Chapter 5: The Hunt
Back in the Razor Crest, the Child was still holding out his arm, guiding the Mandalorian as he piloted the ship. It turns out the lamp wasn't in the cave as everyone initially thought, but the Child could somehow "sense" where it was. After taking a moment to collect his thoughts, the Mandalorian realized he shouldn't have been surprised. After all, the Twi'lek Mystic had told him the Child would be able to help him find the Relic of Knowledge. Only, this isn't what Djarin had in mind. However, Djarin was still surprised the Child was able to talk. All he ever heard from him were "coos" and laughter. And he seemed really quiet now, just holding out his hand and using the Force.
Cinder and Neo were also in the cockpit, looking out where the Child was reaching. They weren't in space again, but high enough in the clouds where nobody could see them. Before they left town, Cinder insisted on Djarin waiting back at the Razor Crest for a while. About an hour later, Cinder and Neo returned with new clothes. Cinder's white and yellow robe was replaced with a black cape covering most of her torso, with a large eye patch covering her burned socket. Neo also changed her outfit, ditching her small jacket and shirt for something more…revealing. She wore a small white shirt cut off at the arms, with her hands covered by white gloves with brown and pink sleeves.
"So, where exactly is it taking us?" Cinder asked her pilot.
"If I knew, you would the first to know. I'm just following where he leads me." he replied. "It may take a while if you want to wait in the hull." Cinder took his advice and went down the ladder, leaving her companion with the Mandalorian.
Tapping him on the shoulder, Neo showed him her Scroll. "Well, tell it to try harder. I'm not exactly happy wasting my time up here while Ruby's out there roaming free."
"First off, I don't know think this is something you can rush. Second, thinking just about killing whoever 'Ruby Rose' is won't change anything. It especially won't bring back whoever you lost."
Hearing this sent a wave of anger through Neo, throwing her Scroll against the wall and heading down to the hull. This didn't concern Djarin, however, as he turned his attention back to the Child.
"You can't just tell me where the lamp is right now?" he asked.
The Child didn't turn to look at him, still reaching forward. "I'll take that as a 'no.'" Djarin said.
Sitting on the ground, Neo was still fuming with anger, her eyes staring at a broken droid on the opposite side of the ship.
Spending all that time in the air had caused the Razor Crest's engines to overheat. Seeing what looked like a city behind a giant wall just north of the ship, Djarin set it down in a clearing in the woods. Not wanting to run into anymore Grimm, he made sure to land as close to the wall as possible, in case they all needed to make a run for it. After putting the Child to bed and telling Neo and Cinder the Crest's engines needed to cool down, he told them to get some rest. Deciding someone should keep an eye out for Grimm, the Mandalorian took his blaster pistol and went outside to keep watch. After about a half hour of standing guard, he sat down to rest. He could feel himself start to drift off, oblivious to the sound of feet walking up to him.
"WAKE UP, MANDALORIAN." A cybernetic voice called out.
Quickly looking up with his blaster in hand, he came face to face with the head of Zero, the droid mercenary who almost killed the Child. Holding it was Neo, while pressing a cylinder-like object against her throat.
"DON'T WORRY. I TOOK THIS ROBOT AND MANAGED TO FIX ITS SPEECH UNIT, A TRICK I LEARNED IN THE KINGDOM OF VALE." Neo's mouth moved as Zero's voice spoke for her.
"What are you doing?" Djarin asked her. "Couldn't you just write it down?"
"THIS IS TOO IMPORTANT." she replied. "I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU THINK OF ME. BUT WHEN WE FIND RUBY, DON'T STAND IN MY WAY. ONE WAY OR ANOHTER, SHE'S GOING TO DIE."
Djarin understood she was threatening him, and it would be smart to just drop the matter. But for some reason, he found himself doing the opposite.
"Look, I don't know what happened between you and Ruby. But the only reason for you killing her should be if you need to." the Mandalorian said.
"STOP TRYING TO MAKE IT SOUND SO SIMPLE! YOU'RE RIGHT, YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED. YOU WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND EITHER. SO DON'T. GET. INVOLVED." Neo said as she turned back to the Crest's larger door.
"Let me guess." Djarin called out. "You had one thing. And she's taken it from you. A single light, a single friend. But now, she made that end." Neo stood still, listening to what the Mandalorian was telling her. "I told you I was tasked by a Mandalorian Armorer to bring the Child back to its kind. I didn't tell you what happened before that. I returned to my guild, expecting to find other Mandalorians to help the Child and I escape from Gideon. Instead, I only found a pile of Beskar helmets and armor, taken from their corpses. The one thing I knew in my life was gone. You better believe I was angry. That I wanted to go back out there and kill every Imperial I could find. But I didn't."
"WHY?"
"Gideon wanted to get rid of every Mandalorian he could find, even before he met me. He was one of the leaders of a great Purge that destroyed my world, that forced every survivor to go into hiding. I knew he wanted me dead, more than he wanted to get his hands on the Child. So, I beat him the only way I knew how. Survival was my only hope. Success was my revenge."
Neo turned around, tears in her eyes. "The best revenge is to live on and prove yourself, Neo. This is the Way."
"THEN… WHAT SHOULD I DO?" she asked.
"You're already doing it. You're surviving. You're living proof that Ruby couldn't kill you. If you ever face her again, don't try to kill her out of a want for revenge. Otherwise, you'll be digging two graves."
With this, Neo dropped Zero's head and ran straight to the cockpit, not wanting Cinder to see her crying. Cinder had heard it all, Zero's voice had awoken her. "What a bunch of crap." she thought to herself, falling back asleep.
When Neo got the cockpit, she buried her face in her hands, unable to stop herself crying. Feeling a small embrace on her right leg, she lowered her hands to see the Child holding her leg. Sensing her distress, the Child decided to give Neo a hug. Looking at the Child, Neo dried her eyes and smiled.
Waking up to the sound of a vehicle driving in the snow, the Mandalorian got on top of the ship and used his rifle's scope to get a closer look. Seeing a bike driven by a young blonde with six other people in the back, he watched them drive closer to the wall. Getting a closer look, he caught a glimpse of a small golden object hanging from the red girl's belt. Jumping down, he ran back into the Crest.
"Cinder, Neo, wake up!" he yelled. Jumping up, Cinder looked to the Mandalorian. "What is it?" she asked.
"I think I found them." he replied.
Looking back at Neo, she ordered "Neo, stay here and guard the ship. If anyone comes here, don't let them get to the city." Turning back to the Mandalorian, Cinder told him "Show me."
Using her Maiden powers and his jetpack, Cinder and the Mandalorian landed on top of the wall to find the group he saw earlier. Using his scope, Djarin examined the city's entrance. Finding the children he saw earlier hugging three other people who joined them, he gave the scope to Cinder. "I count ten by that garage. Eight children, an old woman, and a younger man. Is that them?"
Looking to where the Mandalorian had told her, she saw what he was looking at. "I don't know who that crone is, but yes. That's them." Keeping her eye on them, Djarin looked at the rest of the city. Drifting from snow covered buildings to the ocean, his eyes landed on what looked like a military base. "Cinder, where would you say Atlas is from here?"
Lowering the scope, she turned to the ocean. "That way." she pointed beyond the ocean. "Argus is the primary trading port between Anima and Solitas, the continents where the kingdoms of Mistral and Atlas are located." Putting the scope back on her eye, she watched Ruby's team walking towards a trolley.
"If what you said earlier is true, about Ruby wanting to take the Relic to Atlas, chances are the first thing she'll do is go to that base by the ocean. She might find a way to get to Atlas from there." he replied.
"Or she'll look for a place to stay. The kingdom of Atlas closed its borders. No one in, no one out." Cinder pointed out. "Either way, we should get down there, and try to find-" she suddenly stopped talking.
"Try to find what?" Djarin asked. She didn't answer him, keeping her eye on the city. "Cinder, try to find what?" he asked again.
"Change of plans. We're not going to follow them."
"What?" Djarin asked. "Why?"
Handing him the scope, Cinder pointed to where she was looking. "There, in front of the café." Following her instructions, Djarin saw a lone woman sitting at a table, watching the trolley Ruby and her friends were riding. The woman had long black hair, part of it tied in the back while the other part was hanging down. She was wearing red pieces of armor over a black shirt, with a long black scabbard at her side.
"What about her?" he asked.
"She was at the academy when I attacked. She's the reason I failed." she replied.
"No." Djarin replied, understanding what Cinder was thinking. "We know the lamp is here, and we have the opportunity to take it right now. We're not waiting so you can settle a score. If we play our cards right-"
"NO!" Cinder yelled, her eye emitting an orange fire. "She has something Salem wants, something I need! I'm not getting the lamp until I take care of Raven first!" Cinder closed her eye, the orange fire going away. Looking back at the Mandalorian, she continued. "She has something that will make our mission easier. The others won't be going anywhere anytime soon."
Djarin was beyond done with Cinder at this point. He never trusted her, and her little outburst even furthered his suspicions. She wouldn't even tell him what this "something" was. But it could make the hunt easier, he wanted to see what it was. Either way, Cinder wasn't taking 'no' for an answer. "Fine" he said with a sigh.
Raven wasn't expecting to go anywhere until she found the rest of the Branwen tribe, but this was a special circumstance. By now, Salem would know that her servants had failed to retrieve the Relic of Knowledge. That put Yang and her friends in danger. She had to know her daughter was safe. After seeing her, Qrow, and the others go off on a trolley deeper into town, she decided to leave Argus. Making her way to the main gate, she couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching her. Looking around, all she could see was people going about their business. So, she continued walking.
After she passed the gate, Raven turned around to make sure nobody was watching. Changing herself into a bird, she flew deeper into the woods. Argus was too crowded for her to change into a raven or open one of her portals, so she had to get outside. Suddenly, she felt a hand grab her body. Before she could react, Raven felt the hand drag her into the woods and throw her. Changing back into her human form, Raven saw the black arm move back to its owner: Cinder.
"Well, well. Hello again, little bird."
Author's notes: sorry this chapter's a little short. I'm going to be busy with the next one and school, so I wanted to post this one before I get to work. I'm not sure when it'll be finished, but don't worry. I promise I'll get it done as soon as possible (it'll probably be a week at most).
To barrera2009, I'm glad you liked the joke I put in there. I saw the opportunity and just had to do it. Also, while I agree that RWBY's plot lets team RWBY and JNR win most of their fights, I'm not sure Mando can beat all of them (like you said earlier, I don't want to make him OP). But more importantly, you should try to find a way to watch the Mandalorian. It's really good and I have some spoilers from the first season in this story. Regardless, thanks for all your reviews.
To LichLord, you'll have to wait and see.
To GojiraFan455515 yes, I did make Baby Yoda talk. Since Remnant is strong in the Force, I decided to let it influence Baby Yoda. Now, he can sense where the lamp is and talk at times.
To GhostCXR, thank you so much! I appreciate that.
One last thing, please feel free to leave reviews for this story. I can't promise I'll reply to them all, but I'll definitely read them. Anyways, thanks for reading this chapter, I hope you enjoyed it!