A/N (Please Read): Hey everybody! Welcome back to the story, and… wow, the penultimate chapter. So close to the end, I can practically TASTE it! Of course, though, we still have to get through this chapter before we can get there, so why don't we just jump into it, huh? But before we do, I just wanna let you guys know to stick around at the ending Authors Note of the chapter, because I have something very interesting to propose to all of you. With that, though, let us begin! This is…
Chapter 119: Parting Words
…..
To say that Ruby was feeling nervous about this whole thing was a complete understatement. After almost a year of having not seen her best friends from Signal, only to come back and start hanging out with them again, the last thing she wanted was them to think that she had been hiding something from them. …Of course, that was EXACTLY what she was doing, but she didn't want them to think that it was out of ill intentions. The LAST thing she wanted was for them to think badly of her… and judging from Iris' text, she really hoped that wasn't the case now. All she could do was stew in her own anxiety as she rode in the back of Kevin's car with Blake and Ilia on either side of her, parts of her shaking in fear.
Kevin and Gwen were up front of course, while in front of the Osmosian's car, Yang and Ben were riding on Bumblebee as always. However, because of the group's newfound fame, the couple decided to wear actual helmets of their heads for once, in hopes on nobody recognizing them. It helped that Ben was still in his more casual clothes instead of his iconic green jacket as well.
Meanwhile, Rex and Weiss had found their own way to stay out of public view… by flying up into the sky via the EVO's Sky Slyder. Sure, it wasn't AS convenient as Rex's Ride, but they figured that they'd be able to avoid any potential new fans better this way. …That and Weiss seemed to enjoy flying while having her arms securely locked around her boyfriend, so neither one of them were about to complain.
However, as the ride went on and they grew ever closer to Miss Tigerlily's flowershop, Ruby could only feel her worries grow all the more… 'What if they don't trust me anymore? …What if they HATE me now?! What if Miss Tigerlily doesn't trust Jessie anymore for keeping our secret?! What if this is the last time I see my friends and they end up never talking to me again?!"
"RUBY!" The Silver-Eyed girl was snapped out of her own thoughts when Blake and Ilia simultaneously put their arms around her, slapping her shoulders while also giving a supportive hug. "Ruby, are you okay?" Blake asked in concern.
"O-Oh! Y-Yeah, never better." Ruby stammered out. "Why?"
"Well…" Ilia gave Ruby a worried face. "It's just… you were crying."
"Huh?" Ruby reached up and felt her face, which indeed, had fresh tears rolling down her cheeks. "Oh… I didn't realize."
In the front passenger seat, Gwen turned around, wearing a similarly concerned expression that the other girls were wearing. "Ruby, I get the distinct impression that you are far from "never better"." The Anodite sent her a soft, sympathetic smile. "And I think I know why. You're worried about what your friends will think about you now, aren't you?"
Ruby sighed and placed her face into her hands. "Is it that obvious?"
Kevin glanced to her in his rearview mirror. "Well, you've been shakin' like a leaf since we got in the car, so yeah, kinda." Smack! "Yowch!" Kevin winced as Gwen delivered a slap to his shoulder, resisting the urge to take a hand off the wheel to rub his sore shoulder. "Hey c'mon, Gwen, I was just bein' honest."
"Sometimes honesty doesn't have to be so blunt, Kevin." Gwen retorted. "Ruby's got a lot on her mind right now, so—"
"Gwen, please." Ruby spoke up, bringing everyone's attention back to her. "It's okay, really. Honestly, I think I needed a wakeup call." She took a deep breath, steeling herself for what was about to happen. "I just… I probably should've seen something like this coming incase our secret ever came out. We lied to a whole bunch of people we know on this island while only telling those we trusted about it. And even then, we never really told everyone EVERYTHING unless they were really close to us…" Ruby sighed and hung her head in shame. "I wish I did that right off the bat with Iris, Daisy and Ollie."
Blake tightened her arm around Ruby's shoulder, bringing her as close to her friend as the seat belt would allow. "Oh, Ruby, don't beat yourself up over this. We ALL had to keep the secret, so really, this is on all of us."
"Blake's right." Ilia agreed. "We're all responsible here, and that's why we're coming with you. We want to make sure that your friends have the right idea when it comes to this, okay?"
Ruby pursed her lips, trying to keep herself together. "I-I know, but… what if they never trust me again?"
Gwen reached her arm into the back seat, placing it over Ruby's hand. "Ruby, you know that won't happen. Your mind is convincing itself that it'll happen based on your own fears." She sent Ruby a reassuring smile. "Tell me, how long have you known your friends?"
"…Ever since kindergarten."
"Okay, so do you REALLY think that they'll be mad at you?"
Ruby scrunched her shoulders toward her, fumbling for her scroll to bring the message from Iris up again. "W-Well, no, but the text—"
"Is something that I'm sure Iris can explain." Blake jumped in again. "Yes, the wording SEEMS kind of harsh, but to be honest, with what's happened in the past twenty-four hours, can you really blame her if she comes off that way? She just watched her friends, old and new, go up against a massive attack while learning that one of those friends can transform into any alien he wants. I'd say that'd be cause for concern."
The Hooded Huntress stared at her cat-eared friend in surprise before letting out another breath. "Well, you make a good point, I guess." She peered outside to see the flower shop come into view, gulping down whatever fear she had left in the process. "Well, time to face the music."
Ilia unbuckled her seatbelt as Kevin pulled over, giving Ruby a supportive hug. "Don't worry, Ruby. We'll be right there beside ya the whole time, okay?"
Ruby smiled back and let out a chuckle, retuning the hug. "Hehe, yeah, I know. Thanks Ilia. In fact, thank ALL of you guys."
"No prob!" Kevin waved. "Happy to help."
Gwen gave him a deadpan expression. "And just what did you do to help, Kevin?"
"I gave her a wake-up call, didn't I?" The Osmosian smirked before opening his door to peek outside. "Now c'mon, the street's pretty quiet, so let's get in there before anyone spots us." With that, the five teens all piled out of the car, thankful that there really wasn't all that many people around. Still, though, the few people that managed to catch sight of them all stopped and stared… at least until Kevin gave them a warning scowl. "Keep walkin'." he told them. "We're here on business."
The few people wisely took Kevin's warning as Yang and Ben dismounted Bumblebee, though the latter kept his helmet on for fear of being recognized. If the people spotted HIM, then they'd be done for. "Thanks, Kev." Ben said as he lifted his helmet's visor slightly. "Now all that's left is…"
The hero stopped himself when he heard the familiar sound of metal and gears clanging against one another and nanites shutting down, signaling Rex and Weiss' arrival. The former heiress was laughing as Rex brought his ride back into his legs, landing right next to Ben and Yang with a smirk. "Alright, the heroes are in to—" PLUNK! "MMPH!" Without warning, Yang suddenly shoved her helmet over Rex's head, causing the EVO to start yelling in confusion.
"Yang!" Weiss let herself down as she gave her friend a soft glare. "Just what was THAT for?!"
The Blonde Brawler jerked her thumb toward the street, where there were still some people coming and going from the various shops that lined it. "Hey, you WANT us to get mobbed if the people around here get an eyeful of our boyfriends? One look at them and we all get trampled." She raised a brow over to Rex. "Besides, he was about to just loudly announce our arrival, so I took action."
Weiss huffed and crossed her arms. "Hmph, good point."
"Sorry, Weiss." Yang shrugged as Rex also crossed his arms. "And yeah, sorry Rex. But it's probably best NOT to try and bring a mob over to Miss Tigerlily's."
"Yeah, besides…" Ruby stepped up between her sister and her best friend, gazing at the front door all the while. "We've got a bit of a talk ahead of us already, and we really don't want that big of an audience for that."
The white-haired girl gave her partner a nod. "Yeah, I guess you have a point. But speaking of an audience…" She set her sights back on Yang, giving her a head tilt. "Have you cause them yet?"
Yang's eyebrows rose in realization, quickly going for her scroll. "Oh, yeah, thanks for reminding me." She quickly typed in the number and brought the scroll up to her ear, waiting patiently before the other end picked up. "Hey mom, it's me. …Yeah, we just got here, so you can—" FWOOSH. "EEP!" Yang spun around and glowered as one of her mother's signature portals materialized, with Winter and then Raven herself stepping through the vortex in a matter of seconds. Yang pouted at her mother as she hung up her scroll in irritation, all while Raven wore a bit of a smirk. "I hate it when you do that."
"Yes, but you love me, don't you?" Raven teased.
"…Yes." Yang huffed.
Winter craned her head toward Ben and Rex, subconsciously raising a brow at the sight of the helmets on their head. "So, have you all gone inside yet?"
"Nope." Rex shook his head as he popped open the visor on his own helmet. "We waited for you guys like we said we would."
Ben gave the military specialist a nod. "Yeah, hopefully with a couple more adults present, Iris, Daisy and Oliver will be a lot more understanding of the situation… at least in theory." He directed his eyes toward the windows… which now that he looked at them, appeared to be very dark. "Though are we SURE they told us to meet us here? Seems like the lights are all off."
Ilia crossed her arms in suspicion. "Yeah… that's kinda strange." She moved her eyes over to the electronic sign in the window, the red and blue lettering declaring that the establishment was "OPEN". "I mean… it SEEMS like it's open…"
Blake perked her ears up and concentrated, giving a small shrug soon after. "And I hear activity on the other side of the door. Pretty sure there's people here."
Gwen placed a hand on her hip. "Plus, I'm sensing life energy all throughout this place. They're all here." Her eyes went over to Ruby, who was staring at the front door nervously. The Anodite smiled and nudged Ruby's arm. "It's okay, Ruby. Like I said, they'll understand." Gwen gave a small shrug. "Honestly, I expect them to be a bit rattled, and they'll probably be more curious than anything."
Ruby crossed her fingers. "Hope so…" The Hooded Huntress stepped up to the front door, taking a deep breath as she reached for the handle. However, as she reached for the handle, her hand began shaking, stopping just inches away from it in apprehension. "D'oh… come on, hand! Grab the—"
"Ruby." At the sound of her name, Ruby turned around, seeing Ben step up to her. "Would you like ME to go in first? This whole thing is because of me in the first place, so if you want, I'll take any heat they may have to give." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "And I promise, I'll make sure that they know that any secret you've been keeping is because I asked you to." Beneath his helmet, the hero smirked a bit. "…Even if they're likely not mad at you."
"Hehe, yeah, I would actually really appreciate that, Ben." Ruby bowed her head gratefully. "Thanks."
"No prob." Ben assured before reaching for the door handle and twisting it. "Now let's see what we've—" All of a sudden, right as he cracked the door open, three pairs of arms suddenly sprung out and latched onto Ben, making the hero's eyes widen as he was unexpectedly pulled into the dark store. "YIPE!" SLAM! With the door shutting behind him, the Omnitrix bearer was successfully pulled into the store, much to everyone's surprise.
"BEN!"
…..
The two things that Ben immediately took note of when he was pulled into the store was that, one; everything was completely dark, and two; the powerful, flowery fragrance as per the shop's usual. In an instant, he felt his helmet being pulled off before being shoved in a chair, which he was immediately tied to. "W-What's going—GAH!" Without warning, a powerful light was suddenly shined directly into his face, much to his annoyance. "Ugh, seriously?! What in the—" He was suddenly cut off when he saw just WHO was shining the light in his face; a VERY annoyed blue-haired girl. "IRIS?! What in the world is—"
"QUIET, you heathen!" Right then and there, Ben felt the heel of a high-heeled shoe being driven into his foot, which made him scream in pain. His eyes darted over to see that Daisy was the one who did it, the young blonde girl giving him quite the dangerous glare. "WE will be asking the questions here, and you will NOT be leaving until you answer them! Now…" She grabbed him by the collar and got right into his face. "Just WHAT kind of danger have you pulled our best friend into?!"
Ben blinked a couple times at that. "W-Wait, is that what this is all abou—EEYOWCH!" Ben was cut off when he began to feel his hair get pulled, his eyes darting over to see Oliver being the one to be doing it.
"ANSWER the lady's question Mr. Hero!" The dark-haired teen shouted. "We saw what you did yesterday, and while it's VERY impressive, we ALSO know that you've dragged our friend, Ruby, into something that's WAY dangerous! So start talking!"
"Believe me, Ben, I didn't want it to come to this." Iris insisted. "But we're talking about my best friend… and I want answers. Just what have you gotten her, Yang and the others into?" She stepped closer and narrowed her eyes at the hero, making him move his head back. "How long have you been fighting with this "Salem" person? Have you been involved with this secret war for a long time? Are YOU the reason why she attacked Beacon in the first place?!"
"W-What?! No, I—" But then, Ben's eyes widened in realization. "Wait… you guys are doing this to me… to try and protect Ruby?"
Oliver rolled his eyes. "Uh, DUH! We're her friends! Of course we'd wanna protect her!"
Daisy nodded resolutely. "Indeed! And if we have to tie you up and question you for the answers we want, then so be it!" She accentuated her statement with a stomp before poking Ben in the nose. "Now start talking, or we will be force to get rough with you!"
Ben glanced around at all three of the teens around him before bursting out into laughter, much to the trio's confusion. "H-Hey! What's so funny?!" Iris demanded. "Didn't you hear us?! We want—"
"Haha, I know!" Ben assured as he began to calm down. "I know that you want answers. And trust me, we'd be more than happy to give them to you. But for one, ya didn't have to bind me to a chair to do it. And secondly, Ruby's gonna be REALLY happy that you guys aren't mad at her."
This got the trio to pause for a moment. "W-Wait… she thought we were mad at her?" Oliver asked. "But why?"
Ben offered a shrug. "Well… you DID word that text message a bit strong, so…"
Iris' face fell at that, her free hand going up to claw at her hair. "GAH! Damn it! I-I didn't mean for it to come off harsh! I just wanted to know if she was okay!"
"Hey, don't worry, I get it." Ben grinned. "I know you guys must have a lot of questions, and you'll get your answers. But I gotta say, this IS rather impressive." Ben flexed his arms against his bindings. "You just caught the greatest hero in his home galaxy off guard and tied him to a chair! I'm impressed! But there IS one thing you didn't do…"
Daisy crossed her arms, furrowing her brows at Ben. "And that would be?"
"Ya didn't bind my hands to anything." Ben pulled his arms together behind him and activated the Omnitrix, not even bothering to look as he knew that ANY of his aliens could break free from the bindings easily. Iris, Daisy and Oliver were forced to shut their eyes as a bright flash of green light suddenly illuminated the room for a brief moment. When they set their eyes back on Ben… he wasn't Ben anymore. Instead, sitting in his place was a large, mummy-like being, one who managed to slink himself free from the chair he was tied to with relative ease. "SNARE-OH!" The three teens' eyes nearly bugged out of their heads as they all let out screams of terror, with Iris dropping her flashlight for good measure. This, however, only made Snare-Oh give them a deadpan gaze. "Uh, guys? It's still just me."
This made the group stop screaming when they heard how casual the mummy was being, allowing them to collect themselves at the realization. "O-Oh, right." Oliver rubbed the back of his head. "S-Sorry, it's just… wow, so you can REALLY transform into aliens, huh?"
"Yep! Sure can." A gleeful spark suddenly came to Snare-Oh's eyes as he extended his hand. "Now, perhaps I should show you how to REALLY capture someone…" He raised his hand and his bandage-like fingers suddenly shot out, wrapping around all three of the teens, who all gave out yelps of surprise and fright. In the end, Snare-Oh was suspending the trio about four feet above the ground, staring up at them in amusement. "So, who's the master capture artist?"
"Okay, as admittedly cool as this all is, I would VERY much like to get down now." Iris said, prompting Daisy and Oliver to nod in agreement.
At that moment, though, the front door finally burst open, with Kevin and the others charging in. "Ben! We heard screaming. Are you—oh." The Osmosian cut himself off when he saw Snare-Oh with Iris, Daisy and Oliver all caught in his grasp, the Thep Khufan's head turning to face his friends as they all entered. "Uh, okay, never mind. Seems like you've got everything under control here."
"Yeah, things are okay here." Snare-Oh confirmed before raising an eye-ridge. "That said, why didn't you guys come in sooner?"
Yang walked up and gave her boyfriend a nudge. "Well, I wanted to, but Gwen said that you could handle these three on your own. We only really got concerned when we heard the screaming. Speaking of…" The Blonde Brawler directed her attention up to the trio that her boyfriend was suspending in mid-air, placing her hands on her hips. "Just WHAT did you guys think this hair-brained scheme would accomplish?"
"Hey! We were worried about our friend, okay?" Iris argued. "We just wanted—AH!" The blue-haired girl suddenly gasped when she spotted Ruby bellow her, a relieved smile coming to her face. "Ruby!"
"Oh, darling, are you okay?!" Daisy cried out. "Has this heathen brought you and your friends into his conflict with Salem?!"
Ruby could only blink in surprise. "Uh… no? And yeah, I'm okay." She sent a wave over to Snare-Oh. "Ben, you can put them down now." The Thep Khufan obliged and set the three down, transforming back into his human form afterwards. With that, Gwen found the light switch and lit the store back up, all while Ruby continued. "Okay, I'm gonna ask you guys the same thing my sister did; what did you hope to accomplish with this hair-brained scheme?!"
Oliver rubbed the back of his head. "W-Well, with all the stuff that happened yesterday, we thought you were in danger, so—"
"Guys, really?" Ruby crossed her arms with a skeptical brow. "We're Huntsman in training, we're in danger all the time."
"Darling, I think you know what we mean." Daisy countered. "An evil witch?! A boy that can transform into aliens?! And…" She moved her eyes over to Rex, whom was standing with Weiss. "A rather odd boy who has nano-machines in him?"
Rex furrowed his brows a bit. "Odd?"
Weiss pursed her lips in annoyance. "Daisy, I'd appreciate if you didn't call my boyfriend "odd". It's quite rude."
Daisy's eyes widened at that. "Wait, you two are DATING?!"
Oliver glanced between the aforementioned couple as well as Ben and Yang. "Man, between the four of you, we've got a lot of power couples here."
Just as he said that, though, the back door behind the counter swung open as well, revealing none other than Whitlea Tigerlily and Jessie Jameson bursting into the room. "Iris?! I heard screaming in here! What's going—" But she cut herself off when she saw Ben and the others, blinking in surprise. "Oh, kids! We were just wondering when you would get here!"
Jessie brightened up and gave a wave to the group. "Well, howdy there, kids! Good to see ya!" She put a hand to the back of her neck. "'Specially considerin' what happened over in the city yesterday. I would've come to help ya'll, but I was busy at the house when it happened an' the ferries an' boats all stopped when the attack happened."
Yang gave her idol as reassuring wave back. "Ah, it's okay, Jess. I think we were able to handle ourselves out there."
"You certainly were." Whitlea agreed. "But what in the world was with that scream…" However, she trailed off again when she noticed the chair and tied rope in the middle of the room, making her give a deadpan face to her employee. "Iris… did you go ahead with that scheme that you and your friends cooked up?"
"Busted." Oliver murmured, earning him an elbow from Daisy.
Iris shrunk back under her boss' judging gaze. "Er, well… you see, Miss Tigerlily, I—"
"Hey, to be fair, they DID succeed in taking me off guard." Ben jumped in, hoping to defuse the situation. "And they did it because they were worried about their friend, so there's that."
It was then that Ruby whipped her head toward her friends. "So wait… you guys AREN'T mad at me?"
"What?! Of course not, darling!" Daisy assured, with her and Iris bringing Ruby in for a group hug. "We understand keeping a secret like this under wraps…" She gave Ben a side-long glance. "We were just wondering the reason WHY you joined Ben in this crusade against Salem."
"I'll admit, I'm a bit flummoxed there, too, sugar." Jessie agreed, scratching the side of her head. "I mean… ya didn't even tell ME 'bout all this "Salem" business."
Yang's expression became downcast at that. "Yeah, I know. Sorry, Jessie. Honestly, General Ironwood swore us to secrecy about this right when we found out about it." She set her sights on to her teammates and they all gave confirming nods. "There was just so much that the world wasn't ready for… and now it's been made public ALL around the world."
Jessie crossed her arms at that. "Hm, I s'pose that IS a problem. An' I guess it DOES make sense that Jimmy is one a' the people in on this…" She noticed that Raven and Winter were standing off to the side, though the redheaded cowgirl focused in on the former. "An' lemme guess, that mean you must know somethin' about this too, Raven?"
"That's right. In fact, you could say…" Raven activated her Maiden Powers, her eyes flaring to life with powerful energy. "That I am cemented into it."
Once everyone was done gawking at the brief display of power, Oliver furrowed his brows over to Ben, Gwen, Kevin and Rex. "But that still doesn't exactly explain what YOUR guys' deal is, at least to the rest of us. What, are you guys some kind of covert military task force from the Atlesian Army or something?"
The other-worldly quartet eyed one another nervously, as did the rest of their friends before Gwen set her gaze over to Jessie. "You didn't tell them yet?"
"I thought it best if they got it straight from the horse's mouth, sugar." Jessie explained. "I might be a trustworthy Huntress, but with what you told me, they may look at me like I have a third head or somethin'." She jabbed her thumb over to Whitlea. "Hell, that's what happened when I told my husband, my son, AND Whitlea. They just know that I haven't told a lie in my life, so it was hard for them to NOT believe me."
Whitlea's tiger ears folded down a bit. "And somehow, I'm STILL quite shocked over all of this." She let out a sigh and gestured to the redhead. "Please, Gwen, could you all please tell them… what your story is."
The Anodite faced Iris, Daisy and Oliver, who were all eyeing her expectantly while Ruby stood with them. Gwen locked eyes with Ruby, sharing a nod with her before proceeding. "Well, alright, guys… you might want to take a seat, because this is gonna take a while."
…..
If there was one thing that the team could ALL agree on, it was that they were tired of explaining the same things over and over to everyone they met. Sure, it was getting easier, and they were getting better at truncating and abridging all of the events, but still, it was a pain to do. 'Hopefully this won't be a problem when we get back to Earth… unless we have to keep explaining WHERE Team RWBY and everyone else came from.' Ben let out a small groan as that thought entered his head. 'Definitely not looking forward to that.' The hero took a deep breath as he and everyone else finally finished recounting the events once more, propping his back against the wall all the while. "And that's basically it. Hopefully you guys got the answers you wanted… even IF they are a bit spectacular."
Iris, Oliver and Daisy could only stare at the group in complete awe, completely flabbergasted by what they had just heard. Whitlea was doing the same, though since Jessie had told her beforehand, she was still slightly less surprised. But still, having more detail on the whole thing WAS quite the eye-opener. "Well, you can certainly say that." Whitlea sighed before giving the group a smile. "But now that I've heard the whole story, I can safely say that there's absolutely no reason to doubt you."
In her mind, Iris honestly DID feel really bad. Not just about going forward with her crazy plan, but for ever even THINKING that Ben might have some dubious motives. "Ugh, I feel so STUPID!" She clawed at her blue hair as she hung her head in shame. "I'm so sorry, Ben… and I'm sorry to you too, Ruby. I-I just—"
"I know." Ruby smiled, pulling her friend into a hug. "You were looking out for me, and I'm REALLY thankful for that. I'm just glad that you guys aren't mad at me."
"Perish the thought, darling." Daisy dismissed. "We would never be mad at you, not after all that we've been through."
"Dais is right." Oliver nodded before raising a skeptical brow over to Ben, Gwen, Kevin and Rex. "But still, I can't help but feel that this is all a bit OVERLY fantastic. I mean, the whole stuff about aliens and nanites, THAT checks out because they showed us… but coming from alternate realities? How does THAT work?"
Ilia couldn't help but give him a deadpan expression. "Really, kid? You can believe aliens and EVOs, but alternate realities is where you draw the line?"
Oliver raised a finger. "First off, I'm probably only two years younger than you. Secondly; I'm very stubborn when it comes to being convinced. Can I get some proof that these alternate universes are real or something?"
"DUDE!" Kevin exclaimed before absorbing the metal of the chair, transforming it into a scythe to try and spook the younger teen. "We've shown you powers that are LITERALLY out of this world! What MORE do you—"
"WAIT!" Ruby shouted, having suddenly procured Gwen's Nintendo 3DS from her pocket. "I think I know how to convince them!" She went over to her friends and opened up the gaming system, turning it on while showing them the screen. "C'mon guys, gather up and lemme show ya something!"
Iris raised a brow at the odd little double-screened device. "What's that, Ruby? Some kind of gaming console?"
"Yep! This is a Nintendo 3DS! Er, that means "3D Dual Screen" by the way." The Hooded Huntress selected Pokémon Omega Ruby and let the intro play. "And, if you wanna take a gander, you'll see that this ISN'T a game that you'd be able to find ANYWHERE in Remnant."
All three of her friends' eyes widened at the sight of the game's intro being played, seeing a massive behemoth of a red monster appear on the title screen. Daisy squinted her eyes as she read it; "Ruby, what in the world is a… "Pock-ee-mon"?"
Ruby couldn't help but laugh at that, remembering how she first pronounced it as well. "Hehe, it's pronounced; "Pokémon", Daisy. It's this cool game from Earth where you catch and battle awesome creatures with incredible powers, all while keeping them stored in your pocket!"
Iris snapped her fingers. "OH! Pokémon! As in; "Pocket Monsters"!"
"Exactly!" Ben piped up as Ruby entered the game proper. "Man, you picked up on that fast!"
Weiss raised a finger to add her two cents. "It really is a fun game, though. I'm not that far in to my own Pokémon game that I'm playing, but I AM having a good time."
"Yeah, it's great!" Once Ruby was in, she brought up her Pokémon to show them off. "Here, let me show you my team…" First on screen was a giant, red, bipedal bird-looking creature that gave out a loud crowing sound when it appeared. Ruby saw the awe-filled expressions on everyone's faces instantly, especially Oliver, whose jaw dropped. "This is Blaziken! He was the first Pokémon that I started my journey with!"
"WOAH!" Oliver exclaimed. "You mean you started out with THAT?"
"Well, technically yes, but at the same time, no." Ruby shrugged. "You see, Blaziken was actually a completely differing Pokémon when I first got him. But the thing with Pokémon is that they level up, and when some of them do, they can sometimes EVOLVE into different forms. So while I got a Torchic to start out with, it eventually evolved into a Combusken before FINALLY evolving into Blaziken a bit later."
Iris' eyes couldn't help but brighten up. "Ooh, a sense of progression! I like that!"
"Hehe, yeah." Ruby began to flip through her Pokémon, the next one being a two-tailed bird that let out a chirp while appearing to fly through the air. "This is my Swellow, which evolves from a Taillow…" Next came a small, green creature that appeared to be wearing a mask and cape with red and blue flowers on its hand. "This is my Roserade, which evolved from a Roselia…"
Gwen couldn't help but roll her eyes. 'Because of COURSE she would have that Pokémon.'
Ruby then came to a large, serpentine Pokémon that was quite beautiful, and this one garnered Daisy's attention right away. "Ooh! I like this one! It's so pretty!"
Weiss couldn't help but set her eyes on the screen as well, a gasp elictiing from her lips. "Ah! Ruby, what Pokémon it that?! It's gorgeous!"
The silver-eyed girl grinned and nodded at that, "Heh, this is my beautiful Milotic, which evolved from a Feebas. …Took me a while to get it to evolve, though." She glanced over to Ben and Gwen in time to see them both sigh in exasperation, showing that they agreed with Ruby's assessment. "But this next one is EASILY one of my favorites…" Ruby flicked down to the next entry to show what appeared to be a woman in a long, white dress, blue arms with matching hair that was in a sort of bob cut, and a large, orange horn that stuck out of her chest. Needless to say, this one took her friends off guard. "Say hello to my shiny Gardevoir!"
"That's… just a lady, not gonna lie." Iris said before raising a brow to Ruby. "Also, what do you mean it's "shiny"?"
"Oh, that means that it's a different color than it would appear to be normally." Gwen explained. "Shiny Pokémon are EXTREMELY rare, so finding one is quite a feat… or you could just be lucky like Ruby was and find a SHINY Ralts on her first encounter!"
Ruby sent Gwen a small shrug in response. "What can I say? It was luck of the draw!" She got a grumble from Gwen in response, to which she laughed before moving on. "But anyway, this last one is a new member of my team! I think I'll let him speak for herself…"
The Hooded Huntress flicked to the last entry, which contained a small, yellow rodent with long ears and a lightning bolt-shaped tail. And unlike the others, he actually SPOKE his name; "Pikachu!"
Daisy and Iris immediately let out gasps of surprise. "AH! Oh my gosh!" the former cooed as she laced her hands together. "It's so adorable!"
"You bet it is! …But why does it say its name?" Iris asked.
"Well, canonically, all Pokémon CAN do is say their names." Ben explained. "For the games, though, they just make sound effects that actually SOUND like real animals." HE pointed to the electric rat. "But when Pokémon transitioned to 3D, Gamefreak decided that their mascot should be able to speak his own name. So from Pokémon X and Y onwards, Pikachu has been able to say his name."
"Huh, neat!" Iris smiled over to her green-clad friend. "So, is that enough proof for ya, Ollie?"
Oliver let out a sigh and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, yeah, it is. Sorry I ever doubted you guys, really."
"Aw, it's okay!" Yang piped up as she jabbed Oliver in the shoulder. "Honestly, it IS a bit hard to believe… kinda hope we're able to convince the PUBLIC about that when we get to the press conference later today."
Blake's ears perked up. "Oh, yeah, that reminds me!" She craned her head over to Whitlea and Jessie. "Will you two be there? I mean, I think it's open to the public, so…"
"Oh yes, we will, Blake." Whitlea confirmed. "After everything that's happened and with you all visiting my shop so often, it would be wrong NOT to show up for it."
"She's right on the money, sugar." Jessie said with a tip of her hat. "An' we'll be sure to be there to see ya'll off as well!"
At that, however, Iris deflated a bit, her eyes moving to Ruby in realization. "Oh yeah… you said that you guys were going back to Ben's home dimension, weren't you?"
Ruby sent her friend a guilty smile. "…Yeah, we are. After three weeks of being trapped her, Ben and the gang are ready to get back to their actual homes, and we wanna see what their world is like."
Oliver scratched his head nervously. "Man, that's gonna be quite the thing to explain to the people." He set his gaze onto Ben worriedly. "I mean, you guys only JUST got discovered and now you're leaving? How do you think they'll react to that?"
"Well… we're gonna try and be really careful with that." Ben explained. "With everything that we're gonna have to explain… AGAIN, I'm hoping it'll go over well. Besides, we're also going to have to tell them about Salem's whole deal, too, so there's THAT to worry about."
"We're going to tell that that we'll be heading back to our world for reinforcements, too." Gwen added. "That'll hopefully calm them down and help them realize that we're not abandoning them."
Daisy blinked at the word "reinforcements". "So, wait… if you're going for reinforcements, am I right to assume that there are others like yourselves in your world?"
"Oh yeah, there are PLENTY of human-alien hybrids back on earth." Kevin explained. "Plus, plenty of full-blooded aliens and humans that'd be more than willing to help in this war with Salem."
Whitlea tilted her head a bit. "I see. So I'm guessing that they're all part of these "Plumbers" that you kept talking about?"
Ben nodded in response. "Yep, and they're all highly trained, so I'm sure that they'll be able to handle whatever Grimm army that Salem's go up her sleeve. And if they're still not enough…" The hero smirked a bit with what he said next. "Then I can think of a few other allies of mine that can help out, too. Putting it simply; we'll be able to take Salem on, and we'll do it by bringing the fight to her… just as soon as we figure out WHERE in Remnant she's hiding."
Iris sighed once again before turning to Ruby with a supportive smile. "Well, if that's the case, then I wish you luck over on Earth, Ruby." She pulled her friend into a hug, which Oliver and Daisy immediately joined in on.
"Just promise that you'll be able to keep in touch somehow, darling." Daisy asserted. "I know it must be hard to do so, but—"
"Actually, we've got a communicator for just that!" Ruby grinned. "Communicating across dimensions is actually a LOT easier than you think, surprisingly enough. All we gotta do is find a better way to power it."
Oliver let out a chuckle at that. "Hah, neat!" He gave her a wink and a thumbs up. "But, uh, if the whole communicator thing doesn't work out that well, then maybe we could hop on over at some point?"
Ruby let out a gasp before whipping her head around to Ben, hoping to get his approval. The hero smirked and gave a shrug. "Heh, well, I don't see why not. Just so long as you guys remember to stay clear if anything happens. I know you guys are training to be Huntsmen, but still, the type of hero work I do can be a lot more dangerous than just dealing with Grimm." He jabbed a thumb over to Team RWBY and Ilia. "And these guys have had experience dealing with my bad guys, so they know what they're getting themselves into. So if you guys wanna come over, just make sure you stay safe, okay?" He received a collective "Okay!" from the trio, making him smile in satisfaction.
Off to the side, Jessie gave a tip of her hat. "Well, I'm glad that this matter's been settled, then! But now, I if'n nobody minds, I'd actually like to say somethin'…" She directed her eyes over to Yang, who's eyebrows rose up in surprise. "An' it's somethin' that actually involved you, Yang. Just a sec…" With that Jessie stepped over to the counter and picked up something from behind it, much to everyone's confusion.
Yang blinked when she saw what it was; a cardboard box that had a hinged top, like something you'd see in a clothing store. "Huh? Jessie, what's that?"
"Oh, just a lil' somethin' that I wanted to give ya before ya'll headed out." Jessie explained as she stepped back over to the Blonde Brawler. "Hon', I just wanna say this; you remind me a LOT of myself when I was your age." The redheaded woman gave Yang a wink. "I used to be quite the thrill seeker myself, back in the day, an' I think you'll make a pretty great huntress one day. So…" She presented Yang with the box. "I wanted to give ya this little partin' gift."
Yang put her hand up to her mouth in shock. A gift… from her idol?! "I-Is this real?"
"I think it's safe to say that it is." Raven smiled, nudging her head toward the box. "Well, what're you waiting for, dear? Let's see what it is."
"R-Right." Yang nodded before smiling up to Jessie again. "Thank you so much for this, Jessie." She reached for the box before bowing her head. "I don't know what it is yet, but I'm already VERY excited."
Jessie smirked and pat the box before letting Yang have it. "Well, don't keep the room in suspense, sugar. Open 'er up!"
Yang took a deep breath to steady herself. "Okay… let's do this." With that, she opened the top… and nearly dropped the box as she let out a happy scream. It was a hat. A mocha brown, leather cowboy hat. A Stetson Roxbury Shapeable cowboy hat to be precise, one that had a bright yellow band going around it's middle. It also had a stampede strap that matched the band as well. Yang put a hand over her mouth in utter shock. It matched her outfit perfectly. "It's… it's a HAT!"
"Indeed it is, hon!" Jessie said with a wink as the others began gawking at the new accessory. "Go on, try her on."
"O-O-Okay." Yang stammered as she gently handed the box to her mother and pulled out the hat, breathing out shakily as she held the leather garment in her hands. 'Oh my god, this is a dream come true!' Yang gulped before putting it on over her head, which immediately began drawing "oohs" and "ahs" from the people around her. "Heh… so, how do I look?"
At that moment, Gwen suddenly cast a spell; "Speculum!" In an instant, a burst of mana came from her hand and morphed into a clear, mirror-like surface, suspending itself right in front of Yang. The Anodite crossed her arms and said; "You tell us."
Once again, Yang's hand covered her mouth, though her happy scream could still be heard despite her best efforts to contain herself. "AH-HAHAHA! Oh my god, I look so COOL!"
"No kidding." Ben said in awe. "And honestly, you look at least ten times more badass." Yang quirked a brow at him as he raised his hands. "Yes, I know what I said."
Jessie let out a laugh and walked over, placing her hand on Yang's shoulder. "I'm really glad you like it, sugar. I felt that givin' you a hat of your own would blend with your usual duds quite well, and I'm VERY happy to see that I was right!"
"Jess, I… I really don't know what to say." Yang put a hand to her head, only to realize that the hat was covering it. "Heh… thought it MIGHT take some getting used to."
"Hehe, yeah, it might." Jessie said before pulling Yang into a surprise hug. "But just remember, you're part of the future huntsmen that this world has to look to, so do me proud, okay, hon?" She got an excited laugh from Yang as a response, the girl returning the embrace. "Hm, I'll take that as a "Yes"."
CRASH! Without warning, the sound of glass shattering suddenly resounded from outside, causing everyone's heads to spin toward the front door. Thankfully, it wasn't the store's own windows, but considering that a loud alarm suddenly starting ringing out afterward, along with a couple of police cruisers rushing by the store, the gang could only guess what had happened. "Oh, what's going on now?!" Weiss asked in irritation.
Winter peered out the nearest window and her eyes widened as the police cars abruptly stopped about a block down the road. "It would seem that there's a store being broken into..." She set her eyes back onto the team with a serious expression. "And I think there might be people caught up in it."
Ilia couldn't help but slap her forehead. "Another break-in? Seriously?! How is this island so dangerous lately? I thought this was supposed to be a nice, peaceful town!"
"I think that the attack on Vale must have brought more of the riff-raff out than we thought." Whitlea lamented, crossing her arms all the while. "It's quite frustrating, to say the least."
"I'm sure." Ben agreed before a smile came to his face. "But you know… maybe it's time I give the people a proper taste of what they can expect from me…" Everyone wore shocked faces as Ben stepped up to the door, opening it before ushering them to follow him. "C'mon guys… I think you know what time it is!"
Yang smiled eagerly before readjusting her new hat, ready for some action. "Hell yeah, Green Boy! It's Hero Time!"
…..
Sheriff Krista Burns was starting to get a little annoyed by just how much the crime rate on Patch had practically sky-rocketed since the incident at Beacon. First it was the jewelry store, then the high-speed chase, the Dust Shop, and finally the bank all followed that. And now it was the local pawn shop, which no doubt had countless valuables inside. Sure, all of this activity helped keep her job interesting, but at the expense of the usually peaceful island that she was happy to call home? That wasn't something she was willing to take. 'Times like these where I miss high school.' She mused to herself. 'Being on the cheer squad wasn't so bad… even if Roy DID go overboard on his mascot costume.'
The redheaded woman smirked over to her partner in question, the usually skittish blonde man sitting attentively in the passenger seat. He had his eyes focused on the scene of the crime right off the bat, and while his hands were shaking, his face was resolute, showing that he was ready to get started. But still, Krista wanted to make sure before getting started. "Hey, Bad Cat, you ready to roll?"
Roy's eyes widened at the mention of that certain title, a laugh escaping his lips. "Haha! Oh man, that's a DEEP cut, KB. What brought that one out?"
"Oh, just reminiscing about how simpler things were before we had to deal with criminals, aliens, and now witches apparently." Krista shrugged. "And my mind just automatically went to our high school days on the cheer squad."
"Heh, yeah, now THAT'S some crazy memory." Roy tapped his chin in recollection. "Remember how I rigged my Bad Cat head to fire furballs made of cotton candy out to the audience? Lonnie hated that!"
"That she did." Krista undid her seat belt and opened the door, grabbing her megaphone. "But for now, I think it's time to get our job done." Roy nodded and the both of them climbed out of the cruiser, with Krista addressing the newly gathered crowd outside of the convenience store. "Attention citizens! Please remain calm and back AWAY from the scene! I repeat, back AWAY from the store, please!"
As the crowd began to back away, the other police cruiser opened up, allowing Chief Howlin to step out. He let loose his signature howl, effectively garnering the civilians' attention. "You heard the lady, people, back AWAY from the storefront! This is a sensitive situation, so let's all remain—"
BANG! BANG! BANG! A few screams were elicited from the people, with the three officers all whipping their heads back toward the store itself. There, four men in hockey masks came stepping out of the store, one with a rifle in his hands aiming upward while the other held a VERY scared and crying pre-teen boy by his neck, the man's arm wrapped securely around it while he held pistol to the boy's head. The other two were carrying a full bag of Lien cards and no doubt other valuables over their shoulders. "Alright, alright, cut the yelling out here!" The man with the rifle shouted before pointing it right at the officers. "I'm gonna give it to ya straight here, coppers, we're gonna be strolling RIGHT outta here with the goods."
Howlin was quick to retort. "OVER MY DEAD—"
But then the man holding the boy pushed his pistol closer to the crying child's head. "Yours or his!" This made Howlin, Krista and Roy all stop, not wanting to risk putting the boy in anymore danger than he already was. "Good, you're getting it."
"That they are." The lead man agreed. "Honestly, I got no problem with takin' either one of 'em out. BUT… we can end this peacefully. All ya have to do is let us go and—" CLANG! "Huh?!" Without warning, the man heard what sounded like a powerful, metallic strike from behind him, followed by a thud. He and the other two men spun back to their compatriot… only to see him knocked out on the ground at the feet of… "YOU?!"
Rex smirked as he deactivated his Smack Hands in favor of his Boogie Pack, taking up the crying boy in one arm. "Yeah, surprised, puto?!" With that, Rex brought the child over to the trio of police officers, setting him down as the surrounding crowd of pedestrians suddenly broke out into uproarious cheers. "Here ya are, oficiales. Always happy to help!"
"Rex!" Krista said as the boy ran up to her. "Alright, you're here! Which means…" She spun around just in time to see Ben and Team RWBY come charging up to them, with Ilia, Jessie Jameson, and another white-haired woman right behind them. There was also a green muscle car with black stripes pulling up to them, indicating that Gwen and Kevin were with them as well. "Guys! You got here JUST in time!"
"Hey, Krista!" Ben greeted. "Guess we've got some trouble, huh?" However, the hero was utterly drowned out by the increasing volume of cheers that surrounded him, prompting him to look out to the surrounding people and give them a small wave. "Hehe, thank you, thank you, you're all WAY too kind."
Blake and Yang strolled up to the redheaded police woman, the cat girl keeping her focus on the armed criminals. "We haven't missed anything, right Krista?"
"Nope, not a thing." Krista assured before lowering herself to the pre-teen she had in front of her, who was slowly beginning to come out of his shock. "Are you okay, young man? Are you hurt anywhere?"
"N-No." the boy shook his head. "No, I think I'm good." However, the moment he realized who had just arrived and saved him, his eyes lit up in excitement. "W-Wait! I know you guys!" He pointed between Ben, Rex and Team RWBY enthusiastically. "You were the ones who kicked all of that Grimm butt yesterday! You guys are AWESOME!"
Weiss couldn't help but laugh nervously, with the rest of Team RWBY exchanging sheepish glances. "Heh, what do you know? Our first day being famous and we've already got fans."
"Hey, I think they're well deserved." Roy said as he gestured out to the crowd. "I mean, the people LOVE you guys."
"He's got a point, kids." Jessie confirmed as she sauntered over as well. "Now teach those low-down, no-good varmints a lesson they'll never forget!" She quirked a brow over to Chief Howlin, who hadn't said a word since the heroes arrived on the scene. "That is, if the chief'll let ya, that is."
Howlin grumbled and crossed his arms. "Well… okay, fine, why not?" He jerked his thumb back to the civilians. "Gotta give the people what they want, after all."
However, right as he said that, the leading criminal's eyes widened when he realized something. "Wait a second! What're we just standing around for?! Open fire, you mooks!" At his yell, his compatriots dropped their sacks full of valuables and pulled out their own rifles, aiming them at the heroes and officers while shocking the crowd into silence. However, right as they pulled their triggers, a pink energy shield suddenly popped right up in front of the heroes and the crowd, shielding them all as the bullets simply ricocheted off of it. "Wait, what the hell?!"
"Sorry." Gwen spoke up, her hands glowing as she stepped over to the group. "But I think it's time that YOU guys got put in your place." She gave a nod to her cousin and Team RWBY. "Guys, you're up."
Ruby gave her a thumbs up. "Thanks, Gwen!" Ruby activated Crescent Rose as Weiss pulled out Myrtenaster. "C'mon, Weiss, you and I got the one on the left!"
Yang brought her fists up, activating Ember Celica while Blake unsheathed Gambol Shroud. "And Blake and I will take the goon on the right!" She made sure that her new hat was securely on her head before shouting out; "Let's GO!"
With that, the team of four all vaulted over the mana shield and proceeded to attack, with Ruby deflecting the goon's bullets by spinning Crescent Rose rapidly. This managed to successfully take the trio aback, allowing the quartet to pair off and begin taking down their chosen enemies. Weiss created a pair of glyphs which she and Ruby jumped on immediately, allowing them a boost of speed toward their goon. Ruby swung Crescent Rose so that its head slammed right into the man's abdomen, which sent him flying back straight into an ice wall that Weiss created, knocking him out instantly. Meanwhile, Blake detached Gambol Shoud's ribbon and tossed it to Yang, the Blonde Brawler propelling herself toward the goon with a shot from her gauntlets shortly after. From there, Yang punched the goon in the face before Blake kicked him right across the jaw, the two ladies tying the man up in the ribbon all the while. In the end, the good fell flat on his back, tied up with nowhere to run.
Blake sighed in satisfaction as she dealt the final blow, knocking the man out before untying her ribbon. "And it's done."
"Yep, got 'em!" Yang pumped a fist. "Now all that's left is—" Just then, she felt her Aura take a hit, to which she craned her head around and saw the criminal that had been knocked to the ground beginning to stand up. The barrel of his pistol was also smoking, indicating that HE had been the one to fire the shot. Yang gave him a deadpan expression. "Really, dude? You thought one bullet would be enough to…" She trailed off when the other guy began to take aim as well. "…Okay, that STILL probably won't be enough, but I'll humor ya." She shifted her eyes over to her boyfriend and called out to him. "Babe! You wanna come in and finish the job?!"
"Sure do, Goldie Locks!" Ben grinned before tossing his phone over to Kevin. "Hey, Kev! Plug my phone into your radio. I've got a song I want ya to play for this."
Kevin quirked a brow. "And that would be?"
"Just put it on "I Won't Do What You Tell Me"." Ben smirked. "You know that one, right?"
The Osmosian's eyes widened as he hooked up the phone inside of his car, giving Ben an incredulous face all the while. "…What, do ya think you're the Texas Rattlesnake or something?"
"Just trust me and play it right as I transform, okay?" Ben winked. "I know what I'm doing." He set his sights out to the crowd of people behind him and spread his arms out to them. "Alright, guys, if you wanna see me put the hurt on these idiots, then GIMME A HELL YEAH!" Per his request, the civilians immediately gave him what he wanted… but he still wasn't satisfied. "Sorry, I didn't quite hear ya!" Ben activated the Omnitrix and quickly found the icon he was searching for, slamming the core down before being enveloped in a flash of light.
Right as he did so, Kevin turned his radio up to near MAX and played the song, which actually started out with the sound of shattering glass. CRASH! From there a slew of grungy, heavy guitar riffs began blaring out of his car, to which many people were surprised by. However, once the green flash dissipated, the public bore witness as a certain Metallikanine stood in Ben's place, the alien belting out a mighty roar. Once he was done, he set his gaze back to the crowd and hollered; "I said; GIVE STEEL BONE A HELL YEAH!"
"HELL YEAH!" The people echoed as Steel Bone began sauntering toward the criminals, who immediately began panicking at the sight of the large dog monster approaching them.
"W-What are you waiting for, you idiot?!" The lead man said as he and his partner took aim at Steel Bone. "OPEN FIRE!" With that, the duo began firing round after round at the Metallikanine… only for Steel Bone to steadily shift his fur into armor plating to protect his body, all while his metal teeth popped out threateningly.
"Yeah, that ain't gonna work, gentlemen." Steel Bone said as he closed the distance between them. Even with their ski masks on, he could see the fear on their faces, and he knew right then and there that he had done his job. "In fact, I think it's safe to say that ya'll can't put a dent in me!" He grabbed the duo's weapons and crushed them with his bare hands, eliciting cries of terror from both of them. "See, that's the difference between you an' me; I ain't a pushover when it comes to gettin' the job done!"
"Shows what you know!" The lead man said before turning to his partner. "Quick, get the goods and let's—"
"Ahem!" The two spun around to see Weiss and Ruby having collected their sacks full of stolen product and Lien, the partners smirking in satisfaction. "You mean THESE goods?" Weiss teasingly asked.
Right as the two realized that they were probably screwed, they felt a pair of large, furry hands clutch the back of their shirts, making their eyes nearly bug out of their heads. "Now, where were we? Oh yeah, right, I was teachin' ya'll a lesson in manners!" Steel Bone suddenly tossed the man who held the pre-teen hostage away, calling out to a certain chameleon girl. "ILIA!"
"On it!" From the crowd, Ilia shot out and whipped her Lightning Lash around the criminal, shocking enough to knock him out once again. "That good enough for ya?"
"Yup, Thanks!" The Metallikanine answered before glaring right at the lead criminal. "Now, what to do with you?"
As Steel Bone picked the lead man up, the criminal started begging for his life. "N-No, please! I-I'll do anything, just please don't hurt me!"
"…What?" the hero uttered.
"I-I said I'll do whatever you want!"
"What?!" This one came louder this time.
"I-I'll do whatever you want!"
"WHAT?!" Steel Bone was practically roaring the word now.
"I SAID I'LL DO ANYTHING!" At this point, the criminal had been reduced to tears, putting his hands up to his eyes as he bawled into his ski mask. "JUST PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!"
Steel Bone narrowed his eyes before taking note of all three of his fallen comrades. The hero took a deep breath and sighed out of his nose before lowering the criminal to the ground, who was surprised at the gestured. "Alright, alright, stop bawlin'. Yer gettin' off easy here, got it?!"
"Y-You mean I'm free to go?!" The criminal said hopefully.
"BAH-HA-HA-HA!" Steel Bone placed one of his huge paws on the criminal's shoulder, waited for a few seconds… and then furrowed his brows at him again. "No." With that, Steel Bone delivered a swift chop to the back of the man's neck, striking a pressure point that knocked him out instantly. With that, Steel Bone let out a mighty guffaw and raised his hands to the sky, roaring out in victory; "And THAT'S the bottom line, BECAUSE STEEL BONE SAID SO!"
With that, the entire crowd went crazy once more, their cheers nearly drowning out the heavy guitar riffs that were coming from Kevin's car. However, the Osmosian decided to turn them off anyway, seeing that Ben's job was effectively done. "And with that, I think we're done here…" But the moment he saw Steel Bone, Team RWBY and Rex all waving out to the crowd, he knew that wasn't the case anymore. "…Or not, whatever."
The group of heroes approached Krista, Roy and Howlin with the perps in hand, setting them down near the officer's feet. "Here ya go, guys." Yang said with a thumbs up. "Four low lives ready for the slammer!"
Krista smiled as she and Roy bent down and cuffed two of the criminals. "Thanks guys! Man, it must feel pretty good now that you guys are public, huh?"
"Yeah, now you can fight crime in the open without having to hide yourselves!" Roy said as he and his partner began carrying the unconscious criminals toward their police car. "I think I'm gonna like having you guys around."
"Might not wanna get used to that." Steel Bone said before slapping the Omnitrix and transforming back into his human form. "We'll be going back to my home dimension soon, and—oof! Huh?" Ben directed his gaze down to see what hit him, only to be greeted by the boy that Rex had saved. He was beaming up at both him and Rex in adoration, his eyes practically lit up like the brightest Christmas tree.
"That was AMAZING!" he shouted as he set his eyes upon Rex. "You saved me from those guys without even breaking a sweat!" His head snapped back to Ben as well as Team RWBY. "And of you took 'em all down like it was nothing!"
Ben scratched the back of his head nervously. "Hehe, hey kid, it's no problem, really." The hero knelt down so that he was at eye-level with the younger boy. "It's what heroes do. Now, do you know where your family is?"
"JASON!" Everyone's eyes widened as a woman suddenly surged out of the pawn shop, rushing her way over as she practically scooped the boy up into her arms, making Ben stumble back a bit. "Oh thank the GODS you're okay!" the lady cried as she held her son close, squeezing him tightly in relief.
The boy, Jason, hugged his mother back, though he seemed a lot calmer about the whole thing than she did. "Heh, mom, it's all good, trust me." He directed his eyes back over to the team. "See, those guys saved me. They're the ones who were on the news yesterday, remember?"
The woman's eyes widened and she spun around, letting out a gasp at the sight of Ben, Rex and Team RWBY. "Oh my gosh! They are!" She gave a grateful bow to the group of six as she set her son down. "I can't thank you kids enough! My little boy means the world to me, and the thought of losing him… it's…"
"We understand, ma'am." Ruby smiled brightly. "And we were more than happy to help!"
Rex gave a thumbs up. "Yep, all in a days' work. But right now, we gotta get goin'. We've got a press conference to get ready for this afternoon, and we don't wanna be late."
"Oh, of course. Sorry to keep you." The woman took a hold of her son's hand and nudged her head toward the heroes. "Jason, is there anything you want to say?"
Jason nodded and grinned up to the team once more. "Thanks again for saving me! I really think that you guys are the coolest!"
The team couldn't help but smile at the boy's enthusiasm, with Ben lowering himself down to his eyelevel again. "Heh, thanks Jason. Tell me, are you alright after that? I know from experience that people being held hostage can sometimes be traumatizing, so…"
"Oh yeah, I'm fine." Jason assured, balling his fists excitedly. "If anything, all of this has just made me wanna become a Huntsman even more than I already wanted to!"
The boy's mother gave a sigh at that. "We'll see, young man. You still have to graduate middle school first, remember."
Jason rolled his eyes as he and his mother began walking away. "Yeah, yeah, I know." He gave a wave to the team as they both made their way toward their car. "See ya!"
The group of heroes waved back to the boy as they watched the car drive off, with Ben giving a small chuckle. "Heh, nice kid." He then turned back toward the crowd and waved his arms toward them, ushering them to step back. "Alright, folks, shows over for now! If ya wanna see me, come to the press conference at town hall today. I've actually got some important things today, so you may wanna tune in!"
At his words, the civilians thankfully dispersed, with Chief Howlin giving an exasperated sigh. "Well, thank the gods THAT'S all over." He then whipped his head toward Ben and pointed at him accusingly. "And just WHAT did I say about getting involved in police business?!"
The hero could only give a small shrug. "Well, we were over at the flower shop nearby, so we decided that it'd just be the right thing to do."
"Yeah, c'mon, Chief Howlin." Yang smirked. "Ya can't lie; that WAS pretty cool what Ben did, don't ya think?"
Howlin grumbled a bit, crossing his arms as he closed his eyes. "Well… I suppose that it WAS quite the spectacle." A small smile snuck onto his face and he let out a chortle. "Haha… I especially liked that ya used a dog alien to get the job done." He stepped over and pat Ben's shoulder. "Alright, son, I guess you're good to help stop crime on Patch whenever. But lemme just say, don't think this puts you above the law or anything."
"Oh, trust me, I know." Ben assured. "I don't do the whole "judge, jury and executioner" thing."
"Good." Howlin grinned as he put the two perps into the back of his own cop car. "And hey, good luck at that press conference later today."
Krista piped up at that. "Oh, yeah! I can't wait to hear what you guys have to say for the people…" However, her brows rose up in realization. "But, wait… did you say that you guys were planning on going back to your home world?"
Ben sighed and nodded to her. "Yeah, we've really gotta get home. There's a lot of stuff there that needs to be done." He raised a hand to the redhead. "But don't worry, we're not gonna be abandoning Remnant. If something happens, we WILL come back, and we're even gonna be leaving some capable people here to make sure that you guys are watched over in case Salem makes a move."
"Hah, well, that's good to hear." Roy chortled before jabbing a thumb toward their cop cars. "But we really DO have to get going, though. Hopefully we'll be able to see you guys off, but if not…" He and Krista gave them dual peace signs. "It's been real, guys."
"Yeah, thanks for all the excitement in the past few weeks." Krista agreed.
"Aw, you'll see us again." Gwen beamed. "Trust me, this won't be goodbye forever."
Ruby gave Krista a salute. "Yeah, you can count on it!" She leaned over to Chief Howlin and whispered; "By the way, Chief, I think you'll be happy to hear that my Uncle's quitting whiskey cold turkey!"
Howlin let out what sounded like a laugh and a sigh fused into one. "Haha, FINALLY! 'Bout time that man dropped the alcohol! What made him quit? His liver?"
"Well, not exactly." Ruby sheepishly said. "I might've had to give him a firm talking to… and I may have let a few bad words slip by."
"HAHA!" This time, Howlin belted out a genuine laugh, wiping a tear away from his eye for good measure. "Ah, atta girl, Ruby." The wolf Faunus gave all of the teens a salute as he opened the door to his car. "Well kids, it's been good working with ya… for better or worse. Heh, I look forward to doing so again."
"Same here!" Krista said as she and Roy entered their own cruiser as well. "Hope to see you soon, guys!" With that, the trio of officers all drove off back to the station, leaving the group in the middle of the street.
Jessie let out a sigh, placing her hands on her hips. "Well, that was quite the unexpected trip, but at least everything panned out okay." She folded her arms and grinned at the group. "Now comes the hard part; are ya'll ready for your big moment on stage?"
"Heh, as ready as we'll ever be, Jessie." Blake chuckled.
Ilia laced her hands together with a nervous expression. "Yeah, public speaking was never my strong suit, but at least we still have a while before the whole thing starts."
Ben pulled his sleeve back and went to activate the Omnitrix's watch feature. "No kidding. I mean, it's only…" However, the moment the holographic watch popped up, everyone's eyes nearly bugged out of their heads when they saw the time. "THREE-THIRTY?!"
"What?!" Weiss shouted. "B-B-But I thought we had more time!"
Rex put his hands to his forehead. "Gah, damn! We must've let it get away from us! We've been here for… two hours maybe?"
"Who cares how long we've been here?" Kevin said as he jabbed a thumb toward the back of his car, all while starting it up. "What matters now is that we need to get to town hall like, RIGHT now!" With that, the teens began to split up into their respective riding groups, with Rex activating his Ride this time. Weiss stepped onto the large hoverbike with him while Yang and Ben climbed onto Bumblebee once again, the blonde making sure that her stampede strap was nice and secure so that her new hat wouldn't fall off.
Jessie gave the group a tip of her hat as Rex activated his Ride. "I'll be sure to follow behind ya'll. I'll grab Whitlea an' the kids an' we'll be over in two shakes of a horse's tail."
"Great to hear!" Yang gave a thumbs up as her engine revved to life. "We'll see ya over there, Jessie!" She faced her mother and Winter, giving them a salute. "And I'll make sure to call you guys when we get there!"
However, Raven raised a hand before slashing a portal open. "No need, dear. Tai's already over there, remember? We'll see you when you get there!"
"Heh, 'kay, mom! See ya there!" With that, Raven and Winter both went through the portal, leaving Yang to smirk back to her boyfriend again. "Alright, Green Boy, you ready to be in the limelight again?"
Ben sighed a bit before nodding a little. "I can't say I missed it, but yeah, I'm ready." He smiled and gave a thumbs up to his girlfriend. "Let's do this, shall we?"
…..
Coco was pacing back and forth at a very quick pace, her features clearly quite agitated. She and her team were standing behind the stage that they had helped set up at town hall, as they had been for the past couple of hours, ready and waiting for the press conference to actually get underway. She could tell that her team were all gazing at her worriedly, especially her boyfriend, though at the moment, she couldn't help herself. 'Ugh! Where the hell ARE they?!'
It was then that Cooper decided to speak up, reaching his hand out to get his girlfriend's attention. "Uh, Coco?" The brunette abruptly stopped and whipped her head toward him, making him flinch a little bit. "Er, uh, sweetheart, I… think you might start putting a rut in the ground if you keep pacing like that."
Coco blinked at his words before sighing, crossing her arms in frustration. "Yeah, I know. Sorry if I put ya off there, Tech Head, but… we go on soon and the guys STILL aren't here yet!" She thrust her arm over toward the group of gathered teens who HAD made it on time for emphasis. Teams JNPR, SSSN, CRDL, ABRN and of course, Penny, were all standing together in a massive group, waiting for the press conference to officially begin. Also backstage were Tai and Lisa Lavender, the duo gazing up onto the stage as Ironwood and Goodwitch were giving a small public interview with Ghira, Kali and Sienna before things kicked off. "We're LITERALLY missing the guests of honor here!"
Velvet scratched her chin in thought. "Well, we ALL heard the gunshots, right? Ben and the others probably responded to that and they got caught up."
"Yeah, that's probably what happened." Coco agreed, folding her arms with another sigh. "I hope everything's okay, though. If they don't get here soon—"
FWOOSH! There was a small, collective yell from everyone gathered as a portal suddenly opened up directly next to Tai, though if anything, the blonde man didn't seem all that phased by it. From out of the portal, Raven and Winter stepped out, with Tai giving the former a small grin. "There you are, Rae!" he greeted as he pulled her into a hug. "The kids were just wondering where you guys were."
"Well, wonder no longer." Raven said before smiling out toward the large group of teens. "The others will be here shortly. They just had to stop a bit of a crime going on."
"We heard." Jaune said as he stepped up to the Spring Maiden. "Is everything alright?"
Winter nodded toward him. "Yes, everything is fine. The team were able to put a stop to those low lives quite easily, actually. They even managed to save a boy from being killed."
Nora pumped a fist at that. "Woo! Alright! Last day in Remnant and the gang are STILL killing it on the job!"
Ren pursed his lips in thought. "Hm, I hope this doesn't affect how everyone will take the news of us leaving. I can already tell that it won't be easy for them to comprehend what's going on, so—"
"Hey, don't you worry, Ren!" Lisa piped up, bringing everybody's attention to her. "I've got the footage from our interview all ready to go, so hopefully after everyone sees everything that YOU'VE shown me, they'll believe what you have to say."
Pyrrha took a deep breath, steadying her nerves for what was about to come. "I certainly hope so, Lisa. Otherwise, things may just do a complete one-eighty once we leave." She sent a concerned glance over to Jaune. "I mean, what if Remnant becomes even MORE divided once their new heroes leave?"
Jaune put an arm around the Invincible Girl in a reassuring hug. "It's okay, Pyrrha. We aren't really leaving, if you think about it. We CAN come back at any time we want." He set his eyes onto the stage. "Besides, I have a feeling that Ben will know just what to say. He's got plenty of experience with the public, after all."
With that, the group only had to wait a few minutes more before they saw Bumblebee and Kevin's car approaching, along with Rex and Weiss on the EVO's Ride. Once they all parked and began disembarking from their respective vehicles, Coco began to march over to them. "THERE you guys are! We've been waiting for—WOAH!" Coco stopped in surprise as she caught sight of something she wasn't prepared for; Yang in a cowboy hat. "Yang?! W-Where did you get that hat?!"
At the sound of Coco's words, everyone immediately took notice of the garment in question, causing Nora to gasp excitedly. "AH! Oh. My. GOSH! Yang, you look SO cool in that hat!"
"Agreed!" Penny concurred. "It suits you quite nicely! Where DID you get it?"
The Blonde Brawler gave a small snicker and tipped her hat to the group. "Heh, Jessie gave it to me while we were over at the flower shop. Pretty awesome, right?"
"No kidding!" Velvet affirmed. "It's simply wonderful!" Fox and Yatsu gave silent nods of approval to Yang as well.
"Heh, thanks guys." Yang said before taking notice of Team ABRN standing off to the side with Team CRDL and Team SSSN. She sent a wave over to them and shouted out; "Hey! There you guys are!" She strolled up and offered a fist bump to Arslan. "We were wondering if we'd get to see you today!"
Arlsan smirked and returned the fist bump without hesitation. "Heh, like we'd ever miss the chance to see you guys again, especially after what happened yesterday."
"No joke!" Reese said as she saw the Alien Trio, Rex, Ilia and Team RWBY come over as well. "You guys were all AMAZING yesterday! I was practically on the edge of my seat watching all of that chaos go down!"
Nadir focused onto Ben and Rex in particular. "Guys, the way you two when giant-sized to take down that Leviathan was AMAZING! I had no idea you guys had that much power!"
Bolin gave a nod. "Indeed… though I suppose us keeping your secret didn't really matter in the long run, did it?"
Ben simply shrugged at that. "Ah, don't worry, guys. It's okay. Honestly, it was only a matter of time before the public found out, so I guess there's no harm done." He then set his sights out past the stage to take a peek at the audience that had gathered… and his jaw dropped a bit. "It was evident that this COULDN'T just be the natives of Patch. There had to be at LEAST a couple thousand people all gathered around town hall. Even some of the STREETS were closed off in order to make room for everyone there. Ben turned back to the group and took a deep breath. "Phew, okay… there MIGHT be a bit more people than I thought there would be."
"I know, right?" Blake said as she too got a good eyeful of the gathered crowd. "How much do you want to be that people took days off just to be here?"
"Wouldn't surprise me." Sun quipped with a smirk. "I mean, we ARE famous now, after all."
Neptune wore a similar smirk, placing a hand on his hip. "Yeah, I mean, we're heroes! Why WOULDN'T we be getting this kind of attention?" Next to the duo, Scarlet and Sage both rolled their eyes, though they couldn't help but smile as well.
"Hey, c'mon guys." Cardin spoke up with his team stepping forward. "Don't start taking ALL the credit. You guys might've defended Vale, but I like to think WE put up a good fight protecting Beacon."
"That you did, luv." Velvet said before reaching up and poking the redheaded knight's temple. "But don't start getting a big head again, alright?"
Cardin chuckled and pulled Velvet into a side hug. "Hehe, hey, when I said "we", I mean both yours AND my team. Don't worry, I'm not leaving anybody out."
However, at that moment, Lisa suddenly spun around and waved her arms, garnering the group's attention. "Oh! Guys, shush!" she harshly whispered. "General Ironwood is wrapping things up with Sienna and the Belladonnas! You'll be on in just a few seconds!"
The group of teens all went wide-eyed as they heard Ironwood's voice come ring out from the stage. "Once again, I'd like to sincerely thank Ghira, Kali and Sienna for their time today. I realize that this probably wasn't the BEST way to wrap up yesterday's press conference, but… considering the circumstances, I suppose that it's the best we can do." He cleared his throat before proceeding. "Now, I think it's time we move on to the OTHER important subject at hand. As you are all aware, yesterday was a day that changed not only Vale, but the entire world forever. Even though the Battle of Beacon was undoubtedly the worse event out of the two, the event in Vale yesterday has brought a lot of things into the limelight, and I feel it's important that we address them."
It was then that the audience began clamoring, with camera flashes going off all around the general as multiple reporters began asking questions. "General, what do you know about this witch who's threatening our world?"
"Who are these young people who held the line in Vale yesterday?" Another asked.
"What about Ben Tennyson?!" One woman practically shouted. "Where does HE fit into all of this?"
"Have you been aware of what's been happening?" Came one more question. "And if so, for how long?"
Ironwood appeared to be visibly overwhelmed, by all of the questioned being asked at once, so Glynda decided to step in. She gently pushed him away from the podium and yelled into the microphone; "Everyone, PLEASE settle down!" She cracked her Disciplinarian over the podium for emphasis, which instantly got everyone to be quiet. "Thank you… now, I'm sure that you ALL have a lot of questions, and we WILL be sure to get to all of them, but first, I think it's time we bring out the heroes who defended Vale with their very lives yesterday. What do you say?" She received a cheer from the audience in response, making her smile and nod. "Excellent. So, without further ado, here are the young students who partook in the Battle of Vale!" She waved her hand toward the right side of the stage. "Firstly, I'd like to welcome Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long of Team RWBY!"
The people gave a round of applause as Ruby let out a sigh, hoping to steel her nerves. "Well, that's us. Let's go, guys." With that, the four ladies all began making their way out to the stage and toward Goodwitch, who greeted them each with a hug.
"Glad you girls made it on time." Glynda winked before noticing Yang's new accessory. "Ooh, and nice hat, Yang."
Yang tipped her hat to Glynda in gratitude. "Thank you kindly, ma'am!" She directed her eyes out toward the audeince, only to see that there were plenty of familiar faces out there.
Uncle Qrow was giving them a thumbs up, Max, Holiday, Vernal and Pietro were sitting on the far side, the entire Arc Family was in the front row cheering for them along with Athena, and even Professor Paradox and Oscar were there as well. The only one who wasn't there was Azmuth, and that was probably because he didn't want to make a scene with his presence. Heck, Yang even saw a few teachers from Signal in attendance, with Festus making himself known right off the bat with the massive wave he sent them. Toward one of the middle rows, she also saw Iris, Daisy, Oliver, Whitlea and Jessie all taking their seats, the five ladies waving to them as well.
From there, Teams JNPR and CFVY were brought on stage, along with Sun, Neptune, Ilia and Penny soon after. All of them were given proper introductions by Goodwitch, and in Team JNPR's case, received the loudest ovation out of all of them due to Jaune's sisters, his parents, AND Athena all cheering their lungs out, making Jaune and Pyrrha's faces ripen like tomatoes. Once everyone was settled again, Glynda cleared her throat and gestured toward the right once again. "And now… for the ones you're probably all VERY interested in. Please welcome… the Other-Worlders! Firstly, Cooper Daniels, the young man who created and piloted the flying armor!"
The Alien Trio, Rex and Cooper all shared curious glances at the term "Other-Worlders" but decided to roll with it. Cooper stepped out first and greeted Glynda with a handshake, the genius bowing to the audience afterward. He took a seat next to Coco as Glynda moved on. "Next up, the young man who has nano-machines inside his body… Rex Salazar!"
Rex smirked before activating his Boogie Pack and flying right over the whole stage, making the crowd gasp and cheer as he landed and took a bow before them. "Thank you! Thank you! You guys are WAY too kind!"
Weiss couldn't help but roll her eyes at that. "Psh, show off." But she couldn't help but smile as he sat down and gave her a wink. '…D'oh, but he's MY show off.'
"Next up, a powerful couple with very unique abilities; Kevin Levin and Gwen Tennyson!" Glynda announced as the aforementioned couple stepped out onto the stage. Kevin absorbed the wood panels beneath him while Gwen began projecting mana for a demonstration, the crowd in utter amazement at the display of power. Once they sat down, Glynda took a deep breath before making her final presentation. "And now, the one you've all been waiting for…" She allowed the audeince to make their excitement known before saying the hero's name. "Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome… Ben Tennyson!"
With that, Ben stepped onto the stage… and the audience went absolutely wild. The amount of noise almost made it feel like a stampede, only no one was moving toward the stage. Ben was pretty sure that he would be deaf five times over by now if he hadn't dealt with things like this before… but then came the unmistakable sound of high-pitched squealing. His eyes darted across the crowd before finally finding the source… and it was just as he feared; he already had fangirls in Remnant. They were a group of young adult women, all appearing to be in their early twenties and they were all beaming at him in awe, their eyes glued right onto him.
'Oh, this isn't good.' As flattered as he was… Ben was also afraid, because he could practically feel a wrathful heat begin to rise behind him. His eyes shifted over to see Yang practically on fire in her seat, her scorching hot Aura flaring up as her eyes burned even redder than they usually did. 'Okay, first order of business; calm the audience.' Ben stepped up to the podium, shook Goodwitch's hand before whispering. "Hey, could I have the mic, please? I wanna calm these guys down."
"Be my guest." Goodwitch allowed, taking the mic off the podium and handing it to the hero.
"Thank you." With that, Ben sent a wave to the crowd, letting out a nervous chuckle as he spoke into the mic. "Hehe, thank you, thank you! You guys have made an awesome turn out here! But could we maybe settle things down for a moment? I have some important things to say." At his request, the audience thankfully died down, as did the fangirls, and thus, Yang's anger as well. 'Thank goodness.' The hero began walking back and forth, speaking out to the public. "Alright, so… no doubt you probably have a lot of questions for us, and as much as I wanna answer all of them, we're on a strict time frame, so we'll handle the really important ones for now, okay?" He saw a hand raise up and he quickly got on it. "Yes, you ma'am?"
"Mr. Tennyson." The woman beamed as she grabbed her pen and notepad. "The entirety of Remnant wants to know… how are you able to do the things you do? You said that your watch was able to transform you into a variety of different… aliens, right?"
Ben gave her a nod. "That's right, though it's not exactly a watch." He proceeded to show off the device in question. "This is called the Omnitrix, it's an alien device that allows me to do what I'm able to do. And believe it or not, I've been doing this since I was ten years old."
A few gasps and murmurs echoed through the crowd before another person spoke up. "M-Mr. Tennyson! How were you able to keep it a secret from Remnant for that long?!"
"Heh, well… that's where things get complicated." Ben gestured over to Gwen, Kevin, Rex and Cooper. "You see, the five of us aren't exactly FROM Remnant. We're from a different world entirely. Heck, we're actually from a different DIMENSION entirely." Again, more murmurs and gasps elicited from the crowd before Ben raised a hand. "Now, I know that this must all be hard to believe, but fear not; I've brought proof! Courtesy of the very reporter that braved the whole Battle of Vale to bring you every second of it! Everyone, give a big hand for Lisa Lavender!"
The crowd began clapping again as Lisa took the stage, the white-haired woman strolling over toward Ben with a remote in her hand and a smile on her face. She also had a special ear piece with a microphone attached, allowing her to be heard. "Thank you very much, Ben!" She gave a bow to the audience and held the remote up to them. "Alright, everybody, what I'm about to show you all is footage of some very interesting things I saw during my one-on-one interview with Ben and his crew this morning, so please, pay close attention!"
Lisa pushed a button and brought up a large, holographic screen over the stage, the projector having been situated right in the middle. On it, a quickly edited video of all of the Earth media that the teens showed off during the interview began playing, and seeing all of these unfamiliar things made everyone's eyes widen. From the footage of the Thundercats intro, to Link putting the finishing blow onto Ganon, to Batman moving through the Scarecrow's second fear-induced hallucination. Admittedly, it was probably the strangest combination of media that could have been showed off, but Ben found it substantial nonetheless.
"You see, me and my friends are actually from a planet called "Earth", in a dimension where stuff like aliens and magic are a lot more… noticeable, I think is the right word." Ben shrugged. "And, as you can see, we also have quite a bit of our own media as well," he gestured up to the screen, "and this isn't even the tip of the iceberg when it comes to that."
The woman who asked the first question spoke up again. "So… if this is all true… then how did you get here in the first place?"
Ben quirked a brow at her and smirked. "Heh, short answer? A portal instability created a rift between our worlds, which resulted in us being transported here." He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. "We were actually dumped right into the middle of the Battle for Beacon, and from there, we learned about Salem and her attempt to take over the world by dividing it further than it already is."
Once more, murmurs began being spread although the crowd until another man spoke up. "So, this "Salem", she's the one responsible for everything that's happened to Vale?"
"Exactly. She and her followers, her…" Ben trailed off for a moment, realizing that THIS was his chance to give the people something to rally against when it came to Salem. His expression went serious as he pressed on. "…her Ministry of Darkness."
This got the people murmuring again… and left the team behind him baffled. Ruby leaned over to Weiss and whispered; "Since when did Salem's forces have a faction name?" All she got was a shrug from the former heiress.
The woman from before spoke up again. "So, this… Ministry of Darkness, they wish to take over the world by instilling fear into all of us and instilling division throughout Remnant entirely. Do I have that right?"
"Yep, on the money." Ben reaffirmed. "The Ministry are responsible for ALL of these recent catastrophes. Both attacks on Beacon and Vale, the recent attack on Haven, even the attack on Essen up north, all caused by her so that she and her Grimm can drive humanity to extinction." The hero paused momentarily before going on. "But… there IS still hope." He clenched a fist and gave a smile out to the crowd. "And it lies in my world. I know a LOT of people who can help us in our fight against Salem, and we have the capabilities of bringing them here… but to do so, we're going to have to take a temporary leave of absence from Remnant."
"What?!" "You're Leaving?!" "So soon?!" These were among the MANY responses from the audience, which devolved into a huge jumble of voices talking over one another.
…That is until Ben decided to take control of the situation again. "HEY!" Everyone immediately silenced themselves as he shouted into the mic, all of them staring at him incredulously. "I know, it's VERY sudden, but you all shouldn't panic about it." He sent a reassuring smile out to the people as he continued. "Because for one; we can always come back at any time in case something happens. And trust me, we WON'T hesitate to do so if it does."
"B-But what about when you're gone?!" the first woman asked worriedly. "W-Who will be here to protect us if you can't get here soon enough?!"
Ben pointed to her with a small smile. "And THAT is where these guys come in." He faced Cooper and Team CFVY, ushering them to stand up and move over to him. "C'mon over guys, let the crowd see ya." Cooper, Coco, Fox, Velvet, and Yatsu all did so, the quintet beaming out to the audience as they all gave their own wave or salute. "My friend Cooper, his girlfriend, Coco, and her team will all becoming with us back to my home dimension… but only for a week at most. After that, they'll be coming right back here to Remnant, and trust me, these guys can get some serious work done. I trust and respect them a whole hell of a lot." He gestured over to Ironwood and Goodwitch as well. "And the general and Headmistress Goodwitch will also be here overseeing things, too."
However, the man from before raised his hand again. "W-With all due respect, Mr. Tennyson, considering the kind of threat that you're facing… what ALL of Remnant is facing, that still doesn't feel like enough."
"Maybe not… but I'm still not done." Ben smirked before waving his hands toward stage right. "Ladies and gentlemen, allow me the privilege to present to you; Sage, Scarlet, and Teams CRDL and ABRN of Beacon Academy!" The whole audience erupted into curious noises as Cardin and Arslan came up onto the stage, leading their respective teams with Scarlet and Sage bringing up the rear. Ben shook each of their hands before speaking again. "Everyone, in one way or another, these guys have helped us out with our mission, and I think that they're fit to protect not just Vale, but Remnant itself while we're gone…" He faced Cooper, Scarlet, Sage and the three team leaders with a sympathetic face. "I know that it's a tall order, but—"
"We're up for the challenge." Coco said as she suddenly pulled the microphone over to her. "We may not be able to transform into awesome aliens like Ben can, but we can still kick Grimm ass and take names!"
Cooper nodded and brought the microphone over to him next. "That's right. We promise that we won't let Remnant down, not after what's happened in these past few weeks."
Arslan clenched a fist as the mic was brought to her. "The Ministry is the whole reason why our Haven is in shambles right now. And I can guarantee that we WON'T let it happen to any of the other academies again!"
"You can count on that." Sage affirmed as Scarlet nodded his head in approval. "This isn't just their fight anymore…" He moved his arm in a circle, gesturing to the whole group. "This is EVERYONE'S fight."
Finally, it was Cardin's turn. "We may have gotten sucked into a war that we weren't prepared to fight… but you can be DAMN sure that we'll be giving it our all in this fight. And if that's not enough… then we'll just have to fight even HARDER!" He raised a fist and shouted out to the crowd; "Tell me; are any of YOU about to let Salem take control of this world?!"
"NO!" All eyes snapped around to see Iris standing up in her seat, wearing a determined face as Daisy and Oliver stood as well. "We can't just let Salem win!"
"The little lady's got a point!" Jessie said as she stood as well, earning a few gasps from the audience. "I say we FIGHT! Salem might have a lotta power, but we can't just sit by an' let 'er walk all over us! You can be sure that I'm gonna be doin' my part in this fight!"
"As will I." Athena announced as she stood as well.
"Me too." Jonathan jumped in, the duo's presence taking the audience by surprise. "Salem will have to face every Hunstmen in Remnant if she wants to take over OUR world!"
From there, the crowd began to break out into a furor once more… "You hear that?!" "Where did all of these famous Huntsmen come from?!" "Who cares?!They're gonna help in the fight, too!" "I think we may have a shot here!" All of these were just small snippets of what Ben could hear the people saying, and with every word, his smile grew.
'This might just work out after all…' The hero brought the mic back to him to garner everyone's attention. "Hehe, well alright!" Everyone became quiet at the sound of his voice again. "Glad to hear that everyone's in agreement here…" He peered directly into the news cameras that were all aimed at him, pointing at them as he did. "And I hope that all of you around the world are willing to help as well! We need a united world in order to stop Salem's plans, and I know that it CAN be done. Yes, there's a lot of things to work through, but I have faith that ALL of us can do this. Together, we WILL beat the Ministry of Darkness." He waved his hand over to his main team, who were all wearing happy and proud smiles. "And even though we may be leaving, we WILL be back, be it temporarily or for an extended period. And what's better is that we'll be bringing back up from my world when we do, so be ready, because Salem is going DOWN!"
The woman who asked the first question smiled as the crowd went nuts behind her, giving Ben a small nod. "Well, Mr. Tennyson, I think my question has been answered VERY well."
The other man also nodded to the young hero. "And mine as well, thank you for this reassurance, Mr. Tennyson."
Ben bowed his head back to both of them. "You're welcome, and please, call me Ben. Alright, I think we can take a couple more questions…" He spotted a quick hand rise up in the back, which he pointed to with gusto. "Yes, you, in the back!"
However, the moment the owner of the hand jumped up, Ben knew he instantly made a mistake. It was one of the women who had been fangirling over him just minutes before, and her entire entourage stood up with her as they all eagerly shouted; "ARE YOU SINGLE?!"
A massive blush came to Ben's face as he pounded his head onto the podium, keeping it there as he felt the heat begin to rise up behind him again. This time, though, he could feel the owner of said intense body heat directly beside him. He glanced up and saw Yang, glaring out at the women as she kept her fists balled up, assuming a protective stance as if he had just been accosted by the worst person imaginable.
Ben sent a sympathetic gaze out to the ladies, seeing them all now with fearful expressions on their faces. "Sorry ladies, I am not." he replied. "And I think we should avoid anymore questions like those should we incur my girlfriend's wrath." Ben pulled Yang into a side-hug, the Blonde Brawler calming down instantly before she wrapped her arms around him protectively. "Now, any more questions?"
…..
A/N (Please Read): And there you have it! The post-Battle for Vale press conference seems to have gone over a lot better than even our heroes had expected! The people were convinced of their other-worldly status, AND Ben's words of inspiration managed to bolster them as well! Plus, the fact that the people of Remnant will have Cooper and Teams CFVY, ABRN and CRDL to protect them while the main squad is on Earth is also very reassuring. Overall, aside from a bit of panicking from the crowd… and the fangirls that tried to ask Ben out, the conference was an overall success! …Though that said, if that's how Yang reacted to fangirls THERE, just imagine what it'll be like on Earth…
Also, yes, Salem's forces are now called "The Ministry of Darkness". You might've seen the nickname being thrown around the comments section, started up by TheBrodRoad. Well, he and I have been going back and forth for a good while, and I've come to the conclusion that title really IS very fitting for Salem's forces, so I decided to finally make it official! Hopefully it lives up to the Undertaker's expectations!
However, that wasn't ALL that happened, now was it? No, the team also met up with Ruby's friends, Miss Tigerlily and Jessie once again, explaining everything to them in the process. Also, indeed, that IS Ruby's final Omega Ruby Team… aside from evolving Pikachu into a Raichu. But after that, they stopped yet another robbery with Krista, Roy and Chief Howlin to oversee it… along with a LOT of other citizens. And yes… I wanted to give Steel Bone a bit more time in the spotlight. Didn't want the Battle for Vale to be his ONLY appearance, you know. Also, Yang's now sporting a cowboy hat! I'll admit, I always liked the idea of Yang having one of those, mainly because I saw an official art piece by Hiroyuki Asada that I really liked. It's on the RWBY Wiki if you wanna see it for yourselves. Admittedly, she won't be wearing it ALL the time (it'll mostly be seen on missions), but still, cowboy hats are cool, so why not?
Alright, so before we get to the Next Time part, I wanted to present you all with a bit of an interesting little thing; I'm putting together an official soundtrack for this story, and I'd like to hear your opinions on what songs would fit the best with certain scenes in my fic. I already have quite a few of my own personal selections lined up (as well as a few others that a friend of mine already recommended to me as well), but I wanted to get EVERYONE'S input as well since you guys are what kept me going over these past two years. So, if you have an idea of which song could be used with which scenes, leave it in the comments or PM me with your suggestion! I'm open to any ideas so long as it's not TOO obscene.
Alright, so… NEXT TIME… is the final chapter. Dear god, it's been a long time coming, but here it is! As Eon sends Cinder and Rojo's group to Earth, the gang prepare to take their leave as well, with everyone saying their good byes. However, right before they can leave, a certain billionaire a-hole of a father arrives, hoping to force Weiss to come back to Atlas with him. Fortunately, the Schnee Sisters have a plan to deal with him before the big send off. And what would that be? Well, tune in next time to find out! Thanks for reading everybody, and stay safe out there!
