Yang felt a whirlwind of emotions as the familiar, bulbous, balloon-like Titan rose over the horizon, along with the white and yellow tower that was tethered to the creature's underside and floating on the surface of the Cloud Sea.
"We're home…" she muttered as she zipped up her jacket. The blond descended the ladder from the crow's nest and into the bridge of her houseboat, dashed over to the control panel, and pushed the PA Button.
"Ruby! Ember! Time to disengage the thrusters so Bumblebee can slow down!" she announced, "Dad will kill me if I crash into the pier again!"
The blond man sipped his coffee as he glanced out his window, a turtle-like Titan gliding over the sea of clouds, decelerating as it glided across the surface of the Cloud Sea. But it was the cottage-like boat built on its rocky shell that brought a smile to his face.
"I take it the salvager is back?" the man's visitor asked from his seat on the other side of his desk.
The man sighed, before turning back to face his guest.
"General, my daughter has a name," he stated as he walked back to his chair and took a seat at his desk.
"My apologies, Mr. Xiao Long," the General replied, "But if you could summon her hear so we can start…"
"After, she's conducted her own business," Mr. Xiao Long insisted, "I'm not just going to spring this on her."
"With all due respect, time is of the essence," the General stated as he rose from his seat, "We don't have a second to waste! Nor can we give our enemies time to attack!"
"Your enemies, General," Mr. Xiao Long stated as he rotated his chair to turn his back to the General and look at the painting on the back of the wall, "Enemies I'm still not convinced are actually real! With how you treat Solitas, it wouldn't surprise me if that cargo-titan only sank because you bled the poor thing dry!"
"I assure you Taiyang, Evernight is very real," the General replied, "And it's only a matter of time before they target this guild. And who is going to save you when that happens?"
"Ah it's good to be-" Ruby's foot landed on empty air as she stepped off Yang's houseboat, "WOAH!"
Puff.
Ember poked her head out over the threshold at the cloud Ruby had fallen into.
"We haven't put down the gangplank yet," she pointed out.
Puff.
Ruby breached the surface of the Cloud Sea to glare at Ember.
"What?"
Ruby wordlessly turned away and swam under the dock towards the ramp on the other side. The silver-eyed girl ascended the ramp, leaving a trail of Cloud Sea fluff as she walked onto the docks.
"Erm, Ms. Rose," one of the dockworkers spoke up, "You're kinda making a bit of a mess."
"Don't worry," Ruby remarked as the wisps of cloud rolled through the gaps in the planks, "The clouds clean themselves up as long as they've got an easy path back to the Cloud Sea." The silver-eyed girl flashed a smile. "It's almost like they have a mind of their own!"
"… R-really?" the dockworker questioned
"Relax, the Clouds aren't actually alive!" Ruby replied, "It's more of a… Magnetic pull or something to do with the ether charge." She sighed. "Oh how did Dad explain it, again?"
"So anyway," the dockworker remarked, changing the subject, "We got some new clients while you were out."
"Really?" Ruby questioned.
The dockworker pointed behind Ruby, and she glanced over her shoulder to see a Menagerite vessel on the back of a koi-like Titan, the White Fang's insignia painted onto its hull.
"Huh, we haven't gotten a lot of work from them since the change in their Valean leadership," Ruby remarked, "What was his name again, Adel Toronto?"
"Adam Taurus," the dockworker answered, "I don't know much 'bout him outside of what Tukson's said."
"Ruby! We're ready to go when you are!" Yang shouted.
"Okay Yang!" Ruby called back, "Sorry, but I gotta get my haul to my workshop!" She dashed away, loosening the few remaining wisps of cloud on her clothes and sending them seeping to the ground..
"Try not to blow anything up this time!"
.
"Okay so, I've locked up my houseboat," Yang remarked as she and Ember stood by the sealed up crate (now on a cart), "Is your workshop still on the ground floor?"
"Yep!" Ruby replied, "The workshop connects my apartment to the Salvage Deck, and with the White Fang in the market, it'll probably be quicker to go around the outside."
"Huh, it's been awhile since I've heard anything about them," Yang remarked.
"Hey, we ran into them back in Patch, remember?" Ember chimed in, "That weird guy with the chainsaw mistook me for a Tirkin!"
"… Oh yeah," Yang remarked, "Kinda weird, considering that you've got a face where their beak would go."
"There's also the glowing Core Crystal in my chest and the ether lines on my skin," Ember chimed in, "You'd think a Blades' Rights activist would be better at recognizing Blades!"
Yang and Ruby chuckled.
"So, Rubes, how do you want to go about hauling this to your workshop?" Yang asked.
"… If you could get behind and push, Ember and I should be able to pull it just fine," Ruby answered as she detached her anchor shot from her arm and handed it over to Ember, "Can I trust you not to burn through the line again?"
"That was one time!" Ember squealed as Yang giggled.
The Ruby and Ember pulled the cart, the former with a rope over her shoulder, the latter facing the cart and tugging on a tether as she walked backwards, and Yang pushing the cart from behind. The trio hauled the cart past the Salvage Deck as an ancient machine was lifted up from the Cloud Sea, Hermit Krabbles dropping off of the machine to skitter across the deck, forcing the security team to mobilize against the grade-schooler-sized crustaceans. Ruby glanced at the fight and, confident that the situation was under control, took her keys out of her pocket, unlocked the door to her apartment, and pulled it open.
Ruby's workshop was organized and yet at the same time not. The curtains were closed over all of her windows, with roof-mounted lamps bathing the room in an orange glow. On the right side of the room from the Salvage Deck entrance was a storage closet, the walls were all lined various crates of machine parts, and the left wall had a tool rack mounted on it. Beneath that tool rack was a workbench, its contents covered with a tarp.
"Okay!" Ruby started as she dumped the salvage she didn't need into a bag, "I'm going to go and put the finishing touches on Crescent's body. Can I trust you two to fix up my combat scythe and set up a testing dummy while I do that?"
"Of course!" Yang replied, "C'mon Ember!"
.
The testing dummy was cobbled together out of scrap metal and armor, with Ruby's hodge-podge combat scythe gripped in its rusted hands, the "cutting part" carefully reattached by Yang and Ember.
Crescent, meanwhile, was much more carefully assembled. She was primarily red with black highlights, a black cape was draped over her shoulders, and her head was similar to a mechanical skull.
"Uh… Ruby…" Yang started.
"I know, she needs a proper face," Ruby interrupted as she tinkered with Crescent Rose's right arm, "I still need to find the right material, but we can worry about cosmetics as soon as we can the ether flow working properly."
"So uh… What now?" Ember questioned.
"I suggest you two find some cover, just in case," Ruby replied as she finished tightening a bolt, "If anything goes wrong, you do not want to be in the line of fire."
Yang and Ember dashed away from the testing dummy and overturned a table to hide behind.
"Ready when you are!" Ember shouted.
Ruby ducked behind Crescent Rose and under her creation's cape.
"Okay, so if I just flick this switch right here…"
Crescent's eyes lit up as she lifted her right arm, glowing ether particles gathering around the palm, and then-
KRATHOOM!
The recoil ripped the right arm out of its socket as the ether blast smashed the testing dummy to pieces, embedding the "Cutting Part" of Ruby's scythe into Yang's and Ember's overturned table.
"… Oh not again…" Ruby groaned as Crescent Rose deactivated.
"Was… Was that supposed to be an ether strand?" Yang asked as she peaked over her table.
"Yep," Ruby answered as she picked up Crescent's arm to inspect the damage.
"Uh… What do you think it is Yang and I do, exactly?" Ember asked as she hopped up.
"Not that," Ruby replied as she placed Crescent's arm back on her workbench, "You two go ahead and help yourself to whatever you think Bumblebee would like for the houseboat."
"Are you sure?" Yang asked, "This is your livelihood.
"You guys did help me get it here," Ruby stated as she walked over to pull the "Cutting part" out of the table, "It's only fair that I repay you two. And besides, I don't think Dad would let me starve."
Driver and Blade stood in awkward silence as the salvager busied herself with reattaching Crescent's arm.
"… Bumblebee has wanted us to fix up the boiler," Ember pointed out.
"… Okay fine," Yang replied with a sigh, "Just… Remember our offer still stands. We installed that salvaging crane for a reason!"
Ruby shook her head.
"I don't want to impose," she replied, "That wouldn't be fair to you. But enough about that!" She motioned to the salvage. "Just take whatever you want and I'll sell the rest!"
Yang and Ember sighed.
"Okay, I've held you two up for long enough," Ruby remarked as she, Yang, and Ember stepped out of her apartment into the interior of the guild ship, bags slung over the sisters' shoulders as Ember waddled after them, "Why don't you guys go let Dad know how it went while I sell my earnings?"
"Yang and I should probably drop the salvage off in the hold first," Ember suggested, "I don't think Bumblebee would be too happy if the houseboat's new spare parts were to get dropped off before we could perform any repairs."
"Yeah…" Yang remarked, "My ears are still ringing from the last time Bumblebee decided to lecture us."
"You two seriously have to teach me how to speak Titan some time," Ruby commented.
"Next time we drop by for a visit," Yang promised, "Now you'd better drop off your haul before the shop closes."
"I'm on it!" Ruby replied, before turning away to dash off, "Catch ya later!"
.
"What do you mean this is it?" Ruby asked the small, round, and fuzzy shopkeeper.
"I mean that this junk is pretty common in this part of the Cloud Sea," the shopkeeper replied as she opened some drawers, "I already have a surplus of them, see? I wouldn't have accepted it at all if we didn't need them for repairs." Ruby sighed.
"Great, as if today couldn't get any worse-"
"Sorry Ms. Rose, but I have twelve hungry mouths to feed," the shopkeeper replied, "I have seen you fight, though. If you're ever in need of some extra Lien, you could join the next Merc Mission."
"Without a Blade partner, I'd just be a liability," Ruby replied.
"Hey! Why don't you watch where you're going Blade!" a voice shouted.
"Speaking of Blades…" Ruby remarked as she and the shopkeeper turned to face the commotion.
Sure enough, a group of soldiers in white had gotten into an altercation with some Blades.
.
"Does your Driver know you've been picking fights behind his back?" one of the soldiers asked.
"I wasn't picking a fight, you just need to watch where you're going!" the Blade replied as she glared back, "And honestly, the boss doesn't care what I do off the clock as long as I do my part when he needs me."
"Oh great, he's one of those Drivers who just lets their Blades do whatever they want," another soldier, this one a woman, replied, "Let me guess, he's one of those damned animals making a fuss over on the mainland?"
"Why don't you learn to watch your tongue!" another Blade shot back, "Last time I checked, human organs don't grow back when they're removed!"
"Alright, settle down!" a blade who appeared to be made of plants cut in as they shoved their way to the front, "Adam told us not to make a scene! Remember, we're here for Core Crystals! I'm the only one of us strong enough to fight without my Driver, and even then I'd rather not try my luck with professional soldiers."
"Hang on, haven't I seen your face before?" one of the soldiers questioned as she gave the plant-like Blade a questioning look.
"… Depends on how old you are, in all honesty," the Blade replied, "if we have met, it must've been in a previous life, because I have no idea who you are, Unimportant Atlesian Soldier Number 3."
"HEY!"
"Why don't you learn to watch your mouth? Blade!" one of the men among the Atlesian soldiers questioned as he cracked his knuckles, "Most of the men before you are Drivers, and our Blades haven't strayed far. Even if you don't need your Driver to fight for you, we've got you outnumbered and overpowered!"
The plant-like Blade rolled their eyes as a branch-like arm went to grasp the hilt of the chokutō on their hip.
"And what do you idiots think you're doing?!"
The plant-like Blade released their grip on their sword as a short, pale-skinned woman with white hair pushed her way past the now rigid Atlesian Soldiers, her armored Blade following closely behind her.
"Sp-specialist, I can explain!" one of the men opened.
"What did you and Rose do this time, Private Gil?" the newcomer asked, "I don't care what Operative Bree let you get away with, you idiots are supposed to represent the Atlesian Military! And you're making us all look like a bunch of brutish thugs in front of the people we're hoping to recruit for this next operation!"
"In short, your little temper tantrum was embarrassing," the armored Blade added.
"But, Myrtenaster, these Blades were-"
"You will not take that tone with my Blade!" the newcomer interrupted, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to find…" Her voice trailed off as she noticed a black and red shape out of the corner of her eye. "Well, would you look at that? We're going to have to continue this little chat back on the flagship." She turned to shoot an icy glare back at her subordinates. "If you value your lives, you will not cause another commotion on the way back, are we clear?"
"Y-yes ma'am!" the soldiers replied with a salute.
"Then you'd best hurry back," Myrtenaster's Driver finished as she turned away, "I have some damage control to run."
.
"Meh meh! That was close!" the shopkeeper commented, "I don't want to imagine what the repair costs of a brawl that size would be in this economy!"
"Yeah… We've got a designated sparring room for a reason," Ruby agreed, "Well, I should probably go and meet with Yang so we can head up to Dad's office and-"
"Excuse me one moment," Myrtenaster's Driver cut in.
"Gah!" Ruby yelped and jumped back, drawing the "Cutting Part" and brandishing it like a sword.
The white-haired woman's blue-eyes hardened into a glare as she nudged the junk sword out of the way with her left hand.
"As I was saying," she continued, "Would you happen to be Ruby Rose?"
"Erm, yes actually," Ruby answered, "Why?"
"My CO is currently meeting with your father," the woman answered, "We have a job offer for someone with your exact skills."
"Huh…" Ruby sheathed her improvised sword, "What do you mean?"
Part 2: The Offer of a Lifetime
Ruby stepped into her father's office on the upper decks of the Guildship, followed swiftly by Myrtenaster and his Driver.
"Dad, what's going on?" Ruby asked.
"Before we get started on that, what was that explosion?" Mr. Xiao Long asked.
"Don't worry Dad," Ruby replied, "Absolutely no part of the guild-ship was damaged."
"Outside of Guild… Ruby! I was worried someone was hurt!"
"Oh! Yang and Ember are fine!" Ruby replied, "They were properly shielded!"
"… And you?" Mr. Xiao Long asked.
"Just a little shaken," Ruby replied.
The guildmaster let out a sigh of relief as he sank into his chair.
"You could've called to let me know before you headed off to the market," he stated.
"Sorry," Ruby sighed, "But uh… Is that the only reason I was called up here?"
"No," her father replied, "Someone had a job for you."
"Huh?" Ruby remarked, "But… I'm not a Driver."
"And you don't need to be for what I have in mind," a voice replied from the corner of the room, behind Ruby.
"Huh?" Ruby turned to the back-left corner of the room, and her eyes widened as she met the icy-blue gaze of the bearded man in question.
Though she had never met the man in question, there was no mistaking the man in the room for anyone else. His white uniform was decorated with numerous medals on his chest. His red shoulder pads, the blue armband on his upper left arm, and the silver buttons were the only other splashes of color. The rest was the black belt both of his revolver-pistols were holstered onto.
Add in his custom-made Artificial Blade, silver body with glowing orange circuits which carried ether from the orange core in its chest, bird-like legs, ether jets jutting out of hits curved back, and razor-sharp arms that ended in clawlike grippers, and there was nobody else it could be.
"You're General James Ironwood," she stated.
"It's good to finally have some appreciation," the man said as he stepped forward to, "Did it take long to find her, Lieutentant?"
"Myrtenaster and I had no issues, sir!" Myrtenaster's Driver replied with a salute, "Outside of having to discipline the soldiers when they nearly started a fight with the White Fang."
"Isn't it our job to keep the ruffians in line?" Ironwood asked, "If the White Fang were punching above their weight class, I see no reason why we shouldn't step in to mitigate damage."
"Sir, the Blades of the White Fang were not the aggressors," Myrtenaster elaborated, "Had Weiss not intervened-"
"I wasn't talking to you," Ironwood cut off, before turning to face Ruby, "Now then, Ms. Rose, might I ask why you seemed so starstruck? That's not a reaction I'm used to."
"You're my hero!" Ruby replied, "After failing to resonate with a Core Crystal and surviving-" Ironwood's eyebrow twitched. "- you climbed up the ranks of the Atlesian Military without a Blade, and became the first Atlesian General to not be a Driver!"
Weiss and Myrtenaster both flinched as Ironwood closed his eyes.
"And then you funded research into Artificial Blades!" Ruby continued, "Seriously, as much as I love Blades, my inability to Awaken them means I could never be a Driver! Even my plan of just building my own wouldn't be possible if not for the ones you and Dr. Watts have built! Speaking of…" She turned to Ironwood's own Artificial Bladet. "Why hasn't Due Process said anything yet?"
"Artificial Blades are completely mindless," Ironwood explained, "Due Process and I share the same will, and I can control it with my brainwaves as easily as I control my own body with this." He pointed to the metal strip in his forehead, just above his right eyebrow.
"Oh…" Ruby sighed, "Looks like even now there's still a lot I don't know."
"Hang on, how do you know that you can't Awaken Blades?" Weiss asked, "How old are you?"
"17," Ruby replied.
"And how old were you when you found out?" Weiss added.
"Let's see," Ruby began, "It was just after we took Yang and Ember in so… About 7 years ago?"
"For the record, one of my ground rules for Ruby was that she wasn't allowed to touch a Core Crystal without protective gear until she turned 18," Mr. Xiao Long cut in, "You're lucky your sister was there."
"I know, I know," Ruby replied with a sigh.
"Sir, if she attempted to resonate with a Core Crystal and failed at such a young age, there's no telling what that would've done to her motor skills or reaction time in the present," Weiss replied, "She'll just be dead weight if she can't get out of our way when it's time to clear out the monsters."
"My reflexes are fine," Ruby insisted with a glare.
"Nonetheless, it can't hurt to test that," Weiss replied, "Sir, we need to make sure that she won't be a liability."
"I'm not a 'liability'!" Ruby growled.
"Nonetheless, Lieutenant Schnee has a point," Ironwood replied, "Mr. Xiao Long, where do you handle sparring matches?"
"… Are you seriously suggesting pitting my daughter against a Driver and her Blade?" the guildmaster questioned.
"So long as Myrtenaster doesn't use any of his Specials, there shouldn't be any real danger," Ironwood stated, "Are we clear?"
"Crystal, sir!" Myrtenaster replied with a salute.
"Dad, relax, I spar with Yang and Ember all the time," Ruby stated, "I can handle this no problem!"
The guildmaster sighed.
"There should be an arena free in the gym," he stated, "Let's get this schadenfreude over with."
Ruby took a second to analyze her opponents before stepping out onto the mat.
Weiss was clad in an Atlesian soldier's uniform, wearing a white, long-sleeved jacket over a cyan shirt, dark blue pants, and combat boots. Her Blade's weapon, a rapier with a gem in its pommel, was sheathed on her right hip (Definitely left handed, Ruby observed). In regards to her physical appearance, her hair was tied up into a ponytail (Something to grab onto or pull? Ruby noted) and a scar went over her left eye (If her vision was impacted, I might have an easier time attacking from the left)
Myrtenaster, meanwhile, was clad in platinum armor, though his feet seemed to be made of chunks of ice (Ice element, not that I have any way to use wind elemental attacks), his Core Crystal was shaped like a snowflake, he wore a red scarf around his neck (The way it waves without any wind implies he can manipulate that scarf like one of his own limbs), and his frostbit-blue skin had bits of ice growing out of it in the facsimile of hair, even forming an icy beard.
Welp, now to put my strategy to the test, Ruby decided as she stepped onto the mat, weapon at the ready.
"This will only take a second," Weiss replied as she brandished Myrtenaster's rapier in her left hand, Myrtenaster holding his palms open in her direction to send a transluscent strand of energy towards his Driver.
"You know what they say about pride," Ruby remarked.
Weiss wordlessly charged forwards, leaving a trail of frost in her wake.
Ruby yelped and swung her weapon to bat the rapier aside, sending fragments of sleet and snow flying from the weapon's either.
Weiss retaliated by jabbing the tip of her weapon into the ground, sending out ice spikes that forced Ruby to jump back.
"Had enough yet?" the Driver taunted.
Ruby growled and lunged forwards, slashing through the ice spikes.
Myrtenaster glided across the ground to his Drivers side, holding an open hand in front of her, repelling Ruby's attack with a barrier of pure ether.
The second the barrier dropped, Weiss flicked her rapier, sending a blast of frost in the unbalanced salvager's direction.
"AIYEE!" Ruby dropped onto the ground as frost formed on her clothing. Next thing she knew, Weiss was pointing Myrtenaster's rapier at her neck.
"And with that, it looks like I-"
Ruby swatted Weiss' left hand away with her right arm, firing her anchor at Myrtenaster's rapier.
"Wha-"
Ruby lunged forward, wrapped her left arm around Weiss' neck, placed a foot on the discarded rapier, and pointed her weapon at Myrtenaster.
"You were saying?" Ruby questioned.
Weiss smirked.
"Myrtenaster," she opened, "Show her where she messed up."
"With pleasure," Myrtenaster glided forwards, and shoved any icy palm into Ruby's face, freeing his Driver from her grasp, and sending the salvager tumbling to the floor.
"I can heal from any injury so long as my Driver lives," Myrtenaster opened as Weiss picked up his rapier, "Should you ever have to protect yourself from a Driver and their Blade in the future, attempting to directly threaten the Blade is a fruitless endeavor. Understood?"
"… I can't feel my face," Ruby answered.
"Regardless," Ironwood spoke up from the sidelines, "We shouldn't run into any enemy Drivers over the course of this mission." He turned to face Ruby as she rubbed the frozen part of her face. "And she should suffice so far as opening Gamma's vault is concerned."
"Gamma?" Ruby questioned as her face thawed.
"All will be explained in time," Ironwood continued, "But first, let us return to your father's office to discuss the matter of your payment."
"So… How much Lien are we talking here?" Ruby asked as she rubbed her face with a warm towel, melting away the last bit of frost.
"10,000,000," General Ironwood answered.
"… That much?!"
"That's only the advance pay," Myrtenaster explained, "You'll received 10,000,000 more upon successful retrieval of the prototype from the Cargo Ship we lost."
"Prototype?" Ruby asked.
"It's the Gamma model of the Poly-Elemental Neural Nexus," Ironwood explained, "It's one of only three prototypes for the next generation of Artificial Blades."
"I… Haven't heard of them," Ruby remarked.
"That's because I've been keeping their development a secret," Ironwood explained, "The only reason I'm telling you any of this is because the Alpha and Beta models are going to be making their public debut in a few days, and I fear my enemies may already be aware of the Gamma model."
"What enemies could you possibly have?" Ruby questioned, "We're in a time of peace."
"The General here seems to think the remnants of a long-dead nation are waging war with him," Mr. Xiao Long remarked.
"I wasn't alone in that belief, Taiyang," Ironwood replied as he glanced up at the silver-eyed woman in the painting hanging behind the guildmaster's desk, "And even if it turns out that they don't exist, that doesn't change that the sunken titan carrying precious cargo is very, very real!"
"Fair point," Taiyang muttered.
"I could do a lot with 10,000,000 Lien…" Ruby muttered.
"That's not all I have to offer," Ironwood continued.
"Hmm?" all eyes were now on the General.
"You remind me a lot of myself when I was younger," he explained, "If you accept this job, I can provide the resources and training you need to make your own Artificial Blades."
And suddenly, the whole room felt brighter.
I could fight on even footing with the other mercenaries.
I would be able to augment my Arts with Ether.
I would finally be able to finish Crescent Rose!
I wouldn't be a burden anymore!
"You have a deal!" Ruby declared.
a/n: You guys have no idea how hard it was getting all of the relevant details out of the way here! But yeah, I'm not always gonna be putting the chapter names at the start of the chapter. Easier to avoid accidentally spoiling you guys that way. Anyways, now to reply to reviews!
5upr3r104: Thanks!
merendinoemiliano: Glad to have your attention.
Guest Questioner: I mean... The option to move the story over to crossover's is right there in the editing story option. If it turns out to be an issue, I don't need to demand ANYTHING of the admins.
Next time, we'll see Ruby make her final preparations before heading out!