Chapter 7
"I see…" Mental-Ruby rubbed her chin as Penny finished explaining the situation in the real world. "You're from the outside. That makes sense. The other one was, too."
"Other one?" Weiss finally stopped bashing her head against the tree to look back at the mental-projections. "You mean Paulette?"
"OF COURSE, SHE MEANS PAULETTE, YOU STUPID DOLT!" Suddenly, a young woman in white attire came into existence.
"Whoa!" Weiss took a step back with her hands raised in a calming manner. "Who are you?"
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'WHO AM I?!' I'M WEISS SCHNEE! I'M THE PRINCESS OF ATLAS AND TEAM RWBY'S BEST GIRL! AND I SECRETLY LOVE RUBY EVEN THOUGH I WON'T SAY IT OUT LOUD! SO YOU BETTER NOT TRY TO STEAL HER FROM ME, YOU STUPID PLEBIAN BITCHES!"
Weiss leaned over to the real Penny and whispered in her ear. "This girl's kinda mean."
Penny just rolled her eyes. "Yes. We've met." The android girl shook her head and looked back at Ruby's mental icon; trying her best not to blush as the mental image of herself kissed Ruby's cheek and held her hand. "Ahem, so Miss Rose, can you help us find Paulette?"
"Hmm. Well, I suggest we start with Teams JNPR and CFVY. She tried to turn them against me early on."
"Wait, Teams JNPR and CFVY are here, too?" Weiss looked around, expecting more mental images to pop up.
"NO! THEY'RE BACK AT BEACON, YOU IDIOT!" Weiss' mental copy screamed. "ONLY RUBY'S FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND STUPID ROBOT GIRLFRIENDS THAT I'M TOTALLY JEALOUS OF ARE ALLOWED IN PATCH! WE HAVE TO GO BACK TO VALE YOU DUMBASS!"
"Okay, there's a lot in that sentence that I didn't like." Weiss' gaze hardened.
"Well, maybe now you know how she feels roughly 70% of the time."
Weiss could only blink upon seeing what she could only assume was a mental image of a grungy older man occasionally taking sips from a flask. "What do you mean by that? Actually, scratch that: who are you supposed to be?"
The mental image chuckled as he took a sip from his flask, which - even in the mind scape - carried the scent of alcohol. "Name's Qrow Branwen. I'm the runt's uncle, though she hasn't seen me in years. But she knows I'll be coming back from my super secret mission someday, however, so it's no big deal. As for your question, did you know that the pipsqueak sends letters to her family back home?"
Weiss rolled her eyes. "That's not…"
"Rhetorical question; I know you know." Mental-Qrow retorted. "It's just obnoxious that the Ice Queen over there thinks she can yell at her on a semi-daily basis and doesn't expect her to be telling her family about this sort of thing, hoping that they might have advice on how to deal with a teammate that… well, to be blunt, I don't care what she's saying now; it's obvious that she hates her."
Weiss felt like a knife had been stabbed into her chest upon hearing this. "...but she doesn't...no, I don't hate her."
The mental image of Qrow just scoffed. "You respect her, or at least respect that Ozpin made her Team Leader, I'll give you that much. But for all her attempts to be your friend, can you honestly look me in the eye and tell me you gave her the same courtesy?"
Weiss made as to respond, only to pause, looking over at her mental image. "Is...is that really how she sees me? As someone who yells at her 24/7?" Looking down in shame, unable to deny that as kind as Ruby was, she hadn't done the best job of returning that kindness. She glanced at the other mental images, now seeing them in a new light: Yang, being the kind of person to wear her heart on her sleeve and preferring the direct approach when it came to fighting - and just about everything else - likely wouldn't be too upset to learn that her sister didn't focus too much on any sort of intelligence that she may or may not have (to say nothing about the blonde brawler's sense of humor, or possible lack thereof). Blake, being the closed off type, honestly only really opened up to Ruby's sister, Yang; so of course the young scythe wielder would focus on the relationship between the two. Even Penny's obvious affection for her partner as her first real friend was almost perfectly reflected within the mental image she saw. Weiss could only sigh as she looked upon her mental image with a mixture of remorse and scorn. "I never realized how much it was possible to hate yourself until now."
Penny came over and patted her on the back. "For what it's worth, I'm pretty sure that she knows that you're a good person deep down: she wouldn't keep 'you' close by if she didn't. And now that I think about it, that might be a sign that deep down, she knows that you care about her as well. I mean, you heard what 'you' said; she's… you're not willing to let anyone hurt your partner."
"YOU'RE DARN RIGHT! I'M NOT LETTING THAT BITCH PAULETTE NEAR MY WAIFU!" Mental-Wess declared, holding Mental-Ruby close.
Weiss let out a weak smile as she gave a resolute nod, making up her mind to apologize to Ruby in person once she got out of here. But first thing's first; "I can get behind that, but one thing still bugs me; how'd Paulette get in here in the first place?"
Mental-Ruby just scowled. "I don't know exactly when she arrived, but I do know that she took advantage of my generosity. All she was supposed to do was let me help her try and find her sisters and/or whoever took them. The harrassing of my friends and family was not part of the deal… but by the time I'd realized what she really wanted, it was too late for me to stop her on my own."
"What does she want then?" Penny inquired, choosing to file that bit about "sisters" away for later.
Mental-Penny frowned. "We don't know all the details just yet, but we do know this: Paulette blames both Cinder Fall and Jacques Schnee for, quote, 'taking everything I ever cared about away from me...so I'm going to take everything away from them.' End quote."
Weiss groans. "Of course it all comes back to my father. Why am I not surprised?" She then blinked as it suddenly hit her. "Wait, 'everything Jacques Schee cares about'... does that include me?"
Mental-Blake shook her head. "Actually, from what we can tell, she intends to spare you. Something about you being, quote, 'just as much of a victim as her sister was.' End quote."
Weiss froze. "Wait, my sister? How does Paulette know Winter?!"
Mental-Yang snorted. "The same season she knew Summer." She gave a chuckle as everyone else, mental image or no, gave a groan in response. Mental Yang just sighed once she'd stopped laughing at her own (bad) joke, "In all seriousness, we don't know. And frankly, I don't think it matters; she made my sister cry." She cracked her knuckles as she turned a scowl towards where Beacon was most likely located. "She's not going to get away with that."
Weiss just nodded. "Agreed. While one could argue her intentions are pure, she's clearly letting her anger dictate her actions, with no mind for the consequences… or how they could affect Ruby in the long run."
"What do you mean?" Mental-Ruby asked.
Weiss held up a spare dust vial in response. "If there's one thing that every huntress needs, no matter how skilled they are, it's the dust that they place in their weapons. And the Schnee Dust Company is the largest supplier of Dust on the planet. No Schnee Dust Company, no Dust. No Dust, no weapons. No weapons, no huntresses. No huntresses, no fulfilling the dream of one Ruby Rose. The problem is that destroying the SDC is a guaranteed way to hurt Jacques Schnee, and if I'm right, that is what Paulette plans to do regardless of how it affects her host. Especially since Cinder hasn't been heard from since her attack on Beacon and Jacques Schnee himself is almost never seen in public."
Penny just blinked. "Wait, how would she be able to do that?"
Weiss shook her head. "I can see her destroying a few outposts and working her way up, but beyond that, I don't know… but in the presence of a calming influence like Ruby, who, for all her faults, has one of the most creative minds I've ever come across…"
Mental-Ruby seemed to pale as the pieces fit together in her mind. "...all this time, I was nothing but a tool to her."
Penny, despite knowing this wasn't the real Ruby Rose, couldn't stop herself from giving the young girl in front of her a comforting hug. "I'm certain that it wasn't all a lie. That she did care about you in her own way. But I think that Weiss might have hit the proverbial nail on the head; Paulette never gave any thought as to what she'd do once she'd gotten her revenge. Meanwhile I'm guessing that you had every intention of trying to give her back the family she'd lost by making her a part of yours once you had gotten justice for her fallen sisters."
Mental-Ruby just nodded. "She said that we'd see each other as sisters sooner then I'd anticipated, and she was right...but that just means I have even more of a reason to stop her. Come on, we're going to save Paulette from herself."
"Wonderful! Then let us begin our quest!" Mental-Penny exclaimed as she happily jumped into Mental-Ruby's arms and continued kissing her. But before the group set off, the android's doppelganger leaned over to whisper at Weiss. "By the way, I'm secretly a robot with a soul. Shh… no one can know except my beloved Ruby!"
"Oh, gods…" Weiss grumbled.
Meanwhile, in the real world, Sage Ayana - a student of Shade Academy - was enjoying the night sky as he walked just beyond the school's campus. Unfortunately, he was so enticed by the starry canvas above Vacuo, he failed to notice the scorpion-Faunus sneaking up from behind. However, he was soon made painfully aware of his stalker's presence as a sharp blade came up to his neck while the barrel of a gun poked his back. "Hello, friend!" A voice cackled before the student's world went black.
A few minutes later, the student woke up to find his limbs tied up and a poison-tipped tail in his face. Tyrian Callows - better known these days as "Agent Black" - had been hired to infiltrate Shade Academy and take out the headmaster. But much to the scorpion's dismay, said headmaster was nowhere in the building. Thus, he saw fit to interrogate one of the students for the information he needed. "Alright, my boy, here's how this works: I ask you a question and I expect to hear an answer. One question, one answer. If I get an answer I don't like, we've got a problem. And by that, I mean you've got a problem. Understand?"
"Y-yes!" Sage nodded, shakily.
"Wonderful! First question; where is the headma-?" Tyrian's wicked smile disappeared as he was interrupted by his scroll's ringtone. With his tail still aimed at the helpless huntsman-to-be, Agent Black checked his scroll to see who was calling. His grin slowly crept back once he saw that it was an old client. "Hello, madam! Hmm? No, nothing important. To what do I owe the pleasure…? Beacon, eh? Alright. The usual fee? Excellent, I'll be there within two days!"
With that, Tyrian hung up his scroll and turned back to his captive. "Well, chap, sorry to say that I won't have time to torture you."
Sage sighed in relief just before the poisoned tail stabbed him through the heart. The venom spreading through his veins, Sage could only choke out one final word; "Why…?"
Tyrian leaned down to whisper in the boy's ear. "Because… it's in my nature."
Back at Beacon, Ciel Sieol was beginning to wake up from Penny's temporary possession of her body. "Quelle? Qu'est-il arrivé? (What? What happened?)" She asked, groggily. She tried to sit up, but four arms quickly pushed her back down onto the bed.
"Take it easy, girl." Jean insisted. "You're still recovering."
"Récupération? Récupération de quoi ...? Et pourquoi ne puis-je pas parler Anglais? (Recovering? Recovering from what…? And why can't I speak English?)"
"What did she say?" Rachael looked back at her medical friend.
"I thought you were supposed to study the French-English dictionary?" Jean replied.
"Les gars! Qu'est-ce qu'il m'est arrivé?! (Guys! What happened to me?!)" Ciel growled. "Et pourquoi ne puis-je pas parler Anglais?! (And why can't I speak English?!)"
"Uh, right." Jean brushed her hair from her eyes. "You don't need to speak French to understand that. Well, first of all, Penny's alive. And second, her... robot ghost, or whatever, took over your body for a little while by accessing your locator chip."
Ciel gasped in surprise. "Sérieusement? Penny est vivante? (Seriously? Penny's alive?)"
"Which brings us to the problem." Jean sighed. "It seems that by invading your locator's circuitry, Penny somehow scrambled your brain a little. Particularly, the part that manages your speech. But don't worry, you're in good hands! I've already asked one of the teachers here to provide me with the proper tools I'll need to help you!"
As if on cue, Jaune Arc stepped into the room, holding a tray of medical implements. "Here." He said, trying not to look directly at Jean.
"Not so fast, Mr. Arc!" Dr. Oobleck suddenly appeared in the room, much to everyone's surprise. "Ms. Purple! I have read your transcripts and I must say I am horrified! You are barely at an average grade-level, only just doing well enough to pass! And yet you believe that you are suited to perform surgery?! Not only is this a direct violation of your school's code of conduct, but it puts your partner's life in jeopardy! Mr. Arc, take those medical tools back! I will contact your school and inform them of your misdemeanor, where they will proceed to discuss your suspension, and possible expulsion from Team CPPR!"
"No, wait, I can explain!" Jean tried to defend herself, but it was too late; Dr. Oobleck zipped away to call General Ironwood. Jaune just shrugged and began to walk back. "Oh, c'mon, Jaune! Buddy! Help a friend out?"
Jaune turned back with a deadpan expression. "Sorry." He said. "But it's pretty clear that you're not exactly popular with the teachers here. And If I wanna get ahead anywhere, I can't be seen directly associated with you. I'm sure you understand."
Ciel's eyebrow arched as Jaune walked away. "Quel est son problème? (What's his problem?)"
"Simple petite vengeance, mon ami (Simple petty vengeance, my friend)," a newly arrived Velvet declared with a smirk.
Rachael joined Ciel in a shocked blink. "Wait… you speak French?!"
The rabbit Faunus gave a shrug. "One of the many skills I've picked up in an effort to keep the White Fang off my trail once their methods turned violent. No way was I helping them kill innocent people. Anyways, I just came by to let Jean know that she shouldn't start preparing for the surgery until the teachers have given their approval and/or an actual doctor shows up to oversee things… and I showed up too late to give the warning, didn't I?" Velvet remarked, adding a sigh with that last bit, noticing the nervous expressions her fellow students were giving.
"Juste un petit peu. (Just a little bit.)" Ciel declared with a slight chuckle, feeling just a little bit better now that she had someone to talk to without needing a translator, to say nothing about how relieving it was to know that Penny wasn't dead after all. "Alors, où est Penny? (So, where is Penny?)"
Velvet rubbed the back of her neck, nervously. "Well… it's complicated."
As the rabbit Faunus explained the current situation, the rest of Team CFVY made their way into the medical ward where Ruby, Penny, and Weiss were hooked up to the mind-dive device. Yang was nervously bouncing on her heels in anticipation; all while Blake rubbed her hand in an effort to keep her calm. "I just wish there was a way to see what was going on in there." Yang bit her lip.
"I'm sure they'll be fine." Blake promised, soothingly. "It's only been a few minutes."
"But what if Paulette takes her over while they're in there?" Yang reasoned. "Not only could we lose Ruby for good, but then we'd have to deal with a violent evil Ruby."
"Not likely." Glynda replied. "Even if the sedatives weren't enough, those straps are designed to hold a person five times Ms. Rose's size."
Coco pushed her sunglasses down, slightly. After a quick whistle, the fashionista turned to her teacher. "Uh, Ms. Goodwitch? Could those straps hold down, say… a seven foot tall huntsman while two huntresses have their way with him? Asking for a friend."
Yatsuhashi pulled Coco away from Glynda. "Time and place, Coco." He said. "Time and place."
Meanwhile, back inside Ruby's mind, Weiss and Penny had arrived at the imaginary school of Beacon. Weiss looked to her side, irritated to find her doppelganger glaring at her. "Ugh, why am I partnered up with you?"
"BECAUSE I DON'T WANT YOU TO TRY AND STEAL MY WAIFU FROM ME! BAD ENOUGH I HAVE TO PUT UP WITH THE SUPER-SECRET ROBOT GETTING ALL THE SMOOCHES!"
"Gods, why me…?" Weiss facepalmed once more.
"Don't worry, Weiss." Penny reassured her. "We should be getting close to finding Paulette."
Mental-Weiss used her own Myrtenaster to create a glyph that levitated her a few feet into the air. "ATTENTION, TEAMS JNPR AND CFVY!" She announced. "THE GREAT AND BEAUTIFUL RUBY ROSE DEMANDS YOUR PRESENCE! SO MAKE YOURSELVES SEEN YOU WORTHLESS BLOWJOBBING PHILISTINES!"
"Ruby?! She's here?! BLEAUGH! Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to! I'm just so happy to see her!" A sickly-looking image of Jaune Arc, dressed in orange, vomited into existence. "Oh, hi, Weiss… will you go out with me?"
"Is she in trouble?! Don't worry! I'll protect her!" Now, an image of Pyrrha Nikos - who seemed to be juggling her sword and shield - showed up. "But not before I hide my true feelings for my leader!"
"I am a leaf on the wind… I can never say much without revealing too much. Therefore, I say almost nothing…" Soon enough, an image of Lie Ren wearing a ninja mask joined his teammates. "That is unless one of my friends is about to do something stupid. Then I will immediately take action to prevent them from doing it."
"Nora hungry! Nora smash!" The pink-clad huntress was the next to appear as she waved Magnihild around. "Ren! Make me pancakes! I need pancakes!"
Following Team JNPR, Team CFVY's members slowly made themselves visible. The first being Coco Adel, herself.
"Well, it looks as if the little strawberry is in need of our assistance!" She said. "Now, I'm going to say a bunch of weird things while laughing, which I think means I'm making fun of Ruby for that time we scared her about how I have a girlfriend and a boyfriend!"
"I am big and strong, but I am also sweet and nice." Mental-Yatsuhashi declared before drawing his sword. "But if you hurt my friends, you will die by my blade!"
"I can't see, but I can! I'm not sure how, but it's totally a believable reason!" Mental-Fox pumped his fists in the air.
"I certainly love having Ruby over in our room for a spell!" Mental-Velvet spoke with a cockney accent. "She helps me with me weapon that even I don't know nothing about! By the way, I have an Australian accent!"
"Greetings, my friends!" Mental-Ruby stood up on Mental-Weiss' glyph as she spoke to the others. "I apologize for my late visit, but there is an urgent matter to discuss!"
"Okay, hold on!" The real Weiss had finally reached her limit. "That is it! I can't take this anymore!"
"Weiss, what are you doing?!" Penny scolded.
"No! I have to set a few things straight." The heiress pointed to her counterpart first. "First of all; you. Ruby is not your 'waifu.' You don't have anyone romantically involved with you. Why? Because you don't need one! You're a Schnee! You can't risk bringing anyone else into that horrorshow of a family!"
"SHUT UP, YOU STUPID BITCH!"
"And Ruby. Come on. Do you ever pay attention? Jaune's armor is yellow, not orange. And Pyrrha is not that open with her semblance! And you know that Fox uses the latest Atlesian sensory technology to help him see!"
"I do? That sounds like a cop-out." Mental-Fox rubbed his chin.
"Oy, what's got this girl's knickers in a twist?" Mental-Velvet asked, pointing at Weiss.
"And that is not an Australian accent!"
"Calm down, Ms. Waifu!" Mental-Jaune shouted before throwing up again.
"HEY! SHE'S NOT THE WAIFU! I AM!" Just then, a blast of ice dust went straight through Mental-Weiss' head, causing her to collapse to the ground.
"Oh, my gods! Weiss?! Are you okay?!" Weiss asked as her counterpart stood back up.
"OH, PLEASE! THAT PHILISTINE COULDN'T HIT ME IF SHE TRIED!" Mental-Weiss scoffed before touching the hole in her head that had taken her eye. "NO, WAIT. YEAH, I'M DEAD. HURK! BLERGH!"
As the mental image of Weiss faded away, Penny had traced the trajectory of the blast and saw a dark figure cloaked in a smokey black aura. "There she is! It's Paulette!"
"MWAHAHAHAHA! You pitiful fools!" Paulette laughed. "Nothing will stand in the way of my revenge!"
To Be Continued
