Author's note:

To clarify, the reason some season 14 episode won't be included is not for any lore reason. It's because they're bad episodes in my opinion.


Cover Art: Cruz7808

Check my profile for polls and planned fics!

Review, point out mistakes, and flame!


Chapter 36- What's the "I" Stand For?

"What happened in the last season ten episode again?" Nora asked.

"Church and Tucker were going to spy on Carolina and Washington." Ruby answered.

"I know that but what else?" Nora leaned in.

"Oh! We met Theta." Jaune recalled.

"And North had his super awesome sniper test!" Ruby grinned. "It was awesome."

"Oh yeah, and then the reds are worried about Carolina." Nora nodded. "Now I remember."

"What's the "I" Stand For?" Appeared on the screen with the theme.

"Looks like the streak of anthology episodes is over." Jaune commented, chuckling at the title.

"I think they're going to talk about A.I. this episode." Blake guessed.

"I think there will be a distinct lack of intelligence in this episode." Weiss commented, her eyes locked on the 'I' in the title.

"Well.." Pyrrha held up her palm, "Caboose was the one who asked what the I stood for."

The group chuckled.

Open to Carolina staring at a power generator.

Washington walks up to Carolina. "U.N.S.C. WIND POWER FACILITY. PRESENT DAY…" appears on the screen.

Washington: "Looking for something?"

Carolina: "Leads, information, anything. You said Maine had been through here, right?"

"Oh yeah he needed to charge his suit." Ruby recalled.

Washington: "Well, yeah, but that was ages ago."

Carolina: "Then look closely. Don't tell me hanging around those morons has turned you soft." (As she says this, Tucker and Church sneak in on a balcony above.)

Blake chuckled, "It has, but not in a bad way."

"He's more trusting again, Tucker and Caboose accepted him on blue team even after he tried to kill them." Pyrrha smiled.

"And the reds didn't care that much." Nora shrugged.

Tucker: "Hey, she said morons, that's us!"

Weiss burst out laughing, "Okay, I don't know if he was joking or not but. That was funny."

"Yeah Tucker's great." Jaune nodded.

"He has been shown to be brave and competent." Weiss hummed her modest agreement.

Church: "Tucker, shut up, let me listen."

Washington: "The Meta was attempting to transfer energy from these turbines into his suit. It was the only way he could keep his equipment running."

Carolina: "(Sigh), poor Maine."

Pyrrha winced, "I didn't think about this, of course it affected her. She was friends with him too."

"Sometimes I get the feeling he's like a gentle giant. We just never see it." Ruby commented.

"Maine? Gentle?" Jaune laughed. "He's menacing, it's why he always looks so evil. He's really intimidating."

"But he wasn't always evil, he was their friend." Pyrrha regained her point. "I wonder if she was closer to him than Washington."

"I think the only reason Wash wasn't affected is because he was so jaded already." Blake sagged.

"Yeah nothing could mess Wash up more than Epsilon." Yang grimaced.

"Probably." Pyrrha nodded, "He treated him like he was a completely different person."

"He was, and maybe Washington could sympathize. He became a different person after his A.I. incident." Blake pointed out.

Ruby's eyes widened, "I never thought about it like that."

Washington: "Carolina, it wasn't your fault."

Carolina: "But it was my A.I."

"Wait what?" Jaune sat up. "What does that mean?"

"I thought she had her two A.I. put in and it caused a lot of problems in her?" Nora raised an eyebrow.

"She didn't 'function' well as Delta put it." Ren added.

"Yeah and that always made me think it was something really really bad." Ruby emphasized.

"Her A.I…" Blake frowned.

"Do you think.. maybe after her incident she gave both her A.I. to Maine and.." Pyrrha's face fell, as if it was about to melt off her face.

"Two A.I. causing an addiction to getting more? She could feel as if she's the cause of Maine's downfall." Blake finished Pyrrha's thought.

Pyrrha nodded, "Only one way to be sure, Jaune?"

Washington: "None of us could have known what would happen."

Carolina: "Yeah? Well sometimes I'm not so sure."

Washington: "What?"

Carolina: "We were told that the A.I. were specifically designed for each of us, right? North was chosen for Theta, York had Delta, but Sigma was mine."

"One A.I. but she had two?" Ruby held up two fingers.

"Is Sigma code for two A.I. or something?" Nora turned to Ren who shrugged.

"Either way she gave it up." Pyrrha explained. "I thought maybe it was the two A.I. that caused him to seek other A.I. But now it sounds like it's because the A.I. wasn't designed for Maine."

Washington: "What are you saying?"

Carolina: "You really think the Director didn't know what would happen?"

"Of course." Blake growled, Pyrrha shook her head.

Washington: "Carolina, that's ridiculous."

Carolina: "He always had his little experiments. He just forgot to take a few extra variables into account."

"The Director knew?" Ruby gasped. "How?"

"I think he knew something would go wrong, not specifically what would happen." Blake clarified.

"Still though, as an experiment?" Ruby shook her head.

"That was his goal, to see what would happen in different situations with experimental A.I. and soldiers." Blake explained.

"To find the magic bullet to win the war as Wash put it." Jaune added. "And that makes a lot more sense after seeing the alien's ships."

"Yeah they were huge and burning the ground." Ruby pictured the scene.

"What was he trying to do exactly?" Yang asked. "He was trying to make the magic bullet to win the war, then Tex got involved, and he has all these different experiments."

"It's confusing with Tex but I think the reason for the different experiments is to test what will happen if A.I. are given out to soldiers en masse." Weiss explained.

"Yeah, the South and North experiment shows it." Jaune nodded. "What happens when one soldier gets an A.I. and the other does not."

Washington: "And what about now? The whole world thinks you're dead. Do you think he knows you're coming for him?"

Carolina: "Yes, I do. And for once, I look forward to proving him right."

"He's confident that he won't be found by the Chairman's men." Jaune commented. "Remember his speech?"

"Yeah when he revealed he was Dr. Leonard Church." Ruby nodded. "That speech gives me chills just thinking about it, it was so good!" She froze and coughed awkwardly. "B- but yeah I don't think he's confident about Carolina not being able to find him."

"I wonder how he knows she's alive." Blake commented.

"We don't even know why everyone thinks she's dead." Weiss pointed out.

"We can't get ahead of ourselves." Ren added with a chuckle.

Washington: "(Sighs) The Director was always hard on you."

Tucker: "Dude, he said hard on (laughs)Bow chicka-"

Church: "(Whispering) Shut up. They're gonna hear you."

Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose. Yang chuckled at the joke.

Carolina: "He was hard on all of us."

Weiss groaned.

Tucker: "Oh come on, you've got to let me have that one."

"They have to be able to hear him." Ruby shook her head.

"They probably do, I expect Tucker will find out whether Tex or Carolina hits harder in the near future." Blake smirked.

Weiss laughed, "Good one, I hope so."

Church: "Quiet, you're going to give away our position."

Tucker: "I've got about five positions in mind for her. Bow chicka-"

Church: "Tucker, I'm serious."

"Church can't do anything to stop him." Ruby sighed.

"He can try possessing him." Yang suggested.

"I don't think he can do that anymore." Ruby groaned, "He's not Alpha anymore."

"Only the Alpha and Omega could do that. The Omega inherited that trait." Ren recalled.

"It was so cool! And now he can't do it!" Ruby pouted.

Washington: "Yeah, you're right. But you have to admit, he was also pretty hard on himself."

Tucker: "That's it, I'm doing it."

Yang laughed.

Church: "Tucker!"

Tucker: "BOW CHICKA BOW- (Gunfire hits the wall beside him) -WHOA! SAME TEAM, SAME TEAM!"

"I was right, there has been a distinct lack of intelligence this episode." Weiss smirked.

"You could say that about almost every episode." Blake laughed.

Weiss held a hand to her smiling lips as she giggled, "Good point, so it was probably Carolina that shot?"

"Definitely." Pyrrha laughed.

"I know her aim is better than that." Ruby chuckled.

"I think her intention was clear, she's not like Church." Jaune grinned at Ruby who nodded.

"Her warning shots are meant to be warning shots." Ruby knew the scene Jaune was thinking of.

Carolina: "What, are you doing here...?!"

Church: "Okay, take it easy, Carolina. We just wanted information."

Washington: "Epsilon?"

Church: "Look, if you two are planning on dragging us around wherever you want, the least you could do is fill us in."

"He has a good point, they're still in the dark." Blake commented.

"Which means we're in the dark!" Nora complained. "I'm taking her actions personally."

Ren chuckled and shook his head, "All they really know is that Carolina is hunting the director."

"Yeah we don't even know what her plan is to find him." Ruby nodded.

"Tex thought that base in the snow was important." Yang recalled. "Either that or it was just a lie to get Church to come with her."

"I think it was just a lie." Blake shrugged. "She wanted to know what they knew."

Tucker: "I'll fill her in. Bow chicka- (More gunfire)"

Church: "Tucker!"

Tucker: "Sorry."

"You could say getting shot at is brave.. but not here." Pyrrha gestured to the screen.

"He does not know when to stop, I think this is a great example of crossing the line between bravery and stupidity." Weiss chuckled.

Carolina: "You and your squad are on a 'need-to-know' basis. And right now, you don't need to know anything."

"Imagine if we did that?" Jaune raised his eyebrows at Ruby. The two grimaced and shook their heads.

Church: "Wha- Seriously?! Jesus, you're worse than Tex...! (Gunfire passes through Church)"

"Oh that's hitting a nerve." Yang laughed.

Tucker: "Okay, that one was on you."

Carolina: "Get. Out...!"

Church: "Fine, we're leaving already. (Church starts walking away) Hey Tucker, I need you to leave, I can't actually do it on my own."

Ruby laughed, "Another problem with him being Epsilon now and not Alpha."

Washington: "Carolina, you've got to calm down."

"It's amazing how she looks angry even though it's just a suit of armor." Blake complimented. "I've said it before but it amazes me every time."

"I think it's the context and the model looking down." Weiss explained. "The medium is strange but they've excelled in creating a story through it. It is amazing."

Carolina: "Don't tell me how to lead my squad, Washington. Now, sweep the area and report back to me when you're done. (Walks away)"

Pyrrha sighed, "It's hard hearing my voice be that angry."

"She has a lot to deal with." Weiss sympathized. "Her past, Maine, finding the director, and last but not least, dealing with the Reds and Blues."

Pyrrha chuckled, "All of that has to wear on her."

"I just wish she wouldn't throw it at Washington." Blake grumbled.

"Me too." Pyrrha nodded.

Washington: "(Sighs) On it, boss."

"At least he understands." Blake hummed.

Cut to the Freelancer training room floor.

Counselor: "And as the Director accurately predicted in his thesis on the subject, we see that cognitive impression modeling can be separated from the host."

"Can someone translate?" Ruby asked.

"Hey I study Grimm psychology not human psychology." Yang held her hands up.

"I think he's talking about the creation of A.I." Ren guessed.

"The host is probably the person the A.I. is based on." Jaune added.

"And cognitive impression modelling sounds like copying someone's brain." Nora tapped her head.

As the Counselor speaks, the scene pans into a classroom-like room

Counselor: "Naturally, this remains an inherently deconstructive process."

The freelancer board can be seen.

1. Texas

2. Carolina

3. York

4. Wyoming

5. North Dakota

6. Washington

7. Maine

8. South Dakota

Blake smiled, "Did anyone notice that?"

"Notice what?" Ruby leaned over to look at Blake.

"When the counselor said 'deconstructive' the camera shifted over the scoreboard." Blake raised her eyebrows at everyone.

Weiss gasped, "That's clever."

"Do you think it was intentional?" Yang asked.

"I'm sure, it's too much of a coincidence." Blake explained.

"The board is naturally deconstructive." Pyrrha sighed.

"And speaking of the scoreboard, look at the placement." Jaune pointed. "South is still low but North is a lot higher now."

"Probably because of Theta." Ruby guessed. "And Maine is lower I think."

"I'd say that's due to his injury." Weiss absently rubbed her neck.

"Yeah but Texas is still number one." Yang smirked.

"Carolina is a close second." Pyrrha defended, she paused a second later. "But that shouldn't matter."

Counselor: "But most of all, the biggest concern of any full A.I. entity is the prospect of rampancy, which we covered last week."

"FREELANCER CLASSROOM. MANY YEARS AGO…"

"Rampancy.." Ruby raised an eyebrow. "So what, do they just go crazy?"

"Probably.. so the freelancers have to take classes." Jaune chuckled.

"They're like us!" Nora gasped. "Except our teachers are way better."

"It's odd though, I didn't expect to see them taking a class." Weiss commented.

"Me neither, the counselor sounds boring." Jaune added.

Weiss nodded, "He's too… uniform." She frowned, "I've gotten used to the eccentricities of the teachers here."

"Yeah I bet the teachers at Atlas are even worse than him." Yang gestured to the counselor.

"Very strict and boring." Weiss laughed.

Wyoming, North and South Dakota, York, Carolina, Maine and Washington, all helmetless, sit with Delta, Theta and Sigma at desks. The Counselor and the Director stand at the front of the room.

Blake's eyes widened, she sat up. "Washington." She pointed. "Wash doesn't have his helmet on."

"Oh hey you're right, I didn't think he would be blonde." Yang shrugged. "Score for us." Jaune and Yang fistbumped.

"We're going to see his face." Blake grinned.

"We're going to see all of their faces, did you see Wyoming?" Ruby sucked her lips in, looking at Yang.

"He has a handlebar mustache." Yang turned, making the same face. The two fell into a fit of giggles after a moment of silence.

Blake's eyes that were fixed to Washington, roved over the 'students' until she landed on the teachers. "We can also see the Director's face, except it's blurry."

"I noticed." Ren hummed, "I hope there is a close up."

"Do you think Maine is in the class?" Pyrrha asked.

"I only see York, Wash, Wyoming, North, South, and Carolina." Blake listed. "He could still be injured."

"He probably is, I mean he got shot like a bazillion times in the neck." Ruby gagged.

Cut to a view behind the director, Maine can be seen in the back. The outline of his head and Sigma in view.

"No look he's in class." Jaune pointed.

"Aww boo he's in the dark." Nora pouted.

Blake frowned, "Yeah.. he is."

"That's obviously meaningful.. do you think he's made a change for the worse?" Weiss asked.

"Yes or he will soon." Blake nodded. "He has his A.I. Sigma. Er Carolina's A.I."

"Even from far away it looks evil." Ruby added. "It's on fire."

"We've seen Sigma before too, in season six." Jaune recalled. "When the Meta took Delta."

"I remember, I think this is his turning point." Pyrrha sighed.

"Me too, the darkness he's in is a clear message. Has anyone else noticed the seating arrangements?" Blake asked.

"The seating- what about it?" Yang raised an eyebrow.

Blake grinned, "Everyone who has turned out to be an enemy is on the left side, and everyone who has in the end, been good is on the right. South, the Meta, Wyoming…" she trailed off.

"And Carolina." Pyrrha frowned, "But she's not an enemy, she's hunting the director."

"Right now she is, but I think it's foreshadowing." Blake explained.

"Well, Washington became an enemy, and he's on the right side." Pyrrha pointed out.

"Yes but he later became an ally." Blake pushed her point. "I could be reading into details too much, it's just something I noticed."

Pyrrha nodded, "Hm.. it could be intentional but.. I can't think of a reason she would turn on the Reds and Blues. I doubt they would try to stop her from hunting the director. And Washington is there, he likely vouched for them."

Blake nodded too, "And the possibility of Wash betraying them again is almost zero." She said, neglecting to voice her belief that Carolina could and would abandon them if it meant she could kill the Director.

Director: "Of course our A.I. units are what we call fragments, so there's very little chance that a personality subroutine can run off unchecked."

"So Church can't go rampant." Ruby surmised. "Or probably can't."

The director walks to the right giving us a look at the other students.. except Wash whose face is hidden by the counselor."

"The counselor is in the way." Blake grumbled. "It's intentional, we won't see his face."

"Aw boo!" Nora booed.

"I wonder why.." Weiss frowned.

Blake sighed, "I can't see a reason."

Ruby raised her hand, "Oh! I can!"

Blake turned to her, "Um okay, please."

Ruby blushed as the attention fell on her, "Uh well- uh well he's a blue now you know?" She caught her stride. "And we haven't seen any of the reds or blues faces so we're probably not going to see his. It's like you said Blake, their personality doesn't need a face."

"I said that?" Blake sighed, "You're right or- I was right. And it's fitting if it's true, he's a blue now."

"You still sound disappointed." Yang commented.

"I was hoping to see his face." Blake shrugged.

"I was hoping to see Maine's face too." Pyrrha sighed, "I wanted to see what he looked like so I could place Maine and the Meta apart."

"Maine without his helmet and the Meta with it?" Ruby asked.

Pyrrha nodded.

Counselor: "Are there any questions?"

South Dakota: "Yeah, I got a question. Why do we need to learn all this stuff?"

"It's not surprising South would be that student." Weiss rolled her eyes.

"Ruby's that student whenever I even mention hand to hand." Yang chimed in.

"Hey this is about South, not me." Ruby crossed her arms.

Carolina: "A.I. theory is like vehicle maintenance, South. If we're going to use this equipment, any equipment, we need to know how to care for it."

Theta can be seen with his skateboard. It has a roosterteeth logo on the bottom.

Ruby giggled, "Theta has a skateboard."

"Aww." Yang and Weiss cooed.

"I hope he doesn't hurt- I mean." Weiss flushed, "Nevermind."

"Yeah I don't think he can hurt himself." Yang nodded, breathing out an almost imperceptible sigh of relief.

"What's the weird symbol on the bottom though?" Nora asked. "Dentures and a rooster."

"Weird." Ruby shrugged, "But Carolina's right about maintenance, Signal was really hard on us about-"

"Bow chicka bow wow."

"Yaaaaaang!" Ruby whined.

South Dakota: "Oh yeah, Like a coffee maker or a vacuum cleaner."

"...it's also important to maintain those, yes." Ren nodded.

"I doubt she thinks the same." Pyrrha nodded towards South.

Theta: "Uh…"

Delta: "That was rather rude."

"Poor Theta." Weiss winced.

South Dakota: "Oh, cry me a river, lightbulb."

"What's her problem?" Ruby growled.

"She's jealous." Yang sighed.

Carolina: "No, not the same as that."

South Dakota: "(scoffs) I don't even have one because someone didn't bring enough to share, so why am I sitting through this elementary classroom bullshit?"

The counselor and the director give each other a look.

"Looks more like a small lecture classroom to me." Nora commented.

"South's just being a petulant child now." Weiss shook her head. Like I was, except I wasn't nearly as vulgar.

Carolina: "I don't have one either, South."

York: "That's only because you gave yours to Maine."

The group grimaced.

"His eye.." Ruby mumbled.

"The pupil and.. the other eye stuff is like completely gone." Nora gestured to her eye.

Jaune gagged, "I- thank you Nora for that wonderful description."

"No problem Jaune!"

"I think it looks cool." Yang shrugged. "Painful though."

Carolina: "He needed to be able to communicate after his injury."

South Dakota: "Oh yeah. That's the only reason you did it. You're a real hero, Carolina."

Cut to North taking in a breath and shaking his head, Theta is still playing with his skateboard.

"North looks really uncomfortable." Jaune commented.

"I would be too, especially if Ruby started acting like that." Yang laughed.

"Pfft yeah." Ruby shook her head.

"Except I'd do something about it." Yang added, causing Ruby to roll her eyes.

Weiss blushed, I'm glad Winter wasn't here for my first week.. she'd definitely do something too. Probably a harsh training session.

"At least Theta is fine." Yang smiled.

Weiss's eyes flicked up to Theta, she laughed.

South Dakota: "It's not like Maine has much to say anyway."

Maine: "(Growls)"

The group flinched.

"He has his growl.." Jaune mumbled.

"He's becoming the Meta." Pyrrha sighed.

Sigma: "I would like to say just how appreciative the two of us are for Carolina's sacrifice. Agent Carolina, if anyone can excel without an A.I. unit, it is you."

"He doesn't seem bad." Pyrrha smiled.

"He's flattering." Blake frowned, "He reminds me of a devil on your shoulder."

"Like those old cartoons." Ruby and Jaune nodded.

Carolina: "Thank you, Sigma."

Sigma: "And Agent Texas of course. That goes without saying."

Yang winced, "Oh.. that's a burn."

"It was." Blake nodded, either not noticing or caring about Yang's pun. "It was manipulative too."

"You'd think Gamma would be the manipulative one, what trait do you think Sigma is?" Weiss asked.

"I don't know, but I doubt it's manipulation." Blake chuckled.

Weiss nodded, "Me too, also I don't think Theta is fear anymore. I think he's innocence, I don't think a fearful person would ride a skateboard."

"You're right, and innocence matches his childlike demeanor more." Ren nodded.

Carolina: "Right."

South Dakota: "I notice she doesn't have to attend class."

"Yeah why isn't she there?" Yang frowned. "I didn't even notice, I'm so used to her not being with them."

"Why would she need a class on A.I? She is one." Ruby pointed out.

"Does she know that? Church didn't." Yang tilted her head to the left..

"Come on Yang, Tex is smarter than Church." Ruby grinned.

Yang laughed, "Yeah good point."

Director: "Agent Texas doesn't need this training."

Counselor: "What the Director is trying to say is that Agent Texas has already completed her A.I. theory course work. I think that's enough for today."

Theta falls from his skateboard.

Weiss gasped, catching herself a moment later. "Oh right.." he can't get hurt. She thought as she anxiously ran a hand through her hair.

"The director lacks tact sometimes." Blake noted. "Specifically whenever Tex comes up."

"I've noticed that too." Ren hummed.

"He's defensive of her." Yang added, "When he really doesn't need to be."

"But it makes sense, I mean she's basically his resurrected wife." Jaune commented.

Sigma: "If I may, Counselor. I have just one last question."

York: "Oh, come on."

Yang laughed, "I feel that."

"Me too ugh, why do you guys ask so many questions." Ruby whined.

"If I didn't ask those questions then. You would have asked me those same questions later." Weiss huffed.

Sigma: "On the different levels of A.I. awareness and rampancy."

Counselor: "Melancholia, anger-"

Sigma: "Specifically in the fourth stage of rampancy."

"I wonder why his voice does that?" Ruby frowned.

"Yeah it's weird, like he's talking twice." Nora nodded.

"Maybe to show he has two meanings?" Blake guessed. "When his voice repeats it's deeper, and more.. threatening."

"Yeah he's a bad guy." Ruby shrugged. "It's so obvious, and that second voice is like his true nature. Know what I mean?"

Blake nodded. "I've never seen a character with that trait before, it's interesting. I like it."

Counselor: "Meta-stability."

"The Meta!" Ruby gasped.

Sigma: "Yes, the meta stage, in which an A.I. can be considered fully human."

"Is that what Church is? He doesn't seem like a personality trait, he never has." Ruby commented. "Even when he was the Alpha, he felt like a full person."

"He probably reached the Meta stage then." Jaune hummed. "And Epsilon is all of the Alpha's memories so he was already at the Meta stage too."

"Delta reached the Meta stage as well." Ren's eyes widened, "In Out of Mind. Or at least he came close to it."

"After York died." Ruby winced. "York is a nice friend, it's still weird knowing he'll die."

Jaune gave her a reassuring shrug as he moved to hit play but Blake stopped him, "Wait, look at the Met- I mean Maine's face."

"I can't, it's hidden behind Sigma." Pyrrha sighed.

"I know but I can see some of it, I noticed that he is bald." Blake pointed.

"That's not surprising, brutes in shows are always bald." Jaune nodded.

"I think I saw a bit of his lip before, it looked a little messed up." Yang added.

"I saw that too." Blake sighed, "I was hoping some of you could see more. Anything else?"

"Blake if you can't see his face, we definitely can't." Yang gave her a shrug. "Sorry."

Blake nodded and leaned back, Jaune hit play.

Counselor: "That is only theoretical, Sigma. No A.I. has ever achieved such a state."

Sigma: "But it is possible."

Counselor: "In theory, but-"

The board behind him can be seen showing the stages of rampancy.

Sigma: "But possible. I find that very interesting."

"So he wants to become human?" Ruby asked.

"It sounds like it, but why?" Jaune frowned.

"To me it sounds like he wants to become powerful." Blake explained. "And becoming Meta stable is the way he thinks he can do it."

"How does he go from wanting to be human, to getting Maine to kill freelancers for their A.I. and abilities?" Ruby asked.

Counselor: "Remember, Sigma, you're not even a full A.I. You are what we call a fragment, so something of that magnitude would be even more difficult for an entity such as yourself."

"So how do they become human?" Nora asked. "They're basically robots."

"It kind of just happened to Church and Delta." Ruby shrugged.

"I don't know.. anyone got any ideas?" Jaune asked.

"Do you think that's what Sigma and Maine were doing?" Blake frowned. "Stealing A.I. so Sigma could become human."

"That doesn't make any sense though." Ruby shook her head. "Right?"

"Well the A.I. are emotional fragments, so I'm guessing if all the fragments were united. They could create an entire personality." Blake explained. "But if that was true, the Alpha- the original before the torture, would have been a person too."

"Do you think it was? I mean it's Church." Ruby explained.

"I don't think so, because the counselor said no A.I. achieved the state. And he didn't seem to be lying." Blake added.

"He could be though." Ruby noted.

"I have a guess." Pyrrha winced.

"Yeah?" Jaune encouraged.

"Well.. look at what happened to Delta and the Alpha. The Alpha's personality traits were all ripped from him. Yet Church has all the normal traits and emotions." Pyrrha explained. "So the emotional fragments aren't necessarily needed."

"Yeah." Ruby nodded.

"But I think the process of deconstructing him does." Pyrrha winced again. "Every person goes through hardship." She continued.

Blake's eyes widened, "I think I know where you're going with this."

Pyrrha gave her a weak smile, "So I think that for an A.I. to become human, they have to go through.. some kind of hardship. For Church it was the torture and for Delta it was York's death."

"That's… wow." Weiss was at a loss for words.

"Sorry, it's just a little theory." Pyrrha apologized.

"No it makes sense, a lot of sense actually." Blake nodded.

"Yeah, even Tex became a full person. Maybe not Epsilon Tex but definitely Beta Tex." Yang explained. "I don't know what caused it but she was a full person in the first five seasons."

"To play the devil's advocate." Weiss grimaced, "That could be chalked up to the writing."

"Maybe." Yang shrugged.

"We'll just have to see, Pyrrha I think you're right." Ren smiled.

"I wish I wasn't." Pyrrha laughed nervously, "It's horrible."

Sigma: "Well, as the Director always says, it is important to have ambition."

"Ambition.." Weiss grimaced. "I think Sigma's manipulation makes sense."

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

"He's ambition." Weiss growled. "To most ambitious people, manipulation is important."

Pyrrha sighed, "No wonder he was originally assigned to Carolina, who's more ambitious than her? Although I doubt she would manipulate anyone."

"Carolina with Sigma, could that mean she almost became the Meta?" Ruby asked.

"That would be terrifying." Jaune laughed.

"I can't imagine her becoming the Meta, she wouldn't kill her comrades for power." Pyrrha shook her head.

"Do you think Maine would have? It's the A.I. Sigma. A manipulative voice in their head." Blake tapped the side of her head.

Nora gasped, "And she's on the left side! I have a theory!"

The group chuckled, the mood rising with Nora's every word.

"Go ahead Nora." Jaune grinned.

"What if Carolina becomes the second Meta! They're setting her up to be the main villain!" Nora smiled proudly.

"A second Meta?" Blake raised an eyebrow. "Hmm maybe. But I don't see why they would repeat a villain."

"It would be so cool!" Nora grinned.

"No. It wouldn't." Pyrrha shuddered.

"Come on Pyr, imagine being the villain." Nora grinned.

Pyrrha chuckled and shook her head.

"I wouldn't want to be the villain either." Jaune laughed.

"I doubt she would become another Meta, what would be the point?" Blake asked. "Most of the A.I. are gone."

Director: "Why yes it is. Class is dismissed."

"Yeah he knew." Ruby scowled.

Theta and the Freelancers except for Washington leave. Delta prepares to follow, but stops as Sigma watches the board at the front of the room. The Meta's theme plays in the background.

Delta: "Sigma, are you coming?"

"Aren't they not supposed to talk to each other?" Ruby asked.

"It looks like they break that rule a lot." Yang chuckled.

"Wash also didn't leave." Blake frowned. "Probably so we wouldn't see his face."

Sigma: "Yes, yes. We will be joining you shortly. (Delta leaves)"

The board at the front of the room cycles through several symbols made of combined Greek letters before stopping on a particular combination, the future symbol of The Meta. Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Theta, Iota, XI, Sigma, and Omega.

"Warning: Metastability Analysis Is Not Exact." Appeared on the screen after Sigma turned away to leave.

"That's where the symbol came from, the one from the reconstruction trailer." Blake recalled.

"So he thinks to reach metastability, he needs those A.I." Ren guessed. "Himself, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Theta, Iota, XI, and Omega."

"Which ones did he get? Before the E.M.P. He got Gamma, Theta, Delta, and Omega but I'm guessing he got the others besides Epsilon too." Jaune listed.

"But he also got Beta." Yang pointed out. "So I think at some point he just decided to get any and all A.I. he could get his hands on."

"And in the end it was a fool's quest, the analysis wasn't exact." Pyrrha shook her head.


Penny SS— Not Canon


Because I am a real girl, am I metastable? Penny thought as the episode played. Or am I not metastable because I am a real girl? Only computer programs can become metastable, and I am not a program. She smiled, recalling Ruby's words. I am a real girl, and my nuts and bolts don't matter.

She turned to the screen with a pitying frown. Sigma never achieved metastability which is sad I think. Maybe he could have realized he was being mean and hurting people. The Director hurt people too, he hurt the Alpha. He created the Alpha like father created me. Except the director used his brain while father used his aura. But the director is only the Alpha's creator, he isn't a father to him. I don't want a father like him. Penny began to scowl. He fragmented and hurt his son.

But it's good that Church healed and is metastable now. Penny smiled again as the episode continued. I'm glad Mr. Ironwood doesn't allow experiments like project freelancer's. Other people like me could be made and hurt.


Cut to the outside of the power station, where Caboose stops Carolina

"U.N.S.C. WIND POWER FACILITY. PRESENT DAY…" appeared on the screen.

Caboose: "Um, hey, hi Caroline. Yes, um, excuse me, um, have you seen Church lately. Uh, he and I were supposed to hang out after we rescued him."

"Did he just call her Caroline?" Pyrrha chuckled.

"I wonder if that's her actual name." Jaune pondered.

"They should call her Carol." Nora added. "Washington is Wash, Carolina should be Carol."

"That sounds like a grandma name, like Vera." Ruby commented. "Also it looks like Caboose is done dumping Church."

Pyrrha laughed.

Carolina: "Tell your friends to stay out of my way, or else."

Caboose: "Or else what?"

Carolina: "Or else they'll bring out my ugly side."

"She doesn't sound that upset to me." Pyrrha smiled.

"Maybe it's because she's talking to Caboose." Yang guessed.

Caboose: "Oh, oh come on Caroline, I bet you are really pretty under that armor."

Pyrrha blushed, "Uhm what?"

"Ha!" Yang laughed. "He- I think he's coming on to Carolina."

"Don't be daft, Caboose is just nice. He misunderstood her." Weiss rolled her eyes.

"Yeah I know." Yang chuckled, "So Pyrrha, Caboose thinks you're pretty."

"He thinks Carolina is pretty." Pyrrha countered.

"And you look like Carolina." Nora continued Yang's point.

Pyrrha chuckled, "Well he hasn't seen her, Weiss is right. He's just being nice."

Carolina: "What?"

Caboose: "Um, I mean, you know, I mean I understand that there's some helmet hair. We all have helmet hair from time to time, but you know."

"Yeah I hate helmet hair." Yang tossed her hair back. "It makes my head feel dirty."

Carolina: "(growls)"

"Aannnd she's mad at Caboose." Ruby laughed.

Caboose: "Yes, um so anyways, what did you want me to tell Church and Tucker again?"

Carolina pulls out her pistol and shoots a mountain of fusion coil explosives stacked behind Caboose.

Carolina: "Just try and put that into words."

Carolina walks away.

Caboose: "(makes explosion sound effect) Explosion."

Pyrrha burst out laughing, "Clearly she hasn't gotten to know Caboose well enough."

"I think he did a good job." Nora giggled, "I should be like Carolina and use explosions to express myself."

"NO!" Ren chided roughly.

"Dear god what has this show done." Jaune put his hands to his face.

"This show has been a horrible influence on Nora." Ren sighed.

"Nora please." Pyrrha begged.

Nora giggled, crossing her fingers behind her back. "Okay okay I won't."

Carolina passes by a Warthog. The Grif poke's his head out from behind it after she's gone

Grif: "You know, I'm beginning to think Simmons might have had the right idea about this Carolina chick."

Simmons pops up.

Simmons: "See, I told you."

Nora giggled, "They're like gophers." Ruby laughed at the mental image.

Sarge pops up.

Nora giggled again.

Sarge: "Normally I would agree with Simmons, but in this case it would also cause me to agree with Grif. Therefore, I will simply grunt ambiguously. (grunts)"

"I like his train of thought." Weiss chuckled. "I don't think I have to openly agree with any of your crazy plans ever again."

Ruby laughed, "I'll take any noise you make as agreement."

Cut to Washington walking up to the Reds, who are now congregating by the windmill

Washington: "Hey, did Carolina come this way? We've got to get going soon."

"I wonder if he's going to try and cheer her up." Blake commented.

"He can pat her on the head." Yang quipped.

Grif: "Right, we've been meaning to talk to you about that."

Washington: "About what?"

Grif: "This whole 'finding the Director' thing."

Washington: "You mean the mission."

Grif: "Yeah, that."

Simmons: "We were thinking. Now that we've helped you find Church, we should just let you handle the rest. You know, wouldn't want to cramp your style. That whole Freelancer thing. You're good at that."

Nora snickered, "They want to go off to do their own thing." She gasped, "But how will they keep up with the blues?"

Washington: "So you're abandoning the mission."

Sarge: "Red Team never abandons the mission, we're just accepting an alternate mission, of different risk."

"Ooo what mission?" Nora 'oooed'

"Oh no what mission?" Weiss sighed.

Washington: "Less risk."

Simmons: "Less is different."

Ren chuckled.

Sarge: "Securing the front lines of Red Base."

Washington: "Going home is risky? On what scale?"

Sarge: "Well, we haven't been there in ages. Who knows what kind of nefarious ne'er-do-wells have moved in on our territory."

Nora gasped, "Blues!"

Ren chuckled, shaking his head.

Washington: "Hmm, I guess you're right."

Blake began to snicker.

Sarge: "What?"

Washington: "Well, you are wanted criminals of the U.N.S.C. I wouldn't be surprised if they were setting up an ambush for you right now."

"Wait, they are?" Ruby frowned.

"Oh yeah, they stole a hornet." Nora laughed.

"I hope that guy didn't lose his job." Jaune frowned.

Sarge: "What?"

Washington: "I suppose I can't stop you. Anyway, I'm going to go find Carolina. Good luck."

Wash walks away.

"Wash is a genius." Blake laughed.

"Yeah they're easily tricked." Nora shrugged. "But he could be right."

"I doubt the UNSC would care much about simulation troopers." Blake shrugged the notion off.

Sarge: "On second thought, you could probably use the extra help."

Grif: "Yeah, we're sticking with you."

Simmons: "Never abandon the mission."

Grif: "Semper, the sempering thing. Semper, s- saah fuck it."

The scene cute to black.

"What was he trying to say?" Ruby asked.

"I remember them saying something like semper fi. It's something in another language." Ren explained.

"Oh, well I liked the episode." Ruby commented.

"Yeah! I'm glad they ended it on a light note with the reds." Nora grinned.

"And they revealed so much." Blake added. "Sigma, the Meta, more about Carolina.. it's a lot to take in."


Vacuo SS— Not Canon(Contains spoilers for both RWBY books)


"This show is awesome." Sun grinned.

Sun, along with his team and team CFVY sat in Starr's dojo. All tilting their heads awkwardly to stare at the small screen in front of them. To make things more uncomfortable, the group also sat on pillows with no back support. Normally this would have annoyed each and every one of them, but after recent events and living in the harsh desert fort so long. It was nothing but a minor inconvenience.

"It is, and it's incredible how it keeps your attention." Scarlet added. "You're worse than the Valkyrie girl sometimes."

"Hey if you guys want to watch the show, I'll stick with you. I mean, we're already ten seasons in." Sun gestured to the screen.

"What about the anthology?" Sage asked, slightly confused.

"Part of season ten or just another season." Neptune explained. "Kind of like a season ten point five."

"..what?" Sage frowned.

"Nevermind big guy." Sun laughed off Sage's confusion. "What do you guys think about the show so far?" Sun turned his attention to team CFVY.

"I like it, but their armor is still so boring." Coco shook her head. "No sense of style.. Though out of everyone Washington has the best looking suit. That's the bright side."

"I think it's one of the best looking shows I've ever seen." Fox smirked.

"I'm sure it is Fox." Coco rolled her eyes.

"I'm serious, it's a visual masterpiece."

Coco crossed her arms, "Is ADA helping at all?"

"She's still describing everything on the screen to me." Fox shrugged. "I like it, the characters voices are easy to tell apart."

"That's good." Velvet smiled, "And I still like the show as well. Tucker's sword and the Meta's shield are interesting weapons that use hardlight. I've already taken pictures and I can't wait to try them out."

"You're going to run out of hardlight dust eventually." Coco warned.

"I don't think you're in any position to comment on running out of anything miss spray and pray." Fox chuckled.

"Fox I will gouge out your eyes and not feel the least bit guilty about it." Coco warned. "I can make them look like York's."

Yatsuhashi shook his head, "Coco."

Coco laughed, "Yeah yeah, so what about you Yats?"

"I appreciate the lessons given about memory. Epsilon is an example of what I meant when I said 'All we are is what we remember.'" Yatsuhashi explained.

"He is." Sun agreed, "Church has always been Church because of that, Alpha or Epsilon it doesn't matter."

"I think this Church is different from the other Church." Scarlet chimed in.

"I'm still confused about that." Sage frowned.

"I think technically they're different but because Epsilon is all of the Alpha's memories, they're still the same." Neptune explained.

"I don't care about all of that stuff, I'm here for the fights now." Coco grinned.

"There are some clever moments." Velvet chuckled.

"Very insightful moments too." Yatsuhashi added.

"The music is good." Fox shrugged. "Start the next episode already, I'm dying to see what happens next."

"Fox you're starting to sound like a broken record." Coco chided.

"Hey I'm not the one who thought it would be a great idea to watch tv with a blind person" Fox shrugged as he flipped ADA back on.

"Poor frail blind Fox." Coco whimpered tauntingly.

Fox scowled, "Oh that's dirty Coco. But I'm glad I'm blind, I don't have to see your tacky outfit."

Coco's nostrils flared as she began to laugh, "That's a good one Fox. I'll get you for that one."

"Sure thing boss." Fox saluted.

"Hey uhh can someone play this before they fight?" Neptune whisper/yelled.

Using his tail, Sun hit play with a laugh.


Non Canon Reaction—


As teams JNR and RWBY rode in the Manta towards Atlas they were suddenly transported into a room with a tv screen and given an explanation as to what was going on.. they were going to watch a short video clip. The group was also given all of their memories of watching Red vs Blue as well as various other random clips.

"Well let's hurry up and start it." Yang shrugged as she fiddled with her robotic arm.

Open on to a man cosplaying as Qrow during the RTX 2017 panel.

"Oh god why is someone cosplaying as uncle Qrow?" Yang asked.

"He's not a good role model." Ruby moaned.

"You seem to think he is, you based your scythe off of his." Yang pointed out.

"Loosely based." Ruby defended.

Guy: "This is to the writers, and possibly Barbara."

"My voice actress?" Yang asked.

"Oh no." Blake groaned. "It's something to do with you."

"Yay! It's not me again." Ruby did a little jig in her seat.

Guy: "Does Yang's new arm, have a vibration function."

The crowd laughs and the panel members gasp.

Yang gasped, "Oh wait does it?" Yang stared at her arm.

"Why would he ask that? In public at a panel?" Blake shook her head.

"Completely inappropriate." Weiss nodded.

"I don't get it and I don't want to." Ruby crossed her arms with a huff.

"Come on is there a button somewhere?" Yang asked.

"Why do you- no nevermind don't answer." Weiss gagged.

"I'm curious, sue me." Yang shrugged.

"I- I'm at a loss." Ren shook his head.

"Why would it have that function? Like to massage?" Jaune asked.

Weiss gasped, "Wait, does the arm have a vibrating function?"

"Oh now you're on board." Yang laughed.

"I have been stressed out for a solid year." Weiss growled.

Lindsay laughs weirdly as Barbara stands up.

Barbara: "Does it?"

Gray: "Well how else is she going to know when she gets her phone calls?"

Kerry: "Yeah, bzz bzz oh so that's where you took it, good."

"Good way to take it." Blake chuckled.

"That would be annoying." Yang shook her head.

Barbara: "I like to imagine that-"

Gray: "That's why I'm a producer."

Barbara: "I like to imagine instead of a vibration it's like the hand just spins." Barbara spins her hand violently. The crowd laughs again.

Yang burst out laughing, "Oh- oh god!"

"Like a sawblade? Yang! Can I do that to your arm? It would be so cool!" Ruby begged.

"A saw blade isn't really my style." Yang shook her head.

Arryn: "What the hell is going on right now?"

Gray: "For- for mixing when she's cooking."

Ren chuckled, "Yang you can help me mix pancake batter."

"No thanks." Yang laughed, "But now I'm getting kind of annoyed that my arm doesn't have any of these functions."

"We don't even have robot arms, all we have is stupid flesh sacks." Ruby pouted.

Miles: "You know for devastating attacks! Devastating attacks!"

"I don't like the way he said that." Ruby cringed.

"Yeah I sound weird." Jaune nodded.

Arryn: "This is supposed to be a pg panel."

"Well it's not." Blake chuckled.

"Aww Blake you sound so sweet." Yang smiled.

"As opposed to how I normally sound?" Blake raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Well.. yeah." Yang shrugged.

Barbara: "Well hopefully those people don't know what we're talking about."

Arryn: "Yeah like a toothbrush."

Lindsay: "Inspector gadget had vibrating arms and that was (unintelligible)"

Barbara: "Yeah and she's going to inspect her gadgets!" Barbara mimics shooting a shot.

The crowd laughs again.

Yang again burst out laughing, "I LOVE my voice actor."

"Your voice actor is you in every way." Weiss groaned.

"Two Yangs don't make a right." Ruby added.

Kerry: "NNNext question! Movin' on!"

Barbara: "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Gray: "If I still had one of those Pyrrha dolls I would throw it at you."

Arryn: "I'd like to imagine if it did have a vibrating function that she would just hold her toothbrush and it would just be a really good- like a really good teeth brushing for a much cheaper price."

As she says this she shakes her hand around her mouth.. kind of in a suggestive way.

Kerry: "Yeah."

Miles: "Thank you Arryn, Thank you Arryn."

The scene ends.

"Well that was fun." Yang grinned. "I wish my arm could vibrate but eh I'm happy with what I got." Yang flexed her robotic fingers.

"I'm glad the Atlas scientists who spent time and effort making that arm didn't waste a moment on a vibration function." Weiss rolled her eyes.


Thanks to TheReckless1One for the Penny idea.

What did you think of this chapter? I regret showing them the sponsor scene where Donut is revealed to be alive back in season 8. I think when he comes back I'll write an extra non-canon scene at the end of that episode that is just their reaction as if they never knew he survived.

Also teams I had teams CFVY and SSSN reacting in Vacuo because there's not a lot of characterization of the teams while they were at beacon. So yeah they're reacting after "Before the Dawn" Also this was my first time writing them, hope I did okay. There will be a longer reaction with that group eventually. I was just getting a feel for them this chapter.