It...IS...ALIVE!
No one had an answer to the question.
Something that Summer had been asking herself for years.
"Let's keep watching. Maybe we'll get our answers in time."
"Agreed. Perhaps the answers we're seeking lie within these videos." Liara suggested.
The opening quote was shown: "Your hopes have become my burden. I will find my own liberation."
"Sounds like this person has a rough history. Probably dragged into something she didn't want but had no choice in the matter," Garrus deduced from the quote. Reminding him of the Batarin pirate gangs using enslaved people as forced soldiers or meat shields.
"Hopefully, she can get out of what has happened to her," Tali said. Feeling a bit worried about what they may see.
The girl in black sat on a rock outcropping, watching red leaves drift down in the forest.
A man wearing black and carrying a sword walked up to her. A notable feature was the white mask with several red lines over the eyes. But what caught a lot of attention was the black bull-like horns peeking through his hair.
"I'm not liking to where this is going..." Tali decided.
"Are those horns on his head?" Ashley pointed at.
The rest of the audience leaned forward a bit and saw that the man did indeed have a set of horns growing out of his head.
"Blake, it's time." He said.
"Another name we can cross off. Now that's two, we don't have to guess the girl's names," Garrus said.
Blake turns to face him. Her amber-colored eyes looked at the man. "Okay."
"What's with the bow?" Joker asked.
"That's your first question?" Shepard deadpan.
The camera drifted down to show a train rushing through the forest.
"Wow, they're really moving," Ashley said. Impressed by their speed.
"Are they ninjas?" Joker...joked?
"At this point, I'm not surprised," Garrus droned.
Adam and Blake slid down the hill onto the top of the train, stabbing their swords into the roof to stop themselves. They then rushed ahead to the next train car, where Adam sliced the hatch's lock, and they dropped in.
"They're robbing a train?!" Garrus seethes in anger.
"I wonder what's in that they risk their safety for?" Chakwas asked. Watching as they jumped off a cliff onto a high-speed train.
Upon boarding it, they enter a car full of AK-130 Androids. "Looks like we're gonna be doing this the hard way," Adam said.
The Androids activated and circled the duo. "Don't be so dramatic," Blake said.
A few of the crew snorted at the commentary.
"You were the one that wanted to 'drop-in' unannounced." A few of the others sighed at the pun Joker dropped. "Oh, come on, that was gold!"
Summer rubbed her head. "Joker, no one likes puns. When are you ever going to get that?"
An Android activates the guns on its arms. "Intruder, identify yourself." The android ordered.
Garrus scoffed at the droid. "Yeah, a couple of criminals are going to answer that."
"Those things look better armed than LOKI mechs," Tali observed the 130's. "I wonder how well they perform."
"I think we're about to find out."
Adam responded by pulling the trigger on Blush, shooting Wilt out of the sheath into the robot's head. He then dashed forward, catching the sword mid-air before slashing the robot, cutting it clean from neck to under its left shoulder as he resheathed Wilt.
Whoa!" All the ground crew said.
"He just shot his sword out of the sheath! Does that thing double as a gun?" Garrus said in awe.
"That does look like a gun," Ashly pointed out.
"That sword of his slice through those bots like nothing. Wonder how he did that?" Wrex observed the fight.
The remaining robots switched their arms to a blade mode and began charging at Adam and Blake. Two came up behind Blake, but she jumped backward and used Gambol Shroud to split them both at the chest. Then, she leaped forward to cover Adam's back as he sliced at several advancing robots. Adam used Blush to fire at the robots as Blake backflipped to evade another robot.
"Man, there quick. Look at the move," Tali said in awe at how fluently the two moved.
"Hold up! Is that girl moving so fast that she's leaving after images of herself?" Summer said as she watched the fight.
Anderson saw the same thing. "A decoy image?" He offered an example. "Some specialists have imagery software that makes a hologram for confusing foes."
"From shadows...we'll descend upon the world. Take back what you stole."
"More lyrics. Sounds dark," Liara stated. Feeling strange emotions of pity while the beat somehow made her feel pumped.
They cut down several more robots before one switched its arms into a minigun mode. It fired rapidly at Adam and Blake, but Adam was able to deflect the bullets that got too close. After Adam sheathed Wilt, Blake charged towards the robot, and it resumed firing. Again, she deflected the shots and got close enough to decapitate the robot. Blake immediately sliced down another bot and cut off another's legs. Then rapidly unsheathed Gambol Shroud started dual-wielding the sheath and the katana before striking another robot, then leaped into the air and slammed it into the floor.
"They sure have good team coordination. Watching each other's backs and covering their blind spots." Summer commented on.
"A sword within another sword? Sure, why not?" Ash said, not caring at this point. Making Garrus, Joker, and Wrex laugh.
"Dual welding weapons give a lot of versatility in a fight." Said Liara.
"But also divide your attention," Anderson countered.
Blake charged towards the remaining robots and began cutting them down rapidly, slicing off one's arm and shoving her sword through another. Finally, she reached the last robot in the train car, knocked it into the air, and sliced it several times before landing on the floor. The robot was still in the air when Adam leaped up and kicked the robot out of the train car door and onto the flatcar ahead.
"Overkill much," Joker said.
"No such thing," Summer, Wrex, and Garrus said simultaneously. Making Anderson, Chakwas, and Williams roll their eyes in amusement.
Several other robots ran towards them from the other end of the flatcar.
"Let's do this," Adam said.
"Overconfident, isn't he..." Garrus muttered.
Adam hit a couple of robots up into the air, Blake leaped up towards them to slice them up, and Adam partly unsheathed Wilt to knock them away with the hilt. Blake switched Gambol Shroud to its kusarigama/pistol form, throwing the sickle part past one of the robots and pulling on the ribbon while using the pistol shot to launch the blade back towards her, cutting the robot in half.
Adam jumped forward and kicked the upper half of the robot away while falling as Blake swung her sickle around to cut down another robot. Blake jumped in the air and turned the sickle blade around in a spherical motion several times using its gunfire, cutting down three more robots and getting the sickle wrapped around the neck of a fourth. Adam leaped forward and sliced the fourth robot as Blake fired off the pistol, pulling the robot's upper half into the air.
Ashley tried to keep track of the swinging weapon the girl used. "By far, that girl's weapon is is the most confusing one I've seen."
Joker leveled a flat look at the Marine. "What tipped it off, Ash? was it that it's a sword that can turn into a gun or that she wings it around while it goes off if she pulls the ribbon just right?"
Rushing forward, Adam sliced up six more robots, causing five to explode with the six falling off the train. Blake charged up from behind, cut off the sixth robot's head, and then knocked another robot up into the air using Gambol Shroud's katana form. Next, she lunged forward as Adam took down another robot, utilizing the kusarigama form of Gambol Shroud to perform a continuous pinwheel attack that launched two other robots into the air. Adam then fired a shot from Blush to send one of the robots flying back.
"Wonder what the caliber is on that thing to send a bot like that flying," Wrex mused as he paid close attention to Adam's sheath, Blush. "Wouldn't mind having something that could do that."
Tali and Summer shooks their head in amusement at the old Krogan.
Adam jumped up and sliced the other robot further up into the air as two robots approaching from behind were kicked into the air by Blake. The three robots were then sliced repeatedly by Wilt, keeping them in the air until Blake jumped up and cut through all three, with one going further up into the air with her. Next, Blake kicked the robot down while Adam sliced another as it fell, then shot it with Blush as it fell behind him. Finally, he sheathed Wilt, and then he and Blake headed into the next train car.
"Their teamwork truly is impressive. I wonder what training requiem those two perform to achieve that a state at such a young age?" Liara wondered.
"Quite a bit with the way they were revolved around each other," Garrus added. "Probably on the same level as some military's special forces."
"Definitely could have used them when we were on the Collectors ship," Tali said. "They would have been great to have against all those Husks." Summer and Garrus nodded in agreement.
Adam opened a box and examined the contents inside. "Perfect. Move up to the next car." He said, closing the trunk. "I'll set the charges." He added.
"What about the crew members?" Blake asked.
"What about them?" Adam asked uncaringly.
"They're there to blow up the train, not steal the cargo? That's stupid," Wrex said.
"Really, Wrex...that's what you got from them wanting to blow the train?" Summer deadpan.
The Clan Chief shrugged his shoulders in an uncaring manner. "I was a Merc for the longest time, Shepherd. Doing something like what they're doing is stupid.
Adam then turned his head around and saw a Spider Droid climbing down from the train car ceiling.
"Oh boy, big bot!" William said in excitement.
"It's bigger than a Colossus!" Tail reared back from the site. It didn't help that it looked like a gigantic spider.
"It's got some considerable firepower. Fighting that thing in an enclosed space with little cover will be tough." Anderson said as he looked over the heavy mech.
Adam moved to fight it. "Adam," Blake said anxiously.
The Spider Droid swiftly attacked, using its quartet of cannons to shoot at Adam, who either deflected or dodged every shot, using Wilt and Blush. Blake then lunged forward, launching her own attack, only to be head-butted by the massive robot.
As the Spider Droid advanced upon her, Adam suddenly unleashed a flurry of blows, each only momentarily stunning his enemy. When he finished his attack, he took a moment to glance over his shoulder at Blake. The Droid then kicked Adam away, distracting him with a barrage of cannon fire before moving to crush Blake beneath one of its massive feet. However, Adam quickly moved in, grabbing Blake and fleeing to the other end of the car.
"We need to get out of here," Blake said as he set her down.
"First sensible thing said in this whole event," Summer muttered.
The Droid quickly combined its cannons to unleash a massive energy barrage, which sent the duo crashing through a metal bulkhead and out onto a flatbed car. As the Droid began to close the gap between the two, Adam turned towards Blake, taking up a charging attack pose. "Buy me some time!" Adam instructed.
"Are you sure?" She asked.
"Do it!" He ordered.
"What does he have planned?" Anderson said. Watching this Adam character holding his position.
As Blake rushed the Spider, it continuously launched barrages of energy at her, which she swiftly dodged. She then used Gambol Shroud to divert one cannon while embedding the blade into the thick armor, allowing her to launch herself far into the air before swiftly coming back down with two furious slashes from her weapon. She then equipped both the sheath and katana form of Gambol Shroud before attacking two leg joints and the head rapidly, forcing the Spider Droid to stumble. This allowed Blake to slam her katana into and through the base of the Droid's skull and rapidly open fire, causing no effects other than slight disorientation. As Blake regrouped with Adam, the Droid combined its cannons again.
"Okay, I'm calling hax on that! It's straight bull and so unrealistic," Joker complained at the sight of the big gun.
"I agree with, Joker." Liara eyed the bots gun in disbelief. "Does combining all the guns it has to create a massive one seem far fetch with me."
"Maybe the designer thought it was just cool?" Summer lamely suggested.
"Move!" He ordered, just as the barrage attack launched at Adam, who absorbed all of the energy fired at him using his weapon's blade. Adam laughed as his body's red colorings glow intensely.
The Droid leaped at Adam, and when it came mere inches from impact, Adam unleashed all of his energy in one blow, causing the Spider to slowly recoil and disintegrate. This even affected the trees in the Red Forest, causing their leaves to fly into the air.
The audience became stunned by the unexpected move.
"That should be impossible," Chakwas whispered.
"Did he...absorb the robot's attack?!" Joker sputtered.
"And reflected it back at his opponent," Admiral Anderson responded. 'A dangerous ability to have.'
"He's got guts to stand in front a blast like that and then dish it back. Boy's got a quad," Wrex said as they watched Adam resheath his sword.
As Adam walks back towards Blake, he finds her on a separate train car standing near the cars' connector. As he reaches out to her...
"Goodbye," Blake says, severing the connection and letting the released carts slow down as she allows the rest of the train to continue en route.
"A parting of friends is never an easy decision," Liara said as the two parted.
"Meh... She can do better," Ashely stated.
"Agreed," Shepard, Tail, and Chakwas said in unison.
As she leaves, the background becomes completely red with a black silhouette of Blake in the middle, with black leaves falling down. Then the camera zoomed out from the RWBY title card, and the girl's silhouettes started up again with Red, Weiss Schnee, and now Blake Belladonna became defined. Leaving only the girl in the yellow spot blank.
"Welp, that's three. So anyone got any clue on what went on there?" Joker asked from his spot.
Garris was the first to answer. "That guy, Adam, Blake called him, was looking to send a message to whoever owned that train."
"He's right," Wrex agreed. "If they were thieves or mercs, they take the cargo and sell it for themselves."
"Some grudge," Tali commented before chewing some dextro chocolate. "Probably against some merchant corporations going by the size of security force he had on just one train."
"Definitely big. Had enough mechs on that one train to defend a small colony." Ash pointed out.
"Could have used that big spider mech when at the Collector base," Summer said wistfully.
"Or ten. That would have really given them a pounding they wouldn't expect," Garris said in amusement.
The quarian engineer shivered. '...spiders.'
The Admiral looked at the team and smiled at their antics. But was ready to continue. "So... this Blake along with that Schnee girl and this gold teen, I'm assuming with comparison to the others, will have some part to play with the Commander's child. This makes me wonder what role they play in her life."
"Not to mention what kind of training they underwent to get that skilled," Garris pointed at.
"Don't know till we find out more, and that's only by playing these events, so hit the next one," Summer ordered.
Didn't expect to get a high amount of attention from this story. Sorry for the long update. I had most of this written and done months ago but lost the will to continue it for a long while. This last year has been hard for me as I finally quit on job I've hated doing for the last two years didn't like weeks before I got called to serve a long timed mission for the state. Today I just sat down and forced myself to finish this for the fans. Some of this could be better but I can be satisfied with just this.
Thank you all for the support you fans have given me. Thank you and see you all over the web.