Chapter 47
"Glad to see you guys!" Jaune called out as Pyrrha and Nora landed, followed moments later by Qrow.
Pyrrha smiled as they approached and wiped her brow. "Good to see you too! How's it going here?"
"Lots of waiting." Jaune replied with a smile.
Oscar held a hand up to his ear, his face concerned. "Ruby? Do you copy? Did you get the tower down? Ruby?" He looked over to them. "She's not answering."
"W-what?" Jaune stammered, his blood running cold.
As Jaune let out a worried whine the stolen Manta came into view. It had gone out of range and was coming back to pick them up. Jaune swallowed.
Ruby will be fine. I know it! She's strong… it didn't stop him from worrying, however.
The ground shook, causing them all to stumble. As they looked between each other, wondering what had occurred, a beam of golden energy flew through the air, narrowly missing the Manta.
"What!?" Jaune yelled, turning to look at the beam's origin.
"What the hell is that thing!?" Oscar asked. Jaune had no answer.
A massive, human-ish shaped thing of metal stomped around the coast. It didn't have a head and only one human arm. The other was a gigantic barrel.
"Damn you brats! You've insulted not only me but all of Atlas! I'll punish you myself!" Cordovin's voice filled the area, booming from the machine in front of them. It reminded him of some cartoons he watched as a kid, but that had been fantasy! Mechs can't exist in reality, right?
But Atlas had already proven that wrong, hadn't they? RWBY had battled a Paladin and that was basically a mech. Cordovin's was just a much larger version. That cannon looked deadlier too.
Jaune gulped. How could they beat it? They didn't have any heavy weapons aside from Pyrrha…
"Pyrrha! We have to rely on you for this!" He said, rushing forward and laying a hand on her shoulder. His form glowed a bright white as he poured Aura into Pyrrha.
She nodded and raised her arms.
I'm almost out of Aura. Even with Jaune's boost, this is going to be tough. Pyrrha thought as her arms glowed with a black aura. She reached out with her mind to touch the mech as it stormed closer to them. It fired another beam of lightning at the Manta, which barely dodged in time.
She felt the massive machine and searched for something to break within it. She finally found something to disconnect. It felt like the engine. If she broke it the machine would stop working, but doing so wouldn't gain them any friends. It was still a major source of defence for Argus after all.
She had to disable it without breaking it. That way they could leave without putting Argus in harm's way. The ground shook as another beam slammed into the rock near them. Pyrrha closed her eyes to concentrate on the mech.
But her Semblance wasn't enough!
Nothing was moving as she commanded it! What could she do? If her Semblance wasn't going to work!?
But she didn't just have her Semblance, did she?
Pyrrha reached deep within herself, to the power she had taken from Amber. But how to use it? As she pondered she felt another presence. Or the echo of one. An echoing voice filled her mind, although she couldn't understand any words. But yet the intent became clear and Pyrrha followed it. The presence faded but it had already shown her how to use the Maiden power to fuel her Semblance!
Thank you, Amber. She wasn't sure how, but for a split moment, the woman had appeared in her mind, helping her. Pyrrha still knew nothing about who Amber had been. One day I'll find out, so that we can help you find rest.
There wasn't a response, but Pyrrha didn't need one. She followed the echo's instructions and poured magic into her Semblance.
Her whole form began to take on a black glow. Jaune let out a noise of surprise. Cordovin's mech became surrounded by the same black energy. With a roar Pyrrha pulled her arms back, causing her Semblance to pull on the internal systems of the mech. Its engine came to a halt.
Within moments the mech came to a stop. It would take a while to fix normally, enough time for them to escape.
Pyrrha looked around. While she had been focusing it had caused plenty of damage to the surrounding area. Pillars of rock and ice littered the ground and the Manta had been forced to land after a blast of lightning had short-circuited the shuttle.
Everyone looked alright though. Low Aura but no real injuries. She'd had to deplete most of her energy, however.
Pyrrha sunk back into Jaune's arms, too weak to stand in her own.
A loud siren sounded out a moment later, filling everyone with dread.
"I can't believe he's gone…" Ilia said, still staring down at the river.
"Yeah…" Ruby replied. "So, you need to figure out what you want to do."
"Huh?" Ilia turned to her.
"My friends sound like they need help. You can join us if you want. Become a Huntress or something. Or you can go do whatever. I don't care."
"I…" she paused. "Blake left the White Fang to become a Huntress. I don't know my path yet, so I'm going to see if she had the right idea."
"Are you sure? Being with us will paint a target on your back. Those that helped Adam bring down Beacon are after us." Ruby said while she stretched a little. Her body hurt all over now and a headache had formed. Probably the start of a migraine actually.
"I understand that. I'm sure that if Blake was in my place she'd be okay with taking on that threat as well. The White Fang failed to do anything to better the Faunus. Maybe I can do something as a Huntress. If it doesn't work out I can always return to Menagerie." Ilia replied. Her voice was resolute.
Ruby scanned her for a moment. There was no hint of lies or deception. No hint of weak resolve either. She was serious about this and was ready to take on whatever was coming for them. Well then. I can see why you were friends with Blake.
"Alright then. We need to catch up to the others and fast. Something has-"
A siren cut through her sentence. It was the kind that only occurred during a Grimm attack.
"We need to hurry."
"W-what!?" Cordovin shouted. Her speakers still worked, so it must have some backup generators. "Grimm are coming?"
"Grimm?" Qrow groaned as their Manta lifted off again. Maria and Taiyang must have gotten it working again. Jaune thought.
He was still boosting Pyrrha's Aura. She was drained pretty heavily after disabling the mech. He bit his lower lip and then came to a decision.
"Cordovin! We just wanted to get to Atlas! We didn't want to have to fight! But what's done is done! Let's make a deal! We'll fix your mech and help beat back the Grimm and in return, you'll let us go on to Atlas! It's your job to protect Argus but you can't do that like this! Do we have a deal?!" He shouted out, hoping it would get through to her.
For several long moments, the only thing that could be heard was the siren. Eventually, however, she responded.
"Deal." That was all. He'd take it though.
"Pyrrha, can you fix it?"
"Y-yes. I probably won't be able to fight for a while though…" She swallowed and focused again. Jaune poured as much of his own power into her as he could, trying to lighten her load even a little bit.
Seconds later the giant began to move once more. For a moment Jaune thought she'd attack them again, but she turned and headed back towards Argus. He let out a sigh of relief.
"We should get a move on." Oscar said as he rushed over to help Jaune lift up Pyrrha. She'd used up all her strength and was now pretty weak.
They quickly piled into the Manta and took off.
"How's it looking in Argus?" Jaune asked Tai.
"A massive Grimm showed up. That's what they're saying on the com anyway." He replied.
Jaune lay Pyrrha down in the back and rushed up to the cockpit. "Let's pick up Ruby and then go help out! We don't have long!"
"Righto!" Maria announced. The Manta rocked as it took off. Trees flew by the window as they sped by.
Jaune touched his earpiece mic. "Ruby! Do you copy? We need you!"
"Jaune! This is Ruby! Sorry I… I had to fight Adam. He's dealt with but I need pick up. I'm near a waterfall just uhh... just south of the tower!"
"Alright! We'll be there in just a minute!"
"See you soon then."
The Manta came to a stop in front of them. Ruby hobbled in, using Crescent Rose as a crutch. Ilia helped her up onto the shuttle. Weapons were immediately aimed at the Faunus girl, who froze instantly.
"She's swapped sides. She's with us now." Ruby said, waving their weapons away. It took a moment but they all complied. The Manta lifted off a moment later. "So, what did I miss?"
Jaune gave her the rundown of Cordovin, her mech and the Grimm attack. Ruby nodded along. "Alright." She replied. "Let's see what's happening."
They flew out over the ocean and got a good look at the situation. Manticore's and Sphinxes flew through the air battling Manta's. An enormous Grimm was locked in a ranged battle with Cordovin's mecha. It had some form of breath attack that was countering Cordovin's Dust beams.
The Grimm reminded her of giant monster movies. How are they usually beaten in those movies? If she recalled correctly it depended on who made it. Atlesian's had the military win with superior technology. Mistral won using the environment to trap it and then finished it off. Vacuo always banded together to kill the beasts. Vale though… it went one of two ways in Vale. Another giant monster, or a team of highly skilled Huntsmen who unlocked some special ability that allowed them to weaken or kill the monster.
Wait… was that just Silver Eyes? Ozpin might have something to do with that… that gave her an idea, however. "Maria. Get us in close to the big one. I'll use my Silver Eyes on it."
"Are you sure?" She asked. Ruby nodded. Maria seemed to accept that and brought them in.
Ruby opened one of the side doors. Wind whipped up around them, blowing her hair into her face. She ignored it and began to concentrate.
Protect life. I want to protect my friends!
Almost unbidden memories came to the forefront. Memories of those she wished to protect. Jaune, Ren, Pyrrha, Nora, Qrow, Tai, Maria, Zwei! But then it switched against her will. Memories of death filled her mind instead. Weiss falling, Yang fighting the horde, Blake impaled, Penny decapitated.
Her eyes flickered with power for a moment but then died. Seemingly sensing her attempt the massive Grimm turned to face them. "Jinn!" She yelled reflexively.
Time stopped as the blue woman appeared in front of her.
"Well hello again, little Rose. How may I help you today?"
"I… I'm sorry. I don't want to use a question." She forced out. "I wanted more time to try and…" Ruby couldn't finish. The memories were still raw in her mind. Were her cheeks wet as well?
Jinn looked down at her with a sad expression. "Oh, child. I understand. I wish I could help with that. I will wish you luck, though do know that I won't allow you to summon me again without asking a question."
"I understand. Thank you…"
Jinn vanished and time slowly ground to a start. Ruby focused and tried to use that time to activate her eyes.
She thought of all the good times she had enjoyed with her friends.
She thought of the lazy days with Yang so many years ago.
She thought of her mother, baking cookies and reading to her at bedtime.
But it all came crashing down. Every memory became tainted by death and pain. Tears flowed from her eyes as time resumed and the Manta barely dodged out of the way of the breath attack. Everyone stumbled around from Maria's quick dodge and a few fell to the floor.
Ruby stumbled to the side, a little away from the open door. Jaune was there in an instant, checking on her. "Are you okay!?" He asked.
"I… I couldn't do it! Damn it!"
She might have failed, but her actions had still changed things. They watched as Cordovin used the Grimm's attack on them against it. She rushed forward, the humanoid arm changing into a massive drill. The Grimm turned to face the mecha.
Their battle had shifted from long range to close range and the mech shined there. The Grimm had no way to counter the drill as it slammed into its stomach. With a loud whirring sound, it dug into the monster's flesh and into its heart.
After a few seconds of violent drilling, the beast fell back into the ocean, dead. The Manticore's and Sphinxes were still there, but they were dwindling. The Atlesian forces were winning.
They weren't needed here.
I… I failed… I didn't do anything of value here…
Ruby shut the door and collapsed against the wall. Part of her wanted to blame her failure on being weak after fighting Adam, but that was wrong. She'd failed to use her eyes because her desire to protect was tainted.
What she wanted to protect was gone. Dead. Everything else just brought her back to that.
She didn't want to protect, she wanted vengeance. She wanted to kill those who were responsible! But despite that desire…
She didn't feel much over Adam's death.
Maybe it was because she wasn't 100% he was dead? Or was what they said about revenge true? Was it not fulfilling? Maybe she was just in too much shock or it had been ruined by… something.
That was it! She hadn't felt much over his death because she didn't have time to take it in! Once they had time to rest she could celebrate!
Yeah, what am I talking about? I shouldn't try to hide… I'll figure this out later though. For now, we have to focus on getting to Atlas.
"Cordovin just called." Her father said from the copilot seat. "She told us to go. She'll finish up here."
"Then let's go." Jaune replied.
The ride was mostly quiet. Everyone had gone into their own little groups. Ruby and Zwei were in a corner, Jaune and Pyrrha sat next to each other in another. Ren and Nora doing the same over at the other end. Oscar near the front talking with Taiyang and Maria while Qrow was near them, looking at his flask.
Ilia wasn't really sure where she belonged. She'd just joined after having fought them at Haven. Should she sit with Ruby? Or give her space? The girl looked to be in her own head right now and probably didn't want to be interrupted. But if not Ruby then who else?
Out of the other three groups, two looked like couples and the other didn't have much space for her to insert herself comfortably.
Basically, she was an outsider.
Nothing new there then. She thought with a groan. This would be different though. None of them cared that she was a Faunus, so it was instantly much better than her time in Atlas before.
Ilia sighed and sat next to Ruby, with a few feet in between them. Close enough to show her support, but far enough not to intrude. Ruby seemed to notice but didn't mention it so Ilia settled in for the long haul. Zwei just gave her a happy look. She smiled back and gave him a pat when he came over to sit with her.
She hoped she'd made the right choice.
A/N: Sometimes I feel really bad about what I throw at Ruby. She's had such a hard time in this fic. Things just haven't gone her way. Maybe that'll change though. We can only hope! The Colossus really can't do much against Pyrrha, can it? I mean really, a mech vs someone with polarity? The game was rigged from the start! But hey, at least Ilia is along for the ride now. With her on board, they're actually back up to the same numbers as in canon, with Tai, Pyrrha and Ilia taking over for Yang, Weiss and Blake. There's even some crossover between those with there being brawlers, swordswomen and sneaky Faunus. That was actually unintentional and something I only just realised. Wow. Anyway onwards to Atlas! I have big plans for the next two volumes worth of content.
Oh and if you got multiple alerts I've just gone back to a couple of previous chapters and changed some formatting.
I hope you all enjoyed and I'll see you next time!