Volume I: Episode 13: Shatterpoint
Adam focused on Wilt as he monotonously sharpened his blade. In the past, he had always found it the best way to clear his head, if for no other reason than the fact that it was something his mother allowed him to do without bothering him. He couldn't get that sort of focus that morning, though.
"We were the first Decepticons."
It all made sense now, why Optimus insisted on maintaining his alliance with the White Fang and why he kept interacting with Adam in such a probing way. He wanted to "redeem" him, and in the process, make up for the mistakes of his past so many millions of years ago. The thought sickened him. He was not some… emotional release valve for a giant robot. Or anyone else, for that matter!
Optimus had admitted it himself. He had never suffered under the system he and his friend had sought to overthrow, just as he had never suffered as a faunus under the humans. He had been driven by a naive idealism, an idealism that somehow seemed to have persisted through a war that had reduced whole worlds to lifeless husks. How could he claim to understand what they were fighting for?
The argument rang hollow in his heart, but he ignored that, focusing instead on what his next step should be.
Optimus… all Adam had to do was let him and Cinder duke it out, and he could just ally with the victor. Easy and simple. The only issue was creating a scenario for them to go at it… no, not the only issue. As much as he hated to admit it, he would rather be a pity party than a slave.
A slave? But in what world would he be a slave? A world where humanity was dead or enslaved as well. He could be the top overseer under Cinder or her dark mistress. He would have a collar around his neck, yes, but it would be a metaphorical one, and he could mete out pain and retribution to all those who wore it in actuality.
He tried to find some comfort in that, any at all, and yet he couldn't see it. He couldn't see it, because every time he tried, the vision was blown away in a mighty blast from a familiar horn. And then, when things seemed at their bleakest for humanity, Optimus Prime and the Autobots would roll out to save them. To Adam's surprise, that mental image caused his lips to curl into a faint smile.
He pushed it aside and thought about how Cinder and her allies would sweep away all resistance. They could do it too… for a time, but the Autobots would be back. Adam may never see it, but they would always be back. For ten million years, they had fought, and they would fight for ten million more if necessary. No creature on Remnant could match that sort of persistence.
It was foolish to resist the Autobots then, so what would allying with them ultimately turn out like? Adam's thoughts bent towards this question. To his surprise, the answer came quite easily.
The Autobots would sweep aside all opposition, whether it took twenty minutes or twenty million years, and so, Adam would stand without foe as he stood by their side. Without foe... and without a way to enact retribution on the human filth. The Autobots wouldn't let him, and by that time, Optimus would have revealed himself and negotiated lasting peace between humanity and faunuskind, somehow. Then all he would have left to do would be to find his old partner and demand of her an explanation, and while she would try to defend herself, eventually, the two of them would make up, and he could spend the rest of his days in peace, save for the Grimm. Or perhaps out among the stars, far from even the Grimm's reach.
His mother would have balked at the idea and called it nonsense. She'd said as much many a time. Peace, she said, was just the calm before a battle; to believe otherwise was a pretty delusion by her reckoning.
Still, he doubted she would have objected to attaching himself to the most powerful game in town.
"Hey, boss?"
"Yes, what is it, Ash?" asked Adam, breaking his meditation.
"Just got word that Cinder's trying to get in contact with us via the old codes," explained the large man, and Adam felt his blood run cold.
Cinder? Now?! Why couldn't she have waited until this thing was finalized?! he thought in a panic, even as outside his face was passive. Nevertheless, he was able to keep his voice even. "We changed codes and locations for a reason. We'll get around to letting her know the specifics, but right now, we don't even know if this is the real Cinder. This could be a Decepticon ploy, for all we know."
"They are very deceptive," observed Ash.
"Exactly," Adam said with a knowing smile.
Anything to buy time to figure this out for sure.
Time to figure out what he valued more: his fury… or his freedom.
Yang was awoken from her nightmares by the invigorating and cheerful cry of her sister. It was certainly a much more pleasant image than the thought of shoveling bodies into a pit, or of Optimus coming after them with a purple face on his shoulder. She wondered if Ruby knew just how much light she brought to her life and prayed her younger sister would never find out.
"Good morning, everyone! And welcome to the first day of spring break!" said Ruby happily.
"Most people would say it started two days ago," Weiss pointed out.
"Weekends don't count!" declared the team leader.
"They do normally," insisted the snowcapped girl.
Yang resisted the urge to groan at her roommate's voice and dropped down out of her bed to traipse over to the bathroom, ignoring the words of her fellows and gathering up a fresh change of clothes as she did so. When she arrived, she shut the door behind her and began undressing for a shower. By the time she was reaching for the first bottle in her daily hair care regimen, she was regretting giving her mind a moment to think.
Optimus Prime had been a founding member of the Decepticons, and not just a founding member, but... he'd helped turn it from a peaceful protest organization into a violent revolutionary force. That was more than just some mistake, that was something that was almost literally planet killing. Granted, from what she heard, she doubted that Primus would have been inconvenienced overmuch, but it was still something that was mind boggling to wrap her head around.
Oh yeah, Primus. The god of Cybertron. Or Cybertron itself? Whatever. How could she have forgotten the revelation that the divine wasn't just stories told to children, but actual reality? Gods, magic, prophecies, and so much more were real. Not only was Primus real, but Optimus had met him personally.
She had never considered herself religious, but thaaat… Well, it made her ask questions, that was for sure. One of the answers she had gotten back, though, just blew her mind again, for it was explained to her that the god of the transformers was himself a creation of The One. There were tiers of the divine, and… well, who was she to worship? Should she worship them? For that matter, did Remnant have a god? Was Remnant alive the way Cybertron was?
To those questions, Optimus had simply said that it was a discussion for another day. Which brought her back around to the main point, unfortunately. That main point was that now that she knew what Optimus had done, could she still trust him?
Yes. The thought barely had time to form before she reaffirmed herself. Optimus had made a mistake, a terrible, horrible mistake, but if she went around condemning people for making a mistake trying to help a friend, it wouldn't be long before she herself was on the gallows.
Besides, she thought with better cheer, now I have proof that's possible for people like Adam to turn their lives around. Better than that, he has proof. I only hope he recognizes it.
But, if Adam could be saved from himself, then… who else could?
Yang shook her head to clear it and finished up her shower. Once she was out and dry, she moved onto the next part of getting ready for her day. Perhaps not as fancy as some of the other members of her team, but necessary.
She went about applying make-up to her face, covering up the dark bags under her eyes from far too many fitful nights' sleep. It was something she'd had to do a lot recently, and she had gotten used to it by now. She had to smile for Ruby and couldn't let her know that all that tossing and turning at night was her big sister battling the demons of her mind.
When she finally came out, she found that little had changed, save for Blake trying to move past her to the bathroom. Weiss and Ruby were still arguing over the particulars of when was the proper time to celebrate being off school, or even if it was appropriate at all. To Yang, it might have been a reason to celebrate, if it wasn't already set to be a working vacation for her.
Two weeks of working with the Autobots and White Fang, this time cleared for multi-day missions, and it all started tonight with a raid on what they suspected was a parking area for the transports they used to covertly ferry energon. It would be a simple task, in and out. Indeed, if she squinted, it could even be considered relaxing.
Weiss continued to prattle on in that voice of hers, interrupting Yang's thoughts. "I'm just saying that maybe we should use this opportunity to get a little... ahead in our studies. You know, be prepared for the next extra credit assignment. Goodness knows you need it, Ruby. Don't think I didn't see your grade on Oobleck's last test."
"Hey, Weiss Queen, knock it off," interjected Yang with a scowl. "It's spring break. It's time to relax."
The heiress whirled on her. "Of all the-!" She jabbed an accusatory finger at the unperturbed blonde. "She is your little sister, Yang. You should be on my side on this matter! How Ruby approaches her studies should be your responsibility!"
"You're right," Yang agreed, nodding sagely.
Weiss blinked in surprise, not noticing the glint of mischief in Yang's eyes. "I am?"
"Yes." Yang nodded again. "Ruby's grades are absolutely my responsibility." She turned to her sister and spoke, her voice gravely serious, "Ruby?"
"Yes, Yang?" Ruby asked in a small voice.
Yang grinned. "Have a wonderful day off."
Ruby cheered, and Weiss sputtered. Yang grinned like the proudest parent in the combat school auditorium. The door rattled with someone asking for a shave and a haircut.
"Coming!" declared Ruby happily.
She ran over to the door and opened it to find the Atlesian girl Penny Polendina standing there.
"Friend Ruby!" the copper-haired girl said with as much cheer and joy as Ruby had just displayed.
"Friend Penny!" mimicked the Valish prodigy.
The two hugged, and Weiss shook her head.
"This is getting out of hand," she lamented. "Now there are two of them."
"Get used to it, Ice Queen," Yang said smugly from beside her.
Before Weiss could turn and let the blonde have a piece of her mind, Penny explained her presence.
"Oh, we had such a great time on Friday, but there's still so much of the city to see, and I want to see it all before break is over," she said in that saccharine voice of hers that just made Yang want to go over and pinch her cheeks. She was just too cute!
The only thing that really stopped her was that, well, it would be a bit rude. The Atlesians might be a bunch of militaristic jackboots who were probably in league with the Decepticons, but that was no reason to be impolite. After all, if the shoe was on the other foot, she probably wouldn't care for some Atlesian pinching her cheeks.
"Why do you have to do that?" asked Ruby. "You're going to be here through the Vytal Festival, right? That's plenty of time to see the sights."
"Yes, well, I'm not sure my team will let me do that once they arrive," said Penny sheepishly.
"What?!" exclaimed Yang walking over to the door, eyes flashing red briefly. "What kind of low-down, no good, stick in the mud teammates wouldn't-"
"It's not like that at all!" Penny insisted, interrupting the blonde brawler. "They're just… suuuper-protective of me. They want to keep me safe."
"Oh," Yang said, her anger - and hair - deflating at that. She frowned. "Why aren't you with your team right now then if they're so protective?"
"Well, I was told to help bring a specialist to Sanus," explained the coppertop with tentative diction, like a child trying their best to carefully show how their willful disobedience was anything but. "And I thought, 'well, Vale's in Sanus, and we're supposed to be at Beacon in a few weeks anyway, so instead of turning around, wouldn't it be better to just... keep on flying?' So that's just what I did, and so here I am."
Yang bravely resisted the urge to facepalm. Weiss was not so strong. The sound of hand against head echoed through the room.
"Well, I'm glad you did," Ruby affirmed with a wholesome smile.
"Thank you, friend," Penny replied with obvious relief.
"So, Penny, what brings you here to this room?" asked Yang cheerfully.
"Oh!" the coppertop realized with surprise. "I never explained that, did I? I was hoping to invite Ruby along with me and Friend Sun for a day of fun and exploration!"
Yang blinked. "You and who now?"
"Dude, what am I going to do?" Sun pleaded from inside the guest dorm Team SSSN had been assigned.
There was a rasping cough and then a hoarse reply: "Dude, you've been invited to spend the whole day with two cute girls. If you can't figure out what to do there, then I don't think I can help you."
Sucking up to the wall just outside the window of Team SSSN's second floor dorm, Yang did her best to stay quiet as she listened in. It wasn't that she didn't like Sun. In fact, from what little she'd seen of the guy, he actually seemed like her type in a lot of ways: free-spirited, impulsive, carefree, willing to just… go with the flow.
They'd probably get along like a house on fire. Possibly literally.
And that… kinda was the problem.
"Come on, Neptune!" admonished Sun. "This is serious. They're… well, first of all, Ruby's like fifteen, and Penny's in the military or something - and… kinda strange - but most importantly, they're not Blake. She's the girl for me, man, and I don't want her seeing this and taking it the wrong way."
Aww, that's sweet, Yang thought, mentally crossing off the idea of asking the monkey faunus out herself.
She might tease, but she drew a line at man-stealing. Not that it looked like she had a chance anyway. More's the pity. That kind of loyalty was especially charming. Still, when she thought about it, Blake and Sun would make a cute couple. On that note, she still had to talk to Pyrrha. Jaune had made it pretty clear the girl would have to make the first move if she wanted to get anywhere with him before graduation.
Of course, if it turned out Blake didn't like Sun… well...
Neptune's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Okay, so they're friends of Blake, right?"
"Right," confirmed Sun. "Well, I think. Ruby's her team leader, and Penny's new in town like us."
"So what you do, then, is you get in good with her friends, and then when they already accept you, they'll encourage Blake to like you too," explained Neptune.
"That's… brilliant!" cheered Sun. "Thanks, Neptune, you're the coolest!"
"But of course, I'm always cool," Neptune said before descending into a raging series of spine-snapping coughs punctuated by the sound of something liquid dropping into a plastic bag.
"Dude, that airship food did not agree with you," lamented Sun.
"I think it gave me death."
Yang had heard enough. Sun didn't have any hormone-driven intentions toward Ruby or Penny, which meant she wouldn't have to upset Beacon's maintenance department again by bursting through the window and confronting him. Nope, she could tell Ruby straight to her face that things were groovy, as Beachcomber would say. Yep, her sister would be plenty pleased... just as soon as she got back to the ground.
It was a cold Monday night in Vale. Spring had come at last, but spring nights were never warm unless they were on the cusp of summer. Besides, they were right next to the gigantic heat sink of the sea.
'Heat sink.' Now that was a heck of a word choice. It felt so contradictory and yet so right on his tongue.
The only issue he was having was that it was taking some effort on the part of his minions to open up the shipping containers and the nearby warehouse. Idiots, all of them. Not a single one of them would ever become a criminal mastermind like him at this rate. Which, Roman Torchwick supposed, was good for business.
"Hey! What's the holdup!?" he called out to the assembled group of White Fang. "We're not exactly the most inconspicuous bunch of thieves at the moment, so why don't you animals try to pick up the pace?"
Suddenly, hinges squealed, and steel clanged against concrete as the sides of several shipping containers nearby dropped open. Spotlights flashed on from within the containers, blinding Roman, and he heard an ear-splittingly loud crack as something impacted the Bullhead he'd just descended from, rocking it sideways and punching a hole clean through its left engine nacelle.
He sighed. Wonderful, he thought sarcastically.
"Weapons on the ground and hands in the air!" an amplified female voice called from somewhere behind the nearest spotlight.
"I'm afraid we can't oblige," he apologized, bringing Melodic Cudgel up and firing at the voice. Though he couldn't see his target past the spotlight, it was child's play to pinpoint where she was based on sound and the shipping container she had to have been hiding in before the ambush had been sprung. Two of the White Fang members next to him also opened fire.
He heard the rounds strike metal, and the spotlight shattered from a stray bullet, revealing who - what - had been hidden in the shadows behind it. It hadn't been a spotlight. It had been a headlight.
The twelve-foot-tall white and yellow mechanical suit - with a long, thin barrel extending from its right forearm and a spectacularly impressive-looking belt-feld snub-nosed "pistol" gripped in its left hand - was definitely a fair bit more than he had anticipated.
"Well played," he admitted casually. "Scatter!" he roared.
Adam tried his best to contain his fury as he walked towards the gathered Bullheads. The Autobots had already gone on ahead, and he would have to get Sunfire to contact them. She was there amongst them, in her full battlesuit and checking on the equipment of the lower ranked members of the Fang like a mother hen.
"All right, people, change of plans!" he called out with a cold, clear voice that drew every set of eyes to him. "There's a battle at the docks, and we're going to reinforce that instead!"
Sunfire bounded up to him and spoke in that distorted voice of hers. "What the heck, Adam? What happened?"
"Roman got in over his head," he explained to the alleged human.
"And we care about this why?" she asked with a sarcastic edge that seemed imitated from a stereotypical teenager.
Adam couldn't help but smile briefly. She had only voiced what he was feeling, after all. "We don't," he agreed, frowning again, "but he's got some of my people with him."
"Then let's not waste a second more," she said resolutely, adjusting something on her battlesuit, and the Autobot emblem on the left side of her chestplate morphed into the slash marks of the White Fang.
He frowned, not sure what to make of it.
"What?" she asked curiously. "You don't approve? This isn't an Autobot mission anymore."
"It's fine," he answered curtly before turning on his heel.
If you didn't enjoy your job, you shouldn't be working. That was the philosophy that Wishbone espoused. And, to be fair, she tended to live by it a fair amount too.
It certainly explained why she was smiling so much as she chased the White Fang reprobates down.
"Ender, keep your team together. Burnscythe, make sure you pin them down for the AK-200s; we want at least a few alive," she barked out through her grin, currently the only part of her body that was visible through her pilot suit.
Everything was going to plan. They'd slaughter a few White Fang, take a few others as prisoners, cart them off to a blacksite, and then, before the last of their auras were extinguished, they'd have a full profile on the operations of Fang in the Vale area. Easy as eating fast food.
There was a click, and suddenly, the voice of one of their robotic sentries came into her ear. "Mistress Wishbone, Skygraspers inbound from the west, unknown IFF, ETA ten seconds."
The dog faunus paused at those words, and her head whipped around towards the ocean. Her mech, a three-year-old Schnee Blackguard-092 from the SDC factories in Mantle, responded with a delay so slight it might as well not have existed. She could see the intruders clearly from her position.
They were coming in over the water, six Skygraspers of a green and grey paint scheme. So close were they to the surface, it rippled and foamed from their passing. In the blink of an eye, though, they were above the warehouses and dropping from beneath their tails a deadly cargo: prototype Atlesian Paladin-290s, green and grey paint barely dry.
"MECH," growled Wishbone, her good mood completely ruined.
She brought her Blackguard's right arm up and aimed the long, thin barrel of her grav-pulse accelerator at one of the Paladins. She pressed the firing stud, and a .56-caliber slug was propelled from the chamber by a series of charged gravity dust rings surrounding the barrel of the weapon. It pierced the air with a tremendous crack.
The Paladin she had been aiming for moved out of the way at the last possible moment, and instead, the round went on to punch clean through the elbow of another. The forelimb flopped uselessly towards the ground, and then, the rest of his fellows reacted. The Skygraspers opened up on her with light rotary autocannons, while the mechs beneath unleashed a fusillade of missiles.
Wishbone was already gone by the time her position was wiped from the face of Remnant.
"All forces, this is Wishbone," she called out over the radio. "MECH has entered the field with six stolen Paladin-290 prototypes and six Skygraspers. Infantry likely inbound. Shift focus, but keep up the pressure on the White Fang when you can."
The three Huntsmen trainees emerged from the movie theater and began the trek back to Beacon Academy. The latest Spruce Willis film - the fourth installment in his star-making series - had been… pretty much what they'd expected, overall, familiar catchphrases and all, with just a few new twists.
"Fun movie," Sun commented. "I like that they introduced his daughter."
"I like that she wasn't just a hostage," Ruby agreed.
"Yeah." Sun nodded. "On the other hand… would it really be that easy to hack into the Atlesian networks?"
"Golly, I hope not!" Penny remarked. "That would be terrible!"
Ruby smiled, thinking back on the day. Exhausting as it had been, she had had a really good time, showing Penny and Sun the sights in Vale.
Sun had been particularly impressed by the seven brightly-painted Bifrost Bridges criss-crossing the rivers of Vale that they'd started the morning with. Even though he was a student at Haven, he was still a native of Vacuo, and the presence of that much water was still a little mind-boggling to him. After that, they'd visited the Vale Museum of Art History, though after some initial curiosity, none of them had found it particularly interesting.
Lunch had been at a riverside coffee shop Weiss had recommended, where they'd spent twenty minutes deciphering the menu.
Penny had seemed particularly moved by their visit to the Great War Memorial. They'd walked under the watchful gaze of the Last King of Vale's statue that stood guard over the entrance, sword and scepter in hand. Ruby had never noticed it before, but the scepter looked an awful lot like Professor Ozpin's cane. Weird.
The memorial itself had been a curious mix of somber and loud, obelisks in a riot of colors spread across a well-manicured lawn sculpted in the shape of Vale and the eastern half of Sanus, each one representing a village lost to the fighting or to the Grimm, each one inscribed with the few names of those who died there that they had actually had records of.
After that somewhat depressing experience, they'd hit the wharf for dinner. Fresh seafood was a signature of Valish cuisine, after all. Even if Blake sometimes took the love of it a bit far.
They'd finished the night off with the Spruce Willis film, and the time spent sitting down had let her recharge. It was either that or a nightclub Yang had teasingly suggested… and Ruby was not going to a nightclub, and she definitely wasn't taking Penny and Sun to one.
A series of loud bangs rolled off in the distance, interrupting her reminiscence of the day, and Ruby's head snapped around to face where it sounded like they were coming from.
"Gunshots," observed Sun tensely.
"They came from the direction of the docks," Penny added helpfully.
"Did everyone bring their weapons?" asked Ruby as she reached back around to feel the boxy collapsed form of Crescent Rose on the small of her back.
"Yeah," confirmed Sun.
"I am combat ready," assured Penny.
"Then let's not waste any more time," Ruby declared resolutely before running off in a burst of rose petals.
"Ruby, wait!" Sun shouted as he reached out for her now distant form. "Blast it. Come on, Penny! Let's back her up before something bad happens."
"Blast," cursed Wishbone as she dove for cover just in time to avoid being hit by a barrage from one of the MECH Skygraspers.
The aircraft had, very wisely, decided not to commit themselves to any fight and instead were zipping this way and that at incredible speeds. Any time one of their Blackguards put their cockpits up, they were harassed and bombarded, and so, they were forced to cede ground. It was a very effective strategy, and probably the best they could have managed under the circumstances.
Still, Wishbone smiled as she fired a slug straight through the cockpit of one of the MECH Paladins, I'm not on Mr. Schnee's short-list for nothing.
She was unleashing a burst from the SMP-4 in her left hand upon some MECH troops, who themselves were firing upon a group of White Fang militants, when she saw a new combatant enter her field of view: red hood, female, armed with a giant scythe, unknown allegiance.
The analysis blitzed through her mind in a split-second, and she reacted on instinct honed by years of experience, raising her mech's right arm, lining up the grav-pulse accelerator mounted to that forearm. A precise squeeze on the firing stud sent a .56 slug speeding toward the new arrival.
Remarkably, instead of exploding into a pink mist, the girl's hands blurred, deflecting the round with her scythe.
She was still sent spinning, but it remained disappointing. Of course, the battle was moving far too fast for her to focus on just one combatant. The battle lines were too muddled and overlapping for her to do anything other than order a group of AK-200s after her and send out a general order to kill her and any friends that showed up.
Inside his command dropship, Silas was surrounded by an array of holographic displays. In front of him, a miniature representation of the battlefield, to the sides, status indicators for the men and machines he had committed to this operation. He frowned as the heartbeat monitor of one of his Paladin pilots flatlined. People were expensive, and mechs even more so. He couldn't afford to lose either, and yet here he was, losing them. All for a dust shipment that they needed to reproduce the SDC's miracle fuel.
"Wishbone," he lamented. "Why must you always be so difficult?"
"Sir!" called out the co-pilot from the cockpit. "That girl who stole the energon cube is back."
"Oh really?" asked Silas with a great deal of interest as he walked into the cockpit. "Show me."
The co-pilot brought up a holograph screen behind his seat in response. It showed the gun camera footage of the .70 rotary autocannon turret beneath the nose. The camera, and thus the weapon, was currently focused on a small girl in a red cloak wielding a large combination scythe and rifle as she exchanged fire with the SDC AK-200s and occasionally one of the Blackguards.
"Hmm, well, now, isn't this interesting?" he wondered aloud. "Has she fought with the White Fang yet?"
"No, sir," the co-pilot replied. "But I don't think she's really run into them yet. Not surprising, what with how chaotic things are down there."
"Let's see if we can change that. Open fire on her and tell our troops on the ground to do the same, but drive her towards the White Fang," ordered Silas. "If she dies, that's one more burr out of our hair. If she lives, we get some good data."
As the co-pilot relayed his orders, the pilot spoke up. "Sir, we've got multiple contacts inbound. They look like Bullheads."
Silas smiled. "Looks like the White Fang's reinforcements have finally arrived. Let's give them space to land, shall we?"
It's just not my night, Roman thought. First the SDC bring their biggest tin soldiers to play, and now those masked weirdos are shooting up the place.
"Err, no offense," he muttered to the White Fang goons sharing the shipping container cover with him.
"What was that?" asked the one closest to him as he ducked back down from firing at someone.
"Never mind," the master thief replied. "Honestly, could tonight get any worse? See, I said it sarcastically, so I should be fine."
The goon had gone back to firing his rifle at another target. Obviously, he had missed the witty line. Typical.
With a sigh of defeat, Roman peeked around his piece of cover and nearly boggled at the sight that greeted him.
"Little Red?!" he realized.
Somehow, someway, that annoying little Huntressette from months ago had found him again. Now she was here, fighting with what looked like… everybody. Sadly expected for this night, but he wasn't about to let himself get on that list, so he took action.
Raising his gun-cane, Melodic Cudgel, he took aim at the distracted Huntress, and fired. A glowing orb of dust flew out with a whistle, and hit the girl square in the back. She attempted to counter and return fire with the rifle part of her weapon, but a few more blasts from Roman's cane sent her to the ground near one of those green guys with a flicker of collapsing aura.
"Yes!" he cheered. Things were looking up.
Then she dropped from the sky.
Yang finished the message to Optimus with a calm she didn't know she was still capable of.
"They're on their way," she relayed to Adam.
The White Fang leader grunted in acknowledgement before speaking. "This shouldn't be too difficult, but things do look pretty hectic out there."
Yang looked out the side of the flying Bullhead to notice several of the dark shapes above the docks that could have been VTOLs pulling back. That was… strange. From the reports, the SDC were winning; why would their dropships pull back? It set alarm bells ringing in her head.
"This could be a trap," she said as she brought herself back in.
"Then we'll be quick about it," reasoned Adam.
Before she could make a reply, a voice called out through the cabin loud enough to be heard over the wind and the engines. "Incoming!"
There was a tremendous boom, and Yang found herself flung to the floor. Two of the White Fang fell out of the door, a third would have dropped to his death, but she reached out and caught his wrist. Then, with a grunt, she pulled him back inside.
She turned and noticed the state the rest of the cabin was in. There was blood everywhere, even with their auras, hot shrapnel had torn into them. Hopefully most would survive. Hopefully.
Others were unconscious. Whether that was because of death or shock, she couldn't tell. One of those who lay unconscious though... was Adam.
Wilt and Blush had been knocked from his hand, and he seemed in rough shape. She stepped over, picking up the sheathed sword as she did so, and checked on him. He was, amazingly, not dead and still very much alive. He might even be able to move about once the lack of consciousness passed.
"Pilot, what's the damage?" she asked over the comm system.
"We're still airworthy, but I don't know how much longer that will last," came the reply.
"Contact the medical transport and let them know we have an emergency: dead and wounded; Adam's among the wounded," she reported in that same unnaturally calm voice she'd used before.
"Adam's down?!" was the pilot's panicked response.
"He's still alive. Keep him that way!" Yang ordered.
"Yes, ma'am!" the pilot replied.
She nodded at the affirmation and then went back to the door to check on what was going on outside. They were over the docks by now, and what she was chaos, complete chaos. There seemed to be a three-way war going on down there, and in the middle of it all…
"Ruby!" she shouted, thankfully without activating comms or speakers.
Her sister was down there, fighting a three-way battle. She was incredible, like her mother reborn. Even on the back foot, she was still giving them all the fight of their lives.
Then, suddenly, her fight became a four-way battle. A dust round hit her back, and then another followed soon after. Her eyes traced back to where they were coming from and locked onto the familiar figure of Roman Torchwick.
Her eyes flashed red with fury, and a protective instinct she could not abate even if she wanted to consumed her utterly. Without a word, she dropped from the Bullhead and fell towards her sister. On the way down, she noticed a masked man in green and grey strike her before pulling back to hit her again, a chance he would never get.
On instinct, she drew forth Wilt form Blush and held it out to strike. She needn't have bothered; gravity did the work for her. The blade came down with her body, and as she hit the concrete, she noticed that the man who had hurt Ruby was on the ground and neatly bisected.
Her sister, Ruby, was looking up at her with bleary, half-focused eyes. She was bleeding; she needed medical attention. Maybe she could get the Fang's medics or Ratchet to look at her…
Another shot came from behind her, and she deflected it with her armor. Instinct took over again. These monsters who hurt her sister must be stopped, no matter the cost.
Ruby tried to stay conscious as best as she could, but she was in a whole new world of pain. Her vision was beating black, and her ears were ringing. Pain exploded from her back again, and she once more became aware of the man striking her with his rifle butt.
Then, suddenly, there was a great thud, like thunder to her hearing, and the man fell to the ground in two pieces. The person that did it stood up, and Ruby felt like she would have had her breath taken away had she breath to spare. The blade of her sword was red - like roses, the errant thought struck her - and glistened wetly. Blood? The woman was clad in a white and red battlesuit that covered her from her feet to her head. Her helmet wasn't just a helmet though, for its front half was covered in a white and red mask that immediately reminded her of a Grimm.
She'd seen that mask before, but where?
Suddenly, someone tried to shoot the masked warrior, but she deflected it with one of the plates on her arm. Then, without saying a word, she was off like a shot. She was dashing everywhere, striking at enemies Ruby couldn't see, but rather than advance or retreat in any direction, she kept coming back.
Then it clicked in the jumbled mess that was her mind. She was protecting her. The masked warrior was making sure no one could harm her even as she lay there.
"Ruby!"
Was that Sun or Penny who had shouted that? She couldn't tell. At any rate, they both appeared near her, and they looked pretty worried.
"You two!" the woman barked in a distorted voice that sounded purposefully scrambled. "Get her out of here. Now!"
"Who the heck are you?" asked Sun.
"Your worst nightmare if you don't get her to a hospital," she growled with a terrifying menace. "Go! I've still got unfinished business with Torchwick."
"Don't worry, ma'am! We've got her!" Penny assured her even as the masked warrior leapt away.
When she did so, Sun and Penny both worked together to get Ruby moving.
"Come on, let's get out of here before that woman paints the docks red with that guy's blood, or any of these crazy people do the same with ours," Sun declared.
Oh, that was scary. Maybe she could rest now?
Yang devoured the distance between her and Torchwick with great bounding strides, sheathing Wilt into Blush as she sprinted. The White Fang members nearby saw her and stopped firing to let her pass. One even displayed some initiative and pointed toward where Torchwick was.
So it was that she came to stop form her sprint next to him. Her fury had been somewhat slaked by the blood she had spilled, and so, she was in a more reasonable mood. She would give the thief a chance to explain himself before she destroyed him.
"Torchwick!" she barked in a harsh demanding tone, he took notice of her. "What the hell were you thinking?!"
"That Little Red has been an irritating thorn in my side for a while," was his flippant response. "If I'd known you had a thing for red and black, I might have tried taking her alive. Maybe."
As he was speaking, Yang could feel blood vessels popping in her body from the sheer unrelenting rage that burned within her. The back of her helmet opened up, and her wroth came alight with a bright shine in the night air. All who saw her now saw their ends made manifest.
"Hey, cool it with the light…"
Yang delivered a straight punch to his jaw that sent the criminal scum flying back into the warehouse behind him. With twin booms from her gauntlets, she boosted in his wake and followed up with an uppercut that sent him into the rafters. Again she fired gravity dust rounds to chase after him, and when they were at the same altitude she struck downward, using Blush like a baseball bat. His reflexes saved him from that impact as he imposed his cane before him, but the blow still sent him into the ground hard enough to shatter the concrete surface.
She didn't stop there. She boosted down and delivered a drop kick that drove him even further into the ground. Standing on him, she reared back her fist to strike him. He raised his cane to block her, and her fist connected but didn't stop.
He coughed as his cane collided with his throat, Yang's fist still attached. She grabbed hold of it and then continued to drive it down. She threw Wilt and Blush to the ground outside the crater and then brought her now freed other hand back around to strike Roman in the head with the bang of discharging buckshot. The recoil brought her arm back again, and once more, she punched him in the skull with a tremendous bang.
She did it twice more, and then his aura collapsed. When the fist came down the next four times, it was without the firing of weapons. Then, suddenly, she stopped.
Yang's breathing began to slow, and her vision began to clear. She looked at her fist, now covered in blood, and then looked at Torchwick. His face was almost completely unrecognizable, and he had stopped moving.
I have to rally the troops, get us out of here. She didn't know where the stray thought had come from, but Yang was glad she had it; it gave her direction.
She stood up and activated her comms set as she walked over to pick up Adam's sword. "This is Sunfire, I need coordinates on the LZ."
"We've set down near the west side. Some of our brothers and sisters are trying to load some of the dust up so this isn't a complete loss," came the reply.
"If any of you sacrifice a single person to carry that stuff, you'll have to answer to me," she told them in a voice that somehow sounded as tired as it did threatening.
"Roger, Sunfire, prioritizing the wounded."
Yang let the comms click off and took stock of the situation. A few of the initial team that had gone with Roman had survived, far too few. They were staring at her now, fear clear.
"Gentlemen," she began, "we are leaving."
"They blocked off the main entrance," complained one. "We can't get out on foot."
"We're not going out on foot," Yang informed them, her voice growing more energetic. "We've got Bullheads landed on the west side; we're getting out that way. Silverbolt and the Aerialbots are on their way, along with the rest of the Autobots. All we have to do is hold out until they arrive."
She stood up straighter. "Now, I'm going to run interference for you. Just focus on getting to the landing zone. Move it!"
Wishbone let out a small grunt of pleasure as her Blackguard's foot came down on a White Fang straggler. Small because it was still a very confusing night. MECH really were making a nuisance of themselves, and a lesser woman wouldn't have been able to keep up with the data of the shifting battle.
"Mistress Wishbone," the recon drone cooed in her ear. "A White Fang paratrooper has inflicted heavy casualties on the unit sent after the interloper."
"Show me," she ordered as she ducked behind the wall of a warehouse.
A holographic image popped up in front of her and to her left, showing an armored figure drop from one of the White Fang Bullheads to bisect an unfortunate MECH trooper who had been assaulting the red girl Wishbone had ordered killed. The figure stood up, and her breath caught in her throat. She was again grateful that no one could see her expressions in her Blackguard.
A memory came unbidden to the very front of her mind. She remembered the smell of burnt flesh, she remembered the blood, she remembered great joy. At that moment though, what Calliope Ferny remembered most was a powerful figure of fear made manifest wielding a red sword and wearing the mask of a Grimm.
"Raven Branwen," she said in cold recognition, willing all emotion to leave her. "Now what are you doing here?"
She paid no attention to the rest of the playback as it showed MECH infantry and Atlesian Knights being slaughtered like cattle. She had bigger things to worry about. Much bigger.
"Casualty check, who's left?"
A rattle of replies came back, and her mind processed them just as fast. Four mechs down, thirty-two AK-200s, and at least one recon drone had been hit. They were taking serious losses, casualties great enough that doctrine dictated that she cede the field.
Things had to change, and fast. Even she couldn't ignore the math or the reality that they were dangerously close to their combat loss grouping. If only…
"Sentries, what's the status of the dust shipment?" she inquired.
"The dust shipment is currently being loaded onto one of the White Fang Bullheads."
She sighed at the cheery robotic report. "Good enough, I suppose."
At that, she took what looked like a disconnected pistol grip from the side of the cockpit. It had several buttons and switches on it, but for this, she only needed three. She flipped up the cover on the top, revealing a steel switch like a pole which she flicked forward; she then pressed the button on the back, and then, finally, pulled the trigger.
The light show let her know about her success before the thunder hit.
Yang raced around to finally reach the landing zone where the main White Fang force waited. Most were loading casualties onto the Bullheads, the medical transport already overloaded, with more than a few whose clothes were stained red. Still, in the background, at least one of the dropships could be seen trying to attach a shipping container to its underside winch.
Adam was also there, lying on the ground, with a medic standing over him. The doctor went and injected something into his neck, and he started to sputter awake. Yang was pretty sure that was unethical, but she didn't say anything.
"My sword," croaked Adam somewhat dumbly. "Where is Wilt and Blush?"
"Here," Yang said as she reached him and, in that same motion, offered him his weapon, which he took rather gingerly. "Kept it safe for you."
"Thank you," Adam said softly even as he tried to get up. He was mostly successful. "We need to get the dust and get out of here."
"How about we just leave instead?" asked Yang, letting her frustration creep into her voice.
Adam shook his head. "Cinder's back in town; we can't just let this one slip through. Where's Torchwick?"
"Dead, probably," replied Yang in an empty tone.
"What?" asked Adam disbelievingly.
It was then that the shipping container slung under the sole flying Bullhead exploded, sending shrapnel everywhere. The airship dropped in a flaming wreck. More blasts rolled through the docks as every container used for that night's shipment of dust went up in fire and thunder.
Yang was on the ground again, and looking around, she saw horror. One of the wounded had been cleaved straight in two by an errant slab of metal; others hadn't faired as poorly but still died. There were just… so many bodies.
Still, enough seemed to survive, and they were all rallying to finish getting the wounded onto the remaining Bullheads. Yang rushed to join them, but stopped next to Adam. It almost looked like he was going to say something.
"To hell with it. Let's just get out of here," he said roughly.
Yang nodded and ran over to help finish getting the wounded into the Bullhead she had arrived in. They would have to leave the dead behind. She hated it, because they deserved better than whatever desecration the SDC would visit upon their bodies, but they just didn't have the space anymore.
As she finished placing her second passenger in the cabin, she rushed over to the cockpit.
"Hey, we're about done out here; why haven't you started the engines?"
"I can't!" the pilot replied, his voice worried and edging toward panic. "The accursed thing won't turn on after I shut it down after landing. I think the ignition got taken out by that missile that almost hit us."
Yang felt that cold seep back into her again. This… this was definitely bad. She had no idea how they were going to get out of this. No idea, save one.
Come on, Bumblebee. I know you guys can make it, she silently prayed.
There was a clap like thunder, five of them really, and likewise, a number of shapes shot over their heads.
"Sunfire, is there anyone alive down there?"
"Air Raid!" she cheered in reply. "We're on the west side, near all the fire and smoke, but we're down two Bullheads. I don't think we have the space to transport them all out of here."
At that, Silverbolt came onto the line. "I have a cargo space on my alt-mode. It should be a little bigger than a Bullhead's cabin, actually. Aerialbots, cover me while I land."
There was that wondrous sound of transformation, and then four of the Aerialbots stood in bot mode on the other side of the small warehouse. There was the sound of Autobot weaponry cutting loose, and Silverbolt flew slowly over the top like some righteous harbinger of hope.
Sure enough, underneath his body was slung something that looked remarkably like a passenger compartment. Adam rallied the troops, and Yang helped him carry the broken and bleeding over to the landing Aerialbot leader. They were going to make it. Somehow, against all odds, they were going to get through the night alive.
Cinder Fall was annoyed.
First, it seemed the White Fang had relocated their bases and altered their contact methods… without informing her. She almost thought it was an attempt to cut ties, but Adam Taurus wasn't that foolish. The news of a White Fang raid on an SDC dust shipment at the docks put paid to that theory anyway; if they were cutting ties, they would have no need for even more dust than they'd already acquired for her.
Second was the result of the aforementioned raid. The explosions and the smoke rising into the sky did not bode well for the success of the operation, nor did the breaking news of Roman Torchwick's arrest. Said explosions and smoke suggested the SDC had brought in reinforcements - not unexpected, but problematic nonetheless - and there had also been reports of another new player on the field. Granted, said explosions and smoke had given her the lead necessary to track her terrorist allies down.
And all of that was setting aside the absurd claims of giant alien robots.
It was clear that things were beginning to spiral out of control, and she simply could not afford that.
"Don't worry," she assured Emerald and Mercury as they strode into the warehouse. "Everything is going according to plan."
Cinder let her eyes adjust to the dimly-lit interior of the warehouse, and she swept her gaze around. Members of the White Fang were spread about, some on watch, others caring for the walking wounded, though it looked like one corner had been blocked off as an infirmary for the more seriously injured. A few vehicles were parked inside as well, for some reason, probably stolen and still "hot." Most of the White Fang gave her team at least a passing glance, but some just watched… as if in anticipation.
A bad sign. It meant they were expecting a confrontation, and everyone she knew who would be present had already submitted to her will.
Her attention was drawn to the fourth member of her team, who had suddenly stiffened and stopped walking. Neo had dropped the black-haired, green-eyed disguise she wore as a student of Haven before they came here, but now, she paled, her eyes going white. Cinder traced her gaze to an unfamiliar figure who was clearly watching them, dressed in an armored battlesuit in white and red, stained further red with blood, with an unusually elaborate Grimm mask that met her own golden eyes with as much soul visible behind them as a real Grimm.
Interesting… There were very few people Neo Politan feared; Cinder was one of them, which put this newcomer in good company.
Still, she needed answers, and sometimes, the direct approach was the best.
"Where's Adam?" she asked the room.
"Who wants to know?" counter-asked the masked figure in a mechanically distorted voice that made it impossible to tell if the stranger was asking casually or trying to sound threatening.
"Cinder Fall," she replied calmly and confidently.
"I see," the armored... woman - yes, she was definitely female - observed with a cock of their helmeted head. "Excuse me for asking, but do you have like chameleon skin or shoot webbing out of your palm or something?"
Cinder idly noted that the woman's chestplate had an elaborate logo on it that looked much like a face before answering. "Oh no, I'm quite human."
She grew still for a moment, and even through the distortion, the shock in her voice was clear. "What?"
"Surprised?" Cinder asked, not even bothering to hide her satisfaction.
"Cinder!" called out Adam as he, like a good little steer, finally came when summoned.
"Adam," Cinder began. "You changed the security procedures and didn't tell me. Why?'
Adam stiffened ever so slightly, almost imperceptibly. He clearly had been dreading this. Good.
"We've discovered a number of security leaks, and we needed to plug them. That necessitated changing bases and codes. Don't worry; we've taken care of it."
"You still haven't explained why you didn't feel the need to inform me," Cinder pressed.
"We've been very busy recently, working with our new allies," Adam explained.
"Oh, and who are they?" asked Cinder.
There was a series of strange mechanical sounds, and various exclamations of surprise from her minions.
"What on Remnant?" cursed Mercury Black.
"Cinder!" called out Emerald Sustrai.
She glanced to the side, and with great effort that never showed, contained her surprise. The tractor-trailer was gone, and in its place stood a robot of the same red, white, and blue color that towered above them all. From him emanated an old and deep power, grander than almost anything she'd felt before. In fact, Cinder had only sensed something similar in one other person before, and she had no other equal on Remnant save one… until now, it seemed.
Ideas percolated in her mind.
Next to him, the other robots which had transformed from airships and cars and trucks looked downright simple and ordinary. Somehow. It certainly wasn't something she had considered thinking that morning.
They all bore that same symbol though, the one the masked woman wore. They were all part of the same faction then? Interesting.
"Now, what have you gotten yourself into, Adam?" she asked in a faux dramatic voice.
"I assure you that you will not be disappointed," said Adam, stepping aside as the big bot walked towards them.
"Too late for that," she muttered just loud enough for Adam to hear as the robot stopped to stand in front of them.
"Greetings, Cinder Fall," the mechanical giant began in a disgustingly heroic voice. "I am Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots. We hail from the planet Cybertron and were traveling in search of allies and resources to help in our ongoing civil war when we were shot down by a warship commanded by our enemies, the Decepticons. Unfortunately, our war has followed us here, and the innocent people of this planet have become caught up in this terrible conflict.
"Even as we mourn the loss of life and seek to prevent further tragedy though, we have found kinship with the White Fang led by young Adam Taurus, for it appears our respective enemies have also allied with each other. The White Fang have helped us when we needed it, and so we in turn have helped them, an alliance that has helped both our people, faunus and Autobot alike. We have heard much of both you and your position, Cinder Fall, and I hope that you will see the benefit of this alliance and seek to continue it."
Cinder's eyes narrowed as she regarded the now named Optimus Prime. He was certainly an imposing figure, even managing to put fear into the hearts of her companions, but she was not so easily intimidated. She would hold her ground against him until he bowed at her feet.
Back near the makeshift infirmary, another of the "Autobots" emerged from it, white and red with a vaguely medical theme. He seemed startled by her presence and turned to talk with the yellow and black one. He really should have spoken more softly.
"Hey, I just stabilized the worst off. Who's the scary lady?"
The yellow one glanced at him and whispered something back, which the white one took as the cue to quiet down.
Another clue to their character that slotted into place neatly. They spoke of grief at the thought of innocents being harmed, of treating even those who would be of no use, and when these were taken with the information that the White Fang had apparently been avoiding civilian casualties lately... well, it was easy to see that, though powerful, the Autobots really were just a bunch of pathetic fools who knew nothing of real strength. Worse, if they knew about the full width and breadth of her plans, they might seek to stop her. She couldn't allow that, so they would have to go until she thought of a more... permanent solution.
Turning her head, Cinder looked to Adam and spoke in a tone that was as dismissive as it was skeptical. "And you believed all this?"
"What?" asked the faunus leader. Whatever he had been prepared for, this hadn't been it. Perfect.
"Oh, Adam…" she lamented before turning to Optimus. "I'm afraid you'll have to leave. This... 'alliance' is over. I don't know you, and so, I can't trust you. I'm sure you understand," she declared, her voice dripping with false sincerity.
Optimus turned his eyes to glance at Adam. "If that is what is desired of us."
Adam quickly looked at the masked woman, who seemed intensely interested in the proceedings, and then refocused on Optimus as he gave his answer: "Yeah, I think it would be best if you clear out."
"WHAT?!" the masked woman shouted at Adam. "You can't be serious."
"Sunfire," said Optimus, and her head spun around to look up at him so fast her neck might have snapped. "If we are not wanted, we shall not stay. That is not our way."
"Sunfire's" fists clenched several times, but in time, she let go. Looking at Adam one last time, she stormed out of the building. The rest of the Autobots went with her with long, thunderous strides.
When they were gone, Cinder turned to Adam with a smile. "Don't worry, Adam. They wouldn't have been able to grant you your dreams anyways. An entire kingdom in flames, and more to come. Don't forget that."
"I won't," he assured her in a tone Cinder had come to recognize as "resolute."
"Good, now get things packed up as fast as you can," she ordered. "With Roman in jail, we'll have to move up our plans for Phase Two."
"Where to?" asked Adam.
Cinder's smile was cold and wicked. "Mountain Glenn."
Yang burst through the door of the hospital room with a cry. "Ruby!"
Inside, Sun and Penny turned to look at her, but she only had eyes for her sister, who lay in the hospital bed. The young Huntress in training's eyes fluttered open, and she gave a weak wave. "Heyyy, Yaaang."
Not wasting a moment, Yang crossed the distance and engulfed her sister as best she could in a hug.
"Ruby! What happened? Are you okay? Where'd you get hurt? What were you even doing out that late? Who hurt you?!"
"Whoa! You're affectionate tonight," Ruby observed somewhat deliriously.
Yang turned her head to look at Sun and Penny. "Why is she acting like this?"
"Painkillers," Penny answered succinctly.
"Oh," Yang realized, and then more gently. "Thanks for calling me."
"You're welcome," Sun replied. "You were the first number in Ruby's scroll, and it felt right to call you first anyway. The rest are on their way."
Yang nodded silently, then turned her focus back on Ruby, who she had still not let go.
"And just where were you tonight, young lady?" the younger sister observed in a non sequitur that echoed her words on that first night so long ago.
Fresh tears began to form in Yang's eyes. "I was busy," she answered with heartbreaking honesty. "I was busy with something, but it's over now. It's all over."
It really was the truth too. She had been about to go anyway before Cinder showed up, staying just long enough to make sure the wounded were properly treated. After that, though, Prime had ordered her to go and protect Ruby just in case someone came after her. That had been a lie, a pure fiction, and they all knew it. What he had actually done was just give her permission to do what she was already going to do: leave it all behind her.
Her body was a roiling mass of disgust, frustration, anger, hurt, and disappointment. At Adam… at herself. She couldn't believe she had wasted so much time thinking that Adam had something other than hate and rage underneath that mask. Her sister, the most precious thing in the universe to her, had been hurt because she wasn't there for her, and she wasn't there for her because she had been away this whole time.
No more. No more would she be off with Bumblebee on scouting missions. No more would she be palling around the White Fang base talking to idiots too stupid to realize they were being led by a coward. No more would she wear that battlesuit and mask. No more would she be...
Yang purged that thought from her head. She couldn't think about that. She couldn't think about any of it anymore, nor could she ever talk about it with anyone. All she could do was give voice to her true desire.
"I'm not going to leave you, Ruby. I'm never going to leave you again."
"Combining the aerial reconnaissance data with the intelligence acquired from the SDC regional headquarters and information brokers on the undernet," Prowl droned on, his voice calm and professional, a grim reminder of his loss so long ago, "I have been able to assemble a significant list of areas within northern Sanus likely to contain Decepticon holdings. Operations can begin immediately, pending logistical constraints."
"Thank you, Prowl," rumbled Optimus, and the black and white security bot nodded before leaving the room. That left the Prime alone with his second in command, and he had a feeling he already knew where the conversation would go next.
"See, what did I tell you?" asked Jazz rhetorically. "We don't need the White Fang. Not anymore."
"Perhaps you're right, old friend," Optimus agreed. "Still… I cannot help but wonder if there was more we could have done for them."
"Pfft!" Jazz waved it off. "Seriously, Optimus? He's a pint-sized Megatron. Ain't no use trying to talk to someone like that."
"Adam was afraid."
"Of course he was. Did you see that lady?" Jazz shook himself. "Oh! Givin' myself the heebie-jeebies just thinking about her. 'Course, I've been afraid too. We've all been scared out of our wits before, but it never stopped us from doing our jobs. Heck, Silverbolt's afraid of heights, and he's the best flyer we got. To those with the will, fear ain't an obstacle, and Adam's got that will. Problem is, he's also got a big ol' chip on his shoulder that tells him to go spread death and chaos.
"I've said it before, and I'll say it again. We never should have allied with them in the first place."
"It was a necessary step," Optimus reminded him. "We would never have acquired the information we have without their aid, and innocent people, like the workers from Site Thirteen, would have suffered for it. You see in Adam Taurus an echo of Megatron; I do too, at least in part. But I've known Megatron for a long time, Jazz, and in all that time, I have never seen him afraid."
"So he's a tiny Starscream, like what Yang thinks his old partner's like," Jazz allowed. "Doesn't change much in the end."
"We're not at the end, Jazz," Optimus Prime said. "This... is only the beginning."
Author's Note 1 (Cyclone):
First of all, props to Cody for writing most of this chapter.
To add onto questions we had about canon from last time… why the heck was there apparently no security at all covering this major dust shipment? Seriously.
Regarding Optimus Prime's backstory we've alluded to… we'll be going into more detail on that later, at a suitably appropriate point in the narrative.
Also, while the Two Brothers are a known tale, they aren't exactly still around to prove it's true, and we have indications that the Rose-Xiao Long household at least pays lip-service to some monotheistic belief: In "The Shining Beacon, Pt. 2," Ruby says "Oh God, it's happening again," and literally the second line after that is Yang saying "Oh my God, you really exploded."
Finally, I had this great mental image for this chapter, but it just didn't work out into the narrative at all, namely the famous cover from "Spider-Man No More!" except featuring Yang walking away from her Sunfire battlesuit. It would either be in the Ark or perhaps walking away from Bumblebee, but neither of those really worked, storywise. Still a cool mental image, though, I think.
Author's Note 2 (Cody MacArthur Fett):
And so ends volume 1, with the breaking of the fellowship.
Debated for a bit whether or not I should tell you readers what exactly was Adam's thought process was during that bit where he tells the Autobots to leave, but I figured that's something that can be left till later within the story itself.