Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY. Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum own it.
"Are we almost there dad?" a girl with blonde hair beamed up and down, her excitement rubbing off her dad. The man rubs his head as he heard this numerous times, wondering just how many times she's said this before.
The woods were dark, the pitch-black forest scantly illuminated by the lantern held by the man. Whatever moonlight was reflected down was blocked, the trees providing intense shade.
"In a minute, Yang, I told you this would be a long walk.", he groaned, thinking again why he brought his daughter with him. Especially after Qrow updated him on the run-in, they had two days ago. It was a surprise that Atlas didn't pick up on the underground railroad he and Summer hosted, considering the androids are becoming smarter and smarter.
It's been some time since Atlas started expanding: Vacuo was a Lien battleground, especially after SDC bought out every single Dust company in Vacuo and dominating Vale. The Vacuans tried to resist, but their military crushed them.
Last I heard from the Liberate Vacuo Movement was almost a year ago, Mistral fared better. If anything, the Mistralians assumed the pose and allowed Atlas to whatever they pleased. Their alliance must have been stronger than expected.
"I haven't seen Rubes in days, dad. There's nothing to do. Am so bored." Yang whines, her pout ever more adorable by the man's standards as her uncut blonde hair flows like a river.
The blonde-haired man chuckles, pausing to ruffle the girl's head; she pulls back in childish anger, "Dad, I don't want my hair ruffled!"
"I know, I know. Once we get to Uncle Qrow and Aunt Summer, you can spend the night."
"Yay!" she cheers out.
"If-," He starts, making Yang pause her cheering, "If, you stay quiet for at least a couple minutes. No asking if we're there yet. Deal?"
Huffing out to give her best sad face, she tries to convince her dad to at least handle her questions for a little bit longer, but seeing he was resolute in his demand, she says, "Deal."
"Alright. Besides, we'll almost there. Once we round this corner, it's only a little bit longer."
She goes to cheer again, stopping when she remembers her deal. Regardless, her dad can sense her joy fighting to play with Ruby.
She and Ruby have been like sisters ever since the younger girl was born, stuck together like glue and paper. If he every falls to Atlas, he hopes that Qrow and Summer will take Yang if worse is to come.
Vale is the only kingdom standing against Atlas, but past days of resistance seems waning. The council is slowly disappearing, more and more members seemingly replaced with Atlesian supporters. The last vote for the new head counselor was a guy named Blaine Aurum, an advocate for adopting some of Atlas's more radical policies like having all Faunus wear armbands or to have Faunus voting rights disenfranchised.
If not for his thugs, Aurum would have never been elected, but he was. Almost overnight did the Faunus here- a haven for them aside from Menagerie- become even more second-class citizens.
"Qrow said that someone found a way to hack into the Atlesian's database. At this point, they'll take whoever. I hope it isn't a mole.", the man thinks to himself. Behind him, Yang whispers to herself of all the fun things she has planned out for her and Ruby. It ranged from a snowball fort and playing huntresses. He smiles to himself, proud of his daughter seeking to be a huntress, knowing her desire to help others and travel like him in his youth.
They round the corner, meeting the inviting glow of the house in the distance.
If not for the dark night, it would have been peaceful as the snow was letting up, the sound of some life stirring from hibernation can be occasionally heard in the distance, and the air smelled so...
"Burning?", the air thick in the smell of smoke and burning soot, whatever wind there was picked up the ash and flung it in the snow. Once the trees have been cleared, he could see the house on fire. Plumes rise in the air, wood-burning like a massive bonfire, he could see two bodies lying dead on the ground.
"Wait behind there Yang."
"What happened?", she asks concerned, snapping out of her daydreaming.
"Just stay there, if bad guys show up, run! Okay?", he shouts to her, running to the burning building.
"Oh, Gods. Qrow, Summer, Ruby, please. Please be safe."
I wake up in darkness once again, but it doesn't feel like unconscious darkness like earlier. It feels as though someone placed a bag over my head.
"If I can think, think something."
"Sir, wake up and snap out of it."
"H.U.D.A.C.C? What's going on?"
A boot kicks me to the snow-laden ground, cold ice being my only sensation that I know right now, the other being a pain in my lower back from the kick delivered. As soon as I drop to the ground, a hand yanks me back up.
Sounds start to flood back; crickets and the howling wind. Activating my radar, I discover we are near a cliff, explaining why the wind is much stronger than usual.
The bag is ripped off my head, the elements whipping around my unexposed head and the night sky still dominating all the way I can see. It would've brought a sense of melancholy, but now it instead shows little of the assailants who attack the Branwen's house.
"Alex."
Turning to my right I see Summer kneeling aside me, her eye bruised and bloody, her pajamas unbuttoned and her red hair messy. I then notice someone else is to my left; Qrow was in worse condition. His head had a black mark, he wasn't even awake. God knows what these bastards did to them.
"What are you doing, fuck?", I spat out at the woman in front of me, defiant despite my position. One of her subordinates punches me in the jaw silencing me. I grunt at the aching pain, but I look back up at her.
She walks over, a sinister smirk spread on her face, illuminated by my night-vision. I can see in the far distance just a tint of sun peeking out of the sky, whatever light made it through started to push back against the night. She grabs my face and steadies it to her, "Did you thought you could get away from the Vage tower?"
"What does she mean?", I try going back to past events. The White Fang and I only left behind bullets and bodies, nothing that could trace back to us.
"You scum. You think you aren't an Atlesian, but you still wear her technology. It was easy to find you again."
"Sir. She means...no, how? My programming should have been able to block and isolate any infiltration attempts."
"They found us somehow, so look!"
She chuckles darkly, pulling out of her pocket a while rectangle, pushing the button the rectangle expands to expose a blue screen. A red dot flashes consistently on what appears to be a map around us. The red dot has eight other dots- two non-flashing red and five greens- around it. The wheels in my head start to turn, H.U.D.A.C.C betting me to the punch first, "She tracked us."
"Fortunately, your hacking did more good for us than you. Our specialists did a little...tinkering to the data, making it a virus that'll do random malfunctions. Like...oh I don't know," she stops in front of me, her smirk plastered on her face, "Stop your personal radar so we could deliver a surprise to you."
I'm aghast, I suddenly realize why my radar wouldn't work despite it being updated to counter cloaking camouflage. "The virus hacked it.", I mutter, looking up at her. The attack on the Branwen's house is my fault, simply because the EMP disabled my defenses just long enough for the hacking to take control. I ask myself, "What if I end up doing more than expected? Could I attack Qrow and Summer without my own volition? What if I attack Ruby?"
"...Ruby? Ruby?!"
"Where is she?", I demand in a raspy voice as I strain against my restraints. I mentally command H.U.D.A.C.C to start freezing the restraints in nitrogen. He states it won't work due to the amount needed and started working on another plan: increasing my adrenaline and testosterone level momentarily to boost my strength and pain resistance. However, H.U.D.A.C.C says it'll take a minute. I have no choice but to wait.
A thud catches my attention; on the ground is a girl with red hair, red pajamas, and a single strand of grey hair. Ruby is unconscious, not even moving. Her skin is deathly pale, I can see a bruise on her arm. I can imagine what injuries she has not visible.
The white hair woman knelt down to the unconscious kid, stroking her hair, "She'll grow up and be given a choice."
"You touch her and I'll kill you myself."
"Strength increased to 35%, ETA forty seconds before full capacity. Safety measurements keep high adrenaline and testosterone levels to a minimum of ten minutes, time over that results in permanent effects."
She lifts up Ruby's head and reveals what I feared the most.
A bloody gash across from the right of the forehead, blood trickling down almost nonstop. It seems deeper than what is shown and I begin to fear she will have some sort of brain injury. The woman chuckles heartily, "She can choose to either be a good, loyal Atlesian. Or, be a slave."
"R-Ruby.", a groan followed by a cough from Summer who croaks from her own injuries, I struggle violently, I can feel the restraints creaking silently. "50%"
"I'll kill you. I'll fucking-", she kicks me hard in the face. It barely registers as my body is so pumped up that I feel like I can fight a thousand soldiers with nothing but a knife and bare fists. I struggle and struggle.
"Get the girl on the Bullhead. I'll deal with them.", she flashes the sword from her hilt, lifting it in the air. The soldiers grab the unconscious Ruby as Summer starts crying out for her daughter, Qrow stirring too. I feel enraged, but unless my strength is pushed past the limit, the restraints barely hold me.
She goes to thrust the sword downward at me, H.U.D.A.C.C saying, "92%. Few more seconds."
Before she can thrust the sword, a ball of cast iron hits her and a man with blonde hair steps out of the woods behind us. Ripping the cuffs off me I rush towards the woman and knock off her balance. I begin to start beating the shit out of the soldiers and the blonde man runs to Summer and Qrow, cutting the restraints off with a small karambit. I can hear Summer quietly say, "Tai."