Reviews:
Guest (First One): Glad to see that you had enjoyment due to the special. Yes I know it was a day early, I finished it on May 30th. The sooner I got it out to you the faster I could get onto the next chapter.
Guest (Second One): Great to see that you had some laughs because of the skits, I can always augment your brain so that you don't feel if needed.
Guest (Third One): Hopefully you can fix your computer after that crash. I did design the special to be like that, I made a note to myself to 'make it tzeentch's wet dream'.
Forge Master 00: While I do not support giving the abhumans our technology, even if it is designed to kill the user, because they can use the remain of the weapon to try to replicate it. But since Rose is protected by the Angry Marines, no charges will be pressed. I am surprised how her disguise worked against the abhumans, the Sicarian Killclade might adopt that doctrine in the future. Also you have all the rights to use Magos Explorator Double Null in anything that you write. Glad to have an experienced reviewer here.
Speech Syntaxes:
-Speech- Lingua-Technis
"Speech" Low Gothic/English
"Speech" Demon/Possesed
Notes: Now that we are back to the canon part of the story, the plot is finally going to get moving! I lied when I said were are on Dance Dance Infiltration, we are starting half way thru Burning the Candle instead. I am going to try to focus on team RWBY and team JNPR in this chapter, that does not mean that there will be no Ad Mech.
Chapter Fourteen: Feudals
Sounds of anguish, torture, maniacal laughter, and power saws could be heard from Magos Biologis Nova's laboratory. Completely unrelated, the recent shipment of specimens from the surface have disappeared. Pugnus had received an idea from an unknown comrade from Mars that he planned to put into action against the enemies of mankind, at least that is all he told Nova. She was left in the dark about why her unique orders could help the Adeptus Mechanicus forces, but the Magos Biologis was given an opportunity to study how the local abhuman species function. The Faunus were crying out in pain and agony as Nova begun the operations, they screamed about war crimes and mercy. They did not need their eyes or animal traits anyway, for the Magos Dominus had need for at least eighteen of them.
Blake was pacing around in the empty classroom as Yang sat on the teacher's desk. "Yang, if you're going to tell me to stop, you may as well save your breath," pleaded the Faunus.
Her partner calmly corrected her, " I don't want you to stop; I want you to slow down."
"I don't have the luxury to slow down," spat out the Faunus with irritation laced in her voice.
"It's not a luxury; it's a necessity," corrected Yang
Blake finally turned to face her partner, the bags under her eyes were apparent, "The necessity is stopping whatever the White Fang and the Adeptus Mechanicus are planning."
The blonde's eyes flared red at the mention of the metallic aliens. Yang spat out thou her gritted teeth, "They need to be stopped." She took a deep breath to remain calm before continuing, "But first you have to sit down and listen to what I have to say." Blake looked off into the distance, were face was full of thought. She relents and sat on the desk without a word.
Her partner started to regal her story, "Ruby and I grew up in Patch, an island off the coast of Vale. Our parents were Huntsmen. Our dad taught at Signal, and our mom took on missions around the kingdom. Her name was Summer Rose, and she was, like…Super-Mom: Baker of cookies and slayer of giant monsters. And then…one day she left for a mission and never came back. It was tough. Ruby was really torn up, but…I think she was still too young to really get what was going on, y'know? And my dad just kind of…shut down. It wasn't long before I learned why. Summer wasn't the first love he lost; she was the second. The first... was my mom. He wouldn't tell me everything, but I learned that the two of them had been on a team together with Summer and Qrow, and that she'd left me with him right after I was born. No one had seen her since."
"Why did she leave you?" interrupted Blake.
"That question... Why?" answered Yang as she got off the desk and moved to the chalkboard. She continued her story, "I didn't know an answer, but I was determined to find out. It was all I thought about. I would ask anyone I could about what they knew about her. Then, one day, I found something. What I thought was a clue that could lead me to answers, or maybe even my mother.I waited for Dad to leave the house, put Ruby in a wagon, and headed out. I must've walked for hours. I had cuts and bruises, I was totally exhausted, but I wasn't gonna let anything stop me. When we finally got there, I could barely stand, but I didn't care; I had made it. And then I saw them. Those burning red eyes…here we were: A toddler sleeping in the back of a wagon and a stupid girl too exhausted to even cry for help. We might as well have been served on a silver platter. But, as luck would have it, our uncle showed up just in time. My stubbornness should've gotten us killed that night."
"Yang... I'm sorry that happened to you, and I understand what you're trying to tell me, but this is different. I'm not a child, and this isn't just a search for answers! I can't just-" retorted the Faunus.
The blonde cut her off, "I told you: I'm not telling you to stop! I haven't! To this day, I still want to know what happened to my mother and why she left me, but I will never let that search control me. We're going to find the answers we're looking for, Blake. But if we destroy ourselves in the process, what good are we?"
Blake raised her voice at her partner, "You don't understand! I'm the only one who can do this!"
Yang snapped around on her heels, her eyes were a bright crimson red, "No, you don't understand! If the White Fang or the Adeptus Mechanicus walked through that door, what would you do?"
Both students were not standing as the Faunus answered, "I'd fight them!"
"You'd lose!" yelled the blonde as she shoved her partner onto the table.
Blake retaliated with a weak one handed push, that did not make Yang move, while raising her voice even more, "I can stop them!"
Yang started to lower her voice as she shoved her partner over the table and onto the floor, "You can't even stop me." The hidden Faunus weekly looked up to face her partner as she left the room, "I'm not asking you to stop. Just please, get some rest. Not just for you, but for the people you care about. And if you feel like coming out tomorrow, I'll save you a dance."
Jaune Arc was walking around the school a day before the dance, he was looking for his Snow Angel to ask her out. That was when he heard a familiar voice, "I know this is a little unorthodox, but…I wanted to ask you something. Would you…like to accompany me to the dance tomorrow?" Arc's heart hit the ground before the rose that was in his hand did.
Inside team JNPR's dorm, Ren could tell that Pyrrha was lost in thought while she looked out of the window. Nora was busy with listening to music while reading her book, and Jaune has not returned from trying to woo Weiss which would inevitably fail. "What is on your mind Pyrrha?" asked the only male in the room.
"I am still thinking about what Dominus Ferrum said to me last time in combat class. Was it out of jealousy or actual corrections? I have not seen any of the tech-priest showing emotions, which makes it hard to get a read on their personality. Should I ask her about it or leave it be? Will it happen again or was this a one time thing?" vented the redhead. Ren took a moment to process the information, there were a lot of variables at play here.
He thought out loud, "If you leave it alone it might become a larger problem later or nag at your brain. Ignoring the problem would have the same effect. You could confront her about it, but that might have negative results. Then again, you can always talk to Professor Goodwitch about it to see if she can clear up the problem."
Pyrrha smiled as she turned to face Ren, "Thanks for the advice Ren, I will talk to the Professor tomorrow. Right now it is almost curfew, and Jaune has yet to return…" With the mention of her partner, her smile faded away as she took a glance at the door before entering under her sheets. He knew that if she did not make a move that Jaune would never see her as more than a friend, but it was not his place to get involved just yet.
The Magos Dominus was dead silent as he watched the security footage. He opened up the files for Yang Xiao Long and Blake Belladonna, and prepared to edit them. Pugnus added a singular line to each of them, 'Plots against the Adeptus Mechanicus.' Even though they pose no threat now, it does not mean they will not be a nuisance in the future. They will ever change their mind or lose their cognitive functions. He then informed the female Dominus that she should keep her emotion in check. The Magos Dominus would have gone to recharge, but right now he had work to do.
It was the day of the dance, and every single member of team RWBY could not sleep in due to their excitement and angists. Once they sat down at their table in the cafeteria Ruby asked, "Blake, are you going to the dance today?" Even though her sister told her the answer, Ruby wanted to hear the words come from the Faunus' mouth.
"Yes," she replied bluntly. The crimson team leader jumped up from her seat filled joy, with both hands raised to the roof. Blake turned to her partner as she continued, "But that does not mean that I will not stop from finding out what the Adeptus Mechanicus is doing."
Yang reassured her, "Do not worry. I will help you against those metal bastards after the dance." Weiss nodded at the blonde's statement, while the team leader gave her sister a weird look.
"What is wrong with the Adeptus Mechanicus?" questioned Ruby.
The ex-White Fang member spat out, "They kill Faunus without reason."
"They are a threat to the kingdoms," added the Heiress.
Yang mentioned, "They are a cult."
Ruby tried to defend herself, "But they killed Roman Torchwick and defeated a Grimm hoard yesterday. They also have cool weapons that they use to protect the citizens of Vale."
Her sister informed her, "Rubes, they are lying when they say they will protect us, and they hate Faunus for no reason."
"I have never seen them being mean to Faunus," commented the team leader.
The Faunus growled, "One of them insulted me because I was a Faunus two days ago."
Ruby corrected her, "Cyber only asked why you are still wearing the bow."
"Cultist like them do not deserve a name Ruby," berated her partner. The two other people at the table nodded in agreement, the crimson teen on the other hand gave up the argument and stared into her plate of food. From the other side of the cafeteria, they could all hear Cardin and his team bullying a Velvet. Instead of glaring at team CRDL, Blake turned her gaze to the pair of Skitarii stationed in the room.
The Faunus in hiding commented, "See Ruby, they are not stopping Cardin from bullying Velvet. They hate Faunus, it is as simple as that." Instead of repeating the same pointless argument, the scythe wielder walked up to the Skitarii.
"Why are you not stopping team CRDL from bullying the Faunus over there? Is it because the Adeptus Mechanicus hates Faunus?" asked the teenager innocently as the rest of her team listen in.
One of the Skitarii explained, "Since the Adeptus Mechanicus has no form of local currency a few of the Skitarii volunteered to take jobs in the local area, both of us got assigned to security in the cafeteria. This allows us to earn money legally and the teachers to grade papers instead of standing around here. To train us, we watched all of the security footage from the cameras in this room. Mister Winchester has bullied Miss Scarlatina on multiple occasions, and the teachers present in the cafeteria did not move to stop him. If you view that as wrong you can go stop him yourself. It is the duty of a huntsmen to protect innocents, while us soldiers' duty is to follow orders. We have been ordered by Ozpin to not intervene, but that does not stop you."
Ruby Rose walked back to her seat silently and continued to eat her food. Blake asked herself, 'If Ozpin supports equal rights for Faunus than why does he not allow his teachers to stop cases of bullying.'
"Now that they mention it, the teachers never stopped anything in the cafeteria besides the foodfight. Even then that was Professor Goodwitch who was walking by," pondered Weiss.
Blake countered, "Yes, but that does not stop them from stopping Cardin."
"No offence Blake, but it kinda does," countered Ruby. The Faunus glared, signaling her her to continue, "They have no Lien, that means they can not get anything legally. They can still barter for stuff, but they do not seem like the kind of people to do that. If they do something out of line they might lose their job, that means they do not get paid." Blake was not pleased at her observation, and when back to her food.
Yang cut the conversation short, "Enough of that. Wiess, we still have to do the final arrangement for the dance. In the meantime, I expect the two of you to go shopping for Blake's outfit."
The Faunus corrected her, "I already have an outfit for the dance." Ruby could not her sigh of relief to get out of shopping for shoes. One the crimson teen's list of things she hates, high heels is number three. With oatmeal raisin cookies and mistreating weapons above that. Neither was first place, instead they were tied for first and second place.
Pyrrha was standing outside of Professor Goodwitch's office debating if she should even be here. Before the spartan could decided the door was opened unexpectedly to reveal Glynda standing in front of her. The teacher asked, "Miss Nikos, what is on your mind?"
"It is about what Dominus Ferrum told me in class yesterday," explained Pyrrha. The professor walked into her office and gestured for the student to follow her.
Professor Goodwitch informed her, "I confronted Ira about the over extensive corrections after the class ended, while recording the entire conversation." The teacher placed her scroll onto the table and press the play button. The voice of the teacher questioned, 'What do you have against Miss Nikos?'
A metallic voice explained, 'I have no ill will due to the fact that I can not bear emotions…I have been augmented with emotional dampeners to help keep calm and focused during the heat of battle. When you would feel jubilant, I would feel mild satisfaction. When you are terrified, I would be slightly uneased. I have nothing against Miss Nikos, I am only reminding her the weakness of the flesh. The more advanced the student is the more miniscule are the errors, but they are still mistakes nonetheless.'
Pyrrha tried interpreted the words, "She is only correcting more because she views me as superior?"
"That is the explanation she gave, but her actions speak something else. She corrected the second, third, and fourth year students with less accuracy. Either Dominus Ferrum believes you are too experienced to be here or she has bias against you," corrected Professor Goodwitch.
The champion whispered to herself, "So she does hate me."
The teacher recommended, "You should talk to the tech-priest yourself about this to get to the bottom of it, or you could leave it alone. The choice is yours." Pyrrha silently left the office and started to wander the halls of the school.
Pyrrha soon found one of the tech-priest standing at the main entrance to Beacon. It was hard for her to tell them apart because the only thing different about them is their weapons that they keep under their robes most of the times. At least Pyrrha knew that the tech-priest was not an Enginseer. The champion walked up to the cyborg and asked, "Hello, are you Dominus Ferrum?"
"I know that it is hard for humans to tell us tech-priest apart, but can you notice that I am not a female?" exasperated the Dominus.
Pyrrha countered, "All of you wear the same style of robes, and the same monotone metallic voice."
Quin sighed as he explained, "Back to the point. Dominus Ferrum is busy currently and she will not be here until after dark. I can also answer your question as well."
"Does Dominus Ferrum hate me?" asked the champion.
The Dominus' logic kicked in, "Improbable, it would take something serious to make Ira hate you. The more likely situation is that she is disturbed by you, the reason why is unknown. I do not know the female Dominus personally, but I know from the files that she prefers to vent her anger into the enemy instead of solving it."
Pyrrha continued her questioning, "Files?"
"That is none of your concern. What you should be worrying about is how to get Jaune to go to the dance with you," countered Quin as he quickly walked away from Pyrrha. Leaving her to her thoughts.
Ozpin sat in his office as he watched thru the security cameras, he knew that the Adeptus Mechanicus was plotting something. Three of their tech-priest and twenty of their soldiers left, he still has not learned the name of those soldiers. He knew that they were not Skitarii because they appeared completely different and they carried melee weapons. He checked their radio station to see if they left to attack the White Fang, only static came from the speakers.
Dominus Ferrum and Enginseer Eights were with the Sicarian Killclade in a White Fang Outpost that was taken yesterday. They preparing for the first major operation. The Magos Biologis Nova has completed her part of the plan, and now there were stuck with twenty crates designed to preserve the unique augments. Enginseer Precision was in the medical tent of the camp inspecting the fresh converts, eighteen in total. Lucky enough for him, the Enginseer did not have to install ocular augments due to their unnatural eye conditions.
Afterword: I know I said we would be getting to the dance, but then I realized that there is a part in Burning the Candle where Blake and Yang argue about having to stop Torchwick. I would have skipped over it, but then I remembered that I kill off the criminal lord.