I built my own pc recently and I'm really liking it, is much more comfortable to write with a keyboard than on a laptop.
The sun beamed down, a summer breeze causing Mother Sable's cloak to flutter around her. She exhaled, grasping her pendant, of Her holy Eye.
She had succeeded. Finally, there were other Children beside herself. Ones who were able to handle the holy Lifeblood.
Mother Sable turned, looking out over the village. It was a small, situated next to a lake, a rickety pier at its edge. The Children were dragging the bodies of those who the Lifeblood rejected into a pile, hefting them onto one another. Their veins had turned black, the whites of their eyes changed to the color of ink.
One of the Children, an older man, moved away from the corpse pile, walking over to her. He bowed his head, clutching his pendant. "You have shown us the path to salvation, but there is nothing left for us here, and the cold months are coming. Mother Sable, what would our Mother have us do?"
She looked toward the horizon, at the distant mountains where Atlas City rested. She smiled. "We must spread the good word to those in the city, we cannot let it rest here in the frontiers."
Ruby hopped in place as she waited in line, a large smile on her face. The souvenir shop at the train station was crowded, people bustling about as they looked at the various nick knacks and clothes scattered throughout. A tv was playing the news behind the cash register.
"The damages caused by the attack on Haven Academy three months ago has seemingly been fully repaired and the school is expected to open for the remainder of the semester. The Chief of Menagarie, one Hōzuki Ghira, has petitioned for the island nation to be recognized as the Fifth Kingdom due to the Menagarie militia thwarting the White Fang from destroying the academy and for their involvement in its reconstruction. The Mistral Council is expected to contact the Vale and Vacuo council and decide on the matter, as Atlas' border remains closed and refuses to make contact with the rest of Remnant."
"In the wake of the attack, Headmaster Lionheart has stepped down, and the Council is still deliberating on who shall replace him. The White Fang has reportedly elected a new leader as well, though their identity has not been revealed to the public."
Ruby stepped up to the counter, setting the bracelets down for the cashier to ring up. They rung them up, a glazed over look in their eyes as they worked.
"Comes out to twenty-five lien," they said. Ruby pulled out her wallet and handed them the money. They took it, handed back the change, and bagged the bracelets. Ruby snatched it up, sprinting out of the store, leaving a trail of rose petals behind her as she zoomed back to her friends.
Weiss was sitting on one of the bench's, white stockings covering her legs, and a red scarf wrapped around her neck. Her once short hair now rested against her shoulders. Oscar sat on the other side of the bench, his chin resting on his hand as he looked out over the platform. Nora sat next to Weiss, leaning over the seat to talk to Ren. Pyrrha sat next to him. Her hair had grown out, falling well past her shoulders, the eyepatch she wore being covered mostly by her hair. Yang stood next to the bench, talking with Weiss.
Ruby slid to a halt, beaming as her cape and the flower petals fluttered past her. The group looked at her, Weiss giving an annoyed look at the rose petals falling onto her lap. Ruby held up the souvenir bag, shaking it.
"Whathca get us?" Yang asked.
Ruby flipped the bag over, grabbing the bracelets as they fell, and holding them aloft. "Friendship bracelets!" she exclaimed. There were four of them; red, white, black, and yellow. "I thought that since we're together again that we should have something that shows that." She held out the black one to Yang.
Yang cocked an eyebrow. "Shouldn't Weiss get the black one? Since Blake's her girlfriend?"
"She is, but you're Blake's partner, and I thought it would work better that way." Ruby said. Yang shrugged and took the bracelet, slipping it on.
Ruby went to Weiss, holding out the red one. Weiss took it, slipping it on and looking it over. Weiss frowned, and held her wrist up, feigning an annoyed look. "This shade of red isn't the same as my scarf, get me a different one." Ruby snickered and Weiss started to giggle, lowering her wrist back down. "Thank you, Ruby, it's lovely."
"Thanks, Weiss." Ruby slipped the white bracelet on. She held out the yellow bracelet to Yang, who cocked her head. "Give this one to Blake when she gets back, I need to go do something." Yang nodded and took it.
Ivory sipped from her tea as she sat at the table, watching the crowds as they moved throughout the train station. There was a red blur, and rose petals fell all over the table as Ruby took the spot next to her.
"Sorry I'm late, I had to go get some stuff, and then I had to go drop that stuff off and-"
"It's alright," Ivory said with a laugh. She set her tea down, smiling at her niece. "Thank you for coming by. It… it really means a lot to me that you would come say goodbye to me."
"Why wouldn't I? You're my aunt, and you've let us stay with you this entire time. You even brought us food when we were helping rebuild Haven." Ruby said.
Ivory shrugged, Summer's face flashing through her mind as she looked at Ruby. "It just means a lot to me. Promise you'll come and see me once this is all over?"
Ruby nodded, and flashed her a smile, her rose necklace shifting. "I'll come back, Aunt Ivory, you can count on that." Ruby reached over the table, embracing her. Ivory hugged her back, nestling her head against her niece's shoulder.
Ivory pulled back after a moment, pulling out a book from her bag. "Weiss wanted this, I forgot to give it to her before you all left, could you give it to her?" she asked. Ruby cocked her head as she looked at it. "She said she wanted to give it to Blake as a gift, so try to be discrete with it." Ruby nodded and took it.
Ivory looked up as a voice chimed over the intercom. "Please begin boarding for the Argus Express. Repeat, please begin boarding for the Argus express."
Ruby got up from the table, and gave Ivory one last hug before running off, flashing a smile as she left. Ivory smiled back, waving as Ruby disappeared from her sight.
Blake held her family's sword out to Ilia, the handle facing her. Ilia hesitantly took it, pressing it against her chest.
"Are you sure you don't want to stay and help the White Fang? With your mom in charge, I don't think it will take too long getting the rest of Adam's followers under control." Ilia said.
Blake shook her head. "My team needs me, and the White Fang in Atlas need to learn about what's happened to Sienna."
Ilia embraced her, Peace Bringer digging against Blake's chest as Ilia rested her head on her shoulder.
"Please be safe."
Blake hugged her back. "I will be."
"Thank you." Ilia tightened the hug. "For scaring me straight."
"I didn't think that was possible."
Ilia laughed. "You know what I mean." Ilia pulled back, breaking the hug. She smiled. "I'll make sure this finds its way back to Menagarie." She said. Blake smiled, Ilia smiling back before turning and leaving.
Blake's vision was obscured as a pair of hands covered her face.
"Guess who?" Sun teased.
Blake smirked. "Is it a dashing pair of criminals come to say goodbye to their ex-terrorist friend?" Sun pulled his hands free, and Blake turned, resting a hand on her hip as she looked at Sun and Neptune.
"Man, she's good at this," Sun said.
"I assume you two have already scouted out which one you're going to train hop on?"
"Naturally. You don't get as good at hitchhiking as we have without pre-planning." Neptune said.
"You're sure you don't want to stick around here and help out with the White Fang?" Blake asked. She looked at Neptune. "Humans are welcome to join after all."
"Appreciate the offer but we were wanting to get a little r and r."
"And what better place than Vacuo! The sand! The food! The lack of crazy world ending wackos!"
Blake chuckled. "Just have to deal with all the Grimm, and bandits," she said.
Sun waved a hand. "Pssh, like that's any different than anywhere else on Remnant."
Blake's ears perked up as a voice spoke over the intercom. "Please begin boarding for the Argus express. Repeat, please begin boarding for the Argus express."
Blake rested her hands in front of her. "So, I guess this is goodbye."
"Only for right now."
"Yeah! You'll see us again someday."
Blake embraced the two of them, closing her eyes and smiling. "Thank you. I… I really don't know where I would be right now if it wasn't for you two." She felt Sun and Neptune's arms wrap around her, and she nuzzled her head against their shoulders. "I'm going to miss you guys."
"We'll miss you too."
Ironwood turned in his chair, facing the door to his office. He checked his watch, should be arriving any minute. A few seconds passed before there was a knock at the door. "Enter," he said. The door opened, and Harriet entered, standing at attention, and saluting him. "At ease," he said.
Harriet shut the door, heading to his desk, placing a scroll before him. He picked it up, turning it on, and starting to flip through the pictures. A large corpse pile had started to rot, the bodies bloated. Scavengers had picked at some of the bodies, many of their faces to far gone to recognize.
"I investigated the village of Temnota like you asked, sir. We didn't find any signs of a Grimm attack, and it's too far out to have been raiders or bandits. There was still food and red Dust in the houses, and we tested the water and found nothing odd with it. We're not entirely sure what caused all of those people to die, or who set their bodies up like that," she said.
He swiped through the pictures of the village and froze. A pendant of Salem's Eye sat on a table in one of the abandoned homes. He swiped back to the corpse pile. Many of the bodies were hard to make out amongst the rot but several wore the same pendants.
"Lieutenant Bree," he set the scroll down, and turned it toward her, motioning toward it. "Have you seen this symbol anywhere else in Atlas? Any of the other frontier villages?" he asked. She looked it over before nodding.
"A subordinate talked to me about seeing something like it back in the slums of Mantle. I went to investigate it on my own time, and while I found some graffiti with that symbol, the area it was at seemed abandoned, and I didn't bother to think much of it."
"I see." He collapsed the scroll and moved it toward her. She pocketed it. "You're dismissed." He said.
"Aye, sir." She about faced, and left his office, shutting the door behind her.
He left his chair, going to the large window behind his office. He rested an arm against it, looking out over the expanse of Atlas. Farmlands stretched out as far as he could see, fields of green and brown squares. A grimy haze sat over the base of the mountains, where Mantle spiderwebbed from the mountain. Atlas City was built into the mountain itself, it's towering art deco skyscrapers and towers sticking out across the mountain.
He reached under his uniform, running his thumb over the Brother's Cross he wore.
The people of Atlas will hate me for this. But this is for the good of the kingdom, and they will see that one day.
Whitley grasped the hand of the CEO of the Sauber Toothpaste Company. He faked a smile for the old man as they shook hands.
"With the green Dust your company will be providing, we'll be able to greatly increase the effectiveness of our products. With this embargo it has been hard finding a new Dust partner, we deeply appreciate what the SDC is willing to do for us."
"Think nothing of it, the people of Atlas need to stay healthy, after all." He said. The CEO grinned, and Whitley broke the handshake. The CEO left, and Whitley took his seat at his desk, exhaling.
Atlas mainly produces blue and yellow; we need more smugglers from Mistral if we're going to meet those green quotas. He rubbed his chin, feeling the goatee forming. And if this embargo goes on much longer there won't be any red Dust left in Atlas, the smugglers from Vacuo won't be able keep up with our heating demands once winter comes.
His scroll started to vibrate, and he pulled it out, cocking an eyebrow as he opened it. General Ironwood's face took up the screen, an Atlesian flag filling the space behind him.
"This is your Consul speaking. Starting today, Atlas will be entering into a period of martial law." He held up a photograph, an odd and intricate shaping eye present. "This is the symbol of the Faunus religion. The White Fang have begun slaughtering Frontier villages under religious pretenses. The Ishvara faith, and all other Grimm worshipping religions like it are hereby banned, and active practice of it shall be punishable with arrest and deportation to one of the work camps being set up to house such traitors. Citizens are required to report any and all individuals wearing this symbol to Atlas authorities. Attempts to protect those wearing that symbol will lead to being sent to one of these labor camps."
"All citizens will be required to register with the Atlesian government and shall be given identification cards indicating which parts of the kingdom they shall be allowed to travel between. Those caught in parts of the kingdom without proper registration shall be deported to a work camp. The kingdom will also begin rationing out food and Dust; our agents in Vacuo and Mistral have reported that they have declared war and are mobilizing their armies to invade our kingdom. This shall be a period of struggle for all of us, but we will not be broken." Ironwood bowed his head. "Glory to Atlas."
The feed went dead, the spinning emblem of Atlas replacing the General. Whitley closed his scroll and rested a hand over his mouth.
This… shall make for an interesting match.
Ruby opened the door to their cabin, shifting her backpack as she entered. There were four bunks set in the wall, and a shelf off to the side. A large window took up most of the other wall, the snow covered forests a green and white blur.
She tossed her backpack at the shelf, going to the bunks. "Dibs on top."
Weiss set her suitcase on the shelf, going to the bunk below Ruby's. "I'll take the bottom then."
"Fitting," Blake said with a smirk.
Weiss' cheeks burned red, Blake's smirk growing as Yang laughed. "Hush you!" Weiss said, sitting on her bunk, and crossing her arms.
Blake set her bag down next to Weiss' and went to her bunk, sitting next to her and resting her head on her shoulder. Weiss' blush slowly faded, and she exhaled and rested her head on Blake's.
"So, I'm getting both bunks, awesome." Yang said as she put her duffle bag on the shelf. She sat down on the bottom bunk opposite of Weiss and Blake before pulling out the yellow friendship bracelet from her pocket. "Hey Blake," Blake looked at her, not moving her head from Weiss' shoulder. "I didn't have time to give you this while we were boarding, but Ruby thought it would be cute if we all wore these." Yang smirked. "Imma give it to you, but first you have to tell me something."
"What is it?"
"What's the name of your best friend?"
"It's you, isn't it?"
Yang stuck her tongue out. "Sorry, never heard of a 'it's you', so no friendship bracelet for you."
"Xiao Long Yang," Blake said.
Yang nodded. "Yep, that sounds about right. Catch." She tossed it to Blake, who caught it nimbly, slipping it around her wrist.
There was a knocking on their cabin door and Ruby looked over. Qrow stood in the doorway, a hand on his hip. "You kids doing alright?" he asked.
"Fine enough. You're staying out of trouble, right?" Yang replied.
Qrow shrugged. "Something like that." He looked up at Ruby, and she looked away. "I was wanting to talk to Ruby for a bit, alone."
She felt her teammates eyes on her, and she chewed her lip before sighing and jumping down, heading to the door. Qrow got out of the way, leading her down the train hallway. People stood in the hallways, chatting, while others brushed past her, heading for their own cabins. Qrow came to a stop next to a window. He leaned against it, looking out it, and Ruby did the same. Snow flurried past, the forests a blur and the skies cloudy.
"So… when do you want to talk about it?" Qrow asked.
"About what?"
"The dad issue. You've been trying to avoid it, and me, these past few months."
Ruby exhaled, watching the forest for a bit before responding. "I don't know how to feel about it, Uncle Qrow. You… you've lied to me about who you are for my entire life, and you could have made Yang's life a lot easier if you took me to your house or helped raise us directly instead of just stopping bye once and a while."
"You know I couldn't do that with what I was doing for Oz."
"But you could have stopped for a little bit, you could have raised me like I was your daughter or done more to help my dad and Yang when they were struggling."
Qrow said nothing before sighing. "There's a lot of things I could have done better." He looked at her. "When are you going to tell Yang?"
"I… I don't know. Maybe after we get to Atlas, I don't want her having to worry about this."
"Fair enough." Qrow said. She finally looked over at him. "You don't have to start calling me dad or anything if it bothers you. But… just know that I do love you, Ruby, and I didn't want to hurt you, I thought you would be better off being Tai's kid than my own."
Ruby moved away from the window, embracing Qrow. He wrapped his arms around her, and she closed her eyes. "I know, Uncle Qrow. This is just… going to take a while to get used to knowing."
Weiss moved her head, nuzzling it against Blake's as they watched a movie on Blake's scroll. She could hear Yang and Ruby quietly grunting and cursing as they played a game on their scrolls.
The train lurched, yells and screams ringing out. Blake closed her scroll, sitting up. Ruby and Yang jumped down from their bunks, Yang going to the door and opening it. The train lurched again, gunfire and cannon fire booming overhead as people ran past their door. Weiss got off the bed, Blake getting up as well, standing behind her. Qrow appeared in the doorway, Harbinger drawn, a scowl on his face.
"Grab your weapons, we're going outside."
Ember Celica sprang into place as Yang ran out, Ruby and Blake grabbing their weapons from the shelves before following after. Weiss went to her suitcase, sorting through her clothes, searching for the Dust she had left. She grabbed the few vials and crystals and turned, sprinting after the rest of the team, sidestepping the people running past her.
His cape flapped around him violently as he climbed onto the top of the train. A few Hunters were already up there, firing at the Harpies soaring in the air, the train's defensive cannons firing into the swarm of feathers and talons.
Qrow unfurled Harbinger, the scythe springing into place as a Chimera landed in front of the Hunters, its three heads roaring in unison. One of the Hunters, armed with a mace, charged at it, swinging at one of its heads. The other two heads whipped out, latching onto the Hunter and hurling him off the train, a swarm of Harpies descending on him, his screams cut short as the Harpies tore him to shreds, his blood misting out.
Qrow grimaced, tightening the grip on his scythe as Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang reached the rooftop. Qrow heard Crescent Rose spring into place, and he looked back at them. "Try and take care of the little ones, leave the big one to me. Stay in a group, Harpies prefer to single out their prey and swarm em."
They nodded, and he turned, swinging Harbinger behind him as he charged the Chimera.
Pyrrha shoved through the crowd, Ren and Nora trailing her as she went to the window Oscar was looking out of.
"What's happening?"
Oscar looked over at her. "Grimm."
Nora groaned, hanging her head back. "It's always something."
"Stay here," Pyrrha said.
Oscar frowned, resting a hand on Ozpin's cane. "I want to help; you guys can't be the only ones to keep risking your lives." He said.
Pyrrha motioned toward the lamp on his hip, the Relic. "We can't afford to lose you or that, so please just stay down here where its safe." She didn't wait for Oscar to reply, turning away and running for the door, Ren and Nora following.
Bits of bone armor flew off as Qrow's scythe slashed at one of the heads of the Chimera. The Chimera hissed, and he leapt back, turning and firing a shot at the Chimera behind him, one of its heads exploding from the shot, the other two hissing. He ducked under their swipe, and swung, his scythe easily slicing through the inky flesh of the two remaining heads. He spun, dodging the Chimera's snake tail as it lashed out at him. He stabbed down, embedding his scythe through the snake's head, hearing the Chimera roar in pain.
He fired several shots, bone armor spraying out, the Chimera hissing before finally yanking its snake tail free, black blood dripping across the train. It charged him, swiping with its paws. He blocked, sidestepping the Chimera's snapping jaws, backstepping as it snapped at him. He grit his teeth, and swung into its mouth, slicing through the jaws of one of the heads. The other two heads lashed out, biting onto his scythe, ripping it free from his grasp and hurling it off the train.
Qrow dodge the Chimera at it lunged at him, leaping from the train, transforming, and taking flight, grabbing onto his scythe, and transforming, firing behind him, launching himself back onto the train, behind the Chimera. He sprinted before dropping, sliding against the slick train roof. He swung up, feeling blood spray over him as he cut through its exposed underbelly. He sprang to his feet, whirling around and slicing through the jaws of the remaining two heads.
The Chimera collapsed, its blood leaking across the train, its heads twitching.
He looked behind him, watching as RWBY and NPR fought off the Harpies before looking ahead, at the lone Hunter firing at the Harpy swarms in the front of the train. The train's turrets were firing into the fray, the Harpies weaving around the hail of bullets and shells.
He started to run toward the Hunter before sliding to a halt, his eyes widening.
"Tunnel!" he shouted. The Hunter didn't seem to notice him, continuing to take pot shots at the Harpies. He looked behind him, watching as the kids dropped down to the space between the cars. He leapt down, grunting as he landed in front of a cabin door.
Ruby slid the door open, the overhead lights flickering inside. People were crammed inside, huddling together, their terror-stricken eyes fixed on her and the others as they entered. She exhaled, relieved when she saw Oscar in the crowd.
"What do we do now?" Yang asked.
Ruby went to one of the windows, glancing out it. The Chimera was chasing after the train, though the Harpies seemed to be gone. Ruby stepped away from the window, looking over the crowd before looking at Ren.
"Ren, would you be able to mask a train car with your semblance? If we turn off the turrets and mask the emotions of the passengers while the rest of us kill the Chimera the rest of the Grimm might lose interest and leave the train alone."
Ren looked over the crowd, and stood on his toes, grimacing. "I've never tried so many at once before. I won't be able to mask the emotions of the people individually, but I can try and put a blanket over the train itself and hope that does the trick. We're going to have to get everyone into one or two cars, I can't do the entire train."
"Alright." Ruby turned to Pyrrha and Nora. "You two get the rest of the passengers up to the front and move this group further up. Qrow, and my team will take care of the Grimm and then meet you up front once that's done."
Pyrrha and Nora nodded, turning, and heading for the back of the train as Ren sighed, turning to face the crowd.
Weiss watched as the front two cars of the train turned gray, before turning, watching as the Chimera leapt onto the back of the train, the swarm of Harpies returning. She gripped the Dust crystals and ran toward the Grimm, Qrow and Ruby running past her, Blake and Yang flanking her.
Qrow and Ruby charged the Chimera, weaving between the snapping jaws of its three heads and tail. Blake and Yang started firing at the Harpies, picking off the ones that went after Ruby and Qrow.
Weiss flicked a finger, a line of glyphs shooting out before her. She was launched toward the Chimera, the swarm of Harpies. She flicked a finger, a line of glyphs shooting into the air, and she felt herself get launched up. She threw out her hand, glyphs encircling her as the Harpies hurled themselves at her, shrieking. She hurled the Dust crystals- red, blue, yellow, orange- into the glyphs and yanked her hands back, the glyphs changing colors, the Dust crystals shattering, fireballs, shards of ice, and chunks of stone spraying out in every direction, the Harpies shrieking, blood, and feathers splattering against her glyphs.
Her glyphs disappeared and Weiss hit the train, grunting as she landed, hearing Blake and Yang running toward her.
No Dust left, have to rely on summons for the rest of this.
Ruby dodged a lung from the Chimera's tail, yelping as a paw smacked her aside. Qrow grunted, dodging one of the heads before yelling, being flung back as a fireball was launched from the mouth of one of the others.
Yang charged past her, leaping, and screaming as she fired several shots, bits of bone armor flying off. Gambol Shroud transformed in Blake's hand as she ran past Weiss, the blade springing out, her sheath in her other hand. The Chimera turned, hissing before launching a fireball towards Blake one of its other heads snapping at Yang. Blake dissipated into a black mist when the fireball hit, the real Blake lurching past it, stabbing into the mouth of one of the heads, snarling as she raked the sheath against its throat, the Chimera's head thrashing as she lodged the blade further down its throat, blood oozing from its throat.
Yang's aura arm sprang to life, embers drifting past her as he hair turned to flame, her eyes flashing red as she caught the Chimera's jaws, snarling, holding her ground as she kept its head in place before screaming, her arms yanking to the side, snapping the Chimera's neck.
Ruby and Qrow got back to their feet, glancing at each other. The remaining head snarled at Weiss, the snake tail hissing at Ruby and Qrow as they charged toward the creature's wings.
Weiss got to her knees, laying her hands against the train, a line of glyph forming beneath the Chimera.
Come to me
Ruby and Qrow's scythes ripped through the creature's wings, blood spraying out as the Chimera shrieked, its snake head lashing toward Ruby. Gambol Shroud shot into its mouth, Blake smirking as she yanked on her ribbon, pulling her sword free and back into her grip.
Weiss yanked her hands up, her Knight's sword springing from the glyph, impaling the Chimera, and hefting it into the air. The creature growled weakly, glaring at them with its orange eyes before it opened its mouth, spitting out a fireball.
Weiss gasped, her Summon fading and the Chimera collapsing as the fireball hurled toward the front of the train. A red blur shot past her, and she heard a crack of thunder. The front of the train disconnected from the rest of the train, speeding ahead. The fireball hit the rails, stones and metal flying out.
Weiss grit her teeth, slapping her hands against the train, black glyphs forming beneath everyone as the train hit the end of the rails, launching into the air.
Ruby groaned, coughing as she sat up, bits of snow falling off her. Several of the train cars were aflame, the one closest buried in the snow. She struggled to her feet, glancing around. Crescent Rose rested in the snow near her, and Qrow and the rest of her team were getting to their feet, groaning. Blake was shivering, her arms wrapped around her.
"Everyone alright?" Qrow called out.
"Never better!"
Ruby looked at the train car buried in the snow, cocking her head at the old woman sitting from one of the windows. She was kicking her legs, a scythe like cane in her lap, a deep blue shawl covering most of her body. A silver blindfold covered her eyes. The old woman pointed with her scythe to a pile of snow near the train.
"Might want to check on that one though, he flew out the window."
I wanted to have this out by Weiss' birthday but I wasn't able to do so.