A/N: Hey there true believers, I think that there is an explanation that is owed for the removal of chapter 17. Due to a miscommunication between myself and my proofreader, I actually uploaded an unfinished draft. So I made the decision to remove and then reupload the chapter when it was completed as simply replacing the chapter would not notify those who have already read the chapter of the new updates (At least I don't the website does this), so I think this was the best route to go readers don't miss reading the final draft of this chapter, or at least have a chance to notified about it. This might feel like a bit of a cheat of an update and I apologize for that, but on that note, the next chapter is essentially done and it being edited right now and should be up soon.
I'm sorry for any confusion and I hope you all enjoy this latest update and be sure to let me know what you think.
Clark let out a sigh of relief as he surveyed his work. He had finally finished repairing the damages he had done to the campus. The grounds had been straightened up and Clark had just finished fixing up the wall he'd punched Cardin through. While it hadn't taken him all that long, he had taken more time than was strictly necessary for himself. To avoid garnering even more suspicions than there were already, he took his time despite it being quite early in the morning and other students being outside at this hour were still few and far between. At least this aspect of his punishment was over and really what was left wasn't really an issue for him. He wasn't exactly a social butterfly so his inability to leave the campus grounds wasn't really an issue. He did regret the fact he couldn't leave to spend time with his team or JNPR, but he was here because of his actions so he'd accept the consequences. For now, though, he'd spend the time he could with his friends, so he made his way towards the outdoor training ground.
"At least I can get back to people I can get along with," Clark said to himself, slowing down his super-speed to a mild jog as he headed towards the grounds where team RWBY would be assembled. But he found himself stopped short by a voice he hadn't heard before.
"Yo, Kent! Hold up!" the voice called and Clark turned to see a young woman he didn't recognize.
She had short dark-brown hair with one dyed with a gradient that changed to caramel. She was dressed in a long, cocoa-colored shirt, black leather trousers, a large cocoa-colored belt with gun cartridges on the left side and a large golden crosshair buckle, and a pair of dark black, high-heeled leather calf-high boots with gold buckles on them.
In addition, she also was bedecked in a number of accessories such as black gloves and three beaded necklaces, alongside a black scarf tied around her collar. Atop her head, she wore a black beret with a cocoa brown trim and on her face, she wore a pair of black, wire-rimmed aviator sunglasses that largely hid her eyes. To top off the look, she had a black shoulder bag with gold studs, which was held by a bandolier strap. All in all, she looked as if she'd just stepped out of the cover of a high fashion magazine. However, the frown on her face as she strutted towards him told him she meant business.
"I'm sorry, do I… Can I help you?" he asked a bit awkwardly.
"No, you don't know me. But walk with me for a bit, will ya? I need to talk to you," she answered as she forcefully grabbed his arm. Clark's years of clutz training kicked in and he pretended to stumble as she pulled.
"Listen I'm sorry, but I need to meet my team and-" he started but the girl quickly cut him off.
"Don't worry. This won't take long," she said sternly and pulled him along. Clark compiled but was still extremely confused.
She pulled him along for a while before steering him towards the back of one of the campus buildings. Here they were removed from view and one could see them. However, Clark was still at a loss as to what was happening. He had seen this young lady around campus but he had never spoken to her and didn't even have any idea why she would be pulling him aside like this.
"Okay, Kent, first things first. I'm Coco, Coco Adel. I lead Team CFVY," she said in an almost militaristic tone.
"Umm...okay," Clark said, not sure why this mattered.
"Velvet Scarlatina, the rabbit Faunus you bailed out from CRDL? She's a member of my team," she stated simply.
"Oh, well…" Clark started, but Coco cut him off again.
"Yeah, just shut up for a minute and listen, mkay? I don't like to repeat myself," she said cooly and Clark clamped his lips shut. This girl certainly had a forceful personality, kind of like Yang but in this case, it seemed almost aggressive whereas Yang's was a little more playful. In all honesty, it was a little surprising and embarrassing. She was about a head or two shorter than Clark (having to look up at him to speak) and he STILL felt intimidated. "Okay, so... what you did for Velvet? Thanks," she said simply and almost a little begrudgingly and Clark was put off embarrassed and confused. Something she either didn't notice or didn't care about (the latter was most likely given her attitude.)
"Oh. Um, you're welcome," he said, not knowing exactly WHAT to say after something like that. It seemed odd that she had pulled him aside just for this. She could have merely said this out in the open.
"Look Kent, don't take this the wrong way or anything, but my team doesn't NEED any help, alright? I want to make that perfectly clear. We're the cream of the crop here, among the very best," Coco said, her voice full of pride and self-assurance.
"Okay…" Clark said, still not quite sure where she was going with this.
"Yeah… but, you stood up for her even though she's not your team and she's a Faunus-" Coco stated before Clark cut HER off this time.
"Why should it matter if she's a Faunus?" Clark asked a little perplexed, before remembering the litany of Anti-Faunus comments on the video he had seen yesterday. Coco was silent for a bit. Clark thought she was giving him the "once-over" but it was hard to tell with her sunglasses and he also thought she was upset he'd interrupted. After a second, however, she spoke up again.
"It DOESN'T matter. That's kinda my point. But not everyone thinks like that. And those that don't? Most don't care to speak up. Maybe you don't quite get it Kent, but most people wouldn't have done what you did, even if they didn't like what Cardin and his team were doing. Most would have remained silent, just content to play the bystanders so as not to get beat up by the big bad bully and his goon patrol. But you? You didn't just speak up, you ACTED! And you got my respect for that," Coco said evenly.
"Oh… Okay. Thanks," Clark said awkwardly.
"I'm not sure you understand how big a deal this is, Kent," she said, sounding a little irritated.
"I really don't," Clark offered honestly and Coco put a hand on her temple as she shook her head- the caramel strand swaying- and let out a sigh of mild aggravation.
"Look. Here's the deal, buddy boy. As I said, I'm kind of a big deal at this school and the same goes for my team. You don't just GET respect from us, especially me. Most people think big names or riches or crap like that impresses us, but that's not the case at all. You gotta EARN it through actions and you definitely did that," she said in an annoyed voice.
"Well, thanks. That... means a lot, but why are you telling me this? For that matter, why did you pull me aside like this?" Clark asked, still confused.
"Simply put, I shouldn't be talking to you right now," Coco stated bluntly.
"Why's that?" Clark asked, truly bewildered by this.
"Rep," she said simply.
"Rep?"
"Reputation," the fashionista deadpanned.
"I know what "rep" means, thank you. I may have grown up on a farm, but I'm not THAT out of touch with slang," Clark snarked and he wasn't sure, but he thought he saw the slightest hint of a smirk on her face before it vanished. "What I MEAN is what does reputation have to do with talking to me, or rather NOT talking to me?" he asked and the girl let out another exasperated sigh.
"Two things," she said sternly as she held up two fingers before putting one down. "One, it was one of MY teammates you helped," she said, putting one finger down.
"Why does that-" he started but she cut him off once again.
"That leads me to point number two." Coco held up her other finger in punctuation. "Most of the other students here are effing TERRIFIED of you right now. And not just the ones in combat courses either. Oh no. The students in the support classes as well. You're like a BOOGEYGRIMM to them. They're whispering your name as if they're afraid saying it out loud's gonna bring down your wrath upon them or some shit. So yeah. Not exactly good for me to be seen with you. Might even make it look like I put a hit on CRDL MYSELF, for want of better term," she said seriously and this caused Clark's heart to sink.
"So...they really are scared of me?" Clark said dejectedly, his tiny glimmer of hope having been dashed.
"No duh! I mean, come on! Why WOULDN'T they be!? You beat up an elite team and they couldn't even MOVE you!" Coco cried out, waving her hands about slightly before clearing her throat and calming back down. "Cardin is a lot of things: asshole, bully, xenophobe, bigot, powerful, well-connected. But "weak" isn't on that list." Then, almost as if she finally noticed how badly Clark looked and felt, her tone shifted to a softer one, a more calming one. "You're scary to people who don't know you but not to me and not to Velvet. This brings up your other question. You got my respect and, perhaps more impressively, VELVET'S trust."
"Well, thank you, Miss Adel. I appreciate that," Clark said, despite feeling dejected at how the school at large felt about him, but happy he had some support outside RWBY and JNPR.
"First of all, no "Miss Adel," 'kay? Makes me sound like an old maid already. You've earned the right to call me "Coco." Use it. And also, your "thank yous" are meaningless," she said, her voice abruptly changing back and she waved her hand dismissively, taking Clark aback.
"Then Miss Ad- er, Coco, why did you-" he started, but yet again she cut him off.
"You looked out for one of us, so we'll look out for you. If you ever need any help- not that I imagine you ever WOULD- but if you DO need assistance, you just let us know. Call, send a letter, send up a smoke signal, whatever, and we'll drop what we're doing," she finished, lowering her sunglasses and giving him a serious look over the top of them, her dark brown eyes almost boring into him.
"That's awfully generous for me just doing the right thing," Clark said, grateful for the offer, but STILL a tad confused as to where she was getting with all of this.
Again, Coco shook her head as she readjusted her glasses. "You STILL don't get it, Kent. Velvet? She's... had a rough go of things. Both at this school and before she got here. She doesn't get a lot of outside support. I told you, getting her trust was a big deal, remember? Those incidents have massively damaged her ability to trust a lot of people outside of us and her family." Clark then remembered what Professor Ozpin had mentioned to him during their discussion yesterday. About how Velvet had the makings of a great Huntress but lacked a lot of self-esteem to stand up for herself. He guessed those incidents Coco mentioned played a large part in that. He then snapped himself out of his thoughts as the fashionista continued. "She doesn't know you and you don't know her, but yet you STILL helped her and, well...that meant a lot to HER, so it ...ahem, means a lot to ME," she finished with a small cough. Clark then noticed her serious and cool demeanor seem to crack for a moment, and he was certain he heard her heart-rate increase even if it was just for a moment. Not only that, he could have sworn he saw the slightest tinge of color on her cheeks, even though they were mostly obscured by her sunglasses.
"Okay. I get what you mean," Clark said kindly, and she seemed to glare at him.
"Right, yeah. Well, um, just remember what I said, Kent. Anything. Good talk," she said abruptly and turned to leave, seemingly almost a little flustered and trying to look tough. Clark couldn't suppress a grin.
"Yeah...good talk," Clark called out awkwardly as she walked away. She raised her hand in acknowledgment, but not bothering to turn and face him. "Yep...good talk," Clark said to himself.
That whole encounter had kind of thrown Clark for a bit of a loop. Frankly, he felt almost as though he had been ambushed in a sense. Granted, Coco hadn't been malicious or mean. A bit abrasive, sure, but he could sense she was genuine with what she'd said. It was more how she had spoken, especially given they had never spoken before. Though the more he thought about it, some things started to click. The sudden change of her demeanor when she spoke of Velvet. Her change in heart rate. Her flushing face.
Suddenly, his eyes widened with realization. "Oh," Clark muttered to himself. He was surprised that it took him even this long. It was now pretty obvious what was going on. It was abundantly clear how Coco felt about the other girl and she no doubt was truly grateful for what Clark had done, but for reasons of obvious pride, she'd felt the need to put up the smokescreen of, "You helped my teammate, so my team owes you." She needed him to believe she was still a 'tough girl.' Clark figured he wouldn't hold it against her. After all, she was still trying to show gratitude for the aid of someone she greatly cared for. Just in a rather odd manner. Instead, he simply grinned to himself and shook his head as turned and continued towards his original destination.
Clark soon reached where he was going and he saw Team RWBY collected at the outdoor range. As he got closer, he waved to get their attention. The blonde of the team then noticed and waved back as he approached.
"Bout time, Smallville. Did you fix all your oopsies?" Yang called out and Clark just smirked.
"Oh yeah. Everything's fixed. No issues there," he answered honestly while not taking the bait by acknowledging the clear jab. Yang must have guessed that as she pouted.
"Well, now that you're here, I suppose I'll let you have your share," Weiss said as she pulled out the vial, grinning a bit slyly at her comment.
Already Clark felt a little clammy as he saw her about to hand the Dust vial to him. "Um, actually, no thanks. It probably wouldn't do me as much good anyway. I mean, given my gear, it might just rip my arms off! I just want to see what it does," he hastily offered while quietly backing away from the vial. He had thought it over and decided this was the best way to deal with this. That Entropy Dust seemed to have a REAL adverse effect on him and he didn't know why. As such, he didn't want to get close to it. Unfortunately, he had to come up with a good reason why he wouldn't be able to be a part of the exercise with his team and that was the best excuse he could come up with, weak as it was. Thankfully though it seemed to work as Weiss got a thoughtful look on her face and nodded.
"Fair enough. I suppose that DOES makes sense," she answered as she put the vial away, earning an inward sigh of relief from Clark. "I guess I can always save this for later if need be. Now, let's see for ourselves what this stuff can really do," she said before turning back to the range.
"Oh, real quick before I forget!" Clark said excitedly, having just remembered the call he had had with his parents that morning; a conversation where he'd "conveniently" forgotten to tell them about the "CRDL Incident," as he'd heard it be called. He would tell them eventually of course… tomorrow maybe. Honestly, they'd find out on their own sooner or later, and he'd rather they hear it from him and not Ozpin or Goodwitch or (Heaven forbid) one of CRDL's PARENTS! Still, the prospect was so utterly unpleasant to consider. This was not the kind of thing he would have ever done before coming to Beacon and he wasn't sure he liked it.
"Well? C'mon, Smallville. Don't keep us in suspense here!" Yang said in mock excitement. Clark then flushed in embarrassment; he hadn't realized he'd allowed his mind to wander off.
"Oh right, sorry. Well, my parents called me this morning. The Summer Festival for Smallville is going to be coming up soon and, given the semester is coming to an end and we'll have some time off, they said I should invite you and JNPR to come to visit during the break." Clark rambled off quickly, his excitement getting the better of him even if it was mildly.
"Seriously? You want us to meet your parents? Letting us see all those embarrassing baby pics and hearing all those childhood stories?" Yang asked cheekily. Clark then deflated a tad, if only a bit.
"Not too many embarrassing baby pics of me actually. Given I was almost four when I was adopted," Clark said a little dejected. It wasn't about his adoption that made him like that. As he'd told the girls before, he was fine with the fact that he was adopted. No, it was more because he was worried about his secret. When he'd agreed to the suggestion, neither he nor his parents had thought of the fact that with that many guests in their house, they'd have to be on a bit of high alert. Not that he thought anyone on RWBY or JNPR would discover anything (okay, MAYBE he had to worry about NORA a tad) but the thought of that also made him return his mind to Ozpin. He had gotten it out of his mind mostly yesterday, but now it was coming back.
Yang was quiet for a moment before she spoke up again. "Oh god. I'm-I'm so sorry Clark. I didn't mean to…" she then trailed off, the tone in her voice very clearly telling that she felt she had misspoken and assumed his quiet contemplation was because he was down by what she'd said. The fact she had called him "Clark" and not "Smallville" or "Kent" did not escape him. Wanting to fix things, Clark was quick to respond.
"Oh no. Yang, don't worry about that. You didn't do anything wrong, so don't worry about it, please," he told her in a stern, yet kind voice. And he absolutely meant it. Of course, he didn't dare start to bring up his larger worries. Speaking of, when he called his parents again, he'd have to remember to mention his worries to them and make sure that if the others WERE coming that they ensured the locks to the basement were reenforced just in case
In the meantime, Yang still didn't seem convinced though as the look on her face was still one of guilt, sadness, and of something else Clark couldn't quite place. Thankfully, the awkward moment was broken by Ruby.
"Oh, a 'summer festival,' huh? What's there to do?" she asked, clearly and blatantly trying to break the awkward silence. Still, Clark wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth so he took it.
"Oh yeah! They got everything! Food, rides, cook-offs, eating contests, shooting contests, farm games-" he rattled on before Weiss cut him off.
"Wait. 'Farm games?'" she asked, her voice holding a trace of a tone of judgmental questioning at the term. But she was clearly actively trying not to do so (or at the very least, actively trying to curb the impulse.) Clark appreciated the effort though and it was enough in his mind that he took no offense and smiled good-naturedly as he answered.
"Well, I'm not surprised you don't know what it means. It's a colloquial term we use in the agricultural district to refer to certain events or games having to do with farming. Like hay-bale tosses, bull-riding, calf roping, and so on," he said kindly, although his amusement at her confusion was still there. She looked at him a little oddly and Clark couldn't tell if it was from the events he described or his surprising use of the term "colloquial." She just blinked and then obviously decided to change gears before the topic spiraled even more.
"Right. Well, getting back to the task at hand if we would, I'd like some quantifiable data on this new Dust. My father, or rather his staff, sent me the data on the fundamentals of how it works, I'm sending it to your Scrolls," Weiss said in a very business-like tone as she made a few quick taps on her Scroll. Numerous buzzes confirmed the info had been sent and Clark opened it up.
The information was truly interesting, to say the least. True to her nature, what Weiss had explained before had been correct and hadn't been inaccurate. But it also wasn't the whole story. However, Clark didn't blame her for that. There was a lot of hard data here to go through. Exact proportional increases in yield based on different amounts of Entropy Dust and the Dust it was mixed with based on proportion. Effects of mixing different Dusts with Entropy, and theoretical potential output for it based on the percentage of Dust used. Honestly, there was a lot to take in.
"Wow. This is… quite a lot," Blake stated, her eyes widening at that amount of information being laid out before her.
"A good deal of information I know, but seeing is believing so I'd like to see for myself," Weiss finished.
"Right! Well then, let's get down to it!" Yang shouted, flicking her wrists and engaging her gauntlets as she threw a punch and fired a shot downrange. Her round struck a mid-range target before detonating in a deafening 'BOOM!' that seemed to make the ground around them quake. The area was consumed in a yellow-green light as the radius of the explosion expanded. The air then seemed to turn hot- almost burningly so- as Ruby and Weiss were knocked off their feet from the pure pressure of the air. Blake and Yang were able to withstand the blast but needed to brace themselves and bury their faces in their elbows. Finally, Clark didn't even seem to flinch, but he was CERTAINLY unsettled. He remembered what Weiss had mentioned the other day about how powerful the reaction of one of Yang's rounds would be, but to see it in action was utterly HORRIFYING.
"Holy crap…" Yang muttered quietly in astonishment, looking dumbstruck at the destruction of a single round.
After a moment of stunned silence and shock Weiss finally got back to her feet, dusted herself off, and marched over to Yang with an extremely determined and aggravated air about her.
"I TOLD you yesterday what this Dust would do to your standard rounds, you TWIT! Did you not remember or did you just not CARE to listen!? NONE of us were ready for that and you chose a target MUCH too close!" she growled sternly, and Yang for once seemed almost at a loss for words, or at least a snappy comeback.
"I didn't think you were talking LITERALLY!" Yang said defensively, tossing her hands up. "I mean, I-I thought you were just, ya know, exaggerating! For effect!"
"And why, on Remnant, would I exaggerate about something as important as or pertaining to that which I am to inherit control over? And for that matter, when have I ever exaggerated at ALL?" Weiss asked. "In terms of combat," she added quickly, seeing the look on Yang's face, who seemed to be stopped short with this addition.
"Okay. Fair enough. Sorry about that. But seriously, regardless of what you said it WAS a little hard to believe," she said, no doubt trying to keep Weiss calm.
"I suppose seeing truly IS believing," Blake offered calmly, parroting Weiss' previous statement. She then brushed some debris off her shoulder as she stared downrange at the destruction. "So... that's explosive. What's next?"
"BIGGER EXPLOSION!" Ruby cried delightedly and she rapidly prepared her round.
"RUBY! DON'T YOU DARE!" Weiss shouted as she briskly walked over and grabbed her wrist to prevent her from loading the round.
"But... Yang got to!" the little reaper mumbled quietly, almost sounding hurt.
"The payload of one of YOUR rifle rounds is at least FIVE TIMES larger than one of Yang's! You saw what HER shot did! Do. The. Math!" Weiss said sternly. Ruby's face scrunched up a bit as she pondered this. Then her face lit up in shock, her pale skin looking paler. Apparently, she'd reached the revelation about what Weiss was driving at.
"Oh," She murmured softly.
"Yes. 'Oh.'" stated Weiss in an annoyed tone, her hands on her hips and glaring.
"But I already prepared the round. It's not like I can take the Entropy back out, and you said we only get one…" Ruby said dejectedly, seeming extremely disappointed. Eventually, Weiss seemed to take pity as she let out a sigh and reached into her pouch. She then handed Ruby the vial she'd originally intended for Clark.
"Fine. One more. It wouldn't have been put to use anyway with Clark not joining in. But DON'T misplace that one round you made, understand? You could probably use it to kill a Goliath," the heiress said stubbornly.
"RIGHT!" Ruby cried excitedly as she accepted the gift and immediately set to using her field kit to craft a new round.
"I'm serious, Ruby! Don't misplace that round! It's worth more than anything you own!" Weiss shouted at the younger girl who clearly was not really listening.
"Yeah, yeah. I got it," she said distractedly as she continued to tinker, and Weiss seemed to seeth and stomp her foot.
"RUBY! I'M SERIOUS-!" she nearly screeched before Yang grabbed her collar and pulled her away.
"Chill out, will ya Vanilla Weiss? It's no use trying to talk to her when she gets like this. She's in her own little universe," Yang said, pointing to her little sister, who's tongue stuck out between her teeth as she dropped the grain of Entropy into an open round of Lightning Dust before giggling (almost manically), capping it and placing it the portable round press to seal it. Weiss stared at her a little curiously as their leader struggled- practically FLAILING around- as she tried to get the press to seal the round. Suddenly, she turned to face Yang as if something seemingly had just clicked.
"Wait. 'Vanilla Weiss'? What on Remnant-" she began, utterly confused by the new nickname, but Yang cut her off.
"Let's see what YOU got, Blake," she shouted excitedly, earning her a glower from Weiss.
Blake nodded and stepped forward. "I've given it some thought and I believe I'd like to try something a little different than just blowing things up," she said glancing over her shoulder at Yang with a smirk. The blonde just stuck her tongue out and blew a raspberry. "I'm also going to be approaching with a more RESTRAINED manner," she finished in a teasing tone.
"We get it! You're smarter than us! Just do it!" Yang shouted in an exasperated tone.
"Smarter than you at least," Weiss mumbled, and Blake could be heard chuckling.
The form then crouched into a sprinter's stance. There was a moment of quiet as the other three watched to see what would happen. Then, seemingly without warning or preamble, Blake's Semblance activated as a doppelganger of her took off down the range at a speed that was hard for them to perceive... well, for MOST of them at any rate. The copy cleared the firing range and entered the forest beyond before detonating in an enormous whirlwind that seemed to make the air tremble. The three gaped in shock and Blake seemed satisfied.
"I thought so," she said cooly, her voice only portraying the slightest bit of satisfaction.
"Whoa! That speed was INSANE! Has it ALWAYS been able to move like that!?" Yang said as she gazed at the dissipating tornado.
"No, and it looks like my hypothesis was right," Blake offered calmly.
"And what sort of hypothesis would that be?" Weiss asked, intrigue clear in her voice.
"This Entropy Dust didn't only make my copy move faster when I used it in conjunction with the Wind Dust, but it actually FORTIFIED my doppelganger too. It was able to move much farther away before detonating," she said simply.
"Hmmm. Now that IS interesting. Nothing about effects on Semblances was mentioned in the data I received," Weiss said, taking out her Scroll and jotting down notes. Blake noticed this and looked at the other girl suspiciously. "Don't worry, this isn't for my father. These are my own personal notes, separate from the info I'll ACTUALLY be sending him. If we're going to use this stuff, we need to understand it and keep track of what it does," Weiss said, not even bothering to look up.
Clark could tell Weiss was telling the truth, and Blake seemed to believe her too. But he also noticed that Blake still seemed a bit uneasy at the idea of the information being stored in a digital format. To be honest, so was he. Though if she had any objections she, like him, decided not to raise any. At least not at this point.
"So Ruby, do you-" Weiss started to speak but stopped short when she looked up from her Scroll and saw Ruby practically brawling with her field press, trying desperately to get her newly crafted round to seal. "Umm...are you alright?" Weiss asked drily.
"ComeoncomeoncomeonCOMEON!" Ruby whispered frantically to herself, placing both hands on the lever and trying desperately to exert her whole weight on the device.
"Okay, this has been fun but, seriously Ruby?" Yang stated almost exasperated as she walked over, took the device from her sister, and clamped it shut with almost no effort. There was a satisfying 'THUNK,' she popped it open and retrieved the round before tossing it to Ruby. "You got to get to the gym more. Can't be skipping bis and tris day," Yang stated, flexing her arm, giving Clark a quick wink. Unfortunately for her, this no longer had the effect on him it once did as he just rolled his eyes. Ruby however seemed to be indigent. Her cheeks puffed out and her face turned red as she crossed her arms and stomped a foot childishly.
"I'm plenty strong! It's just hard when the press isn't bolted down!" she said in a huff.
"Of course you are, sweetie!" Yang said in a condescending tone as she patted her sister on the top of her head, causing Ruby to growl in irritation.
"Is it possible for any of you to stay on task for even a MINUTE!?" Weiss cried out furiously.
"Calm down, Weiss. We're just having some fun. It's like... team building, ya know?" Yang countered cheerily.
Weiss's look of anger faded as she closed her eyes, took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She then opened them again as she looked at them all. "Look, I'm not against having fun-" she started, but was interrupted by a snort of disbelief from Blake. The heiress glowered at the other girl as she covered her mouth in a vain attempt to cover her 'transgression' before continuing. "BUT this is kind of important to me. So if you could, can we please, PLEASE just be serious about all of this for a minute?" Weiss almost pleaded as her tone seemed to sober them. Yang, Ruby, and Blake, looked at the heiress with some curiosity at the seemingly abrupt change in demeanor.
However, Clark wasn't too surprised by this. He had seen a glimpse of Weiss' family issue when she had broken down in front of him weeks ago. He wasn't entirely aware of how much the rest of the team was aware of- maybe more than him, perhaps less. But Weiss was rather guarded and she might have revealed more to him in that moment of emotional turmoil than she had ever intended. But this plea? Her tone? The look in her eyes? It conveyed something that he easily picked up on. She was scared. Her father, or rather what he was ultimately capable of, seemed to scare the normally composed Weiss and that unease had bled through her normally cool veneer.
As a result, he decided to aid Weiss in this. "Guys, maybe she's right. As we've seen, this Dust is extremely dangerous if used improperly. For now, we should focus on making sure we learn as much from this as we can, including safe handling and usage. I may not be a part in this, but I can tell that it's important. I mean, if it was something like this to you, I'm sure we'd all try our best."
The others stared at him, including Weiss who seemed surprised that Clark spoke up in her defense. They were silent for a few seconds before finally speaking in resigned and even slightly ashamed tones.
"Yeah, okay. You got a point, Smallville. Maybe we WERE acting like goofballs when we shouldn't've been," Yang said, rubbing the back of her neck embarrassedly.
"Of course he does. Weiss, we're sorry," Ruby said kindly, placing a hand gently on Weiss' shoulder and the other girl seemed to relax.
"Thank you," Weiss answered, her voice sounding much calmer, and her face seeming to relax a bit. Silently, she sent Clark a small smile that said "thank you," to which he returned. Then took another deep breath and clapped her hands together.
"Right, well then. I'll go next, give Ruby a minute to recover," she said regaining her normal composure, but apparently finding herself still able to tease her teammate. In response to the comment, Ruby gave a small 'hmpf,' causing the rest to snicker.
"Let's see… If this can affect my Semblance, maybe I could...I wonder…" she said to herself more than anyone else, looking up to the sky and taking note of the overcast sky. "It might be a waste, but if it COULD work, the implication could be ENORMOUS...but it would certainly draw attention if we haven't already," she mumbled to herself. As this happened, the rest of her team looked at her in confusion.
"What the hell is she doing?" Yang muttered in a whispered tone to Clark as Weiss continued to scan the sky and seemed to be thinking things over.
"I'm… not too sure," Clark admitted, also confused as to Weiss' silent tirade.
"Maybe she's finally cracked. You know, being stuffy all the time could have an effect on the mind like that," Ruby added, her voice just as quiet as her sister's.
"No, it's not that. She's thinking. Something's just occurred to her," Blake stated.
"Like what?" Clark asked.
"I can't say, but she's figuring something out," Blake said with a shrug as she continued to watch Weiss.
"I've got it!" Weiss cried triumphantly, slamming her fist into the palm of her hand. "Ruby, get over here, I need your assistance!" she called, but Ruby didn't move. "Ruby?!" Weiss asked in confusion, turning to face the younger girl. The others looked over to see Ruby, whose arms were crossed as she tried to look aloof and disinterest, and nearly (in Clark's opinion at least) succeeding.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Did you say something, Weiss? I thought I heard something, but it must have been the wind or...uhhhh...a fart!" Ruby said, trying desperately to sound cool and disinterested and failing miserably. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, apparently realizing immediately how childish she had sounded. Everyone, even Weiss, smirked at this but not one of them openly laughed. Weiss seemed to have gotten the point though. Ruby was her team leader and shouldn't be spoken to like that.
"I'm sorry, Ruby. Would you please help me with something? I could really use your help," Weiss asked in a voice much kinder and softer than before. This caused Ruby to leap to her side- eager, happy, and all sense of faux aloofness lost. Possibly because she wanted to forget her rather embarrassing attempt from the moment before.
"What can I do for ya, Vanilla Weiss?" she asked cheerily, parroting her sister's nickname from earlier, causing Yang to audibly snicker.
"Ugh! What does that even...you know what? Never mind. It's not important. I need you to help me with an experiment," Weiss said, the irritation quickly leaving her voice.
"Sure thing! What can I do?!" Ruby asked excitedly.
"You just made a lightning round with the Entropy I gave you right?"
"Correcto!" Ruby responded cheerily.
"Okay. So, if what Blake said is correct, I should be able to use my Glyphs at a much farther range if they are used in conjunction with Entropy. It should fortify MY Semblance as well," Weiss explained and Ruby seemed to be a tiny bit confused.
"...Right…"
"SO, if I can create a Gravity Glyph near THOSE clouds," she then pointed to the clouds above, "and YOU fire a lighting round into them, we MAY be able to cause enough ionization to create a chain reaction to form a THUNDERSTORM!" Weiss told her in a confident and almost excited voice... well, excited for Weiss. At this point, Blake spoke up.
"That sounds impressive and all, but...what's the point?"
"If we can do it here, we could theoretically create one closer to the ground. That's potentially TRILLIONS or QUADRILLIONS of volts of energy that could be turned loose on a herd of Grimm, or perhaps even for energy production," Weiss offered in a matter-of-fact tone.
This fact seemed to sober up the other members of the team. If this was all possible from TWO GRAINS of this new Dust, the ramification could truly change the entire balance of power in the world! The phrasing of "A World Power Unto Itself" now seemed utterly INADEQUATE to describe the potential good and horror of this resource.
"So, um...how much of this stuff DID you say your father has?" Clark asked, unable to keep the concern out of his voice.
"I can't say for sure. He is implying there is a vast reservoir; a reservoir HE has sole control over. But that could be him blustering. In fact, that is almost certainly the case. His message to me wasn't encrypted, so his competitors no doubt know of its existence. His sharing of this was almost certainly as much a business tactic as it was a method to obtain data by bypassing regulations." She then scoffed and rolled her eyes as she closed her arms. "It's typical for him really. Using his kids to further his goals," she said, her voice cold, detached, almost bored. Upon hearing this, everyone was quiet for a moment, the revelation that Weiss' father was using her like this seeming to stun them for the time being, Weiss seemed disturbingly unfazed by this as if she had simply come to EXPECT this of her father. Finally, after a prolonged and awkward quiet, it was Ruby who broke the silence.
"What a piece of shit," she said emphatically yet oddly calmly. At that utterance, everyone seemed shocked out of the worrisome reveal of moments before.
"RUBY!" Yang exclaimed in what appeared to legitimate distress, gripping the sides of her head in pure abject horror. Blake and Weiss gaped wide-eyed at their leader and Clark was equally surprised.
'So much for the "innocent flower,"' he thought to himself, thinking back to what Yang had said not too long ago.
"What!? He is!" Ruby exclaimed. "You know OUR dad wouldn't ever consider using either of us like that! You saw Clark's parents in that video, and Blake…" She trailed off, looking at the other girl, no doubt realizing she knew virtually nothing of HER past relationship with her parents. However, Blake simply shrugged and nodded at her, seemingly confirming what Ruby thought. That her parents had never tried to do anything like that either. Ruby then turned to Weiss, her face etched with remorse and empathy for the older girl. "I'm sorry you've had to deal with this, Weiss," she said softly, her eyes watering slightly. She then closed the distance and wrapped the older girl in a hug, completely and utterly unabashed. Weiss' face flushed from embarrassment.
"Ruby-" she started before she was cut off.
"HUSH! I'm hugging you, you need it," Ruby said, a tone much more forceful than what was normal for her, swaying slightly as she held her partner tight. Clark was inexorably reminded of when he himself had hugged Weiss after her break down weeks prior. Apparently Weiss did too as she looked at Clark who smiled and gave a small nod. She then slightly awkwardly wrapped her arms around Ruby and hugged her back.
"Thank you, Ruby. That...that actually means a lot," Weiss said softly as she gave the other girl a quick squeeze. "Ahem. But, well...try not to get sidetracked AGAIN. We have work to do," she added in a much more business-like tone as she separated from the other girl with a tiny cough to clear her throat and help her regain her composure.
"RIGHT!" Ruby shouted, quickly wiping her eyes on the back of her hands as she did so and seemingly bringing herself back to composure. "LET'S BECOME THUNDER GODS!" she cried, holding Crescent Rose high over her head in battle-cry.
"That's not what we're doing," Weiss deadpanned.
"SHUSH!" she shouted. "Just let me live my dream," she cooed gently as she cradled her weapon lovingly. Weiss then rolled her eyes and smiled.
"Fine, but listen closely. I'm going to cast my Glyph near the clouds. Wait for my signal and then fire into the heart of the mass. If we do this right, we won't cause any more... undue attention," Weiss finished as she cast a glance around the immediate area where a few people had stopped by to see what the commotion was. Luckily, the day was early and very few students had really noticed anything. Clark assumed that this was Weiss' desire. After all, there weren't a lot of opportunities to test this new product away from prying eyes outside of possible missions, and testing it in the field would be a fool's errand and downright dangerous.
"ROGER ROGER! Just let me know when you're ready!" Ruby said eagerly, Weiss nodded and cast her eyes around the area again. A minute passed, then two. After about five minutes, many of the onlookers had seemed to have gone and she acted.
With a quick flick, Myrtenaster switched over to her desired payload Clark watched, silently hoping this would work as it had with Blake. Weiss then let her Glyph break free and form. At that, a dark purple speck formed high above her and began to pull the clouds towards it from miles around. The overcast skies grew darker and darker, turning from white to gray to almost black as they gathered above the campus.
"Now," she shouted and Ruby leveled her rifle at the eye of the storm and fired.
The force of the shot actually knocked her off her feet, the recoil from the enhanced round apparently being much higher than she or any of them had thought. Clark quickly reached over and kept her from falling fully to the ground, but her attention wasn't on her fall or even Clark. It was on her custom round rocketing towards the brewing storm. It flew straight and swift until it approached Weiss' Glyph. It then curved as it was pulled by the gravitational force. It struck and it seemed as though the sky broke apart.
The thunder and lighting began immediately and it was truly violent and terrible to behold. Rain began to fall rapidly and booms of thunder deafened the sky and lightning streaked and arked in wild and spectacular patterns. The whole campus was sent into chaos, the few people who'd been outside running for cover. Based on the sounds, some were terrified at being caught so unprepared; others simply laughing in bewilderment at the sudden storm and at some of their friend's misfortunes.
"Well.." Weiss began simply before brushing a wet lock of hair from her face. "It worked, but I MAY not have thought this through enough," she finished trying to cover her head.
"You think?" Blake asked, irritation etched into every fiber of her being. Her hair was plastered over her face and her arms wrapped around her in utter misery.
"Do you have ANY IDEA how long it'll take to fix my hair!?" Yang screeched, throwing a withering gaze at Weiss as she swept her hair back out of her face, futility trying to gain some control over the massive dripping mass.
"I think you're missing the point-" Weiss started before she was cut off by a jubilant Ruby.
"I AM A THUNDER GOD!" she shouted excitedly, holding her rifle over her head as she cheered and pranced from puddle to puddle, splashing and laughing all the while.
"Yeah, yeah. All hail Ruby the Mighty," Yang deadpanned. "Now if nobody minds, I'm going back inside. UGH! This is gonna be SUCH a pain," she groaned before turning to leave, looking at her soaked hair as if she'd just seen a puppy die.
"Me too. This has been fun and all, but I hate the rain," Blake said growled dryly before turning to follow, her arms still wrapped tightly around herself.
"That sounds like a smart plan to me. I could honestly use some tea," Weiss conceded and followed as well.
"Wait, you're ALL going inside?" Ruby asked as she stopped jumping, looking disappointed but sounding much more so.
"Ruby, it's raining! I'm NOT playing in the mud!" Yang called back, having already made it a good way back to the dorms.
"Fine," Ruby grumbled to herself as she kicked a large puddle dejectedly.
Clark couldn't help but smile at Ruby's antics. It was rather endearing. If only so many others could have the heart to keep that old child-like wonder at things like splashing in mud puddles, then perhaps the world would be a happier place.
He then turned his head upward and closed his eyes. A look of complete peace began to fill him as he took a deep breath before letting out slowly.
Like Ruby, Clark loved the rain. He remembered all the other kids in Smallville seemed to hate it when he was growing up, but that had never been the case for Clark. They would complain they couldn't go outside and do stuff. To them, it was a prison, stuck indoors with nothing to do. For Clark, however, it was something else. With the others indoors, he was allowed to go out and be himself a little more than was normal. No one would see him if he ran a little faster or lifted something a little heavier. It wasn't much, but back then it had seemed like everything. The rain was a harbinger of freedom, for him at least.
Unfortunately, this trip down memory lane was interrupted when he felt a large splash of water hit him in the chest and face. Shaking his head and wiping the water from his face, he opened his eyes. He was met with the sight of a soaking wet Ruby, who was grinning and standing barefoot in front of him, apparently having decided to abandon her boots.
"I assume that was you?" Clark asked sarcastically as he swept his hair out of his face.
"What? Can't handle a little water Clark?" she said with a giggle as she kicked another spray of water his way.
"I grew up on a farm, Ruby. This ISN'T a fight you want to start," Clark said coolly as he removed his glasses to wipe some water and a few stray blades of grass from his lenses.
"Ooh, I'm SO scared," she said in mock fear before smiling deviously, reached down, and splashed him with her hands.
"Okay, I did warn you," he said with a grin. He then slowly and deliberately removed his own boots, before kicking a what was practically a wave towards Ruby. She let out a small cry of surprise as she was doused. He did it again, causing her to retreat as she giggled.
"Not bad, but how about THIS?!" she shouted eagerly as she ran back towards him before hopping and sliding on her bare feet across the grass sending a large spray of mud and water at Clark, which struck home. Clark just grinned and put some distance between the two of them and returned the "attack" in kind. She let out a squeal of "terror" that was more so of delight.
Back and forth they went, never letting up. Ruby would run and Clark would give chase. Of course, he let her keep ahead of him. She'd laugh and he'd laugh, she'd splash him and he'd splash her back. Clark wasn't aware of how long it went, on but he didn't care. It reminded him of... home.
"Do you surrender YET, oh foul fiend?" Ruby finally cried out dramatically, placing her hands on her hips and trying to strike an impressive pose. Unfortunately, the effect was ruined by the grass and mud stains all over her clothes and her hair plastered down over her face, which she tried in vain to blow off.
"Oh, had we started?" Clark teased, and he heard Ruby huff in irritation.
"Alright. Play time's over," she said in mock seriousness, again the effect was ruined by the enormous genuine smile plastered across her face. She was then engulfed in a flurry of rose petals as she activated her Semblance and rushed towards him. She then attempted to slide at him again, no doubt hoping her increased speed would produce a larger spray. It did exactly that, dousing Clark from head to foot, but it also caused her to lose her footing and she began to tumble. Ruby flailed her arms like a pinwheel as she tried to regain her balance. She let out a squeak of shock and braced herself but she never hit the ground.
"Careful, Ruby. Don't get yourself hurt," Clark said as he caught her and gently pulled her upright. He then noticed her cheeks were flushed and her heart was beating extremely quickly. A little concerned, Clark pressed the back of his hand to her cheek and forehead. She felt quite warm and her heart rate seemed to increase further. "I think you might be catching a cold. Let's head inside, get you out of those wet clothes," he said without thinking.
"WHA-WHAT DO YOU MEAN!?" she squeaked and sputtered in shock, her ENTIRE face now turning as red as her cape before trying to bury her face in her hands.
There was a time not that long ago Clark would have spluttered and stammered a worried and embarrassed apology, but that was a time before Yang.
"Calm down, Ruby. Good grief, you're as bad as your sister. I didn't mean it like THAT. I mean you're gonna get REALLY sick if you stay out here any longer. Come one," he finished with a chuckle.
"Oh… r-right, right," Ruby said in a slow tone Clark wasn't quite sure of, but he decided not to dwell on it.
"Come on, I'll give you a ride back. I'm sure you're tired after all that," he said kindly and was surprised she didn't protest with her normal rebuttals that were so common when someone commented on her strength or stamina.
Instead, she nodded rapidly, her silver eyes almost shining, and clammered onto Clark's back. He looped his arms under her legs and felt her wrap her arms around him (perhaps a little tighter than was strictly necessary) as she allowed herself to relax against him she let out a contented sigh.
'Wow, she must REALLY be tired,' Clark thought to himself as he carried Ruby back to her dorm.