Chapter 42

"Yellow team, this is black team, are you in position?"

"Affirmative, black team. Yellow team is in position. How are you doing, red team?"

"This is red team, we are also in position. What about you, orange team?"

"..."

"Orange team, report."

"Uh, yeah, we were just wondering if we could be 'yellow team?'"

"What difference does it make?!"

"You tell them it makes a big difference, Mata!" Jaune barked into his radio. "Because I am yellow! I am not orange! I am not gold! I am fucking yellow!"

"Jaune! Get off the radio!" Pyrrha whispered, angrily. "We're trying to avoid detection!"

Jaune rolled his eyes. "Ugh, fine. We'll be orange. Tell the red team to go suck a dick and then get in position."

Pyrrha simply shook her head in mild amusement as she remembered how this all came to be.

A Few Hours Earlier

"So, uh, hello again," Pyrrha declared to Ghira Belladonna as he gathered up her and her three friends before him. "Was there something you needed from us?"

Ruby's eyes immediately landed on her sister, who - as a stark contrast to her usual behavior - sat silently next to Kali. "Yang? Are you okay?" She asked, concerned. "What happened?"

"Oh, I'll tell you what happened!" Toro huffed as he approached the table. "Captain Xaio Long over here took it upon herself to break protocol and infiltrate the enemy outpost to obtain a document from their files! An action which only cost us the lives of two of her men!" Yang shrank in shame under the angered tone of the Bull Faunus. That is, until he spoke again. "That's a damn good trade if I do say so, myself!"

"Wait, what?"

"Oh, you should've seen your big sister, Ruby!" Toro chuckled. "She was amazing with that sword and gauntlet! Shooting dust and stabbing guys! It was awesome!"

"Wait, I thought you were pissed at me?" Yang stood up from her seat.

"Oh, ho-ho-ho, do not get me wrong; I wanted to bash your worthless head into the ground until there was nothing left but a puddle of blood, broken skull, and splattered gray-matter." He corrected. "But look where we are, now! You took a risk, and it paid off!"

"Dude, two guys died today!" Yang spluttered.

"Uh, yeah?" Toro shrugged. "And two more will probably die tomorrow. At least this time we got something out of it-"

"Rojo!" Ghira snarled, bearing his fangs and claws.

Toro cleared his throat and quietly sat down. "Um… sorry, sir."

Ghira just sighed - once more thinking that Toro reminded him of someone, but couldn't quite figure out who - before turning to Yang with a sigh. "Don't get me wrong: I'm glad you got those files, but Toro is right...kind of. We're a bit short on personnel at the moment, so we can't be taking any more unnecessary risks, okay?"

"Understood," Yang said with a nod. "Guess I'm benched now, huh?"

"Not exactly," Kali declared with a light grin. "We won't tell you to sit idly by and do nothing, as something tells me you wouldn't be able to if your lives depended on it."

"Hey, that's...not completely untrue." Jaune begrudgingly admitted.

"So instead, we're going to solve two problems at once," Yang's mother-in-law remarked. "Like my husband said, we're low on personnel, so I think it's only fair that we give you the chance to help with that little issue."

"Understood." Yang nodded. "How can we help?"

"Well, those documents you stole from the enemy revealed to us that your friends and family are about to be transferred from the Federation's stronghold to an undisclosed location in three days." Ghira explained.

"So you're giving us a chance to save them?!" Ruby asked, enthusiastically.

"Not quite, Ruby." Kali sighed, giving the young woman a look of sympathy. "The Federation's stronghold is a fortress. Attempting a rescue mission from that place is-"

"Suicide?" Pyrrha winced.

"No. An attack would be suicide." Toro corrected. "Breaking and entering with the intention of freeing prisoners would be suicide and… uh… a bunch of puppies dying."

"And how would you know that?" Jaune asked, crossing his arms.

"Because I've tried!" Toro snarled.

"So that's it?" Yang turned her attention back to her in-laws. "You called us in here just to tell us we're not gonna save our friends and family?"

"No. We called you in here to give you a chance." Ghira elaborated. "You will each be allowed to select one lieutenant to accompany you, and train them to carry out a rescue operation. If you can convince me that they're ready, I'll approve of the mission."

"We only get three days to train four people?" Jaune's shoulders slumped.

"That's my best offer." Ghira shrugged. "Take it or leave it."

"I'm sorry, what?" Ruby blinked. "I lost track of what was going on when Toro mentioned puppies dying."

"Alright, Mr. Belladonna." Yang nodded. "Thank you for your time. Come on, guys. We've got work to do."

"Seriously, are the puppies okay?" Ruby asked, growing more worried.

Not long afterwards, the four captains had selected their lieutenants and called them over for a meeting. Everyone except Jaune and his lieutenant had joined the group, largely due to the fact that a distraught deer Faunus was arguing with the duo. "But, sir… if you'd please just reconsider your decision." Deery pleaded. "I mean, I've done everything you asked; the pizzas, polishing your sword and shield, and even using my own antlers to scratch your back!"

Jaune sighed. "Mata? What do I always say?"

"'Nobody likes a kiss-ass.'" Mata remarked.

"That's right." Jaune nodded. "And Deery, you are a total kiss-ass. Now, Mata over here is a maverick. I like to think I'm a bit of a maverick, myself. Right, Mata?"

"Uh, actually, I think you're just a big nerd." The sheep Faunus replied.

"See that? Total maverick response."

"Very well, sir. I understand." Deery sniffled, sadly, as he walked away.

"Even in defeat, he's such a kiss-ass."

"Jaune! Come on!" Pyrrha called.

"Oh, shit! Okay, let's go!"

Moments later, Jaune took his place beside his friends to inspect the lieutenants they had all selected. Pyrrha was the first to speak. "Ahem. For those of you who may not know, this special task force has been put together for the sole purpose of rescuing our friends who have been taken hostage by the Federation. Their names are Blake, Weiss, Ren, Nora, Qrow, Raven, Svetlana, Mikhail, and Ciel."

"And possibly some really horny teenagers called Team CFVY." Jaune added.

"And possibly an adorable robot named Freckles!" Ruby remarked.

"So, uh, why don't we all just go down the line?" Pyrrha suggested. "Each of you just say your name and then a fun fact about yourself?"

"Pyrrha this isn't a job interview." Yang groaned.

"I'm sorry." Pyrrha winced.

"No worries, ma'am. I'd be happy to tell you a little about myself!" A gerbil Faunus spoke up. "I am Saberious Rodentia of the family Rodentia. Born to-"

"Dude, we've only got three days to get ready. Can you wrap this up?" Jaune asked, clearly annoyed.

"Oh, uh, very well. My friends call me Saber. I have proudly defended Menagerie's rebellion from the beginning. And if I may say so, I believe that Captain Ruby Rose is one of the wisest and most mature huntresses I have ever had the pleasure of knowing!"

"Oh, great." Jaune rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Another kiss-ass."

"Wait…" Pyrrha, on the other hand, was mildly perplexed. "You mean, our Ruby Rose?"

"Yes, ma'am." Saber nodded.

"... this girl,right here?" Pyrrha pointed to her younger friend.

"Correct." Saber nodded, again.

"... the short one?"

"Alright! Moving on!" Yang interrupted.

"My name is Ilia Amitola." The chameleon faunus saluted. "I was once a member of the White Fang."

"What?!" Jaune leaned over to whisper at his partner. "Pyrrha, what the fuck?!"

"It was either her, or the sexy panther Faunus who just went into heat!" Pyrrha replied.

"Then again; what the fuck?!"

"She's a lesbian so she won't try to steal you from me - uh, I mean, I believe in second chances. Uh… moving on."

"My name is Mata." The sheep faunus sighed. "My fun fact is I don't have a fun fact."

"Total maverick." Jaune smirked.

"And last but not least!"

"Ugh…" Yang pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance.

"Private Sun Wukong!" A yellow monkey faunus smiled, flexing his muscles. "Slayer of evil, wooer of women!"

"I fucking hate you, Wukong." Yang grumbled, before suddenly blinking in surprise, looking towards the Chameleon Faunus that had been introduced earlier. "Wait, Ilia? You wouldn't happen to be familiar with a 'Blake Belladonna', would you?"

Ilia gasped in surprise, gaining a melancholy smile as she looked upon the blonde brawler in a new light. "You...you're Yang Xiao Long, aren't you? I've been wanting to meet you for some time now." She then sighed. "A shame it couldn't have been under better circumstances."

"Tell me about it," Yang declared with a bitter nod before returning the earlier smile. "We should properly get to know each other later."

"Not to interrupt the love fest, but we've got things to take care of here," Jaune declared with a roll of his eyes. "Anyways, does anyone have any questions before we go any further?"

"Um… who is leading this operation?" Saber asked.

"I am." All four leaders replied. "Wait, what?"

"Uh, obviously, I should be the leader." Pyrrha reasoned. "I mean, no offence, but I am the most logical of the four of us."

"Yeah, well my wife's life is in danger, and I'm gonna be the one leading us to save her!" Yang snapped. "I can't let Holly lose her dad!"

"Okay, okay, I know how to settle this." Ruby smiled, mischievously. "Raise your hand if you've ever been leader of a team before joining this army." Her smile faded as she saw Jaune raise his hand along with her. "Oh, yeah. I forgot about that."

"Wait, Jaune, why do you want to be team leader?" Yang asked.

"Well, I've kinda gotten used to all this praise and pampering." The huntsman shrugged. "And I don't wanna lose that to one of you guys."

"I could always praise and pamper you, sir!" A familiar voice called out from the distance.

"Gods dammit, Deery! What did we just talk about?!"

"Um, if I may?" Saber raised his hand once again. "We could always vote."

Pyrrha

"My fellow huntresses and huntsmen." Pyrrha smiled, proudly, as she began her speech. "If you elect me as your leader, you're not just voting for a calm, level-headed, competent leader, you're voting for victory! I have personally taken on entire teams of huntsmen in combat multiple times! And while some people may argue that regulated sparring sessions held within the restraints of school grounds don't count, I beg to differ! A vote for Pyrrha Nikos is a vote for Minstrel!"

"... but we're not in Minstrel." Ilia corrected.

"... fuck."

Ruby

"And I will add milk and cookies to every meal!" Ruby declared, enthusiastically. "And we won't have to wear uniforms anymore! And Mr. and Mrs. Belladonna will allow us double recess!"

"Ruby, you're not running for class president!" Yang groaned.

"No… no, don't you see?" Saber began, passionately. "We won't have to wear uniforms anymore because the war will finally be over! And not just the war that has divided our people here, but also the war for Faunus equality all over Remnant! General Belladonna will release us into the world and we'll never have to raise a weapon against another person again!" A single tear escaped from the gerbil Faunus' eye as he rested a hand over his heart. "My gods… she has such a way with words."

"Is this guy for real?" Jaune asked, pointing at the deluded Faunus with his thumb.

"Wait, what about the part about adding milk and cookies to every meal?" Pyrrha asked.

"Oh, yeah. That sounds awesome." Saber declared with a smile.

Jaune

"... dibs."

"What?!" Yang spluttered.

"Dibs. I call dibs on the team." Jaune shrugged.

"You can't call dibs on the team!" Pyrrha snapped.

"... are you sure?"

"JAUNE!" Everyone shouted, angrily.

"Alright, fine! I didn't wanna be team leader, anyway."

Yang

"Hello, everyone!" Yang waved to the small crowd. "Um… speech, speech. Well, I've always said that I was a thrill seeker. Both in life and in bed. Looking at you, Ilia."

"M-me?" Ilia stammered, her entire body changing to a deep shade of red.

"Yeah, me and Blake are planning on spicing up our relationship, and she's always spoken highly of you." Yang explained with a wink. "Though while we're on the subject, be sure to pass that message along to that panther friend Pyrrha mentioned and see if she'd be interested in having a little fun later on. Anyways, I-"

"Please. Gods. Tell me you haven't been doing this the entire time." Toro crossed his arms in contempt.

Yang glared at the presumptuous bull Faunus before turning back to the others. "Okay, y'know what? I don't wanna be team leader! It fucking sucks! I mean, my baby sister was my team leader, and it nearly ate her away! And why wouldn't it?! The hours are long, and you have to put up with people you hate! But my wife, my mom, my uncle, and my friends are in danger, and I will gladly put up with whatever bullshit I have to in order to save them!"

"... I vote for Yang." Saber replied.

"I vote for Yang, too." Ilia nodded, her blush slowly fading away.

"Me too." Mata added.

"Hell yeah! Yellow power all the way!" Sun cheered.

"After a speech like that, I can't exactly say 'no' either," Ruby declared with a few tears in her eyes. "I didn't realize how much my being team leader upset you, Yang."

"Oh, no, you've got the wrong idea," the blonde brawler was quick to point out. "I'm proud that you became the leader of Team RWBY and of how well you were able to shoulder all the responsibilities that came with it...but that's part of the problem: you were so ready and willing to shoulder all of the responsibilities that were thrown your way that it nearly destroyed you. When this is over, I'll gladly forfeit my new leadership duties back to you, but when I do, be sure to let some of us shoulder that responsibility along with you."

"I will," Ruby promised with a smile.

Shortly afterwards, Ruby had finished integrating lightweight cameras into their lieutenants' helmets. She then linked the feeds to a central computer screen via her scroll. "Okay!" She clapped. "The video feed is ready to record!"

"Uh, what's the point of this, again?" Ilia asked, respectfully.

"Okay, so you know when you buy new weapon parts?" Ruby elaborated. "And how satisfying it is when you take 'em out of the box? But you can only take 'em out of the box for the first time, once? So, boom: video camera! That way, you can relive the unboxing as many times as you want! Better yet, you can keep recording yourself as you add the new parts to your weapon, and then review how you did it so you can see what you did right, and what you need to improve on!"

"... so, it's like football coaches recording games for reviews." Ilia nodded.

"I mean, yeah." Ruby shrugged. "If you can weaponize footballs."

"Okay, we've got three days to prove to General Belladonna that we can save our family and friends, so we're going to do a little exercise. The point of this exercise is to target and incapacitate one of the Rebellion's soldiers." Yang explained.

"Only one?" Saber scoffed. "That's doable."

"The target is Toro Rojo." Yang pointed towards the bull Faunus who was sitting across the room, sharpening his knife.

"Uh, what?" Toro immediately looked up with an indignant expression.

"If we can take down the Rebellion's best fighter, then Ghira has to realize what we're capable of!" Yang reasoned. "And then he'll have no choice but to approve our mission!"

"Yeeeeeah, I don't agree to this." Toro replied, walking up to the blonde brawler.

"You don't have to!" Yang shrugged. "Just go about your day like always! Except know that now you'll have a giant target painted on your back!"

"Alright, fine, tough girl!" Toro growled, irritably. "Bring it on!"

"I will!" Yang snapped back. "And when we catch you, you're gonna tell Ghira that we're approved for the mission!"

"Fine!"

"Good!"

"Great!" Toro leaned forward, slightly, confusing the others gathered around him.

Yang just stared in awkward silence. "Uh… so are you just gonna stand there, or-?"

Toro swiftly removed his helmet with an annoyed grunt. "No, I was sticking my tongue out at you!" He clarified before calming down. "But, uh, I… I guess I was wearing a helmet. So, I, uh… shut up."

Now

Pyrrha turned back to her secret admiration. "So do we have a plan, or…?"

"Plan, shlan: I'm going to wing it," Jaune said with a roll of his eyes. "I mean, it's just one guy: what's the worst that could happen?"

"Uh, I'm not sure that's the best…" ...and that was as far as Pyrrha got before Jaune broke his cover.

"Hey, Toro!" Jaune called out before tossing a grenade. "CATCH!"

Toro merely gave a smug grin as he did, in fact, catch the grenade that was tossed at him. "One Menagerie, two Menagerie…"

"Oh, no: nononono!" Jaune cried out as he ran off, quickly realizing what was about to happen...only to not get away quickly enough as the Bull Faunus hit him with his own grenade.

A few hours later, the team tried again. This time, Pyrrha used her rifle to spy on the bull Faunus while the others prepared for a sneak attack. "Okay, I don't think he can see us. Now's our chance!"

"Mata, hand me a flashbang!" Jaune ordered.

"Uh, I don't have one." Mata shrugged.

"What?! I told you to get them!"

"Yeah, I wasn't really listening."

"Worst. Leader. Ever." Yang commented, dryly.

"Oh, shoot! He's on the move!" Pyrrha announced. "He's getting away!"

"Does anyone have a fucking grenade!?" Yang growled out.

"I gave mine to Ruby." Saber admitted.

"You what?!"

"Fire in the hole!" Ruby called out as she closed her eyes and tried to toss the grenade at Toro. "Tried" being the operative word, given how everyone but Toro was caught in the blast.

Another few hours later, the group planned a second ambush outside of Toro's quarters. Ruby peaked into the room then looked across towards Pyrrha and Jaune. With a determined gleam in her eyes, Ruby pointed towards Arkos, then motioned with her arm towards the room while holding up three fingers, then one. She then used two fingers to imitate a running motion before snapping her fingers three times. Unfortunately, her signal hadn't yielded the desired results.

"What the fuck made you think we'd understand what that meant?" Yang whispered, irritably. Just then, Toro walked out of his room and lazily turned his gaze towards the trio. Yang facepalmed. "Aw, shit." Her camera stopped recording just after Toro's fist made contact with her face.

Twenty minutes later, fifty rebels had gathered to laugh at the collective recordings put together. "Oh, man!" A bear Faunus who had done the editing wiped away his tears of laughter. "I could watch this for hours!"

"Gods, how long is this?!" Jaune groaned as he handed Pyrrha an ice pack.

"Hours. I just fucking told you."

Yang clenched her fists as she listened to the mocking laughter while nursing Ruby's injuries. Suddenly, she spotted Toro leaning against the wall in the back of the room and marched over towards him. "Gotta admit…" He chuckled. "It does my heart good to hear so many Faunus laugh like that."

"What is your problem?!" Yang growled, angrily. "We're trying to save our friends, and you won't cut us any slack! It's like you want us to quit!"

"What I want is for you guys not to put any more lives in harm's way."

"Oh, that's rich coming from you!" Yang scoffed as Ruby, Jaune, and Pyrrha came up from behind her. "You said yourself; the only reason you're here is to get paid! This rebellion is just a job to you! You don't care if anyone gets hurt!"

"And you do?" Toro remarked. "Last I checked, the only reason you're here is because I couldn't save all of you at the same time. None of you care about the rebellion, either."

"Th-that's not-" Ruby tried to protest, but the Faunus cut her off.

"What was it that bitchy white-haired one said?" Toro asked, rhetorically. "Oh, yeah; 'we don't care about your revolution! We just want to find Barmak and get off this shitty island!' In fact, I'm willing to bet that if your friends hadn't been captured, you wouldn't even be here in the first place."

Pyrrha opened her mouth to protest, but couldn't bring herself to say anything. Jaune looked down at his feet in shame, unable to even try to speak. Even Ruby remained silent as her sister avoided making eye contact with the mercenary.

"Yeah. That's what I thought." Toro nodded as he walked away. "Everyone has a price. I found that out a long time ago."

"So what's stopping you from helping Torchwick?"

Toro blinked, turning back to Yang with a quirked eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," Yang said with a glare. "How much would it take you to stop being Ghira's bodyguard and start killing your own comrades? 500 lien? 750? Newsflash, buddy: even if that jerk offered me a million lien to abandon my friends, I still wouldn't take it."

"W...what?!" Toro backed away in shock, as if he had just been struck. "B...but why? What do you have to gain by helping us?"

"That's the thing, Rojo: we don't need an award for doing the right thing." Jaune declared as he gained a look of determination. "You're right about one thing: we never intended to come to here to Menagerie, but one thing they always drilled into us back at Beacon is that this island belongs to the Faunus: even putting our friends and Barmak over to the side, it doesn't feel right to just let Anima take back the land they gave them...not without a fight, at least."

"He's right," Pyrrha said with a nod. "These might not be our people we're fighting alongside, but they're still people: still worth protecting. We won't dishonor them by just leaving even if we got our friends back and killed Barmak by this time tomorrow."

"But...you aren't Faunuses: this isn't your fight." Toro called out, genuinely not seeming to understand why they were choosing to stay.

"We're hunters and huntresses," Ruby remarked. "Protecting people is in our job descriptions."

"Then you could explain to me why so many of you are covered in bruises."

Yang's eyes widened as Ghira and Kali rounded the corner, before giving a sigh. "Well, you see…"

One explanation later...

Kali gave a grim nod. "That's quite a tale you told us."

Yang just sighed as she bowed her head in shame. "Whatever you decide, I'll abide by it. I don't want anyone else to get hurt, but I'm sure my saying that now won't change anything."

"Indeed, I've seen and heard more than enough," Ghira declared with a nod. "How soon will you be ready to move out?"

"Yeah, I wouldn't trust me either after…" ...and that was as far as Yang got before she looked up in shock, having realized what her father-in-law had just said. "I'm sorry, what?!"

"You heard me," the panther Faunus said with a smile. "Don't get me wrong: I don't expect this to be perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but the true mark of a leader isn't whether he or she succeeds or fails in his or her task, but whether or not they're able to inspire others to come together for a common goal, and in being willing to take responsibility for when they do fail. You, and your friends, having proven capable of doing just that."

Pyrrha just stood there, sharing in her friend's shock. "Sir, I...I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say that I don't know how to respond to that."

Kali could only snort as she took her place at her husband's side. "Just promise to do your best and to make us proud."

"We will." Yang beamed.

Meanwhile, a certain bull Faunus had snuck away from the Rebellion stronghold to an undisclosed location somewhere else on the island of Menagerie. At last, he was greeted by Roman Torchwick, Neo Politan, and Barmak.

"...were you followed?" The disguised Adam Taurus felt the need to ask his allies.

"Who do you think you're talking to?" Barmak arrogantly declared. "I'm assuming that this means that the plan is going well so far."

"There have been a few hiccups along the way, but yeah: so far so good." Roman remarked. "The Rushland couple somehow got away from us. I have no idea where they are, right now, but I've called for someone to take care of that."

"Good, we've come too far to be met with failure now." Barmak said with a scoff, before frowning. "May I ask who it is?"

"Well, truth be told, I'm not entirely sure." Roman shrugged as he lit another cigar. "Neo's the one who found him. She said he claims to be familiar with the couple."

"And she took his word for it?" Adam scoffed. "She is crazy."

Suddenly, a menacing cackle echoed around the cavern. Everyone looked towards the entrance to see a thin, pale man dressed in a green suit similar to Roman's. But what really drew their attention was the crazed, toothy grin plastered over his face. "And what's wrong with crazy?!" He laughed. "It's done wonders for me."

"I suppose you are the man we've been discussing?" Barmak surmised.

"Oh, yes. Indeed I am, Mr. Doppelganger." The green-clad man replied. "Ms. Politan has told me all about your little problem involving my old friends, Svetlana and Mikhail, and their new friends."

"Old friends?" Adam cocked an eyebrow. "What do you care about those two?"

"Oh, more than you know." The man reached into his coat pocket, pulling out a small stack of photographs depicting the Rushland couple. "We go way back. She's been a rather bothersome thorn in my side for quite some time. She and I have gone back and forth with our little game for years. But now, it's me who has the advantage. And I understand that you, too, have some thorns in your sides as well. So, let's make a deal."

"I'm listening." Adam crossed his arms.

"Pay me one million lien, and I'll kill teams RWBY and JNPR!" The man declared.

Adam chuckled, much to the ire of their new guest. "What makes you think you can kill three huntresses and a huntsman, when you can't even handle a mere farm girl with a hammer and sickle?"

The man's crazed smile quickly shifted into a crazed scowl as he roughly grabbed the Faunus by his horns and pulled him close. "There's nothing 'mere' about that farm girl!" He snarled, menacingly. Once he shoved Adam aside, he adjusted his suit and smiled again. "Besides, those kiddies don't even know that I exist yet. And let's just say I have a… secret weapon that no one is prepared for. I know that I wasn't your first choice in having another ally among you, but you needed someone to sow chaos and deceit, and I'm more than willing to oblige."

Roman just sighed. "I'm sure you are, but please try not to go overboard: we don't want your tricks to be traced back to either myself or Mr. Taurus...sorry, 'Mr. Rojo' over here."

"Oh, you'll be the 'Mr. Clean' twins: I promise."

Barmak nodded. "See to it that you keep that promise, uh...what did you say your name was again?"

A disturbing chuckle filled the room as the man turned around to exit the cave. "If it's all the same to you, call me Loki."

To Be Continued