Another Cunning Challenge! This time the prompt was "_WBYJNPR tries their best to explain to Ruby how Crescent Rose broke. Keyword: tries." Submitted to me by Ice_Cream_Goddess.
Team RWBY and company quickly unloaded their few belongings from the Bullhead, the Atlesian guards having somehow been convinced to let them through customs. As Ruby was unloading one of the few actual suitcases they still had with them, she called back to her partner.
"Weiss! Could you grab Crescent Rose for me?"
"Fine," Weiss grumbled back, already nervous about being in Atlas and now annoyed at having to carry Ruby's oversized weapon. She walked over to the corner where the weapon sat and grabbed it just as Qrow entered the Bullhead.
KKSSSSSSSSHHHHH!
The sound of shearing metal rang loud in the confined space. Slowly Weiss turned to look at the weapon in her hand, mouth hanging open in shock and confusion.
She was holding Crescent Rose, or at least most of it. One end of it was still sitting on the floor of the Bullhead. The rest of the folded sniper-scythe was stretched between the two pieces, looking more like rubber than steel. Weiss tugged on the part that she was holding, and it offered no resistance as it stretched further from its other half.
"What was that noise?" yelled Ruby.
Weiss gave Qrow a helpless look, but he was just staring at the weapon, puzzlement written on his face.
As Blake, Yang, Jaune, Nora, and Ren entered the airship, each stopped and gaped at what had become of Crescent Rose. Finally Ruby pushed through them. As soon as her eyes settled on her beloved weapon, she let out an ear-piercing shriek.
"WHAT DID YOU DO?"
"I didn't do anything!" Weiss protested. "I just picked it up, and it… did that!"
Ruby shoved her partner aside and grabbed the scythe, watching as the stretched metal moved with the part that she was holding, keeping it connected to the part that was still on the floor. It let out a slight metallic screech as it moved.
"I'm sure you can fix… whatever this is," Blake offered, realizing how useless her words were as she said them.
"How did this happen?" cried Ruby, tears welling up in her eyes.
Weiss glanced helplessly around the Bullhead, her eyes settling on Qrow.
"Qrow!" she cried. "It happened right when he walked in! It must have been his Semblance!"
"It was not my Semblance!" said Qrow, glaring at Weiss.
"Weiss, this goes way beyond bad luck," Blake added. "This is… this doesn't even make sense."
Ruby looked around the room at her friends, sister, and uncle. A few of them tried to offer some kind of explanation for what had happened to her beloved sniper-scythe, but they quickly gave up.
"Here, let me see something," Jaune offered, walking over to the end of Crescent Rose that was still on the floor of the Bullhead. He grabbed on the tiny piece of metal and tried unsuccessfully to lift it. Frowning, he tried again, but it still didn't move. He pulled with all of his strength, and even gave Nora a try, but that end of Crescent Rose was firmly rooted in place.
Ruby yanked on her end of the weapon, the metal easily stretching to allow her movement. She continued to wave Crescent Rose back and forth, becoming more frustrated by the second until tears were pouring down her face. The others glanced around, uncertain of what to do.
Vincent Capelluti stared at his computer with a confused look on his face. He tried moving Crescent Rose around the scene, but one end of it remained fixed in place.
"Hey Christina," he called.
"Yeah?" replied the girl at the desk next to his, rolling her chair over to him.
"What did I do?" Vincent asked, gesturing to his monitor.
"You broke Crescent Rose," answered Christina. "Ruby is going to be pissed." She leaned closer to the monitor and studied the scene for a moment. "It looks like some of the vertices got locked in place."
"How did that happen?" muttered Vincent.
"Maybe it was Qrow's Semblance," offered Christina.
"Very funny," replied Vincent sarcastically. "How do I fix it?"
"You can unlock the vertices easily enough, but the rig is probably broken at this point," Christina explained. She looked him in the eyes. "When was the last time you saved?"
Vincent groaned.
While Weiss tried to console Ruby, Yang and Nora worked together to dislodge the end of Crescent Rose from the floor. For all of their efforts though, the metal refused to budge so much as a millimeter.
"It's hopele-" Ruby started to cry, when time suddenly snapped backwards. The Huntsmen and Huntresses were just starting to unload the Bullhead. Weiss carried a suitcase off the airship while Ruby grabbed her weapon and hung it from her back.
Vincent breathed a sigh of relief and saved again.
Author's Note: This might not be as funny to someone who's never used Maya before, but it was the first thing I thought of for an inexplicable way for Crescent Rose to break. Vincent Capelluti and Christina Ausmus are two animators I chose at random from the Volume 6 credits.