Before I get to the actual chapter there are a few reviews that I have to address first. Mainly because some people can't seem to be bothered to check their inbox or are writing as guests on this site. In the past I've merely responded to reviews by PMs but now there are a few questions that I need answered. I'm just curious, that's all.
Guest: 'What was up with the White Fang battlecry "for the blood", is it canon!?'
- I just felt like adding it. Any symbolism is entirely accidental. But I might find something to do with it.
Another Guest: "The scene where Ironwood says:
'Or are you one of those who think that Atlas has to retake Vale from the forces that made a mockery out of our forces there? They have not forgiven us for that yet.
Who is the "they" who haven't forgiven Atlas!?"
- "They" are the people of Vale and the astartes.
Guts and Toes: "pls pm. i hope you are not punching bag weiss?"
- check your inbox.
Sword27: "Yes finally someone did it!"
- finally someone did what? And check your inbox.
Now with that out of the way, let us continue on to the chapter.
Yang was sitting on a couch, watching TV, dressed in dull, casual clothes, not her usual lively attire.
She wore sweatpants and a plain shirt under a simple light jacket with the right sleeve tied in a knot. Her dad had told her not to think too much about it but every time she moved she could feel the knot bump into her side, reminding her of her missing limb.
It came with a sense of loss, the knowledge that a part of her was missing and would never come back. This fact had been a major blow to her and it kept on hurting her. It hurt more than the scars on her scalp after the White Fang had tried to… after He had cut off…
But Yang Xiao-Long had lost more than her arm at Beacon. She had lost her will and courage as well.
She had lost that fiery determination that had allowed her to go to Vale, wreak a club, tag along on her team's escapades and the will to rush head first at the man that had been hurting Blake.
Yang shook her head, trying to force the memory on Him away.
She looked around. She needed something to distract her from the memory of the man dressed in black, wearing a white mask.
To her right there was a stack of books, all given to her by her dad as a way of getting her mind off her missing arm. Taiyang had not outright said that was the case, but Yang had figured it out.
And that was the reason why she did not touch the books. Because a chain of thoughts took her from the books to her missing arm.
And so she turned to the TV, the great distractor, educator and time waster.
She reached out for the remote and pointed it at the TV only for it to do… nothing?
"Huh?"
Yang looked down at the remote in her hand? Was the battery dead or something?
But as she looked she noticed that the remote was still on the couch, not in her hand.
She had tried to reach out for it with her missing arm.
But it had felt like she had grabbed the remote, like she had done hundreds of times before.
Even now, she thought she could feel the sensation of her fingers flexing, getting ready to grab the remote again.
It was an incredible annoyance. The phantom pain she had been able to deal with, while it had lasted. That at least had been something she could understand and comprehend. But these ghostly feelings of normality were just so annoying!
Yang grunted and twisting her body she grabbed the remote with her left hand.
With a real press of a real button, Yang changed the channel from the garbage that had been on for the last hour or so to the news.
She was greeted by the same news anchor as always, giving a summary of recent events in Vale. It was all jargon to Yang, the same stuff as always, easily filtered out by her now lazy brain.
Until the Attack on Vale and the Battle of Beacon came up. For some reason that was always interesting, to a point.
The news showed professor Goodwitch mending buildings with her semblance, assisting construction workers somewhere in the city.
"... With the aid of Beacon, repairs to the city are expected to be concluded within a year. Process has also been quick as the reconstruction effort has been undisturbed by any and all grimm activity, all thanks to the valiant efforts of the adeptus astartes."
The picture changed to a Thunderhawk flying over Vale towards Beacon, no doubt having finished a deployment somewhere in the kingdom.
"However, due to the massive structural damage several buildings sustained at the Battle of Beacon, it will still be several months before the school can open again for teaching. Until then, it will continue to serve as a base of operations for the astartes."
The scene changed to Beacon's grounds, showing a few of the space marines as well as ordinary human construction workers.
Yang's mood lightened a bit at this. A few months? That was good. What better way to give Cinder Fall and the White Fang the finger than to just get back on with their lives and get Beacon going again?
But Yang couldn't help but notice how the reporter kept calling the space marines adeptus astartes, rather than space marines.
Yang, having been made privy to the space marines existence by Jaune before the attack, knew that they came from space, as ridiculous as that might seem. But why was not the rest of Vale made aware of this? Was it to keep hysteria low? Was it to keep the masses calm by not telling them about the galaxy spanning Imperium yet?
Maybe it was, Yang didn't honestly care. Instead she kept on listening to the television, now showing one of the aircrafts that the space marines used, being prepared for something as it was being stocked with all manners of weapons and supplies.
"... And in other news, the astartes are about to mobilize outside of the Kingdom of Vale, with the goal of establishing communications with the Kingdom of Mistral. While some have questioned this decision and instead called it an invasion of Mistral, acting headmistress Glynda Goodwitch of Beacon Academy and liaison between the council and the astartes forces, has assured us that the action is little more than a 'stern knock on Mistral's door.' for refusing Vale request in establishing a new connection between the CCT towers at Beacon and Haven. The operation is also intended to pursue the ones responsible for what transpired during the attack on Vale."
'Ha!' thought Yang. 'Of course Goodwitch would use the word stern.'
Her good mood vanished as the new anchor switched over to another story, or rather changed focus on the current one.
Yang's eyes went wide as she saw four faces appear on the screen, but it was only one of the that made her feel a sudden sting of phantom pain in her arm: Adam Taurus.
"...efforts of finding the ones responsible. Ever since she was last seen escaping from the Battle of Beacon along with her accomplice Emerald Sustrai, Cinder Fall seems to have gone undergr-"
Yang didn't listen to anything Lisa Lavender said anymore. She just stared at the picture of Adam Taurus as his last known whereabouts were. Many had tried to take him in, all had failed.
After a while she turned off the TV and just sat there, her mind nowhere.
It had been over a month, but she still froze up whenever she saw that face.
She didn't know how long she had been there, eyes blank and remote still in her hand, when she was snapped back to reality by the front door clicking shut and the sound of her dad's voice.
"I'm home!"
With great eagerness Tai walked into the living room, barely giving Yang enough time to put the remote aside.
"Hey, dad."
Tai was carrying a bunch of boxes in his arms, as well as a few bags hanging from his arms. He had been busy.
"Guess what came in today!"
"What?"
"Oh man, I can't wait for you to try this."
Taiyang's enthusiasm seemed to be infectious because Yang suddenly became very interested in whatever he was carrying.
With a shrug several of the boxes fell to the floor, but Tai did not bat an eyelid about those. He had only eyes for Yang and a long, white box that he set on the table in front of Yang.
Yang raised an eyebrow as she noticed the emblem of the Kingdom of Atlas symbol on the box. "Is it... for me?"
Tai simply nodded, but with such enthusiasm that Yang could not help but to open the box.
Her breath caught in the throat as she saw the grey finish of the robotic arm in the box.
Every finger, every joint was replicated by the arm. And it was hers?
"Wha- what is this?"
She knew it was a prosthetic arm, but she just couldn't believe it. And in the box, next to the arm, was a small letter addressed to her.
Thoughtfully, the letter didn't seem to be completely sealed, as if to allow someone one-handed to easily open it.
As Yang pried the letter open Tai started talking about the arm.
"That is state of the art, custom crafted, Atlas tech and free of charge. I had half expected to have to pull some strings to get it to you, but when I made the call to Ironwood he told that he already had one of his best people working on this. For you!"
Yang listened with half a mind as she read the letter. It was from general Ironwood himself, expressing his most sincere apologies for not believing Yang's testimony about the incident with Mercury Black, despite Jaune's warnings.
In his letter, the general said that she had fought admirably. Whatever anyone else said about her, she had the right to walk with her head high.
"Ironwood even went so far as to arrange its delivery himself," said Tai. "despite Atlas' new closed border policy. I'm just amazed it came this quickly."
Yang nodded, noting the date on the letter. It had been sent from Atlas but few days ago.
"So, are you going to try it? Give it a few swings?"
"I... I dunno. Maybe later?"
Maybe when she had gotten her will back. Now, the fear of losing her arm was keeping her back.
Taiyang sighed and turned around to pick up all the things that had fallen on the floor.
"Alright. Whenever you're ready then."
"Thanks, Dad."
She got up from the couch and walked up to her room, her little refuge from the rest of the world, where she could just mope in peace.
In the living room Taiyang looked at the arm in the box, left there by Yang who had not even bothered to touch it.
He had known that there was a chance of Yang not accepting it immediately, but to see his sunny little dragon act like this was tough for Tai.
"She will shine again, as soon as she puts her will to it." he said quietly to himself as he turned to the kitchen. Mopy daughter or not, he still had to put on food. No way was he letting Ruby cook again so soon after she almost set the house on fire trying to make dinner.
"Ruby?" he called out.
"Yes dad?" said Ruby from somewhere in the house. Tai thought he could hear the sound of a pen on paper. Was Ruby writing something?
"Could you look in on Yang in a while?"
"Sure thing, but why not now?"
"We have to give her a bit of space… and time."
"Oh, okay. I'll do that then. ...Later of course."
Had Yang left the TV on for a while longer the Xiao Long household might have seen something most interesting. At Beacon's grounds the astartes were moving. But not in the way they had been for the last month.
Ranks were being formed by the astartes and all of their armor seemed polished. Even those belonging to the Flesh Tearers seemed to have but a bit of effort into cleaning up their armors. They were all waiting. Their father would finally walk among them once again after all this time.
A single horn sounded and all space marines and serves knew what it meant: their primarch was about to address them. All activity came to a halt as even the workers from the City of Vale realized something was about to happen. All eyes turned up to the roof of the Tower of Beacon. All around Beacon, all signals and broadcasts and screen were tuned to one single broadcast.
Glad in the colors of the three chapters that had ventured to Remnant and his wings tucked close to his back, Jaune Sanguinius Arc stepped forward to address his sons. His expression was calm and steady, but there was a clear glimmer of pride in his eyes.
"My sons" he said and his voice, carried by vox, was heard by all of them. "well met. My heart swells with pride to see what you have done during my slumber. It has not passed me by that you have been busy safeguarding this kingdom while my wounds were mended. I, and all the people of Vale, are in your debt. Your act of selflessness shall be recalled for generations to come in great stories."
"NAY!" came a collective shot from the space marines. Jaune thought that the loudest voices were those of the Lamenters.
"That was duty! Nothing to make a story out of!"
Jaune raised a hand and the noise died down instantly. He was however, not annoyed by the interruption, but proud of it.
"Well spoken. I couldn't agree more. But even after your watch over this kingdom, your task is not over. Our task is not over. Those who attacked us are still out there somewhere, and this cannot stand. It is our duty to find them and deliver them to justice. To avenge those lost in the Battle of Beacon and Vale, and to prevent this from happening to others. That is our mission" he told them. "One that only we can follow to its completion."
He raised his hand to his breastplate that had once failed to protect him from Cinder's blade. The injury still ached but he did not have time to waste while Cinder was at large.
"My sons. The campaign we are heading into will be a hard-fought, have no question in your hearts. Some of us may never see the sands of Baal again or the djungles of Cretacia or the halls of the Mater Lachrymarum, but we will all fight knowing that this mission cannot fail.
We will do these things, for we are the IX, and we fear not. We are proud sons of the Imperium and the protectors of mankind. We are the Angels of Death and the Emperor's Wrath!"
Jaune was answered by a chorus of shouts and it almost felt like the Tower would crumble from the strength of the astartes' voices.
He gave the order for the final preparations to be made and then turned around to the ruins of Ozpin's office. He was greeted by his team.
"So how did I do?"
"Well enough." said Ren. "But I'm going to mark that as 7 out of 10."
"Autch! Careful with the sass, Ren. I'm still recovering here."
"Oh walk it off you wuss." said Nora and swung open the lid that led to the emergency exit from Ozpin's office. "So all ready to go fetch our final companion to our little fellowship?"
"Yep. Just got a few details to handle before we take some of our vessels fly us to Patch to pick her up."
"Did you remember the weapons?" asked Pyrrha. "You know she will want to see as many of them as possible."
"Pyr, please. Weapons were the first thing me and her ever talked about… apart from many people having motion sickness, of course."
"So have you done it?" asked Pyrrha.
"..."
"Jaune…"
"I'll do it. I'll do it."
They came out of the ruins of Beacon Tower and entered into the sea of activity on the courtyard. Nora, Ren and Pyrrha went straight towards a Thunderhawk waiting for them while Jaune took a detour to another craft waiting a bit away from the rest.
Even as he was intent on hunting down Cinder there was no way he could not leave a contingent in Vale. Mountain Glenn was still swarming with Grimm and he would be a fool to keep that place unsupervised. Some had suggested that they cleanse the grimm nest first, before heading out after Cinder, but they had waited long enough as it was. Any more delays and the trail might be lost forever and Cinder would be free to commit some new atrocity against the people of Remnant.
Mountain Glenn on the other hand, was not going anywhere anytime soon.
"Are you ready?" he asked a Blood Angel standing by the Thunderhawk. The marking on his armor marked him as a member of the 4th company.
"Surely you jest, my lord? We were born ready. Is that not right brothers?"
A series of nods from the other space marines affirmed the statement. Jaune saw several other Blood Angels from the same company as well as members of the 3rd company of the Flesh Tearers and some Lamenters whose company Jaune had not learned of yet.
He spoke to them briefly, wanting to be on his own way as soon as possible as much as he didn't wish to keep these warriors from their appointed task.
Jaune gave the final order and the contingent headed to Mountain Glenn was off. Jaune figured that he would not be surprised if he returned from Mistral to find the ghost town purged, but he had been quite clear in his orders. The astartes were to keep the grimm there contained until reinforcements could be brought in. They were of course free to try to take on all those grimm on their own, but Jaune had been quite clear that he did not wish any more deaths to befall the successors of the IX legion than necessary.
*sigh*
"Let it go Jaune, they are grown-ass astartes. They have been looking after themselves for ten millennia without you hanging over their shoulder." Jaune muttered to himself as he saw them fly away.
"Do you get it now, son?" asked Jaune's dad, stepping up to him followed by his wife and other children.
"Get what, dad?"
"How worried I was when you decided to leave home."
"Ha! Hardly. My sons have been trained by some of the best and all have been through worse, whereas I never even had gotten a single lesson in swordplay from you. No offence."
"Yeah… I suppose. So you're going then? Despite neither you or Pyrrha having fully recovered?"
"Yep. Can't let Cinder be on the run forever. Besides, we've got Ren and Nora with us." Jaune said and with his last moments before departure he said goodbye to his teary eyed family and promised to return to them.
"You look after yourself now, Jaune. And don't forget to write. And to brush your teeth. And don't hesitate to ask Pyrrha or Nora to help you groom your wings. Don't bother asking Ren - let the girls handle it. They know how to make it look good. And-"
"Honey, I believe he has to go now." said Jaune's father, sparing his son from an never ending flow of advice.
"Go on now Jaune, and remember to be safe."
"I will try dad."
With that Jaune boarded a Thunderhawk with his team and felt the craft lift off the ground.
*Knock* *Knock*
The knocking on the door snapped Yang out of her daze.
"Yes?"
In stepped Ruby, carefully, not wanting to disturb her sister or intrude.
"Hey, sis. I wanted to see how you were doing."
Yang shrugged. "Like usual."
She said the words without feeling and without looking Ruby in the eye. Yang had barely looked up at her sister.
"Good, good. You… eh, keeping up with your exercises?"
"Yeah." Yang said halfheartedly. "Sit-ups, one arm push-ups and plenty of juice."
"That's great. So I, uh, I noticed Atlas had sent you a cool... present."
She avoided calling it an arm, not wanting to upset Yang any more.
"It looks cool, I think."
"Yeah, I guess."
Ruby looked sorrowfully at her sister. She wanted to help Yang, but what could she do?
Especially with what she was planning to do. The letter she had hidden in her sleeve was poking at her skin. Where was she supposed to put it?
She took a few careful steps into the room and walked up to Yang's dresser.
"What 'u doing?" asked Yang, suspiciously as Ruby pulled out a drawer.
"Oh, just checking for some of my things. I think dad might have mixed up some of our stuff. You know, girl stuff."
"Heh, yeah he would." joked Yang halfheartedly and raised her hand up to her chest and made grabbing motion with her hand.
"Can't blame him now, can we? What with your recent growth spurt."
"Yang!" Ruby shouted flustered, using the sudden noise to sneak the letter into the drawer unnoticed.
"I haven't gotten that big!"
"Heh, sure."
And with that, the fire that had flickered in Yang's eyes for but a moment died out.
"Well, dad is making dinner, so get ready for that."
"Tell him I'm not hungry."
"Too late for that."
"Then give my portion to Zwei."
"Yang, you can't just keep giving your food to Zwei! He is getting fat!"
Yang didn't answer.
Without saying another word Ruby left her sister's room only to come across a rather chubby Zwei.
"Zwei, please look after Yang while I'm gone. And make sure to keep her in shape."
"Arf!" barked Zwei and wiggled his tail.
Ruby smiled at the little dog.
"Good boy."
Her letter to Yang delivered and hidden, Ruby walked off to take care of a few last details.
Part of her had wanted to tell Yang of her plans face to face, but she knew Yang would kick up a fuss about it, and let their dad know. Then Ruby would have no chance of getting out of the house.
Instead she had hidden the letter in such a place that Yang would no doubt find it the next day, when Ruby was well on her way. Yang would no doubt let her dad know of the letter, it was addressed to both of them, after all.
Ruby had worked long and hard on trying to write that letter. It just wouldn't do to leave without giving her sister and dad an explanation for her actions.
Ruby grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder. She had finished dinner a while ago and done her dishes.
Yang was still sitting at the table, looking blankly at the now cold food in front of her.
Taiyang was on the scroll with someone. To Ruby it sounded like whoever it was, said person wanted to come over.
Well, whoever was on the scroll with Tai had Ruby's blessings as they kept Tai distracted while Ruby snuck out of the house.
As Ruby closed the door, careful not to make too much noise, she heard the sound of footsteps coming up to her. She turned around and was greeted by a kind smile and a very familiar "Hello again".
Ruby didn't hesitate to wrap her arms around Pyrrha in a hug.
Pyrrha was a bit surprised by the sudden hug, but returned it nonetheless.
"I'm so glad you're okay!" said Ruby when she finally pulled away, wiping a tear from her eye. The last time she had seen Pyrrha, it had been when Cinder was about to kill her.
Now, Pyrrha was there, alive and well. The only thing different was the dressing over her face and the changes on her armor. No longer was Pyrrha's chest exposed. Instead it was covered by a solid piece of metal with a single ruby in the middle, right above where Cinder's arrow had been.
"Likewise." said Pyrrha and separated from the hug. "I was quite worried when they told me of what happened, what with you not waking up after saving me."
"Heh, any time. I'm sure you would have done the same for me."
Pyrrha nodded at this.
"Thank you. I'm sorry for making you worry. So, are you ready to go?"
"Yeah, there is just someone I have to say goodbye to first."
They were standing in front of a gravestone, Ruby was right in front of it while Pyrrha was at a respectful distance, giving Ruby some space while she said goodbye to her mom.
"Hey, mom. Sorry I haven't come by in a while. Things have been... well, things have been pretty busy. Yang's been… well, she's been quite down lately. Dad keeps trying to cheer her up and active, but I don't know what it'll take to get her back up again.
Dad's still teaching at Signal, but with all that has happened, the school is out for now until everything has settled down after the attack on Vale. I think they will be back up soon, but dad is spending his new free time focusing on Yang.
Oh, speaking of schools, Beacon is getting back up, but it will still take a while. But it's in good hands. Jaune's kids, I mean his sons are camping there. They are like, just awesome! Kicking grimm butt like it's nothing. Oh! And they are all from space, mom! Space! I hardly believed it when Jaune told me about them, but now I'm just wondering if they will let me go up to space with them sometime. Not now, but maybe later. We'll see."
Ruby sighed.
"Still haven't heard anything from Blake and Weiss. You remember them right? I told you about them before the Tournament started. I don't really blame them. With the tower still down, getting in touch is difficult. Oh, and you remember those bad guys we stopped? Turns out they were working for Cinder Fall, the one who attacked Beacon.
So now we, that's me, Pyrrha, Jaune, Nora and Ren, are going to go off after her, and stop her from hurting any more people.
I've been preparing for my trip for awhile now. I left Dad and Yang a letter, so they know where I'm headed off to. Hopefully I'm far away before dad learns that I'm gone or else he will drag me back and ground me until I'm old.
Goodbye mom, I'll come talk to you again once we have stopped Cinder."
Ruby turned around to Pyrrha, still standing were Ruby left her, stretching her legs. Ruby understood why. When they had began walking, she had noticed that Pyrrha had a bit of a limp that now seemed to have gone away. Even after all that rest and healing, there would always be some mark after Cinder's arrows.
Ruby looked away from Pyrrha's leg and instead looked at Pyrrha as a whole.
She had noticed the changes in Pyrrha's armor earlier, but now she was getting a more complete picture. Apart from the limp, there were some dressings on Pyrrha's face, protecting it from the elements. Pyrrha's armor had undergone some subtle changes as well.
The graves on her feet had been made sturdier and heavier, no doubt in memory of their previous failure of protecting from Cinder's arrow.
The protection on Pyrrha's upper body had also changed a bit. It was heavier and sported more metal than before, only now it was protective, not decorative. Her chest area was now covered by a proper breast plate, hammered out to fit Pyrrha's endowment. The curves made the painted wings on the metal seem almost alive and in the centre of her chest there was a large ruby, right where Cinder's second arrow had struck.
All in all, Ruby figured that it looked good on Pyrrha.
But what really caught Ruby's attention was Pyrrha's weapon. Akuo had been mended, but with much stronger metal. Ruby tried to make out the details as Pyrrha kept twirling the weapon around, no doubt in order to get used to the added weight.
"Oh! Can I see it!" asked Ruby, unable to contain her enthusiasm for weapons.
"Of course, let me just- Oh, darn it!"
Pyrrha dropped her weapon by mistake and Ruby could almost hear Pyrrha biting back a curse.
Ruby tried not pay that too much mind, and instead picked up the weapon with wide eyes.
Running her fingers over the metal used to fix the weapon, Ruby could tell that it was no alloy she had ever come across before. Nor was the method used known to her either. But she did recognize the care and attention to detail that had been put into it.
But despite her awe, Ruby couldn't help but to frown at Pyrrha.
"Why didn't you let me have a look at it? I'm sure I could have fixed it!"
"Well, I never really had the time. I've been asleep for about a month and I've had little opportunity to come visit you."
"Apology accepted, IF you tell me how you did this."
"Sorry Ruby, but I'm not the one who fixed Akuo. It was a techmarine who did it."
There was a clear hint of unease and annoyance in Pyrrha's voice when she admitted it.
"Wha- really?"
"Really. In fact, I had to stop him from changing it any further."
Ruby nodded understandingly. Huntsmen's weapons were extensions of themselves, part of them. If anyone had even tried to change Crescent Rose without Ruby's consent she would have been quite upset. After all, it was HER weapon after all, that SHE had designed.
Ruby figured the same went for Pyrrha and Milo and Akouo.
Ruby handed back the weapon and the two of them began to walk, Pyrrha taking the lead as she led Ruby to their destination.
They were not taking the normal route that Ruby usually took when she left Patch. Arching an eyebrow she asked Pyrrha what was up.
"Well, we will hardly be travelling the 'normal way'" said Pyrrha with a small smile.
"It's a bit of a walk, but this way we don't have to worry about anyone bothering us while we are getting ready."
"Oh, well... okay." said Ruby as she tried to figure out what Pyrrha had meant by that.
"So, how have you been? And Jaune? Where is he by the way?"
"Jaune is waiting for us up ahead. I wanted to come meet you on my own. And well, we both woke up some time ago. Been trying to get back in shape since then, and getting used to having the astartes about and such."
"Uh-huh. What about you and Jaune? Things still working out with you two?"
Ruby was actually curious. She had been expecting someone from JNPR to come and meet her, but she had expected Jaune and Pyrrha. To only be met by Pyrrha was a sign that not all things were sunshine and rainbows with them.
Pyrrha bit her lip.
"Well… We did have an argument. About me going up the tower on my own."
"I understand. So, did you solve it or…?"
"We both agreed not to do something as stupid as that again." said Pyrrha and Ruby detected a decent amount of annoyance in the older girl's voice.
"Right." said Ruby and glanced at Pyrrha.
"Say, are you quite… I don't know, ready for this? You and Jaune have just gotten up from sleeping. Are you two at full strength yet? Not that I don't appreciate your drive but-"
"I'm fine." said Pyrrha, cutting Ruby off. "And so is Jaune. He agreed that we just couldn't afford to wait going after Cinder. So we are going."
"Right. Of course." said Ruby.
They rounded a small hill and Ruby saw the landed aircraft. She had seen them on TV a few times, as well as the space marines that rode them, but to see them in real life was something else.
"Woah."
"Yeah, Thunderhawks are quite the sight the first few times you see them. The astartes do have some more crafts and vehicles, but they are being prepared for deployment on the continent of Anima right now. We will need them when we get there."
"Yeah." said Ruby in a low voice as she shifted focus from the Thunderhawks to the astartes, or rather, to their weapons. Qrow had talked about them and now they were so close. They looked just as awesome as her uncle had described them. She had already realized that the space marines' weapons were not as expressive as Huntsmen's weapons. That would not work in any proper regular armed force.
But these weapons, guns and swords alike, were big!
Smiling, Pyrrha put a hand on Ruby's shoulder, snapping her out of whatever weaponized daydream she was in.
"Me and Jaune have given them a heads up about your interest in weapons. I think Jaune has told them to show you some of their gear. If he actually remembered to do so. Just don't touch anything without them saying it's okay."
"Iiiie! Really?"
"Yeah! Like really-really." said a feminine voice from ahead of them.
Ruby looked down the slope and saw a hammer wielding girl in a pink skirt. "Nora!"
"Ruby!" answered Nora with just as much joy.
"I'm here too." said Ren in his typical Ren fashion.
"And Ren!" said Ruby. "Hi guys! How are yo-"
Before Ruby could even finish her sentence did Nora give her a tremendous bear hug.
"We're fine. Been hanging around Beacon waiting for the sleeping beauties to wake up. What about you? Love the new look by the way."
"Heh, thanks."
"Yeah, you have really filled up since the last time we saw you."
"Wh-wh-what!? Really? Gosh, well… I guess it's because of dad's cooking and Yang's lack of appetite. I've kinda been eating more as dad will not have wasted food in his house."
"So Yang is not doing so well?" asked Ren.
"Well, she could do worse. Atlas sent her a new arm, on Ironwood's orders. It got here earlier today, but Yang didn't seem very interested in trying it out."
All were quiet for a while, sorry for Yang's lost arm, until Nora snapped her fingers in realization.
"Oh, so that's what that was about!"
"What was what about?"
"Earlier today, Jaune got a report about an Atlas military vessel entering Vale's airspace. They were not expecting anyone from Atlas so things almost got ugly." said Ren.
"Almost?"
"Well, they should have waited for clearance first." said Ren stoically. He was not too fond of the restrictions regarding travel, but with all that had happened he understood why the precautions had been implemented.
Not quite comfortable with that subject, Ruby changed the subject.
"Well, thanks for liking my new clothes. But you guys don't look too bad either. You really changed things up."
"Thank you." said Ren and Nora in unison.
As they got closer to the encampment Ruby finally got close enough to properly judge how big the space marines were. She wouldn't lie, it was quite frightening, especially as several of the astartes turned around to look at her with their red eyed helmets. But her worries dissipated when Jaune greeted her with a wave of his hand.
But even at a distance, Ruby could see that Jaune was quite tired as he talked to the astartes around him.
"Is it just me or does Jaune look a bit... overworked?"
"Who wouldn't be after trying to learn 10.000 years of history in a few weeks." said Ren.
"10.000 years!?"
"Yes, Jaune, or rather Sanguinius, died about 10.000 years ago and he has been trying to catch up on all that has happened in the Imperium since then. It has not all been happy news."
"Boy, you said it Renny. Jaune looked like he was going to bite someone's head of a few days ago when they told him about some Siege of Cracks or something."
"Siege of Vraks." corrected Ren. "And yes, he was quite angry."
"Well it's 'only' 10.000 years. it can't be worse than professor Oobleck's-" began Ruby but was cut off by Pyrrha.
"10.000 years of history of an entire galaxy with more wars and conflicts than anyone should ever have to know of. Plus, he is going through a book by one of his brothers."
"Oh. I see."
Yeah, that was worse than Oobleck's classes. And Port's for that matter.
Ruby shifted her attention to the space marines when they entered the area they had cleared.
"Say, what's with the different color schemes? Didn't Jaune just have one legion?"
Pyrrha nodded and explained briefly how the chapters related to the IX legion. She had just finished telling Ruby of the foundation of the Lamenters when Ruby shook her head like she was studying for a very hard test.
"How do you keep track of all of them?"
"It's easier than you think, but for now you only have to keep track of the Blood Angels chapter, the Flesh Tearers and the Lamenters. Oh, and speaking of the Lamenters..."
Pyrrha waved to a Lamenter who merely nodded back. Noticing Ruby's confusion Pyrrha explained.
"He saved us both at Beacon, Ruby. He shot Cinder's arrow out of the air when Qrow was carrying us."
"He shot it out of the air?"
"Yes, from a flying Thunderhawk to boot."
"Woah." Ruby was simply amazed by that.
Still, she got the feeling that these were not all of the astartes. Where was the rest of them? She didn't have time to ask as Jaune walked up to the group and greeted Ruby.
"Hi Ruby! Good to see you again."
"Hi Jaune. How are you?"
"Still a bit sore in some places, but otherwise okay. Hey, have you gotten taller?"
"Of course I've gotten taller. I drink milk."
Jaune smiled at the classic Ruby-line and began to walk with her for a bit.
"Okay, so can I go and see the guns now?" asked Ruby with a gleam in her silver eyes. She was not even bothering to hide her anticipation.
"I've had my sons prepare a selection for you over there." he said and pointed at a Thunderhawk.
"And Pyrrha reminded me to actually do it." he admitted.
"Yay! Thanks Jaune!" without losing wasting a second, Ruby ran off in a cloud of rose petals, leaving the others to catch up to her.
"Oh as chain sword! Uncle Qrow mentioned these. How long are the teeth? What are they made of? How sharp are they? What's the output on the motor? OH!GUN!What's the caliber?What sort or bullets does it fire?Can it do full auto?Can it be modified? Does it have-"
It was quite an interesting sight, seeing the little reaper in her red hood throw question after question at a Flesh Tearer who was struggling to keep up with the barrage of inquiries.
The others joined her in the Thunderhawk and the astartes got ready to move out. It is time to set off.
"Not that I don't appreciate all of this, but why are we are packing so much heavy weaponry? I thought we would just head straight for Haven?" asked Ruby and looked up from a Chain Sword that she was holding like a baby. She was panting after having asked so many questions without inhaling at all.
"Well, there is a good chance that we will have to make a few stops on the way, in case we run into some village that needs help."
Ruby shrugged. "Well, I'm always up for kicking grimm butt."
"Hang on." said Nora, butting in. "You're not going to question us not going straight to Haven?"
"Nope. It makes a kind of sense, I guess. Besides, with all that has happened I'm sure people are worried, and that brings grimm."
She fell silent for a while, playing with the trigger of the massive weapon, making it roar.
Ruby smiled gleefully and added with great delight she added "And like I said, I'm always up for kicking grimm butt."
"Heh, I like this one." muttered Skoraen, fangs flashing.
"It's always good to take the battle to the enemies of mankind."
"But are we expecting trouble?" asked Ruby worriedly as she began to prod more intently at the weapon in her arms.
"Our auspecs have detected several emergency broadcasts from minor Mistralian settlements along the border recently as well as general pleas for aid. Of course, with the CCT still down, the Mistarilan authorities don't know about any of that." explained Skoraen, matter of fact.
"Aren't there anyone that can do anything? Police? Military? Huntsmen?" asked Ruby worriedly.
"They are spread thin." said Jaune with a sigh.
"Mistral is the largest of all the kingdoms, but it's only got a population on par with Vale. There just isn't enough people to watch every crook and corner. Any other forces are tied up as well."
Ruby sat still for a moment before speaking again. "So we're going to help them? Right?"
"You bet!" said Nora.
"Well, the public support won't be bad either." said Ren, thinking a bit further ahead.
"True, talking with the council will be a lot easier if we got some public support." noted Pyrrha and looked over to Jaune who was enjoying the trip. He nodded.
While it was true that he could not leave all those unprotected villages alone when there were so many grimm about, there was another reason why he would help them out.
Eventually he would have to meet with the council in Mistral, who would be rather hostile towards him and his little trip into their territory. Jaune hoped that by gaining some public support, he would be able to convince some council members to not take up arms against the Imperium.
Oh well, a problem for later.
He tapped a combeed hidden in his armor's collar and asked for a final update from his sons on their way to Mountain Glenn. All seemed well and he hoped it would remain that way.
Ren walked up to him and they looked down on the ground, getting further and further away from them.
"The journey will be perilous, whether we are travelling with the space marines or not. And we might not even find the answers that we are looking for at the end." he said.
"Yes, but it's the only way we got. And none of us would be here if we weren't up for it."
With a final trust of the engines, team JNPR and Ruby were of to Mistral on their hunt for Cinder Fall.
From a distance Qrow watched as the Thunderhawks took to the sky, carrying his niece and her friends.
He finished chewing down a protein bar as well as downing an energy drink. He would need the extra energy if he was to keep up with them. He really hoped that they would make many stops to help out the good people of Mistral, because otherwise he wouldn't have a ghost of a chance of keeping up with them.
Checking his own gear a final time and making sure he had Ozpin's cane with him, Qrow jumped down from his hiding place and began to follow his niece in bird form.
'Why couldn't they have just walked?' he thought as he saw the Thunderhawks pull ahead of him.
In the land of darkness
"Show me, girl." said Salem in a commanding tone.
They were in the same room where Salem and her subordinates had held council before. Only now there were only Salem and Cinder at the table. Emerald and Mercury were standing at the back, watching. Mercury looked bored but in reality he looked on with interest. Emerald was also vested in what was going on, but unlike Mercury, she was worried.
This all had something to do with what Cinder had done down in the Vault at Beacon, to Arc. It was about the power of the Maiden. Or rather, what the Maiden's power shouldn't have done.
"Show me the flame." said Salem, patience running low. She grabbed Cinder's wrist and held up the young woman's hand when Cinder didn't immediately do as she was told.
"Show me it now."
Cinder hesitantly obliged and in the palm of her hand came a flame.
Mercury tilted his head somewhat. How was this different than all the other flames Cinder had made before? Was it because she now had 'the full power of the Maiden' or some other bullcrap.
Salem didn't waste time on words and instead tightened her grip on Cinder's wrist.
"Do you take me for a fool? Show me the flame you made in the vault! The one that hurt the Angel!"
Cinder focused on her hand and made a new flame. And another. And another.
But no matter how many times she tried to remake the flame, it just wouldn't emerge.
"Enough." said Salem. "I'm disappointed in you. All that effort and nothing to show for it."
She let go of Cinder's hand and contemplated for a moment.
"Child, do it again but this time remember the time in the vault. Remember what you felt, what you wanted at that moment, the words you spoke."
Cinder nodded and thought back to that moment. She recalled the excitement she had felt when she thought of snuffing the champion out of existence right before her beloved's eyes. She remembered her delight when the foolish Angel had gotten struck down instead and how he had been powerless to stop her as she hurled the second flame at his partner.
Cinder wanted to feel that again. The feeling of holding the fates and lives of others in her hands. Yes, that was power. That's what she wanted.
As Cinder kept thinking even crueler and malicious thoughts a flame came forth in her palm. There it was. The flame that had once brought the Angel of Beacon low. And if it had done that to him, then what could it do to others? Oh, what delicious and malicious thoughts she was having.
Emerald stared wide-eyed at the flame. It made her want to jump out of her own skin and just run away.
Mercury was completely silent. A gut feeling told him that something was wrong with what he was seeing. In the corner of his eye he thought he could see something move, but when he looked there was nothing there.
Both of them were sweating despite the air feeling very shilly. The light in the room didn't seem to illuminate as much as they had done moments before.
Cinder looked at the flame with her one remaining eye. She wanted it to be bigger, stronger, more powerful. But even as she did so did Salem reach up to the flame and put her hand in it. It did not burn the Queen of the Grimm's flesh but Salem looked taken aback by it. She stared at it intently, sometimes turning her hand as if to get a better feel of it.
Mercury began to crouch, almost getting into a battle ready position. He kept seeing things at the corners of his eyes. Was it an illusion? A trick of the mind or eye? He looked over to Emerald, intent of slapping her if this was her semblance's doing. But it wasn't. Emerald looked even more worried than Mercury felt. She was frozen, staring at the flame in Cinder's palm and at Cinder who seemed lost in its baleful glow, her wicked smile growing more and more as the flame grew.
Mercury reached out to grab Emerald, intent on making a run for it if what he was seeing didn't stop soon. But before he could the flame was gone. Gone were the motions at the limits of his vision. And gone was the smile on Cinder's face, now replaced by a puzzled look.
Salem had grasped hold of Cinder's hand with her own, as if to smother the flame. Black tendrils were reaching out from her hand like thorns around hers and Cinder's hands as if to ward of something. She looked greatly concerned as she contemplated what had just transpired.
"Cinder." said Salem in a grave voice. "You are to never conjure that flame ever again."
"Mistress… I don't-" said Cinder but was cut off by Salem, leaning closer.
"Never call upon that flame ever again!"
"But it-."
"NEVER!" said Salem and a mass of darkness pulsated out from her towards Cinder, ready to consume her if she disobeyed.
"Do not conjure what you cannot put down. Never forget that, child."
"Understood." said Cinder in a defeated voice and bowed her head.
"Good. Now leave me. There are matters I must attend to. We will continue your training later."
"Understood."
Cinder rose up from her chair and made for the door. Emerald and Mercury moved to follow her.
Alone in the chamber, Salem sank back down in her chair.
She hoped that she had put the fear of Salem into Cinder, and that said fear would be stronger than Cinder's lust for power. But even so, she was worried.
The flame Cinder had shown her, that she had used at Beacon, did not stem from the Maiden's power. No, this was something else. When Salem had gleamed into the flame she had not just been looking. She had been feeling, and listening to it. She had tapped into the vastness from which magic stemmed from and what she had heard had sounded like cruel laughter. And she had felt a will. Or perhaps several ones.
What could it mean? The gods had abandoned Remnant long ago, vowing to not return until they were called upon. And no one had done that yet. She was sure of it.
But that begged the question: what had made Cinder conjure that bale flame in the first place. It did not belong to the arsenal of the Maidens. Salem was sure of that as well.
Had it been the Angel who caused it to happen? No. That couldn't be it. The flame had hurt the Angel, not aided him.
Or perhaps the flame had come to hinder the Angel, to stop him? That was a possibility but who or what would seek that out apart from Salem herself?
But the Angel was dead. The children had seen him fall. Perhaps that meant Cinder's mysterious benefactor might stay away from now on?
Only time would tell, and Salem had plenty of that.
Cinder walked in silence, followed by her disciples. Both Emerald and Mercury had calmed down after what they had experienced back with Salem. Both of them seemed to believe that Cinder would never dare to tap into the flame again after her talk with Salem.
But Cinder was thinking. Her mistress had forbidden her from using this power ever again. The only reason for that was if the power was dangerous, a threat. And if it was a threat that even Salem worried about then it must have been a very great power. But then why had it only ever affected the Angel?
And as far as Cinder was concerned, there is no such thing as enough power when there was more to be had. But for now, she would leave that matter be. Who was there to use the power on anyway? The Angel was dead.
So Cinder would leave the baleful flame be, and instead devote her energies to mastering the powers of the Fall Maiden. That power was of use to her. For now she had other targets. Targets like Ruby Rose.
'Paaatiencccce, belooovvveed Cinderrr. The time willll cooome for the flame to burn aagaiiinnn.'
At a farm in Mistral
Oscar sat on his bed. A book illuminated by a single lanters rested in his hands and his eyes scanned the pages, absorbing every word on them. All of his mental effort was turned to the book. There was nothing else but the book to him at that time.
"-ar!" "Os-" "-car" "OSCAR!" came the voice of Oscar's aunt, finally snapping Oscar from the book,
"Wha-what?"
"Have you gone deaf? Dinner's almost ready!"
"Oh, dinner. What're we having?"
"Don't matter! You're eating it anyway!"
"I never agreed to this!"
"Too bad for you! You live under my roof, you eat my grub! Now wash up!"
Oscar got up to do as his aunt had 'asked' him to do when the voice of Ozpin spoke up.
"We have to leave, Oscar. We mustn't dally."
Oscar paid the voice no mind and continued walking. He had been making a conscious effort of ignoring the voice of 'Ozpin'. He was determined to follow the age old principle of "if I ignore it, it will go away".
Pity that Ozpin didn't share Oscar's view on the matter. He had tried that method is a few of his past lives. You can all guess how that had turned out for him.
"Oscar. Oscar! We've wasted enough time here already. We must make haste."
"Don't. I've decided you're not real. And that's that."
"Oscar, I'm sorry. But this is not for you to decide. It wasn't for those that this happened to before you, and if we don't get going soon it will be just as bad for others in times to come." chastised Ozpin. The dead man continued in a softer voice.
"Oscar, I get that you're scared and worried and hesitant to accept this. I understand that you would much rather believe yourself insane rather than accepting this. But it's the way things are. I wish with all of my being that this wasn't the case, but it is. Our souls, our auras, have merged and we are stuck with each other."
"Shut up! I have wasted enough time talking to y-"
"Think of Haven, Oscar." said Ozpin, cutting off the boy's sentence. Describe the Lionheart's office."
"How on Remnant am I supposed to do that? I've never seen…" Oscar's words stopped as a vision of an office appeared in his mind.
"Oh shit." Oscar's anger seeped out of him as he was recalling the office of Haven's headmaster. It seemed so real.
"Try to describe it." said Ozpin, urging Oscar on.
The words were slow to come out of Oscar but come they did. He described it in great detail, the mahogany desk that Lionheart was so fond of, the small table for quests and then the tea set that he had given to Lionheart.
Oscar snapped out of memory lane as he realized that he had referred to himself in first person as if he had given the set to Lionheart. But it had been Ozpin who had given it to him! But- but- that would mean...
Sensing the shrink in the armor around Oscar's resolve to deny him, Ozpin took his chance and began pouring more of his memories into the boy's mind. Oscar would probably hate him for it, but they had dallied long enough already. And there was more at stake than Ozpin's eternal battle against Salem.
Ozpin focused on the later parts of his most recent life, hoping to show Oscar how they, the world had come to be in this particular situation and why they had to go to Haven. He did not have time or any hope of showing Oscar everything. And Oscar would probably not even remember half of it.
Not before Oscar slumped down on the floor did Ozpin stop. It was a cruel method, Ozpin admitted, to cram his memories into his new host like this.
The few other people who he had done this to had rarely taken too kindly to it and normally resisted the changes the most, often hampering their task out of spite despite the need for cooperation.
But Ozpin had been through this song and dance before. He knew better than to rely on Oscar's innate goodness to get him moving. He looked into Oscar's mind and found desires and wishes as were common for boy's in Oscar's age. A desire to not lead his entire life a mere farmhand. The boy, like so many others his age, wanted greatness. It wouldn't come without hardship, without sacrifice, but Oscar could have it. If only he got going to Haven. If only he would help Ozpin deliver his warning to Arc.
But for now he needed rest, and so would Oscar after this ordeal. Ozpin retreated to the depths of his host's mind and let the boy mind himself. He only hoped there was still time for him to do what he needed to do.
"I am sorry that it had to be this way. But this is bigger than either of us and Salem combined."
Oscar heard his Aunt call out for him. It was time for dinner. He had dozed off for a moment. Whatever Ozpin had done must have done it to him. But if there was any consolation it was the fact that the dead man seemed to have been even more winded by it than Oscar for he did not respond when Oscar called.
Oscar pulled himself up and began walking towards the kitchen. Even as he quickly washed his hands he mulled over what Ozpin had showed him.
He ate slowly and didn't speak as he dined. His aunt even asked if he was alright or if he was feeling ill.
He said that he was fine and kept on eating. A few minutes later, he asked her if they had any book about Haven.
"There is just something that I began to think about." he said.
They did indeed have a book about Haven, and in it was a picture of the headmaster's office. It was just like he, and Ozpin, had remembered it.
"Dang it." he muttered under his breath. "I guess I don't have any choice but to go now."