Please ignore the troll as usual – I'm told he's now accusing people on their stories of making fun of the loss of my dog, which is rather pathetic. It's a shame how low some people will stoop, but it doesn't bother me and it shouldn't bother you. As always, I would never leave a guest review on someone's story. I don't even read RWBY fics since I write them most days anyway. Even if I like the show and the fics created from it, it'd be a bit much to write for several hours then go read the same material for hours more every day.


Cover Art: Serox

Chapter 23


Jaune dragged one of the tables up against the door, adding it to the other pieces of furniture he'd been hunching up against it. There was a second door out – he was afraid to block both in case they resorted to gas again. It led deeper into the warehouse, likely in the direction they wanted to go. That wasn't a hard guess given they hadn't moved too deep into it in the first place.

The door slammed inward and hit one of the metal lockers. It bounced back with a grunt from the other side, before banging in again. They were trying to break through. Cocking Mors, he activated his Semblance briefly and fired three shots into it. Though metal, the door was still relatively thin, allowing the bullets to punch through. There were no sounds from the other side. They must have backed off.

"How's it going, Roman?"

"I'm looking – I'm looking." Roman's fingers flew over the keyboard as he hunched up at the terminal. "Come on. Come on. Damn it! It's more reports than instructions. And it just refers to this thing as the weapon. I'm not getting any details." Pushing back, the thief ran a hand through his hair, eyed the barricaded door and paled at the noise beyond it. Chivalric Arms were bringing something up to break through. Possibly explosives. "I say we wing it. This place can't be that big."

It was big enough, but he'd struggled against Chivalric Arms' soldiers before. He doubted Roman would be as strong as Adam and Blake had been. "Alright. Let's go." Moving quickly over to the back door, he let Roman through and then stepped past himself. The other side was a wider corridor separated by numerous partitions. Spying a large vending machine, Jaune tipped it over by the door. "Might slow them down if they have to blow through both."

"Who are these guys?" Roman asked. "I get it's CA, but what are we looking at? Private huntsmen?"

"Soldiers." Jaune looked both ways and picked one, mobbing quickly ahead with Roman following. "Not your everyday variety, though. These ones were able to go toe to toe with Adam Taurus for a while. They might not be as good as huntsmen, but they have better teamwork and they're well-equipped."

"Sounds lovely."

The corridor thinned to a single door that opened out into what appeared to be a fitness room. Two treadmills stood to the left, along with some weight machines and a medical bed left unattended. There were two desks by the far wall with chairs behind, along with a whiteboard covered in notes and scribbled words. Chemical compounds, he assumed, if only because they had ridiculously long names he'd never heard of before.

The one thing he did recognise was a chart detailing bpm or beats per minute. The numbers kept getting lower and lower, and while he had no idea over what kind of strain that was, the decrease from one-eighty to sixty-seven was drastic. They wouldn't have put so much effort into tracking their own fitness. Something, or someone, was being put through intense training courses here. If those other words were in fact chemicals, then the fact they were here probably meant they were a cocktail of performance enhancing drugs.

A loud whoomph from behind had Jaune and Roman turning. It was a surprisingly muted sound for what he assumed it was. Roman confirmed it a second later. "Breaching charge. Might want to speed this up, boss."

"I think the weapon was being trained here."

Roman sighed dramatically. "Maybe? I dunno. Kind of not my biggest concern right now."

"It should be," Jaune said. He started to barricade the door and Roman came over to help, dragging another table in front of it. If they had to breach every door this way, it'd buy them more time than leaving then open. "If they're this determined to rescue this thing, then it's because it's useful against me. And I don't know if you've realised, but you're with me. Do you want to let them keep hold of a weapon like that?"

"What I want hardly matters now, does it?"

Not really. Even if he cut Roman loose, the man would be hunted down by CA now. They might think he had information they could get out of him or it might just be to silence what he now knew about CA themselves. Either way, Roman was involved the second he accepted his offer in the police cell. Pushing the table into place, Jaune cocked his head as another muffled blast echoed in the distance. Second door down.

"Whatever they have here, they'd probably keep close to this place. You don't want a long distance between testing room and cell."

It might be the way they'd come, in which case they'd lost the chance, but they'd have to take that chance. Jaune rushed over to the back door and out. Sadly, there was nothing to block it. He left it ajar in the hopes it might spook them for even half a minute. Roman was already running to the next door, wrenching it open and hopping through with little regard for potential ambush. Jaune raced after and dashed through, colliding with Roman's back, and knocking them both to the floor.

"What's the deal?" he demanded. "Why did you stoooo-?"

That was a big robot.

Judging its height was impossible with it laid down, but its foot was bigger than he was. Jaune's stomach dropped out for all of the few seconds it took for him to realise it was unmanned. Not an autonomous combat droid. Lucky! I'm not sure what we could have done if it was. The thing had to be at least ten metres tall, maybe more, and looked to have armour thicker than he was. Its body bristled with weaponry that could not only kill a man, but probably put holes in armoured vehicles.

"The fuck is that!?" Roman yelled. "Have I walked into a sci-fi movie here?"

"Looks like a vehicle. I don't think it's an AI."

"Yeah, but – look at the thing. This isn't your run of the mill peace-keeping model like they're debuting in Atlas. This is a weapon!"

"Well, Chivalric Arms is an arms manufacturer. Is it a big surprise they'd have stuff like this?"

"In Atlas!" he stressed. "Not hidden in the capital city of your biggest ally. You got any idea how much of a shitshow it would cause if Vale found out about this? Diplomatic incident doesn't even begin to describe it. And why have it here? Are they planning to invade the city?" Roman paused and cursed. "Is this the weapon they're using against you? I mean, it'd work, right? Not sure how you could fight this. Talk about overkill."

It would work. Really well, in fact. The amount of armour might as well be an invincible forcefield for his weaponry, and no amount of aura-cancelling Semblance would let him get through to the pilot. Chivalric Arms already knew he struggled with automated droids, so this might as well be the next best thing.

But… it didn't fit.

"The report mentioned electrotherapy and brain trauma. Unless this thing has a brain, I doubt it's what we're looking for." After a moment's thought he added, "Though it could be a second weapon. I mean, it'd work against me, but I'm not sure how they thought to use it in the middle of Vale."

"You and me both. Not exactly inconspicuous. You think they were training whoever they have to use this?"

"Maybe." It would do the job. "But I'm not sure why. Even a regular pilot in this could do a lot of damage."

"Heads up…" Roman took his shoulder and turned him around, pointing with his other hand. Up until now, the walls had all been partitions and relatively thin. While they couldn't have broken through any, a good hit with a hammer would probably have punched a hole through. It was the kind of construction you'd expect of a civilian building.

The rectangular metal box was not. On second glance, it was more an oblong – rounded corners and no sharp edges like a pod. Longer than it was tall and wide, with what looked to be an airlock system on the front. One metal door with a window leading to another metal door inside. It looked like the kind of underground bunker you could buy, dig a hole, and put this thing into. The metal walls weren't going to buckle under anything less than high explosives. It was propped in the corner almost unobtrusively. The only reason he'd missed it was because the giant robot was laid out in the centre of the room.

Before he could think, and long before Roman could ask what to do, he'd raced over and clapped his hands on the first door, turning the wheel to open it like a sealed door on some ocean vessel. The door opened easily, well-oiled and still relatively new. It swung open without much of a sound. Ducking in, and not even thinking about what he'd do if Roman sealed the door behind him, Jaune pressed his face up against the glass of the inner door.

Only to feel his stomach sink.

He'd hoped. Even with the documents and the notes and the constant mention of a weapon, he'd hoped that this might be one of his sisters. It wasn't. The woman inside was small enough to be one of them, but everything else was wrong. Instead of golden blonde hair, she had a strange match of pink and brown. Her skin was too pale – and he could see a lot of it given she was completely naked. The girl sat on a bench with her knees together, hands cupped in her lap and head down.

"Anyone important?" Roman asked. He peeked over Jaune's shoulder and made an unhappy sound. "Eugh. Is that a naked child in there? Okay, these people are getting creepier and creepier by the second."

"You know they experimented on me, right?"

"Yeah, but I didn't have to see your junk."

"Your priorities are messed up."

Roman looked at him like he'd gone mad. "I don't want to hear that from you of all people!"

"Whatever." Jaune sighed and pulled back from the window. "This must be their weapon."

"I hope so. Or they're kidnapping children for other uses that I really don't want to know about. We opening the door or what? Might not be a great idea if she really is meant to be used against you. We've got enough problems as it is."

He had a point there. They already had a team of soldiers after them and adding a new threat might not be the best choice. Even if her being locked away like this implied she wasn't loyal to them, that didn't mean she wasn't insane or likely to attack anyone and everyone. If she attacked them, they might be distracted long enough for Chivalric Arms to bring them down.

The best thing to do would be to leave her.

Just like the best thing for Adam would have been to leave him trapped in that hellhole. Adam hadn't, though. Adam saved him.

I'm not leaving anyone else to go through the nightmare I did!

Jaune's hands gripped the wheel and turned, grinding the lock open. As the door swung inward, the girl looked up slowly, tilting her head as mismatched eyes took them in with curiosity as naked as she was. Stood in the doorway, Jaune suddenly had no idea what to say or do.

"Well?" Roman prompted. "You going to do something?"

As if to emphasise his point another blast echoed behind – this time much closer. Jaune winced and stepped forward. "Hello." His eyes dipped to the girl's chest, but he pulled them up. Her eyes were striking, staring right into his. "We're not your enemies. Can you tell me your name?"

The girl stared at him unblinkingly. Literally without blinking. There wasn't any movement to her at all – not even the rise of breath. Uncertainly, Jaune let his Semblance fall into place. If she was a threat to him, it was best her Semblance be turned off.

Glass shattered before him and the girl vanished.

"Wha-?"

Something struck him in the small of his back and Jaune lurched forward, crashing face first into the now empty bench with a startled cry. He just had the time to turn his Semblance off and bring aura forward when he hit, and it saved him cracking his teeth on metal. Rolling over, he stared back at the nothingness behind him.

"Invisible!" Roman yelled, flailing his cudgel before him. "It's an invisibility Semblance!"

It wasn't.

The girl had been there for a moment, so it had to be illusions. Was that his counter-? Something soft touched the floor to his left and Jaune activated Null, causing glass to shatter and the naked girl to appear once more as a food rushed in for his face. He got his hands up in time to block it, only to gasp as pain ratchetted through his bones. No aura while he had his Semblance up. He was vulnerable.

The girl knew it too, flipping agilely in the air and kicking once for his face. Jaune managed to catch it, but in return she twisted and slammed her heel into his arm. He felt bone creak a fraction of a second before he let his aura return, cancelling Null. It saved his arm from breaking, but suddenly she was out his grip and there were three versions of her charging in from front, left and right.

It had to be the one in front. He'd felt her pull away in that direction. Slashing forward, he tried to hit her with the butt of Mors, only to curse as the girl shattered into glass. His eyes flicked left but that one's leg broke on hitting him. It was the right – from the bench – that struck hardest, sending him spinning across the room and into the back wall with a metallic clang.

I can't fight her without using Null or she'll keep hiding herself. If I use it, though, she's the better fighter. Where he'd been kept and used in tests just to try and manufacture his Semblance, she'd been trained and put through tests to make her the best killer possible.

It showed.

She'll still die to a single shot if I can get her.

Breathing heavily, his eyes flooded with myriad hues of gold and teal, banishing her illusions and causing the naked girl to appear once more. Close to Roman this time, she must have been trying for one of his weapons. The thief hopped back nervously, and the girl changed tack, rushing back in for Jaune again.

This time, he let her hit. Skilled or not, she was unarmed, and he could handle the pain – at least he assumed so. His hasty swing with the blade of Mors sailed above her head as she ducked, pulled the splits, and then swept her feet against his with both hands on the floor. Knocking him off his feet and onto his back, she acrobatically flipped up and onto him, one hand stabbed down on his wrist to keep Mors away and the other gripping his throat tight.

Null remained active as Jaune's breath was stolen away.

The girl had him, but he wasn't the only person here.

Roman rushed forward and struck – tossing his coat over the girl's body…?

It was such a random move that she paused. Jaune did too, though mostly because he was unsure if he shouldn't shoot Roman instead. "Not for nothing," the thief said, "But if I'm going to have to watch psycho on psycho combat, I'd rather do it without your bare ass mooning me the whole way." Eyes awkwardly glancing to the side, he drew and lit a cigar. "Though, to be honest, we're all of us fucked if you two are going to get kinky. Chivalric Arms are on their way and I don't think they're coming to provide condoms."

The hand around Jaune's throat remained in place and kept him pinned down, but the girl wasn't squeezing the life out of him anymore. It was more of a `stay there` gesture, keeping him down with his gun flat to the ground as she peered at Roman, and then down at Jaune, tilting her head to one side, causing pink hair to spill onto his chin.

"I dunno about you," Roman said, "But I'd rather get out of this shithole. The whole fight to the death thing can wait til after, right?" Her eyes peered down into his. The girl nodded but didn't release him. "Think that's your cue, boss. You can wait, right?"

"Y-Yes. I don't even want to fight you…"

Pink and brown eyes narrowed. There was no trust there, no belief, but she swung one creamy leg off his side and tugged Roman's white coat around her, slipping her arms through the sleeves and buttoning it up. It was long – or she was short – and the tail dragged along the floor behind her as she padded barefoot to the door and stepped out.

Roman offered him a hand and pulled him up. "I think that went about as well as it could."

"Couldn't you have just shot her?" Jaune griped.

"In an enclosed metal chamber with her aura up?"

It wasn't – gah. He should have really told Roman by now how his Semblance worked, but there was always the risk, a very real risk, that giving him the knowledge would have Roman thinking up ways around it. He couldn't trust him enough for it. "Never mind. Let's get out of this before she decides to close the door and lock us in."

Luckily, she hadn't, though by the time they were out the girl was missing. That didn't mean much with her Semblance, but he wouldn't be too upset if she'd made a run for it. As long as Chivalric Arms didn't have her and couldn't use her against him.

Her in combination with those soldier teams would be the death of me. I couldn't beat her in melee, and the second I use my Semblance to counter hers, they fill me full of holes. It would have been even more one-sided if she had a gun. Unlike with other people, she could tell when he was using Null. The very instant her illusion shattered, all she had to do was shoot him and it was all over. I guess even a Semblance like mine has counters. At least I found her now and not later.

"You think she's still around?" Roman asked nervously.

"Doesn't matter." Jaune said it loudly. Might as well address her too. "We're only looking for my mom or my sister-" The air before him shivered and she was suddenly there. Jaune tensed and gripped Mors tight, but the girl didn't make a threatening gesture. Instead, she stood right inside his guard and peered up at him, tilting her face to one side as if considering something. "H-Hello…?"

"Pssst. I think she likes you."

Jaune would have snapped something back but was left frozen as a hand came up to cup his chin. What might have been a close gesture turned a little more awkward as she gripped his chin and tilted his face one way and the other, peering at him intently.

"Looks like she recognises you," Roman said. "You two ever meet before in some testing lab exchange program?"

"No. The only people I ever saw were my mom and sisters. Before they were taken away…"

Her hand tightened. Urgently, she tapped his cheek with her other hand. Not slapping him, but an insistent poking like she was trying to tell him something. Impatiently, she bounced up and down before him. Roman's coat remained thankfully over her body.

"I'm guessing she doesn't talk," Roman said. "Probably that brain trauma the reports mentioned. Is that right?" The girl looked to Roman and nodded quickly, then poked Jaune's face again, touching his nose, chin and lips.

Irritated, he pulled away. "We don't have time for this. CA are literally on their way."

"He looks familiar to you?" Roman asked the girl.

Giving up on him entirely, she turned to Roman and nodded quickly, pointing to Jaune and then to the cell they'd taken her from. It all meant nothing to him, but Roman was either an expert at dealing with mute people or just more on the ball.

"You know someone who looked like him."

Jaune's entire body went still. There were multiple Bullheads sent from Atlas, only one of which contained this girl. "You know someone from my family!?"

The girl nodded quickly, now smiling.

"Who!?" Mute. Right. "A sister? My mom? Um. Saphron. Amber. Juniper-" The girl bounced on her heels, pointing both hands at him. "Juniper Arc!?" Another hurried nod. His voice was strained. "Y-You know my mom…?" Smiling brightly, the girl nodded and pointed back to the cell, jerking her hand at it twice. "Mom was in there?" A frown and a wave of the hand. "Mom was kept here? In this place?"

Nodding, then a mime of someone giving someone else a hug.

"Mom looked after you…?" The girl nodded and Jaune's heart leapt into his throat. "Is she here now!?" he demanded, voice cracking. He reached for her, but the girl danced back, too cautious. She shook her head quickly in the negative. All his hope came crashing down like a tower of bricks, dousing him in bitterly cold water. Heart aching so hard he thought he might have a heart attack, he asked, "D-Did she die…?"

Her hands formed a cross and she shook her head. She pointed to the cell, mimed looking through the window and then made a motion like she was gripping a steering wheel. Then, she pointed to a large door beyond.

"They moved her out of the facility."

The girl nodded and held up two fingers in what he assumed meant it happened two days ago. Chivalric Arms knew he was in the area – they must have moved Juniper the very second he hit the team at the train station, relocating her off-site, maybe even out of the Kingdom. Given that he and the White Fang had taken down bases in Atlas and Mistral now, it made sense they'd retreat their test subjects the moment they showed up.

So close, and yet so far.

Damn it. If only I'd found out about this place right away, I'd have mom out.

"Two days isn't long," Roman pointed out. "Chances are she's still in the city."

Jaune took a deep breath and nodded. That it was Roman of all people to cheer him up. Heh. "You're right. Thank you, Roman. And you, uh..." He wouldn't call her weapon or subject. "Thanks for keeping my mother company." The girl smiled back. "Was she okay? No, well, I know she wouldn't be after what happened, but was she at least healthy? They didn't hurt-"

Footsteps echoed outside the room they were in. Too many to go unnoticed. Three heads shot in that direction, Roman cursing as the girl's eyes narrowed. "Wasted too much time," Roman said. "Yo boss, is there any point us staying now? We know your family isn't here. Might as well make a run for it, right?"

"Yes." Asking about mom could wait. "We should get out of here."

The girl stopped them by holding onto Jaune's sleeves. Motioning for silence with her other hand, she pointed upward. It only took a second for them to hear the aircraft pass by, its engines roaring. Even getting out the warehouse would be a challenge with those out there. They were but one warehouse among a few others set within a walled compound. They'd have to pass out into the open at some point.

"Vale can't play dumb to aircraft in its space for long," Roman added. "Even if they're trying their best to lay low, police will come along sooner or later. Or Beacon. That's not necessarily a rescue, though..."

"Can your illusions work over all of us?" Jaune asked.

The girl shook her head but didn't drop the smile. In fact, it grew even bigger.

/-/

"Unidentified aircraft, you are operating within Vale airspace. Please respond. Unidentified aircraft-"

The co-pilot in full black reached up to flick the radio off, signalling to the pilot. The Bullhead pulled left, flanked by two others that spread out further, surrounding the facility. Spotlights beamed down on the entrances, one of which Teams Zulu and X-Ray had entered eleven minutes prior.

"Vale air control is continuing to hail," the pilot spoke into his helmet. "Threatening to send armed aircraft."

The reply came back over the radio and to every pilot and co-pilot. "Maintain current operation."

"Understood. What are our orders should Vale interfere?"

"The White Fang, Subject 000 and criminal elements have joined forces in Vale. Anything that happens here will be attributed to them." The cultured voice contained just a little hint of amusement. "The retrieval of Subject 000 takes priority. Destruction of evidence is considered secondary. All else is of no concern."

"Understood, sir." The pilot signalled to his co-pilot "Weapons readied."

"We're opening fire on law enforcement?"

"No." The pilot looked ahead. "Null is."

The co-pilot remained silent, flicking the stick up and giving it a shake. On the screen before him, the camera attached to the underslung canons wiggled left and right. With the test over, he angled it at the streets outside, scanning the roads for any vehicles that might come close.

"Raptor 1, this is Raptor 2. We have confirmed gunshots in the building. I repeat, confirmed gunshots."

"Raptor 1 rogers. Zulu and X-Ray must have made contact."

"Neither team is responding to hails, sir."

"Maintain perimeter. Raptors 2 through 4, cover the corners. Once the teams are out, we're bringing the building down. No evide-"

The wall of the warehouse exploded outward, metal girders and solid concrete spraying outward and into the air. The pilot cursed and pulled back, causing the Bullhead to lurch out the way of the debris and the smoke. The aircraft was till buffeted by the blast, send skimming along the roof of another building before the pilot could get it under control.

"All units, Raptor 1 has no visual! What's happening?"

"Raptor 2 here, sir. Exterior west-facing wall has exploded. There's something within the smoke, sir, it-" The horrendous blast that sounded through their earpieces had the co-pilot ripping off his helmet. Even if it lasted not even a second, the volume was deafening.

"What's happening!?" the pilot shouted. "Raptor 3, report."

"Raptor 2 is down, sir," the next Bullhead reported. "Shots from the smoke, sir. Some kind of anti-air cannon. Smoke is clearing. It – oh fuck! Evasive manoeuvres!"

A loud buzzing lit up the air before a stream of yellow tracer fire scythed up from the smoke, barely missing the Bullhead that tilted and all but flung itself to the side. The sound was akin to a chainsaw but revved up to an impossibly high volume.

"Open fire!"

"Firing!" the co-pilot pushed the trigger and their underslung canons boomed once, twice and a third time. On the camera, he saw the shots pierce into the smoke and strike something, exploding in vivid blasts of dust. The force of it washed the smoke away, revealing an inhumanly large and bulky figure illuminated by yellow flame.

"They have the Paladin!" Raptor 3 shrieked.

It was the last thing he ever said. The giant bipedal robot stamped one foot back and turned, angling its carapace upward and opening fire with shoulder-mounted machine guns. The calibre was more than enough to pierce through the relatively thin armour of the Bullhead, rinsing the cockpit, pushing it down through sheer force of fire and detonating once they struck the ammo stores. Raptor 3 went down a ball of fire, crashing onto a main road in a burning hulk of slag and steel.

Without stopping to hesitate, the Paladin angled its canon back into the hole it had made in the facility wall, firing three times. Huge blasts rent the interior; billowing flame poured outward. That's Team Zulu and X-Ray fucked, the co-pilot thought hysterically.

"Raptor 4," the pilot yelled. "Priority orders. Destroy the warehouse. I repeat, destroy the warehouse!"

"R-Roger that, Raptor 1. Missiles away."

Two trails of smoke pooled out from the rockets fired from Raptor 4, echoed quickly by the thwoosh of their own being launched down toward the roof of the building. The Paladin twisted to follow them, red beams of laser light reaching out to track the trajectory but, with the automated systems informing it that it wasn't the target, the anti-missile systems didn't operate. The salvo struck the building instead, their own punching through the roof while Raptor 4's slammed in through the side and delved deeper, detonating within the building.

Their canons added to the barrage, booming away as the two aircraft poured fire into the building until the roof crackled and dipped inward, supports crashing down under an assault it wasn't designed to withstand.

"Command," the pilot reported glumly. "Building is destroyed. Requesting orders." Silence. The co-pilot leaned his head back, unsurprised. "Command? Requesting orders." He waited and then cursed. "Fuckers. We've been cut loose. You catch that Raptor 4?"

"We caught it, sir. For what it's worth, it's been an honour."

"It's been shit is what it's been."

"Ha. That too."

The Paladin hadn't remained still while they totalled the building. Raptor 4 went down in a blaze of gunfire, detonating in the air, and it turned its guns on the vehicles outside that were trying to squeal away, the transports for Teams X-Ray and Zulu. Those didn't stand a chance and were ripped to shreds by canon fire capable of piercing the side of a tank. To the co-pilot's surprise, the Paladin didn't turn on them. Content with its destruction, it slammed its feet down and wheeled away, screeching down the road.

"Sir?" he called. "Do we follow?"

The pilot sighed, head in his hands. "Put your helmet on, lieutenant."

Nervously, the co-pilot did as he was asked, picking up the helmet he'd discarded and placing it back over his head. Along with the visor that covered his eyes, the radio built into the helmet played their latest radio briefing.

"This is General James Ironwood of the Atlas military. You are within the sight of a Class-9 Anti-Battleship canon. I would advise you remain very still. You are under arrest for unauthorised military operations in a neighbouring Kingdom. You will be brought in for questioning, where a military tribunal shall decide your fate."

The co-pilot looked up, eyes widening. They hadn't noticed in the dark, the moment when the light from the moon was blocked out. The pride of Atlas' navy - Ironwood's flagship, The Vanguard, hovered over the city of Vale. Already small white aircraft were spilling out of its hangers, some towards them and others in pursuit of the stolen Paladin.

"W-What do we do…?" he whispered. "We're fucked. We… We're absolutely fucked."

"We do nothing," the pilot said. "We give up, tell them what we can and hope to hell they cut us a plea deal for what information we can give."

Their headsets came to life once more. "I'm afraid not, gentlemen." The voice was not Ironwood's. Too rich. Too cultured. "All company assets must be accounted for. I'm sure you understand. It's only business."

Neither had a chance to act before their aircraft detonated.


So, I always planned for it to be Neo and honestly thought it was obvious, but then people started coming up with other ideas in the reviews and I realised it wasn't as clear cut a choice at all. It was fun to see the various ideas – from Ren to Nora, Pyrrha and even Amber. A lot of that no doubt comes from the fact I haven't confirmed just "how far an AU" this is, so it's possible they might have been taken by Chivalric Arms as well. Ren's Semblance, for instance, would be one of great interest to them.

However, I'll say now that this is a small AU. That is to say the AU elements are Chivalric Arms taking Jaune and Jaune only, not the other members of the cast. Team RWBY is still a thing and despite not showing them (and not really planning to) Team JNPR is still a thing. Maybe not written as that – they'd have a fourth member, but since I don't plan to make them a big part of this story, it's not necessary to decide on who that member should be. Still, I'll certainly agree that CA would have had quite a few good options for their weapon. I enjoyed the theories.

At the same time I wanted to tie CA to the Paladin. I mean, why IS a huge death robot being transported near or in Vale by Atlas in the show? That seems weird in the show for what we're told is a prototype and extremely dangerous military asset. It doesn't seem like the kind of thing a country would like you developing near their borders even if you are allies.

Maybe the WF were able to smuggle it in after stealing it in Atlas, but that seems crazy. Not just crazy to imagine being able to smuggle all that in, but that the White Fang we saw in Vale would be skilled enough to even accomplish it. They were kinda useless, you know? Maybe Roman had a hand and they smuggled it in pieces, then rebuilt it inside Vale. I guess Roman must have had a proper smuggling ring at some point. Either way, I wanted to say that Chivalric Arms are the ones that built it here, and that it's part of their own machinations in Vale.


Next Chapter: 20th July

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