Before anything else, I own nothing but the original characters, and content therein related to them. RWBY is owned by RT, and any mentioned creator's work belongs to them, and them alone. Rest in peace Monty, your vision lives on in us all.
CHAPTER 14
Once the team of 6 was in position they saw the Cardin and his chums were actively harassing Jaune. Clayton looked over at Ruby. "Play the music." He said, and with a smile, Ruby pressed a button on her scroll, and from the cheap speakers the team had strung up in the forest, the loudest iteration of the Great War fife and Drum song "Yankee Doodle" began blasting, causing team CDNL to cover their ears and shout in pain. Out of the woods the men and women of Team SPGL charged, with Ruby and Yang hot on their tail, weapons in melee configurations, and shouts of anger sounding off as loud as the music. There was a moment of fear on team CDNL's faces, before the fierce beatdown commenced. Yang and Halcyone punched out Sky, Ruby and Pale kicked Russel when he tripped, Siniy was using Dove like a baseball bat against a tree, and Clayton tackled Cardin to the ground.
With the thrashing completed, Ruby turned off the music, and everyone left the badly beaten team CDNL in the dirt. Save for Cardin, who was shoved against a rock. "Remember how I asked if we were going to have a problem?" Clayton said, pulling a spool of rope out. "Well we have a problem." Clayton said, causing Cardin to gulp. 10 minutes later Cardin was tied up, in his underwear, covered in tree sap and extra body hair Siniy shaved off his arms, dangling like a piñata from a tree. Everyone took pictures of the "White furred douchebag."
"Best Birthday Present Ever." Pale said with a chuckle.
"Now I want you to apologize to Jaune here for everything you've done to him in the past month… Or I put the pictures online." Clayton said, his finger hovering over the post button for one of Beacon's social messaging apps.
"I'm-I'm sorry ok! I was being an asshole because I thought nobody was going to stop me, but holy shit was I wrong! I won't bother you guys ever again, I swear, I swear. OH FUCK!" Cardin said, squirming against his ropes as an ursa major stepped out of the woods.
Everyone turned to attack the beast, and naturally Siniy as the biggest one, charged forward, getting into a lock with the bigger bear. The ursa major roared in his face, and Siniy roared back. Just because the ursa had a foot and a half on him standing didn't make it stronger than him. He shoved with all his might, and the grimm backed up a pace. Clayton, agile as he was, jumped up, and used Cardin as a rope swing to leap onto the back of the bear. Taking his shotgun axe to one of the bone spikes coming out of it's hide, Clayton severed the improvised stabbing weapon, and tossed it down to Siniy, who caught it, and extended the axe head of Two Theaters. Holding the spike in place with one hand, Siniy used the back of the axe head to drive the spike into the grimm's shoulder. With a roar of pain, the ursa major took a swing at Siniy and knocked him to the ground, causing the area's surrounding trees to shake.
Pale took the initiative to fan the hammer of Guerrilla Warfare, only to miss his first shot, causing his semblance to drop the damage multiplier he'd spent two years building up. Internally Pale was cussing his brains out. He'd just wasted the most powerful tool in his kit while being surounded by the unknown. His one misplaced shot could have potentally cost him months of planning.
It didn't matter to the fight in the slightest though, as Jaune took up his sword, and charged forward towards the grimm. "Jaune you idiot!" Yang yelled, only to be shouted over, as the blond boy rushed into the fight. Tossing his shield into the dirt, Jaune did something he'd seen in a movie once. As the ursa fell back onto all fours, Jaune used his shield to knee slide under the grimm, and with his blade, dug upwards, slicing a deep gash into the belly of the grimm, spilling it's guts all over the forest floor, and killing it dead.
Everyone gawked in amazement. This was the first kill Jaune had ever made, and Cardin, chief among everyone, hung mouth agape in respect. "Wow." Cardin said, as everyone started walking off, leaving him in a tree, with his buddies only just now waking up.
Later in the dorm common room, the team-and-a-half decided to party, inviting the two members of team RWBY who didn't participate in the forrest fight, if only to break bread with the distant white and black themed girls. Blake saw no reason not to come, and didn't want to come off as rude. Weiss on the other hand, begrudgingly accepted as she would be the only person left out, and in eather case, Jaune and his team had done nothing to annoy or otherwise deride her.
"Oh, for he's a jolly good fellow, for he's a jolly good fellow, for he's a jolly good fellow, which nobody can deny!" Near everyone sang, as teams RWBY, JNPR, and SPGL shared cake courtesy of Ruby. They'd celebrated Jaune's victory over the Ursa, and after more than a few shots of whisky, which was smuggled onto campus by Halcyone, the teams got to swapping stories.
"So you three grew up on patch?" Halcyone asked the sisters and Clayton.
"Sure did." Yang said, before slamming back another shot.
"Went to Signal together and everything." Ruby said.
"And you two started dating then?" Blake asked.
Clayton nodded. "First year at Signal, four months in, and I asked her if she wanted to be taken out." Clayton said, only for Ruby to butt in. "And I said; like what with a sniper rifle?" Ruby said, getting a chorus of laughs from the more energetic of the group, and an irritated eye roll from Weiss who daintily sipped her drink, grimacing at the bite it had. Halcyone caught the gesture.
"You don't like the story?" She asked. Weiss shrugged at the question.
"I mean, it'd be cute in any other case, but I can't imagine how it played out between you two." Weiss said.
Yang sighed. "Oh boy, she's about to get racist." She said, before laying back on the couch.
"Not… Entirely… It's just. Well, Clayton's a faunus and Ruby's human… That's not a normal relationship, for either race. Didn't you guys get picked on a lot?" Weiss asked.
"More than you can imagine." Ruby said, only for Yang to raise a hand.
"And I beat the crap out of anyone that did." Yang confessed, now half drunk.
"That must have been lonely." Pyrrha said.
"It was… Clay was one of the only faunus at Signal, and he lost his few friends when I lost all mine… And Yang… She gave up hers when she sided with us. We were the lowest rung on the ladder in signal." Ruby said, looking up at Clayton from his lap.
"At least we had each other." Clayton said, as he pointed to Yang, who'd passed out. "Yang's been the loneliest of all."
"She didn't have anyone who cared about her the same way Clay cares about me. The "queer" crowd wouldn't even accept her, and everyone but us picked on them. This is probably the first time in four years she's had people she could talk to." Ruby said, before looking over at Jaune. "She told me that you were the first person to talk to her here… I don't think I can ever thank you enough. If you didn't, who knows how many of us wouldn't be here with her."
Halcyone took another shot. She'd never not had friends in the slums, it was important to have people you could trust in such a place… Maybe she could change that for Yang. Siniy nodded in solidarity. "I understand the pain of loneliness… As I imagine we all can at some point." He said, looking at Weiss. "Not all of us are blessed with strong familial bonds." Siniy said with a single sniff. Weiss tried to act as if she didn't know what Siniy was talking about. "But, hey, we are not here to dwell on such sad thoughts of the past. We are here to enjoy the lives we now lead. A toast, to Beacon, and our new friendships, uneasy as they may be." Siniy said, raising his cup full of whisky that looked comically tiny compared to his hand.
"Banzai!" Everyone but Pale, Yang and Weiss said, the former giving a quiet. "Yee yee." Before sipping down his drink. He shook his head, acting as if it was to get the taste out of his mouth. In reality, it was because he didn't want to call such people he might betray, friends.
Yang burped in her sleep, and Ruby sighed. "She's such a lite weight." The red sister said.
"Should we get her to bed?" Clayton asked. Halcyone knocked back another shot, and stood up.
"Ah got her, you guy's finish the bottle for me. I'll be back." Halcyone said, before walking over and picking up Yang, scooping the girl into her arms.
Leaving the party behind, Halcyone pressed Yang's jacket pocket to the Team RWBY dorm room to unlock it, and pushed the entrance open with her boot. Confused on who's bed was Yang's, she went with the bottom bunk to her left, and gently set the girl down, before feeling her leather jacket get pulled on by the drunk blond, who came out of her stupor ever so slightly.
"Daad?" Yang asked. Halcyone chuckled, before pulling Yang's hand off her. "Can you tell me a bedtime story?" Yang asked.
"It's Halcyone, Yang. Ya' drunk." The blond smuggler said still smiling.
"Oooooh... Can you still tell me one pleeeeeease?" Yang asked, grabbing Halcyone's jacket again. "Mom hasn't been home if forever..." Halcyone felt a pang of weakness in her heart.
"I know what that's like Yang." Halcyone said quietly, as Yang let go of her jacket. Halcyone sighed. "Ah, what the Hell. Ain't like you'll remember this." Halcyone said, before recounting a story her mother used to tell her. "I'll tell you a story of four brave soldiers... It began long ago, on the battlefields of the Great War..." Yang patiently stayed awake throughout the telling of the war story, giggling any time Halcyone attempted the funny soldier from Mantle's accent, only closing her eyes just before the end of the story. Halcyone trailed off, seeing as Yang appered to have fallen asleep again, and prepared to leave. Only for Yang to sit up and hug her fellow blond.
"G'night Halc..." Yang said, causing the scrapper to smile.
"Night Yang." Halcyone said, returning the hug, before Yang finally let go, and fell asleep for the night.