Author's Note: You know not that long after I finished the last chapter I realized that this entire remake is going to be a flash back to 2013-14, for me at least… back when I was a freshman in HS, Sword Art Online was the shit, myself and everyone were playing Destiny 1 for days on end, and when RWBY was still in its infancy. Just simpler times compared to how things are now, and I'm totally gonna capitalize on that now.
Anyways, I just want to apologize in advance, because this chapter turned out to be shorter than i was expecting. I'm also sorry that it took so long for me to release this too, i just started working again, and writer's block kinda fucked with me for a bit while i was working on the newest chapter of this story's still-ongoing sequel. I just finished a major part of its current arc as well, and with THIS specific chapter now finished, I think I'm gonna chill for a bit until November rolls around. Spooky season is also my favorite time of the year, so i'm gonna enjoy it while it lasts.
Don't worry though, the next chapter will be longer for sure, and if everything stays as planned, we'll be done with this opening arc relatively soon... But until then, I hope you guys enjoy what's in store with this update, even if it is small!
Song: This Old Death by Ben Nichols
…
Chapter 3 - Safehouse
Dusk had fallen not that long after Yang fell asleep, and soon Mountain Glenn became shrouded in a dark blue hue shortly after Remnant's shattered moon began to look down on the city. Storm clouds could also be heard rolling in, but thankfully they arrived just after Ruby, Weiss, and Blake had their own cots set up for the night.
Three mattresses were set around a small gas lantern that was the only light source in the now pitch-black hotel room, and while Yang continued to snore softly on the couch, Gage re-entered the hotel room and shut the door silently behind himself,
"Welp... Beanie's finally settled, so things should be quiet enough for us to turn in for the night."
"We should probably still take guard shifts though... just in case." Ruby suggested as she and Zwei both plopped down onto the mattress she picked, and Crescent Rose was set down on the ground next to her. Gage nodded slightly however, and snickered a bit as he limped back into the room after hearing this. "You can if you want. Either way i'm gonna be awake for a while, since that goliath ruined my afternoon nap…"
"E-Egh… yeah, sorry…" She could be heard mewling to herself as he passed the girls and went into the tiny kitchen that was nearby. However, Weiss just rolled her eyes at him and laid down on her mattress, while Blake just did the same with hers and stretched out a bit.
Then after Gage began to rifle through the cupboards that were near him, he turned over to the girls and tried to keep up a hospitality streak, "Anyways, are you three hungry at all?"
"Why, do you have a skinned rodent hidden in there…?" Weiss asked snarkily.
"Nope. Worse." She actually flinched after he seemingly amped up her insult, and the heiress half expected him to come over with some other dead animal in his hands… just to find out that he was simply messing with her. In actuality he just took out five of the MRE's that he mentioned earlier, and chose the Team's at random thanks to Weiss's sass.
They were all then handed different flavored rations, while the fourth bag was lightly tossed at the couch Yang was laying on. The blonde grumbled from the sound it made, but just stirred in her slumber for the most part. Ruby was the only one polite enough to thank Gage for it though, while Weiss and Blake just remained quiet after seeing what was offered.
"Yay, mine's got cookies!" The rose rejoiced, as he seemingly made a lucky guess for her. He also brought some waters for the girls, and since their little gas lantern still had a spot around it that they weren't using, he took it for himself as he slowly laid down on the cold floor.
Gage also put the bottles next to the light and grasped his aching leg afterwards, as Weiss began to look at the MRE she'd received. The entire thing was just gross in her mind, with the package being coated in dust and the flavor sounding detestable. "...Lemon Pepper Tuna?" She asked.
"-I-I'll trade you." Blake almost immediately made that offer upon hearing 'tuna', and they quickly traded their meals. Tuna for a vegetarian MRE, and right as the feline faunus was about to rip into the little bag she'd just gotten from Weiss… she stopped, and looked up at Gage.
Obviously it was fine when Ruby and Weiss both smiled at the fact that she jumped for the fish-flavored meal since they knew that she was a faunus. But when she noticed that their new acquaintance was trying to hide a sly grin as well… she remembered what he was trying to ask right as their group was ambushed by that pack of grimm a few hours ago.
No one else really processed it at the time aside from her… so now, instead of trying to deflect or ignore his expression, she chose to approach it head on. Abruptly bringing it up so he wouldn't have the chance to beat her to it.
"So earlier, before you got pounced on by that Beowulf… I couldn't help but notice that you asked about my bow..." The air grew still around her and Gage as they looked at each other simultaneously, until she didn't even try to hide her identity anymore. The stray was just curious at this point,
"...What gave me away?"
"It's… not what you'd expect." Gage replied, as he leaned up a bit and pointed at one of his turquoise eyes casually. "I saw that your eyes can reflect sunlight easily, and humans can't do that. We don't have that reflective layer because we can't see in the dark... Like the faunus can." Then halfway through his explanation, he reached over towards the gas lamp and turned the dial down so it wouldn't shine as brightly.
This action made the room darker, and soon enough… he swayed his head back and forth before he saw a amber light shine off of Blake's irises.
"I never really thought about that..."
She quickly became saddened by this realization and even scooted back on her mattress too… which caused Gage to think that this was somehow interpreted as a threat. Needless to say he put his hands up right away, and for her sake, he tried to remedy it by poking some fun at himself. "H-Hey, relax! I'm not a total hick… and I can keep secrets too, so you don't have to worry." He reassured her.
Luckily it did the trick, for the most part, and Blake eased up a bit as she re-adjusted her bow's placement nervously. "...Thank you. I'd rather keep it that way for the time being..." And after she turned away from the guy without looking him in the eyes, she went back to focusing on the MRE that Weiss had given her.
They both promptly started to eat whatever they found to be consumable in the small packages, and Ruby just tried to justify Blake secrecy without going into any details. "Y-Yeah… we're kind of fidgety with strangers. Y'know, being first-years and all that…" She muttered between consuming two diffrent cookies.
"I figured." Gage said with a nod, before he couldn't help but notice how different she was compared to the rest of her team. Noticing the age gap specifically, as Ruby looked like she would've been attending Signal Academy rather than one of the big-league huntsman schools. "Still though, I'm surprised that they'd let you attend Beacon so early. You're what, like… sixteen?" He asked whilst pointing a finger at the young leader.
This was enough to make her pause as she tried to give Zwei the one oatmeal cookie that was left in her meal, and the rose couldn't help but feel a little self-conscious as she corrected him afterwards. "Fifteen…"
"Huh. You must know your stuff then."
"She tries-" Weiss remarked before she ate some of her meal's trail mix. Her tone wasn't condescending or snobby for a change, as this was actually a compliment, and it even made Ruby blush a bit. She was also pretty glad that their team's extrovert was snoring right now, otherwise Ruby would've surely died from embarrassment. "H-Hehe… Yang would probably be ranting and raving about me if she was awake, but then again, she is my big sister!"
She shared this tid-bit with him, and he became confused. Gage squinted his eyes immediately as he stared at Ruby and quickly looked back at Yang within seconds of each other. "Wait, really...?" He did a double-take as well, but soon chose to roll with it when he was unable to see the resemblance aside from their similar personalities.
Ruby was just about to tell him how often they both got that reaction, before she was rudely interrupted by an anthem of thunder could be heard rumbling in the distance. It sounded like it was getting closer too… and as it did, Beowolves and other various Grimm could be heard howling up towards the sky. This terrifying sound reverberated across the entire city, and Zwei would've joined in with it too if he hadn't been curled up next to Ruby. The corgi simply growled until she scratched his head gently, and he stopped.
It still alerted everyone negatively (except for Yang), as Weiss and Gage both turned to look at the giant hole that was in the wall behind their little spot, since it was where all the noise filtered in through. But as the heiress was about to put a hand on Myrtenaster, he reached out instead and tried to stop her, "It's alright, the storm just provoked them..."
She sighed with annoyance after being startled like that and couldn't help but feel frustrated too, as it just felt like the 'neighborhood' had gone silent not that long ago. "Oh great, they're awake again..." Weiss then sat back down on her own mattress while Gage continued to calm them down,
"...We'll be fine. Stuff like this usually passes by pretty quickly."
None of it really affected anyone following it's initial surprise… aside for Ruby. She couldn't help but pull Zwei closer to herself as she continued to stare out the hole in the wall and let the sounds of the thunderstorm get to her, as it was something she'd always hated since she was a child. It had always just been scary to hear.
However, Blake was the first person to notice how much it was clearly bothering their young leader, and as she slowly leaned in close to her, she just tapped on the rose's shoulder delicately after a good distraction came to mind.
"Hey… did you bring your headphones with you?" The stray asked her. Ruby nodded and went to take them out the second she'd remembered bringing them along, right before Blake patted her on the shoulder and inched back with a smile. "You took the first guard shift when we were here with Oobleck, so why don't you get some rest? We'll wake you if anything happens."
"Thanks Blake…"
Gage was beginning to hear a few rain droplets splash against the destroyed wall of their hotel room too, and he unknowingly asked them all to do the same thing. "Yeah, if you guys are trying to get some sleep then I'd start now before that monsoon arrives... I'll take the first watch too, just in case we get any visitors." He stated, whilst standing up and taking Mistletoe off of his back.
Weiss of course felt the need to interject after remembering how the guy's leg was injured… but soon she stopped herself as she realized that Mistletoe, his shotgun that could turn into a crossbow, was most likely the quietest weapon compared to the rest of Team RWBY's.
Bolts were certainly better than bullets when it came to keeping their position hidden, and so she reluctantly stayed quiet. Although, she still couldn't help but continue staring at Gage with suspicion. The heiress only stopped when he saw the dirty look she was giving him, and he acknowledged it with a short response.
"Or don't… it's up to you."
But for Blake and Ruby's sake, Weiss gave up her antics for tonight. Choosing to just give Gage another warning as she slowly reached over and turned off the small gas lantern that was between their mattresses. "*sigh* ...Just don't get us killed."
"That's the idea, 'snowflake..." He retorted dryly.
Then after their room was plunged back into darkness, Gage left them alone and limped over towards the hole in the wall so he could sit in front of it and look out towards the streets below. Setting his shotgun down next to him as he also began to open up the bacon/cheddar cheese MRE he'd picked out for himself.
As for the rest of Team RWBY… Ruby of course put on her red headphones and laid down next to Zwei with her eyes closed, while Blake just layed back onto her mattress and stared up at the ceiling.
Surprisingly the sounds of rain and thunder outside also felt soothing for Weiss, and soon she became relaxed enough to actually lie down. Eventually her and Gage would be the only ones left awake before general fatigue got the best of her, and the heiress dozed off without knowing it. Leaving their injured new friend to watch over this dark city by himself as the storm went on into the witching hours...
…
The storm seemed to kick up by the time 3 A.M. rolled around, and after the heavy rain could now be heard pelting against the walls of the hotel like it was hailing… Yang was slowly brought out of her deep slumber. Gently opening her sleepy lilac eyes as a lightning flash illuminated a good distance away from the city, and a deep wave of thunder followed it. Not a sudden crash, just a deep bellow that was only slightly alarming.
She then slowly raised herself off of the couch she was resting on, and sat normally on it as she rubbed her eyes and yawned. It took her a second to remember that she wasn't in their dorm room at Beacon, and after thinking back to all of the events that occurred within the last 24 hours, Yang scanned the pitch-black room for her teammates.
But as another flash of lightning lit up the room again, she was quickly able to see that they were all asleep on a few mattresses that were placed in front of her couch, and it was enough for the blonde to keep her guard down for the time being. A second later she stretched her legs out on the room's carpet, and accidentally stepped on the MRE that was tossed to her earlier.
The noise it made didn't wake anyone up thanks to the overbearing sound of the storm outside… but it did divert Gage's attention towards the blonde brawler. It broke him away from his trance-like survey of the city, and right then the two teens faced each other directly.
Yang saw that he was sitting in front of the giant hole in their room's left wall, giving her the side-eye as he appeared to have a small photograph in one of his hands. Yet, she also saw that this stranger had his injured foot hiked up on top of a six-pack of beer. A weird thing to do for sure, considering there were pillows nearby.
So trying her best to think of a way to calm the guy down, Yang quickly grabbed the MRE bag, read it's specific flavor, and raised it up in the air with one hand as she fumbled her words a bit. "H-Hey, t-thanks for the... hamburger dinner! Heh… It's actually a good guess… for me…" Only for him to smile and nod his head back at her.
She could easily see that Gage's eyes were red and tired like hers had been, and as she went to approach him… he made sure to put the picture he was holding back into one of his jacket pockets, before Yang stopped and tried not to make it look like she was staring at him too much,
"Is it alright if I join you?"
"...Go for it." He whispered.
Gage was sort of surprised that she didn't choose to just lay back down and sleep in until morning… but after he could see that she was blushing despite how dark the room was, he didn't give it too much thought and scooted over so she'd have enough room to sit down.
Yawning now, the brawler laid down on her side next to him and pressed her feet against the destroyed wall as she felt the cool air from outside brush against her skin. At the same time though, Gage couldn't help but notice that the air around this girl was really warm. Like she was a walking heater or something.
It was… welcoming, and while that sensation grew, Yang tried to inquire about why he was still awake. "You know, you should probably be resting right now. Otherwise your leg is gonna feel like it's on fire tomorrow morning…" She went with the indirect route whilst showing also some compassion, and because of this he was surprisingly open about it with her. Making sure to reply right away,
"I know, it's just… it's been a while, since I've had something like this." Gage answered as he took a second to look back at their small room before facing her again, "Usually I keep my eyes open at night until I physically can't, so now it's kind of strange for me to sleep voluntarily."
"Is that why you've got six little friends over there?~" Yang asked him this sarcastically in return, as she pointed over at the six pack of beer that was under his hurt foot. He was quick to move off of the bottles after that, and he still couldn't help but look away from her sheepishly.
"Y-Yeah... but I stopped myself. They've gotta be a decade old by now anyway, and I don't want to puke my guts up."
She snickered for a moment and was about to say something else as she reached towards the case… but then the brawler stopped herself, and became quiet amidst another lightning flash. It wasn't the cause of her silence though, and after Gage noticed the sudden change in attitude, he looked at her weirdly.
"What is it?" He actually sounded concerned and it pushed Yang to explain herself, since it seemed like their roles were now switched. "I was gonna… ask for one, but after what i caused earlier, it'd be another stupid decision on my part…" She sounded pretty subdued now too, and after seeing how bad she still felt about their 'goliath' incident…
"...Don't beat yourself up over that." He just casually waved it all off like it was nothing, as he'd already gotten over it long ago. "Because if you hadn't shown up, it would've just been another boring day out there in the wild. And to be honest, i've been craving human interaction since… well, my first month here."
'If you hadn't'. Yang noticed that specific wording more than anything else, and after realizing that there was a good chance she was the first person he'd even seen in a long time… her spirits were uplifted again, as the blonde now felt obligated to tease him in her own 'playful' manner.
"In that case, I guess seeing my pretty face must've been… refreshing for you.~"
She even leaned over more and gave the guy a tiny wink, just for him to snicker and move the case of beer bottles away from them both so the pack could be forgotten about. "Pfft, what happened to 'not getting any funny ideas'?" Gage asked before the blonde responded, sounding genuinely cheerful as her eyes also widened. "I just get cranky when i'm tired, and even then… I never said it applied to me."
Weiss really might've been right about something today...
He was also surprised about the directness at first, then quickly figured that it was a joke, or she was just trying to make him blush on purpose since that would've been a nice change… but once he glanced back at Yang and saw that she was sitting up straight and looked to have scooted closer to him, he deduced that getting a bead on this fiery girl was impossible. "You're weird."
"Hmhm… says 'mr. rain-watcher'!" She chuckled to herself.
"It's nice, and there isn't exactly a fireplace that I can share with you… o-or anyone!"
Gage was quick to roll his eyes at her comment, and made sure to correct himself just as Yang was about to use his slip-up against him. But then, He seemingly turned it around on the blonde once he could tell that she was about to say something else.
"...Hmm. Actually, that doesn't sound too bad." Making sure to stop for a dramatic pause too as he leaned back a bit, and waited until Yang's cheeks became a little rosy before he seamlessly finished his sentence. "A warm room and comfy bed for myself, after roughing it out here for this long… that'd be pretty refreshing too."
"W-Well… I think we could help you with that." Whether it was a small roast aimed at Yang or not, she quit her blushing and tried to shift their conversation towards the one thing she asked Blake and Weiss about earlier when they were in the stairwell. And just when Gage turned and stared at her weirdly, the blonde presented this big question without hesitation, "The rest of my team, excluding Weiss, agreed that you should come back to Beacon with us. I-If you're okay with that, of course..."
Hearing that was a shock to be honest, and Gage became flabbergasted at the suggestion. Maybe a tad flattered too, as hadn't thought about being anywhere near a huntsman academy since he was around Ruby's age. Nevertheless it woke him up, as he leaned in closer to Yang with his turquoise eyes shining brightly through the darkness of the room.
"W-Wait are you talking about, like… enrolling-?" He asked nervously.
Yang quickly gave him a small nod of approval, and nearly mirrored his sudden movement to encourage this decision further. "...You're clearly skilled enough, and saving our team from a goliath should be enough to convince our headmaster. Especially if the rest of us vouch for you too!" Again Ruby came to mind, this time for the brawler, as she was convinced that Professor Ozpin could pull some strings for them again.
Gage sat up just as he heard this, and he brought his knees closer to his chest before his eyes became narrowed at her slightly. "You really want me to come with you, even though we haven't known each other for a day yet?"
"Um… Yeah."
"...Why?"
She froze after that, and caught off guard by the wonder in his voice. But soon after remembering the mix of Weiss's negativity throughout the day and the fact that he'd never even hinted at coming along with the girls, Yang understood his confusion. Maybe there was a trust issue there as well, but that only fueled her conviction. Unlike him, her 'big sister' instincts would've kicked in if there were any bad vibes, and this made her believe that he was trustworthy.
Because in the brawler's mind, Gage seemed like an okay person. Sure there was a mysterious (metaphorical) aura surrounding him as well, kind of similar to how Blake was perceived when she was a new student at the academy, but that feeling would probably fade once he opened up more. Yang also couldn't lie and say that he wasn't alluring either, and he also was able to work with her 'humor' pretty well too, which was another plus.
It was simply all welcoming on her side… so leaving that kind of spirit out here to eventually die just wasn't feasible, huntress-in-training or not, and she explained this to him thoroughly,
"Huntsmen and Huntresses are supposed to help people. Whether it's saving someone from the Grimm like you did me, or just inspiring them to follow in your footsteps. So… helping you like this is just the right thing to do. And I... I think you'd be a great person to have around the academy..."
All he could say after that was, "Well… do you really think i'm 'Beacon material'? With a small grin whilst using his fingers to make air quotes.
"We'd like you to be, or well… most of us. I think?'" She questioned herself oddly and glanced back at her sleeping friends, and eyed Weiss specifically for a second before she turned back and shrugged at Gage. "Eh, you've got my vote at least."
"Then I guess I don't have much of a choice-"
Gage said this sarcastically as he was about to copy her demeanor, but he was cut off as Yang suddenly lunged at him out of the blue and hugged his left arm tightly with a smile. "YES! You'll love it there, I promise!" And even though she managed to make him jump from fright, the blonde didn't hesitate to pull him closer, as she unknowingly pressed his arm against her chest,
"Hmhm… now how about a drink to celebrate?~" Immediately after realizing that she was gonna pester him about the beer to no end, Gage sighed and laughed for a second before he refused, but not without blushing a little bit, "Nope! I'd rather not get thrown up on tonight-" Only for Yang to pull her body back and whine at him with her own small giggle,
"Oh come onnnn!"
They ended up playing off of each other like this for the next ten minutes until Gage just handed her the water bottle he was drinking from earlier, and she finally gave it a rest so she could eat the Hamburger MRE that was given to her. The rest of the night became quieter soon enough, as the brawler just kept asking if he had any wild stories that he was willing to share. Like if he'd ever seen rare grimm types out in the country, or a bigfoot, or a... chupathingy?
Something like that. However… neither of them knew that Ruby was actually watching them both in secret. She'd woken up randomly and was about to go back to sleep, before she noticed the two of them sitting, talking and laughing together. After a while it almost looked like they just were old friends doing their thing, and it made the rose feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside for her older sister's sake.
She could only imagine what Yang must've been feeling or thinking as she just watched and listened attentively to Gage from then on. Smiling at him throughout the stormy night, and as dawn slowly approached Mountain Glenn.
…
The Next Morning...
…
Four hours later, an alarm from Ruby's scroll shattered the silence of the hotel room, as an excerpt from This Will Be The Day began to repeat itself until the rose woke up and turned it off. (Think the level up sound from Grimm Eclipse?) She honestly forgot to disable it thanks to her morning classes at Beacon, and it made her panic as a result.
Blake also jolted awake too and placed a hand back onto Gambol Shroud's hilt, but stopped once she realized that the noise wasn't grimm-related. Sighing with relief just as Weiss groaned and covered her ears,
"S-Sorry!" Ruby whispered to them.
They both just mumbled for her not to worry or something similar, before their young leader exhaled and turned over to where Gage and Yang had been sitting during the night. The two teens were both still sitting in front of that hole in the wall, as they both were just laying on their backs next to each other.
Gage had actually been close to dozing off by the time the alarm went off, which caused him to lean up and look over towards the others slowly. Yang was wide awake though, and she jumped up with excitement the second she heard her teammates talk amongst each other.
The blonde then climbed off of the ground and stood up straight as she pointed both of her hands towards their new friend in a way that looked like she was a magician showing off a successful illusion. "Hey guys, guess who's coming with us?!~" Yang cheered in a singsong type of voice.
She was expecting some sort of loud response, but only heard Weiss let out a deep sigh before Ruby or Blake could do anything. Though eventually the stray looked over towards Gage and smiled at him once she wiped her sleepy amber colored eyes. "I'm not sure what the right response is, so... 'welcome aboard'?"
He just gave her a small nod while Ruby spoke to him anxiously, and slowly picked Zwei up in her arms to wake the corgi up. "Yeah… I was gonna ask to come with us yesterday, but I got kind of nervous…" She mumbled, just as Yang rolled her eyes and smiled back at Gage again,
"Don't worry sis, i doubt he would've said no to either of us."
It was by this time that Weiss chose to rise up from her mattress, and she could barely open her eyes due to the fact that she fell asleep by accident. It didn't stop her from asking her partner about that alarm though, "Mmph… Ruby, that time is it?"
"Seven A.M.-" The rose knew purely from her morning normal routine, and thus she said this casually. Weiss on the other hand… she nearly blew a gasket, and hysterically explained why.
"What?! We have to be at the bullhead's pickup-zone by 7:30!"
The heiress then wiped some drool off of her lip, blushed, and picked Myrtenaster off of the ground right as the rest of the girls rushed to get a move on. However, Gage just grabbed Mistletoe as it was on the ground next to him and rubbed his face tiredly, "What place did they choose for their LZ?" He asked Weiss politely.
"I don't know-" She was quick to take her scroll out and check the message they'd sent, which contained coordinates and a picture. Although, she only could describe it briefly to him during her short fit of frustration. "Some… park in the center of the city with fountains, and a statue!"
Gage nodded his head again much to her surprise, as he could recall that location from memory. It was the least destroyed part of the city afterall, "Embry… yeah, we can get there in twenty-five' if we're fast enough-!" That was all the girls needed to hear for them to head towards the hotel room's door after Zwei and the rest of their gear was gathered.
"Then lead the way!" Weiss yelled at him.
She then threw the door open and headed towards the stairwell while Gage stumbled in his effort to stand, until Yang came over and pulled him onto his feet. The brawler was about to put his arm over her shoulder too in case he needed help, but he stopped her. Then they both just walked out the front door after the rest of Team RWBY while the blonde grumbled to herself angrily,
"Rrrgh, why are we always late for these things?!"
…
Another twenty minutes of walking occurred after they left the hotel behind, and because of the sudden rush to get out the door again… morning fatigue set in halfway-through their short journey. Block by block it seemed to get better, at least for Ruby, Yang, and Blake. Weiss appeared to be physically tired the entire time, so she was given the job of carrying Zwei the entire way.
Gage also seemed to mirror her exhaustion… but that was mostly because it took some effort to get Green Bean saddled up in a timely fashion. Now he was thankfully able to rest as he rode her alongside Team RWBY, and just enjoyed the quiet ambience of the city. Luckily for them the thunderstorm also passed during the night, which left Mountain Glenn's streets dampened with drying water droplets. They could be seen sparkling lightly as the teens pressed on towards their pickup location, and it felt oddly refreshing once they reached the park.
It was gated and also looked like it took up another city block, but it strangely hadn't been overgrown by plants like the rest of Mountain Glenn. There were just large fields of dead grass, stone paths, a few fountains that were filled with disgusting greenish water, and lastly a large unfinished statue of… well, a horse. But honestly, if there were any gravestones nearby... it wouldn't be too far off from looking like a cemetary.
A cawing crow could be heard in the distance too, before the girls stopped dead in their tracks upon entering the park. That was when the thrusters of an airship could be heard rapidly approaching the area, but no one could really tell what direction it was coming from. They just scanned the city's skyline in anticipation for it while Gage looked over at the girls and tried to ask them a few nervous questions about Beacon, "So i don't have to be seventeen to be a first-year, right?"
"No. Where'd you hear that?" Yang asked him in return, just as they all began to walk down one of the stone paths towards one of the open grassy fields. He ended up just shrugging at her, "I just assumed because of training plans and all that." Before the blonde looked over at him with a raised eyebrow again, "Wait... how old are you?"
"Eighteen... and a half, i think." Gage answered. He then glanced over at the others and was quick to ask them what month it was, "Hey, it's June, right?!"
"YUP!" Ruby replied right away, just as she jumped up onto a nearby park bench and carelessly walked across it's edge like a tightrope. The brawler was surprised by this to be honest, as she thought that the guy looked like he was twenty at least. Either way she stared back at him with wide eyes before he noticed and nervously began to follow the others, "Then yeah, eighteen and a half... Y-You'll see once I get myself cleaned up…"
"Aww, does that mean you're doing it for me…?~"
Yang teased him again with another sassy remark, and it was enough for Gage to just sigh and hang his head down low without saying anything else. He was still smiling though, but tried to hide this expression from her as the two teens (and Beanie) caught up with the rest of Team RWBY.
It was at this time that the bullhead finally came into view, as it actually flew over the group from behind and slowly started to descend into the park, landing a few yards away from everyone in the middle of one of the various fields of dead grass.
Blake and Weiss were both relieved by the sight of the airship, while Ruby and Yang just stretched a bit. Gage still appeared to be slightly anxious too, as he stopped a few feet behind the rest of the girls and dismounted Green Bean sluggishly. Nearly stumbling onto the grass once his bad leg touched the ground again, but he was able to catch himself just as the ship's landing gear extended outwards and pressed down against Remnant's grassy surface.
Soon one of it's large side doors opened and was lowered in front of the Team, right as the bullhead's co-pilot could be seen standing inside of the ship's passenger bay. He was standing there and was about to walk towards the group… before he stopped and looked confused by something. "Whoa, we heard you were bringing someone back, but i wasn't expecting this!"
"What-?" Weiss couldn't tell what he was talking about, until she turned around and… remembered that Gage had his horse with him. A soul-crushing breath escaped from her then, as she knew they were a packaged deal. But right as she was about to say something to the pilot, Yang practically jumped to give him a sudden offer, "If you guys haul the horse, I'll give you fifty lien each!"
She was thinking on her feet and blindly offered the man some money, only for him to lean back a bit. He was surprised by this… but didn't turn it down. He simply raised the visor on his white helmet and squinted at the girl curiously,
"Can you even afford that?"
"Hmph. No… but i can." The heiress interjected. She scoffed right as Yang was about to say yes, and took out her own stash of lien. No one really asked why they both brought money with them in the first place, but that was beside the point. Weiss just tossed a lien card to the co-pilot as she approached the ship, even as Gage was about to tell her not to.
He didn't go through with it however, since he figured that it wouldn't stop her. So instead he just watched as she turned around to face everyone, and tried to downplay her own action.
"I-I just… I just want to get home faster, that's all!" She stammered, all while she continued to hold Zwei close to herself and kept hugging him like he was a stuffed animal. Gage became speechless after that, right as the main pilot spoke up and shouted back at the teens with contempt,
"*sigh* ...Alright, but if that horse makes a mess, then you five are cleaning it up!"
Everyone agreed… hesitantly, and soon began to enter the airship while their new friend exhaled heavily and took one last look back at Mountain Glenn. He also got Beanie to turn her head and glance in the same direction with one of her eyes before the horse huffed slightly, and began to walk towards the bullhead without instruction.
Every abandoned building and skyscraper seemed to be looking down on their group now… which creeped Gage out a bit after he realized just how long he'd been out here. The entire time he just pictured this place as an old city… when it was truly an urban jungle. A forgotten relic that was now clearly trying to get him to leave, and with the rising sun now shining brightly in the sky, that message became clear.
Gage then took in one last breath, and turned towards the airship without looking back again. Yang and Blake both helped him push Green Bean into the ship's passenger bay while Ruby and Weiss both strapped themselves into their seats, and the co-pilot sat back down in the cockpit with his partner.
Then after Gage was able to get his horse to lay down in the back of the passenger bay, himself, Yang, and Blake all sat down in different seats as the bullhead's bay door closed back up. It's thrusters started back up again, and right when everyone could feel the ship slowly rise back up into the air… he glanced over at Weiss again,
"Weiss? ...Thank you, for doing that."
He didn't get a response, only a small nod as the heiress tried not to look him in the eye. Which was fine, since he was stressed enough already. So he was quick to lean his head back and rest again, whilst keeping one eye on Green Bean in case they encountered any turbulence.
However, before he could 'accidentally' fall asleep for the remainder of the flight to Beacon Academy, Yang leaned out from her own seat a bit and shouted at him once again. Her lilac eyes now shining brightly as they both shared another moment, and their bullhead rose above Mountain Glenn before it began to fly off towards the City of Vale...
"Hey. You're not gonna regret this, Gage!"
"Heh… I know i won't."