(A/N) Hasn't been too long, right? Regardless here's another chapter!
Before that, though, I haven't plugged the Discord in a while, so here's a link if you're interested: 3jf9w8u
Volume Three
Chapter Two - A Toast To Life
/-\ Embra Autumnos /-\
"So… Ozpin's meeting is in a few hours…"
"Yes, Nora." Ren said.
I just… laid on my bed, not sure what else to do.
"And… the semester starts back up in a few days."
"Yes, Nora."
The girl stayed silent for a few moments… then a minute. With a sigh, I sat up. "…What… were you thinking?"
She hugged herself, looking away. "Well… y'know the noodle stand we always went to on Saturdays?" I nodded. "Well… i- it won't be the same without… without…" She sighed. "But… could we…? Before we get our… our… our…" A tear left her eye. "…replacement…"
That word stung.
We all knew we'd get one – teams of three weren't allowed at Beacon – but… talking about it…
"One last time." Ren said, nodding. "In… his memory."
"I…" I sighed. "…in his memory…" I said, sluggishly getting up and walking to the closet. Even if I wasn't in the mood to dress myself up, I certainly wasn't going out in public wearing a… revealing tank top and shorts that barely covered my bottom. As I rifled through the clothes in my section of the closet, a familiar scent entered my nostrils.
Jaune's scent.
A spark of hope ignited inside me for only a moment… before I realized it was just one of his spare hoodies; the same bunny logo emblazoned on its front. I sighed, grabbing my clothes and stepping out…
…before turning back.
Maybe he could come with us one final time… in a way…
We walked in silence through the streets of the city. It just seemed so… somber, and not just because we were a team of three. The attack had occurred only a week ago, and it was obvious that wasn't enough time to fully recover.
On most streets we walked, the buildings were marred with plasma scoring or bulletholes in their walls. Tarps or boards stretched over the holes where windows used to be, though there were still some inact. Most of the debris was already removed from the street itself, but there were still several burned-out husks of vehicles littered throughout our route; one time, we even saw a pair of Pelicans airlifting the wreck of a large UNSC starfighter out of the ruins of a city block.
Only a few blocks from our destination, a cement truck stood over an opened manhole cover, pouring its contents down underground with VDF soldiers standing guard. We kept on walking, sidestepping a large crater in the center of the sidewalk.
Finally, we arrived at the noodle stand – A Simple Wok. We all sat down, taking… three of the four seats. The shopkeeper glanced at us, taking our orders and getting to work. We ate slowly, and in silence; the only spoken words being a toast to Jaune as we clinked our glasses together.
We didn't stay long after our meals were finished, paying and thanking the shopkeep for a delicious meal. As we walked back along the war-ravaged roads, Ren blinked. "…Mistralian police?" He muttered.
I glanced at him before looking to where he nodded to. Sure enough, a pair of officers in maroon trenchcoats and police hats were walking towards us, an older green-eyed, red-and-wild-haired woman between them. 'Mother.' Pyrrha's memories supplied.
I froze.
Ren glanced between us. "…This is bad."
"Do you think they've-"
"Pyrrha Xanthia Nikos!" The woman shouted.
"…seen us…" I finished. "Never mind…"
The woman ran up to us, hair trailing several feet behind her as the Mistralian Policemen struggled to keep up. "Why in the Brothers' names have you not answered my calls?!"
"U- umm… calls?"
"Yes, calls! Plural!" She shouted, standing uncomfortably close. "I must've called you three dozen times today alone!"
I leaned back slightly. "I- umm… seem to have misplaced my scroll?" I lied, knowing I'd blocked her.
She looked at me like I'd just grown another head before facepalming. "Pyrrha, if you bricked your scroll again with your semblance, just say so…" She said, pulling out her own scroll and typing away at it.
"Umm… what are you doing?" I asked, biting my lip.
"Telling your father and sister that I found you." She said, pocketing the device a moment later. "We have been searching all afternoon!"
I glanced at my teammates, who looked just as lost as I was. "I…" I started. "I appreciate you coming to visit me, but-"
"Ah ah ah! No 'but's, young lady. You." She forcefully poked my shoulder. "have been neglecting us. I mean, really, would it have killed you to send a letter asking for a new scroll?" I opened my mouth to respon- "You know how Calliope gets; she really misses her adorable baby sister."
"U- umm-"
"And what about us? Korragos and I have been worried sick ever since we heard about the invasion!"
"I'm sorry to wo-"
"I mean, look at this place!" She shouted, gesturing to the boarded-up window beside us. "Vale is a backwater; now more than ever!"
Ren clenched his fists. "You don't have a clue what you're talking about."
Her head whipped towards him. "Ex-cuse me? Was I talking to you?"
"Mother, please-"
"And you." She said. "It's obvious this place is a bad influence on my little girl; you're coming home."
I gasped, taking a step back. "You cannot be serious!"
"Afraid so, Miss Nikos." One of the officers said. "We're under direct orders from the Council to bring you back to-"
"Which council?" Ren asked, his eyes dangerously narrow.
"The only one that matters."
I took a deep breath, glancing at Nora and Ren's furious expressions. "We… we just lost our leader." I clenched my fists. "I'm not lea-"
Suddenly, Mother's arm shot out, grabbing my wrist. "I wasn't asking." She growled.
"What's going on here?!" A new voice shouted.
I quickly pulled my wrist free, taking a few steps back as the voice approached. Before either of us could do anything else, a suited man with a tie and holstered pistol stepped between us.
Mother scowled. "Step aside, this is a family matter."
"I'll be the judge of that." He said, pulling out a badge. "Detective Jameson Raspberry, Vale Police Department."
One of the Mistralian officers stepped forward. "I'm afraid this is an interkingdom affair, detective." He said, producing a pamphlet bearing the Mistral seal.
The Detective read it over, frowning before turning to me. "You're Pyrrha Nikos?"
I nodded. "I am."
"And are you accused or convicted of any crimes?"
I blinked. "Umm… no, not to my knowledge."
He hummed, turning back to the officer. "Then this extradition order is worthless." He said, handing it back to the officer.
Mother glared at him. "She is my child, and I am taking her home!"
"She's eighteen!" Nora shouted.
"And a trainee at Beacon!" Ren added.
The Detective hummed. "Both of those individually mean that you, ma'am, no longer have the authority to bring your child home against their will."
Eyes narrowing, the Mistralian officers showed their weapons, still tucked in their holsters. "We're under strict orders to return Pyrrha Nikos to Mistral."
"Don't make this an… incident, Detective." His partner said.
The Detective sighed, cuing the radio on his chest. "Ten-seventy-eight on King's ave between Berry and Salmo-"
The officers drew their weapons, lining up a shot on the detective. While he froze mid-sentence, Nora and Ren leaped forward, disarming the officers. Ren's opponent was unconscious on the sidewalk within a blink, Nora's screaming in pain as she pinned him in a submission hold.
"Code maroon, code maroon!" The Detective shouted into his radio.
"Freeze!" I heard from behind me. Instinctively whipping my head around, I saw four more Mistralian police running towards us, assault rifles drawn. Behind them, a pair of redheads followed, the man standing head and shoulders above the officers.
Without thinking, I charged forward, my aura eating half-a-dozen rounds before I reached the first officer. I grabbed his rifle, chucking it at one of his comrades while my other arm grabbed his collar and forced him into the pavement just hard enough to knock him out, sparks of aura dancing around his body as I let go.
"S- Shit! Officers down!" A voice shouted from beside me.
In a flash, I already was upon them. Less than an eyeblink later and they were both on the ground groaning in pain.
"Pyrrha." A masculine voice said.
My head whipped towards him, my progenitor's memories filling in the blanks. "Father."
He looked at me with narrowed eyes and clenched fists. Yet, there was still a softness in his gaze. "There's nothing either of us can do to stop this. You know your mother always gets her way."
I frowned. "This time… she won't."
He hummed, taking a slow and exaggerated step forward. His punch came in slow motion; just fast enough to convince anyone who wasn't a huntsman that he was actually trying to hurt me. With barely any effort whatsoever, I dodged his 'strike' and lightly kneed him in the ribs.
He winced in faux pain, collapsing to the ground. Before I could even begin to process why he'd let me win, I felt a hand gently grab my shoulder. "We gotta go!" Nora shouted.
Nodding to her, we took off, barely catching sight of the VPD Detective diving into one of the nearby shops. We ducked into an alleyway, flinging a dumpster across the path as we passed it to block any pursuers. Behind us, automatic gunfire erupted, only spurring us forward even faster.
I threw up the hood of Jaune's sweater, whipping out my scroll and speed-dialing Ozpin. He picked up on the second ring. "Miss Nikos, to what do I-"
"We need help!" I shouted.
"Where."
"I- I don't know. We're in an alleyway right now, but-"
"I have your signal, what's chasing you?"
We ducked around a corner, right past a stack of boxes; we collapsed them. "T- The Mistralian police!" I shouted. "They just appeared out of nowhere with my mother and tried to take me away! I- I don't know if there's-"
"I have a contact in the area; go to Byzzie's Bistro and order a Vacuo special with extra wings."
"W- Where is-"
"Take a left and you'll be right behind it." We did so, practically running straight into a fenced-in dining area. "I'll send someone to your location immediately. For now, just do exactly what she tells you." The connection suddenly winked out.
Without a second thought, we hopped the chest-high wooden fence, filing into the back door of the building itself. A bored-looking girl manned the counter, visibly perking up when she noticed us. "Hello there, what can I get ya guys?"
"U- Umm… we'd like a… a umm…"
"A Vacuo special with extra wings." Ren said.
She froze for a moment before tapping the bell on her desk in a very deliberate rhythm. A mouse-eared Faunus came barreling out of one of the side doors, staring down the cashier. "This had better be importa-"
"V- Vacuo special with extra wings!" She shouted, pointing at us.
"Oh." The Faunus said before motioning us forward. "This way, quickly!" She ushered us into her office before pulling a specific book on her shelf. The front panel on her mahogany desk slid open, revealing a ladder. "Get in; if you hear the words 'Jungle Fruit', it's safe to come out. You hear 'Grimmspit', though, don't make a sound. Got it?"
"Y- Yeah." I said, glancing downwards before descending the ladder into a metal room, the only decorations being a pair of couches, a mini-fridge, and a single floor lamp. Nora was right behind me, as was Ren. The second they were both down here, the door above us shut tight.
We waited down there with bated breath, the minutes seeming to tick by one by one by one. By. One. Eventually, the woman called out 'Jungle Fruit' and we ascended the ladder once again. Blake, Weiss, and someone who looked exactly like Ruby – just older, shorter, and with cat ears – were waiting for us, all armed to the teeth.
"I don't know what you guys did, but Ozpin said to escort you to his office." The Ruby clone said. The others each tossed us different hoodies. "Put these on and let's get moving."
"Fine by us." Ren said, throwing his on. Within a minute, we were already moving out.
/-\ Cinder Fall /-\
I turned off the TV, a satisfied smirk on my face as I leaned back.
"All according to plan, I'm guessing?" Mercury asked, still laying on his bed.
"Oh, very much so." I said. "A foreign celebrity fighting her parents and the police in the streets? What more could a girl ask for?"
"A license to punch those Juniper guys in the face." He said, rolling his eyes. "'Oh waaaaah, our leader's dead, what are we gonna do now? Boo hoo…'" He chuckled. "C'mon, get over it already."
"Patience, Mercury." I said. "In due time, I'm sure you'll have the chance."
/-\ Embra Autumnos /-\
Almost an hour later, we stood in front of Ozpin's desk, the news segment on VNN having just finished. I pulled my hood back up, hiding from the others in the room. Beside me, Goodwitch gave a disappointed glare, my eyes looking anywhere but in her direction. Team RWBY was also present – along with the Ruby clone, who turned out to be her and Yang's mother.
Ozpin slowly turned around to face us, his head resting on his hands.
"Do you have any idea what you've caused, Miss Nikos?" Goodwitch asked. "The entire kingdom just saw you attack your parents and several Mistralian police offic-"
"Glynda." Ozpin said. "Don't you think they've been through enough today?"
"But that doesn't change the fact that-"
"The took part in an international incident, yes." He said. "Normally, I would not care who was ultimately responsible for an event such as this, but this particular incident deserves an exception in my opinion."
"Umm… thank you?" I let out.
He hummed. "There is still the matter of how to proceed, however." He glanced at Ren and Nora. "Given your… background, I would forgive you for not knowing the answer to what I am about to ask, but… have you two ever heard the Story of the Seasons?"
They both glanced at each other. "We've… heard of it." Ren said.
"Excellent, that saves me some time explaining it. However, what would you say if I told you it was true?"
I cleared my throat. "I… umm… may have already informed them."
"You… informed them." Goodwitch said, fists clenching. "Despite." She said through clenched teeth. "Our explicit. Orders. Not to do so."
"I- I'm sorry." I lied. "I just… I couldn't lie to them. And Pyrrha trusted them with her life; I knew they would be able to keep it a secret." I sighed. "…One of them even took it to the grave…"
Ozpin sat at his desk, silent as he sipped his drink. His face rigid as stone while he stared unblinkingly forward. "Very well." He said, finally.
I bit my lip. "Not to sound rude, Grandfather, but… what does my, erm… history have to do with our current predicament?"
"It is simply so they are not alarmed when I ask you, Miss Autumnos, how attached you are to the name 'Pyrrha Nikos'."
"Umm… considering I already refer to myself as my other name, not very. Why?"
"Because one of the options available to us – and the best one, in my opinion – is for you to publicly denounce your family for their actions and legally immigrate to Vale under your new name."
I blinked. "That sounds like… a lot of work." I said. "What is the second-best option?"
"For you to stay on campus for the remainder of your education at Beacon." He said. "Neither are ideal solutions, but the first option will have less problems." He sipped at his drink. "Besides, Glynda will handle the paperwork."
The professor in question facepalmed. "Of course I will…"
"That option also makes it much easier to implement your new team name."
My heart sank. "Our… new team name." I sighed. "I… don't like the sound of that."
"Perhaps you may like the name itself better." He said. "R-E-S-N; Team Resolution."
"That's… a shade of blue, right?" I asked, receiving a nod. "It… reminds me of his eyes."
"Fitting." He sipped his drink, tapping a few buttons on his desk. "Your new teammate will be here shortly. We shall not speak of the Maidens in her presence, especially not that you are one of them, Miss Autumnos."
"Understood." I said. "But… who is our new teammate?"
"She is… an interesting person with a very colorful background." He said. "I'm sure you've met her already; if not, you have certainly seen her here. Due to a deal with Miss Rose, however, she now finds herself without a team. I believe that would be to the detriment of us all."
The elevator dinged open and a woman clad in white and blue stepped out, her face hidden by a blood-red mask. She paused for a moment when she saw just how many peoplewere in the room, raising an eyebrow at Ozpin. "You… sent for me, Professor?"
"Indeed I did, Miss Valkea Smith." He said. "Firstly, I would like to announce your transfer from Team RWVB to Team RESN, here."
She blinked. "I… didn't request a transfer, though."
He hummed. "No, though it seems we were a bit hasty at declaring one of Team RWBY's members as killed-in-action. Now that she has returned, you are being reassigned to a team that has… most certainly lost a member."
"Oh-kaaay…" She let out. "When do I move in?"
"By the beginning of next week." He said. "Now that one matter is settled, let us move onto another. Missus Rose? I believe it is your turn to explain."
The cat-eared woman rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I guess it is…" She clapped her hands together. "So! Who wants to learn about the psycho demon lady who leads the Grimm?"
We all just… stared at her, wondering if this was her idea of a jo-
"She's being serious." Yang said. "She uhh… she already told me some of the details when we were still traveling."
She nodded. "Yep! So basically, her name's Salem, she's about as powerful as Ozpin plus the four uhh…" She glanced backwards for a moment, flinching under Goodwitch's glare. "She's about five Ozpins strong. Maybe six or seven."
"And how strong is Ozpin?" Ruby asked, crossing her arms. "I don't remember seeing him fight anyone."
Goodwitch frowned. "He could probably beat everyone in this room simultaneously." She glanced at Ruby. "Probably."
Ozpin shrugged. "An exaggeration, perhaps – there are two former students of mine in addition to a literal super soldier in the room – though it gets the point across." He said, sipping at his drink. "Salem is not someone to be trifled with. Even in the reduced state she's found herself in for the last several eras."
I raised an eyebrow. "…Reduced state?"
He nodded. "Yes. Her and I… did battle, once. The result was that both of us were drained of most of our power and Anima gained what was eventually named Lake Matsu."
"Lake Matsu… that's the largest lake on Remnant!" Ren shouted. "But… that can't be true. It's… it's thousands of years older than the kingdom of Mistral!"
He nodded. "I am, unfortunately, not quite as young as my body would suggest."
Nora's eyes narrowed. "…What… are you?"
"I…?" He sighed. "I… am the culmination of countless men and women who once walked the surface of Remnant." He said. "I bear the curse of the gods for defying them in the past. It is the same curse that Salem herself bears, though hers manifests slightly different than mine."
"He means that if we kill her, she'll stay dead." Summer said.
"Indeed. While my curse is to forever walk the face of this world, hers is to forever wallow in the hatred and spite her actions stemmed from." He sipped his drink once more. "Every time my current body dies – whether by old age, starvation, or battle – my soul is pulled back to the planet, meeting and eventually fully merging with a new host." He sighed. "It is… not easy… on anyone involved."
"And you expect us to believe a word of what you just said?" Valkea asked. "You're talking about the gods as if they were real; hell, you're saying you've literally died and got better." She huffed. "I know bullshit when I see it."
"Umm… Valkea?" Blake started. "He's… telling the truth."
"At least as far we know." Ruby said. "Due to some other – and highly classified – in formation in UNSC possession, we can verify at least part of what he's saying."
Her eyes narrowed. "Which parts?"
"The reincarnation part, specifically. Plus, we've got a satellite in high orbit over the continent of Vrayye; that's where her palace is supposed to be and it's certainly there, alright." She let out a single, sarcastic laugh. "Riiiiight in the middle of a sea of Grimm. Literally. There's an entire lake of black stuff around it."
The masked woman just stared at her, eyes wide. "I…" She let out. "I… don't know what to say…"
"Well, I guess 'welcome to the Ozluminati' would be a pretty good thing for me to say, then." Summer said. "We've got cookies, secret wizards, and people with magical eye lasers."
Goodwitch sighed. "Please stop calling us that…"
/-\ Neopolitan /-\
I sat next to him as he lay on the bed, still unconscious from the operation. I held his hand, just as I had ever since they'd let me in here. Words could not describe how happy I was to hear the pulse of the heart monitor; I… I honestly didn't know what I'd do without him.
Even if the unflinchingly still and robotic guard stood at the door every moment of every day, I wouldn't trade this – him being alive – for anything. As the days crawled by, not much changed in the single-room hospital they kept us in.
The same black-armored soldier brought my meals, escorting one of the same two nurses who changed out Roman's IV bag and gave us both new clothes. Just as always, nothing was visible of the outside world. For all intents and purposes, this plain room was my world. Until two weeks after we'd arrived.
Just as I was beginning to nod off for the night, his body began to stir. Any semblance of fatigue instantly evaporated. My gaze transfixed on him and his rapidly flexing eyelids. Suddenly, he gasped awake. I placed a hand on his shoulder, keeping him pinned to the bed as he looked around.
Finally, he settled on me. "N-" He coughed, voice hoarse. "Neo?"
I nodded, a smile on my face and tears in my eyes. "Ddddddaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-" I broke into a coughing fit, keeling over at the waist and collapsing onto his pristine white bedsheets. When I finally sucked in a ragged breath after the coughing fit subsided, I saw it was stained with thousands of tiny red droplets.
Before I even got up, I felt a hand on my back, softly rubbing circles. "Neo…" He said. "You… know what happens when you try to talk."
I shivered, wiping away the wetness on my lips and looked upon him. [I'm just glad you're awake.] I signed.
"Me too." He said. "So, how long's it been and where are we?"
[A couple weeks, and we're aboard a UNSC ship. A big one.]
He nodded. "Aaaaal-righty then." His eyes flicked behind me. "Hey, is it just me, or does Goldie over there remind you of that Spartan psycho from a while ago?"
[The one from the dust shop?]
"Yeah, that one."
I glanced backward for a moment, still seeing the guard stand as still as humanly possible, his golden visor seeming to stare straight through me. I looked back with a shiver. [From what you told me, yeah.]
"Well, you've had two weeks, whaddaya got?"
I frowned. [Well-]
The door hissed open, drawing both of our gazes. A man in a black trenchcoat strode in, the only distinguishing feature being an odd white and black triangular emblem on his shoulder. He stopped only a few paces in front of the bed, hands clasped behind his back and his expression stony. "Roman Augustus Torchwick." He said, nodding to my companion. "Neopolitan."
Torchwick raised an eyebrow. "Aaaaaaam I supposed to be scared or something?"
"Not particularly."
He clapped his hands together. "Well, Mister Edgy-Triangle-Guy, consider me not scared."
Our 'guest' frowned. "I have a proposition for you."
"Really now?" He smirked. "Do tell."
"I've done a bit of research on you, Mister Torchwick, and I must say, you strike me as a man who desires nothing more than every single Lien on the planet."
Roman shrugged. "Guilty as charged."
He hummed. "So why help a bunch of terrorists blow up Beacon's medical wing?"
My companion tisked. "Gotta stop ya right there, Triangle Guy. No idea what you're talking about."
"We know you were on that ship when it crashed." He said, reaching into his pocket and withdrawing a jar of metal shards. "These were found in your sternum, some of which were… well, let's just sayyou were only a few millimeters from being the subject of an ancient Bon Jovi song." We both gave him very confused looks, but he merely shrugged us off. "Point is, these shards match the composition of the plating the Atlesians use in their ships and you two came from roughly the direction in which that battlecarrier crashed in."
Roman huffed. "Fine, I was on the ship. What of it?"
"I just wanna know why a… businessman such as yourself would do something so terriblefor business."
"And what do I get out of it?"
"Your life." He said, motioning to his giant of a guard, who cracked his knuckles. "But… I also have more to offer, should you be willing to enter into a… ehem… partnership."
His jaw clenched, eyes narrowing. I gave him a worried look, knowing that he actually felt threatened. "I'm… listening."
/-\ Ilia Amitola /-\
I leaned against the cold brick wall of a dilapidated building, trying to look as nonchalant and inconspicuous as possible while the patrol of Atlesian Knights walked past. When their metal footsteps finally receded into the distance, I turned on my heel, broken glass crunching beneath my boots as I walked deeper into the alley.
"Remember!" A feminine computerized voice said over a loudspeaker. "All Faunus are to be remain inside their designated dwellings until summoned for their shift! Thank you for your cooperation!"
I rolled my eyes, stopping next to a dumpster where one other dark-clothed figure stood. I lowered my hood. "Any tails, Yuma?"
The Bat Faunus shook his head. "No, you?"
"Had a close call with some clankers a few blocks back, but I lost 'em." I said. "We still on time?"
He nodded. "Right on schedule."
"Then follow me." I said.
We continued deeper down the pitch-black alley. Occasionally, we'd pass through an abandoned campsite, Atlesian-style clothing scattered throughout. Sometimes, there'd even be moldy food still left on whatever the former occupants used as a table before they were abducted.
The last campsite we came to, however, was occupied. A rather short and lean lamb-eared Faunus looked up at us with her glowing emerald eyes. Hand sneaking towards the weapon that laid beside her, she raised an eyebrow.
"Are you Fiona?"
She frowned. "Who's asking?"
I nodded. "Ilia Amitola; White Fang."
Pausing for a moment, her hand retreated to her lap. "So you're our contacts." She held her hand against the wall, the bricks disappearing instantly to reveal a small doorway. "Go on, they're waiting for you inside."
"Thank you." I said, getting on my hands and knees before crawling through the tiny tunnel. On the other side, several people – almost all of them Human – gave us a strange look before going back to what they were doing; mostly maintaining weapons.
We crossed the creaky wooden floor of the armory in silence, stopping at the only door with a guard station at it. The blue-haired woman, after questioning us with a surprisingly deep voice, let us through. Inside, two people hunched over a map, both silent in their contemplation.
I immediately recognized the leader by her platinum blonde hair – Robyn Hill. The other, though, surprised me. What was a UNSC Trooper doing here?
They both gazed towards us. "Helping out some people who need a hand." He said, leaning on his helmet.
"Oh, was that out loud?" I asked.
"Yeah." He said, offering a hand. "Corporal Adam Parks, ODST special maneuver unit 'Bullfrogs'."
I shook his hand. "Ilia Amitola." I said. "I… don't really have a special title." He shrugged. "So, does this mean we've got the UNSC on our side?"
"Unfortunately not." He said, whacking his helmet. "This thing's transmitter is fried and your tech doesn't work with ours. I'm afraid I'll be the only support you can count on." He chuckled. "At least I've got a jetpack."
Robyn cleared her throat. "Not that I don't think introductions aren't important, but if we're gonna free Mantle, we've got some planning to do."
I nodded. "Now that's a cause I can get behind." I said, eager to finally do something after literal months of skulking around the city…
/-\ Glynda Goodwitch /-\
I slammed a bunch of papers onto Ozpin's desk. "There." I said. "The complete immigration and name change paperwork for one Miss Embra Autumnos."
He nodded. "Excellent; I'll call her up to sign them." He said, going back to tapping away at his computer.
I crossed my arms. "You know, I still disagree with filling in that spy. The first thing she will do is inform her masters."
He hummed. "Indeed she will."
I blinked. "You… wanted her to do that?"
Sipping at his drink, he nodded. "These are unprecedented times. Pacifying the White Fang has become necessary with the Covenant invasion, though force may not yet be required."
"And how else do you propose we-"
His scroll started buzzing. With a smirk, he showed it was a call from Sienna Khan herself. "A common enemy is generally a good place to start."
/-\ Random Old Lady /-\
I absentmindedly flipped through channels on the TV, only pausing a moment on each one to see what was on. I was only at about channel five hundred when the news station changed to a shot of a petrified Deathstalker.
I nearly dropped the remote when I saw that texture on a Grimm… I'd done it myself many, many times. Barely registering the reporter talk about how a huntress with an extremely powerful semblance did this, my head swam with ideas.
'What if they don't know?' I thought. 'I lost my eyes to that Crocodile Faunus… what if her master sends an assailant towards whoever did this?'
A small part of my mind tried to reason that they'd probably be ready for an attack like that if they could handle a Deathstalker, but… what if it was a fluke? What if my fellow Warrior wasn't even a huntress, despite what the news said. What if the Deathstalker broke through and some random civilian with silver eyes just happened to get scared out of their mind?
Plausible; understandable, even.
They would need to be warned what was going to happen to them. I had the foresight to keep my powers hidden and I was still attacked; they don't have that luxury. Another part of me knew that my home kingdom of Mistral had closed their borders.
Huffing, I got up and slowly walked towards the place where I kept my old huntressing gear. Something as small as that didn't keep me from doing what I wanted while I was in my prime, maybe it was time to have one last adventure.
…if only so someone else can avoid my fate…
(A/N) It seems that Summer's actions during the Battle of Vale have attracted some attention; some good, but, well, who can guarantee that the enemy hasn't watched that same segment? Speaking of the enemy, a stranded ODST helping innies? Things are getting weird.
Speaking of weird, this chapter almost went down a whole other direction. At first, I had Embra out herself accidentally during her fight with the cops. That led to several dominos falling into place that meant Ozzy suggested to have Aurora change Embra's face so she wouldn't be recognizable. Man, I dunno what kind of shit was in the air when I came up with that, but it must've been good…
Oh, and Pyrrha's middle name means 'blonde' in Greek. I thought that'd fit her canon depiction. Also, there's finally a shred of the alternate Ozzy/Salem backstory I've been talking about for a while now, so that's cool.
Anyways, onto the reviews!
C313st14 said – "Can't the humans just gut the ships in space and the covenant ships for armor weapons and energy shields for their new space vessels?
Also, will Ruby get an upgrade to her armor using the covenant tech against them?
And what about setting fire with napalm to the sewers to make the smoke flush the jackals out?"
Armor, maybe, but I doubt something as delicate as shield generators survived the battle without significant damage.
I wouldn't quite say she's gonna get an upgrade, but she'll at least get it back (finally).
That could work, but I doubt the citizenry would appreciate someone lighting fires under their feet. Plus, there's probably enough holes in the system (small ones, at least) to draw in fresh oxygen to replace the stuff that was burned up.
Joeyginise said – "Well then, that was a nice interlude after all that Horror. Is Cutter the highest ranked UNSC officer currently on Remnant?
Those corvettes are smaller than frigates, aren't they... Well shit."
Cutter is, indeed, the highest ranking UNSC officer on Remnant. Officially, there's like nothing known about Mako-class corvettes (only the names of two plus the fact that some innies got a hold of some a while back), but for comparison, Gladius-class heavy corvettes are just over 220m in length. Yeah, they're smol by Halo standards.
Guest002 said – "I take it that Pyrrha is well and truly "dead" with Jaune's death, so that Embra isn't in any more emotional pain!?"
Yeah, Pyrrha is, indeed, dead. Embra and the team have begun their road to recovery, but, well, it's a long one.
Guest003 said – "Well this is interesting
Well good jobs the spirits here
That ship with enough resources managed to hold an effective offense against the banished while half crewed and old
Also glad ruby getting her armor fixed I seriously doubt red team hasn't rigged something up
Also is remant contained in some sort slip space anomaly or something
Seriously I would be remiss if the infinity showed up next
But honestly this fic is awesome and can't wait to see more"
Glad you like it! Remnant is actually contained in a completely separate universe; one that might be familiar to a lot of people who hate slow elevators…
Guest004 said – "When did Summer ride an ODST Pod!?"
In the sidestory "A Summer's Harvest". Iirc, it's in chapter 1 of that story.
Guest005 said – "Are "War Factories" Halo canon!? If so, what classes of ship were equipped with them (aside from the retro-fitted Phoenix Class Colony Ship/Assault Carrier)!?
Will the Spirit of Fire be dropping some Firebases around Beacon and Vale, cause those would go A LONG ways towards reassuring people (and Ironwood would be drooling a waterfall at the concept of a FOB being deployed and up & running within a day)!? Will Penny eventually get a UNSC miniature Fusion Reactor installed like the ones used in Spartan Armor (surely some Engineers were rescued ALIVE from the captured Battlecruiser that could easily pull it off)!? Will Aurora be able to extend Serina's Lifespan!? Will we get to see Maria Caldevera (the blind, formerly silver eyed woman) or is she unnecessary since Summer is here!? Shame that you killed off Piettro"
The war factories are, indeed, canon. The only ship that I 100% know has them are the Phoenix-class ships, though. I've got plans for Penny and Serina (though the latter's only been active for ~3 years due to her being unplugged for most of the slipspace journey). As for Maria, well, congrats on guessing it a chapter early.
That's all for the reviews! Stick around for "Back In The Saddle", the next chapter!
