Volume I: Episode 11: Compatibility
"Jaune, what's wrong?" Pyrrha asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. The leader of Team JNPR was pacing their dorm room worriedly and had been for a while.
"Sorry, Pyrrha," he said, turning to face her. Well, turning his body to her; he seemed unable to meet her gaze. "It's just- I have a date."
"Oh," she said, a little crestfallen.
"With Weiss."
And that was when her world shattered.
"Well, I-I'm... happy for you," she insisted. Maybe if she said it with enough conviction, it might become true? "N-nervous, then?"
"Kinda?" he admitted, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah. I just… I don't want to screw this up, Pyr. Even if this goes nowhere, I at least want her to have a good time. Or, at least, not live down to her expectations."
"That's… you don't have to worry about that," she said. "Is there… any way I can help?"
"Well, I-" he paused, eyes widening as an idea struck him. "Actually, yeah. Meet me on the roof with all the rugs and speakers you can find."
She blinked. "O-of course."
What on Remnant would he need that for?
There were perks to being in charge. Starscream was only in charge of the Vale Theater, and it was but a taste of the true power he sought, but there was still a certain joy to be found in organizing, rearranging, perfecting an operation of this scale. Granted, the painful shortage of personnel meant he sometimes had to personally take care of things he'd normally delegate, including such menial tasks as taking watch. Though, to be fair, he had his own reasons for taking watch this time, and it wasn't like he couldn't check in on some of his many side projects while watching the exterior cameras.
"I'm tellin' you, boss, this island you got us at? It's as spooky as Unicron's backside."
"This is Remnant, Scrapper; every island is spooky," Starscream reminded the leader of the Constructicons over the radio while rubbing his head with a hand.
"Normal islands just have Grimm attacking you. The Grimm here? They look weird, and they just... stand there in the distance, staring at us, never moving, never looking away."
"They're probably just making an attempt at psychological warfare."
"Yeah? Well, it's working."
"Then stop letting it work, you fool," Starscream chided, but before he could launch into another tirade on the competence - or lack thereof - of the Constructicon leader, he noticed movement on one of the security cameras. He turned to look, and saw a masked human scant centimeters from one of the cameras. She was waving at the surveillance device's optics.
"Well, it looks like the birdie flew back," Starscream observed slyly.
"What was that, sir?" asked Scrapper.
"I said, 'finish the job and stop complaining!'" Starscream shouted as he cut the transmission. "Now, to see if our little friend is willing to play cube."
He found her outside near the camera that had spotted her, but now out of its line of sight, lounging around on a thick snow-covered branch like there was not a care in the world. It was a little irritating. Which, most likely, was the reason that she was doing it. And she wasn't alone, with another human female standing at the base of the tree.
Luckily, the one on the ground had short hair, and the one in the tree had long hair; otherwise, he'd never be able to tell these humans apart.
"So, you finally decided to show your face, Commander Starscream," the long-haired human observed.
The Decepticon smirked in reply. "It appears you have me at a disadvantage. Care to introduce yourselves?"
The same human stood up on both legs and gave him an appraising look before a short reply passed her hidden lips. "Raven."
"Hmm, how simple," Starscream observed.
"I was going to go with 'Night Raven,' but it turns out, some Mistralian company trademarked the name," she explained.
"And you care about that? Somehow you don't strike me as the legal type."
The newly named Raven shook her head. "No, but their lawyers come with heavy weapons." She dropped to the ground and gestured to her companion. "This is Vernal."
"Ah. Pleased to make your acquaintance. Very well, come with me, and we'll see about fixing your little targeting issue," Starscream said with a wave.
Raven followed, and in due time, they made their way inside the base. Luckily, the staff should have all been off in another part of the bunker or off on the missions Starscream had just assigned them. There was only one 'Con in the entire world who knew about this or what was about to happen.
"Just a little to the left, a little more," Starscream called out across the large concrete room. "And perfect."
"Starscream, sir, why am I on a bullseye?" asked Skywarp as he looked down at the red and white paint beneath him.
"Because it will help you aim when you teleport back," Starscream insisted as he pointed to the other bullseye painted on the floor some distance away.
"A teleportation semblance," observed Raven as she strode across the floor. "Those are pretty rare, and useful, depending on what kind of limitations it has."
"Indeed," Starscream chuckled. "Skywarp's natural abilities are quite the upper hand in a fight, but completely useless for our ultimate purposes."
"Hey, I'm right here," Skywarp whined.
"I know," Starscream deadpanned as he fiddled with a nearby computer. "Now, we are ready. Begin the demonstration!"
From the ceiling descended a horde of sensors, cameras, and antennae, all pointed at the purple Seeker.
"Uh, sir, is all this stuff... safe?" asked Skywarp.
"Probably?" suggested Raven.
"That sounds about right," confirmed Starscream without looking up from the controls.
"Oh, dear," muttered Skywarp in worry.
It was Friday night in Team RWBY's dorm. Yang was out driving. Again. Ruby was off doing… something. Blake was… frustrated as she glared at the computer terminal sitting on the desk in front of her.
"Weiss?" she called, looking through an open door at where the heiress was primping in front of the bathroom mirror. She'd been doing that for the past hour or so.
"What?" Weiss asked, still looking into the mirror as she applied a few, seeming invisible touches of makeup.
"The backdoor I inserted at the regional headquarters is gone. Have you-?"
"Ah, ah, ah!" Weiss interrupted, holding up a finger to Blake without looking away from the mirror. After a moment finishing up whatever makeup she was applying, she finally looked over at Blake and said, "You are not going to ruin my night with business."
"But-"
"If it's so important, you can tell the headmaster. Right now, I have to get ready." Weiss's tone was inflexible and would not be denied.
Against her better judgement, Blake sighed and relented, resolving to visit Ozpin as soon as was practicable. "So, what are you getting all dressed up for anyway, Weiss?" she asked curiously.
"I… have a date," Weiss replied primly as she turned back to the mirror.
"A date?" Blake echoed. "With who?"
Weiss didn't answer immediately. Instead, she hummed and leaned in to apply some eyeliner. That done, she answered, "If you must know, it's with Arc."
Amber eyes blinked in bewilderment. "Arc?" she repeated. "Jaune Arc? I thought you didn't like him."
"I don't," Weiss confirmed as she continued primping herself.
Blake tilted her head and mentally ran through the conversation so far. No, it still didn't make any sense.
"Then why…?" she trailed off, gesturing at Weiss, the mirror, and the plethora of makeup laid out around her. Blake was sure she'd never seen that much makeup in one place at one time in her life outside of a store.
"I'm hoping if I give him the chance to make a proper fool of himself, he'll realize how pathetic he is, how very out of his league I am, and stop pestering me," the heiress replied, applying lipstick with a flourish fit for Myrtenaster. "So I don't want you ruining my night; leave that to Arc."
"Uh huh." Right. So maybe she was crazy. Then again, what did Blake know about dating? If she were honest with herself, she had to admit that her experience with romance was… atypical, to say the least. Still, it seemed like Weiss had forgotten something when coming up with her cunning plan. "Have you considered what you'll do if you actually enjoy it?"
Weiss was once again leaning toward the mirror, peering at her reflection with a critical eye. "Don't be preposterous." Finally, she stepped out of the bathroom to face Blake. "How do I look?" she asked.
Blake considered her answer. "Like you've been lying to me for the past minute," she deadpanned.
Weiss's eye twitched. "What is that supposed to mean?!"
Blake sighed. "It means you look good," she said. "I mean, really good. Like 'you put a lot of effort into looking good' good. Like 'you're trying to impress a guy you just said you don't like' good."
Weiss drew back and gave a haughty sniff. "A Schnee must always look her best."
"I thought you didn't care about family appearances?" Blake prodded.
"I'm the only one in my family who does!" retorted Weiss with a waspish tone.
The black haired girl raised an eyebrow about her color-inverted roommate's outburst. "That's circular logic, and suddenly, we're right back you to making yourself look good on a date with the guy you hate just to make yourself look good."
To Blake's surprise, Weiss's face fell. What the-?
"I… I never said I hated him," the heiress said quietly, a hint of shame in her voice.
"You could've fooled me," Blake snarked without thinking, then winced as Weiss shrank back, shoulders slumped. Okay, yes, she was a Schnee, but her efforts with RRANNBW was proof enough where she stood, regardless of her family name. Blake smirked. Easy way to fix the heiress's mood. "But I suppose current evidence does suggest otherwise."
Weiss's eyes widened, and she snapped up straight, anger displacing her previous shame in an instant. "I- you-... I don't have to justify myself to you!" she spat furiously.
"No, you don't," Blake agreed, "and yet, here we are." She let the smirk fall and continued gently, "Weiss, it's not a crime to change your mind about someone. Sometimes, you get a bad first impression. It happens." Weiss certainly hadn't given Blake a particularly good first impression, after all.
"Not to me!" Weiss hissed. "I'm supposed to be better at reading people than that. I certainly got enough practice at it. I-"
She was interrupted by a knock on the door. Eyes wide, she checked the time; Blake did too, seven o'clock. Weiss rushed over to the mirror and checked herself over again before swooping to the hallway door and opening it. Jaune stood there, dressed… rather nicely, actually. The jacket and trousers were cut in the same style as the Beacon uniform, except with red trim, and he wore it over a white dress shirt and a grey vest. A red bowtie completed the outfit, and his hands held a bouquet of white roses.
Huh, Blake noted. You actually clean up pretty well, Jaune.
She shook her head, amused, as the couple left.
"I can't tell if she's in denial or actually that self-absorbed," she told the now-empty room, then shrugged and turned back to her computer, making a mental bet with herself as to how their date would go.
Skywarp staggered as he stood up after the latest series of tests.
"Well done, Seeker," complemented Starscream. "You almost managed to keep up with Raven."
Skywarp looked down and saw the little human preening the feathers on her clothes like nothing was amiss, like she hadn't just torn open dozens of ground bridges with nothing but her own power. She appeared infuriatingly smug and unwinded in Skywarp's opinion. Would it have killed her to sweat a little?
"It's clear your targeting ability is locking onto some resonance between you and your target's structural integrity fields," Starscream muttered, deep in thought.
"You mean our auras," Raven translated.
"The problem we face, now, is a lack of a truly comprehensive means to analyze that resonance." He shifted over to the console and began scanning through some data. "Hmm… now, if I remember correctly from Soundwave's intelligence reports, an Atlesian transport is scheduled to bring a DNGAS to Beacon Academy right around this time…"
"'Dingus'?" asked Skywarp.
"Digital Nucleo-Genetic Aura Scanner," came Starscream's off-handed clarification.
"Nuclear?" Skywarp asked, now even more confused. "But why-?"
"That's beyond the scope of your simple mind's ability to comprehend," Starscream said absentmindedly.
"Hey!"
"It should be a simple enough matter to intercept and 'acquire' the shipment." He frowned as a report displayed itself on the screen. "Except someone already did. Well, scrap that plan."
"Maybe not," Raven murmured.
Starscream turned and looked down at her. "Explain."
"Whoever stole it almost certainly intends to sell it," she elaborated. "They'll likely use the undernet to advertise their product, and if not, I know my way around less legitimate businesses. Let me poke about, see what I can find."
That said, Raven leapt up onto the control console next to Starscream, but the keyboard was unfamiliar. With an aggravated sigh, Starscream tapped in a few commands, and the keyboard - no, touch panel image of a keyboard - shrank down and morphed into the local alphabet.
Raven hummed appreciatively, and then got to work typing with an astounding speed.
"Wow, she's really going at it," observed Skywarp.
"Of course," chimed in Vernal. "Raven is extremely adept at the use of computers, as she is in all things."
"Got it," cut in Raven, even as Starscream looked over her at the displayed screen and the picture of the DNGAS. "It's up for auction right now. How much lien do you have on you?"
Headmaster Ozpin of Beacon Academy sipped at his mug of hot chocolate as Miss Belladonna departed his office. It was unfortunate the backdoor had been lost, but it was bound to happen eventually. They just needed to find a replacement source of intel somehow.
Bad news upon more bad news. The loss of the DNGAS was… concerning, considering the delicate situation with Autumn. Ironwood would be able to send another, in time, but…
Time, always time. It was amazing how one never had enough of such an infinite resource.
He brought the undernet auction site back up and continued to bid. Time was lien, and this was one situation in which one could be bought with the other.
His eyes narrowed. The bidding was picking up. A new player.
No matter. He had a budget few could match. He'd certainly spent enough time building it up.
All four members of the little conspiracy were huddled around the screen, watching with rapt attention as Raven rapidly typed out amount after amount to outbid everyone else in the auction.
"Come on, come on! Who has that much money anyways?!" complained Starscream in an extraordinarily tense voice.
The seconds ticked down. The auction was entering its last moments. The anticipation was so thick that one could cut it with a knife. All eyes and optics were locked on the screen.
Suddenly, in an obvious nervous fit, Vernal slipped back around the computer. Out of sight, she attached a small pack to an obscured surface on the back of the computer. She got back just in time for the finale. No one had noticed what she had done.
All at once, the timer hit zero, and the quartet were left staring at the screen in silence.
"We… lost?" asked Skywarp in disbelief.
"Raaaagh!" Starscream howled in rage. "No one does this to Starscream and gets away with it! Who?! Who dares to challenge the might of the Decepticons and their destined leader?! I shall find this person who outbid me and tear them limb from limb!"
"Doesn't matter," Raven said simply, still typing away at the keyboard. "I checked those intelligence reports again, and I know who stole it in the first place."
At that, the screen changed to show a blurry photo of a man in a green and grey suit.
"MECH," Vernal growled in recognition. "It figures that those arrogant fools would be behind this."
Starscream raised a single mechanical eyebrow. "MECH?"
"Mechanical and Electronic Collections and Holdings," Raven translated. "They're a clandestine organization that deals with a variety of different projects, both legal and illegal. Most relevant to us is their activities in technology theft."
"Do you have a location to go along with that name?" asked Starscream.
Raven turned towards him, and even through the mask, the Decepticon felt he could see a grin.
From a snow-covered rooftop, Ruby sighed as she watched Jaune and Weiss move into the restaurant across the street, the very expensive and high class restaurant. At least, she assumed so, based on the dress of the people inside; the food, in her humble opinion, looked absolutely wretched. No need for the tiny cube of meat, just give her a leg of mutton, and she would be fine.
Still, she did like the idea of a high society restaurant like that, out of curiosity if nothing else. Maybe, perhaps, after many years of service, and marriage to a well-paid husband, her children would be able to afford to spend a single night in a place like that. Yeah, that was a goal to aim for… probably. Finances were always a more troublesome aspect of mathematics for her. Now, ballistics and geometry? Those she could do in her sleep. In fact, she had-…
Her thoughts were suddenly brought to a stop as her mirror eyes caught sight of a flash of yellow. She brought Crescent Rose up to her shoulder, and then focused in on the target. No, her eyes had not deceived her; it was Bumblebee. The familiar car was parked within sight of the restaurant, but out of notice by those inside.
Thinking quickly, Ruby decided to abandon her plan of repositioning to a better vantage point to check in on her sister. It was a simple matter then, once she had decided on a target, to maneuver her way to it. A jump and a dash of her semblance, and suddenly, she was right next to the car and knocking on the passenger side door.
To her surprise, the door popped open, and she was greeted by her elder sister's smiling face.
"Ruby! Come on in; you'll catch your death out in the cold," the blonde chided good naturedly with a welcoming wave.
The younger sister nodded and jumped into the passenger seat, pulling the door closed behind her. "Hey, Yang, what are you doing here?" she asked with that same smile the blonde shared.
"Oh, you know, watching to see how the date you told me about goes," Yang replied. "You?"
"The same. Keeping proper watch over the two of them like a good team leader should," answered Ruby.
"Well, you've got a good vantage point from here," said Yang, pointing out the windscreen to where Jaune and Weiss could just be seen through the restaurant's windows. The heiress was clearly in her element, conversing politely with the waiter, in sharp contrast to the blond knight, who was sitting stiff as a board, his lips pressed into a thin line.
"Huh, neat," observed Ruby as she turned her head to look around. "Bumblebee's looking really clean."
"Oh, he better be, with how much time I spend on him," Yang replied with a tone that made it sound like she was scolding a child who just happened to be listening in. It was a tone Ruby was intimately familiar with.
Ruby let out a giggle of amusement. "So, how's Maple doing anyway?"
"Doing fine. She sends her regards, by the way," said Yang with ease. "Kind of odd being friends with my mechanic."
"Why?" asked Ruby sincerely. "Maple's a good person, and being a mechanic is a perfectly fine profession."
"Well, yes," admitted Yang. "When you say it like that, it sounds perfectly normal, but most people don't set out to become good friends with their mechanic."
"You've spent enough time with her, so why not?" asked Ruby.
"Now, see, that's precisely it. Most people don't spend that much time with their mechanics."
"Well, maybe you wouldn't either if you hadn't bought such a clunker," the dark-haired girl suggested.
"Hey, you take that back!" Yang demanded. "Bumblebee is a great car!"
"You're taking it into the shop practically every week, Yang," Ruby pointed out. "I mean, like, two minutes ago, the door just popped open on its own. That can't be a good sign."
"He just needs a little TLC on occasion," Yang insisted.
"Okay, okay," Ruby relented, and then leaned back into the chair and closed her eyes. "I can see why you like spending so much time in here, Yang. I feel… safe, and warm. Like home. I wish I was in here more often though."
"I wish you were too, Ruby," Yang said, a note of pain in those words.
"But I have my studies to focus on, so I can't," Ruby reasoned, and she felt like throwing up from the falsehood of it.
"How are those going, by the way?" asked Yang. "Those extra credit assignments from Ozpin? You're out… a lot, these days."
"Oh, fine," Ruby said with a wave. "You know how it goes. Go here, protect these control nodes from waves of Grimm. Go there, deliver some medical supplies. It's not all that different than what we were doing at Signal, just with more area to cover."
"Heh, those were the days," Yang said nostalgically. Ruby missed them too; lately, they hardly ever saw each other outside of class or their dorm… the latter of which was usually spent waking up or going to sleep. Or actually sleeping, for that matter.
"Do you mind being the only one on the team not doing that, Yang?" inquired Ruby, wishing she didn't sound so hopeful. Hopeful for a negative or a positive response, though? Of that, she could not say.
Yang shrugged. "Nah, I don't mind. I'm doing my own thing a lot of the time anyways, and…"
The blonde paused, and seemed to be chewing over her words. "Never mind," she finally finished.
"What? What's wrong?" asked Ruby. She got up, and followed where her sister's gaze was lingering. It landed upon the couple in the restaurant, specifically the white side of the table. "It's Weiss, isn't it?"
There seemed to be a low rumbling in her at that. "I know it's irrational," said Yang, fatigue and a trace of hate in her voice, "but she's still got that name, and that hair, and she's wearing that snowflake on her back all the time."
"Yang, I…"
"It's like we've got the enemy sleeping in the same room as us!" she practically shouted, but then as the words settled into the air, a look of shame came upon Yang's features and she hid her face. "Sorry. It's just… every time I think back to that night. Every time I see their faces… I…"
Ruby put her hand on her sister's shoulder, and her heart wept for her kinswoman's pain. "Yang, it's okay. It's okay."
It was then that Ruby silently decided that she had been in the right about her decision to keep Yang in the dark about the activities of Team RRANNBW. If she was in this state after having discovered those escaped slaves months ago, she could only imagine the state she would be in after finding out what they had learned. She did not need her sister and her teammate fighting with each other over things that the Enemy had done; that way only led to defeat.
Another bout of silence settled in the car, and they sat like that for a time until once more Ruby spoke. "I remember you asking about charity work at Tukson's. Did anything come from that?"
Yang shook her head. "Not really. I did find another charity though. Been doing some work there while I'm in the city. It… it feels good to put some good into the world instead of just taking bad things out."
Ruby frowned as the weight of those words struck her. She wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. So, not knowing what to do, she did what she always did in emotionally difficult situations: she dodged.
"So, if you hate Weiss, why are you here?"
Some dodges were better than others.
Yang paused in thought, and her eyes were brought back around to the target couple. "A few of reasons, I guess. A sense of duty. A sense of honor." Her lips curled into a sinister smile. "A sense that this is going to end hilariously, and I've got a dash cam."
The blonde pointed at the tiny box on the dashboard, and Ruby let out a little laugh.
Yang's smile then morphed into a sad frown. "And maybe a sense that I really need to make it up to Jaune over how I acted. He's your best friend, and I need to make sure he doesn't get hurt, or if he does get hurt, he… well, he'll have someone to swoop in and save the day."
"I don't think Weiss is going to hurt him too bad, even if things turn out badly," Ruby said awkwardly.
"You sure about that?" asked Yang, turning to face her. "I'm not deaf. I can hear just fine the way Weiss talks about Jaune, and she pretty much hates the guy. I've been wondering why she changed her mind about going out with him, and for all I know, this could all be some Schnee ploy to lead him out into an emotional killing field and cut him down."
"Okay, Yang, please, stop," Ruby insisted. "Just... stop."
Yang did so, and at that, the younger sister continued.
"I know you don't like Weiss, but please don't go making such wild accusations about her," Ruby ordered. "She's got her own problems, and she comes from a hard place. Please just… just don't stab her in the back like that."
Yang shook her head with a twinge of strange mirth. "Ruby, how long have you known me?"
Ruby's eyes shifted. "All my life?"
"Then you should know this," said Yang seriously. "If I kill Weiss, she'll be awake, she'll be facing me, and she'll be armed."
Ruby smiled at that. "Well, that's a big load off my mind. I'm sure it will help Weiss sleep better after hearing that too."
"She should," replied Yang cheerfully.
Another silence settled over them, but it was broken by Ruby much more quickly
"How about this for overwatch duties? You watch Jaune, I watch Weiss, and together, we both make sure no one gets hurt?"
Yang pursed her lips, considering that, and then gave her answer in a satisfactory tone. "Deal."
"Hey, man, got a smoke?" a green and grey clothed figured asked his almost identical companion as the two stood guard on the walls of the storage complex, looking out into the gloom of the night and the twinkling of the village lights deeper in the valley.
"Yeah, man, I got you covered," the companion replied, detaching a grey cylinder from his vest and offering it up.
"No, man, I mean a cigarette, or a cigar, or pipe, not a smoke grenade," the first man insisted.
"What?" the second asked in confusion. "That doesn't make any sense, man. We're both wearing masks."
"Don't worry, man, I got a ninja trick I learned at Atlas."
"Weren't you expelled, man?"
"Hey, man, you said you wouldn't…"
There was a sky shattering boom, and both guards instinctively ducked down, even as they noticed the dark shape that had flown above them. The facility was going into alert now, and the shape tore up into the sky on twin pillars of flame like a pair of blowtorches. It seemed to slow to a crawl, and then there was a glint of light as the cockpit of it could be seen briefly opening to drop a small humanoid shape down. The aircraft then blazed off at a speed that simply defied belief, and swooped back around, firing twin energy blasts like lightning from beneath its wings.
The facility was engulfed in explosions, and everyone that could began to fire back. So focused were they on the aerial invader, most didn't even notice the much smaller, more human intruder as she sliced her way in. For more than a few guards, it was an unfortunately literal statement.
"Aaaah!"
"Pathetic," Raven cursed as she flicked the blood away from her odachi and the bisected body hit the floor.
There was a clamor of boots, and another pair of guards appeared to block her way into the warehouse. These weren't police officers or security guards. There were no challenges or orders to surrender. Instead, they instantly snapped their rifles level and opened fire, only to hit nothing but air as the intruder leaped over their field of fire and toward them faster than they could track with their weapons.
Shing!
One swing, two cuts.
She rushed inside, hand striking the loading door control in passing, and found a tractor-trailer still in the process of being loaded. The driver was already scrambling out of the door to run, but she paid him no heed. Let the weaklings run and cower in fear; the strong would take their prize tonight.
Raven had just reached the box that was to be loaded into the truck when Starscream's now transformed bipedal form hit the ground outside the loading door.
"Ahhahahaha!" he cackled madly, firing the guns mounted to his upper arms at the enemy forces outside. "Fools! Did you really think you could stand against me? Against Starscream, leader of the Decepticon Seeker Corp?! You will suffer the same fate as all who defy my will!"
Raven let out a whistle, and Starscream backed through the open loading door to run over to her, the ground shaking with each one of his steps.
"We've got the package. Let's go," the black-maned woman called out and she leaped onto the back of the truck.
"Ah, yes, the DNGAS," Starscream said as he carefully picked up the box, checking the radiation and explosive warnings plastered to it as he did so. "Hard to believe something so small could be so useful."
"Hey, I resemble that remark," Raven quipped as she leapt forth from the vehicle's top and brought her odachi down in a slicing motion. As she sailed down, it cut through the air like meat, and in its passing, it left a swirling red-black fissure in reality at least thirty feet tall.
"Out of my way!" Starscream declared as he clamored through the portal. Raven soon followed. The rest of the MECH personnel arrived just in time to see the tear collapse in on itself.
"Well, that was quick," Raven said as she watched the portal close back in the Decepticon base before bringing out a wipe for her sword.
"Did you get it?" asked Skywarp.
"Of course, you fool," declared Starscream. "Let us not waste a moment more. Final victory is within our grasp."
The couple walked quietly up the deserted stairwell of Beacon's student dormitory building. Weiss had her left arm held up, wrapped loosely around his right arm, with her right hand reaching across her body to hold his forearm. She wasn't sure why they were taking the stairs instead of the elevator, but she wasn't complaining; it meant the night would last that little bit longer. She had been... pleasantly surprised by how the night had gone; while hardly spectacular, it had been moderately entertaining.
And Blake's question - one of them, at least - strayed back into her thoughts.
As they approached their floor, she felt herself tense up. She almost dreaded the end of the date. If only because it would mean dealing with the rest of her team and the endless teasing that would no doubt be waiting for her.
So it was with a bit of reluctance that she tugged on his arm as Jaune made to continue up.
"Jaune, this is our floor."
"Night's not over yet, Snow Angel," he said.
She arched an eyebrow. He had something else planned? You continue to surprise me, Mister Arc, she thought, not unkindly.
As they stepped out onto the roof, she let out an involuntary gasp. Rugs were laid across the rooftop into an ersatz carpet, and she could see small speakers of various types scattered around on stools under umbrellas. She looked at Jaune, about to ask him what this was, but stopped when she saw he was fiddling with his scroll.
After a moment, he gave a small cheer of success as a slow song began playing over the speakers.
"So, uh," he said, almost dropping his scroll as he stuffed it in his pocket, "I... didn't exactly have a lot of time to set this up, and Pyrrha had to remind me about the weather forecast, so-"
"No," she interrupted, feeling a flash of irritation at the redhead's name. "It's wonderful."
"Yeah, well..." He coughed, then held out a hand. "Would you care to dance, Miss Schnee?"
"I would indeed, Mister Arc," she replied with a smile, reaching out to take his hand.
She allowed him to pull her onto the makeshift dance floor, and they began to dance under the stars. Even the light snow beginning to drift down and catching in her hair didn't ruin things; rather, it reminded her of home. This whole thing was… sweet. It warmed her heart that he'd gone to the trouble to set this up for her. Sure, he seemed a bit stiff as he danced, but he probably didn't have much experience at dancing. At least he seemed to know the steps.
Forget moderately entertaining. She leaned into his chest and swayed with the music, a small but genuine smile on her face. This was an amazing night.
Weiss leaned into Jaune's side, his arm around her shoulders, as they approached their dorms, slowing their steps even as they got closer to their destination.
Finally, though, their walk reached its inevitable end, and Weiss reluctantly pulled away. Turning to face him, her back to her dorm door, she smiled. "You know, Jaune, I had a really great time tonight."
Jaune chuckled. "I had a lot of fun too."
"We should do this again sometime," Weiss said. As her words registered, she gasped, eyes wide, and her hands flew to cover her mouth. She hadn't actually meant to say that!
Jaune gave her an inscrutable look, then smiled sadly and shook his head. "Nah, you won't have to worry about that." He leaned down and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. "Have a good night, Weiss."
With that, he turned and disappeared into Team JNPR's dorm.
Suddenly finding herself standing alone in the hallway, Weiss blinked several times. "What… just happened?" she asked with a mixture of confusion and sadness. The empty hallway offered no answer.
Eyes still wide with surprise, she pulled out her scroll to unlock the door to her own dorm, idly noting the time tick over to midnight. Inside, Blake was back to reading one of her books, and Ruby was back now, sitting in a chair, tinkering with Crescent Rose. It didn't look like anything had changed, and yet, something had.
Blake seemed to notice and looked up from her book. "So, how did it go?" she asked in a calm, level tone.
"I... don't know," Weiss admitted. "It was… all right, for the most part. I was enjoying myself, at least, but then…" She blushed. "He turned the roof into a dance floor. I can't imagine how long it took him to set that up." She frowned. "Even with Pyrrha's help."
"Sounds like he impressed you."
Weiss looked away. "He kissed me..."
Blake's eyes widened, and a clatter drew her attention to Ruby, who scrambled to grab the screwdriver she'd dropped before it rolled away.
"...on the forehead," Weiss finished.
Blake looked back at Weiss. "Huh," she said as she turned that thought over in her mind. "I'm… not exactly an expert, but... I don't think you're getting a second date."
That snapped Weiss out of her ruminations.
"WHAT?!" she demanded, whirling on the quiet bibliophile, who recoiled in surprise.
"What?" Blake asked reasonably. "The whole point of this was because you didn't want one, wasn't it?"
"That-" Weiss paused to organize her thoughts. "That's beside the point! Are you telling me that Jaune Arc thinks I'm not good enough for him?!"
"Oh, Weiss, it's not like that," Ruby said as she went back to tinkering with her weapon, an oddly serene inflection in her voice. "It's just that things didn't work out. Probably happened around the wishing well in the park."
"I just…" Weiss frowned. "Wait, how did you know about the wishing well? Were you watching us?"
Ruby puffed up her chest. "Like any good sniper, I remained in cover the whole time, ready to strike at a moment's notice," she declared proudly.
"You did!" Weiss scolded. "Ugh, what is wrong with you?!"
"Hey! I was only trying to do right by you," Ruby insisted. "You're my sister of battle, we've shed blood together, and that means I can't let anyone defile you or your honor."
"Are you sure you weren't just there to watch Jaune?" Blake asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.
"No, that was Yang's job."
At that point, the door swung open, and the blonde brawler stepped in. "Hey, guys!"
"Yang!" Ruby cried, jumping up to embrace her. "You made it back! What did you think of how it went down?"
"Personally, I think it was a very romantic evening," the elder sister preened as she petted Ruby's dark hair.
"Both of you?!" Weiss sputtered. "That's… that's… ragh. You two, I swear, couple of weirdos! I mean, of all the…" she trailed off and sighed. "I suppose it is a little sweet."
"I'm glad you eventually came to that conclusion, Weiss," Ruby said as she backed away from her sister, "because I might need one of you on overwatch when I have my date."
"You have a date?" Weiss asked, arching an eyebrow skeptically.
Yang cracked her knuckles. "Yeah, something you wanna tell me, Rubes?"
"Aheheh, not yet," Ruby said, shrinking back, but then she straightened defiantly. "But I will!"
"And I'll be there watching," Yang affirmed before turning to Weiss. "Anyway, I think you should have known something was wrong when he started playing the song from Har Megiddo. Disaster movie soundtrack? Big tell."
"Wha-? But… but why? Why the wishing well?"
Yang snorted. "Wishing well's probably when he figured it out, but it really started at the restaurant. Bad move there, princess."
"Heiress," Weiss corrected automatically. "And excuse me? That was the most exclusive restaurant in all of Vale! They have a six-month waiting list!"
"And you got a table on a few days' notice by flaunting your name," Ruby pointed out gently. "Did you really think Jaune would care about that? Did you even notice how uncomfortable he was?"
"Hmm," Blake mused. "Sounds like you got exactly what you wanted."
Weiss had no response to that.
"Yes. Yes!" Starscream declared melodramatically, holding aloft a tiny disk from his workbench. "It is complete! The Structural Integrity Field Resonance Duplication Beacon! Once I find a way to transmit these plans to Cybertron, we will have completely circumvented Soundwave's mewling plans, and I, Starscream, will be declared the Decepticons' new leader!"
Skywarp squinted at it. "It's… smaller than I imagined."
"That's because, with my genius, I was able to minimize and miniaturize the components to be wafer thin!" boasted the Decepticon commander. "Now, be careful. This device is so small that it could be easily lost just by you sitting on it."
"Why do you assume that I would be the one to sit on it?" asked Skywarp.
"Skywarp, I've known you for thousands of megacycles by this point," said Starscream with a dismissive wave.
"Not bad," complimented Raven. "Now, we have got business to attend to, so we'll see you again another day."
"Yes, about that…"
There was a flash of movement, and Raven was sent flying against the wall. She collapsed to the ground, and a force field hummed into existence around her. She reached for her sword, but it was gone, and as she looked up, she found her scabbard resting in Starscream's palm.
Nearby, Skywarp moved quickly to grab Vernal and restrain her. Through a mere application of physics and brute size, the Branwen Tribe's most fearsome warriors had been defeated. This was definitely not the sort of thing she'd want remembered in song.
Starscream, for his part, was cackling like a madman. "Fool! Did you really think that you could work as equals with me? The great and powerful Starscream?! You've given me all the data I need to make revolutionary advancements in space bridge technology!" He paused. "Granted, a little vivisection or dissection may still be necessary, but it's a small sacrifice in the name of science."
"You'll only live long enough to regret this," Raven swore as she stood up defiantly.
"Oh, I very much doubt that," laughed the Seeker commander. "It will be only too easy to replicate your semblance after a more thorough study, and then, once I've confirmed that your usefulness is at an end… well, I think we both know what happens then."
At that, Starscream once more held up her sword and scabbard in the hand opposite the one still carrying the beacon. With a dismissive toss, he flung her scabbard back to clatter uselessly against the wall. "Skywarp will get around to cleaning that up later," he assured her.
"Hey!"
"You seem so sure about that, Starscream," said Raven in a tone laced with both menace and mirth.
With that observation, the black-maned and Grimm-masked woman put her hands together and threw them apart, tearing open a portal in front of her that emerged over Starscream's shoulder. Not wasting a fraction of a second, she dived through to snatch the device from his hand.
"What?! Impossible!" Starscream shouted as Raven spun through the air to land on the floor.
"Well, what do you know?" she asked sarcastically as she put the beacon inside her obi. "It does work. You aren't a total incompetent."
"What?! How could this happen?!" asked Starscream as he turned to face her. "My betrayal was perfect!"
"Did you really think that I needed that sword to use my semblance?" asked Raven rhetorically. "Besides, you have to trust someone to be betrayed, and that's a mistake I'll never make again."
At that, she brought out a small cylindrical device and flipped open the cap to reveal a button. Her thumb came down, and there was a click that was deafening to the audio receptors of the two Decepticons in the room. A split second later, there was a tremendous boom, and the side of the computer erupted into flames.
"No!" Starscream shouted as he ran over to the flaming bank of electronics. "My data! My precious, beautiful data!"
Wasting no time, Raven bolted for where her sword had clattered to the ground like an arrow loosed from a bow.
"Gah! You'll pay for that, puny human!" Starscream yelled as he turned and aimed his arm blasters.
He fired, and Raven dodged, narrowly avoiding getting blown apart with the concrete floor. She leapt, faster than sound, and flew towards Starscream with a crack of displaced air. The Decepticon tried to track her, but her supersonic leap left her flying over him.
"What-"
Starscream turned around to face her and fired another wild shot.
"-are-"
Raven leapt again. Another null ray beam punched a hole in the ceiling.
"-you?!"
She gripped his shoulder as she was flying over and spun in place, reaching into her obi as she did so to withdraw the small form of the beacon. When she fell down onto Starscream's back, she slapped the tiny device into a similarly-colored and obscured section of his body. She then went into a crouching jump that sent her towards her sword with another sonic boom.
At the same time that Raven had torn open her first portal, Vernal had acted. Using what leverage was available to her in Skywarp's grip, she drew forth her wind and fire wheels. Then, with great effort and focused use of her aura, she wrenched her blades up.
Strengthened by her aura, the blades passed through the air… and Skywarp's fingers. The Seeker let out a shriek of pain, and Vernal dropped to the floor. Somewhat disturbingly, she found herself covered in flecks of a blue substance like unto blood.
"You filthy squishy!" Skywarp cursed, gripping the stumps of his right hand's fingers.
"Filthy is right," Vernal agreed, taking an experimental lick before trying to shake some of the blue liquid off herself. "Hmm, surprisingly sweet, with a hint of metal. Still, could you possibly have chosen a different color to bleed in? Maybe red. I'm used to cleaning red blood off me."
Skywarp looked at her strangely. "You are one messed up loony."
At that, he snapped his arms up and fired his blasters. Amazingly, and at a speed she'd never managed before, she dodged. The floor behind her shattered under explosive force, but she kept moving.
She brought her wheels up as she ran and fired the built in dust blasters. The orange beams sank into Skywarp's aura. The Decepticon grunted and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Vernal flipped and brought her wheels around to aim behind her, but she wasn't fast enough to dodge the punch from Skywarp's left fist. She was sent flying through the air and barely recovered to land on her feet. She fired her beam weapons again before Skywarp returned fire.
Vernal dodged and in the same motion turned around to slash out with her wheels. She hit aura, and Skywarp was forced to draw back from his punch. The Seeker teleported again, and when he reappeared, he was oddly enthused.
"You're pretty good," he complimented. "Why not try ditching the old lady and come work for the winning side?"
"And betray Raven?" asked Vernal, disgusted. "Never."
"And loyal too," complimented Skywarp. "You really are the complete package. Shame about the wrapping though."
Before the conversation could continue, there came a cry of command.
"Vernal!"
The short-haired woman snapped her wheels up and fired them. Simultaneously, there was another sonic boom, and Raven leapt in from where she had retrieved her sword. Beams lanced out from Vernal's weapons to penetrate the casing of the DNGAS.
Raven grabbed her compatriot, slashed a portal in mid-air, and jumped on through. The portal collapsed soon after, leaving Starscream and Skywarp alone with the damaged DNGAS.
"No!" Starscream shouted. "Fool! You let them escape."
Before Skywarp could respond, there was a perilous whine, and suddenly, the DNGAS started to glow with an inner power as fissures spread over its surface. The two Decepticons took one look at it and fled as best they could for cover, but they knew that it would not be enough. Then, suddenly and anticlimactically, the machine quieted.
"Huh, thought for sure it would blow up," admitted Skywarp.
Raven and Vernal exited the portal with a tumble of speed into freshly fallen flakes of cold. It was late at night there, really more of the early morning, and no one saw them. The campus was dark, and a light snow was drifting down. It had been a mild winter in Vale, but the season still had some bite to it.
"Beacon?" asked Vernal as the two untangled themselves and got up. "Are you feeling a little nostalgic tonight?"
Raven shrugged as she unconsciously fingered her sword to make sure she had resheathed it properly, despite her haste. "I have one last thing to do on Sanus, and I figured, 'why not?'"
"Very well, ma'am. Lead the way," Vernal said deferentially.
Raven took the lead and led them to a small patch of soil beneath a shrubbery. After a moment of digging, she unearthed her prize: a cardboard box about the size of her head and wrapped in a plastic bag. Keeping little caches stashed away was a habit she'd picked up with Team STRQ - all of them seemed to squirrel stuff away wherever they could - and frankly, it had been too useful to abandon.
After covering up the hole, they walked towards the parking lot. It was quiet, then. Peaceful. Broken only by the muffled crunch of their feet through the grass and snow.
Raven looked around, and even through the mask, she couldn't help but absorb the natural beauty. Maybe Vernal had been right, maybe she had been feeling nostalgic. It wasn't so bad a feeling to have about such a place, in her opinion.
A pang of guilt and shame began to resonate within her, but she crushed it down. She had made her choice long ago. Now, there was nothing for it but to continue on. No turning back.
Presently, they came into one of the parking lots, and Raven stopped at a yellow and black Atlesian compact car, taking off her mask. She seemed to regard it with a strange sort of awe. In time, though, she spoke, and when she did, she clearly spoke to it.
"I know you and Yang are close, so I felt it was best if I leave this with you," she said as she placed the wrapped box beside the car. "I made this a long time ago and stashed it for… emergencies. Tell her that it's hers to do with as she pleases. Modify it, resize it, throw it away even, if that's what she wants. If she does choose to wear it into battle though, tell her to wear it with pride and to never back down as long as it adorns her face. Be indomitable, in other words. It's what she would have wanted."
With those words, Raven donned her mask again, turned, and walked away, Vernal following in her wake. When they were some distance away, the short-haired woman felt it wise to broach the topic. Even still, she kept her voice low and quiet.
"What was the gift, if I may be so bold?"
"You may," Raven replied. "It wasn't much, just one of my Grimm masks."
"She must be someone very important then," Vernal observed in wonder, eyes wide in surprise.
"She is. She is the human contact for the Autobots, the mortal enemies of those who tried to betray us tonight," explained Raven, and then, she paused as if the weight of her words were almost too heavy to bear.
"She'll have to be truly exceptional then, if she hopes to fight against such foes," said Vernal during the pause. "I don't know how much longer I could have lasted against him had the fight not ended the way it did."
Raven finally found the strength to speak once more. "Of that, you'd need not worry. She is her daughter, after all."
Vernal stopped, her eyes and mouth wide in shock. "You mean… your old captain?"
"Yes," Raven admitted.
Vernal nodded and moved to catch up. "Then perhaps everything will work out fine, if but a fraction of her character runs through this 'Yang's' blood."
Raven said nothing, but instead slashed another portal when they had reached a copse of trees hidden from view.
"Shall we be off?" she asked instead.
The two women departed, and when the portal disappeared, the night of Beacon was once more shrouded in silence.
Author's Note 1 (Cyclone):
Sometimes, Pyrrha's just too nice for her own good. Also, poor Weiss. Be careful what you wish for, girl; you just might get it. And yes, Jaune actually can dance quite well; he's just feeling a bit awkward about it.
The DNGAS is a reference to the DNGS from Transformers Prime, the awkward restaurant thing was inspired by Jaune and Weiss's date in Not this time, Fate (which will shatter your heart if you support Arkos, no matter how good a White Knight 'fic it is), the private, makeshift dance floor was inspired by Runt's formal dance in X-Wing: Iron Fist. If anyone cares, the song was actually "I Don't Want To Miss a Thing" by Aerosmith, chosen by Cody, as a reference to Armageddon, but since FFN doesn't allow links or media embeds... eh, what can you do?
Author's Note 2 (Cody MacArthur Fett):
So after crunching the numbers on the time scale, we realized that almost the entirety of this story should have taken place during Vale's winter. That was a very embarrassing mistake to realize since that means that a ton of set pieces have been ignored. I was just thinking too, Golly gee, I adore the winter scenes in Of Elder Scrolls and Huntsmen: Dragon Rose so maybe we can do something similar? But . . . Ah, well. I'm sure it will all work out in the end. Spring is coming soon anyways, so I guess we'll just have to write it off as a missed opportunity.
You can thank Cyclone for almost the entirety of this chapter. He's the hero here.
And yes, before anyone asks, Yang was talking about Site 13 while Ruby was thinking she was talking about what happened in chapter one. Poor girl still is broken up about seeing that pile of bodies. Which is something that's only been alluded to because either Cyclone nor me have the skill or stomach to describe what was found there.