Hello everyone! Chapter 18 is up, springing the second arc in motion.
I forgot last time, but in addition to thanking everyone for keeping up with the story, I owe a great thanks to my friend Raphaelia who had a great part into helping me come up with the ideas about Cinder you are going to see in the story. I hope you like the direction we will take and the slower pacing the second mission intends to have. If not, feel free to tell me :)
To Sun Wukong, life was simple. Do what you want, be a decent guy while doing it and help your friends any way possible. He believed strongly that if you are a good person, the world will somehow repay it.
As he was laying down on his bed this morning with no clothing on to separate him from the half-naked body of Blake nuzzling at his arms under a warm blanket, the only thing that came to his mind was this;
I must have been an extremely good guy this year.
He loved Blake, he loved everything the yellow-eyed girl did. But he was especially fond of moments like this; when after sleeping together, Blake would allow her soft naked form to rest in his arms.
Watching someone like her, whose cautiousness was beyond any level of normalcy, in such a peaceful and intimate state, filled the blonde's heart with warmth.
He partially blamed the fact that Blake's skin and underwear felt so good gently pressing his body, but that was not the issue at this point.
A small ruffle under the covers alerted him that he was not the only one basking at the gentle warmth. "Mmmm…you are doing it again, aren't you?"
"Doing what?" he chuckled. Blake repositioned her head, but didn't open her eyes "watch me sleep-you are doing it again."
"Can you blame me?" he reached out with his right arm, allowing his fingers to caress the large burn mark that run down his fiancée's neck- Summer Maiden's parting gift.
Blake wasn't especially mindful of the scar being touched; not any more than any other body part being touched at least. But when he did it, it made her feel strangely good.
One simple brush of Sun's fingers was soothing to the harsh skin- Blake purred slightly. It was strange; touching old wounds shouldn't feel so relaxing.
But then again, when Sun was around she did many things she once thought strange. She never had been one to seek warmth before- or to initiate physical contact. Love is weird, she had told Yang once.
Her scroll rang, breaking the couple's relaxation. The cat girl winced, reaching out to get it, brushing her body even more at her fiancé's.
Sun smirked and handed Blake her scroll; she answered, her voice still drowsy "Alex? What's the matter?" Her eyes shot wide and, before the monkey boy could ask, she continued "we are coming at once."
An hour later.
The SHU Technological Research Institute, or TRI for shorts, was one of the Unit's greatest assets; a small yet well-equipped facility built on top of an isolated abandoned Ozpin Dormitory.
The area was restricted, due to one of the four laboratories safe holding experimental dust, and save for the facility guards only a select few individuals were allowed entrance; especially on Sundays when everyone rest and visitors were scarce.
That didn't matter to Weiss however. Neither that, nor the lack of sleep. She had a job to do- information to extract from Yugure findings about the chains' manufacturers.
She adjusted her glasses, fixed her bun and straightened her lab coat. Thankfully, she was nearly done- Lumia had managed to acquire all the necessary samples the previous days.
That left for her only the task of preparing them for analysis and, after a few hours of hard work, all company samples were laying on the table, ready for testing.
She turned around to her companion. "The time of truth has come, Yang. Let's see who the manufacturer is." The tall, blonde girl turned around, her own oversized lab coat floating with her sudden motion.
Weiss rolled her eyes at her girlfriend. "Take this seriously, will you?" Lilac eyes gleamed at her through a pair of lab glasses "I am taking it seriously- I even allowed you to tie my hair in a bun!"
"Lab rules are lab rules, Yang" Weiss giggled "you look hot by the way." Yang winked at her "if that's the case, I may borrow Lumia's clothing for domestic use afterwards, then."
"Start the test run, now." Her voice dropped immediately, in an attempt to hide how appealing the offer was to her. A failed one, if her lover's grin was any indication.
"All, right. Will you oversee the procedure?" she asked as she put the first sample in the analysis chamber. "Yes; you only have to write down which materials shine and which ones don't."
Yang gave her a thumbs-up and Weiss quickly typed the command sequence in the computer. A few seconds later, the low roar of the analysis chamber filled the room.
The blonde looked at the monitor carefully, as Weiss sent the analysis Dust Beam on the sample arrays, giving her enough time to note any luminescence.
After she was sure the last one had been tested, she shut off the system and allowed Yang to remove the samples and start storing them.
She then looked at the blonde's notes "Only three samples match?" "Yes, and if you notice, I have underlined sample 18- it's the one that had the biggest shine."
"Good- that makes it…" she trailed through the catalogue before she stopped "…Merlot Industries…" she whispered loud enough for a flabbergasted Yang to stare at her.
"What!?" she asked. "Seriously now? This lunatic's company was involved in this?"
Weiss pursed her lips "well, as a matter of fact this is not unreasonable- Dr. Merlot was one of the leading figures in Grimm research after all; his company manufacturing such material is no surprise to me."
Yang tried to reply, but was cut off at the sound of the security door open and two set of footsteps entering, accompanied by a very familiar voice "Yang! Weiss! Are you here?"
"Is that Blake?" Weiss wondered. "Yes" Yang replied, alarmed "she sounds distressed-that can't be good."
The laboratory door opened, revealing Blake and Sun in their huntsmen attires. They were panting and their faces were painted a faint shade of red; possibly from running.
"Why do you have your scroll turned off?" the cat faunus groaned. "Laboratory safety- no electronic devices allowed. What's the matter?" the pale girl asked back.
"We have an emergency meeting at Goodwitch's; I will explain everything on the way." The couple exchanged a worried gaze before they rushed to get changed.
-o—
The silence inside Headmistress Goodwitch's office was only being interrupted by Ruby's rasped voice as she kept retelling this morning's events.
Headmistress Glynda was there; her stare not betraying her emotions at what she was listening to. Above her, a large monitor displayed Ren and Nora's faces, their expression continuously shifting between furious and worried.
Team LEAD was also there, dutifully standing on the wall next to the door, sporting various levels of concerned frowns.
Blake, Weiss and Sun were sitting next to each other on the left, still trying to process the new pieces of information the red girl was providing them.
Yang was sitting next to her sister, her entire body fuming in anger, while she was tenderly rubbing Ruby's hands to help her relax, if only a little.
"And that's the entire story, Professor." She finished grimly, before burying her face into Yang's arms, her lips quivering in sorrow, as the blonde's gentle voice was being whispered in her ears.
"Shhhh…it is ok, Rubes. We will get him back, don't worry." She nodded, pushing her face deeper into Yang's chest "I just…" she whimpered "…can't believe this happened…under our own noses... why can't they let him rest?"
"I still can't believe Cinder had a brother" Blake announced flatly. "Or that said brother not only has a vengeful bone to pick with us, but also accomplishes eager to help him with it" Weiss completed her.
"Speaking of which" Glynda turned to LEAD's side. "What did the police say, Ms. Spectre?"
Alexandra replied immediately. "The attacker was one single person. She was arrogant enough to simply waltz in and out of the hospital with Jaune in her arms."
"How could they do that?" Nora's voice echoed through the screen. "What did security do?" Ren added. "…" Alex looked at them in sadness "security tried to intercept them, along with one unit of policemen who were patrolling around."
She took a deep breath "they didn't even manage to get close- she killed six officers and sent four more to the hospital."
Everyone' face dropped immediately. "Oh no…" "These poor people…" Glynda shook her head "do we have a description of them?"
"I took some notes" Ruby sniffed. "Witnesses spoke of a female faunus with fox ears wearing a large Grimm mask and flower-patterned clothes."
"What?" Blake was the one who let her voice be heard. "Could it be-" "probably not." She turned around to see Weiss looking at them in deep thought.
"There are many reasons as to why, but the simplest one is this; any faunus can put on a Grimm mask and pretend to be an ex-White Fang member."
"I agree with Ms. Schnee at that- jumping into conclusions is not a good idea. Anything else, Ms. Rose?"
"Hmmm…oh yes. Her weapon- they described it as an oversized Naginata." "A what?" Yang asked in confusion. "A long spear with curved blade" Ruby replied. "Traditional weapon of-"
"Menagerie" Blake interrupted. "And even on that, the amount of people still using it is very small. A person with that skill would be noticeable."
The headmistress nodded "could you trace anyone matching the description, Ms. Belladonna?" she nodded back before replying "I will message my father- no one knows the island better than him."
"Good" the stern woman acknowledged. "Now, before we continue, there is one thing I want to make sure. Ms. Rose, are you sure this man calling himself Alizar Red told you to meet him at Grimmwater?"
"Absolutely." She firmly stated, wiping her tears. "Why do you ask, Professor? Do you know something about this place?"
Goodwitch fixed her glasses and made sure she had the entire room's- monitor included- attention. "I don't know it, but I know of it. It's not a very old event, dating back to about six years before you attended Beacon."
"It was a private island, called Monsho in South Mistral. A huntsman called Octavios Red had settled in it, claiming it as its own after clearing the entire area from Grimm.
For an abandoned island, it seemed to be abundant in valuable gold and gems, helping Red to not only quickly establish a household, but also attract lots of workers and create a large port-town that developed a considerable trade route with the city of Nanko on the coast.
Lots of Mistralian officials tried to reach out to him and have him involved in the main land politics, but Red preferred to stay alone and isolated, which led to the island's demise."
"Grimm" Ren stated. "Nobody knows the details, but the Grimm attack on the island must have been ferocious." Glynda continued.
"When Mistralian Army ships reached the waters of Monsho, they found no single survivor, and the sailors said the massacre was so horrible; they got afraid to step on land- three search parties were sent, but none returned."
"For real?" Erik asked. "And what did they do, then?" Goodwitch shook her head "they simply declared the area a 0- type zone and forbade anyone from entering it."
Everyone's eyes fell on Ruby, who was staring at their commander, her silver eyes shining in determination. She opened her mouth to-
"Well, that's going to be an interesting ride, for sure." Yang's voice interrupted her sister. "What?" Ruby turned around to look at the blonde.
"Why are you staring at me like that? I just said it's gonna be an interesting rescue mission, Rubes." Blake's voice followed Yang's "we will have to pack provisions, for sure. We don't know if anything edible will be there."
Ruby turned around to her teammate in confusion, only to be interrupted again by Weiss "if you even try saying what I think you are about to say, I will kick you so hard you will be sleeping face down for a week, Ruby Rose."
Silver met blue, and then yellow, and finally lilac before Ruby gave the first honest smile she had for quite some time, instantly brightening the room. "And you call me a dolt" she murmured "group hug, now!"
"AHEM!" their commander's voice made everyone freeze. "Despite approving such an excellent display of team bonding, I would request you to not forget where you are!"
"Sorry, Professor…" the brunette shrank under Goodwitch's fierce glare, while the rest of her team coughed to hide their embarrassment.
"Back to track…" she narrowed her eyes "… you know I can't in good faith approve of one of my best teams enter such a dangerous place- and step into such an obvious trap."
Team RWBY exchanged glances, each getting the message the others wanted to convey, before Ruby stood up and announced in her best serious voice.
"Professor… we are asking for your support, not your permission." Glynda's eyes shot open wide and everyone else froze in place as the heavy silence spread slowly around the room.
And then, the blonde woman sighed deeply, pinching the bridge of her nose "there's no stopping you, is it?" Ruby shook her head "I love Jaune; if there is even one tiny little chance of him waking up, I want to provide him with it."
"Same here!" Nora's voice echoed from the monitor. "We-" "Rejected." Glynda turned around at them, locking her eyes on Nora's turquoise ones- fully seeing the hurt inside them.
"Wha- No! Professor, you can't do that!" she screamed, pushing her head to the camera. "Jaune is our best friend! He needs us! We can't-" "NORA!"
Ren's shout stopped the hyperactive girl's outburst, as she turned around to see her husband. He was looking at her, his face stoic as always; despite that, Nora could see the sadness behind it.
"I cannot pull away the two commanders of Cypress when we are expecting a top-class Grimm attack at any moment, Ms. Valkyrie." Her voice was solemn, yet firm.
"We… understand Professor" Ren replied bitterly. "Ren, Nora" Ruby said. "I promise I will bring Jaune back. If there is even a chance of turning back, I will do anything I can to bring him. Just, trust me- I know it hurts, but just put your faith on us."
"Right…" Nora lowered her gaze "I am sorry, Ms. Goodwitch…" The Professor simply nodded "a huntsman must sometimes make tough and harsh decisions, if they are for the good of the people. I am proud of you for understanding that."
She then narrowed her eyes "tomorrow a legion of 100 Valean Soldiers will be restated near Mangrove to provide assistance. Finding anything about that Grimm takes full priority."
"About this, Commander" Weiss intervened. When Glynda nodded at her to continue, she gave her an envelope. "Today morning, I ran some tests- it seems that the chains and door restraining the coffin were manufactured by Merlot Industries."
Everyone in the room save for Yang exchanged gazes of disbelief. "This thing becomes even weirder" Albus murmured. "Merlot was really into researching Grimm- it is not as weird as it initially sounds" Blake deadpanned.
"Correct, Ms. Belladonna. The problem is, Merlot Industries is no more and we can't trace their archives for former clients, since they were all destroyed with Mt. Glenn."
There was a thoughtful pause, before Lumia spoke "I could reclaim them, however."
"Say what?" Yang asked, as Glynda continued "how could you do that Ms. Starlight?"
"Well, every single corporation worth a lien has the policy of keeping backup files in electronic forms, very carefully sealed inside storage vaults."
As long as she saw she had everyone's attention, Lumia continued "unless anyone opened the vault and let Grimm inside, there is no reason for them to be damaged. I only have to find one of their terminals intact and I will easily have all company info."
"It shouldn't be that easy- should it?" Weiss raised an eyebrow. "If I was trying to get into corporation formulas and secret stuff, no it wouldn't."
"But something as simple as getting a client list or a manufacturing catalog should have very lax security- it will be a walk in the park for Lumia" Erik completed his team leader's thought process.
"Allright!" Professor Goodwitch stood up, clearing her throat to get anyone's attention before speaking.
"Mr. Ren and Ms. Valkyrie, I am leaving you with the task of locating the Eldergrimm." They both nodded in approval.
"Mr. Wukong." Sun shot up "Yes, Madam!" he replied a little too eagerly. "Take one of your best teams with you and work with the Vale Police and Mr. Belladonna to find out anything you can about the mysterious woman."
She then turned to team LEAD "your mission just changed, Ms. Starlight. Your team will go to Mountain Glenn and try to access the Merlot Industries' archives to find out any possible lead in the investigation."
Yang bit her lower lip, as Blake gently elbowed her before Goodwitch turned at them.
"I will ask to get a bullhead to Nanko ready for you- you have 8 hours to get ready." Ruby beamed at her, but Glynda dismissed her quickly.
"Let's commence operations; get ready and please don't make me regret this, Ms. Rose." The redhead bowed respectfully and followed her team outside, letting Glynda look at the old photograph on her desk.
"Don't judge me" she addressed the image. "You would have done the same thing, after all."