thus she is alive.
"B-But I was not made like a human and-"
My hands were now cupping her cheeks and her eyes widened at the sudden action. Her cheeks flared red and I found her face quite endearing to look at in that exact moment.
"You are real. I can touch you and you react to it. Is it a 'perfect' reaction? I don't know." I smiled. "We are humans after all."
Few moments passed and then… Penny smiled. She brought her hands over mine and nodded happily. "We are… humans."
"Good!" I chuckled, slowly letting her go as she started to relax a little more from the previous sadness. "But I have to ask, I am the first one to learn about it?"
She hummed quietly and shook her head. "There is my partner Ciel and… I think Neo knows too, but she didn't say anything about it."
"Well, she is mute." And that comeback was replied with a melodious laugh and-
She was human, now there was no doubt about it.
"I-I admit I should have picked a better set of words to describe her."
"I hardly think there are enough words to describe her and her madness." The girl nodded at the comment but decided to not say further about the matter.
…
"Shaun?" I hummed to show that I was listening to her. "Do you think that…"
The Polendina stopped, looking at the floor as she reformulated her question back in her mind. "What is love?"
I blinked, trying to find the closest thing I could parry with that complex word.
"Well… love is caring. I mean- You love someone that loves you back, that can live with you happily counting in both your qualities and flaws and..." I felt clueless about it. "It's strange."
She tilted her head questioningly. "Strange?"
"Yeah." I said softly. "It's completely unexpected and easy to miss at first."
"But then?" Penny urged me to continue.
"Then?" I asked to myself, finding nothing that could remotely come close to what it meant. "Then you want more of it."
"Like an addiction?"
I nodded and she decided to not continue with her questions as she suddenly moved out of the bench.
"I-" She blinked thrice before looking back at me. "G-General Ironwood is asking my presence. He said that my father wanted to hear from me and-"
"Call him 'dad'." The girl stared at me with a confused look. "You always call him 'father', why don't you try to call him 'dad'."
Penny considered this, having long been told by Neo to be less formal in addressing people. "I will… try."
"Good!" I smiled stood up myself and prepared to give a goodbye to her- Uh?
Her arms wrapped around my chest as she pulled my head close to kiss both my cheeks.
Cue blazing blush spreading through my entire face. She giggled. "Once more, thank you for being there for me and..." She pulled away. "Have a good day!"
"Have a… good day yourself..."
…
What has just happened?
Cinder smiled as she spotted the Altesian android leaving the small park, her eyes now watching as Shaun Reyter paused just a moment.
It was so… foolish.
Not dumb, not idiotic… just incredibly silly for people to fall for others.
No one could be trusted, she would want to nurture to the curious boy, and life is hardly forgiving.
And yet she didn't, deciding to merely witness the castle of cards the youth was trying to build around himself and then be the one that brings it all down.
Because she personally hated him? Of course not. The student had hardly angered her with his cleverness and smarts.
Just as Salem had been keen to remind to her back in when Cinder was young, sometimes it's best to leave trouble-makers around.
The more they put obstacles in your way, the more your mind will learn to fully adapt to unfair conditions and turn the table right when you wished for it to flip.
And Shaun? He will be the greatest test, the challenge that will prove the hardship, the worth of her claim.
Ozpin was too busy with the Queen, too much arrogant in his self-complacency to notice that the chessboard close to home cannot be won.
You can't win something that has been rigged from the very beginning and the headmaster was too much focused on old tactics to know how to deal with new situations.
She had the advantage, she could press for a swift conquest-
And yet she had been completely taken by surprise when a crucial step of her flawless plan had been turned into an ambush right for her.
A clever move that almost costed her the surprise element and the capacity to operate quickly in Vale.
That night proved that the woman had grown far too much lax in her work after spending this much time without a proper opponent, giving too much leverage for others to pick up after her mistakes.
Just like it had happened back with that red-caped pest weeks ago.
This whole situation reminded her when she was younger, when she was content of what she had…
This was unacceptable. She was Cinder Fall and… she was going to show the world how she was far from her weaker self.
The pain she had suffered? It will be portrayed with the blood of the innocents.
The ambition that fueled her soul? It shall be sculptured out of the bones of her victims.
The power she will muster? It will be proved by the corpses of the former Maidens.
The challenge she will face? …
She blinked as she continue to stare as the young Beacon Student started to walk towards the Bullhead's helipads.
Cinder smiled as she decided that it was time for her too to return to the dorms.
Tomorrow was going to be an important day and… she needed to be ready.
Beacon shall fall, but her victory will only be sure only with a single event.
Not when Ozpin will die, nor when she would truly complete her rightful powers…
When Shaun Reyter shall perish under her might and power, then she will call it a true victory.
The boy represented a sore memory, the memory of her past that was meant to die unknown to everyone but herself.
She shall treasure the glory of the future fight, make it a foundation for her own rise and turn it in the monument of the first loss of humanity.
Shaun shall die for the truth to become reality.
For she was Cinder Fall and this was her destiny.
Blake was incredibly annoyed.
Angry? No.
Bored? Not much.
Confused to the core? Surprisingly yes.
From the height of her bed, she continued to stare distractedly at the smiling blonde that was her girlfriend continuing to study some books.
Said books were not school-related material, far from it. Yang was actually reading several books regarding Remnant: The Game and that was actually bothering the Cat Faunus.
Yang was hardly the kind of girl that would waste time to study for something this childish and yet she was, reasons about this unnatural scene still unknown to the Belladonna.
After seeing this continue for about an hour or so, Blake decided it was time to shed some light on the matter.
Closing her copy of the 'Man with Three Souls: The Revenge', the Faunus slowly descended from her bed and walked behind the blonde.
Another chuckle left Yang's mouth as she continued to write down some words in her notebook, setting up several scenarios she could be dealing against in future games.
"Yang?" The Xiao Long paused to glance back, her lilac eyes showing some tiredness but it was all buried by the seemingly endless energy that was driving her in this stupid path.
"Oh hey, Blakey. Whatcha doing?" The blonde asked quickly as she returned to her 'study'.
"Was trying to understand what got you so… interested in this subject."
"Oh?" The brawler said softly. "I suppose this is… weird, but this is all actually part of a smart plan."
…
"A smart plan?"
Yang nodded again. "You see, I have been thinking about how I should properly beat S-boy after he literally steamrolled… most of us."
Blake flinched at the memory but gestured for her lover to continue.
"Well, since fighting isn't as appealing for him as it is for me, I decided to find something I know that he will feel the sting."
"Yang, I thought we discussed about this-"
"But I am not planning anything bad!" She defended herself. "I just want to plan out a victory in a harmless game and… get a favor out of it."
The faunus' cat ears twitched at the word. "A favor?"
The Xiao Long nodded. "See, if I manage to make a simple bet and force him to offer 'kindly' his notes from Professor Port's class, I can make him realize that I am smarter than him."
…
"Yang." Blake's quiet voice surprised the girl, but she still locked her sight on her Belladonna. "You know that I love you a lot?"
Yang nodded, but she was starting to see where this was going. "It's not that bad-"
"I would consider it similar to when you had a 'good plan' about entering to the movie theater without paying for the tickets and literally flaunting this in front of the owner of the building."
The brawler deflated at that 'funny' memory.
"I-It is different!" The blonde continued to say.
"The same amount of effort you wasted there could have been used to improve your average grades-"
"But I am!" She interjected again, bringing out of the mess of texts, a book that Blake actually recognized.
The 12 Deceptions of Mistral
"Isn't that something Port had recommended?" Blake found herself muttering out loud.
"I was surprised too." The girl admitted calmly. "But I kind of found it… easy to understand."
At this the Faunus would have snorted at Yang's statement but she decided to inquire more.
"Truly? Can you tell me what it is about?"
After a brief pause to think about the request, the Xiao Long nodded. "Sure."
Closing the books, she turned to stare at Blake with her lilac eyes. "After the disastrous first half of the Great War, Mistral and Mantle had to use unique ruses to avoid utter destruction." The blonde started with a serious tone.
"Villages were dismantled and reformed near large fortifications, territories were flooded by artificial constructions on rivers, ambushes were set in swamps and other subtle tactics that made the victory over the two nations a minor one."
At this point Blake Belladonna was sure that hell had frozen over as the greatest calamity unfolded before her eyes.
Yang Xiao Long had actually studied something and… she liked it.
"W-Why don't you study like this?!" She asked exasperated and the blonde merely shrugged.
"I think it's because I find the other books boring. This one actually rocks in some battles' descriptions."
The Faunus tried so much to not facepalm at this but… she still did.
Just as this exchange came to a close, Ruby and Weiss walked inside the dorm room with smiles on their faces.
"Did you find what you wanted?"
The Schnee nodded pleased at the question. "It was surprisingly quick and Ruby also enjoyed some 'napping' while we were coming back."
The Rose blushed at the wording. "I-I just feel asleep. W-We didn't do anything." She paused, waiting to see their reactions. She wasn't amused. "I swear on cookies and Crescent Rose."
"Then you are serious." Yang chuckled as she teased her little sister. "I guess that the Ice Queen still doesn't want to make a step forward."
"Everything requires time, Yang." Weiss replied with a scowl, blushing just a little. "But I guess that you didn't learn when Shaun beat you."
…
"Say what, Ice Queen?" Her eyes flashed red for a moment but the heiress was unfazed by the display.
"If you understood the fine art of being patience, you would be forced to deal with humiliating defeats. That is why Shaun is right to say that we all need to improve.
At this point the rest of the girls stared at the Schnee in confusion.
"Uh, is everything alright?" Ruby's concern was met with a small smile from the white-haired Altesian.
"I am fine, it's just that I am seeing things with a new perspective."
Confusion increased for them all, but Blake decided to use this opportunity to voice out an issue as they were all together.
"Actually, since you two are here, did any of you take some books from me?" The Belladonna asked nervously. "The content in some of them is quite… awful."
Ruby shook her head but Weiss… didn't reply, her eyes turning away from the rest of the group.
"Weiss… did you take them?"
The girl scoffed. "What if I did? The content was essential to understand a situation I was finding difficult to decipher."
The very response was enough to make Blake blush a vibrant red as she considered the implications behind this predicament.
Her mind pointed out the common word that represented the books missing from her secret collection (read as stash).
'Oniichan!'
She should have spoken at that point, she should have explained to the heiress that the content of those texts was not something educative, but something meant to endear to some ideas. Filthy ideas.
But her embarrassment kept her quiet for the rest of the day.
By the time it was nighttime and everyone was sleeping, Blake couldn't help but glance with a sad expression the unaware fool that was Shaun Reyter as he slept blissfully in his bed.
AN
So much to say about this chapter.
Cinder sounds… strangely more dangerous than the usual stories: I have planned a unique display for our lady in red and it is going to be… very familiar to some people. I am taking inspiration from a villain from another fandom, one very few will recognize as he is quite… new to the spotlights.
Shaun and Penny to meet Winter and Whitley: This was something I had finalized by Chapter 10. I needed a reason for Winter and Whitley to encounter our MC without exploiting the ever-known Winter v. Qrow episode (which is still far away in the timeline.).
Weiss and… her new resolve: I admit there is some meme-y presumption to develop this and it will be one of the comic relief of this story. No, Weiss will not outright try to snatch Shaun away from others but she will be the catalyst for some 'odd' situations. So no, there is no cheating in the pairings of this story.
P a treon . com (slash) socialistbukharin
REVIEW Q&A!
Merendinoemiliano: It will happen!
Lewsx: That is actually not going to be Weiss' role, but someone else's. The Ice Queen is going to turn into a creepier version of that (good creep, not horror creep).
Loser Stuck In Memory Lane: So close!
Guest 1 (Chapter 27): In the toilet while doing his business there? It would be a funny Omake.
OSR fanatic: Here it is!
Alex Jones: Or maybe they will get Snapped with the mere label of 'Fake News'! XD
travisck: Sadly no Winter x Qrow. Qrow is special and will have an interesting role in the story and his pairing is… well going to be explained in the 'Old Days' Project. Whitley will actually be very similar to Weiss, maybe even a little less stuck up since he didn't have the same need to prove his worth every time. He will be jelly about his sisters, but he will actually be a fun character to have around by the end of that moment.
HateReborn27: No-pe~! She will still be with Ruby but try to follow her new 'ideal'.
D: D-flected!
Guest 2(Chapter 27): Nah, I am following a different pattern for the chapters.
