Chapter 9: Uncertainty
Beacon Academy
Ruby looked at the city of Vale, a swath of small buildings gradually growing taller, with Beacon Academy at the center, a shimmering tower among a sea of buildings. She looked out the window and saw that Patch was only a small clump of green among a shimmering blue sea. Yang sat next to her, also looking out the window. Tai sat holding a sleeping Zwei, watching as the tower drew closer and closer, knowing that today would not be normal.
Blake sat down on the bed, hands on her head as she thought about the meeting in a few hours. Ruby, according to Qrow, was a sweet person capable of rotting your teeth, but even that was not quite enough to calm the worst of Blake's fears. Who was she kidding, she blew up Ruby and gave her a traumatic experience, potentially life scarring, and now she was going to meet the cyborg wolf Faunus kid. She took a deep breath, and sought immediate fluid intake as she prepared for the inevitable.
Ruby's robotic irises widened in awe as she took in the large courtyard of Beacon. Every part of the academy screamed best of the best, from the large tracks for fitness and the gardens filled with all types of flowers. One place that caught Ruby's attention the most was the rose garden near the school entrance. Bees hummed lazily as they pollinated the roses of all shades and colours, humming to and fro each one. Ruby's attention was brought to the school entrance when a number of Beacon students ran out with weapons in hand. A familiar green haired professor led the group, speaking in a fast pace quick enough to put a rapper to shame. Ruby waved and called out, drawing the attention of the man as he passed by.
"Ah Miss Rose, how are you faring on this fine day?"
"Very good! What are you doing with these students?"
"Well Miss Rose, I am taking these young students to study the ruins in emerald forest, I'm hoping that by observing and paying attention to details in the masonry that they would learn more about the ancient world and have better perception, since they clearly weren't paying enough attention in class yesterday." He concluded, giving the side eye to some students who had the decency to look ashamed. He then zipped off, some students running to catch up and some slowly walking down the path, chatting to one of them looked at Ruby with haunted eyes, whispering: "He talks so fast," before limping away. Tai and Yang soon caught up to Ruby, and the three walked towards the shining beacon.
Ruby's nose detected Blake's scent, this time stronger than the strain of scent she found on Qrow's coat. Her eyes pointed to where her nose directed her, and she saw the Blake, the cat Faunus she saw on that fateful day, standing with Qrow. She's shorter than Yang was Ruby's first thought. Yang would normally reach Qrow's stomach, while Blake just barely reached Qrow's waist. Judging from Blake's face, she knew that they were coming.
Silence stretched between the two parties, glances were tossed left and right but no one spoke. Ruby was the first one to step forward, breaking the invisible boundary between them. She stepped up to Blake, noticing the flinch in her shoulders, she froze, uncertain of her next move, and sent Yang a look that said I don't know what to do help me! Yang frowned at this, seeing the tension between Ruby and had vowed to make the person who hurt Ruby pay, but this person, didn't quite seem like one who could hurt a fly, a thought mirrored by Ruby. "Let's get inside first, okay?" Tai's gentle voice cut into the storm of thoughts that Yang had, but not before Yang came up with the perfect way to resolve some of the anxiety.
Ruins of Fort Castle
Sienna felt that it was ironic, that the place of battle that would signify the turning point of the Faunus rights Revolution would be the place of battle for two different Faunus groups with different intentions for Humanity. Her forces moved in to intercept the enemy who had been making their way to Atlas and were increasing in number, based on collected data and intelligence she had received. Sienna did not like some of the people who lived in that floating city, but she did not want this splinter group to set it ablaze and instigate war, which would most definitely what they wanted, and what she did NOT want. The first shots rang out as her snipers hit the other snipers, giving clearance for her forces to charge. The sounds of guns blazing and swords clashing reached a crescendo as the two forces fought it out. Sienna stayed in the middle of her fighting forces, directing her comrades and watching out for snipers. Her forces pushed back the enemy, her heavier vehicles sheltering the infantry, and her superior firepower punishing enemies from afar. Victory was soon hers, the last enemy Faunus surrounded and held as she approached her.
"Why have you betrayed the White Fang? Did you really believe that you could outfight the larger and better equipped army of the loyal factions?"
"We didn't…that's why we were the decoy force, Atlas will burn tonight, and then we will gather forces and take the kingdoms one by one." And with that the Faunus drew her last breath, with Sienna looking on in horror. A distant boom rang out in the distance.
Beacon Academy
Yang ushered Ruby and Blake into one of the empty dorms that were unused for the school year. Ruby and Blake had been tiptoeing around each other without saying much, and Yang decided that had to change. So she did the one thing she enjoyed doing the most with Ruby: Pranking.
"Alright girls, here we are, this s now our secret prank room meet up!" Ruby looked mildly, and Blake was intrigued, it was a start!
"Blake, have you unlocked your semblance?"
"…Yes, its shadow clones, at least Qrow calls them shadow clones."
"Sweeeet! It's the perfect pranking semblance, and with us…" She held Ruby in a one armed hug "the ultimate pranking duo? We'll show people a true scare, maybe even Uncle Qrow Our plans have been further enhanced by Ruby's new trick, show us Ruby!" Ruby took a deep breath (not that she needed air or anything, but old habits die hard) and changed to a grey color, then invisible, which reminded Blake of Ilia. Blake, now somewhat more invested, joins the duo as they planned the newest prank. The time was right, Qrow and Tai were gone, and Beacon would soon find that itself being attacked in the most peculiar of ways.
Professor Port walked down the Beacon pathway, reminiscing his previous duels of grandeur and strife. As he walked past the statue of the huntsman and Beowulf, he noticed something very strange. Were his eyes failing him, or was that small girl always posing beside the statue. He took a closer look, confused by it all, only turning when a pebble hit his posterior. He looked around, not seeing anything out of the ordinary. He turned back to find the small girl gone, causing all of his glorious huntsman senses to tingle. He pulled out his axe, and at this point, had drawn a number of spectators from inside the dorms. Some of them joined him outside as he looked around, asking what he saw.
"A ghost demon girl, capable of vanishing on a whim, be on your guard students." Some of the students shook their heads, not believing a word. Suddenly, there was rustling in the bushes, and a pair of ears briefly appeared form the bushes. An eerie sound was heard, whirring and the occasional rustle causing the hackles to rise on many of the assembled people. The sound suddenly grew louder behind them, and the students and Port glanced behind them, glimpsing tattered cloth and humanoid shape floating in the air, devoid of legs. Port began to be concerned, telling the students to group up into groups of four and search the area, believing the creature to be a Geist Grimm. They saw a small blonde girl chasing a butterfly, only to be whisked up by an unseen force and carried into the bushes by an invisible force. Several people rushed out, looking into the bushes, only to find nothing present. Students began drawing their weapons and forming small circles everywhere, pointing their guns and swords at anything that moved.
Ozpin watched this scene with concealed mirth, Glynda Goodwitch beside him shaking her head in exasperation.
"Should I round up the prankers headmaster?"
"There's no need for that Glynda, those girls will be fine, and I will inform them that this was merely a training exercise."
"You find this amusing don't you?"
"Yes indeed Glynda, Yes indeed…"
They watched as Port told the students to stay alert, and began to run for their office. Ozpin turned on the heat vision cameras, and saw the culprits. Yang was hiding in one of the dorm rooms, window slightly open with a walkie talkie in hand. Blake moved skillfully and stealthily inside a fake bush, stopping whenever someone looked in that direction. Ruby was floating up in the air, dressed in tattered robes and painted red in some areas, with only her upper body present. All three of them moved to intercept Port, and even Glynda began to smile a tiny bit as they saw Port yelling at the air.
Port ran as fast as his legs could carry him as he ran towards Ozpin's office, a Geist Grimm was in Beacon, and the students were in danger. A shadow suddenly sprang up in front of him, startling the professor, he looked back to see the previous Geist appear for a moment. TWO GEISTS?! This was getting out of hand, now there were two of them!
Yang cackled with unrestrained glee and basked in her creativity and success. Ruby and Blake themselves were having fun being the Geists, they too found pleasure in scaring the portly man. The man took a deep breath, sighing, getting his heartbeat back to acceptable levels. Ruby and Blake chose this exact moment to pop up right in front of him, yelling "SURPRISE!"
"NOPE. Shutting down." Port collapsed onto the ground, unconscious. Ruby looked on in panic and checked his vitals, sighing in relief when her HUD told her all bodily functions were stable. They looked and saw Glynda rushing towards them, with several students tailing her, they had been caught.
Oops…
Port was carried off in a stretcher, still out cold from the surprise. The three perpetrators of the prank found themselves under the stern gaze of Glynda, and the unreadable face of Ozpin. Several of the students identified them as the "Geists" and decided to retire to their beds for the day, embarrassed that they had fallen into a trap consisting of 3 small children, even if one of them had advanced technologies that made it hard for them to find her. Tai and Qrow came back from a meeting concerning the rise of attacks on SDC supply depots, desperately praying that Beacon was still standing. They came back and saw a scene consisting of Ruby dressed in tattered robes without her legs present, colored in fake blood, a burning bush, Port unconscious in a stretcher, and a simultaneously vexed and amused Glynda. Blake, Ruby, and Yang exchanged glances, then booked it as soon as Glynda turned around. It would take approximately 30 people, one camera system, and half an hour to find Yang, and another 30 to find Blake and Ruby, who were huddled in one of the storage closets. Beacon was safe, but for how long?
SDC Manor, Atlas.
Weiss and Whitley we're sound asleep, sleeping in separate beds. Winter was preparing to go to bed, combing her hair and brushing her teeth. Hivern looked out the window of the Manor with Jacques, enjoying the view of the partially cloudy night sky and the shattered moon. They saw what appeared to be a flock of birds, which was strange, because the birds had recently left Atlas to fly south to Vale for the coming winter. Their eyes widened when flashes appeared from the flock, and the turrets in Atlas returned fire.
A Faunus woman gasps as her cloaking semblance runs out, they are no longer invisible. Atlesian turrets began shooting the bullheads out of the sky, their lasers making poomf sounds as they fired. Seeing that they have lost the element of surprise, the lead group gives orders to hit important targets and run, seeing that Atlas would have to wait. Missiles and bullets fly form the bullheads and other airships, and then retreat, still firing, some being blown up by the turrets and the scrambled fighters in the air.
Jacques Schnee ran to his children's bedroom, yelling for them to wake up. Weiss and Whitley wail in confusion and terror as Jacques scoops them up, telling Winter to hurry as they run towards the shelter. Hivern is there already, opening the door for them, as they rush in with explosions sounding close, Jacques spies one of the bullheads straying from the main group and angling it's burning hull towards the Manor, guns firing and missiles blazing as it flies towards the ground. He notices a missile flying, right towards them. He rushes inside and seals the door, just in time to block the missile. Schnee Manor goes up in flames as the White Fang bullhead crashes into the large mansion, reducing a quarter of it to scrap.
It is Hell in Atlas.
:D
The Prank short was supposed to be published on April fools, but I forgot :p
I planned to plot rek Jacques, but my brain decided not to.