Ugh, that finale. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't bad, but after all that buildup it was kind of a letdown.

I know this is probably equally disappointing, but it's Halloween, I'm tired, and I've taken up Doom modding again.


29: Sleight of Hand

Blake Belladonna

I'd done infiltration before. I'd stowed away before. I tried to convince myself this was no different. I was nervous. I mean, I was always nervous, but this time I was even more nervous. It looked kind of like Vale, but it was different world that operated under different rules.

One mistake could result in disaster. Sometimes you could recover, sometimes you couldn't. And in this strange new place, there were a lot of unknowns. It was those things you couldn't account for, or didn't account for, that caused the most problems.

The three young men tried to brief me on what to expect, but I got the feeling they didn't really know. I would have to sneak into the airport, into the restricted area, find a container headed for YVR and get inside, then hope they loaded it onto the right plane. As for the actual security, they told me that they weren't as good as they were in Vale, probably, and that there would be a lot of security cameras to avoid.

I prepared the best I could. Gambol Shroud was basically all I needed- and all I had. They told me to pack a few other things, so I did. Fingerprints were apparently a major component of forensics here, so I added gloves to my outfit. It would be cold on the plane, so they gave me a thick jacket. And the flight would be long, so I had some energy bars and a vacuum bottle filled with water. All of it I either wore or packed into a small satchel.

There were so many other thoughts on my mind, but I forced myself to focus. Those could come later. The mission was my priority.

It was night, but the area was well-lit, so it wasn't as useful as I would have hoped. Still, there were plenty of shadows to hide in. I only saw a few guards, and they didn't look that attentive.

This might actually work.

They dropped me off just outside the airport. Gambol Shroud was stowed and I was wearing my borrowed gloves and black toque. I climbed easily over the fence, dropping silently on the other side.

In the failing light, people might still see me, but they wouldn't be able to make me out well. Instead of trying to disappear, I walked briskly and purposefully. If anyone saw the dark, blurry shape, they would probably assume I was just another worker.

Unless I was missing something.

Gate 74. Not too far, but they were already loading the plane, which meant there were plenty of people around. I slowed and faded into the shadows, creeping slowly toward the waiting aircraft.

I didn't get a good look at the airplane, but it looked both graceful and menacing. It had one huge engine on each wing, and the wings were very long. I had looked at pictures earlier and they looked kind of neat, but technology was more Ruby's thing.

Silently, I created a shadow clone, which ran in front of the plane. The loading crew paused in their work, pointing at the new figure. While they were distracted by 'me', I darted the remaining distance to the plane and jumped up into the open cargo door.

I had to find a place to hide before they started loading cargo again. Several containers were already loaded. I squeezed between them, heading toward the back of the airplane. Almost at the very back, there was a pair of smaller containers with quite a bit of space between them.

That would work. I nestled down between the two containers and tried to be as quiet as possible as the loaders finished their work. Very soon, the cargo was all loaded and I heard the door shut in front of me.

I did it. Maybe.

I pulled my phone- well, Isaac's phone- out of my pocket and send the pre-arranged "all good" code phrase. The cat is in the bag.


Ben

"Gate 74, right?" Isaac asked as we exited the security screening place.

"I think so," I replied. I pulled the ticket out of my pocket and checked it. "Yeah."

"I hate airports," Cliff grumbled as we headed toward the gate. "And planes. And air travel in general."

He paused. "I am kind of excited to finally fly on the Dreamliner, though. It might suck slightly less."

"We're almost home," I replied.

"I know," Cliff sighed. "Let's just get this-"

My phone buzzed in my pocket and I held up my hand, stopping him. I pulled the device out and checked it. "Blake is on the plane."

"Is it the right plane?"

"Hopefully," I replied.

"Fucking brilliant," Cliff sighed.

"Well, we just have to hope it's going to go right," Isaac said levelheadedly. "There's not much we can do at this point."

"No shit."


Blake Belladonna

The flight was probably the worst form of transport I had ever stowed away on.

It started okay. I could hear the two big engines start up, and they were surprisingly quiet for their size. We moved around on the ground for a while before the engines really began to roar with raw power and the plane accelerated. It wasn't a harsh acceleration- it was firm but much less than a Bullhead- but it felt wrong. It took me a moment to figure out that we were accelerating horizontally, not vertically.

The first thing I realized was how cold it was. Cliff had assured me that the cargo bay was pressurized, which meant I wouldn't die from lack of oxygen. He said it may or may not be heated, and that it would probably get pretty cold. It turned out that was an understatement. It didn't help that I wasn't moving around. Even with the thick coat, I was freezing, and I was really glad I had gloves.

The second thing I realized was how boring it was going to be. Unlike some others, I hadn't put any games on my scroll. Isaac's phone had some, but I needed to save its battery for later and none of them looked very appealing. It was dark in the cabin and that made it hard to read, so I tried and gave up quickly.

Cliff had told me to sleep on the plane, and I tried, but I was too tense to do it. My thoughts kept drifting to the same questions I had asked when I had first arrived. Even after it had been explained, I still had no answers. It was crazy, really. I was stowing away on a form of transport that didn't even exist on Remnant, heading to a country I'd never heard of, helped by complete strangers. But I was meeting my team, the same team, who had somehow also ended up here.

Finally, I felt the plane start descending, and there were a bunch of odd whirring and whining sounds. The engines throttled back and soon I felt the impact of the wheels against the ground. Then, oddly enough, the engines throttled up again, and I grabbed onto the container, expecting the plane to start accelerating. But it slowed, and the engines throttle back. I felt the plane move around on the ground a little before stopping and then the engines shut down.

Soon, the cargo doors opened, letting in rays of blinding sunshine. I heard them bring the cargo lift up to the front door, and there were bashing sounds as they began unloading the containers from the front of the plane.

Although they had opened the rear door, they weren't unloading yet. I crept toward it, then cautiously checked if it was clear. They hadn't brought the lift over yet, and there was nobody underneath. Quietly, I dropped down to the pavement below.

And almost got caught by one of the unloaders operating the lift by the front of the plain. I thought he saw me. I thought we locked eyes. But a second later, he turned and continued unloading cargo. Heart racing, I went the other way, making a mad dash for the perimeter and throwing out a half-baked shadow clone as a distraction. Once I reached the fence, I climb-hopped over to freedom.

I stripped off the gloves and toque, but I was still cold so I kept the jacket, stuffing the other items into my pockets. After making sure my bow was still secure, I set off for the arrivals area. I drew a few odd looks from some of the passersby, but they continued on their business.

I searched the crowd for Ruby and Weiss. I recognized Weiss first, then saw Ruby beside her. Before I could do anything, she zipped out of the crowd and embraced me in a bone-crushing hug. "Blaaaaaaaake!"

Weiss stepped up behind her, a look of sympathy on her face. "Welcome to Canada, Blake."

It felt like it was over. But I knew it had only just begun.


Review replies:

Happy1K1nob1: The assumption for the time being is that Grimm have no souls and Terrans have souls but no Aura, but the exact nature of Aura and the soul question will be brought up again much, much later.

Tatopatato: I think there has been published fanfiction in the past, but not for RWBY.

linkthetoaoftime: Stolen Flame will, at worst, return to Ice Princess length chapters. Hopefully they'll be even longer.

up up and away: We'll see. It's going to be darker, that's for sure.

guest 1997: I've wanted to explore a lot of those things more, but I just haven't had the time to write it. We'll see some more in upcoming Asides, Stolen Flame, and after the conclusion of the first part.