The Thief's Dilemma
Hello everyone and welcome to the latest chapter of Team WA Vol. 2! We're slowing things down a bit for this chapter given all the action we had in the last one. And as always I'd like to give a shout out to you my fellow readers who've stuck with this story up to this point, it's really kept me going. And an answer to some of the guest review questions: I'll see what I can do about fitting one or two of those suggestions into the story. For now, let's see what we got in this chapter!
Site of Monstra: Former Mobile Lair of Salem
There had been a battle raging, one that lasted for hours as the Atlesian forces held the ever-encroaching tides of Grimm at bay. Before anyone knew it, night had fallen as the situation continued to deterioriate with the loss of more and more soldiers, androids, vehicles, robots and military huntsmen, forcing even the academy students themselves to be put on the frontline where the fighting was. After a wait that seemed like forever, an Atlesian science vessel arrived with a powerful payload, a bomb meant to destroy the giant whale which had been spewing out the endless forces of Salem's Grimm. It was to be a valiant charge, led by specialist Schnee as she advanced, sword in hand, with the other Ace Ops following close behind with the bomb in tow.
They never made it, but not for the reason one might think. The group had only gotten their payload about twenty to thirty feet onto the battlefield when the whale miraculaously exploded in a massive blast of light, almost as if their own bomb had already gone off inside it. The entire battlefield was illuminated as the explosion of light became visible throughout the entire kingdom of Atlas, practically turning day into night in the process. And for a long moment, everyone for miles seemed to hold their breaths, wondering if the light would stop at any point.
It would take several agonizing moments for that question to be answered but eventually the light would begin to fade, revealing the massive carcass of Monstra, now missing the top of its massive head as chunks of it lay all over the battlefield. The dissolving bits mixed with the enormous dust cloud which had also been kicked up by the blast, masking the movements of some more stealthy individuals while others struggled to their feet. "Is…..is everyone alright?" Questioned Winter, breathing heavily from the shock of everything that had just happened.
"No injures to report here," replied Vine as he managed to get up and stretched his arms.
"WHAT?!" Questioned Elm, the large woman apparently being partially deaf at the moment. Harriet said nothing, instead occupying herself by brushing the dust off of her gauntlets.
"They," Marrow said, disbelief clear on both his expression and his voice, "they were still inside!" He rushed over to the destroyed Grimm lair, clambering up one of its large fins as he hoped, even prayed that Jaune and the others were all right. But as he reached the top all he could see was more whale carcass, and not a sign of the huntsmen and huntress who'd entered. Winter climbed up next to him, her own expression somewhat disbelieving at what she was seeing right now.
"Winter," said Marrow as he glanced at his commanding officer, "what was that? A new bomb, some kind of rocket?"
"You think the falling object from earlier had something to do with this?" Questioned Winter, doing her best to stay composed.
"I don't know what else it could've been," said Marrow, "whatever that was-." His sentence was cut short by the sound of their earpieces coming to life.
"We have confirmation that the target is destroyed," said Ironwood, "good work on delivering the payload. But we don't have time to celebrate. Return to the academy at once, we have a new problem to tackle."
"Sir," said Winter, "did we have any new tactical high explosives operating on the battlefield? Like a missile capable of doing the same damage as the bomb?"
"Wishful thinking I'm afraid," said Ironwood, "that bomb was the one and only option the science team could come up with on short notice. So once again congratulations, but I need you back at the academy immediately." The transmission ended then as Winter took a moment to sort out her thoughts.
"But if that wasn't us," said Marrow as he indicated the destroyed Monstra, "then who was it?"
"We can discuss that with Ironwood in person," replied Winter as she turned to the rest of the Ace Ops, "load it back up, we're moving out." The Ace Ops did as ordered while the other surviving soldiers around them got to gathering equipment, the wounded and swept for survivors. While all of this was happening, another group who'd been a bit closer to the blast radius was in the midst of shaking off its effects.
"Damn," groaned Aegis as Yang helped him to his feet, "Oscar said he had a plan, but that was something else." And it had been the only reason he didn't protest more when the group had been torn between leaving and letting Wayne and Hazel fight Salem by themselves or staying and fighting with them. Aegis knew they wouldn't be of much help given the condition Salem had put him in and the lack of aura Jaune and Ren currently had due to expending it all while traversing through the whale. Yang, Emerald and Oscar were the only ones who could've effectively lended a hand in that situation and even then they wouldn't have been able to stop Salem completely.
So Oscar had told them he had a plan to keep the Witch from following them and for getting at least Wayne out alive. And he succeeded in that endeavor as moments before the blast, his older brother came bounding down the whale, calling for Jaune as soon as his feet hit the grass. The blond quickly moved to help him by raising his shield and activating its hardlight feature to the maximum. Wayne moved behind his shield as well and added the power of his semblance to the systems, strengthing the hardlight energy.
The move came just in time as the group barely managed to move behind the two of them when the massive blast of light erupted from the whale. Having been around a couple of Maiden's now, Aegis recognized the feel of mystical energy from the explosion, noting how it harmed Grimm more than people. But even then, he doubted anyone besides immortals like Ozpin and Salem could survive being at the epicenter. "Well at least it looks like everyone is alright," noted Yang as her scroll suddenly began beeping, indicating a call.
"Blake," said Yang, more than a little surprised that she was currently getting reception and at the face greeting her on the other side of the screen.
"Yang, Aegis!" Said a surprised, worried but now somewhat happy Blake, "is everyone alright? Where are you?"
"You could say we're on the tip of Atlas," replied Aegis, "more or less where the bright, shiny light was. As far as okay goes, well-."
"We took a bit of a beating," said Jaune as he walked over with Wayne right beside him, "but otherwise we're alright." He glanced over where Ren was helping Oscar up.
"What about you guys," asked Wayne, "I know you were looking for a safe place to hole up, but that's it."
"We're all alive," said Blake, "it's been a little rough, but hearing you're all okay will help, one second. Guys! They're okay, even Wayne's there!" The sound of several excited voices could be heard in the background then and Wayne could tell it would take a minute for them to sort things out, which in this case was good as he caught sight of another survivor, and frowned. It was Emerald, and currently she was kneeling on the ground, looking like she'd just lost a friend, likely Hazel.
"What should we do about her?" Questioned Oscar as he straightened up and placed his cane back on his belt.
"Aegis said she was with us now," said Wayne as he approached Oscar and Ren, "we don't have a lot of time so what's the slightly expanded version of that?"
"Well, once Hazel learned the truth about what Salem was intending," explained Oscar, "he decided to get me and Emerald out of there before going after the lamp. I got no idea what happened to it but I can tell you Emerald didn't do anything with it because she was casting an illusion to hide me from Salem. She even helped us find the way out and Salem wasn't too pleased about it when she showed up."
"So you think she's accepted the truth of the Witch's intentions then?" Questioned Wayne.
"Even if she hasn't, Salem still thinks Emerald might have stolen the lamp," replied Oscar, "even Cinder wouldn't be able to protect her now, so there's no going back to Salem's faction for her."
"Hmm, it's a start," said Wayne as he approached the kneeling girl who looked up at him with a mournful expression on her face. This would be the second time Wayne had seen it as he removed his helmet, ensuring that she was looking him in the eye. "We need to go. Hazel's sacrifice will have been in vain if we don't escape now." He held out his hand then.
Emerald took it hesitantly as he pulled her to her feet and steered her towards the rest of his friends. "It looks like you guys are in the agricultural section," said Weiss's voice over the scroll, "I'm sending you a map. Just head to this access point that leads into the redline subway tunnel and then follow the route I've drawn out for you."
"Got it, we'll see you soon," said Jaune as Yang held her scroll up more, making sure she got everyone but Emerald in the shot so that her friends could give them a quick wave. Then they proceeded quickly to the subway access tunnel per the instructions sent to them. And it was after a few minutes of walking and a quick discussion, that Yang decided to bring up their one little issue.
A Short Time Later: Atlas Subway Tunnels
"You are not being serious right now," said Yang, still helping Aegis stay steady as the rest of the group proceeded down the subway tunnel, "you want us to work with her?"
"It just makes the most sense," explained Oscar, "we're all enemies of Salem and, as of over an hour ago, so is she?"
"No I'm with blondie," said Emerald as she walked forward with her hands held up. Wayne had his left hand on her shoulder while his Crescent Fang was currently in her back. The setup had been his idea, taking her scroll and tossing it to avoid possible tracking of her location while Aegis and Yang were carrying her weapons. Ren and Jaune also had their weapons out, keeping on guard while they lit the way with the lights on their scrolls. Wayne had made it very clear that if he felt her aura flare even the slightest bit, he'd unload his whole clip into her and then some.
"You don't like me, I don't like you," continued Emerald, "so let's just got our separate ways and we'll never have to see each other again."
"You're not going anywhere," said Jaune as he raised his sword a bit, "you think we're just gonna let you go after everything you've done?"
"While I agree we shouldn't risk that," said Ren, "we can't let all of our actions stem from fear. If the possibility exists that she could help us, we should at least consider it."
"She is part of the reason I have this," said Yang as she held her mechanical arm up, "you think I can just forgive her? Everything that happened at Beacon is partly her fault. She lied to us, tricked us and we have little reason to believe she won't do it again. She's dangerous!" 'But unlike that time, she's afraid,' thought Ren as his semblance allowed him to see the purple swirling of her emotions.
"I'm not asking you to forgive her," said Oscar, "you have every reason to feel the way you do. But maybe consider giving her a second chance. I mean, we've already gotten quite a bit of help today from someone we've recently lost trust in."
"You mean Ozpin, don't you," said Ren, surprising Oscar whose expression revealed that the martial artist had hit the nail on the head, "I had a feeling."
"Wait, say what now," questioned Aegis as he and the others stopped for a moment.
"Did you just say Oz is back," said Jaune with more than a hint of surprise.
"I know how you all feel about him," said Oscar as he raised his hands, "but he saved my life. He took the torture Salem and Hazel put me through, so I wouldn't have too." He pulled his cane from his belt then, extending it as he continued his explanation. "He also entrusted me with this and the massive amount of power he had stored up in it. He accumulated kinetic energy through lifetime after lifetime, building it up in the cane he constructed."
"So that's how you, uh, magically nuked the whale," said Jaune, "you used all that stored up power."
"Not quite all of it," said Oscar as he looked at the cane, "but most of it. We have to be careful with how we use the rest. He was willing to trust my judgement and it saved us. I know there's a lot to sort out, but I want to reciprocate that trust Oz gave us because he really does want to help."
"Well it was certainly a step in the right direction," said Wayne, speaking for the first time in a while, "so I'll at least hear what he has to say when he feels like talking."
"There's the nice guy," said Emerald, "I was starting to wonder if you were gonna do the silent treatment the whole way. Since we're on the subject, what are your thoughts on letting me go? Not sure if I ever mentioned it but it's impossible to tell what you're thinking when you do the stoney face routine."
"Obviously not happening," said Wayne as he pushed her along, signaling for the others to begin walking once more, "or at the very least not until I'm certain you wouldn't be able to follow us later on."
"Hey I just want to get as far away from Salem as possible," said Emerald with a shrug, "I would've hoped the help I gave your friends and my near torture at her hands was enough of an indication that I-oh right you showed up after that part. Look, the point is I know you're right now and I no longer have any reason to want to hurt you guys, even if Cinder asked me too."
"Which is why you should consider sticking with us, actually," said Wayne, "because if you'll recall, you're wanted by basically the entire world for just Beacon or Haven alone and now you're on the run from Salem too on a kingdom suspended in the air with Grimm swirling around both above and below it. More to the point, if Salem does get what she wants, nowhere in the world will be safe."
"I mean, you guys can stop her though, right," said Emerald, "you did just trade blows with her and blast apart Monstra. So once the Atlesian forces get reorganized, you can all work on taking her down together."
"Guess you didn't see the whole message from Amity or the wanted posters," said Wayne, "General Ironwood ain't exactly in his right mind at the moment. He's abandoned Mantle and that hasn't exactly sat right with me, Ruby and the others. So as of yesterday you and us have something in common, we're fugitives too."
"Ironwood's got it out for all of you!" Emerald practically exclaimed, "shit, I knew Salem was good at turning people against each other but this, this is just-."
"A bit on the insane side admittedly," said Wayne, "but I'm sure Weiss and the others have already come up with at least something."
"Your faith in them is astounding," said Emerald, "then again, you believed in me once too."
"Funny thing about that," said Wayne, "I actually want to be able to trust you again." This caught Emerald by surprise.
"What, I thought you hated me," said Emerald, "no you should hate me. Sure I lied to everyone, I tricked everyone and tried to kill them on a few occasions, but I broke your heart. I should be at least top five on your shit list so what's the deal?"
"Oh believe me I tried," said Wayne, "I envisioned your face on countless training dummies while ripping them to shreds and ran what you did through my mind nearly every time I used the aura shadow. But I realized something recently, I just couldn't bring myself to outright hate you even despite everything you've done."
"Jeez, all this time and you don't hate me," said Emerald, "are you, are you some kind of hopeless romantic?"
"I'm spoken for, actually," said Wayne, "and I've honestly kept her waiting longer than I've wanted too. Whatever ship we could've had sailed back at Beacon. No, the reason I want to trust you is I know you aren't a bloodthirsty maniac like the others."
"How'd you come up with that idea," said Emerald, "my hands are far from clean ya know."
"Simple," replied Wayne, "when all the other baddies were smiling and laughing at the death and destruction they'd brought about at Beacon, you weren't." The green-haired girl took a bit to contemplate his words as they continued to walk. About the same time this was happening, Oscar decided to pull back a bit until he was walking next to Yang and Aegis.
"So I know you guys have some kind of history with her," said Oscar, "but I can't help but notice the air around Emerald and Wayne is a bit different."
"Tch, that's putting it mildly," said Aegis, "their relationship is a bit more personal."
"Were they, uh, a thing at one point?" Questioned Oscar, trying to whisper so that Wayne wouldn't hear him.
"Very nearly, at least that's what we thought at first," said Yang with a little venom in her voice, "Wayne got a whiff of her and her team and thought they smelled funny, like blood on their hands funny. As it turned out, she'd infiltrated Beacon with Cinder, Mercury and Neopolitan so they could find the vault, the maiden and plant a virus in the Atlesian androids. During that time Emerald approached us at one point and pretended to be our friend, though for whatever reason she was especially friendly with Wayne."
"I was happy for him too," said Aegis, "my brother had never had a girlfriend in his life up 'til that point and she seemed like a good fit for him. I'm not sure if words can really describe how wrong we were on that when the fall of Beacon came and he and her wound up exchanging blows. He won, but he let her escape because he felt he needed to prioritize Cinder, but by then it was too late."
"Wow," said Oscar, "no wonder he seemed a bit pissed to see her back at Haven. Are we sure we should be letting him keep a gun in her back?"
"If he hasn't shot her yet then he won't unless she gives him a reason too," said Yang, "Wayne's been working to master himself for a while now, so he won't let himself slip over something like this. I can't make the same promise."
"Then let's just start with getting back to our friends first," said Oscar, relatively sure he'd asked enough personal questions for the moment. At the same time, Emerald couldn't help but comment on said history.
"They really think you can't hear them back there," quipped Emerald, "if I can catch a snippet or two of that conversation, then you can probably hear it in surround sound."
"You know me Emerald," said Wayne with a shrug, "I'm too modest to boast. But I can't fault Oscar for not wanting to ask me directly given that one might call it a sensitive subj….weapons up everyone!" The sudden announcement caught everyone by surprise as Wayne holstered his weapon but kept his hand on Emerald's shoulder.
"What's going on," asked Jaune as he hesitantly sheathed his sword.
"Just want to avoid causing any more panic," said Wayne as they entered one of the subway's stations, "the folks here have got enough to worry about already." The group quickly saw what he meant as they entered a more lit part of the station where a mass of people were gathered on both sides of the tracks. They all walked forward slowly, taking note of the sheer number of worried looks as the tunnel shook slightly and the lights flickered from the impact of another bombing run by the Atlesian military. All the people down here, were the citizens of Atlas. And they were fearing for their lives right now.
Emerald tried to look down, attempting to avoid the sight before them but Wayne was quick to put a stop to that. "Don't avert your eyes," said Wayne, "take a good look. This is the kind of thing Salem does to get what she wants and if she succeeds, it'll be far worse than this."
"And I've seen what you can do, Emerald," added Oscar as he walked up next to them, "however this fight ends, we could really use your help." The green-haired girl hugged herself, a million thoughts going through her mind as they entered into the next tunnel.
Some Time Later: The Schnee Manor
'Here we are,' thought Wayne as they walked down the large stoney path to the front of the mansion, 'somehow seeing it again, it feels like we've been at this for a long time.' But whatever fatigue he was feeling vanished the moment the doors opened to reveal Blake, Ruby, and Weiss. "YANG," cheered Ruby as she ran to her sister, tears of joy in her eyes as she tackled her hard enough with a hug that it spun them both around.
"I missed you too," said Yang as she also accepted a hug from Blake. By this point, Aegis had healed enough to stand and walk on his own, allowing the blond brawler to take as much time as she needed to embrace her teammates because, at long last, team RWBY was reunited once again.
"Could you watch her for a moment," Wayne asked Ren as he finally let go of his charge and approached Weiss. And while he did so calmly the moment the ex-heiress caught sight of him, she broke into a run.
"WAYNE!" Cried Weiss as she practically charged the Elder Ursario brother who responded by picking her up and spinning her around. She didn't waste any time in pulling him in for a passionate kiss the moment her feet hit the ground. It would last for more than a few moments before they finally separated long enough for Weiss to speak. "You made it back, you really made it back."
"Sorry for the wait, had a few minor complications," said Wayne as he rested his head against hers, wiping her own tears of joy from her eyes, "I had a good landing strategy but not the best aim, though most who saw it would call it a good shot."
"Well you can tell me all about it once we get ins-what is she doing here?!" Exclaimed Weiss before backing up and reaching for her weapon with Ruby and Blake mirroring her actions.
"No wait!" Exclaimed Oscar as he moved in front of Emerald, "she's okay, I can vouch for her."
"You can vouch for her," questioned Ruby with a raised eyebrow while Weiss turned her attention to Wayne.
"Hey it wasn't my idea to bring her along, mostly," said Wayne with his hands held up defensively, "but I promise we got a good explana-RING." The sound of everyone's scroll ringing stopped any further discussion as they pulled them out to see that May was calling them.
"Kids, we got a situation," she said as her image popped up on Ruby's scroll, "the cargo ships you sent made it but they're not alone."
"Slow down May," said Ruby, "what's going on, what's happening?" Unfortunately, May was distracted by something else they couldn't see off camera.
"Oh no, everyone run! Get to the mines now!" Yelled May as the transmission was cut off abruptly. Before anyone could really question what was happening, they were given an answer in the form of an alarm going off on their scrolls which hurt more than a couple of ears. Ruby was quick to use the large projection feature on her scroll so that everyone could see what was going on.
"This is an emergency broadcast from the CCT," said an automated female voice as a live feed came up of the ships Weiss had sent out from the Schnee Dust Company. They weren't airborne long as several Atlesian fighters assaulted them, quickly knocking them out of the sky.
"What's going on?" Questioned Yang, voicing the question for everyone who didn't know about the ships.
"Those ships," said Weiss in disbelief, "they were SDC freighters we sent to save people down in Mantle." The image changed then to that of General Ironwood, his visage marred by a dark room as he spoke.
"I have promised to defend this kingdom," said Ironwood, "and to protect its people, its technology, its very future from those who would see it destroyed. Recently, our enemy was dealt a crippling blow and now we stand a chance of survival. But, one individual still denies Atlas total salvation, the one you know as the Protector of Mantle. Penny, wherever you and your friends are, I need you all to listen carefully. I know how much Mantle means to all of you, so I'm going to give you a choice. You can come to Atlas Academy, do your duty and help me save as much of Atlas as can be saved at this point while Mantle shall be left to fend for itself. Or, you and your friends can all watch as I destroy what's left of it."
This garnered a number of reactions from Ruby and the others from shock, to horror, to outright rage as the General continued. "I have in my possession, a bomb, and that one bomb is all it will take. If Mantle is no more, then you will no longer have a reason not to work with me. Naturally, neither of us want it to come to that, but one of us is willing to do it. If anyone tries anything other than what I've specifically ordered, then Mantle is gone. You have one hour to respond, so I hope you live up to the title that I gave you."
With that, the transmission ended. Their moment of triumph over Salem was now overshadowed by the still very present threat of a madman. And he'd just given them an ultimatum.
And so, our hero's happy reunion is cut short by the demands of the now very insane Ironwood. What will their next move be? And while we wait, feel free to leave a comment or review about what you liked/disliked or if you've got any neat ideas for future chapters. Be sure to stop in next time as our heroes work out their next step, and a few other issues. 'Til then.