Stealing from the Elderly.
Daytime in Argus. At the Atlesian Military Base, various soldiers and guards work on their jobs. Weiss and Bernadetta are walking with Cordovin and Saphron, who is holding her son Adrian in her arm. They are also escorted by the two Nubuck Guards. Weiss drags a large luggage case behind her while Bernadetta was walking next to her.
Cordovin seemed overjoyed "Ah, I was relieved to hear that you two came to your senses, Miss Schnee and Miss von Varley. Many of us were devastated when we heard you two would be attending... Beacon Academy. Knowing that you'll be returning to Atlas just warms my old heart".
"It was... time to get our acts together and go back to our roots" Weiss said.
"And I couldn't just leave my home forever" Bernadetta added.
Cordovin smiles "Oh, I can't wait to see you follow in your sister's footsteps Miss Schnee. And you Miss von Varley, I can already see you becoming a great huntress with proper training".
Weiss managed an unenthusiastic smile "Absolutely...".
"Yeah, thank you" Bernadetta added, really not to thrilled about going back to Atlas.
"I'm sending two of my best guards to personally escort you. Make sure General Ironwood hears that part" Cordovin said as she winks and walks away.
"We... will make sure he knows about your... special service" Bernadetta said, trying so hard to be polite.
"Allow me to assist you with your bag" Nubuck Guard 1 said as he hups over to pick up Weiss' luggage "My, what a heavy bag!".
Weiss keeps her grip on her luggage "That's alright!".
Nubuck Guard 1 "Nonsense!".
Nubuck Guard 2 "Allow me to assist as well!".
"I can take care of it by myself!" Weiss insisted.
As Cordovin walks away, she overhears Weiss and the Nubuck Guards conversation. She stops in her tracks and gains a suspicious look on her face. Saphron notices this.
Saphron whispers to Adrian "Just like we practiced".
Adrian nods at his mother. The baby then lets out a loud wail that can be heard throughout the base. Adrian "cries" as he fusses in his mother's arms.
"Oh no! Look at that, he's just going to miss you so much! You should hurry on out of here!" Saphron said.
Nubuck Guard 1 "A crying child?".
Nubuck Guard 2 "We must console it!".
The two guards hup over to Adrian as they perform weird poses to amuse him. Cordovin continues walking with an unamused look on her face. While they are distracted, Weiss and Bernadetta quickly gets onto the airship with the luggage behind them.
"That was close" Weiss said.
"To close" Bernadetta agreed.
Ruby speaks over an earpiece "Is everything okay?".
Maria voice was heard from inside Weiss' luggage "Call me heavy... It's all muscle! I'll show them a thing or two about heavy!".
"We're on board" Weiss said.
Elsewhere, Ruby, Lucina, Severa, Lyre, Jaune , Nora, Ren, Oscar, and Qrow wait along the cliffside between the forest and the ocean.
"Alright, we'll all watch our scrolls. The second Weiss and Bernie is out of range of the comm tower, that'll mean their out of range of the radar too" Ruby said.
Yang speaks over the radio "And that's when Blake steps in. We're almost at the drop off".
In another area, Yang is driving Bumblebee with Blake sitting behind her. Blake has her Scroll out receiving instructions from Terra.
"Okay, remember: one, the radar box is seperate from the rest of the communications equipment. So if you disconnect it properly, it won't take out comms for the rest of the city. Two, this conversation never happened" Tarra said.
"Don't worry, this isn't the first time I've disabled Atlas security" Blake said.
Terra stares back with an unamused look "Never. Happened".
Yang arrives at the drop off point. Blake steps off the bike and proceeds forward.
"You sure I shouldn't come with?" Yang asked.
"More intruders means we're more likely to be seen. Besides, stealth isn't exactly your, um..." Blake began but stops as Yang stares back at her with her arms crossed "I mean, you're great! And I'll hurry back".
Yang's expression softens "Go and be careful. Severa would be very upset if you got arrested".
"I'm sure she would be" Blake said with a smile of her own before heading off "Heading in on foot. Won't be long".
"Be careful Blake" Severa said, confirming that she was worried.
Blake couldn't help but to smile "I will, Severa. See you soon".
"Yes! It's all going to plan!" Jaune said, then looks to Ren and Nora, who just stare at him with neutral looks, he clears his throat "I mean, uh... roger".
Ren and Nora exchange a brief glance while rolling their eyes at their leader. Oscar notices Ruby looking over with concern to Qrow, who is leaning against a tree with an uneasy look on his face.
"Hey, this is gonna work" Oscar said.
"Yeah" Ruby said, still looking worried.
Lucina put a hand on her shoulder "Ruby, whatever happens, we'll get through it together".
Ruby smiled at her. Words could not describe how relived she was to see that Lucina had regained some of her spirit and was back with them.
On the airship, Weiss and Bernadetta sits in the passenger seats. Weiss looks down at her scroll and notices her friends' signals slowly going out of range. Upon seeing this, Weiss and Bernadetta nod at each other makes their move. They get up and heads toward the cockpit.
Nubuck Guard 1 "My ladies! For your own safety, we must request-"
Nubuck Guard 2 "What?!".
Weiss can be heard activating a glyph followed by some struggling.
Nubuck Guard 1 "Traitors!"
Grunts from the guards are heard. The airship is seen flying by as the two guards are tied together by a black Schnee glyph as a parachute slows their descent.
Nubuck Guard 2 "This parachute won't excuse you of your treachery!".
The glyph deactivates, causing one of the gaurds to hang onto the other guard for dear life.
Back on the airship, Weiss walks over to the controls with Maria taking the pilot's seat and Bernadetta returns to the passenger seats.
"And you're sure you can fly this?" Weiss asked.
"Missy, I was the Grimm Reaper! What part of "best Huntress of her generation" don't you understand?" Maria asked.
"Right, but your eyes" Weiss reminded.
Maria chuckles as she notices a small device plugged in the controls. She takes out the device and plugs it into her goggles. Text on one of the screens read "TRANSMITTING SENSOR ARRAY DATA" as Maria's prosthetic eyes grow more wide.
She looks at Weiss "You were saying?".
"That you said your eyes were in desperate need of repair!" Weiss said.
Maria holds a finger out at her "Bup bup bup".
Weiss "But-".
Maria "Bup!".
Weiss ultimately relents. She puts on her seatbelt as Maria starts to fly around. Bernadetta sighed, she really hoped they would make it out of this alive.
Back on the ground, Ruby watches her scroll as Weiss' signal disappears.
"Alright guys, this is it" She placed her fingers on her ear "Blake, you're up" No response "Blake?".
Ruby looks back to her friends in worry. Severa looked up in concern.
Yang sits on the ground next to Bumblebee.
"Yang, what's going on?" Ruby asked
Yang gets up and looks over to the relay tower "I don't know...".
Yang looks to her scroll and sees Weiss' signal coming back on.
Back at the base, Cordovin watches her men working the terminals. A beep is heard.
Terminal Soldier "Ma'am, we've got something on radar".
Cordovin walks over to him "And who would be foolish enough to enter our airspace unannounced?".
"Apparently... us, ma'am" The Terminal Soldier answered.
Back on the airship...
The Terminal Soldier spoke over the radio "Manta 5-1, this is Argus Base. We see you circled back. What's your status, over".
"Why can they see us?" Weiss asked.
"Somebody dropped the ball. Don't worry, I've worked with Atlas forces before. I know their jargon" Maria picks up the radio and clears her throat "Argus Base, this is Manta 5-1. Feel free to gaff off. Thought we were going to scrub due to FOD, but we're back up and green across the board, over".
Static was heard before the Terminal Soldier spoke again "Manta 5-1, return to base immediately, or you will be treated as hostile, over".
"I thought you said you knew their jargon!" Weiss said.
"Jargon was fine, but our pilots aren't elderly women" The soldier said.
"Huh, well they got me there! Ooh, my mind really is going! Why would you kids let me fly this thing?" Maria asked.
"Are you kidding me!?" Bernadetta asked in disbelief.
The Cordovin spoke through the radio "Calavera! You and those insolent children are up to something, aren't you?!".
Back at the base.
"You thought you could undermine my authority? If you don't return my ship this INSTANT, I will make an example out of you. I will show you the true might of Atlas!" Cordovin warned.
Over the radio, a crunching sound is heard.
"You hear that, Cordo?" Maria asked mockingly.
Cordovin's expression slowly turns enraged.
Back on the airship, Maria munches on cashews with her mouth open.
"That's the sound of me not caring!" Said before laughing like a maniac.
Weiss putts her fingers to her ear "Ruby, we're in trouble. Cordo's onto us, and Maria isn't helping!".
Back on the ground...
"Why is the radar still up?!" Weiss asked.
"We don't know, Blake isn't responding" Ruby answered.
"Blake..." Severa said, growing more and more worried.
"What do we do?!" Oscar asked in worry.
"Keep the ship in one piece" Yang said.
Yang is seen revving her motorcycle. She quickly zooms over to the radar tower.
"Maybe we should fly over to help Yang and Blake first?" Nora suggested.
"Damn it! Cordo's gonna scramble her fighters. We've got maybe ninety seconds before they're in the air, and all over Weiss and Maria. This is all my fault..." Qrow said.
"What are you talking about? Your Semblance?" Jaune asked.
"Every choice I've ever made has led me here, and I've dragged you along with me. Oz, myself, the others... We're responsible for the mess the world's in now. I shouldn't have come, shouldn't have let any of you come... What was I thinking?!" Qrow said in frustration.
"We're all in this together, and we're all going to do the best we can. That's all anyone can do. And I know it's what you've always aimed for. We would've come whether or not you'd let us, so stop talking like we're your responsibility! We're not! But we could still use Qrow Branwen on our side" Ruby said.
Qrow ponders his niece's words "Hm... How did you grow up so fast?".
"I had good role models" Ruby said and the two share a smile.
Severa headed towards her bike and Lucina looked at her "What are you doing?".
"I need to make sure Blake is ok" Severa declared.
Lucina was silent for a moment before she nods "Be careful".
Severa smiled, happy her leader wasn't going to stop her. She got on her bike and drives away.
"Guys? She's not sending fighters..." Weiss said.
The group looks over to the Argus base. Suddenly, the mountain at the base retracts, revealing a colossal mech that overlooks the city of Argus.
"Clearly the people have forgotten that they live in peace thanks to the awesome might of Atlas!" Cordovin said.
"Is Cordovin... piloting that?" Weiss asked.
"Consider this a reminder!" Cordovin charges up the mech's arm cannon, which lets out an electric burst that fires at the ship Weiss and Maria are piloting. The controls go critical as Maria's eyes spin.
"Are you okay?" Weiss asked.
"I am, but she's clearly lost her mind!" Maria said
"And that was merely a warning shot! All Atlas personnel standby, and watch how your leader maintains order!" Cordovin declared.
Ruby and her group look over to see Weiss and Maria fly in, with Cordovin in her mech following close behind.
"It's time you asked yourselves, children... Do you truly wish to defy me?" Cordovin said.
"SERIOUSLY!? Isn't that a bit overkill?!" Lyre asked, utterly baffled the old lady would use giant war mech against them.
"Hurry back, Weiss. I need you on the ground if we're gonna take this thing down" Ruby said.
"She is insane..." Lucina said.
Meanwhile, at the comms tower, Blake's scroll is seen on the ground. Someone steps on the scroll as they run. Blake is seen running behind cover. She looks next to her, only to discover a motionless body of an Atlas guard. Blake reels back in horror. Blake is forced to take cover again when a gunshot is heard. She looks to the floor below her, with Adam sheathing Wilt into Blush. He has discarded his Grimm mask and now wears a black blindfold to cover his eyes.
"It's nice to finally have time to ourselves. Don't you think?" Adam asked.
"Leave me alone!" Blake fires at Adam, but he blocks and absorbs the bullets with his sword.
"But I've waited so long, for you to be away from them" Adam said.
Blake runs over and uses a cable to zipwire herself down, but Adam cuts the cable with his Semblance, causing Blake to land on the same platform he's on. The two proceed to clash blades, until Blake kicks him back a distance.
"Why did you have to come into my life and ruin everything?!" Adam asked in anger.
"You stalked me across Anima! I don't want anything to do with your life!" Blake shot back.
Adam proceeds forward and clashes swords with Blake again. Blake leaps up and uses her Semblance to land on the platform above. She looks over the rail and points her pistol down. Suddenly she looks behind and gets hit with hilt of Wilt. Blake swings around and clashes with Adam again. Blake lands on the rail and dodges out of the way of Adam's Semblance, landing on the platform above. Suddenly, Adam reappears and grabs Blake by the throat. He pushes Blake to the edge of the railing, but Blake stomps on his foot and both of them fall over the rail. The two crash through multiple tree branches, breaking their fall back to the ground. The two slowly get back up.
"Let go of the past, Adam. Do it for yourself" Blake said.
Adam gets up, looking even more unstable "Just forget it all? Is that what you did to me?! You just threw our memories away?!".
"Adam!" Blake said, but she just couldn't get through to him.
"I let you go once already, Blake. I'm never making that mistake again..." Adam said.
The two former partners take defensive stances, and prepare for battle against each other... Meanwhile Severa was driving at full speed towards the tower. Silently praying Blake was ok and could hold on until she reaches her.
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Yeah not much I could do with this chapter as it's pretty much just a set up for the next one.
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Tell me what you think.
