Chapter 11: Mortal Minds are Frail

The hail of gunfire cut through the snow-covered taiga trees that flanked the permafrost road, as Team Ruby rode their hoverbikes. The Huntresses protected a cargo truck, one of the pre-war models outfitted with a snow plow, a human-sized, v-shaped wedge attached to the front of the vehicle, to remove the compacted snow and ice. Shoving waves and mounds of snow to the side as it crossed the forest trail.

At their heels were Pegasus, mechanized and winged equines, painted back, with white SDC logos on their flanks, a dozen of them. They galloped across the air, often pressing their wings to the sides so as to move between trees unimpeded.

Green blasts flashed between trees as Penny fought them in the air, the salvos of laser fire covered the dark morning sky. A moment later, one sustained blast cut through the nearby vegetation along with a trio Pegasus, the Grimm flesh inside the equines convulsed before they detonated, reduced to scrap in midair.

Near the ground Blake and Yang rode side-by side with Weiss and Ruby, the pairs sharing their hoverbikes. As a handful of Pegasus androids swooped down to the road, Blake and Weiss shot at them, the suppressing fire only ricocheted off their chassis. Under where the wings met their backs, compartments opened, revealing built-in turrets. The shots were spaced out evenly, and detonated as they hit the road, inching closer and closer to the truck.

On a reflex, Weiss summoned a Glyph in midair, blocking the truck. She focused on the assailing androids that chased them, firing Myrtenaster in their general direction. In a moment like that, they needed full contact fighting, not something easily achieved when one needed to protect a moving target. Where was Winter? Last Weiss had seen of her, she'd weaved into the forest, summoning that Grimm armor as she chased away a handful of Pegasus.

Weiss rolled Myrtenaster's revolver barrel, the gravity Dust chamber was still full, thankfully. She squeezed the trigger that laid underneath the rapier's handguard, holding it down. As she held the trigger, more and more Dust gathered in the barrel, a dark purple orb formed at the gun-blade's very tip, expanded from the size of a pebble, then a fist, and finally a basketball. Light refracted around it, compressing and stretching the image at the very border of the orb.

More gunfire neared them as Weiss finally released the trigger, shooting the orb in the direction of the flying androids. Even as they tried to change directions and fly away from it, the gravity Dust pulled them to its center, imploding as it pulled the handful of androids. Seeing the opportunity, Blake ejected Gambol Shroud's fire ammo and lobbed it toward the sphere, reloading her weapon and firing at the cartridge an instant later.

The violent burst of fire quickly ended the androids, yet, as they were ruined, six more more took their place, as it had happened before during the past minutes of the chase. Weiss knew the reason why, they were analyzing, adapting, and above all, draining Team Ruby.

This, she expected.

It was a weakness of Androids that they failed to perform outside expected parameters and highly coordinated attacks, in short, they could not improvise. Grimm, on the other hand, could adapt but valued attacking humans and faunus above all else. She'd considered before that the use of Grimm flesh was an attempt to complement the androids, and perhaps it was, but it revealed a weakness that laid on a more abstract level, one that could be targeted by Huntresses but not defended against.

The chase had been set up deliberately in advance, and the Pegasus had fallen for it. The double door on the back of the truck's container opened, only as much as to reveal the barrel of the mounted machine gun inside.

The gun fired, a loud bang followed by the clang of hammer striking ammo, and the ejected cartridge bouncing off the weapon and into the snow. The shot hit a Pegasus under the chin, stunned the beast midair. As it did, the gunner increased the rate of fire, slowly ramping up until the continuous stream pierced through the android's chest, sending it plummeting out of the air.

Such kind of thinking was unusual for Weiss, outside the box as one might say. She preferred melee combat, the thick of action, and it was more her fiancés methods than her own. But who was to say she couldn't try it at least once? In the face of high enough ordnance there was no such thing as invincibility.

The machine gun, she knew, was mounted and loaded with a box of Dust ammo, meaning a full sixty seconds before the gunner had to reload, and two hundred seconds before the barrel melted. More than enough time, given who they'd trusted with such a task.

The gunner shifted her attention to the flying androids at the edges as they tried to fly away, shooting them down, to keep them from flying away. Androids became fireballs in the air as the gunfire detonated their Dust reserves.

Of course, thri weakness wasn't high-ordnance per se, but rather the application Team Ruby had settled on. Grimm only understood concepts such as environment or enemy numbers when they were adjacent to their main goal of killing humans and faunus. Perhaps at some point they had sensed the gunner inside the truck, maybe they knew what negative emotions she might've felt. But would any Grimm consider her a threat, ever? They had their attention on the Huntresses, on the bright colors they wore, and the swarm of negativity that was inherently linked to the act of fighting.

If they were wild Grimm, perhaps they would've given up on the chase long ago, out of instinct or intellect, Weiss thought. Their brand new strength, the relentless pursuit to kill that was further enabled by their new, mechanical outer shell, that had become a new weakness, recklessness.

This was a dangerous moment. Cornered, the Grimm would try something, and she could not plan for it. To plan would create expectations, and if such expectations were broken, it would cause hesitation. She'd seen it during the Breach of Vale, how a moment of hesitation could take down even the best among them; it had almost claimed Pyrrha.

Amid the gunfire and the cloud of explosions left by dead androids in the air, the last Pegasus ascended, perhaps trying to avoid gunfire by taking an even higher position. Weiss pointed Myrtenaster, waiting…

The android closed both wings on its sides, then plummeted in her direction, it was her chance! Weiss grinned a wide smile, she conjured a wall of Glyphs, its final attempt at killing them would prove useless!

As elation took over her body, her blood pumping ever faster, a third hoverbike jumped into the road, using one the mound of snow left by the trucks plows as a ramp. It rode atop the glyph wall then leaped once more, meeting the Grimm in midair. The pilot, armed with a bleached bone-carved jousting lance, pierced through the Pegasus, skewering the android before landing. She lifted the lance, then threw the Grimm aside before it had the chance to blow up.

Winter.

She followed them, outfitted in her knight-like armor, undoubtedly made of Grimmbone. Ruby Signaled the truck driver to slow down, they were longer under threat.

"Sloppy work!," Winter chided Weiss from the hoverbike, her voice cutting through the wind and the truck's noises, "Resorting to passive defense, have you gone mad?"

"It was a repulsion-Glyph wall, the Grimm would break before my concentration!" Weiss barked.

"Hah! You're lucky I was watching you, girl!"

Penny joined them, flying down to their level, "We're close to Lapenrauma, let's talk when we get there!" She landed on Winter's hoverbike, formerly her own, then sat down to ride pillion.

Weiss breathed a sigh of exasperation, righted herself on the hoverbike so as to not give Ruby an even harder time in balancing the vehicle.

Sloppy work, she'd said. How was it sloppy, when she could replace Glyphs as they were destroyed, even feel the air pressure and adjust the repulsion before impact? It was a skill taught to her by Winter herself, yet presently, she worried much more about offense. Kill, kill, kill the Grimm, not unlike Yang, but without the raw power.

Was it an "older sister in the same team" thing? Weiss never had any point of comparison before…

The truck slowed as they reached the walls outside the village of Lapenrauma, at the very heart of the Taiga forest. They were stone walls, with carved guard towers at regular intervals. It was one of the older villages, outside the previous radius of protection granted by Atlas. The area around the village was cleared of trees, and once in the clearing other roads made themselves visible, mostly by the snow mounds left by supply trucks that went to and from the city.

The main gate was already opened, a similar supply truck awaited them alongside Cardin Winchester. As Team Ruby's stopped, they parked the hoverbikes and moved to meet the man.

Ruby was the first to meet the leader, as per customs. "Was the tip clean of Grimm?"

"Clean as it can be," Cardin answered. "No stragglers, we got here half an hour ago."

He pointed to the back of the supply truck, where people unloaded large wooden boxes. The rest of Team Cardinal was among the civilians, helping carry the supplies to the city hall, where it'd be distributed.

Yang joined the group, "And we got everything we need? Cement mixers, tools?"

"And the food, clothes, along with the vehicle parts. Almost everything Atlas used to supply, minus the Dust, You wouldn't believe how much Dust Atlas used to supply," Cardin continued.

"But they can live without that," Ruby said.

"So they'll help us, just like that?" Blake asked, her sudden presence would've started Weiss, were she not used to the teammate appearing and disappearing furtively all the time.

Cardin chuckled, "Well, not really 'just like that'. Coco was here before, remember? With the way Atlas is attacking everyone, they're basically recruiting for us, "

"We don't really recruit…," Weiss interjected.

Cardin put his hands to his waist, "You know what I mean. Anyway, they still have mounted guns on the walls, they're just out of ammo and in need of a bit of maintenance. If we could get the Dust, to reinforce the place some more. I'll be working on the north walls, the other side, until later," he waved, walking away.

Yang put a hand to her chin, "It's a good idea. We can make sure the place still works until we get more Hunters on the scene. I'll help unload the cargo, the faster we go, the faster we can get started. Hey Rubes, can you park the hoverbike for me?"

Ruby nodded, "Just remember to meet us at the hall. I'll talk to the village Chief, they can probably spare some rooms."

As Yang walked away, Weiss turned to Blake, "You should go with her."

Blake raised a single eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"You know how she is. As soon as everything is unloaded, she'll start working. You remember Kastell, the walls there needed fortification too."

Ruby interjected, "And if you can't drag her away from the work, then maybe you can give her some tips. You're the infiltration expert here."

Blake shrugged, "Okay. See you soon."

Blake followed Yang, and Weiss followed Ruby, shifting her attention to Winter and Penny. Both were busy extending a collapsible ramp from the back of the truck they'd taken for the mission. The gunner inside - no one other than Four Seven Niner, or Isabella, as Weiss remembered - helped them. Apparently gunner was another one of her skills as a pilot, and she had performed admirably. It was almost difficult to believe that five years ago she was just a CCT tower worker.

Then again, five years before Weiss was simply a very well trained noble herself.

Yet still, a feeling bothered Weiss as it crawled from the recessed of her mind. It was Winter she knew. Her sister had already dismissed the Grimm armor she'd worn for battle, but the image of her dipped to her neck in a prison of Grimm flesh still lingered in Weiss' mind. Was it a warning from ehr Aura, telling that her sister was still bound to the Dragon that had almost consumed her? Or was her subconscious still bound to that one moment where she'd almost lost her sister?

As a Huntress, living knee-deep in threats from all sides, it was difficult to tell what was justified paranoia and what was simply unhealthy suspicion. It was too easy to misjudge a change in threat level, and too hard to consider her sibling a threat in the first place.

Winter noticed them approaching, nodded to Penny, then straightened her back and folded both arms, "Sister. Ruby," she greeted.

Penny interjected, clearing her throat, or sounding like she cleared her throat. Weiss wasn't sure if having a robotic body meant Penny even had a throat to begin with, or lungs, but the meaning behind the action was clear. Winter's shoulders fell as she sighed, exasperated. One of Winter's eyebrows, the left one, twitched. A tick she had since they were both little girls.

Winter continued, "It was a good mission today," she said, measuring her words carefully. "I believe you could've been more cautious, sister, as relying too much one one type of defense can leave you vulnerable and-"

Penny brought both palms to her face in disbelief, "Winter!" she grunted.

"...And I didn't mean to undermine your contribution today. It was a good plan."

Penny sighed, "See? Was that so hard?"

"You have no idea," Winter answered, still stone-faced.

"It wasn't a big deal," Weiss said. "Isabella is good, we can trust her with a mounted point-fifty." It was only after finishing the comment that Weiss noticed the faunus woman was looking at them.

"Isn't that right, Four Seven Niner?" Weiss asked.

Isabella smiled, "Mounted gun duty is part of basic training."

Humble as always. Could Weiss give her enough praise, when without her simple yet vital skills Team Ruby would not have been able to get as far as they had in Atlas?

"Beacon has surely changed a lot from what I remember…" Winter said.

"Oh! This was actually another thing Miss Goodwitch set up!" Ruby said.

Winter nodded, "I imagined so. The Breach of Vale, the Crisis, Glynda Goodwitch as Beacon's Headmistress, It's almost like I'm living in a completely alternate reality."

"Like a science fiction novel!" Penny said.

"Yes. Anyhow, let us load the hoverbikes. You said we should be expecting an interceptor soon, correct?"

"Yeah," Ruby answered. "We're not going back to base just yet, but I got messages from Miss Greene. Some teams were rescued, others are still missing."

"And we've got more questions than answers now," Weiss said. "Atlas being one giant, hovering question mark."

Isabella hopped from inside the container, "It is isn't it? It doesn't make a whole lot of sense, they're not even occupying the places yet."

Weiss felt something in her mind swarm for a moment, "Yes. As far as motivation goes… The new type of Grimm androids have been quite easy to adjust to, we shouldn't have too much trouble with them if we let the other know how to fight them."

"Yes," Winter said, "They're simply different, better armored and armed with conventional weapons."

Isabella looked from Winter to Weiss, "What?"

"Well, it makes sense, Bel" Ruby said, "Most Huntsmen aren't used to fighting android-Grimm hybrids yet…"

Isabella's confused stare shifted to Ruby, "What are you talking about?"

Winter brought a hand to her chin, "Well, the logistics of hunting are well outside regular personnel. That's the whole point of Huntsmen existing."

Isabella's eyes widened, "That's not what I'm talking about, we were just saying we still know nothing about Atlas, why did you gals change the subject like that?"

Penny eyed her, confused, "We were? Are you sure about that?"

"Yes!"

"I don't remember that," Ruby said.

Weiss focused her mind, a familiar feeling prompting her attention again. Were they? Her perception had failed her once in the past, just before the fight against Winter… Early during that day…

Had she imagined something a few minutes ago?

Weiss felt the sudden pang of adrenaline fuel her mind, scouring her memory. They talked about the interceptor, Miss Greene, the new and sudden Grimm attacks coming from Atlas, then the new-types, right? It felt right, but logic told her that something was amiss.

Before she could continue her analysis, Weiss noticed Yang and Blake returning, the entire process shattered into pieces on the snow, never to be recovered.

"Hey everyone, sorry to interrupt, I forgot my scroll on the hoverbike. Watcha all talkin' about?"

Weiss didn't answer, instead winced, as something slid her mind, "Let's go over things."

"Thank you!" Isabella sighed.

"Winter, you said, there'd be an interceptor soon, right?"

Winter nodded, "As far as I remember."

Weiss pointed at Ruby, "Then you said you got messages from Miss Greene."

"Correct," Ruby said.

Finally, Weiss pointed at Penny, "Then you said it was a good thing we catched the surprise attacks before they hit."

"Yeah that makes sense," Penny said.

Weiss then looked at Isabella, "Is that how it went?"

For a moment, it seemed as if Isabella struggled with the thought, one side of her face contorted slightly… then she smiled, "Yeah, I guess that's how it went."

What was that? None other seemed to have catched the moment, had Weiss imagined it too? Perhaps they weren't used to the workload, they'd been hunting nonstop… no, that wasn't it, she would know fatigue way before hallucinations set in. Why was no one else talking about it?

Yang looked at them confused, "That doesn't make any sense, how did you all go from Miss Greene to talking about the attacks?"

"Wait," Blake said, "This could be the work of a Semblance. We have protocols for this in Beacon, there have been logic altering Semblances in the past… Maybe this is the work of an enemy!"

There was a pause among them, Weiss considered it. It was a very real possibility, and they shouldn't ever let their guards down.

"Nah!" Blake said, as the group laughed in unison, all but Weiss.

Was there a problem in her logic? When something altered one's thoughts, what was the protocol? What- What- What-

Maybe I am just tired.

No! There was protocol, second year, Miss Greene, Weiss could anchor herself there. She closed her eyes and tried to remember the class.

"In the event of hunting induced fatigue, there are measures a team can take in the field. Most aften, so as to recover your mental health, one should always rely on your team, rest and of course, a logical course of action."

Weiss fell to her knees, as the mere effort of remembering classes years ago drained her. Was that really the class? Why would Greene even talk about mental health when it was usually Oobleck and his incessant sermons that,,, that…

Like a something in her mind had pushed through a physical barrier, emotion took over Weiss, her memory of boredom during his classes. Was that the key to remembering emotion?

"Weiss?" She heard Ruby approach, "Are you-"

"Don't touch me!" Weiss blurted. Her line of thought had been restored, but it was so fragile! Even the effort to speak threatened to snap it again!

Emotion was the key. She had to let it take over for a moment, govern her thoughts. What did she feel during that Greene class?

She remembered Ruby, remembered one of the many times Weiss realized she liked the Huntress. Remembered wanting to live by her side, her intoxicating perfume. There was happiness too, Greene's classes were always closer to what Weiss had learned in Atlas, the many ways to fight deception and subterfuge…

Elation, the human mind was a mysterious labyrinth, full of sensations and fallbacks, and when logic failed, manipulated by the enemy, there was only emotion to trust.

Desperation,There was a feeling of dread inside her, tucked way, hidden. Why?

Longing,not for someone but a single piece of thought, cast away forcefully. She remembered

Weis opened her eyes but her body wouldn't obey. The world was spinning around her. The edges of her vision blurred, darkened. Consciousness faded. Her head throbbed as if it might explode at any minute.

Still, she struggled to keep herself awake for a moment more, just one single moment, to remember a single phrase before finally collapsing:

Destruction is the point. There's something or someone much, much bigger at play.