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.

172. Fortunes Good and Ill

172.1 RandomRex6

[-]

You've been warned

The new expansion. It was not... pleasant. It was like a train wreck. It was horrible. And likely just an omen for how bad things would soon become.

As Ruby woke up from what felt like a nightmare, back in the familiar sight of From Dust Til Dawn, she could hardly contain her emotions. And as always, she felt that tap at her shoulder.

"Alright, kid. Put-"

There were no more words from this man, as Ruby slammed him into the wall with nothing more than brute force. Small though she may have been, her speed could certainly allow her to take down just about anyone that was ill-prepared for her.

A principle she quickly applied to every following henchman, leaving Torchwick standing alone.

The self-proclaimed mastermind, not being completely bone-stupid, quickly put his hands up. "Would it help if I said I was awake?" he asked.

"I am in no mood."

With those words, Ruby disappeared into a cloud of rose petals.

Tyrian had nothing in particular planned for the day. His queen had no missions for him to fulfill, as she was focused on the new hire. The nigh-on Fall Maiden was plotting and scheming off in Vale, while the rest would bide their time until needed. He felt he should ask her grace if he could track down someone, anyone, to help him take the edge off. He was getting far too antsy.

But all that was interrupted by a shattering sound, as a nearby window gave way to a mass of red which collided with the scorpion faunus.

As he crashed into the wall, he had but a moment to regain his bearings before in place of the flowers, there was a young girl holding a scythe to his neck.

Ruby's voice was solemn as she began to speak, "You know, I have this whole thing about moral obligations. I always say I don't have to hate evil, just stop it. Because sometimes, a bad guy's just misguided, or has something redeeming or likable about them. But lately, I remembered something that I didn't ever take seriously before." A brief, lifeless laugh escaped her mouth. "To paraphrase a surprisingly wise man, 'You don't hate a person because you're supposed to. You have to learn to despise people on a personal level. Not because they're good, or because they're evil, but because you know them, and you deal with them constantly. And you can't stand them, because they're a complete and total fucking douchebag.' And that, Tyrian, is how I've come to see you."

The madman barely shaped out a nervous grin before asking, "Have we met?"

A swift cut from Crescent Rose, and Tyrian's headless corpse dropped to the floor.

Ruby looked to her work and found herself... hollow. She could do this a thousand times, and part of her wanted to, but it would never change anything. It wouldn't help.

"Revenge," she muttered, "the most worthless of causes."

[-]

172.2 Masterweaver

[-]

Of Age and Eternity

[RWBY][Adspace]

"So." Maria tapped her cane. "I suppose it's your turn to babysit the new looper, hmm?"

Winter sighed. "There's not a set schedule. It's just a tradition in Remnant for every looper to spend some time with a new looper after they activate. That way we aren't complete strangers to each other."

"So I gathered."

The two of them walked down the streets of Atlas. The people they passed stared at them for a bit-Winter was well known, so seeing her walking with an old woman that looked nothing like her was sure to raise a few eyebrows. Which, come to think of it, might well have been the reason she'd done this in the first place; Maria had already known that loopers had a fondness for generating oddity, but slowly she was realizing that some were much more subtle than others. Likely due to certain ideals they had about themselves.

Winter quirked an eyebrow. "From your reputation, I'd assumed you'd have been heckling me already."

"You? No. The Atlas military, certainly, the Schnee Dust Company, young huntresses in general. But everything I know about you is from that silly little Hub show, and you seem far more well adjusted than the young woman who was baited into fighting a drunk."

"I am dating the drunk now," Winter said idly.

"Don't patronize me," Maria said flatly. "I'll find a hook to heckle you in my own damned time."

"I do hope it doesn't take too long," Winter mused. "I know you old folk can be slow..."

Maria chuckled a bit, but her smile faded. "...I am old, aren't I."

Winter stopped, looking down at her. "Maria-"

"No, I am. I am, and... with these loops, I'm going to be old more often than not." She looked down at her hand. "I'm not going to say I was eager for death, but... the idea I had, before Ruby, was that I would fade out of the world. And after her, that I'd leave behind something important, lessons and teachings... and now I'm stuck here, in this wrinkly old body with broken eyes, for basically all of eternity if anybody's guess is right."

She could sense that Winter was trying to say something, anything, that would be sympathetic. Or helpful. Or even just distracting. Somehow, she doubted anything Winter could say would be enough to help combat the sense of despair slowly creeping on her.

"Hello ladies."

The dark-skinned man smiling confidently while standing in the Atlesian winter wearing nothing but a knee-length towel around his waist might, though.

"Oh no..." Winter pinched the bridge of her nose. "Can we not?"

"Worry not my fine friend, I am merely stopping by to find the finest ice that will finally form finery in the finest ice sculpture found finely about my friendly fiefdom." The man gestured toward a mountain on the horizon, and with a sweep of his hand all the snow atop it started rolling down the slope.

Maria tilted her head. "You don't seem the sort to make ice sculptures."

"It is true that I don't seem it, but in truth what I seem to be and what I am are not as easily presumed as that of most others," the man said, pulling out a chisel and hammer.

"Some worlds are rational, and some are just... nuts." Winter sighed in exasperation, gesturing toward the man as he somehow began to carve a form out of ice that was literally miles away. "The Old Spice Man here is from one of those worlds. He's suave enough to warp reality."

Maria glanced up at her. "You think he's suave."

"I am using the term clinically. Him being suave is a fact of life, and not one that affects my opinion of him positively or negatively. Him being a reality warper is also a fact of life, one that rather bothers me because he just reshaped the nearby mountain range into a sculpture of a horse cuddling a lion!" Winter yelled, glaring at the man.

"I suppose it would have made more sense to go with a lioness," the man agreed, karate-chopping the mane off the newly created sculpture (that was still miles away) and gathering up the rubble in his other hand, which he closed into a fist for a moment before he opened it to reveal a diamond as large as one of Maria's optic lenses.

"So, do you have a name besides Old Spice Man?" the woman deadpanned.

"I have had many names," the man replied, rolling the diamond up his arm and across his shoulders-though apparently, it transformed into a sparrow behind his back and flew to perch on his finger. "Had time not been broken I would have had many more, but I am willing to accept the name of Old Spice Man for the purposes of purposefully declaring my purpose in my travels across the multiverse."

"Right, and what purpose would that be?"

"At the time that time stopped going forward in time I was spending my time attempting to tell others to buy something I had spent much time investing my time into, that being a scented deodorant containing a fraction of my own scent and therefore my own power. Sadly, while my attempts to provide such to the majority of the world would have worked in my world, worlds beyond my world wound up with mundane versions of the deodorant that retained a mockery of my scent and none of my power, and shortly thereafter the ones in power decided my power was too powerful to empower the powerless or even those with power that was not my power."

"Translation: Old Spice deodorant exists, but the magic stuff he sold can't be used anymore because the Admins locked it down," Winter deadpanned. "Which is a good thing, because can you imagine a world where everyone can pull off that sort of nonsense?" She pointed at the distant mountain sculpture.

"It was somewhat distressing to find that my intent had been intentionally rendered unattainable," the Old Spice Man continued, stroking the head of the sparrow as it sang mournfully. "I spent a whole four minutes pondering the impact that such an event would have on my life. Then I realized-simply because I could not grant my power to the masses did not mean the masses could not use my power. In fact, with such abilities as mine at my disposal, I could make many things happen. And so it was that I decided to wander whatever world I wound up walking, with one wild way to guide me-I would wisely witness the woes of every being I watched, and wrestle my warping of reality to wrap every where in wonder."

"...Translation?" Maria asked Winter.

"I think he's saying that since he can't sell his deodorant, he's just trying to impress people with his cool powers."

"Impress?" The Old Spice Man scoffed. "Impressing people is easy. I do not seek merely to impress. I seek to ensure they know that impressive things exist-that anything can become impressive, that their lives need not languish in boredom and ennui!" With a wave of his hand, the sparrow became a phoenix. "While we have been talking, many in this city have been watching the land reshape in awe. The astonishment is awakening them from their money-induced apathy. Some will be terrified, this is true, but most will be curious, and that curiosity will lead them to discovering more about the world and themselves."

"Well, that's..." Maria considered for a moment. "That's an interesting way to look at things."

"Yes, but as incredible as such actions I have taken are, I take it they have not instilled a sense of wonder in you." The Old Spice Man looked at Maria thoughtfully. "You seem to have had a long and interesting life even before you began looping, and one where you too had a power that could be used for great merit."

"I am not even going to ask how you knew that."

"The manner in which you carry yourself. It seems like it would be difficult to bring wonder to you."

"Try impossible," Winter deadpanned. "Even when Weiss gives her new machines to fly, she's just eager, not amazed."

"Hmm." The Old Spice Man rubbed his chin thoughtfully, a motion which coincidentally caused epic chanting in dead languages to rise from the cobblestones. "Wonder is not merely caused by wonderous events, but by how the events touch one's heart."

Maria leaned forward on her cane. "True enough, I suppose."

"And what is it your heart desires?"

"Infinite donuts," Maria replied flatly.

"To be young again," Winter said quickly.

Maria snorted. "Well, that would be nice, but it'd only last till the end of the loop."

The Old Spice Man nodded firmly. "Age is an illusion, as is frailty, but a pure light can remove illusions, except in cases where those illusions are also light. I do not have a pure light, but I do have a phoenix, and that will do in a pinch." With a snap of his fingers, the phoenix lunged at Maria.

For a moment, everything was fire. Surprisingly, not painful fire-just bright and hot and changing. Maria blinked when it faded, rubbing her eyes...

...and then realized she had blinked with her eyes.

She took a deep breath. "Winter?"

"You look exactly like you did back when you were the Grimm Reaper."

"Alright." Maria crossed her arms. "Thank you for this, I guess. I can live out the rest of the loop without having to worry about back pains."

"Not just the rest of the loop," the Old Spice Man informed her. "You have been granted the power of the pheonix itself, to become as you were when young through a blaze."

"What?"

"Should you ever wish to take this form, you need only set yourself on fire. Assuming you choose to retain this power," he corrected.

"And that it's not a null loop," Winter added.

"...Oh." Maria nodded to herself. "I... I can become young again. At will. That... That's actually..."

"And there, I see it. The beginnings of wonder." The Old Spice Man smiled. "My work here is done, for the time being. I shall return if I am needed. I am on a horse."

The white horse that had appeared as if from nowhere charged off, the Old Spice Man holding his hands on his hips in a sauve pose.

"...He's not making that up, right?" Maria asked. "Like, what he said-"

"He probably isn't," Winter allowed. "But... it's best to have somebody around when you want to test it. One of the older loopers."

"Well, yes, next loop, I'll... next loop." Maria shook her head. "I'm actually making plans for next loop."

Winter sighed, rubbing her temples. "This is quite possibly the stupidest way to get a looping power, but... sure. Good for you, Maria."

[-]

172.3 Shimmer712

[-]

A Different Reunion

An Unawake General Ironwood waited for his Ace-Ops to arrive back. He worried about the lack of communication from Qrow. The last letter he got talked a bit about the Battle of Haven.

Ironwood considered the contents of the letter again. Qrow stated that Leo had died defending the school but also confirmed there was a lot he couldn't say in the letter. Were the circumstances around Leo's death one of them? Was the deceased Headmaster a traitor?

He had trusted Lionheart. If the Fanus Headmaster was a traitor, who else could he expect to turn against them? He had confidence Qrow wouldn't. Even if all the other reasons to be confident in Qrow's loyalty to the cause of stopping Salem failed, Ruby's Silver Eyes meant Salem would want her dead. And Qrow would never betray his nieces.

His scroll lit up with a notification that the Ace-Ops had returned. He stood up and walked around his desk to make his way down to the hangar.

He was puzzled by the sound of the footsteps running around as if trying to catch something.

"...Get a net or something!?"

"It's flying into the rafters now. I don't think a net would reach."

"Could we lure it down with some birdseed?"

"Is there anywhere in Atlas that has birdseed? It's too cold for birds, isn't it?"

"Then what is it doing here?"

"How did it go?" Ironwood asked, walking in and coming to a halt with his hands clasped behind his back. The team quickly assembled themselves.

"I'm afraid that the group in question managed to escape," Clover reported.

"I see," Ironwood frowned. A group of unlicensed Huntsmen and Huntresses could be trouble, they couldn't take any official missions which meant tracking them if they caused problems would be hard. Then there was the possible reason for their lack of license. For former Beacon students, it was a simple matter of their school being wrecked. But there were those who had been expelled or lost their license for criminal activities. A lack of license didn't mean a lack of skill and even partially trained Huntsmen could be dangerous.

He considered his options before deciding on a course of action. "I want you to deploy to-" A loud caw cut him off. He glanced up and felt some of the tension in his body relax at the sight of a familiar avian form swooping down from the rafters.

Well, now he knew what the fuss he heard before entering was. And it looked like the report of unlicensed Huntsmen and Huntresses could be dismissed as a non-issue.

"There you are," he commented, raising his right arm for the bird to land on. He gently stroked the feathered head. "I hope this is not going to be a habit." He looked at the Ace-Ops. "If you will excuse me," he said, before leaving the room. He was never quite how comfortable Qrow was with others knowing about his abilities or changing in front of others.

A quick exchange of words later and a bird was soaring out of the window to make its way to Mantle.

Ironwood made his way back to the Ace-Ops. "We'll be deploying to Mantle as soon as possible."

"Yes sir!"

Later, Ironwood was in front of a door, his subordinates behind him. He knocked briskly.

Footsteps were heard and a face could be seen peeping out the window. Good, They were being cautious.

All thoughts of caution were thrown from his mind by a loud squeal followed by the door being yanked opened and a flurry of rose petals knocking into him. A second figure quickly followed, latching onto him excitedly. The rest of the children Qrow had been leading quickly surrounded him, obviously gleeful.

"In case you haven't figured it out yet, Jimmy, they missed you," Qrow drawled from the doorway, a browned haired boy next to him.

"They're good kids," Ironwood said, surprised that he had gotten such a strong positive reception. He hadn't really had many options regarding friendly, casual interaction.

It was nice.

Ruby and the other Loopers looked at each other and grinned.

With luck, this little reintroduction they had planned out on the way to Mantle would remind Ironwood that there were people to factor in, not just soldiers and robots and prompt him to make less ruthless decisions.

And if it didn't, well, with how hard he's been pushing himself, there was nothing wrong with someone showing him some appreciation, was there?

The fact that the Ace-ops didn't get to put them in cuffs this time was a nice bonus.

[-]

172.4 Shimmer712

[-]

Twin Link

(RWBY/Pokemon Anime)

"Well, this is interesting," Raven commented to her brother. "Didn't expect to loop in as these Pokemon."

"Which ones are we?" Qrow asked. "Since you seem to know."

"Latios and Latias," Raven informed him, amused. "The Eon Duo. They're twins like us."

"Explains why we looped in as them," Qrow remarked. "I would have expected Murkrow or Corviknight or something from that line."

"...Corviknight?"

"Just because I'm not familiar with where and what we are doesn't mean I've never looped in here before," Qrow pointed out to his sister. "Just never had anything to do with this part of it, I guess." He paused. "Which of us is which?"

Raven smirked. "Well, since I have a blue color scheme, I am Latios, who is the older twin, while you are Latias, the younger. Which also makes sense."

"You're not that much older than me in baseline," Qrow huffed.

Raven laughed at her brother. "You're still the baby brother," she declared.

"So, got any ideas of what to do this loop?" Qrow asked, idly flying in a loop-de-loop.

"Well, going by the canals, we're in Altomare, so we're in the anime variant," Raven informed him. "Which means a pair of criminals will be showing up to use us for a super-weapon is basically a lower-level reality wrapper that is limited to influencing Altomare. Also, we might want to make sure we know how to fight in these forms. In the movie, the most the two did was invisible tackles and were taken down easily once that wasn't an option." Raven scowled. "I am not going to be taken down that easily! We're psychic dragons, for crying out loud!"

"How do you know so much about this?" Qrow asked. "Have you looped here before?"

"No, I watched the movie in the Hub," Raven said.

"..."

"It's not that strange!"

"For most people, no. For you, yes."

Raven huffed. "Really?"

"Would you picture you as the cartoon type?"

"I supposed not," Raven conceded. "The psychic twin link is interesting. I wonder if that's how it is for them baseline or if this is a variant?"

"Looking back, I'm kinda surprised we haven't had a psychic twins loop of some type before."

"Where did it go?" Oakley demanded, looking around the dead-end alley she and Annie had followed Latias into.

"I can't see it anywhere," Annie frowned, taking off her special glasses that would see through any shape-shifting the Pokemon could use. She spotted a small, featured form up above, that might be a murkrow or rookidee and quickly put the glasses back on, groaning in disappointment when the form refused to reveal an Eon Pokemon above them.

Oakley gritted her teeth. "C'mon," she ordered. "It has to be somewhere!" She stomped forward and started inspecting the alley closely.

Qrow looked down at the pair before flying off, high enough it was unlikely that anyone would realize his crow form wasn't a Pokemon.

He spotted a familiar yellow form perched on a shoulder of a young boy. "Huh, so that's where the Anchor's been," he commented to himself. "Guess I should head to the garden since he'll probably go there."

Pikachu frowned as he and Ash passed an alley with Annie and Oakley searching intently. Normally, they ran into those two attacking Latias around this time.

"Should we go to the garden?" Ash asked quietly. "Or maybe you should go by yourself since a Pokemon getting in there isn't as weird as a human."

"Nah, we'll both go," Pikachu said decisively. "Latias usually loves seeing you. And she does get screwed a bit baseline so why not treat her when we can."

"Sure," Ash agreed, trusting his friend and Anchor. Besides, he liked seeing Latias. Even if he was never sure whether it was her or Bianca who gives him a goodbye kiss on the cheek.

"Well, that was fun," Raven cackled, smirking at Annie and Oakley lying unconscious. "I have no idea why Latios and Latias don't do this themselves."

"Well, generally, they're born after or just before the long peace of Altomare starts so they don't really have much opportunity to practice this sort of thing," Pikachu said in defense of the Eon Pokemon. "Or at least, they are in loops where I ask about that."

Ash nodded. "Yeah, and since they can turn invisible and shape-shift, they generally don't have trainers trying to catch them or anything so they don't really get any battle experience."

Raven huffed. "Still, they're a pair of legendary Pokemon. They should be able to put a better fight than they do baseline!"

Qrow chuckled, shaking his head. "You're taking it so seriously," he said, amused.

"So what if I am?" Raven demanded.

Pikachu coughed, drawing attention back to himself. "Anyway, you two want your own Soul Dew as a souvenir?"

"There's only one though," Qrow pointed out. "Which of us would get it?"

"Pikachu and I have Pocketed it before so we have several," Ash told him. "So you can both have one."

"Does it do anything?" Raven asked.

"In the game version of our branch, it'll boost Latios and Latias' abilities, although which ones and by how much varies," Pikachu said.

"It'll either boost Special Attacks and Special Defense abilities or boost Dragon and Psychic-type attacks," Ash said.

"Huh, not too bad, I guess" Raven shrugged. "I'll take one."

"Same," Qrow nodded.

"So, wanna come with us for the rest of the loop?" Ash asked.

The twins looked at each other.

"Do we have to go inside those poke-balls?" Raven asked.

"Nah," Pikachu shook his head.

"Sure, why not," Qrow shrugged.

"It'll be more interesting than staying here," Raven commented.

"Qrow?"

Qrow stopped and blinked, looking up from his textbook. "Raven? You feeling loopy?" he sent mentally

"Yeah, I'm Awake," she confirmed. "First loop I've had with you since that Pokemon loop."

"Guess we kept the psychic twin link," Qrow mused.

"Yeah. I tried it with an unAwake you but it didn't work," Raven reported. "I guess it only works with our looping selves."

"Easy way to see if the other is Awake though," Qrow pointed out. "And it gives us a way to scheme shenanigans against the others without being overheard."

"Could be useful for tipping each other about any variants that pop up," Raven mused.

"Good thing it works like a very secure phone-line between us," Qrow noted. "I would be pissed if it was the version where everything is shared between us and we have no privacy."

Raven found herself paling at that idea. "Indeed. There are aspects of my life I want you ignorant of and aspects of your life I want as little information as possible." She shuddered at the thought of having intimate knowledge of Qrow's relationship with Winter.

"Raven?" Summer looked at her teammate in concern. "Are you alright? You're looking pretty pale."

"I'm fine," Raven assured her. "Gotta go."

"Bye."

Qrow looked down at the book in his lap. "This could be fun," he remarked out loud.

[-]

172.1 (con't) Masterweaver

[-]

Maybe Red's Like Roses...

"...Uh..." Fiona pat the head of the strange girl clinging to her. "...there there?"

"Ruby? Ruby, where-oh." An orange-haired girl turned the corner. "Okay. How long has she been hugging you?"

"She just got here a minute ago," Robyn said, her tone somewhere between amused and annoyed. "Came out of nowhere and just wrapped her up like-"

"-like kudzu? Yeah, she did that to me too." The ginger examined the scene carefully. "Okay... so I'm guessing twenty minutes?"

"F...fifteen," mumbled the girl clinging to Fiona.

"Right. Sorry, she... oh, how do I explain this..." The ginger pinched her brow. "You know what, I can't explain the whole thing without sounding crazy, but the long and short of it is she probably saw miss Thyme here brutally assaulted in a vision."

"What," said Robyn.

"Yeah, that's not nearly the truth, but... yeah... um. It's my best guess anyway. Ruby, we're going to talk about this later, right?"

Ruby nodded into Fiona's chest, teary eyes still clenched shut.

"...Okay..." Fiona cleared her throat. "Look, miss... Ruby? I understand that whatever you saw was probably very scary, but it didn't happen, alright?"

A creening whine escaped from the girl's shut lips as she squeezed Fiona tighter.

"You're not going to be able to calm her down like that," the ginger said with a sigh. "The point is she thinks it's going to happen unless she takes actions to stop it happening, which I'm sure she already plans to do-"

"Did," Ruby whimpered.

"-already did," the ginger corrected quickly. "This is really... yeah, this is... she gets emotional about this sort of thing... I really should be better at handling-"

In the span of three seconds, Ruby had reached out and snatched the other girl, now hugging both her and Fiona in a surprisingly tight embrace.

Robyn pinched her brow. "Okay, I... I'm sympathetic, really, but this is also getting ridiculous. Fiona, are you-?"

"I'm okay!" Fiona assured her.

Ruby whined and tightened further.

"Oh Ruby..." The ginger started stroking the girl's hair. "It'll be okay, right? We're together, we can work through this."

Ruby whined, her hug becoming a vice grip.

"...okay, wow, things got that bad?"

"Worse... Oh, Penny, they-"

"Shhh... shshshsh... we can talk about it later, you just need hugs now, right?"

Ruby gave a grateful whimper, leaning into the ginger's embrace.

"...I... uh..." Robyn shared a baffled look with Fiona. "Should I... do something to help, or...?"

The ginger-Penny-sighed and held out a scroll. "Call Weiss with this, and tell her Ruby's hit a bad expansion. She'll know what to do."

"...Weiss. As in, Weiss Schnee?"

"Yeah, at this point I don't think we're not going to be explaining things to you anyway..."

"So much blood..." Ruby's voice was almost too quiet to hear. "So many dead..."

"...Call her now," Penny said, her voice somber. "We... this might need more than hugs."

[-]

172.5 Masterweaver

[-]

Winter Fun

"HOW DID I LET YOU TALK ME INTO THIS?!" Glynda cried as she clutched the edges of the sled.

"I DON'T KNOW!" Oscar shouted back. "MAYBE IT WAS THE CUTE FARMBOI THING!"

"You two are far too easy to fluster," said Winter, sipping her tea even as her hair whipped in the wind.

Glynda tried to use her semblance and, failing that, her out-of-loop magic to direct the sled. "WHAT THE HECK DID YOU ENCHANT THIS WITH?!"

"Oh, I just dumped it in two or three of those 'frictionless' substances you find across the multiverse. Some of them might have been magic, I don't know. I bought it from Roman."

Oscar pointed ahead. "TREE TREE TREE TREE!"

Winter casually dug her sword into the snow, redirecting them out of the path of the tree. Unfortunately, this sent them up the edge of a boulder instead.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"Really, Glynda? Oscar, I can understand, but you're older than me both looping and baseline and you dated Jenny Everywhere for a while."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA ALSO SHUT UP!"

"I AGREE WITH GLYNDA AND ALSO AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

The sled hit the snow and bounced heavily for a bit before continuing its journey down the hill, two of its riders screaming while the third continued sipping her tea... occasionally using her glyphs to redirect their haphazard transport.

[-]

172.6 Shimmer712

[-]

Another Abduction Adoption

Several people blinked in response as a dark-haired woman appeared near the blonde that had accompanied the younger Schnee daughter to her father's dinner party.

Raven ignored them, walked across the room and threw Whitely over her shoulder before portalling away.

"What the...?" Clover exclaimed.

"Qrow!" James called. The huntsman sauntered into the room and gave him a questioning look. "Do you have any idea why your sister would kidnap Whitely Schnee?"

"Including or excluding the obvious ransom option?" the looper asked, knowing that his sister had decided to adopt Whitely for a loop.

James paused for a moment. "That was a dumb question, wasn't it?" he admitted.

"Yep," Qrow nodded. "Although, she might hold on to him for a while. From what I hear, he's one of those stereotypical rich boys and she'll probably be so offended by that she's want to whip him into shape." He then walked off,

James frowned and looked at Clover."How literally do you think he meant the whipping part?"

"I'm not sure what just happened," Clover admitted. "Why would his sister kidnapping some for ransom be expected?"

James paused. "Ah, right. I didn't mention that did I?"

-Elsewhere-

"Okay, Whitely, you've never shown the Schnee semblance but that doesn't mean you don't have one so let's figure out what it is and how you can use it to brutalize people," Raven grinned down at the boy.

"I would rather go home," Whitely gulped.

"Not an option," Raven denied him. "Now, I suppose we should start on you developing a basic landing strategy," she mused.

"This will not be fun," Whitely muttered to himself.

[-]

172.2 Matrix Dragon

[-]

'First' Not-Date

As they entered the club, Yang glanced at her wife, raising an eyebrow. "Okay, I know that look."

"What look?" Blake replied, her tiny smirk becoming even more playful as she took in their surroundings.

"The one that you have when you know something I don't, and you're waiting for the right moment to spring it on me," Yang said with a grin of her own.

"Ah yes, that one." Blake looked around one more time, her gaze lingering on a group of bikers in the corner. The concept had been run through a Remnant filter, meaning the group was wearing stylized Grimm masks and had something of a post-apocalyptic look to them. Taking a moment to ponder the idea that Raven's outfit was just really hardcore biker gear, she turned to Yang. "And you're just going to have to wait a few minutes to find out."

"Tease."

"You love it."

"I do indeed," the blonde admitted as they made their way to the bar. Ordering two bottles of Sunflower Pop, she grinned and transformed her right gauntlet to battle mode. As she watched the taller woman remove the bottle cap with a precisely aimed punch, Blake couldn't help but smile openly, even as she caught the lid while it spun through the air. "My baseline self was apparently very fond of that trick," Yang said with a laugh, repeating the move on her own drink.

"You were hoping to impress me?"

"So very much," she admitted as they made their way towards a table. "I think I'm something of a Gay Disaster this loop." When Blake refused to take the obvious bait, she shook her head and continued. "I was even convincing myself that this was to get you to relax and open up, not give me a bit more courage."

Shaking her head, Blake laughed softly. "While I was delighted to simply be spending time with you." Sliding into her seat, she played with the cap for a few moments before sending it into her Pocket. "And you want to know the best part? Tonight is part of Baseline."

Halfway through raising the bottle to her lips, Yang paused, then carefully put it down. "That's a heck of a claim to make." In response, Blake took a Hub phone from her Pocket, holding it up for the other woman to see. Leaning forward, Yang considered the image on the screen, a comic page showing her removing the cap of Blakes drink with a well-placed punch. "Oh damn," she said after a moment. "I was focused on the Volume Seven expansions…"

"You forgot we're getting fill-in expansions?" her wife finished with a smile. "A comic showing our adventures during the time after the Fall of Beacon, with flashbacks to our happy school days?" Turning the phone around, Blake flicked back several pages, then smirked. "My first appearance this issue, from your flashback edited point of view."

Yang raised an eyebrow, then cracked up laughing at the image of Blake in her school uniform, calm and dignified, surrounded by flowers. "I really am a Gay Disaster," she managed once she'd recovered. "Oh wow. That's great. So then, does that make this our first date?"

"I think in Baseline, it's a 'Not-Date'," Blake said thoughtfully. "Although looking at the rest of the issue, Ruby and Weiss really aren't fooled." She shrugged. "We're really not that subtle."

"No, we're not," Yang agreed, picking up her drink again. "Well, to the happy days." With a knowing smile, Blake raised her own bottle, and they tapped them together in a toast.

Before they could go any further, a new voice intruded on the conversation "This the buttercup that roughed up your brothers?" Blinking in surprise, Yang looked to her left, then up, as one of the bikers, an absolutely massive woman as wide as she was tall, stomped up to the table. The rest of the gang started to spread out, surrounding the two huntresses, and an odd silence settled over the bar as the other patrons realized that trouble was brewing.

Glancing at Blake, Yang wasn't surprised by the amusement and anticipation on her wife's face. Clearly, this was part of Baseline as well. Considering the rest of the gang for a moment, she looked at the biker woman and raised an eyebrow. "Junior told me we were square," she noted.

Leaning closer, the woman snorted, her hot breath sweeping over the girl. "Junior's their employer," she grunted. "I'm their mom."

"And you must be so proud of them," Blake interrupted, loud enough to be heard by everyone in the bar. "Mobsters for hire, beaten up by a huntress in training who hadn't even started her senior academy years yet." Even behind the Grimm mask, it was easy to see the anger on the woman's face. "Why, from what I hear, they never even laid a finger on her. I assume you had them go into such a career after they failed in stealing candy from babies?"

Someone in the direction of the band didn't hold back a laugh, and the biker woman's temper snapped. Lunging forward, she threw a massive fist into Blakes's face, only to end up off-balance as she passed through her target and crashed into the chair. Her kids froze for a moment, clearly confused, by which point Blake was already in the middle of them, snap-kicking one in the face. Turning, she held out a hand to Yang, eyes bright. "Shall we dance?"

Laughing, Yang took her hand, and the fight was on.

[-]

172.1 (con't) Masterweaver

[-]

Collateral Damage

"...which brings us to the concept of expansions. Essentially, when history is repaired enough, time can be allowed to go forward past the most recent endpoint of the loop-the time of the loop expands, as it were. There can also be revelations of details we did not know about our baseline past and things in the 'relative' present as well." Weiss cleared her throat, glancing around the pub carefully. "So, Ruby just lived her first time through an expansion, and her first reaction on coming back was... well..."

She gestured at Fiona, keeping her face calm even as the woman's ears lowered uncomfortably.

"You realize that sounds absolutely insane," Robyn said flatly.

"Welcome to the multiverse, sanity optional."

That got a small huff of a laugh from the woman. "So... what now? Do we... plan to change things?"

Weiss hummed quietly, sipping her tea. "...It is possible to use future knowledge to change the present for the better, yes. In fact, it is something we loopers do as habit. Which means that, essentially, we have already taken care of the problem-or rather, Ruby actually went out and prevented the issue at the source before she came here. So I'm in the awkward position of saying your idea is a good one that we've already implemented."

"Of course."

Robyn's eyes trailed to Fiona, who was still sitting quietly, staring at her own drink. She put a hand on her shoulders, getting a small hum of acknowledgment and nothing else.

Weiss put down her teacup gently. "I recognize this is... quite a bit to dump on you all at once. I... can offer my services as a psychological therapist, if you would accept it."

"You haven't told us what happened," Fiona said quietly. "In the expansion."

"...Ruby hasn't told me, yet. This is the first loop afterward, we..." Weiss shook her head. "We usually take some time to process things before we react, but-it had to be intense for her. Intense and sudden, if this is how she's reacting..."

She took in the expressions of the two women in front of her.

"...I am... truly sorry about all this. It's not... It's not something easily dealt with, even for those of us who are looping. I..." She sighed. "There really is no way to express how much I... I'm sorry. For all of it."

Robyn turned to her, eyes narrowed. "...And what are you going to do about it?"

"...Well... for one thing..." She nodded toward the screen over the bar.

"...just in, the Schnee mansion is-what? Are you... alright, uh... the Schnee mansion is under attack by... giant... pancake animals. Okay, seriously, George, are you having me on-? No, this... there are citizens reporting that the mansion is now the center of a swarm of..."

"I'll admit I would ordinarily handle Jacques personally," Weiss allowed. "But with this situation, I decided to turn over that responsibility to Nora. She can be a bit overzealous, but she generally has a plan."

Robyn stared at the screen for a bit. "...Sanity optional?"

"Generally preferred, but yes, technically optional."

"Ahuh." Robyn turned to her companion. "Fiona, Jacques Schnee is under attack by giant pancake sloths," she said calmly.

Fiona took a few seconds to react, her ears raising for a moment. She gave Robyn a confused look, before turning to the screen over the bar; her jaw dropped as she watched a giant sloth made of pancakes punch through a window of the Schnee mansion.

"...what?"

"Yes, well." Weiss cleared her throat. "Jacques aside, perhaps you would appreciate a point list of what Ruby tells me when I debrief her? Penny just texted me, she's apparently finished hugging random citizens of Mantle and I think she'll be ready to talk now."

[-]

172.8 Shimmer712

[-]

Uh, How Old Are We?

"Qrow, how old are we?" Raven asked her brother.

Qrow blinked at her. "Uh, I don't exactly keep track of how many years we've been looping," he said.

Raven shook her head. "No, I mean our baseline ages."

Qrow opened his mouth then stopped. "I don't really know," he admitted. "There are plenty of times when the Tribe didn't actually do birthdays or birth certificates or anything so people lost track of how old they were. So when we went to Beacon, we just guessed we were old enough. And when they do show up, they're not always entirely consistent. Usually in a certain range."

Raven sighed. "That shows up for me a lot too," she admitted. "And there are plenty of variants when I killed the last Spring Maiden because if we had been seventeen when we went to Beacon, I would be aged out of being an option for the Spring Maiden meaning I didn't just got Maiden Powers, I found out I was younger than I had assumed. Sometimes by quite a bit."

"And freaked out?"

"And freaked out," Raven agreed.

"Damn, now you have me wondering how old we are baseline," Qrow muttered.

"Probably won't even be covered in any expansions at all," Raven grumbled.

"Probably not," Qrow shrugged. "Just roll with it."

"Like I have a choice."

[-]

172.9 Shimmer712

[-]

Happy Scorpion Introduction to Mantle

This loop, after Penny had left them after their reunion in Mantle, the group had a run-in with Tyrian. However, the Happy Huntresses had also shown up, passing nearby and hearing the sound of fighting. Or maybe they had been over this way because of the earlier Grimm attack, Ruby wasn't entirely sure. With their help, they managed to subdue and restrain the assassin.

And so, when the Ace-Ops arrived, it was to Robyn and her Huntresses with the people they were wanting to take to General Ironwood. Clover frowned as he recognized them from pictures Ironwood had shown them of those who also in the fight against Salem. The General suspected the group had the Haven Relic with them and he was sure he could see it on the red-haired girl's waist. He needed a way to get them to the General without drawing too much attention.

If Robyn and her people weren't here, they could just take them under the guise of arresting them, something that no one think twice about or feel was worth repeating, especially these days. But they were here so he had to figure something out since the easy option wouldn't work with their presence. It would just have Robyn objecting to the arrest of people who had protected the residents of Mantle which would draw too much attention.

"Oi! Solider boy!" Joanna hollered. "Wanna pick up a psycho?"

Aware that eyes were on his team, Clover stepped forward, trying to figure out a way to control the narrative. "So what do we have here?" he asked. Studying the figure on the ground, he recognized it as a criminal who had disappeared while being transported to Atlas.

"A lunatic," Robyn said flatly. "He was raving about a dark goddess and lady." She scowled. "And some of the damage his tail did when he hit something matches marks that killed some of the recent murder victims here in Mantle," she added darkly, gesturing to where something had dug a groove into a public rubbish bin.

"It was a surprise to see him here," the Relic carrier - Ruby if he recalled the briefing right - chimed in, clinging to the red-eyed man's side. Poor thing must be anxious, Clover thought in sympathy. "We ran into him in Anima months ago." She clung to the man tighter, clearly remembering something she didn't like.

"Yeah, but what is his deal?" May demanded, glaring down at the unconscious criminal. "What, is he a crazy cultist of some sort?"

"That...sounds pretty accurate," the blond boy nodded. "Apparently his goddess is the Immortal Queen of Grimm." Clover hid a wince and made a note to inform Ironwood of this leak. Behind him, his team shifted.

Joanna snorted. "Right. So he's definitely crazy," she remarked, to the Ace-Ops relief.

"What if there really is a Grimm Queen giving him orders?" Fiona asked, much to the Ace-Op's dismay.

"You think there's an Immortal lady ruling over the Grimm?" Joanna asked, raising a brow.

Fiona shook her head. "No. I mean someone role-playing one so he'll do as she says," the sheep faunus explained. "Or pretending to be her High Priest or something."

"Exploiting his delusions so they have a serial killer they can point at people," Robyn mused. "Which means he may not be working alone." She shook her head in disgust.

"We'll see what we can get out of him," Clover said, stepping forward. "Maybe he can give us names and locations."

"Should we come along?" the blonde girl with the robotic arm -Atlas made, Clover recognized, although he couldn't think of anyone who would make one so brightly colored - asked, putting her hands behind her head. "I mean, the Anima run-in might have something you can use," she pointed out, informing Clover which of these kids was his favorite. A way to get these people to the General without anyone thinking it strange the Ace-Ops went after them specifically. Perfect!

"That would be a good idea," he agreed, jumping on the chance. "We'll ensure you get to where you need to go, alright?" He flashed them a reassuring smile.

The kids and the huntsman accompanied them to the transport with no issues, much to Clover's relief. Things turned out better than expected. They had the people who know about Salem off the streets on their way to the General, they had the Haven Relic safe and sound, Robyn and her team were looking out for more trouble and they had a probable source of information. Tyrian was lost on his way to Atlas because of a sudden swarm of Grimm. And now he had popped up again, talking about a Grimm Queen. It was a sure bet he was involved with her and knew something.

It was just a question of how much and how to get the information from him.

"So, that wasn't too bad as far as first impressions go," Yang commented, once the loopers were alone. "Different from the normal."

"Wonder how that'll impact the rest of the loop?" Ruby mused.

"Could be interesting," Blake commented. "Baseline, Robyn and her lot were in the dark. Now they have reason to look out for trouble and suspect intentional malice. Might make things harder for Watts."

"Robyn is pretty smart," Qrow mused. "If she looks into the cameras and finds every trace of Tyrian has been wiped, she might suspect someone doing exactly what Watt's is pulling. And might set up a system he can't access."

Nora cackled, rubbing her hands together. "Ooh, I hope so!" she said gleefully. "I really wanna wallop him in the face!"

"What, not break his legs?" Jaune teased.

"His legs aren't as annoyingly smug as his face," Nora explained.

"Fair enough."

[-]

172.10 Awesomedude17

[-]

And then Blake Lost a Bet with Someone

Blake sighed heavily as she put on paw gloves and presented herself to her teammates.

"Nyan! I'm a kitty cat! And I dance dance dance! And I dance dance dance!"

"I feel so bad for Blake but I cannot help but break out a smile at this." Yang said.

"Same. By the way, what bet did she lose?" Ruby asked.

"She refused to say, but I assume it had something to do with the Hub."

Meanwhile, Roman took out a copy of Cats with a smirk and then tossed it into the incinerator.

"Your job is finished, awful production."

[-]

172.1 (con't) Masterweaver

[-]

A Gathering Of Facts

"So... um." Ruby cleared her throat. "First of all... I want to apologize for bringing you two in on this, without... thinking. You're not looping and you don't deserve the stress of-"

"Trying to help a city even when Atlas piles shit on us every day?"

"...realizing reality is completely sideways from what you thought was real," Ruby finished, giving Robyn a sardonic half-grin.

The woman huffed in amusement. "We're told Atlas is the greatest kingdom in the world growing up. Then one day, we look around."

"Mmm." Weiss nodded sadly. "It is a lack of empathy that sabotages Atlas the most. Our might and technology propel us to great heights, yet we are taught from an early age to value accomplishment over valor, that there can only be one great among many, and so most of us refuse to see the greatness in others." She looked toward the ceiling. "I am ashamed of what I was, and more ashamed to know that what I was is considered normal here."

Ruby put a hand on her shoulder. "You've left that long behind, and I know that the kingdom can learn the lessons you have."

"...Perhaps." Weiss cleared her throat, turning back toward the others. "So. Miss Hill, miss Thyme. As I have stated previously, Ruby's mental stability is paramount for the purposes of keeping the world in one piece. So in general, these post-expansion meetings tend to be even parts tactical planning sessions and, ah, group emotional therapy."

Robyn crossed her arms. "What are you dancing around?"

"She's saying that you're going to want to ask questions but you should let Ruby get through it in her own time," Penny explained.

Ruby sighed. "In the election following the... the Vytal tournament, in baseline, the primary runners wind up being you and Jacques Schnee. And, unfortunately, a third party decides that having Jacques win would benefit them." She cleared her throat. "A party which has amongst their ranks a skilled hacker and... a murderer."

Fiona drew a sharp breath.

"Just to be clear, I've already taken care of the murderer in question," she clarified quickly. "I'm talking about baseline. We're already off the rails. Nobody's going to die. Not this loop. And..." She cringed. "Technically, Fiona didn't actually die, she just got hurt so..."

Robyn narrowed her eyes, taking Fiona's hand in hers. "Alright. So what... would have happened, I guess."

"The final day of the election, there's a political rally hosted, a countdown to vote tally," Ruby explained. "Here in Mantle, with Robyn and her supporters. The votes are heavily aligned toward Robyn at first, but the hacker decides to fake a last-minute turnout that slowly changes the vote ratio. And... when it reaches an even balance, he... shuts off the lights to the building the rally is being held in. And that's when Tyrian, the murderer..."

She trailed off for a moment.

"...Tyrian is an archetypical serial killer," Weiss picked up. "Enjoys the fight, the kill, has... a sense of poetry about him, and a very dangerous sort of flexibility. Worships the witch-queen of the Grimm. Jacques, for how horrible a person he is, manages to retain a level of... reality to his thought processes that Tyrian lacks."

"Not that reality means much when we're talking to a bunch of teenagers that are a billion years old," Fiona pointed out.

Ruby managed a small smile at that. "Wait till I show you my weapons museum. Tools of destruction from across the multiverse and I keep it in my soul."

"...nifty."

"So... this Tyrian person." Robyn folded her hands together. "What can you tell us about him?"

"I killed him first thing this loop. And I'm... eighty-five percent certain Salem can't revive him, so he's not going to be a problem."

"Salem?"

"The immortal witch-queen of the Grimm," Ruby clarified.

Fiona started. "Wait, the insane murderer's goddess is real?"

"Yes. Although she's not technically a goddess."

"Mmm," Penny waggled a hand, "she's immortal and has magic and people did worship her in ancient times-"

"She's a demigod at most," Weiss said firmly. "Also, I think we're getting tangental. Tyrian is not a problem this loop, because he is dead. I think you'd just told us that Watts had shut off the lights?"

"Right..." Ruby shook her head. "Watts turns off the lights, and Tyrian-who had snuck in-starts... killing a bunch of people in front of the stage. Penny is working security and tries to stop him but he gets out of the way... and gets on the stage and, uh..." She cleared her throat. "slashes at Fiona's stomach. He can break aura, somehow, so... he does that, and Penny jumps up to the stage to protect Robyn, but Tyrian... as far as I can tell he jumps out of the way, so when the lights go up-"

"I'm... left with my blades out, in front of a massacre," Penny said slowly. "And... people jump to conclusions."

"...yeah." Ruby took her hand carefully. "...but we get you out, even if-"

"Ruby..." Penny shook her head. "That's not... it's not that easy, and you know it."

Ruby sighed. "No. No it isn't. The expansion ended with a bunch of Grimm coming into Mantle," Ruby said. "I hope we'll be able to fight them off in the next expansion, but..."

Weiss sighed. "Salem. Working at every chink she can. Faunus oppression, the White Fang, Mantle's poor condition..." She gave Ruby a look. "This happened at the tail end of the expansion?"

"Yeah. I mean, everything before the lights went out was... either tense or actually kind of sweet. Not frightening." Ruby cleared her throat. "Ren and Nora finally kissed."

"Oh, well, that's been far too long coming-"

"Ahem." Robyn cleared her throat. "So. This... massacre-"

"If I Wake Up early enough to stop it, I will stop it," Ruby promised.

"...Sure." Her head fell against her chest. "Great."

Penny tilted her head. "Are you feeling... redundant?"

"Useless, more like."

"Robyn, you're not useless." Ruby gestured with a hand. "I know broad outlines, big secrets, but not the whole economy of Mantle, not how this city runs. You live here. I want to help, but I can't help without knowing how I can help. And honestly, no matter how much I help, I will always, always, ALWAYS try to... well, respect nonloopers' wishes." She let her eyes fall. "I've seen... multiple times, I've seen where the mindset of 'I know better period' winds up. I've lived through so many loops, yes, but that just means I know a lot-not better, just a lot. You're still a huntress-you're still Mantle's hometown hero. And you..."

She trailed off.

"...and you look poised to be a mover and shaker soon," Weiss finished. "It's not unlikely that you... not this version of you, but some version, will start looping."

"So... what?" The huntress looked up. "I just tell you all that this or that is an issue and you go off to fix it?"

"Robyn..."

Robyn looked at Fiona.

"...I think what they're saying is... they're important, but they aren't everything. That we all share this world, even if they are... just passing through. And..." Fiona took a breath. "I think... they want to understand us. So that if they need our help in the future, if they need to convince us of all of this again in another loop, they... they can. Without clinging to me for fifteen minutes."

Ruby blushed. "I, uh, didn't hurt you did I?"

"No, I was-it was tight, but I could breathe."

"Okay." Ruby nodded, turning toward Robyn. "You seem like a good woman... one of the best that Atlas has to offer. It's kind of ironic-the best Atlesians generally tend to be the ones pushed aside by somebody above them."

"True enough," Weiss muttered.

Robyn looked at her, then back to the news report of the Schnee mansion-now covered in caramel.

"...Right." She took a breath. "Right. So you want to help Mantle out, kids?"

"Yes." Ruby nodded firmly. "We do."

"Well then." She stood. "Let's take you out hunting Grimm and see where we go from there."

[-]

172.11 Shimmer712

[-]

Doctor?

"Hey, Cinder?" Jaune asked.

"What is it?" the Fall Maiden asked.

"Has Watts ever shown any medical competence?" Jaune asked. "In the more recent loops."

Cinder raised a brow. "What brought this on?"

Jaune shrugged. "I was just wondering. Is he a doctor-doctor, you know, one you see when you get sick who prescribed you medicine or something or does he has a doctorate in tech or something and has the doctor title without any medical expertise."

Cinder pursed her lips. "Now that you mention it, the only thing I can think of that can link him to medicine is Tyrian's mechanical tail, which would need some knowledge of the nervous system. And that is more technological than medical. So he could have the doctor title via a doctorate rather than being a doctor. I hadn't considered that."

"So, does that mean there are no medics on Salem's team?" Jaune wondered.

Cinder shrugged. "Who knows? It's not my problem. Any medical issue I have will be gone next loop. Why should I care?" Then she winced. "And now that I've said that, it probably will become an issue for me."

"Huh. Wonder how the Tree will spin that?" Jaune mused. "If something comes up that justifies setting him on fire, give a laugh for me, please?"

Cinder smirked at him. "Feeling a bit spiteful, are we?"

"He helped Jacques and framed Penny," Jaune pointed out, "And killed all of those moms."

"Ah, yes, your MILFs," Cinder smiled. "How does that go down in loops where Pyrrha is with you."

"Pyrrha doesn't maim them, if that's what you're asking," Jaune said. "She'll usually just go and link arms with me and chat politely with them." He titled his head. "She can get pretty passive-aggressive with the persistent ones."

"I can imagine," Cinder said, amused. "I'll see you later. Have fun!"

"Uh, sure. Just one question," Jaune asked. "Do you have Adam because you're throwing him into a death match with Jacques for old time's sake? What with the reveal he's working with Watts?"

Cinder paused, looked down at the restrained terrorist, then up at the blonde. "Well, now I do." She patted Adam on the cheek. "And if you want mercy, then you need to make things really painful for the old man. Understand?"

Adam gave her a look that expressed loathing, probably for the two humans, and anticipation, probably for the chance to maim or kill Jacques

"I knew you'd see it my way," she grinned.

"I'll just be going then," Jaune said, awkwardly sidling away.

Cinder just cackled.

[-]

172.12 Shimmer712

[-]

Stalking the Lucky Weed

"They are not stalking you," Elm said.

"They are!" Clover insisted.

"Perhaps you are misreading the situation," Vine suggested.

"What am I misreading about them popping up everywhere and sometimes talking into their scroll while looking over at me consistently?" Clover demanded, flinging his hands in the air. "Seriously, how many ways can that be read?"

"They were probably talking about something else and looking over at you was just a coincidence with the scroll thing," Harriet commented, drumming her fingers on the table.

"Once, yeah, I can buy that," Clover said. "But seven times? And that's just when I've caught them!"

"That many times? Just for the scroll thing?" Marrow asked. "Okay, maybe there is something going on here."

"Oh for-" Harriet threw her hands up and stalked out of the room. "There's only one way to get this whole thing dropped!"

"Uh, Harriet?" Marrow hurried after her as she made her way to the dorm where the Former Beacon Students were staying, the rest of the Ace-Ops trailing behind.

Harriet stormed up to the door and knocked, Marrow next to her and the rest around the corner.

"Oh, hi!" Ruby chirped as she opened the door. "Didn't expect to see you here!"

"Have you and your sister been stalking Clover?" Harriet asked bluntly.

"Yep!"

"..." Harriet stared. She had been expecting denials and getting an explanation for the circumstances that had convinced Clover he was being stalked. Not validation for his claims.

"Wait, really? Why?" Marrow asked. The rest of the Ace-Ops leaned around the corner, listening in.

"He's been flirting with Uncle Qrow," Yang said matter-of-factly, coming up behind her sister. Clover made an incredulous face from where he was out of the sister's sight. Seriously? That was it?

"...I don't see the link between flirting with your uncle and being stalked," Marrow told them. "What's wrong with flirting with Qrow?"

Clover nodded fervently. He wanted to know what the problem was too! The pair had seemed to like him well enough, all things considered (like the team arresting them on the first meeting), so why was flirting with the uncle a no-go?

The Looping sisters looked at each other and then at Marrow and Harriet.

"Well, the thing is, my mother left when I was just a baby and Ruby was a toddler when Mom went on a mission and didn't come back," Yang said. "It hit Dad really hard so Uncle Qrow stepped in and helped."

"Soooo, he's not just your uncle, he's also a pseudo-parent sort of thing?" Marrow said, tilting his head thoughtfully. "Not an actual parent but close enough someone flirting with him weirds you out a bit?"

"Pretty much," Ruby agreed.

"That and when Dad found out, he asked us to find out a bit more about Clover," Yang said. "Since, you know, Uncle Qrow is the only member of his team he hasn't lost yet and since Qrow had been going on dangerous missions solo for years, Dad worries."

"But Clover does seem to be a pretty good guy," Ruby admitted with a shrug "I mean, we're pretty confident he's never going to pull the whole real traitor bit and stuff."

"Why did you feel the need to specify 'real traitor'?" Harriet questioned.

"Well, if Salem got a Relic, I can sorta see Clover trying to fake being a traitor in hopes that his good luck semblance would let him get it back and get out safely," Ruby said, scratching her head.

"Just not succeeding," Yang cut in dryly, with an amused smirk. "Our estimations of his ability to fake being a evil traitor aren't very high."

"Yeah, I can't see him convincing people he's evil either," Marrow agreed. Harriet elbowed him. "Ow! What? Like that's a bad thing?"

Harriet sighed. "Do you think you can lay off the stalking?" she asked.

Ruby and Yang looked at each other. "Fine," they chorused.

Harriet sighed. "Thank you," she said before dragging Marrow back the way they came. Ruby and Yang shrugged and shut the door.

"I told you so!" Clover exclaimed triumphantly once they were a safe distance. "I told you they were stalking me."

"You were still overreacting since it was more akin to a kid following their parent's new boyfriend or girlfriend than something to actually worry about," Elm pointed out.

"I was still right!"

"Do you think they were the only stalkers or that the others were too?" Marrow wondered. "And if so, are they going to stop just because Ruby and Yang said so?"

Clover paused, then glared. "Are you telling me I still have to be paranoid about people following me?"

"I'm just saying," Marrow protested, waving his hands.

"Heh, that has the potential to be fun," Ruby muttered at one of the reports from her chibis. "I wonder if I can get Raven to join in?"

"Raven stalking the guy who may or may not be trying to get into her baby brother's pants," Yang mused. "And since she's not openly involved with us, it will really freak Clover out."

"You ever get the feeling you're just being mean?" Weiss asked.

"Nope!" the sisters chorused.

Weiss sighed. "I don't remember Winter having this sort of problem," she muttered.

"Yeah, well, we found out about her thing with Uncle Qrow after they had spent hundreds of loops accidentally stealthing with only each other for support," Yang pointed out. "They were already functioning as a support system for each other by that point and had a pretty solid trust in each. Clover's coming in and he's still building the foundation of whatever's going to happen while meeting us all. It's hardly the same."

"Good point," Weiss conceded.

"Although we can give her the same treatment if you want," Ruby offered.

"No," Weiss said firmly.

"Besides, since Clover is forming ties with us, mainly through Uncle Qrow, he's the Op mostly likely to loop at some point," Ruby pointed out. "So why not stock up on blackmail and stuff?"

"Most likely to loop isn't the same as being guaranteed to loop," Weiss said. "Look at some of the Loopers we have already. Emerald, for one, was a bit of a curveball. So was Raven when you think about it. Heck, some of our Loopers are only looping because of Hackers."

"Oh don't worry, I'm working my way through getting blackmail and stuff on everyone," Ruby assured her. "Once I've got some fun stuff on Clover, I'm moving onto Elm, then Vine and when I'm done with the Ace-Ops, I'm going to focus on Robyn and her girls." Then she frowned. "Or do you think I should focus on who I think have the highest chance of looping? Because I think Robyn is more likely than some of the Ops."

"What about Pietro?" Blake asked, looking up from her book curiously.

"I have no interest in blackmailing Penny's father," Ruby said firmly.

"Fair enough," Blake nodded in agreement. "But you know there's no way to know who's going to loop, right? I mean, we can make some guess as to who isn't going to loop."

"Like the girl in the audience at the tournament holding a picture of Sun's abs," Yang nodded, brushing the back of her hand against Blake's arm. "She doesn't even have a confirmed name. I think it's a safe bet she won't loop."

"But other than that, we just have wait and see," Blake finished.

"I know," Ruby huffed. "But I can try to prepare for the possibility of them looping and if they don't, well, I'm having fun anyway, so there's no problem, is there?"

"I guess not," Blake said, smiling.

"Just don't get too carried away," Weiss cautioned her.

"I won't!" Ruby sing-songed.

A week later, Clover was in the gym with Elm when he spotted a figure crouched on the window still.

The red-eyed woman smirked at him before jumping off the ledge. Clover ran over and looked down, seeing no sign of the woman, only a bird ruffling its black feathers before looking at him with a caw.

Clover turned to Elm. "Please tell me you saw that too."

[-]

172.13 Masterweaver

[-]

Hey yeah, that happened

"Soooooo. Are we just not ever going to bring up the fact that Jacques hired Watts on as a hacker?"

Weiss gave Yang a flat look. "Were any of us actually surprised by that?"

"I was," Yang admitted. "A little bit. I didn't think he'd be so blatant, but... there you go."

"Well, it happened, we don't want it to happen, and beyond that I don't care enough to care."

The moment of silence between them was interrupted by the gleeful cheering of Adrian as he rode by on a red wagon pulled by a hyper-fast Ruby Rose.

"...it just feels like it would be the core conceit for a while," Yang pointed out. "Since a lot happened because of it."

"Perhaps. But then again, we tend to view things as they impact people emotionally." Weiss sipped her tea. "It is a touch irrational, I will admit. And yet, I can find nothing worth commenting about solely in the fact that Watts joined Jacques. Many things that happened afterward, but the event itself is rather... meh."

"...He did call Whitley creepy."

Weiss nodded. "Very well, allow me to become apocalyptically offended and swear vengeance on him for a hundred loops in response to such a personal slight."

"See I get you're being sarcastic," Yang admitted, "but honestly, I'd totally be up to enabling some big sister vengeance on the creep. No, you know what? RUBY!"

"YEAH?!"

"I HEREBY DECLARE WEISS WILL BE DIRECTOR OF WATTS-RELATED LOOPING SHENANIGANS FOR THE NEXT HUNDRED LOOPS!"

"SOUNDS GOOD!"

Weiss sighed, pinching her brow. "Yang Xiao Long-"

"What?" Yang grinned. "Come on, Weiss."

"...fine, I'll write up some plans." She jabbed a finger at the blonde. "But you are going to have to handle Jacques himself."

"Ooooooh boy! I'm going to have so much fun!"

[-]

172.14 RandomRex6

[-]

In Which There is Tonal Whiplash

Ruby was ready this time. Tyrian's exact position in the crowd, and when he made it to the party, was somewhat variable, but the second she saw a metal tail, she struck.

A quick snack across the back of his head with the blunt end of Crescent Rose left his stumbling away, and the crowd in shock as they started to disperse.

But as the cloak came tumbling off his body, Ruby saw what the madman was wearing. And she couldn't control herself.

"Hahahahahahahahaha! Oh my Birch! Hahahaha!"

As Ruby clutched her side, the various other onlookers realized what she already had.

Watts's tech apparently wasn't as advanced this loop, and to facilitate their frame-up, Tyrian had no choice but to carry out his mission in a Mo-Cap suit.

The sight of the killer covered in tiny white spheres allowed the tension to melt a bit as Ruby regained her composure.

"Oh... oh man..." she said, sighing heavily, "I really needed that. Okay... okay... let's fight."

[-]

172.15 Masterweaver

[-]

Everyone has off days

"IRONWOOD!" Roman declared, slamming open the door. "IT IS TIME FOR SHENANIGANS!"

"...you're high, aren't you."

"AS ATLAS ITSELF!"

"Touche." James Ironwood folded his hands, peering over his desk at the thief. "Seeing as I can't possibly convince you to leave, what did you have in mind?"

"Well, either we fill the Schnee mansion with Bertie Bott's every flavor beans, or we do something nuts with your cybernetics."

"...Let me see if I can figure out the chain of events here." James started counting off on his fingers. "You were bored, so you tried mixing some new drugs from whatever out-of-loop concoctions you had on hand. This got you so ridiculously high, you decided to find somebody uptight-namely me-and see if you could convince them to do something nonsensical. However, because you are in fact on a drug high from an unknown mixture, you are having trouble coming up with anything you want to do."

"That... about sums it up," Roman admitted. "Also I am seeing us both as well-dressed ferrets."

"Well. You did break into the Atlas Headmaster's room, and I'm therefore obligated to have the Ace Ops arrest you."

"What is with you and sticking me in a cell?"

"It's tradition."

Roman rose a finger, considered for a moment, and shrugged. "Alright, fair. But they'll have to catch me first!" He rushed for the window-and rebounded against the transparent plastic. "...ow."

"There's a ventilation shaft," Ironwood pointed out helpfully.

"Ah. Thank you." Roman tipped his hat before pulling himself into the vents, grumbling and cursing.

James rolled his eyes, tapping a button on his desk. "Clover, I have an assignment for you..."

[-]

172.16 Shimmer712

[-]

Atlas Leash Laws Objection

The group had just been taken down with the bolas, Clover standing over Qrow, twirling his horseshoe.

"They didn't even have their dog on a leash," Harriet pointed out, gesturing to the corgi next to the girl in the red hood. "That's a violation of the leash laws!"

"I don't see your dog wearing a leash!" Zwei shot back.

There was silence for a beat.

"Okay, was that aimed at the dog faunus or did Zwei just call one of them a bitch?" Jaune asked.

"I have no idea," Qrow shrugged.

"If it's the second one, who's the bitch?"

Qrow and the former Beacon students looked the Ace-Ops over.

"...I'm not the only one who heard the dog talk, right?" Marrow finally asked.

"No," came the resounding chorus from his teammates.

"Good to know."

[-]

172.17 Masterweaver

[-]

The Resident Psychologist

"Attention, everyone? Thank you." Weiss cleared her throat. "As you all know, I have taken it upon myself to assess and maintain the mental health of our branch, and on occasion visitors to our branch. This does mean I can overschedule, this is true, which is why I previously made the announcement that anybody who approached me outside of scheduled sessions for any reason, publically or privately, would be given a therapy session that very loop over any and all scheduled meetings. I made this announcement fifty loops ago, from my perspective, and since that time, absolutely none of you have approached me."

Ruby sighed. "Weiss-"

"I realize it can be hard to confide in people," Weiss said, "and that there are things you do not wish to talk with me specifically about. However, I must point out I am quite concerned by this development, especially with recent expansions and their events."

"Weiss, you can't help people that don't want help."

"I realize that. I am just concerned as to why..."

"Aaaaand there she goes again," Emerald muttered.

"It's becoming a pattern," Ilia agreed.

Cinder sunk into her seat a bit.

Emerald quirked an eyebrow at her.

Ilia looked at Cinder's expression, sighed, and turned toward the stage. "Hey Weiss! Raven's been looking a bit twitchy lately!"

"What?!"

"Really?" Weiss turned her eyes on Raven. "I suppose your lack of Baseline appearances are weighing on you-"

"Fuck you Ilia, just fuck you."

"I'll do that later," Emerald agreed. "Hey, thanks for that, Ilia."

"Yeah, yeah." Ilia gave Cinder a pointed look. "You're going to have to get your therapy on after Weiss is done harassing Raven, you know."

"Mmnnngh."

"You are kind of the reason she gets gung-ho about this," Emerald pointed out.

"I know, I know... eerrrgh. Fine. I'll get into dramatic 'oh the woes' things with her later..."

[-]

172.18 Masterweaver

[-]

Foreknowledge

"Ruby! Ren, Nora!" Penny waved as the trio entered. "It is so good to see you three! This whole night has been a little loopy, I swear."

"It sounds like you could use an anchor of some sort," Ruby replied. "Unfortunately, all I can provide is my undying love and affection. But Ren and Nora brought interpersonal drama!"

"What," said Ren.

"Seriously, you two need to talk."

Nora put a hand on her hip. "You're just going to call us out like that, huh?"

"Yep." Ruby grinned as she turned back to Penny, hugging her tightly.

"Haven't seen Tyrian yet," Penny whispered in her ear.

"Right. Plan two, follow my lead."

"Well what about you two?" Nora asked. "Are you going to talk anytime soon?"

"You know what?" Ruby broke off the hug. "We just might. I mean, nothing's supposed to-wait..." She peered into the crowd.

Ren followed her gaze. "...What is it?"

"...I thought I saw Tyrian."

Penny gasped on cue. "Tyrian Callows? The man who-"

"Yes."

Ren went stiff. "Are you sure?"

"...Not entirely. But better to be on our guard and not need to be then get surprised by..." Ruby shook her head, gesturing around the room. "Chessboard. Stage left, A, stage right, H, rows numbered starting at one back here. Mingle among the crowd and if you see him, call his position."

"On it."

"Ren-"

"Nora," Ruby interjected, "I'm sorry, you two do need to talk but right now-"

"No, I got it." Nora sighed. "Tyrian, huh?"

"Penny, where'd you go?" came a shout from near the front of the room.

"I'll go with you," Ruby decided, locking arms with Penny. "Robyn's crew might listen to me."

Nora nodded. "Good luck."

Penny sighed as the two of them walked toward the stage. "I really don't like null loops," she muttered. "Just two minutes in my subspace pocket-"

"I know the feeling," Ruby agreed. "But this will be over in a few minutes. Hey, the next loop you're awake, let's... uh... what's stupidly romantic?"

"A date on the moon?"

"Sure, yeah, let's do that. Wait, it should be my idea-"

"Moon date first, your date after." Penny nudged her. "Back in character."

"Oh hey, what-" Marrow frowned at Ruby. "What are you doing here?"

"No time for jokes," Ruby replied. "I think I saw Tyrian Callows in the crowd."

"What?"

"I can't be sure, but I've already got Nora and Ren looking through the room, just in case-"

"In case what?" interjected a new voice.

Marrow sighed. "In case somebody tries to-"

"Marrow, all due respect, they're huntresses and the crowd trusts them more than us, we need their help."

Marrow glowered at Ruby for a moment, before sighing. "Fine."

Ruby nodded, turning toward the huntresses as they were joined by their leader. "I saw somebody when I was coming in-Tyrian Callows. He was in the crowd before I could be sure it was him."

May leaned against her staff with a cocky smirk. "Really. How do you know him?"

"He tried to kill me in Anima. Kept raving about some 'dark goddess' or something, managed to break my aura in one kick. I don't know if it's his semblance or just a skill he picked up, but he's dangerous."

Marrow glanced sideways at Ruby, before clearing his throat. "If we could put this room on lockdown-"

"You want to hold up everyone in this room to catch one man?" Joanna growled.

"I agree that is not an acceptable course of action," Penny stated. "But Tyrian is a known serial killer. And..." She cleared her throat. "He has a natural weapon."

Joanna tilted her head. "He's a faunus?"

"He has a scorpion tail," Ruby hedged. "I don't think he quite... considers himself to be a faunus. More 'a manifestation of the dark lady's will,' whatever that means."

Marrow cleared his throat pointedly.

"Look, I could be wrong," Ruby allowed. "Maybe I didn't see him, maybe I'm being paranoid, but if I'm right everyone here is in danger until we catch him. I'm telling you this because you're huntresses." She looked Robyn in the eyes. "I know you don't have any reason to trust me, but-"

"It's fine, pipsqueak." Robyn sighed. "Of course this would happen tonight... Penny."

"Yes ma'am."

"How quietly can you get into the rafters?"

"Not very, I'd need a distraction t-"

A loud burst of feedback emited at that very moment. On the stage, Fiona winced for a moment. "Well, uh... that worked."

Robyn shook her head, turning back. "Well, that would have been convenient if-oh." She glanced up, seeing Penny wave down at her. "Right. Marrow, tell her to keep an eye on the crowd. I'm going to give my speech and keep them calm. May, take Joanna and cover the rear."

"I'll stand in front of the stage," Ruby said quickly. "It might be me he's after, and my semblance makes me fast."

"...good call, pipsqueak." Robyn gave Marrow a look. "If you're really here to keep us safe-"

"I am!" Marrow insisted.

"-then you'll engage this guy when he shows up."

"...I will," Marrow promised.

"Semblance, then bolas," Ruby suggested. "Tyrian's tricky."

"Right."

"No one has fought harder for Mantle than she has. And…" Fiona composed herself, wiping a tear from her eye. "I know Robyn will continue that fight on the Council. Will you share a few words?"

"Good luck," Ruby said quietly. "With everything."

Robyn glanced at her for a moment, before taking the stage and accepting the microphone from Fiona. The two of them exchanged words for a moment, Fiona's expression taking on a worried look before she headed off the stage.

"Corners guarded, Penny in the roof, two in the crowd..." Ruby took a position in front of the stage, glancing behind her carefully. "Okay."

Her hands tensed for a moment, before she took a deep breath and let it out. She couldn't help but twitch when Robyn started her speech, but she kept herself still, kept herself ready, for the moment Tyrian would come out. Even after all these loops... Something about him, about his smile and violence, left her disquieted. But this time... this time, maybe, they would catch him. And it wouldn't get rid of this strange unease he put in her, but it would... it would assuage it, at the least.

Calm... the breathing of the crowd, the murmuring of the innocents she was meant to protect... her eyes looking back even as the countdown started. She glanced up to see Penny carefully walking among the beams, her own eyes scanning the crowd constantly. Good, good, and-

"D4!" Nora yelled loudly. "D4!"

-the lights went out.

Ruby was already moving, slamming people aside with the folded up Crescent Rose as Penny fell upon the crowd. "EVERYONE TO THE WALLS!" she shouted, bursting through in a cloud of petals. Penny's blades were dueling with a figure in the dark, and Ruby unfolded her scythe as Nora smashed down on something-

"Box him in!" Penny demanded.

"On it!" Ruby agreed, leaping into the largest gap. The figure tried to escape, but was pushed back by one of the huntresses-Joanna, if Ruby could guess in the dark. "We need light!" she shouted. "Scrolls out, people!"

Most of the crowd was still too confused to understand, but some of them managed to comply-just in time to see a lanky figure leap impossibly high, Penny jumping after it. The scroll's flashlight's couldn't reach into the rafters, but Ruby followed the glow of Penny's blades with her eyes and pointed her gun unerringly, shooting just ahead of the gynoid. The flash of bullets hitting something was enough to orient the others, who aimed their weapons-

"No, Nora," Ruby pushed Magnhild down, "Too big an AOE."

-and then a solid object slammed into the figure from the side, sending it falling-

"STAY!"

-till a command from near the front of the room halted it in midair.

Penny activated her jets even as gravity bolas wrapped around the hovering entity, lowering herself near her target. "Tyrian Callows," she said firmly, and loudly enough for the room to hear, "you are under arrest."

Ruby let out a sigh of relief, though she didn't lower her weapon. "Check for wounded," she suggested to Joanna. "We caught him fast, but I don't know how fast."

Joanna nodded. "Anybody hurt? Check yourselves for scratches or puncture wounds, head for the stage if you are-"

"This one is down," Ren said quietly, kneeling near her feet. "She... her throat's been slashed."

"...shit." Joanna sighed. "...get her to the stage. We can figure out who she is in a moment."

"Somebody get those lights back on!" Robyn shouted.

"...we got him," Ruby muttered. "We got him."

She took a breath, looking over at Penny. "We got him, this time. Yeah... yeah."

Her eyes fell on the woman in Ren's arms.

"Hey." May Marigold came from the crowd, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You warned us. It could have been a lot worse if you didn't."

"I know, but-"

"But somebody still died?" The huntress shook her head. "Sorry, kid. Sometimes you can do the best and not succeed. But that is life. And life... life goes on."

"...Life goes on," Ruby agreed quietly.

[-]

172.19 Shimmer712

[-]

Icy Fashion

"Nice ice powers," Nora commented around the campfire, watching the whimsical frozen shapes reflect the firelight. They had woken up before they reached Oniyuri and Qrow had decided to join them rather than lag behind until Tyrian made an appearance.

Qrow smirked. "Thanks. Just came from a Frozen loop where I was in Elsa's role. Went right through their expansion." His expression grew a touch wistful. "I liked the little fire lizard-salamander thing."

"...You didn't Pocket it, did you?" Jaune asked.

"Of course not," Qrow scoffed. "...It was a cute little bugger though," he admitted.

"Wish I was there," Ruby pouted, folding her arms. "I mean, I know Uncle Qrow would do the song and dance bit Elsa does but I would have been cool to see him in a version of her clothes."

"Wait, don't some of the Disney Loops have something where you can't help but do the song and dance?" Nora asked, leaning forward.

"Yes, but I don't think it's very frequent," Ren commented, chin propped on one hand. "Is it likely Qrow got one of those loops?"

The teenagers looked at the man. Who was pointedly not looking at them.

"Oh my spruce! You did!" Nora squealed. "Who's the Anchor of that Branch? It's that Kristoff guy, right? Do you think he recorded it?"

"If not, we can always get the films in a Hub Loop and use Photoshop to make it look like Qrow," Jaune suggested.

"We can have Qrow in a dress!" Nora yipped, clapping excitedly. "An exact copy of Elsa's dress!"

"An exact copy wouldn't fit me," Qrow objected. "She and I have different builds. Her shoulders are narrower for one."

"And wouldn't Uncle Qrow be in a pants version of her getup?" Ruby wondered. "Or would he have been wearing a dress in Loop?"

"Didn't Qrow wear a skirt in our baseline while he was a student?" Ren pointed out.

"And his objection to the exact copy thing wasn't a claim he would never wear that but a critique about how it wouldn't fit him," Jaune chimed in, a mischievous gleam starting to form in his eyes.

Qrow rubbed his temples. "Can we drop the idea of me in a skirt?" he asked.

"Fine," Nora huffed.

Ren leaned over. "We should get some skirts and dresses that would fit them and hand them over to Winter," he whispered. "I bet she could get him into them." Nora giggled.

"I heard that!"

[-]

172.20 Shimmer712

[-]

The Bandit Queen's Trip to Mantle

Raven groaned in boredom. This loop, she had used her semblance to portal between Qrow and Vernal. She had told Qrow of Cinder's visit to the camp and had asked him to help ensure she and Vernal got Cinder on her own when she tried for the Relic, reasoning that Cinder was still new to her Maiden powers and would probably lose to an experienced Maiden who had back up.

Vernal had survived since Raven had attacked Cinder before she could try to steal the Spring Maiden's powers. The two tribeswomen had waited for Qrow and kids to have time to leave Mistral before Raven portaled to her brother. Vernal had returned to the Tribe with orders to ensure it stayed safe and strong - even if she had to throw Raven under the bus. Raven herself was accompanying Qrow and the kids.

Unfortunately, Ruby was currently the only one Awake.

Which meant for some awkwardness due to issues that had been resolved in the loops, but not in baseline.

Raven rubbed her temples and looked out the window where Yang and Blake were coming out of a shed. She wasn't worried about the Apathy dwelling beneath them. They had been dealt with baseline and Ruby knew about them, so she probably already had a plan. But that didn't mean their presence didn't weigh on her.

"Ugh!" Raven shook her head and stomped downstairs to find Qrow. Oddly, he hadn't delved into the heavy alcoholic slump he did in baseline. "I wonder why," she muttered.

"Why what?"

Raven turned to see Qrow slouched in a chair. "Never mind," she said. "It's not important." Raven eyed him carefully. While he hadn't been drinking as heavily as he did in baseline when they were at the farm, he was still taking swigs from his flask. "You really shouldn't drink so much," she told him.

Qrow scoffed. "What do you care?" he asked. "You told her lackeys you wanted me dead."

"It was part of the plan," she defended herself.

"And how much of it was an act?" Qrow asked quietly. "And how willing would you have been to kill me if things had been different? You made your view of my not choosing the tribe pretty clear. Have for years."

Raven winced. "Qrow, you're my brother," she said.

"That didn't matter before," he pointed out. "When we were kids and the tribe was cursing my existence. When I didn't want to go back. When I didn't want to call a pack of thieves and murderers family. You weren't willing to do anything before her people came to the tribe's camp." His eyes stared into hers.

"Qrow..." Raven was at a loss of what to do. Feeling helpless, she reached out and touched his cheek.

Qrow closed his eyes and turned his head away. "Sorry. I'm just...I'm just tired," he said. "Can you leave me alone?"

"...Sure..." Raven stood up and quietly left the room.

She wondered if the Apathy having a more potent effect on Qrow in baseline was a direct result of the actions she had caused in Baseline. Where not only had a trusted friend been revealed as a traitor but his own sister had attacked him and sided with the enemy. Where he had disowned his own twin.

How much had that hurt Qrow in baseline?

She sighed. "I'm sorry," she muttered.

She hoped they reached Mantle soon. When she had decided to join them on the way to Mantle, this was not what she had expected. And it probably wasn't a decision she would repeat any time soon.

Killing the Apathy later one was very cathartic.

Raven was pleased that Qrow had discarded his flask after the run-in with that short soldier woman, Crovodan or something. Whatever, she wasn't important. He hadn't had the same experience with the Apathy as baseline, where he was getting drunk while the girls were in danger but maybe it was their talk?

At any rate, they had meet Pietro, gone out to fight Grimm and seen Penny make her entrance. And now they were going back to Pietro's lab or something.

"This sucks," she muttered. Pietro glanced at her.

"Mantle may not be to your tastes but to many of us, it is home," he told her.

Raven pulled a face and shook her head. Not what she meant but she didn't want to explain herself. "It could be better" she replied.

That was when the Ace-Ops nailed them with the bolas.

Raven inhaled and exhaled carefully. She was going to explode on someone. It was just a question of who.

She glanced over to see Clover standing over Qrow, twirling his horseshoe around his finger.

...That will do, she decided.

"Are you ogling my brother's ass?!" she demanded. Startled, Clover turned towards just in time to see her use the Spring Maiden powers to disintegrate her bindings and launch herself at him.

Clover's eyes widened and he evaded her strike, going on the defensive. The rest of the Ace-Ops, excluding Marrow, quickly went to his aid. As she continued to attack, she felt a ping and heard a familiar voice in her head.

"Hey, sis, what the hell?" Qrow asked.

"Hey, I have to entertain myself somehow," she told him. A mental groan was the response she got.

"If James isn't Awake, I am not dealing with his reaction to a Bandit Queen being in his city," Qrow announced.

"I don't think you'll have a choice in the matter," Raven retorted.

"Uh, should we do something?" Ruby asked as she and Qrow freed themselves.

"I'm not getting in the way of Raven's tantrum," Qrow said, sitting cross-legged on the ground. Marrow, the operative closest to him, looked at him, clearly wondering if he should replace the restraints. When Qrow made no effort to get to his feet, never mind escape, he decided against it and just watched to make sure they didn't run away.

"I did not expect this to happen," Yang commented as Ruby untied her. "I mean yeah, she's the older twin but still..."

"Guess that's where you get your protective big sister instincts from," Jaune mumbled. Yang twitched slightly.

"Ignoring that," she decided.

Once everyone was untied, they just sat down and watched Raven take on the Ace-Ops.

"Uh, are you going to do anything?" Marrow asked. Qrow gave him a look.

"Like I told my niece, I'm not getting in the way of my sister's tantrum," he said firmly.

Marrow just wondered if he should join the fighting or keep an eye on the group in case they tried to run off. His training did not cover this sort of scenario.

[-]

172.21 Shimmer712

[-]

Shiney

"Qrow, why do you have so many pointless things in your Pocket?" Winter asked, poking the pile in front of her. There were several other piles of trinkets scattered around the room.

Qrow looked both offended and sheepish. "Well, Ice Queen, if you were paying attention, you could probably pick up a very obvious trend for a lot of the stuff."

Winter frowned and studied the objects. Jewelry, stones, beads, ornaments, baubles, coins, spoons...what was the pattern?

She dug through the piles, sorting them into new piles. These spoons can go here, these beads here. Those pendants all have red stones, there can go here, and these ones with the blue stones can go next to them...

Qrow started giggling as she grew more and more frustrated.

"Give up?" he teased.

"No! I will figure it out!" Winter snapped, glaring at the small jar of crystal beads.

"Yeah, but when?" he asked, a wide grin on his face.

-several loops later-

"SHINY! They were all shiny shit!"

"Uh...Winter?"

The pale-haired specialist blinked and looked at Weiss. It took her a moment to remember she was supposed to be inspecting an unAwake team RWBY's room to see if it was ft for her sister.

"My apologies, Weiss," she said, composing herself. "I just figured out something that took an embarrassingly long time to put together." She looked around the room. "Are those make-shift bunk-beds even stable?" she asked, trying to direct attention away from her outburst.

She also noted that the next time she wanted to get Qrow a gift, to keep an eye out for something that sparkled.

Tree-damned bird-man.