RWBY Loops

by Leviticus Wilkes

"Stuck repeating everyday? Bored out of your mind? With only your friends along for the ride? Why, it's just like school! Of course, the Infinite Loops are a lot more fun then Beacon Academy, as Ruby Rose is about to find out. Part of the Infinite Loops project.

169. Off the Tracks

169.1 SAXiao

[-]

War is Hell Paradise

(RWBY/WH40K)

Ruby Awoke in the middle of Port's lecture... and was immediately assailed with a memory wave full of fuck.

As in, Port was not talking about the threat that the Grimm posed - instead, Remnant was now assailed by the dreaded Greenskin menace. The Greenskins managed to drive the Grimm to 'extinction', and have become the dominating threat of the planet.

"Ruby," whispered Weiss, "we're going to have to visit Vacuo."

The little Reaper nodded, knowing exactly who she was going to find when the team arrived...

Fifteen years prior...

"Argh... wot a mess," Kaptin Bluddflag muttered as he dusted himself off. "Mistah Nailbrain, status reporta!"

"Kaptin," replied the Boss' 'reliable' first mate, "status reporta's busted! Howevers, last item sez we's on da planet... Remnant!"

"Uh... yeah..." The Kaptin did not quite recognize the planets he "visited" by their names.

"That be da one with da krump'd moon, Kaptin," Mister Nailbrain helpfully supplied.

"Oo... wot kind of zog off rokkit krump'd da moon?" Brikkfist emerged from the rubble of the wrecked Krooza, with Master Spookums also emerging from the wreckage. "I'd strap dat to me back!"

Unknown to the four walking fungal forms, an Alpha Beowulf approached the crash site, expecting to find injured humans to slaughter. Instead, it four the four Ork freebootas arguing about their next course of action.

"Wot's you mean we can't leave dis naff planet?!" "Kaptin, da krooza's been duffed! It'll take 'bout a years or soz ta fix! Mork sez!" "Maybe da panzees krumped da Kaptin's krooza!"

The Beowulf, appropriately confused, decided to slowly approach, only to find one of Spookum's 'knives' (a two-handed sword for a regular human) impaled through its chest. The Beowulf slumped over, and began to disintegrate.

"Oi, Kaptin," Spookums called, with the others approaching the slowly fading corpse of the Beowulf. "Looks at what I found! Not ded 'ard, but da spikes make 'er look killy."

Whatever could be called a lightbulb in an Ork's fungal brain lit up in the Freeboota Kaptin. "Well, lads, limber up! Gork 'n' Mork knows how long we's stayin', so we's going 'a killin'! WAAAAAGH!"

Back to Present Day

"Kaptin, it's one of dos' flyin' 'umie fingz! A's Bullhead, they's called it!" Mister Nailbrain pointed it out from his observation tower.

"Not now, Mistah Nailbrain! I'm still sassin' da bandit!" The Ork boss called out, even as he put Raven's mask on his bosspole until he Awoke, and felt multiple "pings".

The Bullhead touched down, with team RWBY disembarking. The rest of the Ork mob began to circle them, thinking they wanted a 'proppa fight' until the Kaptin lugged out of the Ork fortress, and moved the boys out of the way. "Uh..."

"... is that Raven?" Weiss and Yang walked over to where Raven was strung up, red with rage at the fact that her mask was now adorning Kaptin Bluddflag's bosspole, and even redder that some of the gretchin kept poking at her with their sticks. The rest of her tribe were in a similar predicament, with Vernal not only being prodded with sticks, but having a few Ork warpheads assigned to watch her.

"Kaptin Bluddflag," Ruby started. "While it is usually a pleasure to see you... what did you do this time?"

"Oi! We's helped yous wit da problems 'n' bits!" The Kaptin pointed to Spookums dragging a bound and fuming Salem back to their settlement, with a few nobs preparing to mount her to another pole at the top of the fortress. "We's got da proppa fightin', and me boyz is itchin' for a large WAAAAGH!"

He then proceeded to march over to Salem, and picked her up by the throat. "You dere, da sickly 'umie! Make more!"

"Ruby, I am completely lost," Blake mentioned, with Ruby shrugging her shoulders.

"Orks. Honestly, we should leave, before we undergo the same orksanity that plagued Rin," the team leader mentioned, and they began to make their way back onto the bullhead.

[-]

169.2 Masterweaver

[-]

Worthy of Trust

"Hmm." Ruby looked at the lamp in her hands, considering its blue swirls with contemplative silver eyes. "What will we find out this time, huh?"

"Ruby?"

She looked up, smiling gently as she stood. "Oscar, hey. I... know it's a lot to ask, but could you look after the relic while we're on our mission? It's kind of important, after all."

The young farmhand took the lamp gently, his eyes nervous for a moment. "Ruby... hiding things from Ironwood... doesn't that feel like what Ozpin did to us?"

"Heh." Ruby's smile grew somber. "I was wondering how long it would take for somebody to call me out on that..."

She sat back down on the bunk, patting the space next to her. Oscar hesitated for a moment, but eventually walked over and sat next to her.

"...I'm worried about Ironwood, but more importantly, I'm worried for him. He clearly took the Fall of Beacon more personally than I'd... than any of us knew. He's slipped into this totalitarian mindset where he has to be the one to control everything to keep everyone safe, because that's what he understands-safety through control. If we told him what we found out... he could break even more than he already has. Dangerous enough when he's just one man, but when he's a military commander in charge of an entire kingdom, it... it wouldn't be just us who would suffer."

Oscar nodded slowly. "I guess that makes sense..."

"Yeah. It does. It's one of many justifications I could spout out." Ruby shrugged. "What happened was personal, I didn't want him to put undue pressure on you, we'd just been captured by the Ace Ops and I was still paranoid, a whole host of excuses. What it boils down to, though, is this: I was made the leader of team RWBY, and that means I am responsible for them, and that means I have to be decisive sometimes." She sighed, shaking her head. "I made a call. Didn't have time to consult everyone-even though I should have gotten your opinion specifically, since you're the one most affected by this. I made a call as the leader, and... and I'm willing to admit it might not have been the right one."

The farmhand gave her an incredulous look. "But you... you always seem so sure of yourself."

"Only fools never doubt." Ruby took a deep breath. "Look, Oscar, Ironwood is in a bad place right now. I want to tell him everything, really, I do, but... but I need to make sure he's not going to snap. So... so, and I know this is putting a lot more pressure on you then you deserve, but I have a request." She put a hand on his shoulder, looking him straight in the eyes. "While we're gone, you need to figure Ironwood out. Where he is, mentally, if he can take what we know. Talk to him, talk to Winter, about their feelings on the Fall of Beacon and about Salem and... and all that stuff. And... while I'd like it if you kept things secret until we got back, if you feel you absolutely need to tell him... then, well, I'll trust your judgment."

Oscar glanced away. "...this would be so much easier with Ozpin-"

"Oscar, you are more important then Ozpin."

He huffed a humorless laugh.

"No, I'm serious!" Ruby insisted. "Oz is... an advisor. One with a lot of knowledge and wisdom and all that, but in the end... you are the one who will choose what to do with that advice. To spread it, or follow it, or ignore it. Ozpin has the knowledge of ages, but you grew up in Remnant as it is now, you have a perspective that he lacks because of... because of his distance." She pinched her brow. "I'm not explaining this well... the point is, he's the Wise Old Man, but we're the ones who actually do the... stuff, the world needs. I'm not going to say he isn't important, but you-you're the one who will decide his impact on the world. I said once that you are your own person, and I... kind of got interrupted by the drama going on, but I did mean it."

"...I wish I could believe you."

"You could always ask Jinn," Ruby offered with a wry grin.

Oscar rolled his eyes. "Right."

"I mean, I think the question's been pretty clearly answered, but you know, you've got the spirit of knowledge right there-"

"I'm not going to waste the last question." Oscar shook his head, but a small smile played across his face-for a moment, only a moment, but enough. "I... are you sure keeping Ironwood in the dark is the right thing to do?"

"I think I pretty much just said I'm not sure," Ruby pointed out. "But... if you do need to tell James, make sure he knows this was my decision. Not Qrow's, not my team's, not yours. I take the blame alone."

"Right... alright." Oscar took a deep breath, standing up. "I'll... see what I can do, Ruby. And... I'll try to make sure you stay out of trouble."

"Oh, well, there's an impossible task right there!"

That got a much more genuine laugh out of him. "It is, isn't it?" He hung the lantern from his belt, stepping out of the room... and paused, to look back. "Hey. Uh... thanks for, you know, taking me seriously."

"Thanks for being willing to call me out," Ruby replied. "I don't want to become too overconfident, after all."

"Right." With a final nod, Oscar walked off.

Ruby fell down on the bed, humming to herself contemplatively. "Well... that just happened." She stared up at the bunk above her for a moment. "...I hope you haven't bugged the room, James. I won't be mad, but I'll be very disappointed."

[-]

169.3 Masterweaver

[-]

Ace Pilot Extra

Ruby crossed her arms, glowering half-heartedly at Weiss.

"I make no apologies."

"Weiss, just cause Maria can fly a Manta doesn't mean she knows how to fly an X-Wing."

"She'll have to learn to handle unusual vehicles in the loops. And she does seem to be having fun."

Ruby sighed as the starfighter buzzed shots through another pack of beowolves. "You know, I'm starting to think you have an ulterior motive here."

"Oh, many," Weiss admitted offhandedly. "But I'm starting to think you're jealous I'm the one teaching her to fly starships."

"I'm not jealous!"

Weiss quirked an eyebrow.

"I have plenty of starships," Ruby pointed out petulantly.

"And have you let Maria aboard any of them yet?"

"...mmmnnnghnnnno..."

"There you are." Weiss shrugged. "You can be her whippersnapper young friend, and I'll be the one that gets her cool new toys."

"Eeerrgh. Fine. Fine! It wasn't like I was waiting for the perfect moment, no, I had no plans at all, NONE WHATSOEVER!"

Weiss chuckled as Ruby stomped off, grumbling to herself, before tapping her ear. "Maria, you seem to have figured out how to handle the standard laser cannons pretty well. I'm going to have R3-5ST open the controls to the torpedo launchers now-there should be a couple of Goliaths for you to blow up just north of here."

"I was wondering what these extra buttons were for!"

[-]

169.4 Masterweaver

[-]

One Cool Kitty

"Blake?"

"Yeah Ruby?"

"In all seriousness... how the heck do you put on that catsuit anyway?"

"I'm very flexible."

Ruby leveled a flat look at her.

Blake rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay, so the zipper for the built-in boots is actually separate from the zipper for the upper legs-the top's just hidden behind the knee armor. That means if everything's unzipped it's basically a unitard, knee armor, and shoes connected by the back of a pants leg. Pull it up, slide my feet in, up go the zippers, and bam."

"Why must you always go for the most ridiculous leggings?" Ruby asked plaintively. "I mean even Weiss's outfits are reasonably constructed."

A very wry smirk came onto Blake's face. "What can I say? I go a little extra."

[-]

169.5 FriTik

[-]

Weiss is Adopted.

"Weiss, you were adopted," her 'father' told her, sounding just as insufferable as usual. The words, however, were somewhat surprising.

"Wait what? Then... well it does mean you're not my real father which is wonderful but who are my biological parents then?" Weiss asked, taking a slight bit of pleasure at Jacques frown; he clearly hadn't expected this reaction. The truth was she would probably be more upset had this been an actual expansion, because then it would be rather hard to reclaim the Schnee legacy from the usurper if she was never really part of it, but she could probably figure it out. But still, it wasn't an expansion, just a variant.

"I am your biological father. I mean you've been adopted. Just now. Pack your things your new parents will be here in twenty minutes." Jacques then went back to doing whatever it was horrible and self-centered businessmen did in their free time. Probably play chess with cats. Or something actually useful pertaining to the running of a global company with a monopoly on a valuable resource. One of the two.

Twenty minutes later Weiss sighed. Well, she wasn't sure who she was expecting...

"For the record, this does not make us sisters," Ilia told her, Kali next to her smiling widely. "This family tree is complex enough, you're already my... cousin-ish? Hang on let me think, your sister is married to Qrow, who is Yang's uncle..." She trailed off thoughtfully.

"I saw that Jacques had you up for adoption and I figured I would at least make sure none of the barely stable nobles of Atlas who would likely only want you for any potential holds they could net with the SDC by including you in their family," Kali explained, stepping forward to help Klein with Weiss's bags. "Speaking of which, any idea why he did it?"

"Probably because I didn't give him any reasons to take my status of heiress this loop. So clearly the only rational way to get rid of me was to put me up for adoption." Weiss shook her head. "I'll give him points for ingenuity, I did not see this coming."

"Well, you're free to stay with us for the time being," Ghira added in, stepping off the bullhead. "Blake is currently reorganizing Menagerie and discrediting the White Fang. She should be done by the time we get back."

"Hmm, maybe we could start the Belladonna Dust Initiative and take down SDC economically," Weiss wondered out loud. "I'm sure faunus workers would much prefer to work for a company they know won't exploit them."

"Worth a shot, we'll look into it more when we get home," Ghira agreed. "Should be interesting to try at the very least."

[-]

169.2 (con't) Masterweaver

[-]

It's Heckling Time!

Ruby, already hyper-alert, noticed when her team all adjusted their balance momentarily. She cleared her throat, catching their attention. "Come on guys, you aren't going to let a little turbulence throw you for a loop are you?"

"Just had to get my footing," Weiss replied. "But I'm pretty well anchored now."

"I'm glad you're feeling awake," Blake said with a small grin. "I wouldn't want you stealthing on us."

"Especially not after we're all branching out," Yang finished. "I'm sure Ruby wouldn't mind us expanding our horizons?"

Ruby grinned. "Nope! Always good to have my team with me." She glanced over her shoulder. "ETA 20 minutes to the mine, right?"

"That's right," Harriet replied, crossing her arms and quirking an eyebrow.

"Then it's time for a team RWBY tradition: Pre-mission banter!" Ruby turned back to her team. "Today's topic: What The Heck Is Up With Your Outfit?"

"Would you like to start us off, Yang?" Blake offered with a mischievous smirk.

"Oh you're going to make me say it," Yang deadpanned.

"This is probably the only time she'll let you," Weiss pointed out.

"You're going to make me say it in front of these two," Yang reiterated, gesturing at the now amused operatives.

"Come ooooon," Ruby wheedled, "she's not going to let you get away with not saying it."

"I want to make it clear, while I am a fan of wordplay I am fully aware of Blake's history and I am only saying this because I am being coerced." Yang looked around the airship with a self-deprecating grin. "Everybody got that?"

Marrow rolled his eyes. "Only reason I'm letting it pass is because she's clearly forcing you."

"Okay. Ahem-hrmhmhm..." Yang leaned back and clicked her fingers at Blake with the biggest, toothiest grin she could manage. "Hey babe, that is one sexy catsuit!"

Harriet snorted. "Wow, yeah, that was terrible."

"Yep," Yang agreed. "And now I've been humiliated in front of our new friends."

"Oh don't worry, you already humiliated yourself when you put those coveralls on," Weiss assured her with an evil grin. "I mean, just because you're hot enough to make hideous clothes look adequate doesn't mean you should abandon all sense of taste."

"Yeah, and your sleeves ain't doin' ya any favors either sis," Ruby added. "So business as usual, I suppose."

"Oooo," Harriet said with a cringing smirk, "with burns like that you won't need your aura to keep warm."

"What can I say, I don't whip out the good dresses for any old thing," Yang quipped with a grin.

Blake nodded. "Yeah, but they're still right, that's a pretty terrible outfit."

"Ouch, babe!"

"Just gives me one more reason to tear your clothes off," she continued without missing a beat.

Marrow blinked. "Whoa, wait, hold on-"

"It's fine, they're married," Ruby assured him offhandedly.

"What, seriously? Aren't they a little young for that?"

"It's legal in Florida!"

Weiss facepalmed. "You just had to bring up Florida..."

"Where's Florida?" Harriet inquired.

"Don't ask, trust me."

"Alright, so my threads aren't the best," Yang allowed. "But my hair is as gorgeous as ever-and my sister has apparently become a cockatoo."

"What?!" Ruby cried. "Hey!"

"I mean I know you admire your uncle and all," Blake said, "but you really overcompensated with the hair gel there."

"You want ridiculous hairdos, look at Weiss!" Ruby gestured at her partner. "I swear that braid is a deadly weapon!"

"You're just jealous you can't grow your hair out," Weiss said, tipping up her nose in mock haughtiness.

"Snake wig," Ruby reminded her flatly.

"Oh yeah... that thing." Weiss shrugged. "Well, hair aside, you've got to admit you've downgraded your wardrobe."

"Downgraded?" Ruby put a hand over her chest with wide eyes. "Whatever could you possibly mean?"

"Take away the leather and belts and you've got an outfit that's basic by American standards, plus your cloak and-what is that, is that even a skirt? There's that strap over a gap!"

"Yeah, weird thing-apparently there's a shortage on combat skirts in Atlas due to the embargo, so I had to make do."

"Oh."

"But you want to talk about belts?" Ruby sniped back. "Cause you've got three round your waist! Who needs that many belts?!"

"Yo," Blake offered, holding up a hand.

"Wrist belts are different," Ruby replied, waving it off. "These are three belts on the same place. And you're wearing a waist cincher too!"

"And that gown," Yang added. "What, Weiss, did you just want to be the prettiest huntress at the ball?"

"My vanity knows no bounds," Weiss decreed magnificently, with only the lightest twitch of her lips.

"I might have to like you," Harriet admitted.

"I swear, even with the new hairstyle Blake's the most consistent of us," Ruby admitted.

"Black and white with purple flare, and she's still got her zips," Yang agreed. "Seriously what is with you and zippers?"

"You've got zippers too," Blake pointed out. "And I didn't have them back on Anima!"

"But you do have the flaring coattails," Weiss pointed out. "Why do you always have flaring coattails, anyway?"

Blake smirked. "Yang, why do I always have flaring coattails?"

"It outlines the perfect masterpiece that is your rear end with glorious aplomb."

"Thank you, Yang."

Marrow groaned. "Please tell me you're not going to be flirting this whole time."

"Nah, we're getting it out of our systems now," Blake assured him. "Wouldn't want to be gay disasters while fighting the geist."

"Plus I'm taking notes for when I see Penny again," Ruby added.

Harriet blinked. "Penny?"

"Yep."

"The robot."

"Gynoid, technically."

"You want to flirt with her."

"Have you seen her hair? The most gorgeous polyester locks in the multiverse..." Ruby sighed. "And that cute smile she has..."

"O...kay..." Harriet glanced around the airship, not seeing anyone react to that statement. "...Okay?"

"She's been kind of like this ever since she found out Penny came back from the dead," Weiss explained.

"...And you don't think it's odd she's attracted to...?" Marrow rolled his hand carefully.

"A ginger?"

"...sure. Let's go with that."

Weiss shrugged. "Penny seems decent enough, so I don't have any objections."

"Yeah, as her actual big sister I'd normally be more worried buuuuuuut..." Yang shrugged. "It's Penny. If she's actually dangerous for Ruby, it won't be because of anything she's done."

"I'm a faunus married to a cyborg," Blake pointed out. "Equal rights for all!"

"Ahuh." Marrow looked over the team once more. "Right..."

"LZ in two!" Ruby announced suddenly. "Keep banter on topic from now on, and leave the dreaminess in the ship!"

"Got it!" Yang pulled up a sleeve, freeing her robotic arm. "Ready, snugglebee?"

Blake pulled out her reforged weapon. "Try to keep up, honeysun!"

"When am I going to get a pet name?" Weiss mock complained.

"Snarksicle."

"Touche, Ruby. Touche."

[-]

169.6 DrTempo

[-]

(FiM/RWBY)

A Sparring Match, and Thoughts of the Future

It was another day in Sunset's Dojo, and Sunset herself was meditating. With the new Loopers all over the place, Sunset was wondering what would be next. She heard the door open and turned around, saw Pyrrha Nikos stepping in, and walked over to her with a smile. "As you like to say, Pyrrha, hello again! So, what brings you here?"

Pyrrha smirked. "This is a dojo, so how about a sparring match?"

Sunset chuckled and nodded. "So, what Loopers did you get during the recent incident?" she inquired as the two entered fighting stances.

The casual way Sunset called the most recent crisis a mere incident made Pyrrha chuckle. "Well, Maria was the only Looper we got."

Sunset nodded, recognizing the name. "The woman who once had Silver Eyes, but lost them in a battle, right? As for us, we got three newcomers to the Loops." She took advantage of Pyrrha's shock to land a punch.

"Wow. That's... a surprise. For as long as I can remember, Equestria hasn't had one new Looper. So, who are the newcomers?"

"Well, obviously, Starlight Glimmer. Surprised it look that long, though she activated right before the crisis. The others are Thorax and Flash Sentry, of all people. And I don't mean the one in Equestria."

Pyrrha dodged a kick from Sunset with a grin. "Wow. Wonder when they'll end up in Remnant?"

Sunset shrugged, and started attacking, only for Pyrrha to constantly dodge. "Who knows? And stop dodging!" She tried another kick, and Pyrrha stuck to the wall. Sunset facepalmed. "I forgot that you were once in Peter Parker's shoes. But that was so long ago. Any news on the current baseline expansions?"

Pyrrha grinned at this. "Penny had to leave the Dead Loopers Club."

Sunset looked utterly surprised for a moment, before smiling broadly. "And here I thought she wasn't coming back somehow in baseline. If only the same could be said for you."

Pyrrha frowned as the fight continued.

Eventually, Sunset's superior experience got her the victory., As she helped Pyrrha back up, Sunset tilted her head. "Was what I said bothering you?" At the redhead's nod, Suunset sighed. "Sorry about that, Pyrrha. You didn't deserve to die. But anyhow, I hope things go well in baseline for Ruby and company."

"Me too," Pyrrha agreed. "From what Ruby said, there may be trouble... again. But I can hope."

Sunset's smile redoubled. "Believe in Ruby and her friends. They can do this. At least baseline here in this Loop is complete. Your Loop will likely has a long way to go there. Whatever awaits them in the future, all we can do is hope things turn out alright."

Pyrrha smiled, clearly glad to hear that. "Me too. So, shall we spar again?"

Sunset nodded, and the two reentered their fighting stances.

Pyrrha hoped Sunset was right, but knew that it was up to her friends to handle things in baseline. As for when she was Awake in Remnant, though... Things would never get that bad. She would do all she could to make sure of it.

[-]

169.7 Masterweaver

[-]

The Fabled Discussion

"So, that was an expansion. Anybody got the backups yet?"

Weiss sighed. "No. But I am going to be frustrated when I go looking for them, I just know it."

"Really?" Yang asked.

"We got an outfit change. And knowing how advertising works, those outfits will have been shown off for months by the time the backup hits, even though they didn't exist in our reality until just this last expansion. Which means that the hub inhabitants will have been talking about them during the anticipation period even though they weren't last time because this episode of the backup didn't exist yet-" Weiss rolled a hand. "Chronologistics. It's frustrating sometimes, you know?"

"Oh yeah! I'm going to have to hit the tropes page and see what new memes cropped up."

Ruby laughed, sitting down on Weiss's bed. "Let's put our awesome new wardrobes aside for the moment. What do we think of the Ace Ops so far?"

Blake hummed thoughtfully, sitting down on her own bed. "Definitely a mix of personalities. I'm not sure they'll be able to stick together if things go wrong... and things are definitely going to go wrong."

"Yeah, with Tyrian and... Watts... and Ironwood's own paranoia, frankly." Ruby shook her head as Weiss sat down next to her. "And that's just what we know for certain. The Jacques/Robyn political thing is definitely going to mess with some stuff."

"Hey, we stuck together pretty well," Yang pointed out, taking her place beside her wife. "And we're all incredibly different."

"Mmmyeeeees, but... I don't know." Blake shrugged. "Maybe I'm just being paranoid."

"Are we going to have to watch you grow a beard?" Ruby teased.

Blake leveled a flat look on her. "Okay, biggest example: Marrow Amin."

"Insert obligatory 'cats versus dogs' joke here," Yang said with a grin.

"No, see, that's the thing: He's a walking bundle of dog jokes!" Blake started counting off on her fingers. "Wagging tail. Tsundere attitude-bark worse than his bite. Marrow comes from bone, which dogs chew on. His weapon is a boomerang named Fetch. He's the rookie of the group-the 'team pet.' Enthusiastic and eager, not quite as professional as the rest of the group-Amin, I looked it up, it's an Arabic word that means faithful. Big friendly dog that doesn't seem that smart, right?" She shook her head. "Except he had a pretty in-depth analysis of societal issues."

"I noticed that too, actually," Weiss agreed. "He also seemed a lot more confident during the battle with the Centinels... where it was only him, us, and Harriet, who might not have been focused on his expressions. You think the youthful rookie is a mask?"

"It'd have to be a pretty well-constructed one," Ruby mused. "I didn't notice..."

"It's possible he has ties to the Atlesian White Fang. Not necessarily that he's with them," Blake said quickly, "could have defected like I did. Still... given the timing of everything else, it would make sense for the up-top White Fang in Atlas to invest in a deep-cover agent. They might even still be active-with the CCT down, they wouldn't necessarily know about Adam killing Sienna Khan or my dad dissolving the group."

Weiss sighed. "Well, that will be wonderful if it comes up. I can't even tell if I'm being sarcastic..."

"But hey, whatever else, he's a good range specialist," Ruby pointed out. "The rifle and the boomerang give him different options at a distance, and that semblance of his lets him neutralize any opponents that get near him long enough for a teammate to come in."

Yang shrugged. "Moving on, what about Harriet?"

"Competitive but fair," Weiss said simply. "Earn her respect and you keep it. Earning it, though, takes a bit."

"Definitely observant," Ruby added. "Little miss 'I've seen other speed semblances...'" She crossed her arms with a huff. "We've got enough unsolved mysteries, can't I just call myself a speedster and be done with it?"

Yang looked at her sympathetically. "That's really getting to you, huh?"

"'Oh noooo, I have a strange power, how does it work?'" Ruby tossed up her hands. "It's the friggin' silver eyes all over again!"

"Hey," Blake said with a catlike smirk, "what if you're actually a Floram in baseline?"

"If that turns out to be the case, I will... probably actually find it hilarious, but also be extremely annoyed."

"Why don't you give us combat specs?" Weiss suggested. "For Harriet, I mean?"

Ruby sighed, leaning back more comfortably as she fell into something familiar. "Lighting speed means seriously battlefield mobility, able to divert attention and maneuver around dangerous spots. Fire fists do a lot of damage in a small space, very efficient. Not sure why she doesn't just keep them on at all times during the mission, maybe they interfere with delicate manipulation? Honestly, it seems pretty basic for Remnant weaponry, let alone Atlas tech. All in all, able to get where she's needed and hit hard."

"So, JNPR's guides." Blake shrugged. "Vine and Elm. I actually tracked down the story that's their template-the elm was masculine, and the vine was feminine, and it was a very, ah, old-fashioned morality story about how women should marry men and why."

"What," said Yang.

"Basically, the elm says 'you're pretty and I'm strong, wrap yourself around me to make me prettier and I'll protect you' and the vine says 'I'm fine here on the ground cause I'm awesome,' and then a storm rolls in and the vine says 'actually nope, coming to you now.'"

"So, gender-flipped from the original story." Weiss shrugged. "Can't judge people based on their templates, though. I'm certainly much more proactive then Snow White."

"Yeah, Elm seemed a lot friendlier than that," Ruby agreed. "Very encouraging-and also very gung-ho."

"And muscular," Blake noted.

"What," said Yang for a very different reason.

Blake looked at her with a devilish smirk. "Muscular. Bare arm. Tall. Powerful voice."

"You," Yang growled in a way that wasn't entirely aggressive, "are going to be paying for that tonight."

"Did my dragon get a little jealous?" Blake leaned in closer. "Because I could stand a little fire..."

"See, I'm torn between 'I'm happy that you are channeling this into a positive portion of your relationship' and 'ew sex ew you're my sister ew please don't flirt in front of me.'" Ruby shrugged. "It's a complicated emotion."

Weiss hummed thoughtfully.

"Fortunately I do have a convenient distraction in the form of assessing Elm's combat abilities. Ahem: Her rooting semblance is enough to make her a brick wall, and her hammer... well, I didn't get a good view of it folded up, but I think it could double as a jetpack? At least if those rockets work... and they'd make hammer swings have more force behind them, and there's a knife on the other end of the handle. Lots of smash, stable grounding... Elm's good for claiming and keeping a spot. Maybe the defense specialist of the group."

"And Vine?"

Ruby frowned. "Vine... he had that chakram on his back, but he never used it as far as I could see. But then again, with his semblance, the stretchy arm thing? That's a lot of mobility and battlefield control on its own. Probably not one to do any of the killing, but sets up others for the kill. He... miiiiight be the most team-oriented of the bunch, if I'm honest."

"Personality-wise, he's very mellow," Weiss noted. "He seemed to be the analyst of the group. Noted the dangers, but focused on the mission. Hard to get a read on him this early."

"And Clover?" Ruby prompted.

"...Confident," Weiss said. "Certainly has the skills to back it up. I don't think he ever considered the possibility of failure."

"Yeah, something about Clover... I don't know." Yang shook her head. "I was watching him, and... sure, he pulled off that stunt right at the end, dragged the Geist out of its body but... he seems too smooth, if that makes sense. I don't... dislike the guy, but something about him just makes me wonder if he's entirely-"

"His semblance is good fortune," Blake said.

"...You sure?"

"Not completely." She shook her head. "But there was the quip Qrow gave him when things were over. 'Lucky catch.' And he's covered in good luck charms... and he got paired up with Qrow, whose own semblance brings misfortune..."

"...that could do it," Yang admitted. "If he's never had to really endure anything bad, he might just be confident and unable to completely understand those of us who've... suffered."

"We'll keep a close eye on him for the next few expansions," Weiss promised. "Ruby, what are your thoughts?"

"Environmental manipulator," Ruby replied simply. "That fishing pole lets him either move around or move other things around, and he's skilled enough with it to pull a geist out of its body. If his semblance really is good fortune... yeah, suddenly his position makes a lot more sense."

"So... overall, the Ace Ops are crack specialists that seem to be focused on the job," Weiss summarized.

"...and not each other," Blake murmured. "Though that's speculation at this point."

"Okay, so serious question." Yang leaned forward. "What do we think of their fashion sense?"

"Personalized adjustments to a basic uniform," Weiss pointed out. "Not bad, but they only really have a sense of identity when they stand next to each other."

[-]

169.8 SAXiao

[-]

Orksanity 101 - WHY DA RED 'UNZ ARE FASTAH!

(RWBY/WH40K/FSN)

So the greenskin attempted to hide in the pools of destruction? The Emperor held back a chuckle, remembering how Gabriel Angelos recounted how a member of the same group of orks attempted to hide in the lava pools of Cyrene.

"Yep," Yang replied, slamming back a stein of one of the Multiverse's varieties of beer, and finishing the entire concoction in one dredge. "...fiery," was her only reply, a suitable response for the poison otherwise known as Dragonfire Whiskey.

"The worst was when he began to break into an explanation of why Ruby should be the fastest," Weiss responded, her Jedi training keeping her head-splitting headache from overwhelming her. "By all rational means, none of what he says should've made sense... but it did!"

"The resulting sonic boom cleaved a new trench through the Vacuan desert, temporarily disrupted the floating islands of Lake Matsu, buffeted Atlas, and otherwise was felt across all of Remnant," Blake supplied. "All because they believed the red ones were the fastest..."

Some number of Loops back...

"One o' da rules of da waagh!" Brikkfist was explaining to the young huntresses in training, "is dat da red 'uns are always da fastest!"

"But why?" Weiss was struggling to understand why red would go the fastest. Sure, she understood the near-unlimited power of the WAAAAAGH!, but it still seemed impossible from any other rational standpoint.

"Let me shows ya!" Brikkfist picked up two coins, looted from one of Junior's men. "Sees da bits?" He then drops both of them, and they hit the ground at about the same time. The four girls nodded back, acknowledging that the coins did fall at the same time.

"Nows, we's a see when one of da bits is red!" Brikkfist called over to one of the boys, politely ("YOU! YAS YOU! WIPE DAT TOOFY GRIN OFF YER FACE, AND GET ME DA PAINT FROM MISTA NAILBRAIN!") asking for red paint. When the stormboy returned with the paint, Brikkfist slathered the paint all over one of the coins, and then repeated his demonstration from before. Naturally, the red coin fell faster this time.

"But how-"

Weiss was cut off with an excited Ruby hopping over to Brikkfist. "Ooo, does that mean I can go faster?"

"Well duhs, you squig-brained humie!" Brikkfist pointed to a far-off banner that was being erected by some snotlings in the distance, away from the main settlement. "Go 'heads 'n' race to dat pole over dere! I'll even race ya, and show yous lot why da orks is da best!" Being brutally cunning, Brikkfist took off with his rokkit pack, blasting his way towards said pole and leaving the girls in the smoke.

"Hey! Get back over here!" Ruby activated her Semblance, and tore through the desert, her red cape causing the local Ork mindset to believe that she was da fastest!

Back at the bar...

The Emperor lost all his composure, and was too busy laughing at Ruby's embarrassment, even as Rin shouted out "SEE!", feeling vindicated at not being the only one to be subjected to Orksanity. Shirou, Sakura, Saber, and Rider were busy trying to keep Rin from joining heads with the similarly traumatized Weiss, who was also being held back by her own team.

At another table, the Kaptin downed a tankard of squig juice, and smirked. Just as planned.

[-]

169.2 (con't) Masterweaver

[-]

Another Heavy Landing

Four sets of very different boots hit the snow-covered ground one after the other, soon joined by two pairs of fancy blue shoes.

"Boomerang surfing," Weiss noted approvingly. "Elegant and efficient."

Marrow caught his weapon on the return, chuckling as he flipped it back into its rifle mode. "Well, they don't let just anybody become part of the Ace Operatives."

Harriet smiled wryly. "Yeah, my weapon isn't really suited for landing strategies. I mean I can tank the hit, but I do better after I get in contact with the ground."

"Huh." Ruby glanced over the metal and wires attached to her back. "...you know, I could tweak it so that your fist coverings work as a jet pack while retracted. It'd be a bit heavier and might need more dust, but extra mobility makes for punches from unexpected angles."

That got an amused huff from the woman, one that grew thoughtful as her purple eyes fell on Crescent Rose. "...maybe later, kid. Let's get this done first." She turned, heading toward the mine and putting a finger to her ear. "This is Bravo Squad. LZ clear, proceeding to the entryway..."

"I want to like her," Yang admitted cheerfully. "Seems like she could be a feisty one-you know, underneath that Atlesian 'all-business' formality."

"You just want another puncher," Blake quipped with a grin.

"Brawlers are a dying breed in gun-based worlds."

Blake rolled her eyes, before turning to Ruby. "So... what should we expect?"

"No idea," Ruby admitted, following after the two Ace Operatives. "First time through this expansion."

Weiss quirked an eyebrow. "And all four of us are Awake?"

"Well, you three only just Woke Up now. I've been Awake since the day after we arrived in Mantle and Ironwood briefed us." Ruby shrugged. "Oscar actually called me out for... keeping secrets."

The other three exchanged worried looks.

"I can hear you exchanging worried looks," Ruby deadpanned.

"Curse your ability to interpret silence," Yang offered, her joking tone half-hearted.

Weiss put a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "You know why you made that decision. And... and even if it bites us, we'll adapt."

"You think it was the right choice?"

"I think there was no right choice in that situation, but it was the best of a bundle of bad options."

Ruby hummed contemplatively, offering a conceding shrug.

"This is Charlie Squad," Vine's voice said over the comms. "We've landed and are entering the ice tunnels now."

"Think anybody else is Awake?" Yang asked.

"They'd have to have Woken up right now," Ruby replied. "So... maybe."

Clover's voice came through the comms suddenly. "This is Alpha Squad. LZ's clear, proceeding on foot. You've all got fancy new Scrolls, so don't forget to use 'em. Keep your eyes and ears open. I want an update if you encounter the target. Alpha out."

"Huh." Blake pulled out the tiny white plastic bar, flipping on the holographic screen. "That's an upgrade. The hard-light's not contained in a pane anymore."

"Showing off," Weiss replied dismissively. "Smaller for more space, easier to lose. Good first step toward HUD eyepieces though."

"...So." Yang cleared her throat as they entered the cavern. "How do we want to play this? It's a null loop, our first time through, but..."

"It's our shakedown mission," Ruby pointed out. "Ace Ops are going to be reviewing our abilities with each other and their superiors after the fact." She looked around at the grey stone, eyes narrowing. "Show off if you want, but keep an eye on them. Nobody dies today if we can help it."

[-]

169.9 Masterweaver

[-]

Weiss has all the fancy toys

Ruby pinched her brow. "Weiss, do I want to know why you have a VF-19F?"

"I looped into the Macross universe and made a few purchases," Weiss explained casually. "Where did you think I got the parts for my mech mansion project, Gundam?"

"I could understand a few Valkyries but this is an Excalibur. An Excalibur! That's one of the rare ones!"

"I do generally tend to loop into other worlds as somebody rather wealthy. Not guaranteed, of course-and I did make sure my purchases wouldn't put others in danger."

"Weiss, this is a high-end expert-rated nigh-experimental Variable Fighter, and you have given it to an old blind woman for a joyride across Vale."

Weiss quirked a brow. "Maria is a very talented pilot."

"SHE'S IN A MECHA THAT TURNS INTO AN AIRPLANE!"

"And I'm keeping an eye on the situation."

Ruby replied with an infuriated sound that clearly wanted to be a snarl but came across more as a deranged squeak, clenching her fists and storming away.

"Methinks somebody is jealous," quipped a voice over the radio.

"A little bit, perhaps," Weiss allowed. "She really wanted to be the one to have the most fun with you."

"Well, I'll see what I can do with her later. Oh my, is that a flock of Nevermores?"

"It does appear to be. Perhaps you'd like to test your mettle?"

"I was getting a little bored stomping on Ursas..."

[-]

169.10 Masterweaver

[-]

Family Is What We Make It

Penny stuck her head into the dorm, and paused at all the odd looks she was getting. "Is this a bad time? Only I've been loopy for a while and..."

"I'm sorry, who are you?" asked Yang.

"That's Penny, she's my girlfriend," Ruby explained, standing up. "Hey, sorry, I got dragged down by my homework-heavy as an anchor, you know?"

"Oh, I know the feeling. Uh, look, can we talk in private?"

"Since when did you have a girlfriend?" Yang demanded.

"Since forever," Ruby replied. "She just lives up in Atlas so it's kind of a long-distance relationship."

"I'm here for the tournament," Penny added. "And also to hug my widdle-fighty-rosey-snuggly-flowerboo," she added as a casual afterthought.

"What," said Yang.

"Yeah, does anybody mind if I talk with my squeezy-combat-steely-cuddly-moemachine?" Ruby asked in a totally level tone.

"Seriously, what," Yang said again.

"Hey, if you can get a girlfriend I can get one too."

"I don't have a girlfriend!"

"What are you talking about, she's sitting right next to you!"

Blake, who was sitting right next to Yang, jumped in surprise. "Wha-no, Ruby, we're not dating."

"U-huh, sure, and Weiss is a deep-cover White Fang agent."

"I could be," Weiss offered blandly, not looking up from her scroll.

"No you couldn't," Blake stated flatly.

"Um..." Penny cleared her throat. "I am enjoying the banter, but, you know..."

"Right, right, sorry." Ruby shrugged, walking out of the room. "Seriously, Yang, I'll explain later. As long as you and Blake stop hiding your relationship. Honestly, it's as plain as the ears on her head."

Blake doubletaked as she shut the door. "Wait how-what are you-?!"

"They are rather obvious," Weiss informed her casually. "Well, the bow does a good job hiding them, but only when they don't twitch."

"Hold on, ears?"

"Yes." Weiss looked at Yang flatly. "Ears. Blake is a cat faunus. You're dating her, shouldn't you know this?"

"I'm not dating her!"

"Oh please, I've seen how you two look at each other." Weiss looked took in their disbelieving expressions and let out an exaggerated sigh. "Fine, if you want to keep it secret, I won't press the issue..."

"So," said Ruby as she started walking down the hall, "what did you want to talk about?"

"Well... I caught the backup for the last expansion."

"Really?"

"Got them off Jenny Wakeman during a Phantasy Star loop."

"Nobody did anything... bad, did they?"

Penny hemmed a bit. "Well, the Ace Ops were... not disrespectful, but very much 'oh you kids' in their treatment of you guys. Tyrian had a scene at the end where... he killed Forest, that guy in the truck?"

Ruby sighed. "Every time we get expansions, somebody dies..."

"Yeah, well... that's... not actually what I wanted to talk to you about. It's important, don't get me wrong, but-"

"Is this about Oscar?" Ruby said. "Did he talk to me about the Relic in baseline?"

"Well, he did, but that's..." Penny took a breath. "Ruby. I know how important Crescent Rose is to you. But, in the backups, my father modified her. I... I just want to know if you're okay with that."

Ruby blinked for a moment. "You're... actually worried about that?"

"A little bit, yeah."

"Okay." Ruby nodded. "Okay, so... on the one hand, yeah, I would be a little hesitant to hand my baby girl off to a complete stranger. But Pietro, he's not a complete stranger. He made Maria's goggles, he made Yang's arm..." She took Penny's shoulder with a gentle smile. "He made you. He's part of the family, even if he's not looping."

Penny smiled back. "Thanks. I... I wouldn't want to get caught between the two of you."

"And I will never make you make that choice. No matter what baseline throws at us."

A bit of squeak was the only warning Ruby got before she was suddenly wrapped in a tight pair of steel arms. "You... you're the best, Ruby. I love you."

Ruby hugged Penny just as tightly. "I love you too, Penny. I love you too."

The two of them stayed in each other's embrace for a minute or two.

"And, you know, the little trick he taught my girl is awesome," Ruby finally admitted, pushing back with a small grin. "Plus what he did for everyone else! I've got a feeling Crescent Rose is going to surprise me a lot in the upcoming expansions."

"Yeah, she might at that." Penny giggled. "So... not just speed, huh?"

Ruby crossed her arms with a huff. "Oh, don't even. The tree decides my life isn't interesting enough, so we get another random thing thrown in?"

"I know, I know," Penny assured her with a grin. "Still, you've got to be a little curious..."

[-]

169.11 Awesomedude17

[-]

Because Subtlety from Yang is a Surprise

Way back near the beginning

"Hey, want a Kit-Kat?" Yang asked, "Dark chocolate."

Blake shrugged as she took the chocolate bar.

Now

Blake's ears twitched all of a sudden.

"Something up, Blake?" Yang asked.

"Kit-Kat. You remember that time?"

"Uh... not really. Why'd you ask?"

"Because I think you were being subtle about your puns there. Back when we started off. Remember?"

"Blake, if I wanted to pun about your kitty ears, I'd be way less subtle."

Way back near the beginning, again

Yang snickered as Blake bit into the confection. It'd take Blake a while to figure this out.

[-]

169.2 (con't) Masterweaver

[-]

Contemplating Complacency

"Soooooo..." Yang cleared her throat. "Seriously though..." She nudged Blake, glancing at her hair significantly.

"Probably loop variable," Blake said quietly. "But... this loop, I didn't start growing my hair out until after my parents left the Fang."

"Oh. Yeah, that makes sense..."

"It's not... bad, is it?"

"No of course not! It's great, really!"

"I thought you told them to leave their dreaminess back on the ship," Marrow quipped to Ruby.

"They're still walking and looking around," Ruby replied, not even looking back. "Don't worry, they won't make out until we secure the mine."

"Consummate professionals, and professionals at consummating," Weiss agreed offhandedly. She glanced ahead and sighed. "And of course..."

"Alpha here. Give me an update."

"The connecting ice tunnels seem clear. We should be approaching the actual mine any minute now."

Team RWBY looked over the rocks in front of them as Harriet activated her communicator. "Bravo checking in. Hit a bit of a snag. There's been a cave-in in the main entrance. Not sure if it's recent or was caused by the original accident... either way, we'll have to do a little problem-solving."

"Understood. Let us know if you need anything."

"Did they mention an accident in the briefing?" Yang murmured to Ruby.

"They said the mine was abandoned," Ruby replied, shaking her head. "Didn't say why."

Blake inhaled sharply. "I just... checked my loop memories..."

"Me too," Weiss muttered. "...Ilia?"

"Yeah."

"...I am so sorry. I wish..." Weiss sighed. "I wish I'd been more proactive. The exploitation and abuse... if I'd spoken up when I was younger-"

"Jacques would have had you shipped off to a boarding school," Blake said flatly. Her expression softened. "But... I appreciate the sentiment."

"This society is set up for faunus to be at the bottom, and humans are willing participants," Marrow said as he approached. "They benefit from doing nothing to help us, but there are still those who actively abuse us... Anyway, I didn't come over here looking to solve systemic societal issues."

"He said, to the Schnee ex-heiress and the princess of Menagerie," Weiss deadpanned.

"Not a princess," Blake objected, with a small grin.

Marrow quirked an eyebrow.

"My dad's the chieftain of Kuo Kuana," Blake explained.

"...Huh. Well, anyway, Harriet found a gap in the rubble we think one of you could fit through. Ideally someone with a knack for seeing in the dark...?"

"Alright, alright. I'll keep my ears open."

Yang gave her a significant look as she walked past, one she returned with a sad smile and a shrug. The two of them walked together toward the wall, Yang giving her a gentle pat on the shoulder before she entered a gap in the stone.

"...Hey, Harriet?"

"What's up kid?"

"We just found out there might be old friends here," Yang explained quietly. "I'm pretty sure there's going to be a crew clearing things out after we're done, if they find any bodies..."

Harriet hummed thoughtfully. "Who are you looking for?"

"The Amitolas," Ruby said softly. "Their daughter's a chameleon faunus. I... don't know if they'd be recognizable, but..."

"I'll pass it up the chain," the woman assured them. "No promises, though."

[-]

169.12 masterofgames

[-]

She Brought It On Herself

Weiss unlocked the dorm room and slipped her scroll into her pocket as she opened the door.

What was waiting for her inside the room, was enough to halt her after a single step.

"Ruby, do I even want to know?" she sighed.

Ruby, meanwhile, was suspended in what seemed to be a web covering the entire room and everything in it, made out of tangled gravity bolas. "Weiss! Oh thank goodness! Someone left all these cool looking gadgets on the floor, and I poked one to see what it was, but then they all went off and now I can't move! Can you cut me down or something? My shoulder was not meant to bend this way, and I'd really like to be right side up again!"

Weiss just stood there, blinking.

Ruby growled as she struggled, straining against the chords with a sharp yank, the pull causing a still compact bola to drop from a perch made of crossed lines. The bola hit the floor, and then bounced back up, rapidly unwinding and twirling around Ruby's face. "AH! Weiss! Help! They fight back! I can't see! SAVE ME!" she yelped, only growing more tangled as she panicked.

Weiss slowly backed out of the room and closed the door. One deep breath later, she turned straight around, walked across the hall, and knocked on team JNPR's door. A moment later, Pyrrha opened the door and stuck her head out. "Yes?"

"MUST you prank yourself every time you wake up as somebody else?" Weiss glared.

'Pyrrha' huffed. "I don't do it EVERY time! Just most of the time!"

Weiss let her single raised eyebrow do the talking for her.

A moment passed, then Ruby sighed and hung Pyrrha's head. "... It's the one person I almost never get to see react to weird stuff." she admitted. "Plus, blackmail on yourself is worth a fortune when loopers trade things."

[-]

169.13 BIOS-Pherecydes

[-]

Important Haircut

Blake stood in front of the mirror in the Team RWBY dormroom at Beacon. She'd just gone through the Expansion, and while a number of things of note had happened, one in particular had stood out to her; for purely personal reasons.

In front of her, the image in the mirror shifted from her usual long hair, to a shorter bob, then back again. Switch. Short. Switch. Long.

Switch. Switch. Switch. Switch. Switch.

"On the one hand, I kind of like the new style. But on the other, I've spent so long with the old one that it's... actually really jarring to see myself with short hair."

Yang shrugged from where she sat watching her wife. "You look great either way."

Blake smiled slightly, but didn't turn away from her reflection. "No, no. I get that. I'm not saying it's a bad change, it's just... unexpected. And maybe kind of dysmorphic? Is that the right word? Like, I almost don't recognize myself. What does it say about me, that something as simple as a haircut can make me feel so... out of place I guess."

Yang frowned, and gave the idea some actual thought. "It makes sense in a way I think. I mean, you've had the same hairstyle for something like a quadrillion years. And, okay, sure, we've had Variants and Fused Loops where you had entirely different biologies or physical appearances, but this is a Baseline change. And that's... more real I think. It hits harder is what I'm saying. Like, when Weiss found out about what Atlas was really like. Sure, there'd been bad Loops before, but when it became part of the Baseline it really hurt her. So, this," she waved her hand vaguely at where Blake still stood changing her hairstyle back and forth, though also watching Yang from the mirror, "is kinda similar. I mean, maybe not quite as serious as finding out your home is on the fast-track to being a 1984 ripoff, but sorta the same thing; just, you know, smaller scale."

"Not that I'm saying you don't have every right to be upset of course," she followed up hastily.

Blake gave a quick chuckle. "I'm not really upset I don't think. It's... a change." She sighed, before settling on the new style. "Not necessarily a bad one, but one I'll definitely have to get used to."

"So you're gonna stick with that one?"

"For now. At least until it doesn't feel like I'm looking at a stranger wearing my face every time I see myself in a mirror. After that, I'll probably just stick with whatever I start out with when I Wake Up for any given Loop."

"Sounds good to me. And, hey, Longhair Curl or Exotic Shorthair, either way you're still one sexy kitty."

It took a second for the words to register, but when they did, Blake immediately buried her hands in her face. "Just for that, you're sleeping in your own bunk for the rest of the Loop."

Yang grimaced, but shrugged it off. "Worth it."

[-]

169.14 SAXiao

[-]

Orksanity 102 - Da Koncept of Bein' DED KILLY

(RWBY/WH40K/FSN/IS)

"LESSUN 102!" Brikkfist yelled at the collective "class" which consisted of:

teams RWBY and JNPR;

Ozpin's looping inner circle, as a supervisory concession;

A Raven tied and gagged to a bosspole (and still raging about it);

Visiting loopers from the Nasuverse (Shirou, Rin, Sakura, Saber, and Gilgamesh, tied and gagged to another bosspole);

The Stratos harem (Ichika, Houki, Cecilia, Lingyin, Charlotte, Laura);

And an unfortunate guest in Commissar Yarrick, who was also tied and gagged to another bosspole.

"... are these lessons supposed to help us?" Both Ichika and Jaune asked, to which Brikkfist picked up a brick and chucked it at both of them. Jaune, owing to his training, blocked the blow with his shield, whereas poor Ichika wasn't nearly as fast, and took a face full of brick.

"OF COURSE, YA GITS!"

As the Stratos girls immediately crowded over Ichika's fallen form (and subsequently arguing on who had the first 'right' to give him CPR), Brikkfist held up Raven's looted odachi for everyone to see. "SEE! Dis iz a choppa! It's sharps 'n' slashes, 'n' iz overalls killy! Dis one's a wee' bit undersized, and ain't roight 'n' proppa Orky," he finished, causing Yang to snicker and a few of the guys, plus Raven, to begin blushing, either in embarrassment or in rage.

Brikkfist then picked up a well-used and cobbled together axe, and held it aloft for all to see. "NOW DIS 'ERE IS ROIGHT 'n' PROPPA! DIS 'ERE IS A TRUE CHOPPA!" To demonstrate his point, he axed the "desk" in front of him, making Sakura and Rin jump back and yelp, as Brikkfist grinned. "Now dat's ded killy."

"Does this count?" Ruby stood up, and unfolded Crescent Rose.

Brikkfist's eyes widened. "Now dat's ded killy! Finally, a 'umie dat knows 'bout choppy!" He gazed about, eyeing the rest of the 'class'. "POP QUIZ! Who 'eres gots 'em anotha proppa choppa?!"

Unsurprisingly, Ruby and Qrow had the best examples from Remnant, and Shirou cheated with Unlimited Blade Works, to which Brikkfist gave him "bonus marks" for being a "ded killy weirdboy". The crew from the Stratos loop also "passed", with the exceptions of Cecilia and Laura, for which Cecilia didn't have any close-range weaponry ("YOU CAN'T ALL BE JUST SHOOTY, YA YELLOW GIT!") and Laura only possessing the Schwarzer Regen's daggers ("DIS 'ERES AN EMBARRASSMENT TA ALL DAT IZ ROIGHT 'n' CHOPPY!").

"Now, for dos' o's ya wit da proppa' choppy... WAAAGH!" Brikkfist pulled out his axe and charged at those who were hallmarked as being 'proppa choppy'. Ruby, Qrow, and Shirou immediately had their weapons prepared, while the Stratos loopers had their units donned, and the classroom ended up becoming open air.

"Please... no more..." Ichika huffed as he caught his breath. Ren tossed him a bottle of water, and Ichika caught it, nodding his gratefulness at Ren, and slumped against a nearby pole to down the bottle.

"And I thought Orimura-sensei was rough," Houki mentioned, as she was rubbing salve over her bruises. The IS users learned that day that regardless of the ADS, Orks still hurt. The fighting was brutal and intense, and only came to a halt when Charlotte hit Brikkfist with her pile bunker, sending him flying to the other end of the Vacuan desert.

"Ois, you lot!" With Brikkfist "indisposed", Mister Nailbrain would continue the lesson. "We's now going to bein' shooty! Shooty means more dakka! More dakka means more shooty, 'n' more shooty means more killy!" He hefted Coco's minigun onto the remnants of the 'teachuz's desk', and had its muzzles pointed towards the rest of the class, causing everyone to try to squirm out of the way. "Dis baby 'ere's all dakka! She's killy! Now, which of ya gits has da bestest shooty?!"

"... why does this part make sense?" Rin mumbled to herself, the girl's brain slowly cooking from the counterlogic being forced through it. Sakura and Saber looked at her with concern, as they swore that her brain was beginning to smoke from her ears.

"To tests the shooty, y'all gets targets!" Mister Nailbrain led the "students" outside the settlement to a makeshift firing range, to which they were introduced to chained up snotlings. Everyone paled, realizing that they were going to be doing less target practice, and more executions.

"Mister Nailbrain, I understand that live practice is better than static shooting, but shooting at other sentients..." Ozpin began to speak up, but was outspoken by Mister Nailbrain's deffgun firing at the terrified snotlings.

"NOWS DON'T BE SHY! ORKS WERE MADES FER FIGHTIN'!"

"I have a better suggestion," offered Weiss, and she summoned up copies of all the orks she's slain across the multiverse.

"Ooo... smarts weirdboy- er, weirdgal git!" Everyone took a collective breath of relief as Weiss' copies lined up where the snotlings were, and the snotlings were released... only to be eaten by nearly squig hounds.

The Remnant loopers, minus Jaune, were well prepared for shooting, and they all had their weapons to fire. Bonus points went to Nora for her grenades, which contributed to expanding the firing range a bit.

None of the Nasuverse loopers utilized firearms, with Saber voicing her obvious disgust with them, having partnered with Kiritsugu in the 4th war and wanting nothing to remotely do with his methods. Rin, however, used a finger gun and fired her gandr shots at the targets, causing her to be labelled as 'another weirdgal git', a title she wanted nothing to do with, much to the snickers of some of the others involved.

Where Cecilia and Laura failed in the last session, they made up for in the shooty portion, with the Blue Tears and Schwarzer Regen scoring top points for being shooty. Nora's eyes went wide as the Schwarzer Regen's railgun enlarged the already expansive crater left behind by Magnhild, and every Ork within earshot cheering at the sheer destruction caused by the weapon, making Laura blush from all the attention directed her way.

"Nows ya runts 'r' gettin' da koncept of bein' ded killy 'n' proppa Orky," Kaptin Bluddflagg started, "but dere's one fing that da otha squig-brained grots forgot ta mentions." He picked Jaune up, and pinned him to a target board.

"See, dis 'umie 'ere has dat fing called armor. Derefor, he's 'ard." Yang began laughing out loud, even as the others joined in, with Pyrrha and Jaune madly blushing at such innuendo. Kaptin Bluddflagg, the concept of sex being completely foreign and useless to Orks, continued on anyways. "Dat means dat tho' y'all might be ded killy, if he's ded 'ard, den he's survived even da 'ardest krumpin'! LIKES DIS!"

Without warning, he took his big choppa, and struck Jaune in the midsection with it at full strength. Pyrrha screamed, and everyone followed shortly after her, all believing they just witnessed someone getting cut in half. "OI, WHY YA GITS SCREAMIN' LIKE DA PAINBOSS IZ 'ERE?! SEES! HE'S FINE BECUZ HE'S DED 'ARD!" Proving his point, Bluddflagg picked up Jaune and tossed him back to Pyrrha. True to his word, Jaune was unscratched, minus a scratch in his armor, and him having passed out from fear.

"And dat be lessun 102 for y'all! Now leaves me be! I'm a fight da skinny goldie ova dere!" He pointed to Gilgamesh, who was by now incensed with being called anything less than majestic.

"Note to self - all Orks are in possession of reality marbles," Rin uttered to herself. No-one even bothered to stop her.

It seems that the beasts found a home in Remnant, the Emperor concluded.

Ruby sadly nodded her head, even as she sat on the steps of the Golden Throne. "For me, it's merely annoying. Although, I fear that their gestalt field may be causing... issues for my teammates' sanity," she replied, even as she tossed another screw down the steps of the Throne, with a techpriest at the bottom scrambling to chase it.

The Emperor sighed. That cannot be helped, unfortunately. Orks have a way of screwing with wherever they go - even the Chaos Gods are not immune to the inanity that is the Ork WAAAGH.

In another loop, a bar loop, Weiss and Rin welcomed another guest to their table to commiserate with.

"Stupid Orks, stupid Ork logic," Cecilia concluded, as they all toasted to the blasting of their sanity constructs, and drank.

[-]

169.2 (con't) Masterweaver

[-]

Does it count as an ambush if you call it?

"And it does go all the way through," Blake murmured, drawing Gamble Shroud. "Lucky us."

"All right, Blake," Marrow said over the communications. "Take a look around. Is there any Dust in the immediate area?"

Blake flipped her weapon to its firing mode-her eyes darting to the yellow bar of the reforged blade with a small smile, before rising again. "Minecarts and debris... no Dust I can see though."

"Great, then it should be safe to blast our way through."

"Just be careful of triggering another-CONTACT!" Blake sprung back, leaving a clone to take the clawed slash of the massive Geist that swooped out at her, firing at it rapidly. "Branches, it's bigger than Yatsuhashi!"

"Damn it-Blake, stand back!"

The wall behind Blake shattered in an explosion. Blake quickly jumped to the side, still firing at the Geist as the rest of her team came rushing through. The moment the Geist caught sight of them, it retreated deeper into a tunnel that curved into brightness. Yang shot a brief worried glance at Blake, who gave her an amused smirk and a quirked brow in reply, before rushing forward.

"Careful!" Ruby warned as they ran. "It's probably set up a trap!"

A black and white form burst out of the ground in front of them, exoskeletal segments spinning like a drill as the Geist disappeared down another turn in the tunnel.

"Or an ambush," Ruby conceded, "ambushes work too."

The centipede-like Grimm tried to lunge at Yang, only to receive an explosion to its eyeless face. The blond ignored the green blood dripping from its fangs to grab its bladed head tendrils and heave the whole thing out of its hole; Weiss sliced it in half as she skated by on a glyph, and Blake flicked Gambol Shroud to full extension to decapitate it in passing, leaving Yang's hands free to take up a firing position behind them. Weiss frowned for a moment, pinning an emerging Grimm midsection with a Dust-formed icicle; Blake cut it free, watched the forward half scuttle for half a second, and sliced off its head with a second swing.

"Decapitation required," she noted.

"Frustrating," Weiss agreed, "but we can cope."

Ruby twirled forward with her semblance as more centipede Grimm burst from the grounds, the walls, the ceiling, Crescent Rose hooking half of them and tugging them out into the open. Before they could recover she pulled a hidden switch, which caused the scythe blade to rotate a full one-eighty and let her reverse her swing in a four-way decapitation; she released the switch and twirled her baby girl into the underbelly of one of the remaining Grimm just as her head came back into alignment, letting her rifle sing death to the demons down the line.

She was forced to twist her rifle slightly when Marrow lept in front of her, blasting down a couple of the Grimm before shifting his rifle into its bladed boomerang. Weiss slid next to him as the weapon spun down the tunnel, slicing the head off two of the Grimm before returning to his hand just in time for him to smash it into a third centipede lunging at him. The moment the boomerang shifted back to a rifle, Weiss left his side with a glyph; the swing she used to decapitate the next Grimm was punctuated with a light snap back at its climax, one which Ruby knew all too well. Her partner was irritated that somebody had risked their life to show off without warning anyone, again.

Ruby rolled her eyes, glancing behind her. Harriet was literally zipping around the tunnel, her burn-Dust equipped fist coverings blowing apart head after head of their opponent. Yang noticed Ruby's look and winked, pulling her fist back-and the micromines she had apparently punched onto the centipede Grimm threatening her exploded, setting them to dust easily. Ruby gave her sister a one-shouldered shrug and a grin, turning her attention back to the front in time to see Blake twirl Gambol Shroud on its ribbon, slicing off four heads in a complex display of dexterity.

"Hey, do these things have a name?" she asked as she sniped another bone-white head into stygian chunks.

"Centinels!" Harriet shouted as she zipped past.

"Kay!" Ruby tapped her communicator. "This is Bravo, we found the target but it fled deeper into the mine. Led us into a Centinal ambush, likely to have set up similar traps and ambushes around!"

"That's my job!"

"You're busy, reprimand me later!"

A pair of Centinels (and it felt good to finally have a name for the darned things) suddenly lept into the air, spiraling around each other as they charged toward the group. Marrow smirked, stepped forward, and snapped his fingers.

"Stay."

And with that single word, the Grimm slowed to a stop. Harriet zipped in front of them trailing lightning, brushed her nose with her thumb, and smashed their heads into the ground with a loud crunch.

"Interesting semblance," Weiss noted.

"Interesting, nothing." Ruby shot one of the remaining Centinels and watched Harriet dispatch the last one, before pulling her scythe out of the ground. "That's one of the most dangerous semblances I've seen, and I have seen plenty."

Marrow looked between them, somewhat baffled. "What do you mean?"

"I mean you froze your enemies in midair with a snap of your fingers. A restraint like that is hard to counter." She eyed his weapon thoughtfully. "Couple that with... what did you say your weapon was called?"

"Fetch."

"That..." Ruby blinked. "You... named the boomerang Fetch." She dragged her hand down her face. "Dog faunus with a boomerang named Fetch. And your name is Marrow. Like bone marrow... are you deliberately trying to get people to underestimate you?"

Marrow paused. "That's... a new one," he admitted. "Most people react a lot differently."

Harriet walked up to them, folding up her fist coverings. "Hey, can we have this talk while moving?"

"Of course." Ruby nodded to Yang as she joined the rest of the group. "Thanks for watching our rear, sis."

"Not a prob. And hey, we got to see another speedster fight!"

Harriet quirked her brow. "Another?"

"My semblance is speed," Ruby explained. "Rose petals instead of lightning, though. Hey, sorry about taking comms while you were fighting, you are the senior officer here and-"

"You were warning the other squads," Harriet replied with a shrug. "And you were professional about it, so... just don't let it happen again."

"Right." Ruby quirked an eyebrow at Weiss, who hummed and waggled a hand. "So that's twelve centinels for me."

"Nine," Blake reported casually.

"Eight," Yang said despondently, "but they were all going for you guys."

"Thirteen," Weiss declared confidently.

"Ten," Marrow admitted.

"...Fifteen," Harriet said with a smirk.

Yang laughed. "Talk about lightning bruiser!"

[-]

169.15 Masterweaver

[-]

Sometimes Things Don't Go As Planned

Ruby managed to take a breath, turn to her partner, and put her hands on her hips in one single exasperated motion.

"This... is actually an intriguing reversal," Weiss admitted. "Usually I'm the one doing this to you."

The slow, dramatic ascent of Ruby's left eyebrow was punctuated by an explosion of sparks and flame.

"...I will admit I was not prepared for the situation to go this poorly," Weiss conceded. "I can handle clean-up, but replacement..."

"I've got a replacement," Ruby informed her in an unamused tone.

"You do?"

"Chibis are working on rewiring it so nonloopers don't ask questions, but yeah. Always be prepared, after all."

The silence was interrupted only by a loud boom.

"...I should... I should go get Maria," Weiss said, half-stepping away.

"Yes, but before that, can you tell me why you thought she'd be able to fly Amity Collusium?!"

"She's been handling starships pretty well-"

"Yes! Starships! With multiple built-in backup systems!" Ruby gestured at the small hill of wreckage. "That thing is a decades-old intricate dust-tech hovering platform meant to have a crew of around at least a hundred and a top speed of maybe forty miles an hour!"

Weiss coughed into her fist. "Well. I... may have made... some assumptions on how capable Maria is-"

"You know something, Weiss? You know something? You should have been on deck, right there with her, just to make sure, because she might be ridiculously awesome but she's still a new looper and we can't just-"

"Woooooooooohoohoohoo!" A figure rolled out of the wreckage, pulling herself up with a skull-topped walking stick. "That was a trip! Maybe not something I want to do again any time soon, mind." She walked up to the pair, grinning broadly. "So, how much trouble are we in?"

"Less than you'd be if we weren't looping," Ruby said grumpily, marching off. "I want to be the childish one, I want to be the fun one, but nooooooooo my partner has to go screw up so epically I need to sit down and work..."

"She, ah..." Weiss chuckled awkwardly, rubbing her arm. "She's... more angry because she's worried than anything."

"No, I got that," Maria agreed. "Think we went too far?"

"...Nnnnnot yet, but we got pretty close. Maybe give her some time to cool off."

[-]

169.16 RandomRex6

[-]

Tale of Tails

As Tyrian loomed over the defenseless Forest, he indulged in one of his trademark cackles. This plan was taking a bit longer than he would have liked, but there was no shortage of... entertainment along the way.

With a wicked grin, he made the mental command for his new prosthetic to come forth... but it didn't.

"Wait... what?" His terrible joy interrupted, he glanced over to his back, only to find the tail had somehow been detached. "How?!" he screamed.

With a full turn, as Forest had wisely chosen to escape, the Faunus was greeted with the thief. A very familiar one, at that.

"That's five, I think," Ruby muttered, pocketing the weapon, "That oughta do it."

"Stop taking my tail!" the madman shouted.

The last thing before the end of the loop was the young reaper replying, "No."

A sufficient number of loops passed, and at last conditions were such that Ruby could debut her newest piece of engineering.

She was the only one awake, and she and Team RNJR were engaged with Tyrian in Oniyuri. And the cloak had come off, revealing the assassin's nature to the three unawake hunters.

Catching a good glimpse of his tail, Ruby audibly scoffed. "I can top that."

Tyrian chuckled. "The little Rose has a sense of humor! And to what, pray tell, do you refer?"

Ruby smirked, and in one fluid motion, unpocketed, equipped, and revealed her surprise. A backpack with a stinger tail, not unlike the one the madman would later use, but this one had five separate tails, each loaded with different types of dust, and ready to strike on command.

Jaune's jaw dropped. Ren was somewhat taken aback. Nora was grinning ear to ear.

Tyrian... was trying not to make any sudden moves, lest he provoke his far more-prepared target.

The last words before the attack were, "Eat your heart out, Doc Ock."

[-]

169.17 SAXiao

[-]

Tacticool

"QROW!" shouted an angry Cinder, even as she utilized her Maiden powers to launch the rulebook at the unlucky huntsman. "STRAIGHT UP FUCK YOUR SEMBLANCE!"

Pyrrha patted her husband's shoulder as another one of Qrow's "chubs" suffered critical existence failure, and spontaneously exploded, showering the tundra of Solitas with oversized Lego bricks. "At least we're having fun, right?" She smiled at him, even as he sighed, kissing her knuckles before summoning said pieces back into his Pocket.

Near an elevated platform, James couldn't help but snicker at his friend's predicament. "Qrow, I know I have my failings as a tactician, but I never truly appreciated how much the Random Number Gods hate you until just about now." Winter simply was agape at just how poor the current game's been going for Qrow, while Qrow simply shrugged, before taking a swig out of his flask. Apple juice this time, he thought - sweet enough to wash over the bitterness of rolling yet another critical fail.

[-]

169.2 (con't) Masterweaver

[-]

Giving up the Geist

"...so even though I can freeze Grimm with laser vision, I can't do it reliably yet. The 'positive memories and love of life' mindset is kind of hard to get into while in the middle of combat, you know?"

"Yeah, I guess I can get that. Still, great way to gank Grimm in a pinch," Harriet admitted.

"Oh yeah, the one time I did get it to work on cue I managed to encase a Leviathan in stone! I mean it was too big to completely solidify, it broke out of the outer shell quickly enough, but the stone held it just long enough for the colossus to come in with its drill." Ruby glanced ahead. "I'll tell you more later, we're here now. Oh hey! Charlie squad, down here!"

"Everyone use caution," Vine warned over the communicator. "This room is highly active with Dust energy. Triggering it could ruin the launch site."

Marrow threw his arms up, glaring at the ledge the others were standing on. "And vaporize us. How is that always second with you?"

Ruby set the safety on Crescent Rose. "No gunfire, got it."

"I thought the target was supposed to be in here," Nora mused.

"It's on the ceiling," Weiss said casually.

Yang rolled her eyes as she looked up. "Of course it is. And it's got gravity Dust in its body."

"That's a new one," Blake admitted.

The titan of ice, rebarb, and Dust let go of the large ice crystal it was clinging to, smashing through an arch of stone on the way to the ground and glaring balefully at the assembled warriors.

"Heavy hitter, outmaneuver," Ruby murmured. "Dust is a problem so-or you could just charge in," she added as Marrow and Harriet rushed past her.

"I think they forgot about us," Yang said, pointing at Elm as she jumped to the ground floor.

Golden light formed around Vine's arms, one extending and wrapping around a nearby support beam while the other tangled the Geist's leg. "Elm!"

"Theeeey forgot about us," Weiss agreed, watching the tall woman grab the leg and literally root herself with her semblance.

"Vine!"

"What's with the calling?" Blake asked as Vine swung himself around the room, landing on a minecart bridge and wrapping the fist of the Grimm in his semblance. "Do we call out each other's names?"

"Sometimes," Ruby admitted-

"Marrow!" Vine shouted as he tugged the arm toward him, extending it so the Geist's shadowy limb was visible.

"-but come on," she continued as Marrow threw his boomerang, "that should have been obvious."

A dust crystal flew from the rubble of the arm, arcing through the air to Marrow's consertation.

"Harriet!"

The woman responded to the cry in a streak of lightning, rushing around the falling rocks and rebounding to snatch the glowing crystal out of the air. It quelled as she landed on a nearby walkway, putting it down carefully.

"Right." Ruby nodded, putting a hand to her ear. "This is team RWBY, focus on killing it, we'll catch the Dust!" She pointed Blake to the right, Weiss up, and gestured Yang back-"Dig us out if we need it!"-as she sped left.

From her glyph-obtained height, Weiss was able to keep eyes on the battle, directing Blake's swings, Ruby's petals, and Harriet's lighting with quick shouts and swordpoints. The rest of the Ace Ops, freed up to focus on the battle itself, were able to literally disarm the beast just as their leader stepped in-and Clover managed, somehow, to wrap the hook of his fishing pole around the Geist's mask and drag it out into the open-where Harriet dispatched of it in one burn-Dust enhanced rising punch. After that, it was a simple matter to catch the various Dust crystals before they hit the ground-complicated by the rubble of the collapsing body, true, but that was just dodging.

Ruby snatched the final crystal out of the air, letting herself skid to a stop in front of her sister. "By gelfling hand, or else by none?"

"Right shape, wrong shade." Yang watched the light in the crystal fade. "Part of me wants to see what would happen if we let those hit the ground, though."

"Next loop I'll record it."

"Hey Ruby!" Harriet walked up to her. "Good call back there, don't know if we'd have been able to catch them all on our own."

"You certainly had an interesting style yourself," Ruby said amicably. "Hope you didn't mind Weiss's little pointers."

"They were... not the worst," the woman allowed. "Still... I thought you said your semblance was like mine."

Ruby paused for a moment. "I've been saying my semblance is speed this whole time."

"I've seen other speed semblances. That... that was different. Think there might be more going on than you think."

"Wonderful." Ruby gave Yang a look. "Don't you start."

"~Maybe mom was a faaairyyyy!" Yang singsonged.

The blood-haired reaper huffed, turning to Harriet. "You see what you started?"

"You are certainly an interesting collection of characters," Harriet mused.

"THERE'S the little leader of the hour!" Elm proclaimed as she stepped up and-without any further warning-heaved Ruby onto her shoulder. "GIVE A HAND FOR OUR DUST CATCHER!"

"Thank you, thank you!" Ruby said, waving her hand as though she was in front of a roaring crowd. "I couldn't have gotten this far without my team, my mentor, and my baby girl!"

The younger (in body) huntresses all cheered and laughed, celebrating the defeat of the Geist for the ten minutes it took for the loop to end.

[-]

169.18 Masterweaver

[-]

New Body, New Problems

"Penny?"

"Yes Weiss?"

"I understand that you are enjoying your new frame, and that Ruby is too, and that basically everyone including myself is incredibly happy for you, which is why I am very reluctant with this request, but I'm afraid I must insist you reduce your utilization of it in pre-Vytal loops."

"Because it causes significant confusion for nonloopers? Or because Ruby dating a taller girl makes for awkward questions? Or because casually using my jetboots all the time will make people wonder why it isn't commonplace and thereby cause a large bout of jealousy and other such negative emotions?"

"While these are all valid concerns, my primary reasoning is that Cardin has semi-consistently shown attraction to you in this body and I really, REALLY do not want to think about what that means."

"Oh yeeeeeah, that thing! Yeah, that's creepy. Still, though, that's more Cardin's fault than my fault. I suppose I could cut back a lit-tle bit... but, you know, I don't want to give it up entirely."

"Of course not! I didn't mean to imply you should, just... just that some elements of this are freaking me out a little."

"It's the loops, Weiss, some elements of anything will always freak you out."

[-]

169.19 Masterweaver

[-]

Which came first, the blonde or the bot?

Penny sidled up to Yang with a large grin. "Soooooooooooo."

"Yeah?"

"I've got metal arms, you've got a metal arm..."

Yang quirked a brow.

"I've got an ahoge, you've got an ahoge..."

"I'd call mine a cowlick, but go on."

"I've got long hair, you've got long hair..."

"Are we talking about Atlas stuff?"

"I wear coveralls," Penny continued on, her smile broader than ever, "you wear coveralls..."

"We're talking about Atlas stuff," Yang concluded.

"I'm juuuuuuust saying," Penny drawled, "that I'm very proud to be a fashion inspiration for you."

"Wha-" Yang shook her head, shoving her shoulder. "I'm older than you are! If anything, I should be the fashion inspiration!"

"Oh, sure, sure, right, but you didn't put on coveralls until after we met back up in Mantle-"

Yang growled playfully, lunging after Penny as she jumpbooted into the air with wild laughter. "I'm letting you date my sister, you jerk!"

"Now now, not everyone can be as gorgeous as I am!" Penny spun in midair, posing. "I'm a well-designed woman, after all!"

"Oh you are asking for it, bitbot!"

Ruby, off to one side, shook her head with a small grin as the two chased each other around. "It's good to see them getting along. You know?"

"That it is," Weiss agreed.