Author's note:

I added a gay robot line, a line about Tucker's sword, and a short Qrow/Raven SS to the "Get Bent" reaction. TheReckless1One pointed out those missed opportunities, thank him for those added scenes!

(It's not much, you don't have to reread the chapter)


Cover Art: Cruz7808

Check my profile for polls and planned fics!

Review, point out mistakes, and flame!


Chapter 30- The New Kid

"Brown hair you." Ren chuckled, shaking his head.

Nora nodded, "Yep, but she's also downer me.. she's so serious."

"But she is cool." Jaune noted.

"She uses her shadow clones in a way I don't normally try." Blake commented. "I generally use them as a defense, I let them take the hit while I back away. Sometimes as a platform to boost off of. I should try setting them as a distraction more."

Ruby flushed as she thought of something, then giggled as she raised her hand. All eyes fell on her.

"...Ruby?" Blake asked.

"CanyoumakeasecondBlakewatchtheshowwithus!?" Ruby asked, her voice barely intelligible.

"..Can someone translate?" Weiss asked.

Ruby flushed but was undeterred. "Blake can you make a second b- I mean a shadow clone watch the show with us?"

Yang and Nora began to laugh, Blake looked bewildered. "What? why? They aren't alive you know."

Ruby nodded, "I know I know but please!"

"But what's the point?" Blake shook her head.

"There isn't one but it'd be cool." Ruby explained, making her best puppy eyes.

Blake stared at her incredulously.

Ruby widened her eyes, pouted to avoid smiling.

"It won't last forever." Blake sighed, giving in but still rolling her eyes. Blake stood up and moved next to Ruby. She took a seat and fixed her eyes on the screen. Blake jutted forward leaving a sitting clone in her exact position. Recovering from the jolt Blake moved back to her spot.

Ruby's eyes glowed, "Ohhh wow! It's so.. it's… it's just staring."

"Like I said it's not alive." Blake explained.

Ruby didn't seem to hear her, she maneuvered closer and examined it. Raising a finger, she moved to touch it.

"If you touch it, it will disappear." Blake advised, already regretting giving in.

"So look don't touch rules apply here?" Yang snickered as she watched Ruby flit around the clone.

Blake's eyes narrowed on Yang, "I will pop it."

Ruby gasped, "Yang please don't make her! I want Blake two to watch the show."

Weiss scoffed, "What an awful misuse of a semblance."

"I've seen you use glyphs to pick up pens." Blake sniped.

Weiss opened her mouth to retort but Nora held up her hands. "Hey! No more fooling around! We have a show to watch!"

Weiss nodded but continued to glare at Blake's clone as Jaune hit play.

"The New Kid" appeared on the screen with the theme.

Yang snorted, Ren chuckled, Blake sighed.

"Hey we have a new kid." Yang pointed to Blake's clone, who stared at the screen with blank eyes.

"Again Yang, I will make it disappear."

"No don't make her disappear!" Ruby gasped, giving Blake's clone an air hug, making sure not to touch it.

Blake opened her mouth, staring at the scene, "I- you do know I'm the real Blake right?"

Again Ruby didn't seem to hear her.

Blake groaned, "... The new kid in the show. Who could it be?"

"A new character probably" Jaune furrowed his brow. "So.. no way to know who."

Blake nodded, only having asked to change the subject from her clone. I won't be able to keep it up for too long anyway. Maybe I should make it disappear now.

Ruby's glee dissuaded her as much as it persuaded her to do it.

Fade in to space where the Mother of Invention is seen flying. Cut to Washington and York staring downwards between North Dakota's legs.

"FREELANCER TRAINING FACILITY, MANY YEARS AGO…" appears on the screen as the trio remain silent.

"...what are they doing?" Weiss asked.

Yang and Nora snorted, Ruby snickered, Pyrrha blushed, Blake and Ren shook their heads, Jaune stared at the screen in disbelief.

Realization struck Weiss's face, "Are they serious?"

Yang burst out laughing, "Looks like it, North seems proud."

"Why is Washington involved in this?" Blake sighed.

Washington: "I expected it to be... bigger."

Blake didn't know whether to groan in disgust or burst out laughing.

"They can't be doing what they seem like they're doing, he still has his armor on." Weiss gestured to the screen.

"Their suits probably have a little compartment that opens so they can take a catheter out." Ruby explained. Mimicking with her hands a flap opening.

Weiss grimaced and shook her head.

"Maybe that's why Wash didn't want to try the cod-piece." Blake joked, finally deciding to let out a laugh.

York: "Why? You've seen mine. It's small too."

"They aren't doing what we think, I refuse to believe it." Blake shook her head.

Yang began to laugh again. "I know this is a gag, this seems like more of a Simmons and Grif thing to do."

"Do not put that image in my head." Weiss ordered.

"Blegh!" Ruby grimaced.

"Blake 2.0 seems to be enjoying the show." Yang commented.

Blake 2.0 stared at the screen with dead eyes.

Blake 1.0 sighed.

Wash: "Yeah, but he's green."

Ren's eyes widened and he chuckled, "They are talking about A.I. York means Delta."

"That would make a lot more sense." Weiss sighed in relief.

"Yeah." Yang nodded, "York would be in big trouble if they're talking about-"

"That is not what I meant and you know it!" Weiss snapped.

As Yang laughed, Jaune cleared his throat. "So if they're talking about A.I. Then that means North has his."

"Meaning North's A.I. is the new kid." Blake added.

"Aww they're comparing A.I? Boring." Nora huffed. Yang snorted a laugh.

York: "How does that even make sense?"

North Dakota: "Hey Wash, quit staring. You're making it nervous."

"This whole scene reminds me of Church's switch. And red team walking up on blue team trying to fix it." Ruby laughed.

Wash: "Yeah, it's just... they're so small!"

York: "Small, yeah! But you wouldn't believe what it can do!"

Ren nodded, "Delta is very useful." He mumbled.

North: "Besides, you better get used to it. You're going to have one of your own, soon enough."

Blake grimaced, unfortunately she thought.

South comes to see what they're all looking at

South: "(scoffs) Give me a break."

South walks away.

North: "It's alright Theta, come on out. People just want to say hello to you."

The camera pans down to reveal Theta, hiding behind North's left leg.

Yang and Weiss's eyes widened, "Awww!" Squealed in a harmony.

Ruby and Blake gave each other looks as they grimaced at Yang and Weiss's cooing.

"It's hiding behind North's leg that's adorable." Weiss said, her voice rising several octaves.

Theta: "(in a child-like voice) I don't know. There's so many of them. And they're so... big."

"He even sounds like a kid!" Yang cooed.

"Looks like it too." Blake noted Theta's more childlike frame.

"And we've seen him before." Jaune added.

"We have?" Ruby asked.

Jaune nodded, "With the Meta."

"Oh… riiight." Ruby clicked her tongue awkwardly.

"The Meta truly is despicable." Weiss growled.

Wash: "See! I'm not the only one who thinks size is important."

Yang and Blake snorted.

"Never expected that to leave Wash's mouth." Blake shook her head.

York: "I'm just going to let that one go…"

"Yeah I will too." Yang sighed.

"Thank you." Weiss rubbed the side of her forehead.

North: "It's okay Theta. They're all friends of mine. For reasons beyond my comprehension."

"I can relate." Weiss said as she took in everyone in the room.

"I don't know why you're my friend either Weiss!" Ruby admitted with a smile.

"Me neither." Blake nodded, looking at the unlikely pair.

"If my father knew who I had for friends." Weiss shook her head, "If my sister! If she ever met you- she will meet all of you someday and I expect all of you to be on your best behavior."

"Only for your sister." Blake assured her. I have a few words for the CEO of the SDC.

Theta appears above North's shoulder

Theta: "They're looking at me."

North: "That's because they want to meet is York and Wash."

Wash: "Hey there little...computer...dude."

Blake chuckled. "I wonder what emotion he is supposed to be."

"Likely fear." Ren suggested.

Pyrrha hummed, "The hiding behind the leg and his nervousness. Not to mention the Alpha might have had to give up it's fear."

"That sounds like it could have been a good thing right?" Ruby asked.

"Maybe not." Ren mumble. "The Alpha could very well have resigned itself to it's fate before giving up their memories and becoming Church."

"Eugh that's dark." Nora grimaced.

"But could be true." Blake sighed.

York: "Give it a rest, Wash. Theta, I have a friend just like you. His name is Delta."

Theta appears in front of York.

Theta: "Really?"

York: "Yeah! Here, you-you wanna say hello to him?"

North: "Um...York?"

Blake raised an eyebrow.

York: "It's okay, man. Just for a second."

Delta appears in front of York

Delta: "Hello Theta. I am Delta. It is nice to meet you."

Theta: "(nervously) Hello."

"Washington is still with them isn't he?" Blake asked.

"Umm I think so?" Ruby shrugged.

"If he is then.. nevermind." Blake shook her head. "It's another continuity error. I just remembered Wash first met Delta in Recovery One. But here he has met him."

"Washington could have forgotten about Delta after Epsilon." Ren suggested.

"I'll believe that." Blake chuckled.

North: "See? Everybody here is nice. Isn't that right, Delta?"

Ruby raised her fingers "Everyone is nice except South, Tex, Carolina sometimes-"

Pyrrha chuckled and nodded.

"- Maine, Wyoming, the Director, the counsellor… and I think that's everyone." Ruby finished.

"So barely anyone is nice." Jaune summarized.

Delta: "Agent North, I do not feel qualified to make a judgement about humans with whom I have only limited experience. Also, 'nice' is a rather subjective term for-"

York: "Delta…"

Delta: "Oh yes! Everyone here is 'nice'...within standard acceptable deviations."

Ren smiled.

"The director is definitely not nice." Ruby shook her head.

York: "DELTA!"

North: "And that's my sister over there, South. We're twins."

Camera shows South leaning against a wall, watching them.

Theta: "I have a sister."

"What?" Pyrrha asked.

"Probably another A.I." Jaune shrugged.

"What A.I. do we know that are girls?" Ruby asked.

"None unless you count Tex." Yang answered.

"It is likely an A.I. we haven't met yet." Ren explained.

Wash: "You do?"

Theta: "We have many siblings."

"Creepy." Ruby shuddered.

"Yeah, guess C.T. was right. They have stepped up production." Blake grimaced.

"Production." Weiss scoffed. "Ugh."

Wash: "What do you mean by si-"

Director: "Hello everyone."

The Director and Counselor enter the room. The Freelancers line up and Theta disappears

Director: "I hope you're ready to begin our test. Delta! I believe you know the protocol about communicating directly with other A.I. units."

Blake frowned, "So that's why North was hesitant. The A.I. aren't allowed to talk to one another."

"Why can't they?" Ruby asked. "Do you think it's because they're fragments…"

"Maybe, remember Delta thought he was the Alpha at first." Ren explained.

"And if the A.I. ever talked to one another about it, they'd realize something was wrong." Pyrrha hummed. "It's another way for the director to hide his lies." She scowled.

Weiss nodded, "It's so blatant too, there's no legitimate reason to have that protocol."

Delta: "I apologize sir. I will log off."

Director: "Don't! I want you to help administer the test. Gentlemen, if you will take the floor."

Theta appears in front of North

North: "Ok, just like we practiced."

"Ohh another training fight?" Nora leaned in, recalling Tex vs York, Wyoming, and Maine.

Theta: "Are they all going to watch?"

North: "Of course! They want to see if you're as good as i said you are."

Theta: "Really? Well, I guess that's okay."

North: "That's the spirit! Come on, let's do this!"

"North is so sweet to him." Weiss smiled.

"Yeah he knows what he's doing, he's like a big brother." Yang commented, glancing at Ruby.

"Theta reminds me of my sister." Jaune added. One of them at least.

They exit to the floor, cut back to the Director.

Director: "Delta, I expect you to follow protocol at all times."

Weiss and Pyrrha scowled.

Delta: "We were only attempting to make the new unit more comfortable."

York: "It's my fault, sir. I asked him to. New kid seems kind of shy."

Counselor: "Agent North was paired with Theta for a reason. His nurturing nature is best suited to care for Theta's...unique personality."

"Definitely fear." Ren mumbled.

"North is probably the nicest and most caring of the freelancers." Pyrrha commented.

"Which is why he's perfect for Theta." Jaune nodded.

York: "Yeah. He is used to looking out for people, isn't he?"

York glances at South

"Too bad she didn't look out for him." Ruby growled.

Yang, Weiss, and Jaune nodded.

"Left him to die." Yang muttered under her breath.

Counselor: "Quite. Delta, your skills are more... analytical in nature."

Delta: "If I may disagree, Theta has made double the number of declarative statements since my appearance. That indicates 100% increase in confidence since we modified our interaction strategy. I think that speaks volumes to my caring algorithms."

Ren chuckled. "Caring algorithms."

Counselor: "You make an excellent point, Delta. Let's begin the test."

"He proved he's more analytical in nature." Ren added. "But I believe he does genuinely care."

"I think so too, remember how he stayed with York?" Ruby asked. Ren nodded.

Delta disappears. Camera pans down to the training floor while the Freelancers watch from an above window. North enters the floor with a sniper rifle in hand.

Director: "Begin the test."

Theta appears above North's shoulder. Turrets surround North and open fire. Immediately, a Domed Energy Shield activates around North. Cut to the spectators.

"His shield is so cool!" Ruby commented.

"Atlas has similar shields." Weiss commented.

"I know but the way he uses his is great. I wonder if the shield moves with him or stays until it runs out of power?" Ruby rubbed her chin.

"You're wondering if he can throw the shield and use it as a weapon." Weiss sighed.

"Yeah think about it! It's weightless but it would be like getting hit with a ton of bricks!" Ruby explained.

Counselor: "As you may recall, Agent North used his equipment in the field on a previous mission."

Delta Appears.

Delta: "He was able to successfully maintain the deflective shield for 3.4 seconds in order to block an explosive projectile attack."

Director: "And he somehow managed not to kill himself in the process."

"Yeah without an A.I. their equipment is dangerous." Ruby nodded. "Remember Utah?"

"He was the one wi- oh yeah! The dome only showed up around his head and cut off his air." Jaune recalled.

"And Grif, he didn't almost kill himself but the speed unit definitely didn't work." Nora laughed.

"I wonder if that speed unit was Carolina's.." Pyrrha wondered.

"There are probably more than one, remember there were more than one invisibility unit too." Jaune explained.

Delta: "The maneuver only had a .1% chance of success. Had he performed it 999 more times, I'm rather certain he would've been obliterated on each one."

"Eh, I like those odds." Yang smirked.

"If it's not stacked against you then there's nothing to knock down!" Nora shouted.

"Yeah!" Ruby and Yang cheered.

York: "Hey, I'd rather be lucky than good any day."

"Me too." Jaune laughed.

Wash: "You usually are."

"Oh burn!" Yang snapped.

Blake chuckled. "There's the precursor to Wash's cynicism."

Director: "Luck will only take one so far. I am in the business of getting results. Let's see what Theta can do. Delta, reduce shield strength by 50%."

Delta: "Modifying."

"Wait, are they using real bullets?" Ruby asked.

"Good question, and probably." Weiss shrugged. "He had no qualms before, why would he now?"

"At least he knows they're real bullets." Ruby shrugged. "I mean we use live rounds too in Ms. Goodwitch's class."

"Yes but we have aura, they do not." Weiss pointed.

Ruby made an 'oh yeah' face, "Yeah and those turrets would shred his armor."

The Domed Energy Shield surrounding North and Theta begins to flicker.

North: "Power dropping! Theta, use remaining power to compensate for critical tiles!"

Theta: "Okay."

Theta takes control of the Domed Shield and separates it into tiles, blocking the turrets' incoming fire.

"That's so cool! Can you imagine fighting with shields like that?" Ruby asked.

"You probably can." Ren commented. "With enough aura manipulation it could be possible."

"Really? I need to train with my aura more." Jaune commented while looking down at his arms.

"Yes you do." Pyrrha agreed. And no relationship problems with Weiss will get in the way this time.

"After this?" Jaune asked.

Pyrrha nodded, "I'll be ready after the season finale."

"Or you could use Hardlight dust." Weiss suggested.

"Hey I'm made of aura, not money." Jaune pointed out.

Weiss blushed, "Yeah, sorry.. you will have all the hardlight dust you need for your sword however."

Jaune grinned, "Thanks, I'll find a way to pay you and Velvet back whenever I use it."

Weiss waved him off but knew it was pointless. If there's one thing I know about him it's that he is persistent.

Director: "Add variables."

Delta: "Acknowledged."

The turret beams begin to gyrate, moving around and above North and Theta. Theta follows the turrets and maintains critical shield tiles where they are needed.

"With Theta it looks like close quarters combat would be the only effective way to fight North." Pyrrha commented.

"And even then, the tiles can be used to attack." Ruby added. Weiss shook her head.

North: "Great job, Theta!"

Theta: "Stop talking to me! You'll mess me up!"

North: "Right. Sorry."

"Theta does need to concentrate however." Pyrrha noted.

"So you have to distract him." Ruby strategized.

"Maybe by forcing him to focus on too many dials." Jaune suggested.

Pyrrha and Ruby nodded.

Director: "Reset."

The floor resets and the Domed Energy Shield becomes fully restored to 100% power.

Director: "Agent North. Your objective now is to eliminate all turrets."

More turrets appear.

Director: "Begin."

Wash: "I thought the shield works both ways. There's no way for him to attack."

"Not unless they focus on critical dials and shoot between the gaps." Ruby suggested. "The turrets aren't moving."

"But if they did move, Theta wouldn't be able to keep up." Jaune explained. "Have to prepare for the worst."

North: "Theta, analyze turret rate of fire. Adjust shield to match."

Jaune smiled, "Yeah that makes sense, I see what he's doing."

Theta: "Okay...Done."

North: "Firing. On my mark."

Theta: "Ready!"

North: "Mark!"

North fires his sniper and the bullet is seen moving in slow motion. The shield flickers open just enough for North's sniper bullet to pass through and then immediately reseals. The bullet takes out a turret.

Ruby gasped, "That looked so cool! And he hit the weak spot on the turret!"

"It was impressive." Pyrrha nodded.

North and Theta repeat this method for the remaining turrets.

Delta: "All targets eliminated."

Director: "Test complete. Excellent work!"

"Yeah I agree!" Ruby nodded. "I hate agreeing with him."

"Theta is great in every way." Yang added.

"Now I would like to see what else Delta can do." Ren smiled.

"I wonder what Omega can do." Yang frowned. "Unless possessing people is the most he can do."

"What about Church?" Ruby asked. "He's an A.I. I want to know what he can do."

"I wonder if he can live up to his full potential like Wash said." Blake added. "He may not be able to anymore because he's not the Alpha, he's Epsilon."

The Domed Shield deactivates.

Wash: "WOHOW! WOW! That was incredible!"

York: "HAHA YEAH! What did I tell ya?"

Wash: "And we're sure they don't get any bigger?"

"They do though, Church can appear full sized." Ruby demonstrated by spreading her arms.

"Old Wash would be terrified." Blake chuckled.

York: "Dude, you are killing me with that!"

Cuts to the Reds at Zanzibar.

Grif: "Sarge, how come every time the Blues get involved in something stupid and dangerous, we get dragged along too?"

The group laughed.

"Yeah that's true, the Blues are always at the center of the serious stuff and the Reds kind of just do their own thing." Ruby chuckled.

"It's because Sarge has to keep watch on them." Nora explained. "Except for when they went after O'Malley. That time they went with the blues because they wanted to get the secret orders in Lopez's head."

"Do better than you are currently doing." Yang mimicked her dad's high pitched voice.

Jaune, Nora, and Ruby laughed again.

Sarge: "You know what they say. Keep your friends close and your enemies within range of your primary firearm!"

"Good advice." Pyrrha chuckled.

"Yeah much better than keeping our enemies closer." Ruby shook her head.

"Hey I like that rule too!" Nora protested.

"U.N.S.C. WIND POWER FACILITY, PRESENT DAY..." Appeared on the screen.

Simmons: "Sir! I realize-"

Sarge: "So you can shoot em!"

Nora grinned.

Simmons: "...I realize that we agreed to help Wash and Carolina, but how do we know that they're gonna help us?"

Grif: "What do you mean?"

Simmons: "I mean, if we run into trouble, do you really think they'll stick their neck out for us?"

"I doubt Carolina would for the sake of their lives." Pyrrha frowned. "But she would still do it because of her skill and her care for the mission."

"But Washington feels like he owes them, he would do it for their sake." Blake commented.

"I hope they grow on Carolina." Pyrrha admitted.

Sarge: "Well, for a back-stabbing, double-crossing, no-good, dirty-rotten Blue, that Wash fella isn't too bad."

Grif: "What a ringing endorsement!"

Jaune laughed, "Church said that to Delta once."

Blake laughed too, "I remember, it was while Wash was blowing up South's body."

"...It's weird seeing the freelancers on screen together, knowing what they'll all do." Ruby commented.

"Especially the Meta- I mean Maine." Jaune caught himself.

Simmons: "I'm more worried about Carolina. What if after all of this is over, she decides to get rid of us?"

Grif: "Why would she do that?"

Simmons: "I don't know! To tie up loose ends? To cover her trail? Don't you watch spy movies? They love that shit!"

"They do." Jaune admitted.

"I doubt she would do that." Pyrrha shook her head.

Sarge: "My God, man! Get a hold of yourself! You're making us look weak in front of the enemy!"

Camera cuts to show Caboose.

Caboose: "Hello."

Pyrrha burst out laughing.

Ren laughed too, drawing a connection between Pyrrha and Caboose. Pyrrha says 'Hello again' the same way Caboose says 'Hello' after someone addresses them.

Nora and Jaune were also thinking what Ren was and chuckled.

Sarge: "Listen! I don't want to hear you talk about secret double-crosses, or mysterious subplots, or Freelancer conspiracies anymore! We've had enough of those going on around here as it is."

Sarge runs away.

"Yeah! But also I don't mind it anymore." Nora shrugged.

"I love it." Blake grinned.

Simmons: "But don't you think that-"

Grif: "Sorry, sorry! I can't really talk right now, Simmons. I have got to go secure a perimeter over at the, uh, shady spot over there."

Grif leaves Simmons with Caboose.

"He'll secure a pretty large perimeter if he takes a nap." Weiss quipped.

Yang, Blake, and Ruby laughed.

Awkward silence. Simmons turns toward Caboose.

Simmons: "I liked it better when we only had to fight you."

Caboose: "Yeah! Blue Team is pretty awesome right now. Right Tucker?"

Caboose turns to see that Tucker is gone.

Caboose: "Right Church?"

Church is also gone. Caboose turns to Simmons.

Caboose: "Hello."

Pyrrha chuckled.

Simmons: "Uh... where's the rest of your team?"

Cut to Tucker watching the entrance of the facility. Church appears next to him as they watch Wash enter the facility.

The scene cut to black.

"I don't see that ending well." Blake commented, Blake 2.0 remained silent.

"Yeah are they spying on them or something?" Ruby asked.

"I think so, but why would they?" Jaune asked.

"Do you think they are keeping something from them?" Ruby asked.

Jaune hummed, "Maybe.."


Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Fun story, I had my first encounter with a "Karen" and it was amazing. I love meeting crazy irrational people, it's like finding an exotic beast in the wild. I was running my dog and stopped to catch my breath on the sidewalk. This lady pulled up next to me and I'm guessing she yelled at me for being near her house but I didn't hear her because I was listening to music. I started running again and she followed me in her car while yelling at me. I noticed her yelling and asked what was wrong. She started asking "What were you doing at my mailbox?" And I told her I was running my dog but she would not, could not accept that as an answer. I laughed because she was so irrationally upset and that made her even angrier.

I had fun messing with her, she was real uptight and was absolutely flabbergasted and appalled at my language. It was childish I know but I mean hell we're both adults, I can be rude back. She was the one who disregarded my dog and almost hit him trying to get ahead of me.

The story ended with her getting bored following me which was disappointing because I could have led her on and wasted her time. My dog loves long runs.

P.S: I know Theta is Trust and there will be a string of season 14 chapters after this. All in one day whenever I finish them. Want to get them out of the way before the real meat of season 10 starts. The order goes:

Head Cannon

Mr. Red vs. Mr. Blue

Fight the Good Fight

The Triplets

The "Mission"

Then the rest of season 10

S14 episodes 2-4

Chorus Trilogy with certain season 14 episodes mixed in.

Might be a while because of school and work.