It took many minutes—minutes Ciel had scheduled for, but which still felt like sand slipping between her fingers—to convince WBY that she knew what she was asking for and why it had to happen like this. Ruby was quiet throughout.
Ciel knew it was temporary. She knew Ruby was just working up the nerve to ask the question.
That didn't make it any easier when the moment came.
"Well," sniffed Weiss, "I suppose I see the logic in this approach."
"We've charged into battle with less of a plan before," Yang said in a voice that was supposed to be cavalier but didn't have the gusto.
"…why me?"
Ruby looked smaller than before. It struck Ciel that she looked so young. Surely girls that young weren't allowed into the Academies… right?
"I want to help, I want to do good, but… this seems like a big ask. You said the whole plan hinges on me. And I'm… I'm just a normal girl with normal knees."
'Normal' my ass, Ciel started to say, but she clenched her mouth shut just in time. Ciel had seen Ruby do things no one would ever think to try, let alone accomplish. She'd seen Ruby rally her peers in the face of tragedy by sheer force of conviction. She'd seen Ruby be exceptional. And she couldn't say any of that because it hadn't happened.
"Well, there's one other thing you have that no one else has," Ciel said. "You have Penny's unconditional trust."
Those silver eyes went wide.
Weiss' blue ones narrowed. "You're saying you don't? Aren't you her teammate?"
Ciel recognized this as a test. Weiss was using Ciel's trust status with her teammates as a proxy for whether Weiss would trust her—which was a wild measuring stick for a Schnee to use. What made it worse was there was no way to pass the test.
"I don't have a team," Ciel said. Her voice cracked over the short sentence and faded to nothing near the end.
Team RWBY stared at her.
She felt the Headmaster's voice prodding her. Extend trust to earn trust. Okay, then. Swan it was.
"Can I sit?" she asked.
Weiss gestured sharply at a chair behind Ciel. It was a good way to buy time as Ciel tried to gather her thoughts. "I had a team at first," she said. "But not a full team. The Academies do their admissions to set up teams of four, but a lot of things have to go right for that to stick. In my class, we had someone flunk out during initiation. He was with us during insertion, and then just… froze up. Curled up into a ball and wouldn't move, no matter how many grimm came after him. Eventually the faculty had to intervene and pull him out or we'd still be there trying to protect him. Well, that's part of what initiation is for, to wash out people who can't hack it, and it washed out a guy who would have been my teammate.
"So our year was all teams of four, except for my team, which had three. Then, first semester, one of the other teams had someone drop out—some sort of family emergency, I never got all the details—and the powers-that-be decided, Hey, our team was already under-strength, just pull one of its members to fill out the other and keep it at four. Now mine was a team of two, just me and my partner, Swan."
She was talking at the carpet, she knew. There was no way she could meet anyone's eyes. She'd never discussed Swan with anyone. She'd hoped she'd never have to. Funny how things worked.
"We got along alright," Ciel said. "For a while, anyway. We were both really anxious all the time. It leaked into everything else, a little more each day. He would freak out over the smallest things. I was always self-conscious about my weak Aura and lack of semblance. After a while living together with both of us on edge constantly, we started to grind against each other.
"We were still partners, we still fought back-to-back a lot, and we still relied on each other. It was just... hard."
She swallowed. This was the part she'd sworn she'd take to her grave.
"One day, during a training exercise... he violated a safety boundary. We were hunting Sabyrs, and he went way outside our assigned area, leaving me high and dry. Our brief had told us, 'No matter what, don't go outside the boundary'. Battleship guns couldn't cover there, we'd be on dangerous ground with no support. But he went, and I... I couldn't. It worked, he got some kills, but that just made me angrier.
"When it was all over and we were back at our base camp for debriefing, I gave him a piece of my mind. That's when our instructor showed up and overheard my ranting. He asked me straight-up if Swan had busted the boundary. Swan denied it, and that made me so angry that I... I just blurted out that he had.
"It all happened so fast."
Her hands were clenched so tightly her knuckles had gone white.
"What I didn't know was that Swan was on academic probation. He was good with weapons- better than me- but he was failing his classes. He was one slip-up from expulsion. Me saying that in front of our instructor... that was the last straw. They reviewed his tracking data, confirmed he'd been out of position, and told him to pack his bags.
"I never saw him again."
She took a deep, steadying breath.
"I was left as a 'team' of one. Atlas Academy told me I'd done a good job, helping to enforce the rules and all that. I received a commendation for "services rendered". The commendation didn't say what service I'd done, but everyone in my year knew. It put up walls between me and everyone else. I probably wouldn't have socialized with them much anyway, but after Swan, it wasn't even an option.
"I've been on my own for over a year now. And every few nights, I think about Swan, and I wonder how it all went wrong.
"Because I didn't save him. I could have, but I didn't, because we didn't trust each other enough. If I'd known about his probation, if I'd known he was struggling, if I'd held my temper... if I just… had another chance…"
The room lapsed into silence as her words ran out. This was as far as she'd ever gotten when she thought of it in her head. Even as she tried to wrangle new words, she didn't dare look up. Their eyes would have made it impossible.
"I don't really… people well. I've never had something like what you all have, and I wouldn't know what to do with it if I did. When I first got the Penny assignment, that's all the thought I gave it: it was an assignment. Now… everything's changed."
She forced herself to look up, to try and meet those silver eyes. "You and Penny have a bond. I see it. I've never had anything like it. I failed at building that with Swan, I didn't bother building it with Penny, but I can still recognize it and value it. To me, it's miraculous. It's something I can't imagine for myself, and that makes it even more precious. That's why I gave Penny your scroll number. I want to nurture that bond and help it grow. It's the right thing to do.
"I can't do that if Penny dies. I'm far too weak to save her on my own. I squandered my chance—I don't have her trust. But you do."
Ciel had run out of words. Her brain was wrung dry. If this didn't work, she didn't know what she'd do—other than die and try again. Withering beneath RWBY's collective gaze, she glanced around, trying to assess their reactions.
Ruby was shaking slightly. Weiss' expression was intense but inscrutable. Blake was sitting curled-up, except for one hand. Yang's matching hand rested atop Blake's, even as the blonde's eyes were puffy again.
"So…" Yang said with a sniff, "your big plan to get us on your side… was to tell us about the time you squealed on a teammate?" She cocked a tortured grin. "You really don't know how to people."
"I am aware," said Ciel in exasperation. She matched Yang's grin with a wry one of her own. "And I get how weird it is for some total stranger to just come in and spill her guts on you. I swear I'm trying. I will learn."
"Trust is hard," Blake said quietly.
"It's really hard for me," said Ciel. "But I'll put my trust in all of you, if it means saving Penny."
"Well, I'm in," said Ruby, trying to compose herself. "For Penny."
"For Penny," Blake echoed.
"I don't even like Penny," said Weiss.
Four sets of eyes burned in on her.
"…but I'm in anyway," she said, recovering badly.
The levity died when Yang realized it was her turn. "I'm out," she said. "I'm not allowed to go anywhere until the investigation's over, remember?"
"I'll find something for you to do," said Ciel.
Fragile hope appeared in Yang's eyes. "Really? Even when your general just said I'm stuck?"
"Trust me, the next twelve hours will change his mind," Ciel said grimly. "I'll… contact you when I figure out how you can help."
The corner of Yang's mouth twitched. "And here I thought all Atlesians had a stick up their ass."
"I'm sitting right here, you know," Weiss pouted.
"And you're making my point for me."
"Hey!"
Ciel, to her surprise, smiled. It felt good. She wished the loops would let her do it more.
Maybe if she just stayed with Team RWBY she would.
Later. They all had jobs to do. As Blake and Weiss made to leave, Ruby grabbed her scroll, and all of Ciel's attention went to the call.
Huntsmen's weapons came in every shape, size, and configuration. The great majority of them were also guns, or at least had some ranged component. They greatly varied in their ability to employ Dust rounds: some could use one or two kinds, rarer models built with more care (and expense) could use a variety.
Basic propellant rounds, though? Those were universal, and came in a surprisingly limited number of calibers. While Huntsmen weapons writ large were fantastically varied, the gun components of those weapons were far more standardized.
It was a necessary result of the Huntsman trade. Huntsmen needed to be able to procure their own ammunition. The most remote villages didn't have formal armories, but they did usually have a Dustsmith that could make ammunition, assuming they had the right molds and materials. It thus behooved Huntsmen to stick with a smaller number of standard calibers to increase the odds that they could find ammunition in the darker corners of the world.
Ciel distantly remembered that lesson from her days in combat school, back when she was designing Metronome. Back when she couldn't wait to find a place where she could be part of something larger, where she didn't have to worry about doing anything but what she was told… a job where she didn't have to people, or at least where peopling was easier.
So much for that idea. Regardless, what the lesson meant for her today was that she could load up a rocket locker with extra rounds of whatever caliber and be confident someone could use them.
She couldn't do magazines—Metronome might use run-of-the-mill pistol rounds, but most pistols didn't use anything like the drums that fed Metronome. Still, people could load their own magazines if they had the bullets to put into them.
This fight would last a while, Ciel knew, and she didn't want anyone hesitating to shoot for fear they'd run low on ammo. It was the same logic she'd used for herself, once upon a time, just expanded. Greater than herself.
She liked that thought.
This rocket locker would be an armory for the students in the courtyard. They wouldn't be able to get to Beacon's actual armory when the battle began, so this would serve in its place.
"I like where your head's at."
Ciel yelped and fumbled the box in her hands. She was able to keep a grip on it, but only just. Looking up, she saw Nora Valkyrie standing nearby with an unsettling smile on her face.
"Beg your pardon?" said Ciel.
"I'm all about being ready for bad stuff to happen," said Nora, stepping forward. "Packing extra ammo makes a lot of sense to me. You know Coco Adel? She's got two lockers carrying nothing but extra rounds."
"I can imagine," Ciel said. The image of Coco's minigun and its gluttonous ammo usage was bright in her mind's eye.
"I try to do that myself," Nora went on, displaying a box of grenades. "It's tough when I have to make my own ammo. I blew a lot in the semifinals, and now I've gotta replace it all."
"I bet," said Ciel. She distantly remembered that Nora's grenades, though a standard caliber, exploded pink, which didn't match any standard Dust. She probably used a mixture of her own devising. She wasn't sure whether that was more impressive or worrisome.
Shaking away the distraction, Ciel put the last ammunition box in the locker atop the pile of other boxes her peers would need.
"Aaaaand now you overloaded it."
Ciel blinked. "I did what?"
"These things can only carry so much stuff," Nora said. She shut the locker's door enough that she could reach the keypad on its front and pushed a few buttons.
"Weight limit exceeded," chirped a digital voice from the keypad.
Ciel sighed. "Great."
"Don't sweat it," said Nora. "Just put a few of those boxes in my locker."
Ciel was seriously wishing she'd had this conversation before, because she had no idea where Nora was coming from. "Thanks?" she tried. "Why should I?"
"Wellll…" Nora said, looking at Ciel with a keen expression on her face, "you've got a few different types of ammo in here, so it's not just for you. You've been here a few weeks, but you're only now stocking up, which means you only just found out about something. And you're scheduled to go home in a week or so, but you're still doing this, and that means you're either trying to steal a lot of ammo or something big is going down, like, right now."
Ciel could do nothing but stare.
Nora grinned like a fiend. "I'm good with it either way, I just need to know which, because if it's the one thing, I'm gonna have to grab my hammer and nail you to the floor, and if it's the other thing, I soooo want in."
These Beacon teams. What was it with RWBY and JNPR and finding trouble?
Ciel made a snap decision. What was the worst Nora would do, not believe her? "I'm here on Headmaster Ozpin's orders. An attack on Beacon is coming tonight. I'm trying to get ready. This locker will be an ammo dump for our peers."
Nora processed this for a few seconds.
"That… sounds… amazing!"
"Really?" said Ciel.
"Are you kidding? I've always wanted to be part of a conspiracy! Team RWBY hogged the last conspiracy, I was sooo jealous, especially when I found out they'd involved Sun and Neptune and not JNPR. We're their sister team, come on! How could they cut us out like that? Those jerks! Well, they're not cutting me outta this one!"
"You believe me, just like that?" said Ciel, feeling like her footing had vanished from beneath her.
Nora leaned in and squinted. "Are you saying there's a reason I shouldn't, eh?"
"N-no," Ciel stammered. "Not at all."
Nora gave her the side-eye. "How do I know Professor Ozpin sent you?"
Ciel shook. Ozpin had given her a key for Team RWBY, but she had none for JNPR. "Uh..." she stammered trying to buy time.
Nora waved her hand in a circle.
She remembered, in a rush, Ozpin calling Pyrrha out of the battle just by showing up. There was the shared history: there was no way that interaction would work if Ozpin hadn't briefed Pyrrha beforehand on what he expected, where he might take her.
But the rest of JNPR hadn't known where she was going, so they weren't in on it...
Taking care to speak deliberately, Ciel said, "Because the headmaster has shown a particular interest in Pyrrha before."
Nora frowned. "He did call her up to his office after our Doubles match. She said it was just to congratulate her on making the Finals..."
"If it was just for that, he would have invited you, too," said Ciel. "But compartmentalization is key to conspiracies, isn't it? Well, the situation has changed, and I'm bringing you in."
Nora's eyes lit up with excitement. "Perfect! So, where do we start?"
Ciel couldn't make up her mind whether Nora was super-perceptive or extra gullible. Still… if she was offering to help…
"One of the enemy's targets is the dormitories. They want to attack us early, before we can get out of the dormitories and get our weapons to fight back."
"Well, you've got two options, then," said Nora. "One is you harden up the dormitories so the students can hold 'em like fortresses until help arrives."
"Without their weapons?" Ciel said skeptically.
"Plenty of Huntsmen rock hand-to-hand," Nora said, but she seemed to reconsider as Ciel watched. "Nah, there's plenty who suck at it, too."
"What's your second thought?" Ciel said, starting to regret this line of questioning.
Her regret grew at the dangerous look in Nora's eyes. "You blow open a new exit to the dorms so that we can evacuate faster than the bad guys can get inside."
Ciel sagged. "You were just looking for reasons to blow things up, weren't you?"
"Not just, but that was a bonus," Nora admitted. "Honestly, having only one reason to do something is boring."
If Ciel had to guess, she was not the first person to have second thoughts about asking Nora's help with something. Still, Nora was involved now, and she didn't seem the type to be bought off with vague (insincere) promises about future involvement.
"Okay," Ciel said slowly. "The deal is, it needs to be ready to go off at 1810 sharp tonight, no one can know about it in advance, and you need to be done early, because you still have to attend the fight at Amity like you're planning or you'll be missed. Think you can do all that?"
Nora nearly cackled. "Give me ninety minutes."
"Are you serious?"
"I already designed it in my head. I came up with my plan for this months ago. Now I just have to build it. It'll be a snap. Hell, I'll still have time to hit the Festival with my team after lunch!"
Ciel slowly backed away. "Well, you'd better… um… get to it, then. 1810 sharp detonation time."
Nora gave a salute, grabbed back two of her grenades, closed her locker, and headed for the door. And Ciel found herself almost wishing Nora's plan wouldn't work, so she would never have to have this conversation again.
It was time for Ciel to commit the ultimate party foul.
She knew, by reputation and personal experience, that alcohol flowed freely in the dorms associated with the Vytal Tournament. Most of the event-goers, and particularly members of teams that had been eliminated, saw the last days of the Festival as an opportunity for wanton debauchery. She witnessed that every evening as she returned to her dorm room.
Ciel couldn't afford for anyone to be slow or sluggish in responding to the upcoming attack. That meant the booze had to go.
There was a particular refrigerator, in one of the common rooms, that was the unofficial-official North Dorm booze fridge. If anyone asked (and Ciel had), then the booze within was for upperclassmen only. In reality, it operated on a silent barter system. A tin inside was the depository for lien chits, and the tin didn't ask anyone how old they were.
Ciel opened the fridge's door and was amazed. Even knowing what role the fridge served, the sheer variety and quantity of alcohol inside was staggering. It would take forever for her to empty the fridge a case at a time, and she was sure to be caught.
In that case, time for plan B. Ciel opened the common room window. Flexing her Aura, she picked up the entire refrigerator.
The whole fridge got chucked out the window, its door coming open as it fell.
Just to be sure, Ciel waited to hear the calamitous crash as the fridge and its contents hit the ground. A vaguely familiar voice responded with, "Oh, come on!" in the seconds after impact. That was enough for her. She slammed the window shut and ran for it.
It seemed like a much sillier plan in hindsight than it had at first blush.
Among other things, Ciel hadn't thought about how angry people would be about all their booze getting trashed. She was putting a lot of work into reducing the negative emotions people felt, but the shouting in the dorm was so loud, vehement, and vicious she was amazed it didn't summon the Wyvern right then and there.
Still, she'd accept people being upset if it saved their lives. There was nothing too silly for her to try at this point. Not with time and chances running out.
Great. She'd been mostly successful at not thinking about that. Now she was dwelling on it again.
There was a famous story in Atlas—so famous she'd read it once herself to know what the fuss was about. The story's narrator was tied up on a rope bridge over a deep chasm. A single candle was lit on one end of the bridge, steadily burning through the coils of rope that held the bridge in place. The narrator could only watch, helplessly, as the coils snapped one by one, loosening the bridge, until…
…she actually hadn't finished "The Chasm and the Candle". She'd stopped there, and deeply questioned why anyone would write things like that. They must have been wrong in the head. Setting aside the very real possibility of attracting grimm with so much negativity, inducing horror in people was a questionable goal in Ciel's eyes.
Despite that reaction—or maybe because of it—the image had stayed with Ciel all this time. It returned to her, now, as she thought about her state. So little time left, and certain death looming at the end…
In, tick, tick, tick, out, tick, tick, tick.
Move forward, move forward, have to fix things so it doesn't end like that…
When Ciel's scroll rang unexpectedly, she answered it with mixed franticness and relief. It hadn't even finished its first ring.
It was Blake, transmitting audio only. "We did a sweep of Beacon's perimeter. I wasn't able to go too deep, but most of the defenses seem fine."
"Most?"
"One of the ammo lines was damaged on the southernmost anti-air gun near the cliffs. It would only be able to fire a few rounds before either jamming the gun or coming apart."
"That makes sense," Ciel said. The White Fang attack, she was fairly sure, hit Beacon shortly after the first wave of grimm. The few rounds the gun could fire would go into the grimm, and then the weapon would be disabled, leaving a gap for the White Fang's Bullheads.
"Does it?" asked Blake.
"Is that a normal White Fang sabotage method?" Ciel asked.
"Y-yes," said Blake. "Sort of."
Weiss' voice chimed in. "You also said it could have been normal operational wear. And the fact that no other defenses were compromised means this could still be innocent."
"The airbase is the next place to check," Ciel said, hopefully before Weiss' protests could gain traction. "The Headmaster says he's cleared your credentials to let you in, and you can look for sabotage there. You have to be out of there by 1800."
"…Blake, could I have your scroll for a moment?"
"Uh… sure."
"Miss Soleil," said Weiss haughtily, the change in background noise indicating that she'd left speakerphone mode. "You may have the trust of my teammates, but my teammates give their trust freely. Too freely. I don't know you, and I certainly don't trust you. I am entirely too familiar with how Atlesian high society operates to be comfortable with this situation."
"I wish there was something I could do to earn that trust," Ciel said, "but we just don't have the time."
"No time, yes, how very convenient. I'm not interested in your excuses," she said, cutting off Ciel before she could speak. "And I am willing to follow my team leader for now. Just understand one thing. If this turns out to be a wild goose chase? If we're being set up in any way, shape, form, or fashion? If any harm at all comes to my teammates because of this? You have no idea how thoroughly and comprehensively I will destroy you."
"I think I have a pretty good idea, actually."
"Hm. Just so we understand each other."
The line went dead.
Ciel let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding.
She was Atlesian, born and bred. Though she was as far from 'high society' as any Mantleborn, she absorbed by osmosis many of its attitudes. One of those attitudes was a healthy respect (i.e. fear) for the Schnee snowflake and everything under its aegis.
Everyone knew not to try and break into the Dust industry in Atlas or Mantle. It didn't matter if you tried the mining side, the retail side, or anywhere in between: if you stuck your nose into the Dust industry, Jacques Schnee would lop it off and keep it in a vault somewhere. Then he'd sue you just for spite. He jealously hoarded all aspects of the Dust industry, and further hoarded the power and influence that came with it.
Weiss obviously had different values. If she cared even half as much as Jacques did about money and sway, she would be in a boardroom or a university somewhere, not a Huntsman Academy. Even so, Ciel had to laugh as she realized the great similarity between Weiss and Jacques.
Weiss was just as much of a hoarder as her father. The difference was that Weiss hoarded teammates.
Yes, Ciel knew very well how potent and sincere Weiss' threat was.
Beacon photographer Faunus.
As they boarded the airship to Amity, Ciel exchanged knowing glances with Ruby, who was… not doing so well at having to sit on secrets. She was vibrating in place so much Ciel thought she'd shake the whole airship.
Ruby's nerves were making Ciel nervous by sympathy. At least it wouldn't last long. They would separate when Ciel went to escort Penny on her way. Oh, good grief—Ciel knew Penny to be as transparent as Ruby. If Ruby was this anxious, then Penny would be bursting at the seams.
Her fears were confirmed when she approached Penny's Manta. The girl was extra-stiff as she stepped onto the Amity concourse. "Salutations," she said in a choked voice.
Great, now Ciel needed to be encouraging. She didn't know how to do that. Her strength was in tasks and schedules, not this fuzzy stuff. Who did she know who was any good at that?
She heard a commotion starting up behind her. "I'm sorry, miss," said a gruff adult voice that sounded anything but sorry, "I can't let you through here."
"I just want to see my friend!" insisted Ruby Rose.
Oh.
Ciel didn't need to see Penny's face to know it was lighting up like the dawn. Ciel turned around to see an Atlesian soldier barring Ruby from approaching Penny.
And Ciel knew- the universe was telling her- that she didn't have to be good at encouraging people. She didn't have to be good at the fuzzy stuff. She just had to clear the way for the people who were.
"Let her through," she said to the soldier, surprising both of them. "I'll vouch for her."
"I'm sorry, ma'am, but you're just a trainee," the soldier said with only a hint of sneer. "This cordon is my assignment."
"And Penny is my assignment," Ciel replied. "If anything untoward happens, I'm the one who'll burn. I'll take my chances."
The soldier's expression was concealed by the standard Atlas helmet, but he turned to open the way. Ruby rushed for Penny; Ciel stepped back, out of their lines of sight, and, as far as those two were concerned, out of existence.
"I am nervous about this plan," said Penny quietly, in a voice totally in synch with her words.
"I know," said Ruby, "I am too." She grasped Penny's hands in hers.
It was such an easy, casual gesture. Ciel could see how readily it had come to Ruby, and how Penny allowed it gladly. Yet the way both of their faces changed when it happened sent a shock through Ciel. She suddenly felt like a voyeur. This was something intimate, something not meant for her to see.
"But you know what makes me more nervous?" Ruby asked.
"What?" said Penny, her trademark curiosity tainted by fear.
"The idea of losing you," said Ruby, rubbing her thumbs over Penny's palms. Penny stiffened at that, then sniffed. Ciel knew there was meaning there she wasn't privy too. Her feeling of intrusion intensified.
"I cannot say I like the idea either," Penny said.
"Which is why we won't let it happen," Ruby replied in a voice full of steel. "We'll do what we need to do, and we'll beat this. Right?"
"Right," said Penny with a firm nod.
Ruby smiled. "Don't forget, you're my bio… bio... tumescent? Bio…"
"Bioluminescent," Penny corrected gently.
"That's the one. You're my biolum… you light up my life," Ruby said, letting the word win.
Penny giggled. "You are a bioluminescent bug to me, as well."
Ruby let go of Penny's hands and clapped her on the shoulder. "You can do this. I know you can. Go get 'em, girl!"
Penny saluted with a smile. "I'm…"
"Combat ready," they said together, and laughed.
"Yeah," said Ruby. "I've heard. Good luck!"
And she walked away, her cape fluttering behind her.
It was enough to make Ciel wonder if she and Ruby were the same species. Swallowing thickly, she glanced at her watch. "We need to get going," she said to Penny.
Penny snapped to, and there was no tentativeness to her any longer. "Affirmative."
Any doubts Ciel had about this part of the plan melted away.
Or so she thought. She was happy there were no laws against having wrong opinions. She'd never get out of jail.
As Penny and Pyrrha were inevitably selected and inevitably took their places in the arena, Ciel found herself writhing on the inside. Penny had her instructions, sure, but how would she follow them? They'd asked her to do something very difficult.
She had to lose without making it obvious she was trying to. She had to suffer an injury bad enough to prompt Cinder to launch her attack, but not bad enough to threaten Penny's life. And she had to do it all without Pyrrha's cooperation, which meant trying to anticipate and coopt the greatest tournament fighter since Mars Dekalb.
No wonder Penny and Ruby were so nervous.
The match began.
Ciel noted right away that Penny was being more passive than her norm. Floating Array specialized in zone control: it was a multi-range, multi-vector weapon that could pin enemies in place and put them on the defensive from anywhere Penny had line of sight. When Penny didn't promptly send her daggers out, but rather kept them close by her and spinning protectively, Ciel knew the gynoid was out of her comfort zone.
Pyrrha sensed Penny's shakiness, started to charge—then pulled up. Her eyes flicked about and she brought her shield forward, huddling behind it uncertainly.
Ciel could feel the plan unraveling.
Pyrrha was a professional gladiatrix. She'd doubtless studied her potential opponents, just as Penny had done simulations against her. Pyrrha surely recognized Penny was changing her style, and that made her wary. She suspected a trap.
No, no, no, Ciel needed them to fight, to be more active…
Pyrrha started to creep forward, closing the range cagily, staying light on her feet and avoiding commitment.
Professor Port's bombastic voice came over the arena speakers. "Our fighters are feeling each other out. They're showing each other a great deal of professional respect!"
Ciel's skin crawled. But they couldn't wait, couldn't let this continue, every minute the fight went on was another minute the enemy might use to mislead them, to set their traps…
Penny must have come to a similar conclusion, because without warning she swept her daggers forward, probing Pyrrha's defenses. Pyrrha warded them off with leaps, tumbles, weapon strikes, and shield blocks—a defensive performance well within the capabilities of the Invincible Girl.
This was better, but they had to go further, a stalemate like this could last all night, Penny had to find the spot to take her fall…
Ciel forced herself to swallow, forced herself to breathe. In, tick, tick, tick, out, tick, tick, tick.
The two fighters continued to poke and prod, throwing only light attacks at each other and prioritizing defense. Both of their Auras were holding strong, but time was slipping away…
No, no, no—time wasn't the crucial metric, Ciel realized. In a rush, she saw what she hadn't before. Time didn't count. Aura did.
If the enemy's goal was to ensure a disaster, guarantee a kill, they wouldn't make their move on a schedule, necessarily. They would need to wait until both fighters had worn their Auras down some, so that the illusion-induced attack would break what was left.
Wait… no, that wasn't the whole truth either. The White Fang attack on the Bullhead base couldn't depend on the course of the fight. For the timing of the attack to work they needed to have at least a rough schedule, a be-ready-by-then time…
Ciel's scroll buzzed. She yelped in surprise, grabbed it with uncertain fingers.
Blake.
Oh no.
"Where are you?" Ciel asked.
"Still at the airbase," Blake said breathlessly—over the sound of gunfire.
No, no, they were supposed to be gone by now, she'd given them a deadline for a reason!
"The base was sabotaged," Blake said. "I was trying to fix some of it, but I got carried away and now the White Fang is here, they're here now and it's—Weiss, look out!"
No, no, no…
"It's Adam!" shrieked Blake. "Adam's here, it's Adam, he's—"
"Traitor!"
A gunshot sound hit Ciel's ear, so loud she thought it was next to her in the stands.
The line went dead.
The scroll almost tumbled from Ciel's fingertips. Why'd they stay? She'd told them to be gone by 1800, she'd told them the attack was coming, and if the attack was strong enough to threaten Beacon what could Blake and Weiss do to stop it by themselves…
They were dead, Ciel realized with strangling certainty.
Her brain was too muddled, too full of panic to think about why and how and what, but she knew it. She'd broken her promise to Weiss after all. She'd led them to their deaths. Her fault, just as surely as Penny dying from her negligence was her fault.
Shame consumed her. No matter what happened with the rest of this loop, Ciel was determined she would not survive it. She'd make sure of it.
"Oh my—"
A horn blared. Ciel looked up.
Penny was impaled.
Pyrrha's arm was extended in full thrust, with the point of her spear having gone through Penny's abdomen and out the other side.
Clearly full of shock, Pyrrha let go of her spear and backed away, horror etched on her face. Penny slumped to her knees. As one, the crowd cried out.
"This was not a tragedy," began Cinder Fall over every speaker and scroll.
As Ciel looked, though, Penny extracted the spear and offered it back to Pyrrha. Pyrrha shook her head frantically, wanting no part of it. Penny shrugged, set it to her side, and made to stand.
There was no blood, as expected. There was some green fluid, but not much. Mostly, though, there was a hole, and obviously mechanical parts around its edges.
Penny wasn't able to stand, and made pouting motions about it—but she was very clearly not dead.
The crowd's despair, shock, and panic lessened somewhat. Ciel was a connoisseur of it by now, and it felt different, lesser. There was more confusion in the mix, and that didn't bite as deep.
"Who do you think you can trust?" Cinder finished tauntingly.
This was it. Ciel braced herself for the moment of truth. This was it…
"Alert: incoming grimm attack. Threat level: Eight."
Eight!
Eight was bad, but the Kingdoms had seen and survived Eights. Eight wasn't the end-of-civilization danger that Nine represented.
The changes were working.
The Nevermore still came, still interrupted the General's plea for calm, still crashed through towards the arena floor and menaced Penny and Pyrrha. It almost surprised Ciel. She thought her elation might mask a few people's negativity.
It took her a moment to get back on track, to realize that Penny wasn't physically able to defend herself and Pyrrha was still too shook to wield her weapons—
A blur of red.
The Nevermore screeched in pain.
Ruby tore the dagger out of the Nevermore's body and touched down between it and her friends. "Leave them alone!" she screamed.
Them. Not 'her', 'them'. What a welcome change. And Ruby's insane bravery would never change.
Then Ciel's scroll was in her hand and her rocket locker was on its way. It was one of the first in the hail that buried the Nevermore, and in moments the other students, following Ruby's example, had crushed the grimm.
This was good, Ciel thought as she retrieved Metronome and her extra drums. This was progress.
Progress that came at the expense of Blake and Weiss…
She bit her lip, hard. No, they weren't dead. They would be okay. Ciel would die first.
She looked up. It seemed as if Yatsuhashi, of Team CFVY, had volunteered to carry Penny. Pyrrha was busily apologizing to Penny, but then Jaune was returning her weapons to her, and Ruby was gesturing.
Pointing the way for her peers, just like always.
They went. Ciel gladly followed.
"…some rapscallion tried to take over one of my ships. We were forced to shoot it down."
Onto the shuttle, every student able to fight and Penny, too. Ciel followed, steeling herself for the next big deviation, the next big change to try and win this.
The shuttle pulled away from Amity. Ciel walked towards the front of the shuttle, where Penny was telling Ruby, "I did not expect it to be so difficult to lose on purpose." Ciel set her scroll to projector mode so that all the students could see it, and displayed the map of Beacon that she'd spent her afternoon making.
"We've got grimm and White Fang to deal with, and the White Fang is prioritizing our dorms," she said. She didn't dare look back at the other students; she knew she'd lose her nerve if she did. Her fingers flicked at her scroll; the dormitory buildings lit up. "We need to establish a perimeter at the cliffs, then get to the dorms and link up with the other…"
"'Scuse me, but who died and left you in charge?" Flynt's voice, of course. And Flynt knew about Swan, which meant the odds of him going along with her plan were less than zero.
"I'm not in charge," Ciel said, her voice failing. "But I'm the only one with a plan, I think. If you have a better idea, let's hear it."
"Let her speak," Penny said from the floor beside Yatsuhashi. "She knows what she's doing."
"Y'all will forgive me if I don't take the robo-girl seriously, right?" said Flynt.
"I won't," growled Ruby, shooting Flynt a look as hot and sharp as Cinder's swords.
"Look at the map," Ciel yelled hurriedly, "and take your teams to the right areas. Stay together, and stay on comms! Everyone set your scrolls to listen to this channel and I'll spot for you!"
Some of the team leaders looked mutinous, but others, especially Ruby and Jaune, looked closely. "Wait," said Ruby, "where's the rest of my team? Where are Blake and Weiss? I lost my scroll up at Amity…"
Ciel's insides turned to ice. She was spared having to speak the unbearable. "Coming in hot!" called back the pilot.
"Stay with Ren and Nora," Ciel told Ruby as she killed the projector and looked to the shuttle hatch.
Once more…
Ciel was last out of the shuttle. She called down her ammo dump of a locker near the drop point, hefted Metronome, and ran for it. In those first, confused moments as the best teams entered the battle, she managed to get almost the whole way across the courtyard to the Emerald Tower without notice.
Almost.
An Ursa roared at her and charged from her left front. She slowed to a walk to limber Metronome and dumped bullets into it, but it was old and strong and thickly armored, it was pushing through the fusillade and closing range to her—
-when a barrage of fire from further left dumped it on its side, already dissipating.
No time to think about it; she dashed on, into the Emerald Tower, across the lobby, towards the elevators. Then up, up, up, to the top floor...
Ozpin's office, with its all-seeing glass windows, was an ideal vantage point. Ozpin was working furiously at his desk and speaking urgently on his scroll; she left him to it, because, as agreed, she had her own fish to fry. She knelt where she could see the main part of the courtyard battle, checked the time, and grabbed her scroll. "Wave of Creep from the north, FNKI, that's you."
Flynt didn't deign acknowledge, but after a few seconds Ciel could see the unmistakable rainbow glow of Neon changing vector for the north. It would do. Which meant next was… yes, she could see it. "White Fang Bullhead in the far south, CFVY, take it."
The furious glare of Coco's minigun was answered by a burst of flame from the Bullhead. It dropped back beneath the cliff.
"SSSN, we have a moment, push forward to the North Dorm."
For a moment, she thought they'd already done just that. Then she comprehended what she was seeing. Nora's plan had worked better than she'd dreamed. Whatever she'd done, it had blasted open much of the dorm's wall, but the dorm's insides were still protected: the students there had called in a whole thicket of lockers. They didn't just have their weapons, they'd formed an impromptu barricade and firing position. Steady gunfire from that position was holding that side of the courtyard. Now, with Team SSSN bridging the gap to link the positions, they had a chance to solidify their hold on the north end. Progress.
Ciel lost herself in the flow of the battle. Everything was read, react, call out, track, repeat…
The students' lines held firm, were filled out with reinforcements, wavered under the next avalanche of grimm, stabilized, pushed forward some…
The Wyvern's arrival shook them and its newly-spawned grimm made the lines quake, but they held, their safe zone stayed safe. The Wyvern did another circle, dropping even more essence of grimm, before the sky was set alight by main battery fire from the battleships. Roaring in fury, the Wyvern broke off to engage the battleships, leaving the students to contend with an amount of grimm they could actually withstand. What a novel concept.
"I think it's time I retrieve Miss Nikos," Ozpin said, and he left. Ciel paid him little mind. Her head was too full.
Read, react, call out, track…
Her eyes were pulled up and away by distant fire. One of the battleships was dropping, breaking apart, flame spilling from it; the other was still maneuvering against the nimble shadow, weapons fire splitting the night. Ciel felt despair overcoming her again. Even with these changes, was the Wyvern still too much? Was it still unbeatable?
She tried to refocus, tried to pull her attention back to the battle, and only just noticed the next threat. "King Taijitu, south... ABRN."
Read, react, call out, track...
A Paladin entered the fray from the southeast, putting Ciel's brain on tilt. That couldn't be right, weren't the Paladins all piloted by AKs? Weren't the AKs out of commission?
It was painted white, with red markings. Ciel couldn't discern the shape of the markings, but she could guess. White Fang. Not an AK pilot, then…
The Paladin's weapons blazed to life. A student- a member of Team ABRN—one of Ciel's peers—vanished in a fireball. Ciel felt her insides clench, but there was no time for feels. "Paladin, southeast… JNPR," she called.
"Hello? We can't take that, not without Jaune and Pyrrha! They disappeared!" was Nora's reply. Stupid stupid stupid, Ciel should have known that...
"And I'm still missing half my team," Ruby added on. "Where are Weiss and Blake?"
Ciel froze. She knew she needed to pass off the Paladin to the next team, get reinforcements for Ruby and -N-R, but she couldn't look away from the sight of the Paladin advancing, firing as it came. She couldn't look at her map to see who was supposed to be next. She didn't know what came after, she'd never seen this, how could she do more? Couldn't…
There was a boom beneath her that shook the whole tower.
That had to be bad. There shouldn't be any enemies inside the Emerald Tower, except for…
Cinder Fall. Who had followed Ozpin—and Pyrrha and Jaune—into that subbasement. When had that happened? How had Ciel missed her?
No, that couldn't be right. Ciel could see the Paladin stop in its tracks, could see its arms being pulled off by unseen forces, and there, standing near it in an attitude of fury, was Pyrrha, Jaune beside her and covering her back. If they were there…
There was another boom, louder this time, loud enough that Ciel felt it in her feet.
…did that mean Ozpin was fighting Cinder alone?
A whooshing sound was growing. From behind Ciel, or maybe beneath her… maybe both? Louder and louder, harsher and harsher, like the scream of an approaching rocket—
The elevator doors exploded with so much force Ciel was knocked from her feet.
The whooshing noise cut off as Ciel gathered her wits. Striding into the room from the direction of the elevator was Cinder Fall, her gait as regal, imperious, and cruel as any goddess of winter. False flames burned around both her eyes.
She scoffed in disdain as she noticed Ciel. "An Atlesian, trying to hold onto her power by pretending nothing's wrong. How typical."
And, even knowing how monstrous this woman was, knowing how contemptuously she'd killed Ciel in previous loops, knowing what it meant that Ozpin and Cinder had fought and only Cinder had walked away—even knowing all of that, Ciel raised Metronome, by sheer reflex if nothing else.
It didn't matter. Cinder's hand flicked forwards first, and a gout of flame rushed from it, with enough force that it threw Ciel back, into and through the Tower's windows.
Ciel screamed in pain, a scream that was lost in the wind as she plummeted, the flames still dancing around her body having consumed her entire Aura in moments and left her vulnerable flesh to be seared and scorched, and Ciel was struck by the bizarre sight of those giant gears going away from her when—
Crunch
Bright!
Ciel staggered in place, grabbing hard against something under her hands and only just avoiding a nasty fall.
Steady. Steady. In, tick, tick, tick, out, tick, tick, tick.
Better.
She opened her eyes.
Penny, whole and intact, was fighting off the drones meant to imitate Pyrrha.
Ciel almost sobbed in relief. Weiss and Blake weren't dead. She had another chance. She could do better. She could do it right.
Things were turning, she could feel it. Things were changing at last. They could turn out okay. If she had to endure Cinder Fall's sadism a dozen times more to make sure these precious people came out of it alright, she could. And she would.
Except, she remembered in a rush of panic, she didn't have a dozen loops left.
Her pulse quickened.
Next time: A Problem of Optimization
