Author's note:

Huge thanks to Brian.H.H for more great analysis that I shamelessly used. I love hearing your suggestions and analyses. It helps me put my own thoughts into words or shows me an entirely new perspective.


Cover Art: Cruz7808

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Review, point out mistakes, and flame!


Chapter 39- Fighting Fire

"It started as soon as he got Sigma." Jaune added.

"Carolina's simple act of kindness." Pyrrha sighed, "She made a big decision, she gave up her A.I. for him and blames herself for what happened."

"She just wanted him to be able to talk again." Ruby sagged.

"And Sigma is a bad translator." Blake added.

"He lost his voice in more ways than one." Weiss shook her head. "He twists Maine's words. Especially when he inserts himself into them."

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

Weiss sat up "In the classroom Sigma, instead of directly saying, 'Maine says' followed by what Maine wanted to say, Sigma said 'we.' It's an important distinction." She explained.

"He also intentionally pissed Carolina off." Yang added.

"Manipulating her, reminding her of her hate for Tex and indirectly driving her away from Maine." Blake added.

Ruby looked down, "It's probably hard for him to talk to his friends."

"Yeah." Yang looked up, "Yeah how can he? Imagine if he wanted to comfort one of them. He wants to say 'It's not your fault, I hope you're okay.' And that bastard twists his words. He can easily say something like 'It's not your fault the enemy was more prepared, I hope you're okay after your embarrassing defeat.'" Her angry sarcasm rose with every word.

"He can't talk to his friends at all." Ruby empathized. "It'd be like saying the wrong awkward thing on accident except all the time!"

"That would be awful." Jaune grimaced. "To the socially awkward." He whispered to Ruby, both chuckling at their inside joke before their smiles fell. They thought about just how horrible Maine had it.

"And his manipulation goes further, think about the effect that has on Maine." Weiss sighed. "Losing your voice affects you more than you would think. He's also losing those he talked to. Losing your way to communicate and express yourself means losing your freedom." Her thoughts drifted towards her father.

Blake nodded, understanding.

"And if you think I'm wrong, look at what just happened." Weiss gestured to the screen. "Sigma gave Maine an order."

"And it's subtle." Blake's ears drooped low, "He ordered him to do something he already wanted to do. But that's just it, he's conditioning Maine to take his orders."

"And the way he said it was degrading." Yang growled.

Blake hissed, her ears standing up firm. "He treated Maine like a dog."

"It's sickening." Pyrrha agreed.

"Fighting Fire" appeared on the screen with the theme.

Blake shook away her disgust at Sigma, "Fighting Fire, meaning Maine against the sleeveless soldier."

"I wonder why he wasn't with them from the start." Nora wondered aloud.

"They used him as a shock trooper." Jaune explained. "Dropping him in the middle of a group of enemy soldiers works, remember when Carolina used him as a counter weight?"

The others nodded, Pyrrha chuckled.

"Mental Meta Metal" by Jeff Williams plays as Agent Maine is shown exiting his drop-pod.

"Woah this is different music from last episode." Yang's eyes lit up, "Now this is heavy metal."

"It really sets the tone." Weiss added.

Sigma then appears on Maine's right shoulder.

Sigma: "Agent Maine, isn't that the soldier from the freeway? The one that shot you in the throat?"

Maine growls and faces the Female Insurrection Soldier and the Sleeveless Insurrection Soldier.

Sigma: "I thought so. Sic 'em."

"You know, Sigma said it in a degrading way. But if you guys want to sic me on the bad guys. I'm your attack dog." Yang flashed a smile to her teammates.

"But we already have Zwei." Ruby scratched her chin, "You two can attack together!"

"Me and Zwei make a great team." Yang laughed.

Nora turned to Jaune, "The same goes for me, I'll sic everyone, let me at them! I can be your shock trooper." Nora gestured to her dust taser.

"Literally." Ren added.

Maine lunges forward. Girlie readies her pistols while the Demo Man drives his wathog straight into Maine. The warthog smashes Maine into his pod sending it back on its side. Maine, now holding the front of the warthog as it burns rubber, slowly lifts it up.

Wow he's as strong as Penny, almost stronger! Ruby gasped.

Maine rips apart the warthog tusks and kicks the rest of the car towards Girlie and Sleeveless. They dive out of the way, with the Demo Man landing next to his teammates.

"Maine is just as terrifying as ever." Jaune commented.

Cut to Agent Washington, arming his Battle Rifle. York walks up behind Wash. Sigma then appears next to the Freelancers.

Sigma: "Hello gentlemen."

"LONGSHORE SHIPYARDS (FOB). MANY YEARS AGO…" appeared on the screen.

York: "Hey Sig. You sure he's good to fight so soon? He was hurt pretty bad."

"Sig? Hm so the others trust him." Blake sucked in a breath.

"He's polite and allows Maine to speak." Weiss explained, "They don't have an overt reason not to trust him."

"Other than the fact that he looks, sounds, and acts evil." Ruby noted.

"Other than that." Weiss agreed.

Sigma: "As compared to whom, Agent York? You two don't look so good yourselves."

Delta appears in front of Sigma

Sigma: "Hello brother."

Delta: "Sigma, protocol dictates that A.I. units are not to communicate directly-"

Sigma appears next to Delta

"Wait but he's the one who showed up?" Nora looked around, confused, Ren shrugged.

Sigma: "Protocol is just another way of saying rules Delta. Remember what the Director says. There are no rules on the battlefield."

Weiss huffed, "Ugh, I hate to say it but that's good. I like that Sigma turned the Director's words against him."

"The Director left in a loophole." Blake chuckled.

"He said that after York got injured." Ruby frowned, "I like it too Weiss, it's kind of funny."

Blake smirked, "Especially when you think about how he cares so much about that rule."

Sigma appears behind Delta and pats his shoulder.

Sigma: "Besides; we A.I.s should really stick together. Excuse me. I'll be right back."

Sigma vanishes

York: "I'll be honest; that one kinda gives me the creeps."

The group smiled.

Washington: "Yeah, I hear ya. Come on, let's move."

Delta vanishes as the two freelancers move out.

"I guess they don't completely trust him." Blake smiled.

"Good." Weiss relaxed. "I shouldn't have doubted them."

Cut to Girlie getting up.

Carolina: "Well, hello."

Girlie turns to see Carolina holding her at gunpoint with one of her plasma rifles.

Carolina: "What a pleasure to see you again."

The Demo Man runs up behind Carolina and punches her down with his robotic arm.

"Woah his robot arm packs a punch." Yang commented.

Carolina gets up, noticing that one of her plasma rifles was badly damaged.

Ruby gasped, "Aw her dual alien guns are so cool."

"I'm anticipating trying out my weapons with your upgrades." Ren looked down at his sleeves where his Stormflower sub-machine guns were held.

"Every bullet fired costs a lot of dust." Weiss reminded.

"I'll be sure to use my ammo sparingly." Ren chuckled.

"Unlike Coco, she told me half her budget is on clothes and the other half is on ammunition." Weiss commented, "Remember that for the tournament."

"I know Weiss, we'll make sure she runs out of ammo before attacking her." Ruby strained a nod, already tired of hearing this.

"Hey that's our plan too.. which means they'll account for it." Jaune frowned, "Gonna need to think of a backup."

"Tournament stuff can wait." Ruby sighed, "I only want to focus on these fights right now."

Discarding the broken weapon, Carolina raises her other rifle only for it to be hit with a machete with a heart cut out in the blade. The thrower is revealed to be Girlie.

Nora gasped, "Her knife is so cool! I love the little heart."

"It's cool and it's not just a design choice, that cutout can catch and lock other blades in during a fight." Ruby's eyes glazed over. "Hey Jaune? Do you want a heart cutout in your sword?"

"Sorry But Crocea Mors is a family heirloom." Jaune patted the sword, "A classic remember?"

Ruby nodded and dropped the issue, gonna have to see if anyone else would like one. It'd be like a cookie cutter!

Girlie: "Pleasure's all mine, bitch."

She twirls two more machetes and charges at Carolina. Carolina dodges and throws the plasma rifle at her. Girlie cuts it in half and charges again. She is knocked back, and the Demo Man steps in to try and punch Carolina. Carolina backs away as the Demo Man and Girlie pursue her.

"She's good with her machetes." Pyrrha complimented.

The camera backs up to the Sleeveless Insurrection Soldier, not far away, getting up. He massages his head. Looking at his right, he sees Maine.

"Mental Meta Metal" reaches its most badass part.

Maine cracks his knuckles and neck.

Yang began to headbang slightly, "Ok Maine has the best soundtrack, listen to that! He sure knows how to make an entrance."

"Maine is very intimidating." Pyrrha commented.

"The music adds to his intimidation." Weiss added.

"The sleeveless soldier isn't going to walk away from this." Blake predicted.

The soldier swings his fist at Maine, only for Maine to stop it. Maine slowly starts twisting his arm, forcing him onto his knees. Maine then readies his other fist and punches him back hard enough to knock his head off.

"Ahh! Did he just punch his entire head off!" Ruby shrieked.

"What? Don't be ridiculous he just knocked his helmet off." Weiss scoffed uneasily.

"I didn't see his head anywhere." Ren shook his head.

"He knocked his head off!" Nora shouted.

"It wasn't even a fight.. he just killed him with one punch." Jaune stared at the screen.

"We.. we don't know if he died." Pyrrha tried to say.

"No he did, I don't believe Maine would let him live. Sigma wouldn't either, this is why he needed to be excused." Blake explained. "I can imagine him in Maine's head, urging him to do it. Maine got his revenge."

"But the way he did it, so brutal." Weiss shivered.

"The sleeveless guy just stood there and let Maine hit him." Yang sighed, shaking her head.

"I don't know why he didn't try to escape, but my guess would be that pain overrode his adrenaline." Pyrrha grimaced. "Maine probably broke his fingers in that grip, and once he twisted his arm.. well you saw what happened, the soldier fell to his knees."

"I have to try that move." Yang commented.

"Yang!" Ruby gasped.

"I won't knock anyone's head off." Yang held up her hands in defense. "Or breaking fingers… well not in the tournament at least."

Maine turns around to see Carolina still fighting Girlie and Demo Man on a higher platform and rushes to assist. Cut to Carolina, who dodges the machete swings and wild punches thrown by the Demo Man.

Demo Man: "Come here!"

Carolina kicks him back, and regains her footing, pulling out an electric baton that extends from the handle.

Ruby gasped, "That baton- WEISS!"

"Gah! What?" Weiss flinched. "Ruby inside voice."

"Sorry but- Weiss! I have an idea." Ruby turned to face Weiss entirely. "I have an upgrade idea for your rapier."

"You do?" Weiss seemed shocked, "What is it?"

"Did you see the way her baton works?" Ruby asked. "I want to make your MADR do that. It would be so easy!"

"Her what?" Jaune cut in.

"Multi Action Dust Rapier." Ruby quickly explained with a slight tilt to her head. "What do you say Weiss?"

"I- I don't know." Weiss suddenly became guarded. "What do you mean, what exactly will you do to Myrtenaster?"

Ruby hummed, "Hollow out the blade and make the point retractable into the hilt. And enable the tip of the blade to morph into a blunted end so you could use your rapier as a baton."

"I still don't know." Weiss frowned.

Ruby sagged, "What? I thought you wanted an upgrade.. because I've been 'arming our enemies!'" Ruby said in an evil deep voice.

"Well yes you have." Weiss regained some of her composure, "But I don't know.. it won't damage Myrtenaster will it?"

"What? No of course not. I know what I'm doing." Ruby waived the slight insult away. Understanding Weiss's hesitancy. "Weiss, your rapier will be just as sharp and light as before. And think about it, You'd be able to carry it around easier.

Weiss hummed, "Hmm, I trust you. After this season I'll be sure to give you my blade. Be careful with it please."

"I will." Ruby assured her, "It's going to be awesome!"

Weiss chuckled and nodded, "A baton hm? I will have to practice with Myrtenaster in that form."

She then charges at them, hitting them both with a series of swings. Carolina kicks the Demo Man forward into Maine, who throws him into the ground with a suplex move.

"Maine and Carolina make a great team." Pyrrha commented.

Demo Man: "Rrrr, to hell with you!"

Maine begins charging at him but is sent flying by the Demo Man into Carolina, who was still fighting Girlie.

"Using Maines momentum against him, just like Tex did in season eight." Pyrrha noted. "It's the best strategy against him."

Carolina immediately gets up and charges again, while Maine jumps for his Brute Shot. He then fires a round but the Demo Man catches it and tosses it back towards him. The round explodes, briefly obscuring Maine from view. The smoke clears as Maine throws his Brute Shot at the Demo Man, severing his robotic arm with the bladed edge.

Demo Man: "Ah, my robot arm! Ah, you bitch!"

"Oh no! He's been unarmed!" Yang gasped. "Again!"

"Yang I hope you get unarmed." Ruby groaned.

"Not happening." Yang chuckled.

Maine charges and kicks him, grabbing his brute shot, embedded into the ground. The Demo Man gets up and Maine fires several Brute Shot rounds at him, knocking him back into the ocean. The Demo Man disappears under the water.

Demo Man: "OH MY GOD!"

Maine watches for a brief moment then looks to Carolina. Cut to Carolina, still fighting Girlie. Carolina lands three kicks in quick succession, Girlie follows up with a few stabs and swings but Carolina kicks her helmet off and nearly knocks her off the platform.

"The fights are so well choreographed, they're beautiful and realistic." Pyrrha praised. "Not all attacks land and everyone has a clear strategy and fighting style."

Girlie holds onto the edge, until a robotic arm reaches out.

Girlie: "Aw thanks."

"What?" Jaune frowned.

Taking the arm, she notices that it is being held by Maine.

Girlie: "What? Fuck…"

Maine drops her and the robot arm off the edge. Girlie screams until she hits the edge of the dock and falls into the water. Maine growls as the scene cuts to black.

"He's enjoying this." Blake gasped, "He's having fun."

"That was almost sadistic." Weiss added.

"He's always been violent, but never sadistic before" Pyrrha sighed, shaking her head. "He's changing."

Cut to Blue Team at the desert.

"ANCIENT ALIEN TEMPLES. PRESENT DAY" appeared on the screen.

Church: "Stop it. Stop it."

Yang began to laugh, "The cut from the serious freelancer moments to the Reds and Blues always gets me."

"I love it." Nora giggled.

Cut to Caboose, who is repeatedly running into Church making him flicker. A banjo is playing in the background.

Church: "Stop it. Stop it."

"It sounds like Church has given up." Pyrrha chuckled.

"And just saying it out of habit." Ruby added.

Church: "Stop i-"

Sarge runs out from behind the elephant.

Sarge: "Ahem! Attention Blue Team! We would like to propose a temporary truce so that we may discuss our current situation. Do you accept?"

"Temporary truce? Haven't they been in a truce for a while now?" Jaune asked.

Nora giggled, "There has never been a truce, only a delay in attack."

Church: "I don't get it, does he still think we're fighting or something?"

Caboose: "Maybe it's a trap."

Tucker: "I doubt they're smart enough to think of that. But then again, neither are you."

Caboose: "How do you know that? Are you in with them?"

"Conspiracy!" Nora gasped.

Church: "(clears throat)Yes! We accept!"

Sarge, Grif, and Simmons run up to where the Blues are standing.

Tucker: "So, what's up?"

Sarge: "It's our mutual friend slash enemy slash companion. Or 'friendenemepanion' for short."

"That's how me and Weiss started!" Ruby fawned over the pleasant memories.

"Friendenemepanion works." Weiss nodded.

Simmons: "We're all starting to get a little concerned about Carolina."

Tucker: "Really. Did these concerns start before or after she left us to die in the desert?"

"They started at the power station." Nora commented.

"Simmons was worried about her getting rid of them, because they would be loose ends." Blake recalled.

Grif: "Dude, not now. The heat is killing me!"

Simmons: "Doesn't your helmet have cooling fans?"

Grif: "Yeah, but I sweat so much they short circuited."

"That's a design flaw." Weiss commented.

"In Grif or the suit?" Ruby asked.

Weiss shrugged, "Both."

Simmons: "Geez, we haven't even been in the desert that long."

Grif: "The desert? These things broke during basic training!"

"Gross." Ruby recoiled.

"Doesn't he have Simmons's sweat glands?" Jaune asked.

"Wh- oh you're right he does!" Nora laughed. "I forgot about that."

Caboose: "Yeah, I'm sorry, I don't see how any of this applies to the trap."

Church appears in front of both teams.

Church: "Guys, look, we need to focus. Now, I realize that's asking a lot of you, especially since we're all a little uneasy about Carolina."

Grif: "No. 'Uneasy' is sitting next to a homeless dude on the bus."

"That's cruel." Pyrrha frowned.

Weiss and Blake nodded, both thinking about Mantle.

Simmons: "Yeah, we've got a trigger-happy psychopath."

Sarge: "It's like she's some sort of half- woman, half shark! Except the shark half has been given cybernetic powers. And the woman half is one-quarter jaguar!"

"He also said Tex was half shark I think." Yang laughed, "Someone did at least."

"So Carolina is one quarter shark, one quarter jaguar, one quarter cyborg, and one quarter woman." Ren chuckled.

"Carolina is a robot Faunus!" Nora gasped.

Blake chuckled, "Sure."

"Isn't Simmons also part cyborg?" Ruby cut in.

"One eighth." Jaune nodded.

"Also part fax machine." Yang quipped.

"Sarge was a mad scientist after Grif got injured." Nora giggled.

"I wonder how much of Simmons makes up Grif." Jaune rubbed his chin.

"I recall most of his internal organs and.. hm I think it was almost every other body part." Ren answered.

Church: "Okay, okay, okay, we're all terrified of the scary Freelancer lady. That's why we need to stick together. It's just us. Against them."

Tucker: "Them?"

"I was thinking the same, they can Trust Wash." Blake crossed her arms.

"To be fair he has betrayed them in the past." Weiss pointed out.

"He's changed, a lot." Blake assured.

Yang nodded, "Yeah, they have no reason not to trust him now."

Church: "We can't trust Wash. At least not as long as she's around."

"Why?" Pyrrha asked.

Blake looked down, "Hm now that actually does make some sense. With Carolina, Wash will be more likely to go along with her than the reds and blues. It may not sound like much, but it could cause problems later."

Caboose and Tucker look at each other, as do Sarge and Simmons.

Sarge: "Alright then, Tooth Fairy. What's the plan?"

Church: "We need to figure out exactly what Carolina is up to. And why she isn't telling us anything."

Caboose: "Okay! I'll go ask her! Oh, and duh, yeah, I promised not to bring up the trap."

Pyrrha chuckled, "Good plan."

Church: "No! Caboose! Look, just... don't."

Caboose: "Okay, fine. What would you like me to ask her?"

Tucker: "You could go ask her if she has the hots for me. I think I might've felt an emotional connection the last time she hit me."

"Definitely felt a connection." Yang chuckled.

"I want to see her hit him." Blake added.

"Me too." Weiss nodded along with Pyrrha.

Caboose: "Tell her you'd like to make an emotional hot connection with her trap. Got it."

Pyrrha sighed, "Oh no."

The others grimaced as well.

Tucker: "Oh, that's even better!"

Church: "Okay. A, please stop saying the word 'trap'. And B, you're an idiot."

Caboose: "How about ambush?"

Church: "Guys, I'm serious! We need something subtle - a way we can get close to her without her knowing."

"They could get closer if they were better at staying quiet." Blake mumbled.

Simmons: "Hmmm. Hey, Caboose. You were the one who put Epsilon in that floating alien ball thing, right?"

Caboose: "Hover-Church can also solve crimes."

Ruby giggled, "Hover Church, I like that."

"When did he become a detective?" Weiss asked.

"Who knows." Pyrrha shrugged.

Simmons: "Well, how would you feel about putting him in something a little...different?"

Camera focuses on Carolina's Mongoose.

Church: "Oh fuck you guys."

"In one hundred feet, take a right." Yang said in a surprisingly accurate robotic navigator voice.

"I think it'd be more like.." Ruby cleared her throat and spoke in a gruff 'boy' voice. "Back one hundred feet you missed a turn, sorry I zoned out."

Yang laughed, "That sounds like a thing Church would do."

"And something dad would do too." Ruby added.

Caboose: "Oh, you are going to solve so many crimes!"

"He can join Neptune and Sun and become Junior detectives." Blake chuckled.

"Dorks." Yang laughed, Weiss blushed.

Cut to the Insurrectionist Leader, C.T, and two soldiers with turrets walking down a dimly lit hallway. The camera pans up to reveal Florida spying on the group from a walkway.

"ENEMY COMMAND COMPLEX. MANY YEARS AGO…" appeared on the screen.

"Huh so that's where he went, and I bet Wyoming is close by." Blake commented.

"Have they said his name yet?" Ruby asked.

"Not yet." Jaune shook his head.

"It's Iowa slash Caboose!" Nora gasped, "Look at his armor color."

Ren chuckled, "This theory again?"

"It hasn't been proven wrong yet!" Nora shouted.

Cut to the Leader and C.T. A robotic crane moves in the background. Suddenly, the Leader stops the group. C.T turns and aims her Magnums, while the Leader pulls out a collapsible tomahawk.

Insurrectionist Leader: "Catch!"

He throws the tomahawk, and it embeds itself into Florida's chest. He falls to the ground.

"Oh, I guess his name doesn't matter now." Ruby sagged, "Aww we didn't even get to know what they were like."

"That axe was cool though, right Rubes?" Yang redirected.

Ruby's eyes lit up, "Yeah! Though I think I've seen something like it before. It's a simple shift weapon."

Camera zooms into the Leader and C.T.

Insurrectionist Leader: "Surprise. We've got company coming. Cut 'em down!"

Scary carnival music plays, The two soldiers with gatling guns aim, revealing their customization. Frowny on the right, smiley on the left.

"Okayyyy that is really creepy." Ruby cringed.

"The smiling one is the worst." Yang grimaced, "There's blood on his gun."

"I was hoping it was paint." Ruby winced.

"Those turrets give you any ideas Ruby?" Yang asked.

"Heh, I don't think Coco wants a smiley on her turret."

Their guns spin up, and fire into the walkway that Florida was on. They stop firing, and the Leader walks up to them.

ChainGirl and ChainGuy laugh creepily.

"There is something wrong with those two." Blake shook her head, "Horribly wrong."

"Has anyone noticed the similarities between the insurrectionists and freelancers? It's like the insurrectionists have their own version of all the agents." Ruby added. "They have their own set of twins, like North and South. They hav- they had a sniper. Like Wyoming." She continued. "The girl is probably for Carolina and sleeveless was obviously their Maine."

"What about robot arm guy?" Yang asked.

Ruby shrugged, "It's not perfect, I don't have an idea for the flame throwing one either, he reminds me of Maine too though."

Insurrectionist Leader: "Hold this position."

Wyoming pops out from behind a pillar and fires twice with his sniper rifle. The rounds rebound off the soldier's guns, and they open fire on Wyoming. He rolls behind cover.

Insurrectionist Leader: "Mow 'em down!"

The soldiers giggle and weep, but keep firing. Wash and York arrive at Wyoming's position.

"I'm so off put by those two." Weiss shook her head.

"They're definitely crazy." Yang nodded.

Wyoming: "Well, about time."

York: "Hey, Wyoming. Did we miss all the fun?"

Wyoming: "Hardly, chaps. Now where's our dear Carolina?"

Carolina runs in and ducks behind a pillar.

Wyoming: "Ah yes."

"Wyoming's voice is still funny." Nora giggled.

"He was a real cartoon villain when we saw him in Blood Gulch, and he didn't talk at all last season." Jaune commented. "But he acts the same as he did before."

"I wonder what changed, why he had no qualms killing York." Pyrrha frowned. "From their short interaction I can guess they were friends."

Carolina: "Wyoming, move up!"

Wyoming: "With all due respect, I'd prefer not to be killed. If at all possible."

Carolina: "York! Got any ideas?"

"I do!" Ruby raised her hand.

"Me too." Jaune chuckled. "What's yours?"

"To go around or under the platform they're on where the soldiers would have to change positions to be able to hit you. That would leave them open, anything to end the hail of bullets." Ruby explained. "Or wait for them to run out of ammo."

"I don't think that's happening anytime soon." Jaune pointed out, "And I'd probably do the same, and if that didn't work then maybe I'd try finding some kind of shield to block the bullets. Have someone charge forward and force the two to focus their fire." Jaune mimicked holding a shield.

"Risky, I'd do it!" Nora raised her hand.

York: "I don't know. Have we got any nukes?"

Carolina: "You mean besides the one I'm going to drop on Wyoming if he doesn't move, the hell, up?!"

"Why does he need to move up? He has a sniper!" Ruby frowned.

Wyoming: "Yes, I can see everything just fine from back here. Thank you."

Carolina: "We need to get in that bunker. That's where C.T and their leader are holed up."

Wash: "How are we going to get through all of this?!"

Wyoming: "So far, we're not."

"They could try throwing a grenade, it's not a nuke but it's got the same spirit." Nora chuckled.

"And it could break their line of sight! ..but they could still spray and pray anyway. It would be too much of a risk." Jaune talked himself out of the idea.

York: "Maybe Wyoming should try one of his knock-knock jokes."

Wyoming: "Oh, who's there?"

York: "Nobody, stop."

Wyoming: "Nobody, stop who? Should I go on?"

York: "Yeah, I was kidding. Now shut up."

Wyoming: "Shut up, who?"

"Well he didn't change much." Yang chuckled, "You know I kind of like his knock knock jokes."

"You like all bad jokes." Weiss sighed.

Yang shrugged, "Acquired taste."

Carolina: "Both of you shut up. Okay, here's what we're going to do. Wash, you establish a line on that side. York and Wyoming, you-"

Carolina is interrupted by a cloaked being dashing through the turret's fire. The cloak flickers to reveal Tex. She swings a punch at the Happy gunner. He dodges, and Tex rolls and cloaks out of sight. The soldiers fire at where she disappeared.

"Tex!" Yang whooped, "She always shows up in episode nine and then fights in the next episode. I love this pattern."

Carolina: "Dammit, no! Cover me!"

Pyrrha rubbed her temples and sighed.

York: 'Cover me?' That's the plan?!

Wash dashes to the pillar on the opposite side, and prepares to engage.

Wash: "Open fire!"

Wash and York open fire. Cut to Carolina, who rushes at the gunners and jumps off one of them, only to be hit by the other.

Carolina: "Agh!"

She lands badly, then gets up and runs after Tex.

"Reckless, she didn't even think." Weiss sighed.

"She doesn't want a repeat of last time. She can't let Tex get to the target first." Pyrrha shook her head.

"But she's making all the same mistakes." Jaune added.

Cut back to Wash and York

York: "Carolina! Damn it!"

The twin turret soldiers fire on York and Wash, who retreat into cover.

Wash: "Man, she really wants to win."

York: "Yep. But it's not them she's fighting against."

The episode ends.

"He is completely right." Weiss nodded.

"She's fighting against Tex, and that's a losing battle." Yang sighed.

"It's because she's too reckless like you said." Pyrrha turned to Weiss. "She only thinks about beating Tex and nothing else. Before Tex appeared, she was thinking of plans and working as a teammate. Saving Wash from the warthog and working with Maine."

"But when Tex showed up." Yang continued, "She went off on her own to beat her."

Pyrrha nodded, "It's only going to get worse."

"Yeah, but either way, next episode is going to have a Tex fight, I just know it." Yang's eyes practically glowed with excitement. "Come on don't keep us waiting!"


Any final suggestions for next chapter?

Also I'm not doing the Demo-man with no arms, can't find the clip. As for the latest V8 episode. No spoilers, nothing really happened. Meh episode.