178.1 RandomRex6
[-]
A Song From a Like-Minded Soul
Ruby couldn't help but think back on defeating the entirety of the Ace-Ops by herself. It wasn't intended to be practice for these lonely loops, but it certainly helped.
She had faith her team could handle the rest on their own, but given that this expansion wasn't quite long enough to accomplish much else, she was more than happy to take a bit of time knocking Harriet down a peg.
Ruby would swear up and down that she was faster than the Atlesian speedster, even in baseline. But throw the Speed Force on top of it? The poor thing may as well be standing still from the reaper's perspective.
And as the elite soldier kept chasing her down, only for Ruby to seemingly pop into a new location every time she got close, Harriet growled in frustration. "WHY. CAN'T. I. CATCH. YOU?!"
And Ruby was suddenly inspired. Being given a question with no clear answer, coupled with Harriet's general aesthetic, caused her to recall an old friend. And the brief tune that friend had shared with her.
"I've got a theory," she sang, "It could be bunnies."
Harriet paused briefly, only to then scowl. "Are you making fun of me?"
Ruby, in response, put aside Crescent Rose in favor of Sonoro Pine. And bass in hand, she continued with the rock-heavy part of the number.
"Bunnies aren't just cute like everyone supposes!"
As Ruby sang, she kept disappearing and reappearing at hyperspeed in various parts of the corridor, Harriet continuing her attempts to apprehend the girl, only to be stymied at every turn.
"They got them hoppy legs and twitchy little noses!"
Ruby strummed loud and proud as she evaded every attempt by Harriet to nab her. All building to her grand finale.
"And what's with all the carrots!? What do they need such good eyesight for any~way!?"
Harriet could tell Ruby wasn't even paying attention to her anymore. But that was precisely what she wanted. Maybe now, with her guard down, she could apprehend this traitor.
"Bunnies!"
Harriet geared up.
"Bunnies!"
She ran at her full sprint.
"It must be BUNNIES!"
And with an amplifier pulled from her pocket at the last second, the sonic force of Ruby's final note knocked Harriet off her feet and smack into the nearby wall, only to drop down, no longer conscious.
Ruby smiled. "Thanks Anya," she said in reminiscence, "You're one of the few who gets it."
[-]
178.2 Masterweaver
[-]
She does hit the qualifying marks
Emerald grinned broadly.
"...I'm not embarrassed," Ilia informed her.
"Oh no, of course not."
"I'm not."
"I believe you. You're not embarrassed."
"And you can't make this embarrassing," Ilia stressed. "Not in the slightest."
"Oh, no no. Sorry, is this my teasing grin? I meant it to be my 'oh that's adorable' grin."
Ilia crossed her arms-
"Oh my god you're even mimicking her pose!"
-and sighed. "Yes, fine. I'm doing the Sarcastic Arm Fold that Robyn's apparently trademarked despite it being done by so many other people before."
"I'm sorry, I just-seriously I'm not trying to tease you," Emerald assured her. "It's just, oh my god, this is so out of left field except it actually isn't when you think about it-"
"You coming back in?" shouted a voice from the warehouse.
"Just a moment, aunt Fiona!"
Emerald managed to draw back her burst of laughter. "Aunt Fiona! Oh my god-okay, okay, I'm good, I just, ha..."
"Do you want to come in and meet the fam?" Ilia deadpanned. "Might do you some good."
"You know what? Hell yeah. I've GOT to see this."
"Fine, fine..."
"Adopted by the Happy Huntresses." Emerald followed her in. "This variant is just too wild."
"Hey aunt May! I've got a street rat who's been staring at my ass coming in!"
"Do you want me to punch them or give them tips?"
"Wait-aunt May!" Emerald burst out laughing again. "That's incredible! I didn't even think of that!"
"Both," Ilia deadpanned. "But do the punching first."
[-]
178.3 Masterweaver
[-]
Kingfishers Hunt Blind
"You're good at this, I'll admit." Winter sat down next to the black bird gently. "I suppose, being a scout and spy, you'd know the most effective hiding spots. Or at least the ways to shake people looking for you."
The bird said nothing, not even reacting as she started stroking his feathers.
Winter, in turn, said nothing either, simply looking out at the haphazard city sprawling around them.
Wind whipped sand between the buildings, a few of the faunus below clutching their ears close for a moment before turning toward each other. A bulky woman in pants and what could generously be called a tank top wrapped a gangly man in an arm, punching him with a laugh. A horse nickered as a cat-sized mantis hopped onto its saddle, but didn't react when its claws started running through its mane.
"...were you picked to find me," croaked the bird, "or did you choose?"
"Both," Winter replied. "When Ruby told me, I volunteered without letting her finish."
"So you don't know what happened."
"Not all of it, no."
The bird nodded. "Course."
They continued to stare down at the streets, at the people of Vacuo going about their lives. Shade Academy loomed in the distance, vaguely pyramidal as per the norm. Perhaps, perhaps that glint off the corner was May Zedong, scoping out with her sniper rifle... or another one of the academy's students, for some reason.
"...Tyrian's a bastard."
Winter kept her amusement to a brief, quiet smile. "He is, at that."
"Goaded us into fighting on that ship." The bird shook his head. "Sure, the pieces were all there-Robyn's devotion to Mantle, the way James was breaking down, Clo... Clover's loyalty. But Tyrian... he got free, crashed the airship. Got us to fight..."
"Salem works by dividing us. Tyrian is her zealot, it makes sense he'd use her methods."
It was difficult to sigh with a beak, which made the sound the bird made even more impressive. "It's worse than that, he... worked with me."
Winter paused in her stroking-briefly, only for a moment, but it was enough to make the bird tense his wings.
"...all Ruby told me was that he k... murdered Clover."
"Really?" The bird snorted. "All I said was that Clover was dead. Guess it's not a big jump to make, though."
"...You said he worked with you," Winter murmured. "Do you mean as a partner, or... as a tool?"
"The second one, definitely. I didn't work with him. I'd never work with him. I was trying to fight him, but Clover-" The bird cut himself off.
Winter nodded, not breaking in her strokes.
"...How far gone do you have to be to put arresting a man over... over delivering a dangerous prisoner to their cell? Over getting an unconscious woman medical attention? Over actually handling the serial killer right there-? He works for gods-damned Salem! We could have worked together to take him down, but every time I tried he'd whip out that damned fishhook and..."
"I'm sorry, Qrow. I... I really am."
"...Tyrian used Harbinger to do it. My own damned weapon-he waited until..." Qrow shut his eyes. "I can't... he said I killed him-"
"You know that is a lie," Winter said, tone sympathetic and stern all at once. "You know he was just trying to dig it in as much as he could-"
"Of course I know! I'm not an idiot." His voice dropped. "Just a fool."
Winter's fingers trailed a quiet halfcircle between his wings. After a moment, he complied with her unspoken request and, in a burst of feathers, shifted to his human form, leaning into her hug.
"...He was just a soldier, in the end," he muttered. "All those assignments, all that time he spent listening... he fell in line, in the end. He knew it was wrong, but he fell in line."
She held him closer, keeping her own thoughts quiet.
"...I don't know why I'm even this hurt. He's not looping. He wasn't ever going to betray Ironwood. It didn't ever really mean anything."
"But you wanted it to," Winter murmured.
Qrow's breath hitched. "...yeah... I guess I did."
[-]
178.4 Shimmer712
[-]
Our Tiny Club
"Man, our numbers have really dropped," Roman commented to Pyrrha.
Pyrrha nodded. "I know. We used to have Penny, Neo, Oz, and we had Cinder for a bit after the whole expansion where she lost to Raven."
"And now it's just us," Roman groaned. "Is there any point in keeping the club going? I mean, I supposed we could change from the Dead Loopers Club to Dead And At One Time Assumed To Be Dead Club but that just seems weird. And it's not really a club with just two people. Just a pair of folk hanging out together."
"Let's talk to the others first but maybe we should put the whole thing on hiatus," Pyrrha suggested. "We can start it up again if someone else dies in baseline."
"Might be sooner than you think," Roman pointed out. "It's Cinder versus Winter and Penny and Neo versus Oscar and your family. Baseline Neo might avoid killing simply out of resentment for Cinder to leave her enemies alive but I doubt Cinder will be pulling any punches. She might not have any grudge against them but they are making themselves an obstacle to what she wants so she'll probably try to kill them to get her out of the way."
"And no doubt Winter and Penny are aware of who Cinder is and how dangerous she is so they won't be holding back either," Pyrrha nodded. "And being in a military base means it's possible they'll be able to summon backup which Cinder can't."
"So we might be getting new members soon," Roman mused. "...Would it be crass to hold a 'Hey, you're dead' party for anyone confirmed dead?"
"Yes, Roman."
"Hey, just asking," the thief shrugged. He got to his feet. "Whelp, I'm off to Salem's."
"Why there?" Pyrrha asked curiously.
Roman shrugged. "Mostly because I just realized I've never stolen her hair accessories so I'm gonna go nab them. If I can get them without being noticed in the middle of a meeting, it'll really freak them out."
"Have fun," Pyrrha shrugged as he left. "Cinder's not Awake this loop. Think I'll fake my death then spend the loop haunting her."
[-]
178.5 Masterweaver
[-]
We can't just talk this out
"Until this is over," Harriet said firmly, "you are under arrest."
Ruby gave her a flat look. "Wow. You really are my bitchy mirror."
"Excuse me?!"
"Wait, are you saying the Ace Ops are our bitchy mirrors?" Yang asked.
"No no no, they mirror us, but Harriet specifically mirrors me in a bitchy way."
"I'M STANDING RIGHT HERE!" Harriet snarled.
Blake hummed thoughtfully. "So just to be clear, which one is my mirror?"
Weiss rubbed her chin for a moment. "...I'd say Vine, honestly. You're both level-headed and socially aware, but he's much more passive about his insights."
"So he's my doormatty mirror? Is doormat-ty even a word?"
"Passive mirror," Yang suggested.
Vine leveled a flat look on her.
"Which makes Elm my mirror, but..." Yang rolled her hand. "...like, what, I'm more independent and she's a bootlicker?"
"Excuse me?!" Elm snapped.
Harriet huffed. "I know, right?!"
"Subordinate, maybe," Ruby suggested. "Obedient."
Marrow held up a hand. "Wait, wait, hold on, I thought I would be Blake's mirror-"
"No no no," Blake disagreed, "just because we're both faunus aware of society's inequalities doesn't make us mirrors. Our interests might align but our personalities are way different."
"But then I wind up being Weiss's mirror!"
"Well, we were both oppressed and abused by presumptions built into Atlas society," Weiss pointed out. "It's just that you were told you had to be a serf and I was told I had to be a princess and we both decided to be knights instead."
"So, pet bitch, weak bitch, society's bitch, and general bitch versions of us," Yang summarized.
"WHY ARE WE STILL TALKING?!" Harriet demanded. "We should be arresting these traitors!"
Ruby held up a hand. "Yeah, uh, about that. Can I know what the charges are?"
"...that is actually a good question," Vine admitted.
"What," said Elm.
Marrow frowned for a moment. "Have they done anything actually illegal?"
"THEY'RE TRAITORS!" Harriet shrieked.
Weiss held up a finger. "Point of order: We'd need to be in the Atlas military to betray the Atlas military, and we are technically independent contractors."
"Yeah, why are team JNPR and Qrow on this list anyway?" Yang asked, glancing at her scroll. "And Oscar, I mean, come on, the next Ozpin..."
"I don't need to explain myself to you!" Harriet growled.
"Actually, in accordance with the law-" Blake began.
Harriet rushed at her with a fist, but Blake simply sidestepped out of the way with her semblance.
"-we are allowed to be informed of the charges against us so as-"
Again Blake dodged a lightning-speed fist to the abdomen, Harriet huffing as she spun back around.
"-to ensure we are capable of defending ourselves in court-"
"NOT IN A FUCKING MILITARY COURT!" the Ace Op screamed.
"Again," Weiss reminded, "Technically not military."
Ruby sighed. "Harriet, seriously, stop, you're embarrassing yourself."
The woman's eyes snapped to her and she rushed forward-
-only to be snatched up by Yang who, with unerring speed, grabbed her own bola, tangled her up, and tossed her into a corner. "Okay, you're in time out while you cool down."
"GRAASHB-TIME OUT?! I AM NOT A FUCKING CHILD I AM A SOLDIER OF THE ATLAS-"
"Where were we..." Ruby snapped her fingers. "Right, the charges."
Elm, Vine, and Marrow shared baffled looks.
"...sedition?" Vine offered.
Ruby considered for a moment, then shrugged. "Okay, so that's me, what about everyone else on the list?"
"You did... steal that airship once," Marrow pointed out.
"The statute of limitations on that one has expired," Blake countered.
"TREACHERY!" Harriet insisted from the corner.
"Not military!" Weiss reminded.
Elm sighed. "Violation of contract in direct opposition to your employer who is, in fact, the Atlas Military, under clause 3B-5."
Ruby pulled out her scroll, reading down the contract. "...Hmmm... huh. 'The employer can at any time change the direction of the mission-'"
"Let me see that." Weiss took the scroll, looking it up and down. "Hmm. Well, that's... some serious corporate doublespeak. Clause 3B-5 in this case conflicts with clause 2A-2-"
"WILL YOU JUST TIE THEM UP AND THROW THEM IN CELLS ALREADY?!" Harriet demanded.
"Hold on, we're still determining if this is legal," Blake said offhandedly.
"Why the fuck do you need to determine if this is legal?! You're clearly going to fight us anyway!"
Team RWBY all gave the tied up woman unamused looks, before turning back to the rest of the Ace Operatives. "Anyway..."
[-]
178.6 Shimmer712
[-]
Scorpion Dump
"The last loop was creepy," Ruby said flatly.
"What was so creepy about it?" Jaune asked from where he was playing a game on his scroll. "Dodge, dodge, dodge aaannnd kick!" he muttered.
"You winning?" Ruby asked.
"So far," Jaune answered. "So anyway, you saying about your last loop?"
"All the toilets had been replaced," Ruby shuddered.
"…Weird but not as bad as I was expecting."
"With Tyrian's tail."
Jaune stared at her, not noticing when "you lose" flashed on his screen. "What?"
"All the toilets were Tyrian's tail," Ruby repeated. "Not the rest of him though. Thank you, Marianne," she mumbled.
"How does that even work?" Jaune exclaimed, baffled.
Ruby shrugged. "I have facilities in my Pocket. Thank the tree," she muttered.
"…I think I need to make sure I have that sort of facilities in my Pocket," Jaune decided. "Just in case this becomes a thing."
"Good plan," Ruby agreed.
"…Seriously, though, how did that work? It makes no sense."
"And you don't want it to. Trust me on this!"
[-]
178.7 Shimmer712
[-]
A Bouquet of Sympathy (kinda)
Qrow stared at his adopted niece. "Neo, what is this?"
Neo looked down at her hands, examining what she held. "I suppose it could be called a bouquet. What do you think of the paper?"
"I'm not even going to ask where you managed to find wrapping paper with the image of impaled scorpions printed on it-"
"They're not all impaled!" Neo objected. "Look, this one here is on fire, this one is being squashed under a boulder, this one is drowning." She paused. "But yeah, a lot of them are being stabbed."
"Yeah, I noticed," Qrow said dryly. "But why are you holding a bouquet of Tyrian's head?"
Sure enough, Neo was holding several identical heads in a bouquet.
Neo shrugged. "Well, he freaks Ruby out a bit, no one likes him... basically, I can do whatever I want to him and no one will really complain." She smirked wickedly.
Qrow looked at the heads, then at her. "So, he's basically your toy."
"Outside of null loops. Even with the advantage of loops, he's pretty dangerous," Neo admitted. "You know some loops he's vulnerable to his own poison?"
"Fascinating," Qrow deadpanned. "So why show me the heads?"
"To make you feel better about him being such a bitch baseline?" she offered.
"...Anyone else, it would be creepy as fuck. You?" Qrow shrugged. "Points for effort, I guess." He paused. "You're not expecting me to take them, are you?"
Beaming, Neo held out the heads to him.
Qrow stared at her for a few moments. "Nope." Before he turned and walked away.
Neo pouted and Pocketed the bouquet.
[-]
178.8 Shimmer712
[-]
Suggestions, Madame?
"Yo!"
Pausing, Salem, regally turned to look behind her. The space was empty.
"Up here!"
Tilting her head back, Salem appraised the monkey faunus hanging from the chandelier by his tail. "What do you think you are doing?" she inquired.
"Oh, I figured I'd get your input on a project of mine," he answered cheerfully.
"A project?" Salem repeated dryly.
"Yep," he nodded, before tossing her two cards. Salem caught them and looked at them curiously. The black card read "The Brother Gods have returned. The best way to greet them is (_)." The white card read "A fish slap to the face."
Quirking an eyebrow, the witch raised her head and looked at the blond. "What is this?"
"A game I'm working on. You have someone put down a black card and the other players fill the blank by choosing from the white cards they have. The player who put a black card down gives a point by choosing what they think is the best combination and then the next player puts a black card down," he explained with a grin.
"So, I could create the sentence 'The Brother Gods have returned. The best way to greet them is a fish slap to the face', if I understand correctly," Salem mused. "What a simple concept with such potential for amusement."
Her uninvited guest beamed at her in response. "Glad you think so," he chirped. "I was wondering if you had any ideas for the ones mocking the Brother Gods. And for some reason, Ozpin, the guy who runs Beacon thought you would have some good ideas for mocking him."
"Ozpin?" Salem barely managed to keep her tone pleasant and cordial.
"Yeah. I've already got one black card for him," he explained, tossing it to her.
"The source of Ozpin's Conspiracy Addiction is blank," she read. Salem looked back up at him. "So, you wish for me to provide ideas for the black cards aimed at mocking the Brother Gods and Ozpin. Am I correct?"
"Yes, ma'am!" he nodded with a cheerful smile.
Salem gave a regal nod. "What is your name, boy?" she asked.
"Sun Wukong, ma'am!"
"Very well, Sun. I shall provide you a list in a few days. Will I need to have someone see you out?"
"No, I'll be fine," he assured her. "Thanks!" With that, he swung off the chandelier and flipped to the floor before scampering off.
"How interesting," she remarked to herself.
As he left, Sun heard the sound of Tyrian laughing. "Hmm." He pulled out a notepad and flipped it open to a page labeled "White Cards". He scribbled down "Tyrian's psychotic laugh." underneath "Jinn tap-dancing on a beringel" and looked the list over.
"Given recent expansions, would it be bad taste to add "Clover's lucky charm" or not?" he wondered, putting the notepad away and taking off.
[-]
178.9 Masterweaver
[-]
A Gynoid Scorned
Winter strode into the diagnostic room that served as Penny's quarters. "I just received an interesting report from the Ace Ops."
"Oh?"
"Specifically Harriet Bree."
"Oh?" said Penny again.
"More specifically," Winter pressed, "about a number of 'accidents' that you might have caused in her vicinity."
"Oh?" said Penny again, not looking up from her scroll.
Winter crossed her arms. "What is this, Penny? Really?"
"A set of reports by Harriet Bree-"
"Penny, it's a null loop," Winter pointed out. "And I know you still hiccup when you lie. So I want you to look me in the eyes and tell me what this is about."
Penny sighed, putting down her scroll. "I would have thought that would be clear, Winter."
"The last expansion has... certainly hit us all," Winter admitted. "Some harder than others. And I recognize that, as the person who took on your paramour, Harriet would earn a particular level of ire from you, but the degree to which you are taking this seems excessive-and yes," she admitted, "I realize how that sounds coming from me."
"She had her legs around Ruby's neck," Penny growled.
"Ah," said Winter.
"Harriet has runner's muscles, she could have crushed her throat if it wasn't for aura!" the gynoid exploded. "And she bashed Ruby's chin at high speed-do you know what sort of concussion she could have gotten from that?!"
"...Aaaaaah," Winter realized. "You don't like that she used excessive force."
"Of course I don't! What do you think, I'd be fine with her beating up my girlfriend?"
"Oh, no, I just... actually, it's not important. But, Penny, being fair, this version of Harriet hasn't done that yet."
"I know," Penny grumbled. "I don't think I've gone too far, though."
"Mmmm... if she's noticed, she'll want an explanation. And 'you beat up my girlfriend in another timeline' isn't really going to fly well."
"Fiiiiiine." Penny sighed. "I'll stop."
"Good. Now I just have to think of something to tell her..."
[-]
178.10 Masterweaver
[-]
The Little Things
"Why is my hair purple?"
"Your hair is just purple sometimes, Merc, it's the loops, roll with it."
"My name is Mercury, Em. Mercury. Like the metal. My hair is supposed to be silver-grayish."
"And sometimes it's purple. Stop obsessing over this."
"I'm not obsessing! I just don't get why it's purple is all."
"Mercury Black, we are in the middle of fighting back an invasion by humanoid broccoli aliens by throwing molten cheese at their seal-shaped spaceships. The hair. Is not. Important."
"But-"
"It's an animation error in the hub backups, okay? Yggdrasil hiccuped, that's all it is, now will you get over here and man the cheezooka?!"
[-]
178.11 Shimmer712
[-]
Misfortunate Slip
Qrow found himself facing off against Tyrian and Clover when he Woke up. He felt a pang of bitter disappointment as Kingfisher's line tried to entangle him as he swung at Tyrian. But he ignored it in favour of irritation.
Seriously? Why was Clover so set on arresting him? Even if he didn't feel comfortable teaming up with someone he was going to try to arrest, why not let him and Tyrian fight it out and then take down the winner? Let the two men he was supposed to bring in take each other down, then jump in fresh while whoever is left standing is tired? Why make it easier for the psychopath to stay up and fighting?
Qrow kept a firm grasp on Harbinger, inwardly shuddering at the memory of his blade coated in blood, tainted with murder. He had had Harbinger for so long, it was practically an extension of himself. For it to be used like that…
Qrow's crimson aura flickered and spread out in response to his frustration and feeling of violation. The frozen ice beneath their feet began to fracture and fell apart as Kingfisher and Tyrian's tail and wrist blades and guns broke into pieces.
Qrow swore and quickly pulled in his aura the best he could. He might not have managed complete control but he was able to reduce its effects to a degree.
However, the damage was already done. The trio fell into the resulting chasm. Qrow threw a quick glance to see, to his relief, Robyn was away from the edge of the cracks, safe from falling. Satisfied, Qrow stepped from rubble to rubble, avoiding collisions and controlling his descent. He cursed when his foot slipped on a slippery spot on the icy debris and quickly worked to rebalance himself.
…He may have cheated, using out of loop abilities.
Touching down lightly, Qrow looked around and cringed. "I haven't slipped like that with my semblance since…" he paused. "…Fuck if I know…"
Qrow glanced around, looking for signs of Tyrian and Clover. Eyes landing on the assassin, he blinked.
"Oh. I guess breaking his neck takes him out of the picture," he muttered. Assuming Salem didn't give him any gifts. He frowned, considering. "Now there's an idea," he muttered. "If Oz can do it, why not her?"
He carefully approached the still form. Then dodged as the faint sound of something whistling through the air alerted him to the incoming projectile.
"Nice sneak attack," he said sarcastically, turning to face Clover.
Clover looked at him reproachfully. "Qrow, please, we don't have to fight."
"Given that you were willing to let a murderous psychopath go loose so you could arrest me, I'm hardly willing to trust your judgment right now," Qrow told him. Then had to dodge again, darting away several feet.
"Oooh, the lovebirds are quarreling," Tyrian crooned, pulled his stinger back.
"Here we go again," Qrow muttered, readying Harbinger.
Then blinked as he found himself standing on a cliff, a dead grimm with Harbinger still buried in it at his feet and a clear view of Ruby, Jaune, Nora and Ren walking down a path.
He sighed. "I really need to bring up the idea that Salem gave her followers powers the same way Oz did," he decided. "Tyrian, at least is a sure bet if that is something she does. He is fanatically loyal and literally worships her so there's no chance of him turning against her."
[-]
178.12 Black Omochao
[-]
The Stepmother
[Yo-kai Watch/RWBY]
'Hm, so here I am once more, the stepmother…' Lily thought, a melancholy sigh escaping her lips as she looked out the window of the Xiao Long-Rose-Adams household, watching a three-year-old Nate playfully running around with his new big step-sister.
"I'm gonna get you, Nate!" the seven-year-old Ruby cheered as she chased the small boy.
"No get! No get!" the little boy laughed as he fled from the charge.
Lily allowed herself a small smile as she watched the two children; often in these kinds of Loops, when Nate wasn't Awake, it took him a bit longer to warm up to his new sisters. A pained frown came to her face as she brushed through her memories, catching a glimpse of something that occurred not too long after Nate's birth this Loop, 'Why… why do these Loops always need to give me such horrific visions of my dear Aaron dying…?'
Getting up from the chair she had been reclining on, Lily picked up her coffee mug, giving another sigh, 'I suppose I understand why this sort of Loop happens as much as it does, my son's bond with those girls is quite remarkable… still, I sometimes wish I did not have to experience it in this sort of manner…'
A creak by the doorway brought the Looping woman out of her thoughts, glancing over, she caught only the faintest flash of blond hair as footsteps echoed through the rooms.
A gentle smile came to Lily's face as she moved to follow the retreating shadow…
"Yang?" the dark-haired woman called out as she stepped out into the living room, "Yang? I know I saw you; do you need something?" walking around the corner, Lily was able to spot the nine-year-old ducking behind the couch, "Alright, I won't make you come out, but if you need something, I'll be here," moving over to the couch, the Yo-kai Watch Looper seated herself on the couch and turned on the television.
Yang peeked out from the corner of the couch, her eyes drawn to the cartoons her new stepmother had put on, instead of some 'boring adult show' like she was expecting. The blond glanced warily at the woman seated on the couch.
Lily didn't turn to Yang or give any indication she knew she was there; she took a sip from her coffee and kept her eyes on the television, releasing a small chuckle on occasion in response to something happening on the screen.
Creeping out a bit more from her hiding spot, Yang stood out in the open, glancing between the woman and television, before she finally sat down on the couch, giving a little smile as she watched the cartoons play out on the screen.
Lily subtly glanced in the young girl's direction but said nothing as they both continued to watch the show.
"… I don't need anything," Yang finally said, after what felt like an eternity of silence between the two, not looking in the woman's direction, her eyes firmly focused on the television.
"Oh, well my mistake," Lily nodded, also keeping her eyes on the TV. "But you know; I'm here for you if you need anything."
"Yeah… but for how long?" Yang's hiss was nearly a whisper, but it was still audible enough for Lily to pick up on.
Lily frowned a bit at the comment, already having a feeling she knew what this behavior was about; it wasn't an uncommon behavior from Yang, whenever she found herself taking the role of the girl's stepmother, and she wasn't Awake; no matter how many times she'd encountered it, she felt sympathy for the child currently under her care all the same. "Why aren't you out playing with Nate and Ruby?"
"Ruby thinks that baby's our brother; he's not my brother," Yang grunted stubbornly, "Like how you're not my mom!"
"…True, I'm not your mom," Lily admitted with a slightly sad smile, her eyes looking to the ground.
Yang seemed surprised by this admittance, finally looking towards the woman.
"I can do my best to help you, but I can't take Summer's place, she was a very special person." Lily smile turned a bit brighter as she sat down her mug on the coffee table. "And… I want you to know, Yang; I'm not going to try and take Summer's place, that wouldn't be right. I'm not your mom, and I'll never be your mom, but…" the bespectacled woman turned to look at the blond girl, reaching out with a hand.
Yang almost seemed to want to pull back but did not as Lily's hand came and brushed a stray lock of hair out of her eyes.
"Even if I'll never be your mom, I want you to know that you can count on me, both you and Ruby, just as much as my own son can. I promise you; I'm not going anywhere, and I'll always do my best to help you." The Looper kept smiling as she spoke, looking to the young girl with eyes full of maternal love.
"But…" Yang sniffled a bit, a few tears starting to form in her eyes. "How can I believe that? Mom said the same thing… she said she'd never leave us, like… like…, she said she'd never leave! She lied! She lied!" Yang turned and covered her face in a couch cushion, small, muffled cries escaping from it.
"Shhh…" Lily's voice took on a soothing tone as she moved closer to the child, gently stroking her hair. "She didn't lie to you, she would have stayed with you forever if she could help it."
"Th-Then why didn't she…?" Yang whimpered as she looked up from the pillow, moving to sit in the woman's lap, hugging her to cry into her chest.
"Some things can't be helped, it's sad, but it's how it is." Lily frowned as she looked up towards the ceiling, continuing to stroke blond girl's hair to comfort her. "It was the same with Nate's father… this world took him from us, even if he would have rather stayed with us forever…"
"Huh…?" Yang looked up curiously, blinking a few tears out of her eyes.
Lily sighed as she allowed the Loop memories to wash over her once more. "Nate was too little to remember. In a way, I'm happy he doesn't have to grieve, but… I'm sad he never knew him. It pains me to know Nate will grow up never having met his father, I'm sure Taiyang will do a fine job in the role, but… well," the Looper sighed again, patting the small girl on the head, "People leave us, Yang, whether they want to, or not, it's painful, but we all need to leave eventually."
Yang let out a few more sniffles. "But… you just said you wouldn't leave… doesn't that mean you will leave?"
Lily motherly smile, petting Yang's head a bit more. "We do all have to leave eventually, but I don't intend to leave you, Ruby, or Nate, for a long time. Not until you don't need me anymore…"
"I… I don't need you," Yang insisted, trying to hold back more sniffles, before she hugged her stepmother, "But please, don't leave… not yet…"
"I won't, Yang, don't worry," Lily assured, lovingly hugging her stepdaughter back. 'These Loops can be painful, especially the memories I get in association with them… but I do love these girls, as much as my own son, and I'll always do my best to do the best I can for them, even if I can never be their mother…'
From the window Ruby and Nate, both Anchors having just Awoken, peeked into the room, before they turned to each other and made 'shushing' motions, before running off to continue playing.
[-]
178.13 Luna 2
[-]
The power of HUGS
"You think you're going to stop us? We're the best Huntsmen in Atlas," Harriet scoffed, as the Ace-Ops were about to arrest team RWBY.
"You were. But we have the power…of HUGS!" Ruby screamed as her body disintegrated into a mass of Chibis, joined by wave upon wave from her Pocket. They continued to scream the word 'HUGS' joyously as they surged through Ironwood's office towards the Ace-Ops, enveloping them.
Harriet reacted quickest, bolting towards a space to strike back, only to find waves of rose petals shoot past on every side that then turned back round, forming shapes like giant clawed hands that blotted out everything around her, before they closed in from all sides.
"STAY!" a wide-eyed Marrow shouted. He briefly stopped part of the wave, but almost immediately felt his aura drain, facing uncountable numbers of Rubies, the rest surging on. He could only cry out, "STA-AAARGH!" as another wave of Chibis hug-tackled him to the ground.
Elm rooted herself to the floor, trying to weather the storm. But that just made her a sitting target for the waves of Chibis wrapping round her, battering against her aura, and weighing down her arms, making it increasingly difficult to move or use her weapon.
Vine tried to use his arms to clear a space around himself or to move, jumping or beating them back at a distance. When he stopped on the ground to spin and use his arms in a flailing attack, a single layer of Chibis ran across the floor underneath his arms and grabbed onto his feet, anchoring him to the floor, then overbalancing him before the rest piled on top.
The result was... a group of 4 Ace-ops, practically flattened by large numbers of Chibis, who were clinging to them and repeatedly yelling out 'HUGS' at random intervals. Harriet looked terrified now she had a moment to take in the many eyes looking at her of the tiny Rubies pinning her to the floor with their combined weight. The ones holding onto Marrow didn't get much response as he had passed out from the exhaustion of using his semblance. Elm still looked angry, but also increasingly out of breath from trying to fight back. Vine looked distinctly uncomfortable but had enough sense not to struggle as he eyed his tiny assailants warily.
Weiss, Blake, and Yang looked on, filming the whole thing on scrolls.
"You know, funny as this is, and as much as I'm used to it by now… does anyone else find it a bit…" Yang hesitated as she looked at the other two.
"…disturbing on some level?" Blake finished.
"Yeah. I mean, they totally deserve it, and she took them down without hurting them which is better than baseline, and... c'mon, the irony of literally weighing them down with 'the power of friendship'? But... still..."
"I kind of feel that way too."
"And yet we're filming it rather than stopping it," Weiss intoned while looking at them blankly.
Yang shrugged in response.
"Part of the uncomfortable truth lies in how easily this could be a script for a nightmare horror movie," Weiss continued, "but for Ruby's empathy being genuine and for her self-control. Collectively those Chibis could break them if she wanted to, or seriously hurt them, but she's being very careful - the pressure they're exerting is just enough to keep the Ace-Ops in place. Traumatic for them? Yes... but compared to what Loopers are capable of and given the circumstances... this is still mild."
Elm's resolve was visibly weakening under the many sad-eyed tiny Rubies looking at her and clinging on while insistently squeaking 'Hugs'.
Weiss's eyes dimmed slightly, "And with everything going on in the expansions... the conflicts in baseline relations? …Maybe it's… also her way of making a point."
Yang smiled while narrowing her eyes. "Well, if it's ok then maybe we should go for who can get the best reactions? – Look on their faces after I transform into a dragon next time?"
Weiss stared blankly again and sighed. "I'm torn between saying that making it a competition just adds to how disturbing this is… or asking that we try and be more creative than just going for 'scariest face' reactions."
[-]
178.14 Masterweaver
[-]
It's not easy being a wealthy jerk
Jacques was walking through the halls of his mansion when he came across a woman he had never seen before in his life standing in the foyer. He quite reasonably walked up to her and asked "Who are you?" in a polite tone.
"I'm Raven," she replied. "Raven Branwen."
"And what are you doing here?"
"Oh, I'm here to steal your son."
"What," said Jacques.
"And maybe your wife too," Raven mused, "she's pretty hot."
"You can't just take what's mine!"
"Why not? Everybody else is doing it."
Jacques' mustache bristled. "WHAT?!"
"Yeah, your daughter's taking your company-"
"Surprisingly easy," said Weiss as she passed through the foyer tapping on a scroll.
"-my brother's taking your other daughter-"
"Wheeeeee," drawled Winter in deadpan as she was carried across the stairs by a scruffy man.
"-my daughter's taking your butler-"
"He's a good cook," said a blonde carrying Klein over her shoulder.
"-her sister's taking your computer junk-"
"Oooo!" came a voice from Jacques' office. "He has minesweeper!"
"-my daughter's wife is taking your library-"
"Oooo!" came a voice from the library. "He has the entire Merry Gentry series!"
"-her sister is taking your art-"
"Oooo!" came a voice from the gallery. "He has a genuine Mistral scroll painting from before the great war!"
"-her girlfriend is taking your booze-"
"WHY DO YOU ONLY HAVE WINE AND VODKA?! God damn rich idiots..."
"-and her patron-type person is taking any shred of respect that you ever had."
"Digital photo-editing is wonderful, darling," said the dark-haired woman in a red dress, showing Jacques an image of himself half-naked and riding a moose.
"...what..."
"So I really don't see why you're upset," Raven concluded.
"But-but-You can't just take my wife and son!"
"What?" The woman in a red dress turned on Raven with a frown. "That is completely abhorrent, Raven!"
"Really Cinder?"
"We all agreed to only take one thing apiece!"
"But Willow's hot!"
"Hold on, hold on." Another woman, this one with cat ears, stepped between them with her hands held up placatingly. "How about this: Raven takes Willow, I take Whitley, but I let Raven and Willow have visitation rights."
Raven nodded. "That seems fair."
"You won't get away with this!" Jacques snarled, already pulling out his scroll. "I'm calling the police!"
The doors to the foyer burst open, five people in white uniforms charging into an action-ready group pose which happened to look epic. "WE ARE HERE NOW!" shouted the tall woman.
"Gasp!" Raven gasped dramatically. "The Ace Ops!"
"Ah good," Weiss said as she poked her head in. "As you can clearly see Jacques is conspiring with noted criminal Raven Branwen leader of the Branwen Bandits and as this is most certainly illegal and a threat to Atlas I decided to call you and I hope you will be efficient in arresting them both have a good day sirs and ma'ams." Having rattled off her exposition, she returned to the dining room.
"Wait what?" said Jacques.
"FUCK THE LAW AND FUCK YOU ALL!" Raven cried. "YOU IN PARTICULAR!" she added, pointing at the leader. "But not you," she finished as she pointed at the only faunus in the group, "because I like to think I'm progressive."
"...I am seriously conflicted about that," said faunus admitted.
"Arrest her!" Jacques demanded, trying to regain control of a situation he never had any control over.
"Very well," said the leader, throwing a gravity bola that Raven deflected with a sword from seemingly nowhere (and which, incidentally, wound up wrapping Jacques up in its coils).
"Hold on," said the woman with cat ears, "were the Ace Ops part of the plan?"
The woman in a red dress groaned. "No, but now we have to deal with them too. Oh well, it was a slow loop anyway."
[-]
178.15 Shimmer712
[-]
A Heart to Heart Between Thief and Sociopath
"Haven't seen Tyrian this high on your shit list since he poisoned Qrow," Roman commented, dropping onto the couch next to Neo. Neo looked up at him. "Wanna talk about it?"
Neo was silent for a moment. "You remember that loop where Ruby woke up early and told him everything? The one were I became their cousin?"
"I remember." Roman tilted his head back. "Ahh, the simpler times. Gotta say I miss them. Things were much easier back then."
"He didn't even try to arrest you. He didn't try to take you away from me. As far as he knew, we weren't loopers either, he could have probably taken us down if he wanted from his perspective but it doesn't seem like it occurred to him to take you from me. He saw nothing wrong with me staying with you. He let me be a child while still having you in my life." Neo chewed her lip. "I know Qrow isn't the same as his baseline counterpart but the core is the same. He's the person he let me keep you in my life when he could have had an innocent little girl taken away from the big bad criminal. And this was before his own past with the Bandit Tribe was stabilized." She brushed her hair out of her face. "And his own behavior as a looper makes me think that wasn't limited to his unAwake self."
"So, you love your uncle Qrow because he knows and respects what we are to each other and will defend it, and he gave us a chance to be a family without the hardships of a life of crime or dealing with Cinder and her schemes." Roman nodded. "I was thinking you were upset over fighting Oscar baseline and using Tyrian as a punching bag to vent. But I suppose he's pissed you off in his own right."
"Pretty much," Neo nodded, leaning against him.
The two sat in silence for a moment before Neo spoke up again.
"No one hears about this talk. I have a reputation to keep."
"My lips are sealed," Roman promised.
[-]
178.16 Leviticus Wilkes
[-]
Psychology of Sin
Cinder quirked an eyebrow at Pyrrha as she reclined in the beige psychotherapist office. "And-"
"Yes Cinder, I'm sure," Pyrrha said with a smile. "I can handle you impartially and respectfully."
"And this is the part where you say 'and how did you feel about the vicious repeated betrayals of me and my family'," Cinder quipped.
"We can make it about that if you want to," Pyrrha said with all of the brightness of a chemical fire.
Cinder huffed loudly and looked away. "I can't believe Alucard banned Weiss from psychotherapy."
"Well, she does need time to sort out her feelings for Ruby," Pyrrha said casually, picking up a clipboard.
Cinder, meanwhile, was narrowing her eyes at Cinder. "What do you mean, feelings for Ruby?"
Pyrrha paused and set down her clipboard. "You hadn't figured it out, had you?"
"Weiss is in love with Ruby," Cinder said, her tone dripping incredulity and dawning realization. "That's... that's... not insane."
Pyrrha chewed her lip. "I figured it out a while ago. Mostly because I am one of Weiss' oldest patients. I would have figured that you-"
"That because I'm Ruby's sister I'd be watching her friends like a hawk for the chance to intimidate them into not touching my sister?" Cinder completed. The pyrophile kicked up her legs and laid back, staring at the ceiling and thinking about it. "I'm a big sister, I'm not a stereotype. But even then, it's Weiss. She's always been that... well, Snow Queen. Her making a move on Ruby... that's just unthinkable."
"And yet it makes sense," Pyrrha said, picking up her clipboard again.
"Yeah. I mean, they're best friend and anchor. Ruby and Penny are on that shared wavelength, you know, probably on the autism spectrum a little bit. But Weiss and Ruby know each other so well it definitely doesn't matter. There's no barrier between them."
"Yes, and how does this make you feel?"
"Well, how am I supposed to feel?" Cinder asked, giving Pyrrha a quizzical look. "I guess... I'm worried for Ruby and Penny. Penny could die in the next expansion after all: how will she and Ruby react if Weiss tells her how she feels. Ashes, how will Weiss feel if I kill Winter? She might have... a moment of weakness and go to Ruby for support."
"You don't want anyone to be hurt. Is it because you're worried it would be your fault?"
"A little yeah. But I also don't want them... to get... hurt..." Cinder sat bolt upright and glared at Pyrrha. "You're psychoanalyzing me already!"
Pyrrha nodded. "Guilty as charged. But I'm only taking advantage of the chance to do so."
"You bitch."
"You chose to come to me," Pyrrha pointed out.
That brought Cinder up short, and the Maiden groaned aloud. "Dammit..."
Pyrrha set her clipboard down and switched from her chair to recline on the seat with Cinder. "Hey, it'll be alright. We'll survive."
Cinder turned over to face the woman that, so long ago, she had killed.
Pyrrha knew what was going through her mind and grinned at her. "Promise."
Cinder waited, and thought about it, and finally sighed and nodded. "You'd better be right..."
[-]
178.17 Masterweaver
[-]
Why even bring it up?
"Order! I hereby call this arbitrary and probably pointless meeting to order!"
"If we're taking orders, Blake and I will have the sushi platter!"
Ruby put her hands on her hips, glowering playfully at Yang. "Can I at least say what I want to say before we start riffing?"
"Fine, fine."
"Good. Now then!" Ruby tapped a button, and a hard light screen came up, filled with many profile images. "We have a number of antagonists here on Remnant, of varying quality. But the vast majority of them we can tolerate for some reason. The Malachites and Xion family, ordinary organized crime. Various racists and buffoons from Atlas, not actually all that threatening. Merlot is almost forgettable, and Carmine and Bertilak are professional thugs instead of, you know, psychopaths. We may dislike them, some of us may despise them, but they are not reviled. Are you all with me so far?"
The crowd of loopers mumbled and nodded as most of the pictures faded.
"That said, there are a few antagonists that we, as loopers, universally agree to be irredeemable aside from variant loops." She gestured. "Marcus Black. Adam Taurus. Jacques Schnee. Each and every one of these have earned our revulsion. Today, I would like to propose we add another member to the 'okay we definitely all hate him' list: Tyrian Callows."
"Did you call this meeting just to bash on a bad guy?" Ilia asked flatly.
"No no no, this is the meeting to see if we're all in agreement that he's a bash-worthy target," Ruby assured her. "Bashing can be done at our own leisure, if we agree to it. So, without any judgment, does anybody have anything they can say in his favor?"
"He's an excellent fighter," Cinder mused. "Taking down Jacques is basic. And Adam... well, he's got some skill, but it relies all on one technique. Tyrian, though, he can give a real battle if you get into it."
"...Okay, yeah," Ruby admitted, "that's a good point. Does that detract from 'okay we definitely all hate him' though?"
"Not really, but I am his coworker and am obligated to put forward one point of defense. Consider it put forward."
"I'll be honest, I'm sort of meh about him," Maria admitted. "Don't get me wrong, I don't like the guy, but... well, my fight with Tock really inured me to the idea of psychopathic faunus who taunt and get creative in their assaults."
"Yeah, your semblance would give you quite the advantage against him." Ruby hummed thoughtfully. "I'm noticing that our positives on Tyrian all relate to combat, specifically. He's a good fight, he has a specific fighting style... do we like him as a person?"
There was a general course of negatives.
"So we can put him on the shortlist, then?"
"We could," Kali mused, "but... why do we even have an official shortlist?"
Ruby shrugged. "I did say this meeting was arbitrary and probably pointless. I think I'm allowed a bit of that at my age."
[-]
178.18 Shimmer712
[-]
Cheese, Fruits, Nuts, and Bugs
"Hey, Uncle Qrow?"
"Yeah, Kiddo?" Qrow looked at his younger niece.
"You looped into the Ladybug Loops as Plagg, right?"
"Right," Qrow nodded, faintly confused by the questioning.
"So does that mean you can recharge instantly if you eat some cheese like he does?" Ruby asked. "I looped in as Tikki and I can recharge with cookies if I want to the way she does. So is it the same with you?"
"Except for the cheese part, yeah," Qrow shrugged. "I looped in a cat kwami once or twice but most of the time I'm a bird one who happens to be bad luck and destruction, crows and black cats both being symbols of bad luck, and I recharge from nuts, berries, and fruits. And that's what carried over."
"Huh." Ruby considered the answer for a moment. "Since fruits, nuts and berries are all things birds are known to eat if they're not birds of prey or something, does that mean you also recharge if you eat bugs?"
"Not really into that, so I can't say."
"..."
"Ruby, no."
"What? There are loops where eating bugs is as normal as eating a sandwich."
"I said no."
"C'mon, I bet you've eaten bugs in your bird form."
"Unfortunately. And the squirming is why I don't like eating bugs if I can avoid it," Qrow grimaced.
Ruby blinked. "Wait, seriously?"
Qrow groaned. "Sometimes I Wake up when my Unawake self has been cut off from people in the field and needed to get nutrition somehow and found myself mid-swallow with the damn things already part way down my throat. Stuff like that. End result, feeling bugs wiggling as they go down my throat weirded me out enough that I don't want to eat bugs, even when it's normal for the loop, okay?"
"Okay," Ruby sighed.
Uncle and niece sat in silence for a moment.
"So, did any of them taste good?"
"Actually, yeah, some of them were pretty good. Still unnerved by the squirming though."
[-]
178.19 Shimmer712
[-]
A Word of Advice
"Captain Ebi."
Clover turned at the clipped words to see Winter staring at him.
"Hello there, Anything I can help you with?" he asked.
Winter just raised an eyebrow. "Please note that in the event you are required to bring in a potential hostile who has recently been on good terms with the Atlas Military, if there is a serial killer nearby, prioritize the killer's captures over the other individual," she said icily.
"Okay?"
Recalling this exchange later on, after the general had issued arrest orders and Tyrian had managed to free himself from his restraints, Clover was starting to think Winter was some sort of seer. This was the exact situation she had described, after all.
[-]
178.20 Black Omochao
[-]
The Power of Empathy
[Yo-kai Watch/RWBY]
"Okay, Nate, you know I love you, and I love that you do this when you show up," Ruby spoke carefully, patting the head of a beowolf that had seated itself beside her, as she sat in the clearing of the Emerald Forest, surrounded by other Grimm. "But, seriously; how do you do this!?"
Nathan Adams, AKA Keita Amano, made a humming sound as he sat on the back of his beloved deathstalker; Greta. He glanced around at the other peaceful Grimm, before turning his focus back to his sister. "…You know what; I don't know."
"… You don't know?" Ruby blinked in response to her little brother's words.
"Well, I mean… it's not one thing," Nate tried to explain, patting Greta, inciting a few happy sounds from her. "I don't think so at least. Grimm don't always work the same way between Loops, sometimes showing them kindness is all it takes, but that's rare…" The young boy crossed his arms, a brief bit of frustration crossing his face as he tried to explain. "Many times, it's like… well, Grimm don't usually have emotions, or if they do, it's all negative stuff; anger, hatred, hunger…"
"I don't think hunger's an emotion, but I get what you mean," Ruby nodded, watching as the beowolf by her side got up and walked over to Greta, hopping onto her to get into a position where Nate could pet it. "But that makes it even harder to understand; how do you get them like this…?"
"Again; it's not one thing, and I'm not sure if I can properly explain it…" Nate sighed, scratching the beowolf's fur. "Many times, it's almost like… they may not feel emotions, but I can feel the emotions for them…? Like, with Greta here…" he patted the scorpion Grimm's carapace again, "The bond I share with her shouldn't carry over between Loops, because; Baseline-wise, she's a mindless beast, and it shouldn't be possible for her to Loop, or be Dreaming, in any manner, but… she doesn't have to…"
Greta gave a few clicks, reaching up with a pincer.
Nate smiled, holding out a hand to the claw and touching it. "Greta doesn't need to feel or remember anything, because I carry the bond for both of us. And, when I meet her again, I share that with her…"
Ruby scratched her head, staring at the boy with a confused look. "Nate, um, sorry; that doesn't really make sense, or tell me how this works…"
An ursa gave a grunt, almost as if to agree with the local Anchor.
Nate shrugged. "Sorry, that's not all there is to it either, but… it's really hard to explain. The best way I think I can say it is: I just do."
Ruby chuckled, shaking her head. "Probably should have expected something like that, not like something like what you do with the Creatures of Grimm could be easily explained…"
Nate just shrugged again, chuckling when Greta's claw came down and started petting his head.
