Here we are at Chapter 37. Things will be getting pretty chaotic real soon. Let's see how this will all play out. I do not own RWBY or Gundam IBO. They belong to their respective owners. Here's chapter 37. Enjoy.
Chapter 37: A Messed-up Chess Game
At Beacon, Ozpin walks over to Agnika's station to check on Dr. Polendina's progress. As he enters the room, he finds Penny Polendina reading some of Mikazuki's books (better hope he doesn't find out about that), and Dr. Polendina going over some schematics that he has up on Agnika's screens. He also notices how the doctor has a large white tarp covering Agnika's body.
"Good evening, Dr. Polendina. How goes your progress with Agnika?" the headmaster asks.
"Good evening Professor Ozpin, well first I must admit that the technology from Agnika's world is beyond fascinating. This material, the nanolaminate armor is stronger than even the armor we use for Atlas military airships. And these Ahab Wave Reactors his body uses for power is incredible. I thought the energy we can produce from Dust was an efficient method, but these reactors seem to run nearly indefinitely," Dr. Polendina says as he goes over the data.
"While that is all good, Dr. Polendina, what I was asking was his condition. Can you repair him?" Ozpin asks.
"Oh, yes, I'm sorry. Guess I got a little carried away there. Back on task here, it is proving a little difficult to understand how this equipment works, however it actually isn't all that different from the equipment we use to create our Atlas robot soldiers. It shouldn't take me too long to get it up and running to start the repairs, and then we can move on to the next step," Dr. Polendina explains.
"Next step?" Ozpin asks.
"This Agnika does not owe us anything, and yet he is perfectly willing to sacrifice himself for us. I want to do more than simply repair him. As a show of gratitude for his heroism…I intend to give him an upgrade. And luckily, I have just the materials necessary for it," Dr. Polendina says, smirking.
Ozpin glances past the doctor and notices a few more small crates off in one corner that weren't there before.
"And what exactly do you intend to do for this upgrade?" Ozpin asks again.
"Something that will make him far stronger than he was before. I'd rather it be a surprise for his comrades. He protected the people who came to call my daughter their friend. As a father, I feel I owe him for that," he says as he glances back at Penny, who is happily reading a book. "All I truly want is for my daughter to be happy, and she has never been happier than with her friends. If not for Agnika, they might not be here right now. Don't worry Ozpin, I will get him back into fighting condition and more. This, I promise you," he declares.
Ozpin nods with a small smile, "Thank you, Dr. Polendina. Well, I'd better leave so as not to get in your way. Call us if you need anything," Ozpin says as he turns to leave.
"Professor Ozpin, one more thing," Dr. Polendina stops him. "This equipment shows that for all intense and purposes, he should be completely offline, and yet…they are detecting…something within him. I checked without doing anything to his body, and yet I couldn't find anything that could give off this signal. Could you tell me what it is?" he asks.
Ozpin shows a knowing smile at this, "That, my friend, is Agnika's soul," he says before finally leaving.
Dr. Polendina looks perplexed at this before looking back at Agnika, but then he glances over back at his daughter.
"Could they be alike in some way?" he wonders.
…
Back in Mistral, Ruby's group are back at a house they rented out for their stay at the kingdom, all together in the living room as they go over the next step in their plan.
"So, what do we do now? From the sound of things, the headmaster at Haven isn't going to be of much help," Coco asks.
Team CFVY rejoined them as they left the school, but were not told about the relic or a few other things. In this case, the less that know the better.
"For now, we need to get more information, and we need to get some more help for when we do face the White Fang. Just in case things get dicey," Qrow says.
"We want to try and see if we can get the White Fang to agree to work with us. While Sienna Khan's methods are far different from mine, her reasons are similar. Like me, she wanted equality for Faunus. I'm hoping that if we can remind her of that, it might make her see reason in all of this. She won't risk launching any full scale attacks any time soon with all this madness going around. But still, we can't just bide our time for too long. We need to move soon," Ghira explains.
"Also, no one here is to be out alone. I don't want anyone getting captured, or worse, while we're here. Groups of at least three. Team CFVY, I want you primarily as support. Help out around the school and the kingdom, and find out what you can about anything that could be of use to us. Whether it's the White Fang, the Grimm, or anything else we should know about," Qrow says to the second-years.
"No problem. We'll take care of it," Coco speaks for her team, who nod with her.
"The rest of you will see mainly to the White Fang. Ghira, I want you to see if you can find a way to get a meeting going with Sienna. That will be our way in. We'll no doubt have to fight our way in before we can talk. We need to show that we aren't here to play around. Meanwhile, I'll see if I can find some huntsmen to back us up. Not every huntsmen in the kingdom listens to the council, and I happen to know a few of them that live here. Hopefully, I can find some extra muscle for us," Qrow says.
"Okay, but are there any in the White Fang that we should be worried about besides their leader?" Ruby asks.
Blake glances away and holds her left arm, "Actually…there is one…My former partner Adam. There is absolutely no way he'll agree to working with us, even if Sienna Khan agrees. And after I left him and the White Fang, I'm sure that he no doubt holds a grudge against me. There are many in the White Fang that see him as an icon, a hero in their eyes, no matter how twisted their vision may be. If we are going to have any chance at this, then…we…we may have to deal with him," Blake says reluctantly.
"I'll kill him," Mikazuki says.
"Mikazuki, please…" Blake begins.
"I follow Orga's orders. Anyone that gets in my way will be killed. I won't let anyone kill my family," Mikazuki stops her, his mind having been made up a long time ago.
"Forget it kid, you're not going to change his mind. And if this Adam guy is as bad as you say, then we may have to kill him in order to get some leverage over the White Fang. We can't just simply shake hands and be all buddy-buddy. The world's not that simple. Guess it never was," Qrow says.
"Okay, well, what about when we do meet with Sienna? Is there any chance she'll agree to join us?" Yang asks.
"Honestly, that will prove difficult. Even more so when she sees humans have entered White Fang territory. Even if I am leading the meeting, it will not be so easy. We have to keep Sienna's focus on protecting our people. As long as we can get her to realize that only by joining forces can we survive this war with the Grimm," Ghira adds.
"Okay, well that about sums it up. Let's get to work. We don't have a lot of time right now, and who knows when the next attack will begin, whether it's by the White Fang, or the Grimm," Qrow says.
…
Meanwhile, Weiss continues on her airship ride towards Mistral, with the company of Raven and Vernal with her.
"I must admit, it is a little odd seeing a Schnee risk her life to become a huntress. I figured you would've preferred to live the life of luxury back in Atlas," Raven calls out from behind her.
Weiss narrows her eyes, but doesn't look back at her, "If you knew your history, then you would know that my grandfather was a warrior who fought on the frontlines and oversaw the work of the Schnee Dust Company personally. My sister and I inherited his abilities, and she became a specialist in the Atlas military. We have a duty to uphold, not just to the Schnee Family, but to all of Remnant," Weiss retorts.
Raven grunts, "Hmpf. 'Duty', please, that's nothing more than a pretty word," Raven interjects.
"I wouldn't expect you to understand. After all, you left everything behind to become a bandit. Being a huntress, protecting the people, your team. But you know what irritates me the most?" Weiss says, her anger growing.
"And what would that be?" Raven asks with a roll of her eyes.
Weiss finally turns to face her and gets right in her face, "The fact that you left your family behind. Yang told me how you left right after she was born. Do you have any idea how she felt after she found out about you? How it made her feel that you abandoned her?" Weiss questions her.
"I had to protect my tribe. They raised me. I had a duty to protect them. Besides, it seems Yang did just fine without me," Raven says.
"Oh, get over yourself. I know what it's like to have a mother that really doesn't care about you. Now, while my mother may be around, she was never TRULY around. She was always focused on getting her next drink. My father never cared about me, and my brother only ever cared about being his loyal little pet. Yang has Ruby, she has her father and her uncle, and for a time she had Ruby's mother, Summer Rose. But, none of that could ever take the position of her mother. A mother who was never there for her," Weiss counters.
"You would do well to watch your tone to her," Vernal warns her.
However, Weiss remains unfazed, "You can talk about your tribe and how you had to protect them all you want, but if you ask me, that is nothing more than a front. What I want to know is why someone who thinks she's SO great and SO strong would just run away from everything rather than protect the people that truly matter. When I came to Beacon, it was to restore the Schnee name's honor…But…After spending time with my teammates, with Agnika, I realized what is really important. I'm not doing this for the Schnee family name. I'm doing this for my teammates, for my REAL family. I'm doing this for my friends, and I'm doing this for the one person who has guided me to this point. For Agnika…" Weiss says as her demeanor falters for a moment as she thinks about him, but then she quickly regains it. "So, you can do whatever you want once we get to Mistral. Just stay out of my way, and don't do anything to put the people I care about in danger. Otherwise, you will answer to me," Weiss warns her.
Raven narrows her eyes as her left hand wraps itself around the handle of her sword, "Strong words from one little girl. Then you'd better not get in my way either," Raven warns her.
Weiss grunts, unfazed, "Whatever. All I care about is making sure my family is safe. I wouldn't expect someone like you to understand that. Yang may be your daughter, but she is stronger than you'll ever be. Because she won't turn her back on her family. And neither will I," Weiss says before turning her back to them to look out the side of the airship.
Vernal slowly goes to reach for one of her weapons, angry that Weiss would talk in such a manner towards her leader, but Raven raises her right hand, stopping her. Vernal looks at her confused, but Raven just keeps her focus on Weiss, thinking upon her words.
…
Back in Mistral, after the little group meeting, everyone went off to complete their own objectives. Team CFVY was currently out in the northern sector, helping out with border defense and looking for any signs of the White Fang, the rest of the group were working on the White Fang angle. Meanwhile, Qrow is searching in the residential sector of the kingdom, trying to find any huntsmen that could back them up. Going over a list he made on his scroll, there are several names to look for. There's just one issue…so far, there doesn't seem to be any huntsmen available for their little operation. He checked with the local weapon-smith, and found no one. He checked a few local bars (and had to force himself not to grab a drink while he was there), and no huntsmen were available. He even went down into the deep end by checking out any underground fight clubs in the city (do not ask how he knows about them), and even they didn't have anyone available, although that may be because a few of them were already to beat up to fight. After coming up short for a while, Qrow ends up taking a quick break at a local fountain in the kingdom's interior. In front of him is a screen listing local huntsmen and any missions they may be on. Most show that the huntsmen are currently on missions that just recently began, while others show that the mission began weeks ago. It wasn't hard for Qrow to figure out that the ones that are on jobs have been incomplete for several weeks aren't coming back ever again. What pisses him off even more was that a few missions had team names on them, most likely students from the academy. And those have also been ongoing for several weeks.
"Sending inexperienced kids out on dangerous missions that they're not ready for? What the Hell is Lionheart thinking? Something isn't right around here…" Qrow thinks and then sighs. "Hope the others are doing better than I am," he mutters as he looks up into the cloudy sky.
…
Meanwhile, Ruby, Blake, Yang, Mikazuki, and Ghira are currently in another part of the kingdom, looking for a means to get a meeting with Sienna Khan. Easier said than done.
"So, you guys remember where this White Fang hideout is, right? Why don't we all just head on over there and get this done?" Yang asks.
"It's not that simple, Yang. We can't just go barging in. Our goal is to get them to work with us, not make even more enemies. That's why we need an invite of sorts. We need to find someone in the White Fang that will be willing to listen to our proposal and take it to Sienna Khan. The question is, who?" Blake reminds her.
"So what are you guys doing?" they hear behind them and quickly turn around to find Sun standing behind them with his usual easygoing smile. "Can I join in on the fun?" he asks.
"Sun? What are you doing here?" Blake asks, while Ghira is already not liking him being here.
"Well things have been kind of boring lately, and I figured you guys were here for some special, awesome mission, so I decided to help out. The more the merrier, right? I mean, I brought Neptune," Sun says, pointing behind him to show his blue-haired partner appear from behind a corner.
"Sup?" he greets them.
"Sun, I really think you and your friend should just go back. We don't want to get friends involved if we don't have to," Ruby says, stepping just a little closer to Blake, which she notices.
"Pfft, that's dumb, you should always get friends invloved. Besides, you guys don't know Mistral like we do. We can help out. We're already here, so let's just do this together. Things have been getting really crazy lately, so it's better if we all work together," Sun makes a good point, much to the slight annoyance of most of the group.
Blake sighs, "Fine. Just don't slow us down," she says as they walk into one section of the area where some of the buildings have seen better days. "We'll have to split up here in order to cover more ground. I recommend teams of two," she says.
"I'll go with Yang," Neptune suggests, winking at her, only to shrink back when Mikazuki steps in front of her, flexing his claws. "Or maybe not?" Neptune fearfully offers.
"Yeah, I'll go with Mikazuki," Yang says, while Mikazuki glances at her and nods.
"Then I'll go with Blake," Sun says.
However, both Ruby and Ghira stand in front of Blake, "That is NOT going to happen," Ghira declares.
Blake isn't surprised about her father. He's always been protective of her, but Ruby standing in front of her definitely took her by surprise, though she wasn't entirely against the idea for some reason.
"Okay, we'll just do this. To make sure they don't get killed by Blake's dad, or Mikazuki, Sun and Neptune will go together. Blake and Ruby can go one way, and Mikazuki and I will go another way. What about you, Mr. Belladonna?" Yang asks.
"I'll go with you. With Blake and Blake's friend here both being Faunus, they'll be under less danger from the White Fang than their human partners. This way, if I'm with you two, I might be able to keep any White Fang members from fighting you, and possibly getting us a meeting with Sienna Khan," Ghira says.
"Wait, you're looking for a meeting with the leader of the White Fang? Why?" Sun asks.
"We'll explain later. If you come across anyone from the White Fang, just tell them that Ghira Belladonna wants to speak with Sienna Khan and wants to schedule a meeting with her," Blake says.
"Um, okay, will do. It was nice to meet you again, Blake's dad," Sun says.
Ghira just glares at him, "...I really don't like you," he says.
"Right, let's go," Ruby says and the group split up to go off in different directions.
They all begin looking for the White Fang. However, what they don't know is that lurking in the shadows is one girl with a pony tail, focused on Blake and Ruby.
"Blake…" she mutters before disappearing into the darkness.
…
"Alright, are you ready to help me, Penny?" Dr. Polendina asks.
"Yes, father," Penny replies.
"Good, now that we're familiar with all of this, let's get to work," he says as they activate Agnika's maintenance equipment that begin working on Agnika's body.
And that's the chapter. The gears of fate are turning as the pieces move along the space on the board. Weiss stands up to Raven, while Ruby's group move closer to the White Fang. Finally Dr. Polendina begins the rebirth of Agnika. I could've had Raven use her semblance to get them to Mistral, but that wouldn't work with my current plot line in the story, so I had her take the long way there. Who was that watching Blake? Will things go well in Mistral? Will Agnika's repairs be completed in time? Until then, please Read and Review.