RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late Monty Oum.
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RWBY: Destiny of Remnant
Chapter 32: Train Ride
After a long day of traveling most of Team Beacon, accompanied by Winter and Qrow, finally arrived at the busy town of Brandofi, a large port town on the edge of Vale that was one of the biggest industrial places in Remnant. Ross landed his ship on the platforms as everyone gave out a sigh of relief that they'd finally be off the ship after being on-board for hours. As Winter opened the door and led the students off Qrow spoke to the faithful pilot.
"I'll get refueled and then I'll head back to Vale. You sure you don't want me to fly you guys into Vacuo?" Ross asked.
"Nah, we're fine going by train. Besides those kids are gonna need all the bonding time they can get. Thanks for another good ride." Qrow said to the older man.
"My pleasure boss... well technically Ozpin is my boss again but I think I like you a bit more, just don't tell him I said that." Ross said.
"My lips are sealed. Later." Qrow bid as he walked after the rest of the group. The group waved goodbye to Ross and he waved back, wishing them good luck on the mission ahead of them.
The town of Brandofi, while not as large as Haven or Vale was still a significantly large place that was one of the busiest places in the world. Workers of all sorts went this way and that, either on an assignment or leaving or coming to work. While this place wasn't exactly a tourist friendly spot it was the main hub of the largest railway in Remnant; the Vacuo-Vale Railway that covered both kingdoms and was involved in every business imaginable for transportation, including food, weapons, medicine, machinery and passengers. Its long reach over two kingdoms made it the most successful railway in Remnant, largely due to the tireless efforts of its employees and crews who made it a very reliable business and the leadership of the controller, a man named Stephen Awdrey, or Old Top Hat as the workers affectionately called him due to the prominent hat he was rarely without. Some had noticed it would be incredibly difficult to live in this town due to all of the sounds, and indeed Noises of all kinds could be heard from large, powerful train engines bustling about the city to heavy machinery hard at work to the rather far off sound of a boat's mighty horn blasting off to even people talking louder than they should.
Naturally all of this noise was bothering those with sensitive ears, Blake and Velvet to be more precise.
"Ugh! I can't wait to get out of this place, this noise is giving me the headache of a lifetime!" Velvet declared as a truck rolled by.
"Tell me about it." Blake agreed as she covered her already folded down ears.
"How do the Faunus who live here stand it?!" Velvet asked aloud.
"They get used to it, I guess." Sun answered as Qrow got to the front of the group.
"I must admit that it will be ideal to leave this place as soon as possible." Yatsuhashi said as he stepped out of the way of a young boy running past them.
"Okay follow me, I made arrangements for the kid who will provide our ride to meet us the town square." he said as he led the group.
As the team followed the older Hunter Ruby asked "So who is this guy?"
"A kid who operates on this railroad, he and his sisters are kinda freelance but they're still part of this place's fleet. Old Top Hat feels bad for 'em and cuts 'em a break everynow and the then. He agreed to not tell 'em who they'd be taking to Vacuo so it'd be a surprise." Qrow said with a wink.
"You and your surprises." Yang said with a small laugh as she shook her head.
They walked deeper into the city for about five or six minutes, observing pedestrians all out with a purpose, police officers on patrol, and farmers from the outskirts selling their produce from carts before arriving to the town square, which was flanked by buildings and streets on all sides that led up to several large buildings including city hall and the top station of the railway, which had a total of eight lines of tracks going in and out of it. In the center was a small park area that had a few trees and benches which looked like a nice place to sit along with a statue of a tired, but triumphant looking worker. The walk, while not unpleasant, had been hindered by the sounds of the city and a few people staring at them, no doubt recognizing them.
"Take a seat kids, this is where he'll meet us." Qrow said as he leaned against a lamppost while the young Hunters-in-training either chose to stand or sit on the benches.
"When is this young man supposed to meet us?" Winter inquired.
"I don't know, let me see..." Qrow said before checking his watch. "About ten minutes or so. Trust me we'll be out of here within the hour. From what Old Top Hat told me they were gonna take a freight train across the desert but because of us they had to reschedule, the kid doesn't like to be kept waiting so he'll get us soon enough."
"I hope so, I can't stand it here!" Velvet complained as she held her ears down over her head as an engine with a particularly loud horn sounded off while the sounds of the construction site nearby pounded on.
"It's just as loud as I remember it being." Weiss muttered.
"You were here before?" Ruby asked.
"Once with my father on a business trip, he had to discuss a contract with controller." the Schnee heiress answered, who noticed a slightly pained look on her elder sister's face when she mentioned her father.
"And I've been here a few times, never stayed around for long I can tell you that." Sun commented.
Blake nodded in agreement, remembering that she had led a few robberies here for food and supplies when she was in the White Fang but decided to say nothing.
Penny simply shrugged and said "I don't mind the noise, but then again I've been around loud machines for most of my life."
Coco chuckled at her friend's remark while Neptune took something out of his bag and said "Hey Velvet, I was gonna give you my ear buds to help you block out the noise but considering your ears I don't think it'll work."
Velvet smiled at the bluenette and said "No, it won't. I've tried that before but thanks anyway."
"Hey guys, I've been thinking." Scarlet announced.
"Oh boy." muttered Sun before his friend continued.
"Today is Wednesday, right?" Scarlet asked.
"Yeah, what about it?" Yang inquired.
"Why is it spelled wed-nes-day when we all say wensday? Why is the D silent?" Scarlet pondered.
Everyone looked at him and as odd and as random as they question was they had to admit he had a point.
"What did that have to do with anything?" Ruby questioned before Neptune answered her.
"He just does this sometimes, his mind wanders and finds things to think about." he told her.
Ruby nodded and looked to the her Faunus teammate. "So Blake, you think we can pull this off?"
Blake glanced up at her younger leader and answered "I don't really know but I think that if we do this quietly and stealthily enough we can get Claudandus out of there before Adam even knows we were near the prison."
"Hey, even if we have to fight our way our we can take 'em." Sun assured her.
"Right, and if Adam is there himself we can take him down." Yang said as she clenched her fists.
"I hope so." Blake said absently.
Just then Qrow said "There he is!"
Everyone looked over to one of the main streets that led into the town square to see a boy who looked to be ninteen years old with messy long brown hair and was about Velvet's height approaching them, walking lazily with his hands in his pockets. He was wearing black work boots and a dark blue jumpsuite (with the torso hanging behind him and the arms tied around his waist, a blue-green sleeveless shirt to cover his chest and an old beat up cap with a yellow number one stitched on it.
"That's him? Branwen, he's practically a child! He's no older than they are." Winter said indignantly.
"Hey, we're not children lady." Coco said sternly.
"Can children do what we've done in the past year?" Ruby asked grumpily.
"Correct, technically we are young adults. Although I am technically a child..." Penny said.
"Quiet, I'll get his attention. Yo Tom! Tom Allcroft, over here!" Qrow yelled as he waved to the young man.
The man, Tom apparently, looked over to them and his eyes widened in surprise at the sight of Qrow... before he seemed to get mad.
"You!" he cried out as he pointed furiously at Qrow and began running towards him.
"Uh-oh." Ruby muttered before both she and Yang asked at once "Uncle Qrow, what did you do?"
"Nothing! I think..." Qrow answered as Tom dashed across the street, narrowly avoiding a car, and quickly got up in Qrow's face, well as much as he could given his height.
"You're the one who booked my train for Vacuo? You've got some nerve Branwen!" Tom said angrily, his voice thick with annoyance.
"Okay, listen kid; I have no idea what you're so angry about."Qrow told him.
Tom groaned before crying out "You cheated me!"
"What do you mean?" Winter inquired.
"Well the check he... wait a minute, I recognize these kids! They're those kids who saved Haven from that Cinder Fall lady! Yeah, we heard all about it!" Tom said enthusuastically.
"Well nice to get some recognition." Coco remarked.
"About time." agreed Weiss.
"Yeah, that's Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake, Yang, Penny the robot girl... man my sisters will be honored to have you guys on board..." he said excitedly before Winter stopped him.
"Calm yourself Mr. Allcroft, can you please tell us why you are angry with Branwen?" Winter asked.
"We gave him a ride from Vale to Vacuo so he could take down a pack of raiders in the desert. He wrote us a check for what he owed us but when I went to cash it it turned out that he wrote a bad check so no lien for us!" Tom explained.
Everyone looked at Qrow who quickly said "Hey, I had I no idea! To be completley honest Ozpin made arrangements so that the bank accounts of us teachers would be taken care of so I never really paid any attention to it."
"And you were the one in charge after Ozpin was taken." Winter bemoaned before asking "Mr. Allcroft, I am Specialist Winter Schnee of the Atlas military and I am on a mission with Mr. Branwen and these young Hunters. We need you to take us across the desert into Vacuo but if you feel that Qrow has cheated you I will make sure he pays. How much does he owe you?"
"He owes me sixty-five lien." he revealed.
Weiss cocked one of her eyebrows and asked "That's it? Sixty-five lien?"
"It might be mere pocket change for you, Miss Schnee, but out here we take what we can to survive." Tom said as Winter looked to Qrow.
"Well Branwen?" she prodded.
"Look, I kinda... don't have that much money on me right now..." Qrow admitted.
Winter groaned and said "You've got to be kidding me."
"Look, if you pay him here and now I will pay you back later, I swear on it! Look I know you aren't tight with your dad anymore but I know you're still loaded." Qrow pointed out.
Winter simply shook her head before saying "Very well, I will pay for it. And make no mistake Qrow, you will pay me back for this."
"I will." Qrow promised as Winter took out a wallet and took out a few bills.
"I believe this will cover his debt to you." she said as she handed the money to Tom.
"It will indeed, my good lady." Tom said before he counted the numbers of Team Beacon. "Okay, I think we can fit you lot into our coaches for the night. We can't go nonstop though, tomorrow we need to stop ay Hondyama to drop off our cargo."
"Hondyama? That's my hometown! If you have to stop there I can introduce you guys to my family!" Sun exclaimed.
"Well good for you, we'll take you wherever you want us to but we will need some payment." Tom said.
Winter and Qrow looked at each other. "Well discuss it on the way." Qrow quickly said. Winter decided not to argue and simply nodded in agreement.
"Okay, so its settled. Come along everyone, the sooner we leave the better." Tom said.
"Amen to that." Velvet muttered to Blake, who nodded in agreement as Sun spoke to her.
"I can't wait for you guys to meet my mom, I've told her a ton about you guys." Sun said excitedly as they began to follow Tom out of the town square.
Qrow, Winter, and Tom walked ahead as Qrow said "Sorry about that kid, if I had known I would have made it right."
"Whatever, I don't really care as long as me and my sisters get paid." he said with a shrug as Ruby ran to catch up with them, deciding that one of the three present team leaders should be ahead of the group.
"So how long will it take us to reach your train?" she asked Tom.
"Not long, about fifteen minutes, tops." Tom answered before he noticed something on Ruby; the necklace with the old whistle. "Hey, that's a train conductor's whistle, where'd you get that?"
Ruby grasped the whistle and answered him by quietly saying "A friend."
Tom, seemingly realizing that whoever gave her the small keepsake was gone, or something along those lines, simply nodded and said "I understand." before quietly leading the group into the industrial area of the city, much to the chagrin of Blake and Velvet.
A short amount of time late, as the sun began setting, the group arrived at the edge of a road that was flanked by a wire fence that overlooked a large, bustling train yard near Brandofi's harbor port where towering cranes unloaded heavy loads from the ships and onto trucks or freight trains. A few shunting engines when to and fro, pushing empty freight trucks into their proper places while a few engines went by, presumably to home or to the next assignment. Several people were walking up the hill and out of the yards toward's the fence's gate, obviously their shift was over.
Tom opened up the gate and quickly led the present members of Team Beacon down the steep hill to level ground. "So where's Pyrrha Nikos? I've been wondering how she came back to life ever since I saw her on the news during that hostage crisis a few months back." he asked.
"Well technically she never died, she was simply teleported away and brainwashed by the terrorist organization Cinder Fall works for." Blake told him.
"Oh, so why didn't she and the rest of her team come? And I noticed some of yours is missing too..." he pointed out to CFVY and SSSN.
"Training, plus a few of our number suffered some injuries after we took back Beacon so they had to stay behind." Coco answered.
"So which train is yours?" Yang asked.
"That one over there." Tm said, pointing to a siding where small black engine was parked so it would be out of the way. It was coupled to two grey passenger coaches with orange stripes marking the sides and a line of freight cars which included a flatbed loaded with steel girders, a tanker filled with tar, four boxcars loaded with machinery and tools, and two trucks with gravel and rock with a caboose in the rear. "Home, sweet home." he remarked.
"Wait, you live there?" Neptune asked incredulously.
"Yeah, no rent or obnoxious neighbors plus its way better than it looks on the inside. I even worked with my sister to make the first coach all nice and presentable for you. We even brought up the seats out of the floor, something we haven't done for a while but I swear you'll like it." he assured them as they finally made it to the ground.
"Doesn't look too bad, besides I have had worse." Ruby said, remembering the boat she and the rest of RNJR had taken when they left Patch for Mistal.
As Tom led them towards the train Winter whispered to Qrow "Are you sure about this?"
"Trust me." he said with a smirk.
Weiss looked at the engine and the caboose to see one turret on each before asking "So do you have any defense droids to protect your cargo?"
"Nope, we don't get any important contracts to warrant defense droids nor can we afford them. It's up to us to defend our hauls from Grimm, White Fang, and rail pirates." Tom explained.
"Rail pirates? That's a thing?" Neptune asked.
"Yes." Tom, Weiss, Winter, Blake, and Qrow all answered at once. Tom had had to deal with the crooks several times when they tried to plunder his cargo, Blake had fought with them over cargo once or twice with Adam, Qrow had fought with a group once (utterly totaling them), and both Schnee sisters had to listen to their father rant about the company's Dust and equipment being hijacked by the thieves more than once.
As they approached the engine and the coaches the door on the side of the first coach opened up to reveal a thin girl nearly Winter's height with light brown hair. "Yo Anna, I got our passengers!" Tom called.
"Whoa, those are the kids from Haven!" the woman, Anna, cried.
"Well none of us are from Haven, but salutations nonetheless!" Penny greeted.
"And you're the robot girl... and two members of the Schnee family... and Qrow Branwen." Anna said as she noticed the eldest person there.
"Look, we settled it, okay? I didn't know that I had cheated you but I... she paid him back." Qrow said as he gestured to Winter.
"Oh and trust me Qrow we will talk about this little financial ordeal on the way." Winter said to him.
Anna counted the group they'd be taking into Vacuo, thirteen altogether, and said "It'll be a bit tight but I think our coach can accommodate you all."
"You have two coaches." Neptune pointed out.
"The second one is the bathroom and kitchen, not many places to rest I'm afraid." Anna explained.
"These are the people we're haulin'?" asked a voice from above. Everyone looked to see a woman identical to Anna, but with shorter hair, a tan, and was more muscular, standing on top of the second coach.
"Yeah Clara, we're taking them to Vacuo." Tom confirmed, "Everything secured?"
"Yep, everything is hooked on nice and tight, everything on the manifest is accounted for and we're ready to go once these pretty little kids are all aboard." Clara, the eldest of the three siblings, said as she sized up the younger passengers.
Anna sighed at her elder sister's behavior before saying "Okay everyone, please follow me into the front coach and find a place to sit. The bed is mine by the way but one or two of you can sleep in it tonight since I'll be awake."
The Hunters-in-training all followed her while Winter led Qrow to the second coach to discuss his little debt to her and how they would pay the trio at journey's end.
Ruby and the others stepped into the coach to see that despite how rough it looked on the outside it looked to be rather comfortable. A door that led to the engine was in the front wall while before it was a row of leather seats; six in total with three on each side (and it appeared that they had the ability to fold into the floor given their appearances). Behind the seats were two couches, one on each side with a bed behind the one on the right and a computer terminal with a swivel chair behind the one of the left. Penny instantly called "Dibs!" upon seeing the swivel chair. There was also a bean bag chair behind the bed that was nestled nicely between the bed and the wall of the end of the coach and at the back there was also a door that led to the second coach where Qrow and Winter were discussing things.
Everyone placed their bags at the front of the coach and quickly sit down with Ruby, Blake, and Weiss on the couch while Velvet, Coco, and Yatsuhashi took the couch across from them. Sun, Scarlet, and Neptune all took the seats towards the front while Yang took the beanbag chair, dragging it closer to the couch while Penny simple swung around happily in the swivel chair.
Weiss looked at Penny and said "Ruby, why did you have to introduce her to those things?"
"Oh come on Weiss, don't act like you never did it." Ruby said.
"I didn't!"Weiss cried, making everyone look at her.
"You didn't?" asked Velvet in disbelief.
"Even I did that." Blake deadpanned, to which even the stoic Yatsuhashi nodded in agreement.
"Man being rich must be a pain if you can't do one of the underappreciated gems of childhood." Coco lamented.
"Once we get going I can fix you all some dinner if you'd like." Anna offered.
"Sure that'd be nice." Ruby said.
"I could eat." agreed Scarlet.
"Bring it on." remarked Coco.
"I'm starving! Whatcha got?" Yang asked.
Anna listed off the various foods they had in the fridge or the pantry and everyone told her what they'd like. "Okay then kids, once we're on the move I'll get started. I hope you like it." she said.
"I'm sure we will Miss Allcroft." Weiss assured her.
Anna smiled as she walked to the second coach and said "That means something coming from a Schnee. We used to live in Atlas before coming out here."
Up in the engine Tom climbed up into the back of the engine and walked up to the main cab where the control console was. He grabbed the heavy knife switch and brought it up, making the engine roar to life. He flipped a dozen switches or so, turning on power for every system then he flipped over a heavy switch to make sure the fuel system would be airlocked. He made sure the brakes were all operational as he grabbed a radio and said "This is Engine 11984-44 in siding 2-3 to harbor yard signal dispatch, we have our passengers and cargo onboard and we are now ready to depart. Over."
"We hear you Engine 11984-44, heading to Hondyama, correct?"
"Yes sir." Tom answered.
"Very good, we're setting the switches that will take you to the right track and making sure there's no traffic in your way. Have a safe journey kid." the dispatcher said.
"Thank you and good-night." Tom bid as he released the brakes, which caused the train to lurch slightly forward. Tom switched his radio over to the internal channel and said "We got the go-ahead girls, everything set?"
"We are back here, the kids are all set and Branwen and Miss Schnee say they're good to go." Anna reported.
Clara answered from the caboose, saying "We're all good little bro, take us out."
Tom nodded and set up the speed control throttle into notch one, the slowest speed, which connected the motor to the contractors, which made the engine being to move forward. Tom turned on the fuel injectors and with that the train began to slowly move out of the sidings on onto the main line. He pulled a chain down and the engine's horn blasted off loudly, making Velvet cover her ears.
"I hope he doesn't do that a lot." she said, but the horn did give Ruby an idea.
Ruby got up from her seat on the couch and walked over to the front seat's window to open it up. She leaned out and looked to the city's skyline as twilight fell over the city. She grabbed the whistle around her neck and brought it to her mouth and blew into it, letting the lonely whistle echo into the twilight.
Tom's voice came on the PA, "The whistle sounds nice Miss Rose but wait til you hear this." The horn of the engine blew loudly and much to the dismay of Blake and Velvet it encouraged a few of the shunting engines to reply. Ruby simply smiled as she withdrew back into the coach as the engine left the yard and made its way towards the setting sun and Vacuo.
About an hour later the young Hunters-in-training were nearly done with the meals Anna had made for them; Ruby had a plat of cookies, Weiss and Velvet had salads while Yatsuhashi, Yang, and Sun had ramen, and Blake, Scarlet, Neptune, and Coco all ate some nicely cooked fish. Winter was currently in the second coach talking with another Specialist about something going on with the investigations while Qrow had already gone to sleep on one of the leather seats. While Penny could eat she didn't feel the need to right now, her energy levels were good and she didn't need to keep up the human illusion any longer.
The train was running smoothly along the rails as the light of day dimmed, towns and farms could be seen nearby or in the distance as the lights from inside the engine and coaches shone in the night.
The group of teenagers were talking amongst themselves when Ruby noticed something on the sheath of Yatsuhashi's sword that was currently propped up against the wall. There were two symbols now engraved on the sheath; the first consisted of a rectangle with a slash going vertically through its center and underneath it was what appeared to be a 'U' with one side falling off and two slashes flanking it. The second symbol was a bit more complicated with what appeared to be a 'Y' with three lines going through it horizontally (the highest was medium, the second was the shortest, and third was long) and underneath it were two 'J' like shapes (one backwards and without a line across its top) and both had another horizontal line going through it and both had two comma looking slashes going through them and the backwards one had another comma like shape floating near it.
"Hey Yatsu, what are those symbols on your sheath? I just now noticed them but I don't think they were there before." Ruby said.
Yatsuhashi sucked in a noodle before saying "You've just now noticed them?"
"Well we really don't see your sheath often since you prefer to be last in line." Coco pointed out.
Yatsuhashi nodded and asked "I'll tell you, if everyone else doesn't mind hearing?"
Everyone shook their heads before Coco said "You know, since we're gonna be a whole unit together we might as well know more about each other so we can trust each other a bit more and work better as a team. We all tell each other why we decided we became Hunters and how we chose our weapons."
"Not a bad idea. You guys up for it?" Sun asked the present members of his team, who both agreed.
"We're up for it. You go first Yatsu." Ruby encouraged as her team nodded in agreement. The large teen nodded as he reached over and grabbed the sword and placed it in front of him to show everyone else.
"These symbols were bestowed upon my sheath as a reward for my actions in Haven. You see I had to lie to my parents to go with you, they didn't know a thing about Haven or saving Penny all they knew was that I was in Sandleford, the home village of Velvet and Coco to help the rest of my team defend the town from Grimm, but then Weiss called us about Penny. A part of me wanted to tell my parents but I decided against it and at the time I didn't know the full extent of the crisis we would face but after Penny's predicament was explained I was prepared to help, even if it meant lying to my clan. You see, my family is a samurai clan and while we do believe in the modern ways we still think that old values such as loyalty, honestly, and honor above all are paramount. After I returned home from Haven most of the family viewed me as a hero for helping save so many lives from Cinder and her underlings. The elders decreed it that I had earned these symbols; loyalty and devotion, for the sheath of my sword as a symbol of my own character as proven by my loyalty to my friends and the fact that I was willing to die for my friends and many innocent people I had never met. My parents, Kengo and Miyoko, while not pleased with my lies were proud of my actions in the end, at least I think so with my mother, since I am her only child she has always been protective of me, she even objected to me becoming a Huntsman but tradition of the clan decreed that I be allowed to forge my own path and I chose to follow in the footsteps of my father and so many others before me and become a Hunter. I felt like I needed to put my talents to good use and I hope I have done so." Yatsuhashi said.
"You have. I think she's proud of you for everything you've done, I know I would be." Velvet said to her partner.
He gave her a smile and said "Thank you, and I think she is."
"Wait, I didn't think samurais used swords like the one you use." Neptune pointed out.
"They usually don't but I'm not picky. My uncle is a blacksmith and he decided that I needed a sword that would fit my size, so I worked with him to create my weapon; Kyodiana Buredo, the mighty blade. It's the perfect wight and the blade is sharp enough to cut through most Grimm." Yatsuhashi told them.
"And we've seen the sword with one mouthful of a name in action plenty of times to know how true that is." Coco remarked.
"So once we have some downtime would it be okay if you and me spar?" Ruby asked.
"While I would normally think it would be a bad idea I know you can hold your own Ruby, so very well." Yatsuhashi said with a nod.
"I gotta say big guy, that's the most I've ever heard you say." Yang observed, to which Yatsuhashi simply grunted in response.
"Okay, I'll go next. You all probably know who my mom is." Coco began, while most of them nodded a few such as Penny and Ruby looked confused.
"Uh... no, not really." Ruby confessed.
"Okay Rose, my mom is Aria Adel, a model you might have heard of." Coco explained.
"Obviously! Ruby, how have you not heard about Aria Adel? She was ranked among the ten most beautiful women in Vale for over a decade!" Weiss cried.
"I don't really pay much attention to fashion honestly, I just put on what I like." Ruby said.
"Besides how dependable could a top ten beautiful women list be for Remnant? I mean practically every girl on this team is really attractive in one way or another." Neptune said.
"There are a lot of cute girls around now that you mention it. Well anyway, my mom didn't fall in love with some big hero and Huntsman, instead she settled for my dad; Richard Adel, a geeky, shy fashion photographer who was able to capture her beauty like no one else could. Plus she had kind of a thing for adorable dorks, kinda like Pyrrha and Jaune. Well the unlikely couple got married and a year or so later I was born. You see, for the first eight years of my life we lived in Vale where my mom had most of her photography sessions and occasionally I would come with them. One night my mom and I were outside of the studio really late at night while waiting for my dad went to get the car. We weren't in a bad neighborhood so that makes what happened that night all the more surprising. While we were waiting for my dad a man came from the alley next to the studio and pulled out a gun, aiming it at us. He told my mom to give him her purse or he'd shoot us to death and to be honestest... that was the first time I was ever scared for my life." Coco admitted.
Velvet put a comforting hand atop her leader's own and said "You don't have to tell them if you don't want to."
"No, this was my idea so I should carry on with it. My mom held me tight as she slowly handed him the purse, making sure he kept the gun on her and not me. Once she handed him the purse he suddenly brought up his gun and slammed it into her head, knocking her down and... I screamed. My mom was on the ground and it was the first time I had seen so much blood and aura. I was on my knees, trying to wake my mom up while I was crying but when I looked up and saw that look in the mugger's eyes I knew he was about to shoot us to death. I screamed some more when all of a sudden my dad, my geeky, harmless dad, came out of nowhere and knocked this guy out with one punch to the jaw. I had never seen him so angry before or since, but he looked at me and I could see how worried he was. He picked up my mom and led me to the car where he called the police and drove to the hospital. After that my parents decided to move out of the city and to a much smaller town where I met Velvet, Sandleford. But you see that night had a big effect on me; I decided I wouldn't be helpless after that, I decided to become a Huntress like the ones who were constantly saving people from Grimm. My mom wanted me to become a model like her, and I know I'm hot enough to be," Coco said with a sly grin, "but I wanted to be a Huntress so I followed that path. That night was also the reason why my weapon is a purse."
"Because anyone who tries to mug you is in for the surprise of a lifetime." stated Yang with a smirk.
"Bingo. The reason I chose this particular type of gun, however, I just like guns like this. They get me all nice and excited for combat. Plus anything that get hit by it is in for a real bad day." Coco said as she rubbed her bag. She looked to Velvet and said "Your turn Velv, tell 'em how we met."
The Rabbit Faunus nodded and said "Well before Coco came to Sandleford I was pretty shy, well more so that ever before. You see before Faunus like myself were treated as equals by most people we had it bad and a small town like Sandleford was no exception. I had very few friends except for a few other Faunus and even some of them would tease me, because of our bunny features my kind were always seen as weaklings to be pushed around by most people, some Faunus included. Most of my childhood I was a scared little girl trying to avoid teasing and beatings from the bullies but I always wanted to be someone strong, a Huntress to protect others, to prove that just because I was a Rabbit Faunus didn't mean I couldn't help others and fight just as well as a human but for a long time it looked like that would never happen because my parents were so overprotective of me and it was hard for me to be courageous and some human bullies certainly didn't help out there. For most of my life I was scared of humans, and did my best to avoid them until Coco and her family moved to my town and she was assigned to sit next to me in school."
"Took me nearly a month to get her to actually talk to me instead of just mumble out a few words." Coco added as the train began to climb up a hill, which made the swivel chair Penny was in roll to the back wall.
"You okay Penny?" Ruby asked.
"Yes I am." the android answered cheerfully.
Velvet smiled at her friend and continued with "I admit I was too shy for my own good but Coco helped me out of that shell and encouraged my dream of becoming a Huntress, so did my Uncle Thayer who saw my potential so when it came time for me to go to Signal Academy my parents were against my wishes to become a Huntress and it wasn't until I had a few successful missions under my belt during our first year of Beacon that they finally accepted my choice."
"So what about your weapon? I've been really curious as to how the camera works." Ruby said eagerly, to which Yang groaned.
"Oh man, please just give us the simple version. Techno-babble gives me a headache." the blonde said as she finished up her ramen.
"Me too." Sun agreed.
"Me three." Scarlet voiced.
Velvet giggled and said "Don't worry, I'll try to keep it simple. During my time at Signal Academy I discovered that my Semblance was Mimicry, I could imitate the moves and fighting styles of others very well so a few professors there decided to give me an experimental device that would go perfectly with my Semblance; this little camera. When I take a picture of someone and their weapon I won't just mimic their movements but their weapons too. You see when I take a picture of a weapon, like Crescent Rose for example, it scans it and its inner workings to create a solid light copy of it that works exactly like the real weapon, projectiles and all, and thanks to the rotating frames within it I can switch between weapons quite easily."
Velvet finished her elaboration as she affectionately rubbed the camera.
"Tell me about it, remember when you copied that lasso weapon to pull Fox away from those boulders?" Coco reminded her.
"Oh please, it was nothing." Velvet said bashfully.
"Tell that to Fox." Yatsuhashi deadpanned.
"So cool." Ruby muttered as the engine reached the top of the hill.
"So we'll go next, that okay with you guys?" Sun asked Team RWBY, who all nodded.
"Go ahead monkey boy." Yang said as the train began to go down the hill, which caused Penny's swivel chair to roll down towards the front only to be caught by Yang and Yatsuhashi.
"Penny, are you sure you don't want to sit with us?" Weiss asked.
"No, this is much more fun! Can you please let me go?" Penny asked.
"I think it would be better if we hang on to you for now." Yatsuhashi said.
"I'll go first lads." Scarlet declared.
"You sure about that man? I mean I know it's not easy to talk about what happened to your folks." Sun said.
"No, it's okay. It's not easy but talking about it makes it easier to live with." Scarlet explained.
"So what happened?" Blake inquired.
"Well I didn't exactly have a normal childhood." he began, nodding to Blake and Penny, "You see; my parents were members of a pirate crew."
"Whoa, really?!" cried Ruby in amazement.
"What?!" asked Weiss in disbelief.
"So there's a reason why you dress like that." Coco commented.
"Yep, my mum was the first mate and my dad was the navigator for a ship known as The Bloody Hook. I never really helped out or was an official part of the crew, I was just a cabin boy. But one day on a raid something went wrong, they never told me what happened but it was so bad that they led a mutiny against our captain, Silvers. Suffice to say it didn't go over well but they made sure I was hidden and I knew the ship well enough to stay that way until we docked." he said.
"What happened to your parents?" Penny asked gently as the train returned to level ground, meaning Yang and Yatsuhashi could let her go.
Scarlet took a deep breath before Sun said "Man, you don't have to..."
"No, it's okay. If we're gonna work together they deserve to know. They and the rest of the mutineers were executed." he answered, making everyone look at him sympathetically.
"I'm... I'm so sorry." Ruby said to him sadly.
"No, it's been eight years and while I still miss them a lot it doesn't hurt as much as it used to. When we docked I managed to sneak off the ship and told the authorities and while most of the crew got away they police managed to catch a few of them. After that I was put in Treasure Academy in lower Mistral for the next few years until I got accepted to Haven where I got partnered with Sage and joined up with this motley crew. As for my weapons, well I made the flintlock myself in Treasure Academy, added on the grappling hook because I knew I'd have to climb up cliffs while I was a Huntsman, which I'll get to in a minute, but the sword originally belonged to my mum." he said as he held out the sword that once belonged to his mother as well as a small brass compass. "Before I escaped from the ship I managed to swipe it, I figured I wasn't going to let Silvers keep it as a trophy. I also have this compass that belonged to my dad, since he was the ship's navigator."
"So why did you decide to become a Huntsman? Why not join up with the navy and help take out the pirates?" Blake asked.
"Because to be honest I was kinda tired of the ocean. I mean, yeah it's nice but after eleven years of it you get tired of nothing but endless water. I find land much more interesting since it has mountains, swamps, deserts, forests, all kinds of stuff while in the ocean your lucky to see a big rock or a whale so I wanted to spend my life on land and have something better. I decided to become a Huntsman because I saw all the damage the Grimm were doing I decided to make up for what my parents did while part of the crew and do some good by saving people and taking down Grimm." Scarlet said as the engine rumbled over a bridge.
"Well I think you have, and I'm pretty sure your mom and dad would be proud of what you've done with us." Sun assured his friend.
"Totally buddy." Neptune agreed.
Scarlet smiled and said "Thanks guys, okay so you want to go next Neptune?"
The bluenette nodded and said "Uh, sure, don't see why not. Well I come from Atlas, my family isn't part of high society like Weiss' is but we make do by being middle class."
"So that's why you dress way nicer than the rest of your team." Coco observed.
"Yeah, we might not be rich but we still try to look nice. Anyway, the reason I decided to become a Huntsman... well do you guys remember how during our fight with Team NDGO I was afraid of the water?" Neptune inquired.
"Yeah." Yang and Ruby said while Yatsuhashi, Blake, and Velvet all nodded.
"Sure do." stated Coco.
"Does the source of your fear have something to do with your choice to become a Hunter?" Weiss asked.
"Oh yeah, big time. When I was eight years old my family went on a cruise for summer vacation. It went really smooth for about a week and a half until the ship came across something in the ocean, something huge; a Megacharodon." he said darkly.
"Whoa, that's one heck of a Grimm." Ruby said quietly remembering the pictures she had seen of the aquatic Grimm; giant sharks covered entirely with black with a white underbelly with blood red eyes and sharp bony fins used to slice ships and prey apart. They were a rare sight for the surface as they only came up to grab quick bites of unsuspecting, small boats and retreat back to the depths so with that strategy they lived to be older than most Grimm.
"It is quite a large and rare species of Grimm and I understand they live to be quite old. I think we can imagine what happened next." Yatsuhashi stated.
Neptune nodded and continued "Well at first it didn't do anything, just swam around but there weren't many Hunters onboard the cruise ship and the passengers were starting to panic. The captain had radioed the Atlesian Navy and Coast Guard as soon as the Megacharodon was spotted but the fear and panic from the ship attracted it to us and the closer it got the more afraid people got which eventually drove it crazy so it attacked the ship. It rammed itself into the bottom of the ship but by that time the captain had already ordered everyone to evacuate the lower decks and get to the top but a few people did die in the initial attack, mostly due to the fact that they had to seal off the bottom parts of the ship so it wouldn't sink as quickly, trying to buy time until help arrived, but the water was just too strong and fast."
"I remember hearing about this incident years ago, I had no idea you were in it. I'm so sorry." Weiss consoled.
"Well you haven't heard the worst part. So with the ship flooding fast my family was running to the main staircase that led up to the first deck so we would be safe. There was a pair of doors to the left of the staircase and just when my parents reached the first stepped the doors burst open with water and I got knocked down and covered with the water. I could hear my mom scream my name as I tried to get up only for some debris to knock me back down, face first, into the water. Then all of a sudden a crewman picked me up and carried me over to the staircase and handed me to Ariel, my mom. She thanked him a few times as she held me tighter than she ever had before and before he could say anything the Megacharodon smashed through the side of the ship and its huge mouth was right above us and its lower jaw came from probably two floors down and swallowed the man who saved my life alive along with about a dozen other people. I have no idea how many teeth it had, maybe a thousand but once its jaws closed we could still hear people screaming from inside. My mom and dad screamed too and ran up the stairs with me but I looked over my mom's shoulder and I stared right into its eyes... and it stared back." Neptune said before taking a drink out of a water bottle.
"No wonder your afraid of the water, would be too if I lived through that." Blake voiced.
"Ditto." agreed Yang.
"Well its only affects me majorly in large bodies, I'm okay with pools or small rivers but big ones and oceans... that I just can't do." Neptune explained.
"But you still managed to come on top of Team NDGO in the Vytal Festival, so maybe there is hope for you to overcome your fear." Penny encouraged.
"I hope so. So anyway it wasn't long before the navy and coast guard came to rescue us with helicopters airlifting us all out and taking us to nearby rescue ships. Admiral Nemo was the one leading the rescue, well she wasn't an admiral back then, just a captain but this incident was what got her noticed by General Ironwood and the Atlas council. She made the rescue of the passengers and crew top priority while she and a few attack boats lured the Megacharodon away so some underwater ship could keep the liner afloat long enough to get everyone off." Neptune said.
"I read about this! How Admiral Nemo killed the Megacharodon by shooting a harpoon into its eye before using the torpedoes of five different attack ships to blow it to bits is legendary, and she's not even a Huntress!" Ruby exclaimed.
"Yeah, we didn't get to see that part since the rescue ships left as quickly as possible to get the wounded to shore. So that's it, I've been afraid of the water ever since." Neptune finished.
"So why choose to become a Huntsman?" asked Velvet.
"Well because I kept seeing Grimm attacks on TV all my life and I felt like I could help people if given the chance and I had listened to my grandpa's stories about his adventures as a Huntsman so I decided to become one too. My weapon was actually inspired by his, the trident part of it at least, I got the gun so I'd have a ranged weapon, electricity in case I ever had to fight an aquatic Grimm, and I just liked the guandao's look and feel." he said.
"If you ever go up against aquatic Grimm an electric weapon is the ideal choice, blue." Yang agreed.
"Yeah, except we've never gone up against one." Sun revealed.
"You haven't?" Blake asked.
"Don't jinx it. If we do have to fight one I will but I'd like to keep as far away from 'em as possible!" Neptune cried as the train went around a curved track.
"Okay, my turn!" Sun said, "Honestly there's not much to me other than the usual stuff. Grew up in the city we're heading to, Hondyama, which is a pretty rough place on the edge of the desert for both humans and Faunus alike. I had to learn to fight at a young age, especially after my dad was killed in a car accident." he revealed to the present members of Team CFVY and Penny, he had told Blake months ago who in turn had told her team. "So because I was a Faunus I got picked on a lot but that never stopped me from fighting back, but as for why I chose to become a Huntsman... well I guess it was just the best job for me really. Plenty of action, chances to do good, and the chance to prove how kickass a Faunus can be while proving to jerks like the White Fang that you don't have to harm people to be respected."
"With Hunters like you, Blake, and Velvet I'm pretty sure that's been proven." Yang stated.
"You bet. You see my dad always wanted to be a Huntsman but due to a medical condition he never could I was a student of Blaze Academy and I was once of the top fighters there for four years straight. My weapons here, Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang were created by yours truly with help from Blaze Academy's weapons teacher, Professor Guang. You see I was pretty good with normal bo-staffs but old Guang thought I needed something more extreme if I was going up against the Grimm so I came decided to combine it with the other type of weapon I was really good at; nunchucks. So that's why they're technically two weapons instead of just one. And to be honest the guns weren't my idea, they were his... and it took way more practice to get right in combat." Sun admitted.
"So what about your family? If we're going to see 'em tomorrow we should know some more about them beforehand." said Yang voiced.
"Well my mom's name is Gina and she worked hard to raise me and my sister. She's a nice woman but stay away from her bad side, trust me. Oh and Blake, be careful. My mom is nice but she's a little... excited about you."
Blake nodded and said "Does she know we're coming?"
"No, but I always liked to surprise her." he said with a wink. "As for my sister, her name is Haulan and she's ten years old but watch out for her she's but but kind of a little spitfire. I don't think we'll have to worry about the White Fang while we're in town either, after what happened at Beacon most local White Fang supporters quit so we'll probably be okay."
"I hope so, okay so I guess we'll do Sage, Fox, and JNPR once we get back?" Yang asked.
"Sounds good but now it's your turn." Coco said to the bombshell.
"Okay sis, you wanna tell it together?"
"Sure do." Ruby answered. "Okay then, well the first thing to know is that our family is pretty much all Hunters. Our and uncle are Huntsmen, both of our moms were Huntresses and we grew up hearing stories of their adventures all the time so naturally we wanted to be Huntresses too." Ruby let Yang take over, however the younger sister had noticed a pained look on Yang's face when she mentioned their mothers.
Yang recovered instantly and said "Dad was a little hesitant to let us at first but can you blame him? After my birth-mom left him and Ruby's mom died in that Grimm attack so he naturally didn't want to lose us but Uncle Qrow over there," she gestured to the snoring Huntsman in the front seat, "was more supportive. Try as he might to get other careers in our heads there was no changing our minds."
"Yep, Hunter family to the end! It's in our blood!" Ruby declared proudly as the train's horn blew ,once again making Velvet and Blake attempt to shield their ears, as another train went by them on the opposite track which gave a friendly horn blow in return. They waited until the other train went by to continue their tale.
"So when the time came for me to go to Signal dad finally accepted that I would be a Huntress but spent a few more years trying to talk Ruby out of it before he gave up. Now as for my weapons Ember Celicas, they're based on dad's old gauntlets but I took out the flamethrowers and the claws and replaced 'em with good ole shotgun blasters and metal fists." Yang finished.
"Well it certainly suits you." Blake commented.
"As for me, I always loved watching Uncle Qrow show off tricks with Reaper and while I considered have a simple sniper rifle I decided that my weapon of choice would be a scythe sniper rifle hybrid." Ruby said proudly.
"I wish we'd taken a picture of dad's face when you told him." Yang said with a wide grin.
"What did it look like?" Blake asked.
"We cannot do it justice, believe me, we've tried." Yang answered.
"So dad made Uncle Qrow promise on his life (and flask) to train me so I'd never hurt myself with Crescent Rose. It took months of training but when I was ready for a test I aced it, taking out an entire pack of young Beowolves. After that dad was finally okay with letting me become a Huntress but he still worried about both of us." Ruby said.
"Eh, it's just his way of letting us know he loves us." Yang said as she wrapped an arm around her little sister.
"If you two are done now I guess I'll go ahead." Weiss announced. "Well my mother had always been an inspiration to me because she was more of a fighter and not just a pretty face but my sister inspired me when she defied our father's wishes of being part of the our family's company and joined the Atlas military, eventually rising up in its ranks to be a specialist. I had always been impressed by the heroics of the Huntsmen and Huntresses I saw on the news report so once my father made me take self defense classes in case I was ever threatened by an assassin or enemy the idea that I could be a Huntress entered my head. As I got older the idea became more and more likely in my head and the more I saw of the Grimm attacks and the unrest in the world the more determined I was to become a Huntress. I asked my father to allow a weapon to be forged for me, and it became this blade in that case, Myrtenaster. It is actually based on Winter's second sword she used to have but it was destroyed in a fight with a Goliath and it had a gun device on the hilt but I decided to forego a gun in favor of the Dust chambers. When the time came I asked my father to allow me to attend Beacon and of course he refused, but a few days later I saw an opportunity to get my way. The Atlas Council and General Ironwood were considering replacing the Atlesian Knights, which were originally created by a company my father funded, for the CraftTech Atlas Armor developed by Dr. Sherizawa. My father was furious but then I made a deal with him; if I could defeat the Atlas Armor in battle not only would it prove to the council and General Ironwood that it was an unwise investment but it would prove to him that I could be a Huntress. It was a hard battle and I didn't come out of it unscathed..." she absentmindedly rubbed the scar across her eye "but in the end I was victorious. The council and Ironwood decided to continue with the next model of Atlesian Knights and my father permitted me to attend Beacon."
"And that didn't last real long." said Blake dryly, remembering of the time Weiss' father cancelled her credit card, robbing the Cat Faunus of her precious fish.
"Yes, he thought that I was simply going through a rebellious phase and thought I would leave Beacon after a month or two but when I didn't he decided to take drastic actions." Weiss explained. "So what about you Blake?"
Blake sighed, she knew she would have to tell this story to the others eventually so she decided that it would be better to tell them all now rather than later. She told them the story of her family, how she joined the White Fang, how she met Adam, that they lost hope for equality, the insurrection against Claudandus, the White Fang becoming a terrorist cell, Adam's descent into darkness, and her eventual abandonment of the Fang.
"No wonder you left the creep." Coco muttered.
"You made the right choice Blake. My Uncle Thayer that I mentioned earlier hates humans and even left us to join the White Fang, I hope one day he sees the error of his ways like you did." Velvet said to her friend.
"So why did you wish to become a Huntress? Why not escape from violence entirely?" Yatsuhashi questioned.
"If I am to be completely honest with you all... I felt guilty for what I had done, I felt that allowing the White Fang to become what it is now has done far more harm than good to all of Faunus kind, no matter what Adam's delusional mind tells him. I decided that by becoming a Huntress I could make up for my past sins and the sins of the White Fang." Blake said.
"Well I'd say you've made some pretty good progress with that." Sun assured her.
Blake smiled in response before saying "As for Gambol Shroud; I made it with the help of Razor, the leader of the White Fang's Elite Guard. I wanted a sword and a gun but he suggested the kusaigama because of his love for the old weapons and helped me install the rotating Dust chamber. Razor felt that if I was going to be the second in command I needed a gun that suited me perfectly."
Both Yang and Sun couldn't help but think 'Sleek, dark, and sexy. Suits her perfectly.'
"So how are we gonna sleep?" Yang decided to ask.
"I'll stay in this chair." Penny volunteered.
"No." Coco, Yang, Yatsuhashi, Weiss, and Velvet all said at once.
"Sorry Penny." Ruby said quickly.
"Aw." Penny moaned.
"Well my team and Qrow have the seats but there are still two more available." Sun pointed out.
"I'll take one." Yatsuhashi volunteered.
"And I'll take the other and if you want to Blake you can sleep in this bean bag chair." added Yang.
The Cat Faunus nodded, "That sounds good to me, I've certainly slept in worse places."
"I guess Winter can take one of the couches..." Weiss said.
"And me and Velvet can share the other one." Coco suggested.
"And I guess Weiss, Penny, and me can have the bed." Ruby stated.
"Oh you have got to be kidding me." Weiss bemoaned.
"Oh don't be such a sourpuss Weiss, sleeping together won't be so bad." Ruby said.
"Agreed! It actually sounds fun." Penny said cheerfully.
"Forgive me if I withhold my enthusiasm."the Schnee heiress snarked dryly with a role of her eyes.
Just then Anna came in from the second coach and said "Well I hope you all enjoyed the meals I made for you."
"Oh you bet!" Yang said as she handed her bowl to the older woman who was now collecting the plates, bowls, and silverware.
"Thank you, I used to be a chef before I joined Tom and Clara out here." Anna told them.
This naturally made Ruby curious, so she inquired "So Anna, if you don't mind me asking... what exactly is your story? Why are you guys out here?"
Anna smiled and said "It's okay, you're not the first to be curious. You see our dad was a train repairman and our mom was a attendant. Ever since he was a little boy Tom wanted to be a train engineer, even after mom and dad died in a Grimm attack a few years ago. Tom got a job at an old scrap yard and found that little engine in the side so he worked together with Clara and a few workers to restore it, and obviously he got it running. After mom and dad died Tom decided he was gonna follow his dream and become a railroader so he and Clara went to Brandofi and after a while I decided to come with them. We joined up with the fleet, found these old coaches and caboose in a siding and fixed them up, did some odd jobs like shunting before we got some deals from local factories and businesses to make deliveries for them and about two years ago we met up with your uncle right before we made a trip. That's pretty much our story in a nutshell."
"So why did you leave your old job? Why give it up for this?" asked Neptune.
"Oh don't get me wrong, I know that someday I'll go back to being a full time chef once we get enough money to hire more crew-members, but I didn't want Tom and Clara to be on their own. Clara might be the older twin but I've always been the responsible one and I knew I'd never forgive myself if something happened to them. We big sisters have always got to look out for the little ones, right?"
"Right." Yang confirmed with a confident nod as she looked at her little sister.
"It is an unwritten law." said the voice of Winter who cast a small smile at Weiss while she was entering the coach with Clara.
"Aw sis, you're making me tear up." joked Clara as she entered the coach.
"You know I'm right." Anna said with a smirk.
"That I do. I'm gonna go up and take over for Tom tonight so he can get some rest." the elder twin said. Anna nodded as she headed back to the second coach with her load of bowls and plates while Clara went up to the engine.
"So where will Tom sleep?" Penny asked.
"Don't worry hon, he has a hammock in the engine. Not the best but it works for him." Clara answered before she shut the front door.
"Well children it is time we got some sleep." Winter declared.
"Really? This early?" Sun asked.
"Early to bed, early to rise. Have you all found adequate sleeping places?" she asked, to which everyone answered yes or some variation of it.
"We decided that you can sleep on this couch." Ruby said to her.
"Good. Now I suggest we all get some sleep." Winter stated.
While some such as Winter, Coco, Velvet, Blake, and Ruby found it easy to sleep others didn't as it took a while for some of them to get to sleep, with Yang and the present members of Team SSSN wondering how Yatsuhashi could have fallen asleep so fast, and Weiss finding it both annoying and cute to be cuddled like a teddy bear by Ruby while her legs were pinned down by Penny who was curled up in a ball at the foot of the bed in sleep-mode. It wasn't long, however, until everyone managed to drift asleep while the train raced on into the night.
The next morning Tom woke up from his hammock that hung neatly near the rear of the engine, he carefully got out of bed, yawning and stretching as a somewhat sleepy Clara sat at the control seat called to him "Morning little bro!"
"Morning. Peaceful night? Any Grimm sightings?" he asked.
"Nope. We're about half an hour away from Hondyama so you might want to wake our passengers up." she said.
"Right, want me to take over?" Tom offered.
"Nah, I can last a little longer. I'll sleep once we get to town." she declined.
Tom nodded and walked to the front coach only to find most of them already awake with Winter, Yang, and Velvet looking slightly wet while Blake was just beginning to dry off. "Morning everyone, taking showers I see."
"Yeah, girls are going first and Coco's in right now but we guys might get to go if Ruby and Penny don't wake up." Sun said with a smirk as he gestured over to the bed where an adorable sight was; Penny had woken up in the night and made her way, meaning that Weiss was now trapped between Ruby and Penny.
Weiss looked up and said "None of you say a word and Velvet, Yang don't either of you dare take a picture of this."
"But it's so cute." Velvet cooed.
"Maybe from where you're standing! Yang, can you please wake Ruby up?" Weiss pleaded.
Yang smirked before leaning down to Ruby's head and saying "Ruby, a Beowolf is about to eat your cookies."
Ruby snapped awake in a split-second, with Crescent Rose out somehow, and yelled "I will wipe you out of existence...! Wait a minute, we're on the train."
"Yeah, Weiss just wanted me to get you up." Yang said as Penny snapped awake as well.
"Good morning everyone! Have we reached our destination yet?" she inquired.
"We will in about twenty-seven minutes. So Branwen, where exactly are you going?" Tom asked.
Qrow told him the coordinates that Blake's informant had given him and Tom thought about it. "Hmm, that area is not within our reach but we can take you close enough to it that you can make it there by foot. Once we reach Hondyama you'll have to wait for about four or five hours while our cargo is unloaded."
"Understood, if Sun's family is there we won't have to be bored for long." Qrow told him as Weiss quickly ran to be the one who would shower next.
Qrow had no idea how right he was, however.
To quote the asdfmovies: I like trains.
Hey guys, I'm not dead! This story has reached 500K words on and over 150 kudos on AO3! Keep it coming everyone.
I am so, so, so sorry about the delay guys, I cannot apologize enough. My computer broke down when I was 3/4ths done with this chapter so I had to get a new one and wait for a data recovery to get everything off my old harddrive. Again, I'm sorry for the delay guys.
Also I am officially an uncle now, my sister gave birth to a baby girl.
Tom, Anna, and Clara are all clearly based on Thomas the Tank Engine and his coaches Annie and Clarabelle, they can be considered fairly recent fairy tale characters as the book series they're based on began publishing in 1943 and of course there is the tv show; Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends and their last name, Allcroft, is a tribute to the woman who adapted the books to television. That show was my childhood.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter as I had to do it all over again due to the aforementioned computer problems. It gives Velvet, Yatsuhashi, Coco, Neptune, and Scarlet some much needed character development that fleshes them out more so I hope you enjoyed that. Special thanks to RelentlessCrusader who helped me flesh out these backstories. It might be a little pointless (and I think the opening is weak because I couldn't really remember what I wrote down in the original draft however once I get the original chapter back from the old harddrive I can fix up the first half of this chapter) but I feel it was needed to flesh out these characters a bit more so I hoped you liked that. I hope that what this chapter lacks in action it makes up for it in character development and backstory.
This chapter was originally going to end with an action scene of Team Beacon, Qrow, and Winter fighting a bunch of Creeps that had taken over a railroad tunnel but after such a long delay I decided to scrap it so this chapter would come out a little earlier.
If you enjoyed this chapter on Fanfiction . Net then please review, follow, and favorite it you liked it and if you're on An Archive of Our Own then leave a kudos and comment and possibly even bookmark it. Please give me some feedback, as it keeps me and this story going.