Author's Notes: Hmm it has come to my attention that, I was right in assuming things were moving a bit too fast. As such this chapter will be comprised of mostly teenage drama and romance. By the way this is part 1 of a two part filler arc focusing more on character development, interactions and romance/drama than actual story progression. Just to warn you.
Chapter 9: One Of Those Days
"Where am I? (am I)" his voice echoed in the pure sky blue void "hello (hello)"
Jaune didn't know what happened or how he got there. The last thing he remembered was searching for Crocea Mors though when he really thought about it he was being lured to it by that song. He remembered touching his sword, a bright light and ending up here.
Speaking of- he checked himself to see he was in his combat attire but no Crocea Mors. That was ironic, he didn't remember changing clothes yet he didn't have what he remembered having.
Weird.
'Well I can't just stand here all day' he figured before walking.
He couldn't tell directions in this place, there was no sky, no ground, left or right was synonymous. After a few minutes he stopped looked back and saw his foot prints slowly disappearing.
"Seriously where am I?"
"Your inner world"
Jaune froze before spinning around to gaze at her. The fair skinned, long haired, majestic looking beauty in the white sun dress. She smiled disarmingly at him and Jaune's jaw dropped.
"Hello there"
"Hi" he awkwardly greeted.
She gazed at him intently and Jaune began to feel very self conscious. Not nervous at having a beauty stare at him but wary. He didn't know where he was and then this unknown girl showed up….its weird.
"Um, who are you?"
The girl blinked and cupped her chin "you don't know who I am?" she mumbled "we've been together ever since you started Beacon"
"We have?" if he's 'been together' with someone who looked like her he's pretty sure he wouldn't have approached Weiss.
The girl nodded "yes although you didn't really know how to use me. Not like your father…or anyone who first took me up in the past. Well not anyone your age anyway." she sighed
Wait what?
She cupped her chin in thought "but maybe that's why your soul was compatible"
"Whoa okay slow down" she looked at him "I am completely lost here. Who are you and what are you talking about."
The girl frowned "you really don't know" she realized before bonking her head "of course he wouldn't know" she looked at him "come on Jaune you remember, we used to play together when you were younger."
Jaune looked to be trying to remember before eventually saying "nope I'd remember someone like you."
"..okay I see what the problem is" she scratched her head "remember when you got in trouble for sledding down the stairs?"
As a matter of fact he did, it was when his father put down Crocea Mors and he found out how to expand the sheath into a shield. He used it as a makeshift sled on the stairs, it was fun…for all of five seconds before he crashed into the wall.
"Wait how did you know that?"
She smiled "that's when we first met."
Jaune blinked now he remembered that day and aside from him, his mother and his father there wasn't another person.
"Who says I'm a person" she tilted her head.
That's a weird thing to say, if she's not a person then what could she be?
At this point she was looking at him expectantly and his eyes widened "it couldn't be."
"Yes~"
"you are.."
She nodded and wound her hand "go on"
"…."
"…."
"….nope sorry can't remember you"
She did a comical face fault before getting back up "seriously!? I mean really, you don't recognize your weapon when she's staring you in the face!?"
"Weapon?"
She sighed "forget it."
"Wait a minute."
"If you don't recognize me then maybe this was a mistake" she said sadly before turning away.
"Crocea Mors?"
She paused and turned around before smiling sadly "this isn't how I imagined my first meeting with my wielder to be" she admitted.
"Wha- I mean how.."
"I always imagined it to be…more" she turned completely to look at him "do you have any idea how long, how many times I've been trying to contact you and your predecessors. Every, single minute of every single time I was held. Yet it was never enough, try as I might I was never strong enough, my power was limited and there was always something missing. Then that boy, Vergil gave me that power."
"…the light"
She nodded "yes and I used that power to call to you and now that you're here, you don't even know me" she gave a wry smile "then again you were never really satisfied with me were you?" her tone turned accusatory.
"I-"
She held her hand up "save it, I may not be much Jaune, not compared to the weapons of today after all my design was to be simple yet effective. I may not have an inbuilt gun but my blade never dulls, I never lose my shine. I may not have complex mechashift but my shield is nigh indestructible."
She approached him "but I know all of that is lost on you. You don't see what you've had, you've only seen what you could have." she scowled "a 'hand-me-down' am I?"
*Slap*
Jaune fell to his rear grabbing his now bruised cheek. She raised her hand to the side and a door appeared.
"There's the door, don't hit your head on the way out" with those terse words she turned and started walking away.
Jaune could only blink 'what the heck just happened?'
She called herself a weapon, yet that conversation ended up like so many times he tried to flirt with girls in the past. Not even bothering to look t the door he ran after the girl
"Crocea wait!"
\
Pyrrha turned restlessly on her bed, she looked at the time '3:23 am' she frowned.
It had been getting harder to sleep a lot lately, the anxiety was just too much. It was funny, she was used to being under pressure by high stakes before or at least what she was told were high stakes. After all, the fate of her winning streak, sponsorship and livelihood all hinged on her winning tournaments.
Oh how naïve she had been.
This, what the Headmaster had told her was true high stakes and boy was she feeling the pressure. It was to the point where it began to affect her performance in school as of late and her overall mood. Her teammates and team RWBY had tried to assuage her but to no avail.
The only persons who could give her council were Dante and Vergil as they were the only ones to stick around for the full explanation. The explanation of how Ozpin had chosen her to be his champion, to inherit the Fall Maiden's power. At least half of that power anyway, from what she understands the other half was being stolen when Ruby's uncle stopped the process.
She sighed, somehow she shouldn't be surprised with this. From the moment she was born it seemed that her destiny had been to be this great….warrior. Her mother trained her as such and she excelled. Not even when she tried to escape from it did she get a break, now she was being given an opportunity to be given a legendary power she thought was fairytale.
She'd go from great to legendary and it hadn't even been a full year in Beacon yet. Why couldn't they choose someone else, like Yang, Weiss or Blake? All she wanted, all she ever needed was to be treated normally. It was a stretch but having come to Beacon and meeting these other incredible people she thought she would be in the background.
Especially since team RWBY seems to attract more attention with their little adventures. Yes, for once she was in the background, observing someone else's time in the spotlight. She had hoped to stay in the background. It was an illusion that was ruined just a few days ago and it was eating at her.
Worst of all she couldn't talk to anyone about it not even her teammates, which is ironic since earlier that day she had told Vergil that their team doesn't hide things from each other. It was a rule after Jaune told them about his fake transcripts, how hypocritical of her. Perhaps the worst part was that her leader wasn't there in her time of need.
Not that she could explain what was wrong but just his presence would be very appreciative and knowing Jaune he would try to help her. People just don't give him enough credit, Jaune can be wise when the situation calls for it. They think JNPR is an effective team because of her but really if they weren't being properly led by a competent leader then her skills would be useless.
Her eyes drifted to the empty bed, she really hoped he would wake up soon, preferably before the dance. It was one thing to endure this on a school day but it would just be torturous to be alone at her first school dance.
She sighed, before rolling over to her side to get some more shut eye. All she could do was hope.
\
Breakfast didn't see much change in his red haired teammate's mood; she was distant, nervous and uncomfortable. Ren and Nora were at a complete loss as to what was wrong, they had tried to help but their attempts fell flat. It was times like this that they could really use Jaune's help, for whatever reason his charms(?) seem to work on her.
Team RWBY wasn't any help, what with Blake and Ruby being out of sorts, the former worse than the latter. With Yang and Weiss organizing this year's dance they were stretched thin as it is and they understood that their team came first. Team DVN had made a conscious effort to help but really they were reluctant to get involved in other people's business.
Ren could understand, he also understood that whatever the headmaster talked to them about must've been big. For the short time he's known her Pyrrha had always been infallible, well apart from the matters of the heart but that was beside the point. He could only imagine what could be the reason for the complete 180 change in demeanor.
Nora was being affected by it and so was he for that matter, he was just about ready to demand some kind of answer. His team was falling apart at the seams without its leader and he won't stand for it. He may have liked to be the fly on the wall observing things but he wouldn't stand by and watch something like this without doing something about it.
It was then that he and Vergil locked eyes, he seemed upset and his eyes darted to Pyrrha before giving the raven haired boy a look. He knew that look in his eyes, eh wanted to discuss something. Ren nodded slightly.
\
"This can't go on."
Yang rolled her eyes as her teammate paced about the room "yeah no kidding."
Weiss glared indignantly at the blonde brawler but sighed once she saw her rigid posture. Weiss had almost reprimanded her for the nonchalant tone but sometimes she forgot just how underneath all that sassy, flirtatious and thrill seeking behavior is a caring sister and dependable teammate.
Right now team RWBY was having a crisis. Blake's odd behavior was enough but ever since Ruby came from the Headmaster's office she had been quiet. Not that her attitude has changed overall but she spent more time thinking if anything else. Weiss had offered to console her but she declined respectfully saying that it was something she needed to do herself. Weiss was inclined to agree with her, it's not as if her ponderings were affecting her performance.
It was just odd to see her partner so reserved. Weiss didn't even think about helping Blake, not by herself anyway.
Yang on the other hand was torn between her responsibility to help her sister or partner. Blake was by far the worst of the two cases but her overprotective sisterly instincts was making them both on par at the moment.
"We need to organize some kind of intervention" Weiss suggested.
"I want to keep this in the team."
"Of course" Weiss nodded, neither of them liked the idea of involving anyone outside the team in their affairs.
\
The last class of the day was combat practice, the only class where Dante and Nero actually paid attention If only to see how their new friends stack up to them. They weren't actually bad. On the contrary they quickly found out that they had befriended the two best teams in the first year.
Everyone sans Jaune were the best, case in point, Pyrrha had volunteered to take on an entire team and was utterly destroying them. Although they could tell something was wrong, her movements were refined yet it was clear she could've done better. Can't argue with results though and as she gave Cardin a backflip kick and caught her shield the results are.
""Flawless victory"" Nero and Dante intoned simultaneously like the Mortal Kombat announcer.
"Well done Miss Nikos, you should have no problems qualifying for the tournament."
Pyrrha gave strained yet grateful smile "thank you professor" she looked down as she moved off stage, thankful that it was over. She just couldn't look at her the same after what's been said.
Glynda frowned but sighed and continued "now I know that's a tough act to follow but we have time left for one more sparring match. Are there any volunteers?"
Immediately two hands almost went up only to be restrained by Vergil "we're supposed to be incognito, remember?"
"Hey we're people too you know!" Dante groused his hand trying to shake off Vergil's iron grip.
"Yeah we haven't seen action all week" Nero said.
"Then all you have to do is ask and I can bring us 'home'"
Nero deadpanned "we want to fight real people Verg"
That's when Dante smiled "unless you allow our new friends to come 'home' with us."
Vergil paused at that "no."
"Oh come on I know that's where you're going to train Jaune when he wakes up. So why not give them an early tour or something?"
"….I'll think about it."
With that they turned their attention to see a grey haired boy raise his hand "I'll do it."
Glynda took a good look at the boy "Mercury is it?" she fixed her glasses "very well then, let's find you an opponent."
"Actually" he interrupted "I wanna fight her" he pointed to Pyrrha.
Pyrrha looked around skeptically before it dawned on her "me?" Pyrrha wouldn't normally back down from a challenge but she was feeling really, really out of it today.
"I'm sorry but Miss Nikos has just finished a battle and is in no condition to start another. Now if you'll wait I can find you another opponent"
"I volunteer" another voice spoke out.
All heads turned to see Vergil's hand raised "if that's alright with you professor."
Glynda looked pensive for a moment before she conceded "very well then, would both of you proceed to the arena."
"You hypocritical son of a bitch" Dante whispered.
"No good backstabbing traitor" Nero groused.
Both men strode down to the arena, Mercury wore an impassive gaze but on the inside he swore repeatedly. The boss lady warned him and Emerald about him, said that he was dangerous. When she explained it to them though, there was an anxiety in her eyes, not much but it was there. Also her tone didn't convey a condescending tone.
They still haven't gotten anything on him or his team. It's as if they literally popped up out of nowhere. They have enough resources to be anonymous and kept under the radar. And dangerous enough for even Cinder to recognize and added to the very top of their list even surpassing the faculty. That's Ozpin level scary, at least they've got info on the teachers and students.
Actually he would have liked it if he were to get info on little miss invincible but for some reason she didn't accept. Her profile pegged her as highly competitive, why didn't she take the challenge? Those four idiots didn't even land a single hit on her.
'Dammit'
Cinder said to avoid him and his team for now but now it was inevitable, this guy was already suspicious of them, it would only be more suspicious if he didn't accept it. Didn't matter anyway he was here now so he might as well make the most of it.
He's not aiming to win so hopefully he can see what this guy can do and quit while he's ahead. Both of them arrived at the arena and Mercury now sizes up the man before him and paused with a raised eyebrow.
'Man, this guy is so much like Taurus it not even funny.'
Seriously all he needed was to change his hair to red, add a Grimm mask and he'd be the leader of the White Fang.
'Whelp here goes.'
Mercury started first by running towards Vergil with a straight kick which he easily sidestepped and smacked him across the face with Yamato's sheath. Mercury rolled on the ground before standing, upon seeing Vergil's raised eyebrow he gave a tight lipped grin.
'Okay, so I can't bluff my way out of this. Wonder why he didn't draw his sword'
Again Mercury went on the offensive with a few kicks which Vergil blocked with ease. Vergil leaned back slightly from a roundhouse kick and lifted his leg from a leg sweep before jabbing Mercury's chest with the sheath.
The mercenary held his chest, his aura took the hit but he still felt it way more than he should for a jab. He glanced at the Aura readings, he lost some from that jab though he noted it was more than it should have been for a single jab.
He eyed Vergil whose expression conveyed..patience?
Mercury hesitated for a moment before continuing, this time faster. Unsurprisingly Vergil evaded all the attacks. He then went in for another jab but mercury ducked into a single handstand and swung his foot causing Vergil to jump back. Mercury went into several low spins while lashing out with his foot in an attempt to get in Vergil's guard.
Vergil continued to skip back until Mercury jumped and did a full body roundhouse kick off the ground. Vergil leaned back to avoid it but then Mercury's other foot lashed out to catch him off guard in the face. Only instead of blocking Vergil caught his leg by the shin, panic filled Mercury when he saw his eyebrows raised and he stared at the leg inquisitively.
'Shit!' Mercury used his other leg to shoot a concentrated wind Dust into Vergil's stomach and caused him to let go.
Mercury flipped back a few times before coming up in a stance. He cursed again when he saw that he used his sheath to block his shot. Vergil on the other hand started at his legs before looking at Mercury's face with a raised eyebrow.
'Shit, shit, shit' he mulled over his options, obviously the guy was holding, just like him and he probably figured out a secret he didn't want anyone knowing, does he continue? 'screw it'
He straightened his posture and turned to Glynda "I forfeit" he said a little begrudgingly.
"Are you sure?" Vergil questioned.
"Yeah" he shrugged "obviously you're leagues above me. You didn't even need to draw your sword."
Vergil raised an eyebrow and shook his head at him. Was that disappointment Mercury was seeing?
"In that case Vergil Sparda is the victor of the match" she turned her stern gaze to the audience "that is all for today and remember the dance is this weekend but you all have your first mission on Monday. I will not accept any excuses."
Outside Emerald waited for Mercury and when he finally did they fell into step together "what the hell happened back there?"
"What do you think?" Mercury snapped.
"Well did you at least get some info?"
"..no."
"No?"
He shook his head "nope."
Emerald sighed "Cinder's not going to like this."
"Like what?" a voice said behind them.
Both of them turned to see Vergil standing there with both hands behind his back "Cinder won't like what?" he asked again.
'Shit, how the hell did he get there?'
"She wouldn't like how this idiot ended up forfeiting" she lied.
Vergil eyed the ebony skinned girl for a moment and Emerald could feel sweat forming at her nape. She calmed down however when Vergil chuckled.
"Oh you don't have to worry, I'm not participating in the Vytal festival this year. So you can tell Cinder there's no need to 'scope out the competition' Mercury" he made air quotes as he said this.
None of them spoke, neither confirming or denying what he said but considering he figured out their play, Cinder was right to put him on the list..he was sharp.
"Speaking of Cinder, you wouldn't happen to know where she is, would you?"
They both shared a look before Mercury shrugged "don't know, told us she had some stuff to do and left this morning" which was true.
"That's too bad" he lamented "I'll see you around then" he did a slight wave and walked past them.
\
Dante was getting a little sick and tired of Blake's attitude. She was obviously cranky from the lack of sleep but the reason for it, he didn't know and right now didn't care. She just blew off his friend (and brotha' from anotha' motha') again and basically called off their date all because he was trying to help.
The reason why he didn't tell her off right then and there was for two reasons. First she looked like a wreck and Sun should have really thought twice about approaching her, second Yang said she was working on the problem. He'll trust her to fix it but if she doesn't then Blakey's gonna have to deal with the devil's advocate.
"Now that's just wrong" Neptune shook his head at Team RWBY's retreating form "you okay dude?"
"How would you feel if a girl you like just dumped you before you went on the first date?" he looked to his partner before sighing "oh right, you can't imagine that."
Neptune frowned 'you have no idea.'
"Please tell me you don't still have a thing for her after that brutal shutdown?" Dante asked.
Sun shrugged "hey can't help it. I hate to see her go but love to watch her leave."
"Can't argue with that" Dante smirked. What Blake's hot and have you seen those legs? "that it though?" Dante's superficial himself but there's no way he'd like a girl just because she only looks hot.
Sun frowned "no, well yeah that's part of it" he admitted before the trio walked "she's beautiful yeah, anyone can see that but there's so much more to her than just a pretty face"
"She's got nice legs too" Dante said cupping his chin.
"Yeah~" Sun said dreamily
"Gotta admit, the stockings do well to compliment them" Neptune added his two cents in.
"Totally~" Sun nodded before shaking his head "no dude cut that out! Both of you!"
Dante held his hands up in surrender "hey, we were just making an observation"
"Yeah dude calm down. We're not interested in Blake that way."
Sun sighed "not like it matters anyway. She just rejected me."
"I wouldn't give up hope yet" Dante supplied.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean you just had bad timing. Yang told me Blake was going through some stuff and that she's going to work on it. Hopefully she'll be back to normal and realize what a big mistake she made and approach you about the dance or something" he shrugged.
"And if that doesn't happen?"
"Then there's plenty of fish in the sea. I'm pretty sure Neptune can tell you that."
"What's that supposed to mean?"Neptune enquired.
That caught Dante a little off guard "well, no offense, but you seem like the kind of guy who knows 'the game' and burn through girls faster than Oobleck through his coffee"
Neptune scowled "okay dude first of all no one can burn through anything faster than Oobleck and coffee."
Dante conceded that fact, forget running water, coffee might as well be oxygen for that guy.
"-and second I may know 'the game' but that doesn't mean I'm some pretty boy douche who flirts with every girl he sees."
"You did flirt with those girls that one time you were having a match" Sun remembered.
"Dude! We were in a fight, what better distraction is there for a girl than a cool guy flirting with them?"
"He has a point" Dante does that, mostly to distract them…or to amuse himself with their reaction.
"And if I end up getting a date afterwards then it's a bonus" he shrugged.
"So what do we do now?" Sun questioned deliberately switching topics.
"We still got some time before dinner."
"I've got some video games from my world if you guys wanna play."
"Did you even need to ask?" Sun grinned.
As the trio headed for DVN's dorm room Neptune just had to ask "how did you guys manage to bring back all that stuff?"
"Better yet, how did you sneak it into your room past Goodwitch?"
"That I will keep a secret."
\
Pyrrha sighed "why is this so hard?" she asked her comatose leader.
In lieu of their training session together Pyrrha had relegated herself to pass that time by staying by his side. It's been like this every day since he touched Crocea Mors which now lied on his chest still. With his unconscious form and how Crocea Mors was positioned under his hands which lay on his stomach, Jaune looked like a king about to be buried.
'I guess that would make me the widowed queen mourning his death' she joked.
It managed to bring a smile to her face but it just as quickly fell. Gods she had it bad for this boy. Pyrrha didn't know exactly when she fell for her partner, it just sort of happened. They say that the right man makes a girl feel special, ironically Jaune makes her feel special by treating her normal.
Odd isn't it?
What kind of girl would like a boy not to treat her special?
The answer is the same kind of girl who'd been treated special all her life and is quite frankly sick of it. She'd like some normalcy in her life and while Beacon wasn't the best place for that, she had the next best thing. Being friends with a normal boy.
Maybe that's where his charm comes from?
Jaune Arc is, well was a normal boy, no training, barely any knowledge in the ways of being a Huntsman yet gifted enough to be the best if given the chance.
'Oh Gods I'm a horrible person.'
So this is what it boils down to now? She was so desperate for normalcy that she latched onto the first person that even so much as treats her like one. They say a drowning man will clutch at a straw but this is just ridiculous. Was she so shallow, so starved for normalcy that she would essentially trap him in a partnership to suite her selfish desire?
'Yes' she thought sadly staring at his unconscious face.
Did she truly save him from falling to his death?
Or was she securing him, like some..some kind of predator who marked her prey. Did she even care he didn't have a say in the matter? At the time, no, after all who could ever pass up the opportunity of partnering with the Pyrrha Nikos?
'Even though he had no idea who she was and only vaguely remembered her face from the box cover of that horrid cereal' she thought with a wince and a little hurt, it just had to be the stupid cereal.
Well it didn't matter either way, he took it in stride and they got along swimmingly. Then Cardin's bullying escalated, the revelation of the fake transcripts, then Cardin's blackmail. If she'd only known about that sooner then, well let's just say CRDL wouldn't have made it to Forever Fall due to extensive injuries.
Not that it mattered since Jaune handled the situation and against all odds killed his first Grimm an Ursa Major. She knew some hunters-in-training who would have trouble with one, hell Cardin couldn't even handle it. She could just picture Jaune in that moment, he was amazing and the way how he decapitated the Grimm in one swing was glorious but that was nothing compared to the threat he made against Cardin…..wait.
Her eyes widened 'that's around the time it happened'
She remembered it was right then that she stopped looking at him as 'just a friend.' It was because she saw it, his potential made reality. Pyrrha wouldn't lie to herself, she isn't the most feminine individual, nothing like Weiss or even Yang. She also doesn't do much for hobbies, unless you count weapon maintenance a hobby.
Ruby would but that's beside the point.
The fact is, she wasn't like many girls, she liked fighting, whether it's, Grimm, tournaments or sparring she loved it. She liked the competition, the test of skills the rush that comes from a battlefield. It wasn't something that could be explained, it just was, you don't continue to do something that brings you displeasure unless you truly loved it.
And Pyrrha Nikos loved fighting, no combat in general, almost as much as she loves chocolate.
And apparently Jaune Arc. She didn't know where she would put him on the list of things she cherished but he was there right next to her love of combat if not slightly above it.
Now she finally understood why she liked Jaune so much, why she really liked Jaune. What he did to the Ursa, despite having not done a single form of training or having any prior knowledge on Grimm or combat in general did the impossible and killed an elder Grimm.
The moment afterwards where he made his declaration to Cardin, that specific moment did it for her. He seemed so, confident and not like that macho bravado he did when they first met but real self assurance. He was actually intimidating, it's a shame she never saw him like that more often. She liked regular Jaune but loved it more when he's confident but he lacked it for obvious reasons.
His insecurities were overshadowing his potential but she knew how to fix that problem or at least help him. Regardless of what was said before she does care for Jaune and the reason why she's so hesitant to take the next step and tell him about her feelings is because of her own insecurities.
Not to mention the glaring fact that he likes Weiss, by far the most feminine girl she knew. It only rubbed salt in her wounds when she see him go back to her no matter how many times she shot him down, publicly and mercilessly. She never understood it, Jaune isn't dumb, merely uneducated but even a deaf man would get the memo.
She's not interested, move on stupid.
At one point Pyrrha was seconds from blurting out her confession. She didn't though, she was trained to be patient. Eventually he would get it and she could hopefully tell him how she feels. Until that time though she would endure as he tries and fail to get Weiss to notice him.
Is she a bad person for wanting to strangle Weiss sometimes?
'What am I thinking?'
Her eyes drifted to the time then blinked, it had been an hour since she came down there. She chuckled, it was amazing how the entire time her thoughts were occupied by Jaune to the point where she forgot why she was depressed in the first place. She smiled at the blonde, her eyes drifted to his lips and her mind started to wander..
'No bad thoughts!' she mentally chastised, she's not that far gone.
It was then she noticed Crocea Mors started to glow 'it has not done that a lot lately.'
\
Jaune messed up, he really did it this time. Let the record show that Jaune has absolutely no luck with women whether they are human, Faunus or in this case inanimate objects that somehow have a soul.
"I'm such an idiot" he lamented.
On the bright side he wasn't in some kind of purgatory simulator anymore. On the downside what was once a blue endless void was filled with lots and lots of…stuff. Yes stuff would be the right words since he can't really make heads or tails of it.
"I'm definitely not in Remnant anymore."
The landscape looked like a jumbled mess, there were rocks floating and it looked like some kind of city or parts of it. The sky was at the crosswords from sky blue to orange like evening just before sunset. He only paused for a few minutes to get a better grasp of things before eventually setting off. He could see a break in the path which he would have to jump.
He did but surprisingly he overstepped and landed way further than he thought, with Pyrrha's training he landed in a roll.
"Whoa" how also noticed his voice didn't echo anymore.
Right now he was on a cobblestone path there were pieces of the ground floating about. A piece floated by his head and he poked it forward.
"Huh" his eyes then landed on a familiar figure huddled by a tree on the other side "Crocea!" he shouted.
The girl started but looked to him, she blinked multiple times before frowning and stood then walked away.
"Wait!" he sprinted towards her and jumped the long chasm without a second thought.
He landed with a grunt before approaching her "look can we like talk about this."
The girl said nothing, only disappeared in a flash of light and reappeared several hundred meters away. Jaune would have followed but he wouldn't be able to make that jump.
"Great now what?" he looked around for something, anything to get to her. That's when the tree she huddled by started to glow pure white.
The glow felt familiar and it had a pulling effect on him. Jaune found his arm lifting until his palm was held out as if accepting something. Surprisingly the glow went from the tree to his outstretched hand. It travelled through his arm towards his back spreading through his body until it ended at the sole of his feet.
When it was ending Jaune felt a sudden rush of wind not a breeze but it was going outward from him and for two brief seconds he floated.
It was by far the trippiest feeling he ever had.
He looked to the girl silently observing him over the chasm before he thought 'she left this for me. She wants me to her' he looked down at the endless abyss and gulped
'Time to take a leap of faith.'
He ran to the edge and jumped with all his strength, he made it about halfway through before he started plummeting. Before he did Jaune thrust his arms and legs back and a rush of air enveloped him before he glided with a white streak and landed on the other side.
*Clap* *clap* *clap*
He looked up to see Crocea Mors clapping though her expression was one of indifference.
"Can we talk now?"
Her answer was to disappear into the piece of ruined city.
*Sigh* "this is going to be a long day."
\
"I can't believe I'm doing this" Nero mumbled to no one in particular.
He had been holding off on doing this for a really long time now but he's reached his limit or rather Red Queen has reached her limit and as much as he could do it himself he just wouldn't be able to get this done properly in time for the mission on Monday.
He sighed "come on, man up. The sooner you get this over with the better."
With an anxiety he never knew before the young half devil steeled his resolve before raising his knuckles to knock on the door only for it to be opened. A haggard looking Blake regarded him for a moment before dismissing herself down the hall. If he had to guess she was going to the library, that's where she's always been going lately.
"Nero?"
His attention was turned to the other three girls in the room. They were more surprised to see him there. Not that he blamed them, he was surprised to be there now.
"Do you need something?" Yang questioned.
"Yeah Ruby, you got a minute, I need to ask you something" he scratched the back of his head.
Almost immediately warning bells went off in Yang's head and before Ruby could speak she cut her off.
"What about?"
Nero gave her a confused look before realization dawned just before he scowled at her "I was curious about Dust and I was wondering if she could help me integrate them into Red Queen and Blue Rose."
"Oh"
"What did you think I was going to do? Ask her to the dance or something?"
Yang narrowed her eyes "are you saying my sister isn't good enough to take to the dance?" her arms folded.
Nero gave her the most bored look he could afford "nice try goldie locks but I'm not even going so why would I even ask her?"
"That still doesn't answer my question."
Nero sighed, obviously Yang isn't going to let this go, he leaned slightly to look directly at Ruby "if you decide to help me, I'll be in the weapon's forge tinkering" with that he reached in and closed the door on Yang's face while she was in her own room.
Yang frowned and turned to see Ruby frowning at her "what?"
"Yang, I can take care of myself."
"I know."
"Then you know I can handle boys" she got off the bed "you know I've been working on trying to be friends with Nero."
"Yeah."
"So stop scaring him off every time he tries to be considerate!" she snapped before calming down "he's not like the other boys Yang" she spoke before walking out the dorm.
Weiss watched the scene with patience "well I think it's about time we leave."
"..yeah" she didn't like how it ended with both of their teammates "just give me a few minutes with Blake first."
"I can give you half an hour. And make sure you convince her Yang."
The blonde smirked "you got it princess."
"It's heiress-oh forget it" she paused "also I may not be available when you come back."
Yang raised an eyebrow "really, mind telling me why that is?"
Weiss grew slightly irritated "not that it is any of your business but there is something I must take care of."
Yang studied her for a moment, the thing about Weiss is she's as infallible as Blake when it comes to being read. Though unlike Blake she's easy to rile up
"This thing doesn't have to do with that blue haired dork right"
*Twitch*
That was all Yang needed to go on "it does" she cheered "finally gonna ask him to the dance huh?"
Weiss' scarred eye twitched before she sighed "I don't have time for this. I have to go to the amphitheatre and you" she shot her a cold glare "need to talk to your partner" with that she turned her head and walked out with her head held high.
Just before she turned the corner Yang's head popped out from the doorway "I want details when you get back!" she shouted.
Weiss balled her fist tightly with a low growl as her steps turned to stomps but calms down as she fishes out her scroll and send a text.
\
Militia found herself exploring the halls of Beacon. It was a rarity for her to be alone, what with her sister's overprotectiveness. Unfortunately Melanie was serving a sentence for inciting yet another foodfight. She sighed at her sister's hotheadedness. Fortunately Ozpin, while not too invasive about letting them enroll, has at least given them temporary lodgings until they made up their minds.
Since it was their students' fault they are homeless in the first place. They spent the day getting their stuff from the club which surprisingly didn't have any cops at the scene. But that would be because the Atlas military had occupied the place. Also the entire place was devoid of any bodies, the destruction remained but the place didn't have anything else.
They spent most of the day clearing the place of any evidence to suggest they had ever been employed. At least they allowed them to take all the money in Junior's safe. Now she and her sister was set for..about a few months.
You'd be surprised how frugal they can be despite their glamorous look. You don't live in poverty without learning the value of a Lien.
On another note she had finally gotten her normal attire back, red newspaper dress, weapon and all. Now Militia found herself in the precarious position of having nothing to do. Usually she would be hanging out in the club, running one of Junior's errands or doing something with her sister.
Obviously she can't do any of those things now so she decided to explore her surroundings. She may not want to be a Huntress but it's not every day you get a chance to explore the best hunter school on Remnant. So far she was impressed, this place wasn't like a school but more like a castle in fairytales.
The students though? Well they are the same hormonal teenagers, very skilled but hormonal teenagers anyway. She received some looks from boys..and the few girls but none of them approached her. It was because Militia had perfected the look, the expression where that could make men shrivel up if exposed to too much.
That's when her eyes caught sight of a sort of familiar face 'it's him.'
He saw her too and raised an eyebrow before concentrating "you" he began "you're that girl from the club right?"
He was slightly younger than her and had his arm in a cast. He was definitely younger than her, maybe a year or two. What caught her eye most was the huge case he had slung over his back being held by his hand.
"Yeah, I'm Militia."
"I'm-"
"Nero!"
He sighed "what she said."
Soon the duo was joined by another pale skinned, short haired girl with the same color scheme which Nero seemed to pick up on.
"Oh hi there" she greeted.
"Hi" Militia greeted back.
There was a beat before Nero rolled his eyes "Ruby Militia, Militia Ruby" he introduced before pausing to look between them "I can tell you two are going to be best friends."
This seemed to urge Ruby on "so how are you enjoying Beacon?"
Militia could tell this girl had not had much social interaction "it's alright."
"Oh, good."
Another beat before Nero spoke "not that this hasn't been fun but we really need to get to the forge before it closes."
"Oh yeah, sorry we have to go but um….you're welcome to join us if you want" she looked at Nero who glanced at militia before shrugging.
Militia thought about it for a while before shaking her head "no thanks."
Ruby looked a little disappointed "oh okay then."
They both went their separate ways and Militia mentally smacked herself 'I forgot to thank him' she turned but they were already gone 'oh well, I'll tell him next time. This place isn't that big.'
She turned on a corridor and headed for the stairs leading to the roof. She opened the door expecting it to be empty but a solitary figure sat at the edge of the roof. He immediately turned around and Militia initially froze but then once he got a good look at her his gaze softened and he turned to look out of the horizon.
Militia would have left but her eyes were fixed on the horizon 'he wouldn't mind' she walked to the edge.
"You like mind if I sit here?"
"It's a free Kingdom" he murmured.
Militia frowned taking a good look at the boy, he was tall, despite him sitting in a slouch he reached her waist. His burnt red hair was cut low and he…was looking at her right now.
"…what?" he scowled.
Her face showed surprise before frowning "nothing" she turned towards the horizon as an uncomfortable silence enveloped them.
Militia heard him sigh "sorry"
She turned to him "what?"
"I said I was sorry okay" he looked away.
Militia blinked, she didn't expect him to apologize he didn't look the type. He seems more like the muscles for brains, brutish type with an ego. Looking more closely she could see the slouched posture, a kind of dullness in his eyes. He looks like the frequent schmuck who gets himself drunk because of something bad happening in his life.
Defeated…yes that's the word to describe him.
"Okay" she said, releasing the tension.
…..
"You're not from Beacon are you?"
Militia raised a delicate eyebrow, was he seriously attempting small talk right now "no."
"You a transfer student or something?"
She thought about if she should answer that, the entire time the boy never once looked at her which means he wasn't attempting to flirt. It was the type of conversation she'd see two strangers at the bar do once in a while to pass the time….or distract themselves.
Well he caught her in a good mood today "my sister and I came in a few days ago."
He paused "sister" he mumbled "let me guess, short girl looks a lot like you but with long hair and wears white?"
"Same one, you've seen her before?"
"Yeah she hit me in the face with someone's dinner a few days ago."
Militia's eyes widened "oh. Sorry for that."
"Doesn't matter, wasn't hungry anyway."
…..
"I didn't catch your name."
He gave her a sideways glance "….it's Cardin"
"Militia."
With the tension gone they both enjoyed the sunset in full view.
\
Pyrrha walked into the dorm to the sight of her two teammates and Vergil waiting for her "hello Pyrrha, have a seat, we've been waiting" the Nephilm greeted.
"Vergil, Ren, Nora. What's going on?" she asked hesitantly while closing the door behind her.
"Pyrrha" Ren began "Nora and I are concerned about your behavior over the past few days."
"Yeah, you've been all gloomy and silent. Of course I thought it was because fearless leader was out of commission but then Ren asked Vergil and he said it had to do with your meeting with Ozpin-"
"What?" Pyrrha perked up and glared at Vergil "you told them?"
Ozpin had requested that both Vergil and Dante not tell anyone about what they've learned.
"No I did not" he answered "I can understand why Ozpin told us to keep it a secret but honestly I don't think it's necessary" he stood up "yourselves, Team RWBY, Sun and Neptune are in way too deep to be left in the dark now."
It was honestly baffling why Ozpin wanted to keep this a secret after what they've seen.
He eyed Pyrrha who couldn't help but tense under his gaze "in my opinion I think you should tell your teammates what is really going on. You may think this is your decision and yours alone but honestly you and I both know that this will affect your team as much as it does you. That's all I wanted to say" with that Vergil exited the room.
With only their team in the room Nora broke the silence "what's going on? What was Vergil talking about?"
Pyrrha swallowed, she was feeling really uncomfortable now and Nora didn't like it "Pyrrha."
Ren held his hand up "whatever it is we won't pry if you don't want to answer Pyrrha but if you trust us then you'll talk about it in your own time" he got up and so did Nora although it was clear she didn't like it.
"Wait" she said stopping him. Pyrrha released a sigh "when I went to the see the headmaster…"
\
Jaune has never felt so free before, the feeling of the wind hitting his face the weightlessness of his body as he glided to the next destination. It was like initiation only less terrifying and more fun because he had control and wasn't unexpectedly launched off a cliff.
It was a shame that it didn't last.
"Hgh!" he landed with a grunt and looked around.
'Something's not right' he immediately figured.
What was once day had turned to night, he looked back only to see he was somewhere else entirely and like before he had no idea how he ended up here. Unlike before there was less fragments.
"What is this place?"
The place looked like it ripped straight from Bloodborne.
"This is the demon world."
Jaune jumped at the voice directly beside him. Crocea looked to him, her gaze was no longer cold but it was a far cry from her personality when they initially met.
"Crocea I'm sor-"
She held her hand up "don't apologize Jaune. Words are cheap and actions speak louder than them."
Jaune's mouth closed before he became serious "what do I have to do?"
"Since you didn't take the back door out of here you'll need to go the alternate route"
"Which is?"
Her hand pointed up "do you see that statue?"
He looked up to see a statue of, a woman with wings only her wings are shackled.
"That is the seal that's binding your power and prevented me from reaching out to you. Even now its slowly siphoning the angelic power that boy gave me."
"Angelic? What do you mean by angelic?"
Crocea looked at him incredulously "you mean you haven't figured it out yet?"
"Figure what out?"
"Jaune you're a descendant of angels" she pointed to the statue "and that is the source of your angelic powers. Do you understand?"
Jaune simply stared "understand? UNDERSTAND!? Of course I don't understand! You're telling me I'm an angel, how I mean why me!?"
"Blame your ancestors and no you're the only angel. Your power is sealed within me represented by that statue. Honestly any one of your sisters or father could have the power but you were lucky enough to have me when I received the power to pull you in."
Jaune slumped "oh" well so much for thinking he was special.
Crocea gave him a pat on the back "don't worry Jaune you're about to become the first Remnant born angel. You've always wanted to be a hero right?" he nodded "well with this power you will be able to accomplish that."
There was a brief pause as he contemplated this "I'm still sorry."
She sighed "not this again, listen Jaune-"
"No I have something to say so let me finish" her mouth closed "this isn't about now, I was wrong to ever doubt your integrity and I'm sorry for that."
"I know."
"I- you know?"
"Yes, our souls were connected the moment I pulled you here. In a manner of speaking I know everything about you. I could sense the guilt you had so I knew you regretted what you did" she became sheepish "I suppose it wasn't your entire fault, you didn't know your weapon had a soul but at least you didn't disregard me. After all you had many other weapons to choose from yet you chose me" she smiled "I appreciate that."
"Yeah…wait what were you saying before about a demon world."
"Yes well, this was your ancestor's memories. I constructed this place so you'd be able to get a handle on your new abilities. I based it off a videogame"
"…Bloodborne?"
"Bloodborne"
"Oh Dust, I'm not gonna fight a one of the Eldritch am I?"
Crocea grinned sheepishly "in my defense, their portrayal of demons is actually very accurate….too accurate" her eyes shifted away and narrowed when she mumbled that.
"Do I at least get a gun?"
She gave an annoyed expression "listen up; I'm the only weapon you'll ever need. I don't want you going around eyeing other weapons, get it!?"
Jaune gulped "got it."
Crocea grinned triumphantly "good."
"So how am I supposed to do this?"
"Hold me" she spread her arms signifying her need for a hug.
Jaune hesitantly complied and her body started dematerialized into yellow light. Where there was soft skin and the scent of pines was now cold steel and the scent of metal. Jaune held Crocea Mors' sword and shield. It wasn't like usual though, Jaune had a newfound appreciation for his weapon.
"There are three tethers to destroy and we're going to have to hurry."
"Why hurry?"
"Aside from the fact that they are siphoning the power needed for you to be here?"
Well she didn't have to say it like that.
"Do you want to miss the dance? Because its tomorrow."
"WHAT!?"
"I've been keeping track of what happens outside. Time is a little wonky in here."
As demons began popping out of the ground Jaune charged with renewed vigor into the hordes with confidence and desperation.
\
The sun had finally set and the shattered moon stood out in place. Weiss took a moment to appreciate it before facing forward. She was nervous, which was rarity, well not really, she had been nervous plenty of times but that had been when she was under her father's thumb. This had been the first time she was nervous since she arrived in Vale from Atlas.
She hated this feeling, heart racing, palms sweating and the anxiety build-up. She hated it very much yet it had to be done. It was ludicrous really, her, the Weiss Schnee, heiress to the prestigious (and infamous) Schnee Dust Company, former World renowned singer and second-in-command of the best team of first year Huntresses-in-training at the most prestigious Hunter Academy on Remnant, was actually doing this.
She was about to relegate herself to the lowly task of…asking someone to the dance.
Her tongue went a little dry at the thought.
'Damn you Neptune.'
That dolt, that idiotic…..
"Hey snow angel."
'…handsome-NO!'
Weiss paused in her strides to look at the boy whom she had gotten to know over the course of the week. He still looked as handsome as the day she first met him. To be perfectly clear Weiss was not in love with the boy yet she didn't dislike him either. Being who she was Weiss wasn't exposed to a lot of men who didn't want something from her.
Money, Fame, her body, company secrets….her life, take your pick they would always want something.
Neptune wasn't an exception to that rule, it was obvious from the flirting and subtle undertone that he was interested in her. At the time she let herself indulge in it, he was cute, he knew how to flirt and sometimes she found herself actually enamored with him. Those were brief moments though but she never saw herself falling for him.
Then it all stopped or at least his flirting stopped, each meeting they had after the whole highway fiasco became less and less intimate to the point where they engaged in friendly conversations. Weiss noticed of course and since he wasn't flirting anymore then she would have distanced herself. Except she didn't because she found herself rather enjoying their chats.
Neptune is actually brilliant and refined enough for her not to release a sigh of aggravation during a conversation. That was a surprise and an incredible feat he didn't even seem to realize he's accomplished. Either way Weiss was eventually drawn to him, not like the pretty boy persona he exhibits but the person. She hasn't met someone who could make her laugh, challenge her intellect or just pass the time with since her sister.
So could you say that Weiss Schnee was in love with Neptune Vascillas? No she's not sure but she would confirm that she may have a small crush on him and would very much like him to accompany her to the dance.
That's where the problem starts. Weiss had no idea why he stopped flirting with her, maybe he was caught up with wanting to know her like she did him, if so she would assume now that he was in her good graces he would take the initiative and ask her to the dance. She had even dropped subtle hints about the dance to jog his memory. None of it worked and he hasn't actually made mention of the dance during their conversations.
So what gives?
Did he get cold feet? Was he nervous? Doubtful, he had too much experience and they had been too friendly for him to be overwhelmed now. She could only assume he was playing 'hard to get' meaning that he wanted her to ask him. It was something she wasn't used to outside her family, having to actually work at getting someone's attention.
Weiss sighed, all she could do was get this charade over with and if he so much as smirks at her, he will feel her wrath.
With that thought she schooled her features and greeted him "hello Neptune."
Said boy smiled as he looked to her, the moonlight reflecting off her pale skin seem to enhance her beauty. Hey, he didn't call her snow angel for the aesthetics and Yang may be hot, figuratively and sometimes literally but there was just something about Weiss that he liked more than the fiery blonde.
Maybe he's into Tsundere?
'Whoa okay let's not get ahead of ourselves.'
"So what's up?"
"Ahem, well I'm sure you're aware of the dance that is to be held tomorrow night."
'Oh no' Neptune's smile faded.
Weiss missed it since for some reason she couldn't look him in the eye "well I was wondering"
'No, no, no, no'
"-if you would"
'-no, no, no, no, no, no, no-'
"-accompany me as my date?" she looked at his face relieved at getting it out without stuttering.
That relief quickly evaporated as she saw the bewildered look he had. It's as if he didn't see this coming but how could he not? This was all part of his plan right..right?
His face adopted an apologetic look, one Weiss used to see from her family "I-I'm sorry Weiss but" he paused "I can't."
Weiss was rendered speechless at this, and Neptune didn't look any happier, in fact he looked awful "I, ah, I gotta go" he took off in a brisk space before she could say anything.
It took a while for her to wrap her head around what just happened but when she did, the shock and confusion gave way to cold fury with a bit of sadness.
He rejected her, she suffered through the indignity of asking him out and he rejected her.' Oh Neptune Vascillas, you will rue the day you crossed me, no one rejects a Schnee!'
Meanwhile Neptune mentally swore. It was this very same situation he was trying to avoid. That is her asking him to the dance, it would have been cool if they met their but not go their together. It's the reason why he stopped the flirting once he found out about the dance.
Ugh dance.
He hated that word, he disliked anything that had to do with that activity and tended to avoid them. Dammit he screwed up big time, if he'd known about the damn dance beforehand he could've mitigated, planned ahead but he went in half cocked and flirted with the first cute girl he saw.
'Stupid jackass' he mentally chastised.
Now he went and fudged his relationship with Weiss who is probably the only girl he'd met so far who wasn't going to be just another conquest in the Vascillas notebook. No there was something about her that he was drawn to.
Maybe he was actually falling for her.
Maybe he should have given her a proper explanation…
'Not like it matters now' he frowned and went back to his dormroom. He made sure to text Sun he wouldn't be joining them.
\
Nero and Ruby talked specifics as they headed towards their rooms having being kicked out of the forge. The young half devil never thought he would have said this but…his time with the girl wasn't bad. Actually it was great, granted she still ran her mouth like there's no tomorrow and sometimes leave out on a tangent but he didn't mind since it was geared towards ideas and not random bullshit.
Not to say he didn't have to stop her when she thought of something out of hand. It mostly involved when she wanted to put a gun in his sword. How she would pull it off he didn't know or cared…well he did care and he was curious but there's no way in hell she's gonna play Frankenstein with his girl.
Again not everything went smoothly, Ruby really needed to learn self control when talking to people. Nero was actually embarrassed when she said and quote
"-I'll let you see mine if you let me see yours"
That got about everyone withng a ten feet radius' attention. At least Ruby understood what she saod and had the decency to turn beet red and sputter a denial.
'Dammit Ruby' he shook his head.
"Everything okay" said girl questioned.
"Yeah, just thinking."
"What about?"
He looked at her "how many vials we can fit in Red Queen and how long can they be without offsetting the balance"
It was supposed to be an excuse but now he's really thing about it. since they stated in the evening they only spent the day looking over Red Queen's blueprints where they went over wat they would need to be added. They never actually got to where they would put a vial slots in it just yet.
Then another thought came to him "and then there's the types of Dust to choose" he looked to her.
"I think we'll have to ask Weiss"
Nero scowled "do we have to?"
Ruby shot him a serious look "Weiss knows about the different Dust types and her weapon is kinda similar to what you want to do with Red Queen."
That makes sense actually and as much as he dislikes the princess he can't dispute the logic behind Ruby's suggestion.
He sighed "will she even agree?" at the slightly confused look he elaborated "maybe you haven't noticed but I'm not on her favorites list"
Ruby waved him off "aw don't mind her, she's always like that meeting new people. Just give more time she'll warm up to yah."
Nero snorted "no thanks."
Ruby frowned "why do you do that?"
"What?"
Ruby played with the hem of her cloak "you know, distance yourself from people."
"I'm not a people person Ruby and it has nothing to do with me not being able to make friends. I just like being alone."
"Oh" was her crestfallen response as they arrived at her room door, her expression then turned pensive before she looked him in the eyes "can we be friends?"
Well Nero didn't expect that, he stared at her "tired of skirting around it so you just straight up pop the question huh?" he raised an amused brow.
"Are we?" she asked again.
His smirk dropped and he took a long look in her silver eyes, they were unwavering "you won't take no for answer will you?"
Ruby's expression didn't change and Nero sighed "you think I'd just let anyone touch Red Queen?" he questioned.
Ruby beamed and went to hug him but once he grimaced she caught herself and coughed "no, me either, with Crescent Rose I mean" she quickly added.
Like she'd let just anyone touch her baby, not even Yang has that privilege. Only herself, uncle Qrow and now..Nero had the level of trust for her to allow them to tinker with her baby.
"So I'll see you tomorrow." He began walking away.
"Yeah, tomorrow" she watched as he entered his room and did a fist pump "yes!"
With a beaming smile she unlocked the door and walked inside. Almost immediately her smile disappeared once she saw the eyes of her teammates on her. Well two of them anyway
*Click*
The sound of the door closing behind her was followed by two firm hands resting on her shoulder. Ruby gulped and a bead of sweat ran down her forehead, she didn't need to turn to see who had just essentially trapped her.
"Hey sis" Yang's sickly sweet voice sounded "let's talk."
\
Emerald and especially Mercury sat in silence as Cinder glowered at them figuratively and quite literally glowered at them. They messed but Mercury even more so, they could feel the temperature start to rise.
"Mercury" her voice "I thought I specifically ordered both of you not to directly antagonize any of those three boys. Did I not?"
"Yes" he answered "but I thought.."
"You don't think!" her voice was still leveled but the spike in the temperature said it all about her mood "as of a few days ago those three boys are none of our concern" she declared "is that understood?"
"Yes ma'am."
Cinder took a calming breath "did you at least gain any useful information?"
At this Mercury looked even more hesitant, Cinder was not amused "Emerald"
"No ma'am" the thief answered "he seemed aware of what we were planning with Nikos."
'Just perfect' she and her team went out of their way to avoid them and it only seemed to make him more suspicious.
Not really a surprise once you think about it.
"He asked about you" Mercury commented and Cinder raised an eyebrow signaling him to continue "he wanted to talk to you about something."
Ah, it must be about that insipid dance she would have to attend. She mentally berated herself, when she had agreed to go with him, she wasn't all there when she agreed. That song she was hearing had done more than distract her and it had something to do with the Arc boy, speaking of which..
"Did you have any luck in seeing Jaune Arc?"
"No ma'am, he wasn't in the infirmary."
They moved him? Well damn. That mystery will have to remain so. Not that it mattered, by Monday, if anything she will get what she wants and be rid of this place.
Mercury spoke next "are you still going to infiltrate CCT?"
At this Cinder sighed "no, with that boy I don't think I will have enough time to slip away. No I will have someone else infiltrate the tower in my stead"
Mercury and Emerald shared a look "Neo?"
"Yes."
Cinder hadn't wanted to take her from Roman since she helps keep the White Fang in check but with her preoccupied she would have to do. Cinder would begrudgingly admit Neo's unique Semblance should allow her to gain access much more smoothly than herself. That way it would be done and no one would be the wiser.
'That is if she can keep her manic tendencies in check.'
Cinder is aware that Neopolitan for all intents and purposes is insane and Cinder is weary around the girl more than she is around Roman. A highly skilled psychopath with dual Semblance who is prone to act upon her whims.
How Roman has managed to keep her in check all these years remains a mystery and is something she would like to know since despite the girl's clear neurosis she is very loyal to Roman for some reason.
'If only..'
So many unexpected things have occurred to complicate things, but they won't pan out, the plan was clear the end goal in sight. She would not fail, not now, not when she was so close.
To Be Continued
Author's Notes: Okay for this chapter, this was just my speculation on what the characters would or should be liking each other for. Also you might have noticed I skimmed some of the things that you've no doubt already seen in canon. Well I wanted to focus on some of the unseen things, also I've watched the episodes concerning the dance and apparently the dance happened the same day, Yang had her talk with Blake and Weiss asked Neptune out. Either that or they skipped a day, I'm going with the latter. This was Friday and I'm guessing the dance happened on Saturday.
Now then, Jaune is taking a lesson in badass. If anyone is familiar with my other RWBY stories then you know it was only a matter of time. I hate writing useless characters, I just do, that's why Sun and Neptune aren't just comic relief.
I explored a little of how the news was impacting Pyrrha, the girl who has always been treated special was chosen to inherit powers of legend. You know I think in a way that news sorta broke her. I mean think about it, she'd always been level headed and non egotistical but then Ozpin told her he chose her as his champion to be a legendary warrior and suddenly she:
Thinks her destiny is to save Remnant.
Thought she would be able to help Ozpin fight Cinder.
Chooses to fight Cinder alone after Ozpin lost despite the clear power gap.
Kisses Jaune, practically confessing her love for him before disregarding his presence by shoving him in a locker in a similar way to how Ozpin told her "you'll only get in the way"
Now either Pyrrha had a death wish or the news gave her an ego boost that is not shown through her mannerisms but through her actions. Seriously if it's not true arrogance that would make her fight Cinder by herself then I don't know what is. In the end she like Ozpin paid the price for their arrogance. Yes Ozpin is arrogant, Salem had him pegged, I have evidence of this and will inform you in the future.
In other news Streggae had advocated the building of the ship CardinxMilitia (to be named). No doubt none of you saw that coming but just to be clear that was an experiment I'm working on. Cardin and Militia had a moment and as of now I am undecided on where to go with it. Think of their meeting as a matter of coincidence.
Also after so many chapters of teasing I have finally taken Ruby and Nero's relationship to the next level. That's right people they are now officially….friends.
*APPLAUSE*
I'll update sooner than last time.