Patriot-112: Aww! Finally! We have caught up! I hope you enjoy this chapter. Bon appetite!

Chapter 3:

Close Call

Vale Royal Palace

Everyone was looking around the room where the Maiden Knight had made her home for the past few months since her vigilante career started. Needless they were not expecting the amount of equipment, computers, and other things that she had. Of course, the weapons they found were being looked over by the resident weapon nut, as she oogled over them.

Qrow all the while was calling Ozpin on his scroll, and it didn't take long for the man to answer.

"Qrow, good news?" the headmaster asked and Qrow sighed.

"That, and a little bit of bad news," he said, "Good news, we got her. Bad news, someone else pinged her with an Atlas Rifle Dart filled with a tranquilizer, but the kids managed to scare whoever it was off. However, people like you me and know, when there's one there's bound to be a whole pack of them."

He heard the old man sigh, "Unfortunate, but true." he said, "This complicates things. Better return to Beacon with the girl, Qrow. If they're more of these possible mercenaries or Atlesian soldiers nearby, they'll be coming. And I rather not risk a fight,"

Qrow nodded at that, "We're gathering up whatever we can carry and getting ready to move now." he said, before turned to look at the assortment of gear. "You will not believe all the stuff this kid has Oz. Aside from a ton of electronics, she has enough of an arsenal to wage a small war."

He could feel Ozpin's frown on the other side of the scroll.

"That is... disturbing," he heard and Qrow nodded.

"Yeah, after we get all we can, we're outta here." he said, "I'll call back when we're all safely away,"

"Of course, see you when you get back here," Ozpin replied and then hung up. Qrow sighed, closing his scroll up.

'Just once I want a mission where it doesn't involve ME getting shot at,'

He then sighed knowing that it couldn't be helped before he turned to the two teams.

"Alright kids, we better hurry up before more trouble arrives," Qrow said to them, "So pack up anything you can carry and let's get back to the Bullhead!"

Everyone did so as they began to look for anything of note to take back with them. All except for Pyrrha, who was looking after the still out cold vigilante, who they had placed on the full size bed, where she had no doubt slept before.

The young champion looked at the face of the person they knew as the Maiden Knight, more specifically her face, and her hair. Confusion and worry welled up inside her, the former as to who this girl was and why did she look similar to her, and the latter, for how said girl looked at her with those fear stricken eyes, as if expecting to be murdered outright or something.

And then, there were these feelings that were rising up in her, and it puzzled her to no end. She felt as if she had a need to...protect her.

But protect her from what? Why did she feel this way for someone whom she had recently just met. She didn't understand and to be honest it was downright scaring her to no end.

Then, for the life of her she couldn't understand, her left hand instinctively proceeded to reach out and push a strand of the girl's hair away from her face and behind her ear.

'Just what is going here?' she thought to herself, 'Why do I feel this way. And why do I feel... drawn to her somehow, as if I should know her.'

She looked at her hand that touched the girl's face before looking back at the said sleeping face of said person.

'Just who are you...?'

"Hey, Cereal Girl,"

She turned and saw Qrow standing behind her. The said Huntsman saw the emotions that were on the girl's face, the most prominent being confusion and worry. The older man sighed as he placed a hand on the Mistralian's shoulder.

"Listen, go help the others and find something that will be worth bringing back to Beacon. I'll take care of Sleeping Beauty there, alright?" He said, and he saw the reluctance in the girl's face and eyes to do so, before she gave a nod, and stood up and went to help her team and Team RWBY look for anything, while Qrow stood next to bed, and proceeding to pick her up in a cradle carry.

Pyrrha, though was still concerned, knew she had to focus as she proceeded to look around.

The items ranged from weapons, electronics, a few containers containing other equipment, canned foods, and interestingly, a makeshift shelf filled with books. She then walked over and looked at the assortment of literature, before her eyes landed on something that made her blink in surprise before she reached out and grabbed the said book, which was colored mostly red, and had gold lettering. And it was the gold lettering of the title that made her eyes widen in surprise.

A Blue Dove for the Princess.

'This...this is one of my favorite childhood stories!' she thought in total shock before turning back to the girl who was now being carried by Qrow.

Before she could think more on this she heard Ruby call out to her and turned to said Prodigy, who had picked up something. The said leader of Team RWBY then turned to her.

"Hey Pyrrha, doesn't this look like your Circlet?" the Rose said as she lifted up, much to Pyrrha's shock and confusion, an exact duplicate of her Circlet that she was wearing. The design, even down to the tear drop shaped emeralds suspended by the thin chains, was spot on. However, several key differences caught her eye...

...the silver inlay chains and rose zircon jewels, and the symbol on the forehead of the piece. She looked at it, and blinked. The appearance was that of two crescent arches, like she saw on Jaune's shield, along with a spear, just like on her own emblem, overlapping them.

"Can...Can I see it Ruby?" she asked the young Rose, and Ruby nodded as she handed the piece of jewelry to her. Once she took it into her hands, the unnerved look on her face never leaving her, as Pyrrha examined it more closely, and saw the almost unnoticeable dings and scratches on it, but aside from those, the circlet looked VERY well taken care of.

Deciding to ask about this to the girl at a later time, Pyrrha proceeded to carefully wrap the circlet in a white cloth she found, before placing it, and the book, in one of the backpacks they brought with them.

Soon everyone was done, getting what they could, and were now heading for the roof of the palace for the waiting Bullhead. But then...

"No, don't!"

Everyone stopped as they looked around for the person who shouted.

"What the he- who said that!?" Jaune shouted as he brought out his sword and shield.

"Listen to me!" the voice shouted again, "If you try to leave that way, no doubt whoever attacked the one you are here for will try to do something to prevent an easy escape."

Qrow's eyes squint as he and everyone else looked for the source of the voice.

"Alright, whoever you are, come out!" he demanded, but received a sigh in response.

"I'm afraid I don't have a physical body to do that, Mr. Branwen," the voice replied, making everyone blink in confusion. "If you want to know who I am, look on the left vambrace gauntlet on my partner's arm,"

That caused the said two to blink before looking at the said area. Pyrrha decided to do it, as she reached for the said limb and looked at the said piece of armor. She saw what looked like the shape of a scroll on the under side.

"Just give it a light press and it will come out."

Pyrrha did that, and a click later, the device popped and Pyrrha grabbed it, as everyone looked at it. Before they could ask what to do next suddenly a green flash made them jump, as a glowing green, figure half a foot high, appeared from the video recorder of the scroll. To any of them who know much of Atlas' military hardware, the figure had the appearance of an AK-130 Combat Robot, only difference was that it had an anime-style human male face. Everyone was thinking a mile a minute on just what this thing was...with Jaune actually thinking it was a ghost of all things.

Before they can question what it was, the figure spoke.

"I'm afraid I have no time for introductions," it/he said, "But right now, we have here before more trouble arrives. But again I stress not to take the Bullhead, too dangerous,"

The group of students, and one alcoholic huntsman, all gave questioning frowns at that.

"And why would we believe that?" Yang said the one question on everyone's mind, while the figure sighed irritably.

"Look, we don't have a lot of time, Miss Xiao Long." he snipped, "My primary concern is the safety of my partner who you apparently have been sent to find and bring back to Beacon under Ozpin's orders. So, unless you don't want to live in the span of the next hour, I suggest you listen to what I have to say in order to survive."

The whole group are stunned into silence by this logical, blunt, but sensible answer, until Qrow decided to speak.

"Okay glow boy...," he said, "...what is it you want us to do?"

"Just head down to the parking garage in the basement," the A.I. said, "My partner and I prepared an escape vehicle in case something like this happens...and I suggest that Miss Xiao Long drive."

Said thrill seeker blinked before a smirk formed on her face.

"What kind of vehicle are we talking?" she asked, and the others all felt a cold chill go down their spines.

'I have a bad feeling about this...,'

A single, black colored van sped through the streets, in a desperate rush to get to it's location. In the vehicle itself, was none other than Qrow, Team JNPR and RWBY, and the two Bullhead pilots, after Qrow told them what the heck was up.

In the driver seat was Yang, and she gotta admit, this baby was fast! Not as fast as her baby Bumblebee, but faster than any other van!

"Wow! This thing's awesome!" the blonde haired shouted in glee, as she hit the pedal to the metal, "Where the heck did she get this thing!?"

"Let's just say my partner has done a LOT of bounty hunting in Mistral under different aliases in the past few months," the voice of the A.I. said, "Not mention the modifications she wanted, like the Wasp-99 engine she had installed under the hood."

Yang's eyes widened in familiarity at the engine name. The Wasp-99 was an engine normally found in racing cars, and it came equipped with a supercharger which sent lightning dust into the engine and sent it up to speeds of up to 350 miles per hour. Of course, it was illegal to have that certain type of engine in ordinary vehicles, but people like street racers didn't really care all that much.

Yang's smirk turned into a Cheshire smile as she was beginning to like this girl's style.

"Hey Yang, could you slow down a little bit!?" Qrow shouted from the back, as he, along with everyone else, held on for dear life. Of course, Dorée (Whose name they didn't know yet of course), who was still unconscious was being held firmly by Pyrrha, so she wouldn't slam her head against a wall, while Nora was enjoying the bumpy ride. Jaune though...well it's Jaune.

Qrow, unlike his niece, was not as much of a thrillseeker, when it came to riding on extreme speed vehicles. "Not all of us are as crazy as you when it comes to driving!"

"Sorry Uncle Qrow!" quipped Yang, smirk still on her face. "Gotta make a fast getaway if we want to get as far away from those nut jobs as possible!"

"I'm NEVER riding with you in a car ever again, Yang!" Weiss shouted, "You're a lunatic driver! And you deserve to have your license revoked!"

"Oh come on! It was just one gate!" Yang retorted.

"And the public bench, and the line of parking meters, and finally the fire hydrant!" Weiss shouted, "Admit it Party Girl! You. Are. CRAZY!"

Yang only giggled as she continued focusing on driving everyone back to Beacon.

But then the sound of sirens got their attention, and they all looked out the back window and saw a trio of police cars following them.

"Looks like we got company!" the blonde thrill seeker shouted.

"No shit!" Qrow shouted.

"PULL THE CAR OVER, NOW! And you might get the chance to defend yourself in court!" Shouted the lead police car as they tried to gain up on the van...keyword: Tried.

Qrow cursed, knowing they had to get off the streets and onto a more rural area, before anyone got hurt.

"Turn left at the next turn!" He shouted to Yang, "It'll take us on the long way back to the school! It'll take a while, and leave us open, but it's better than leading a chase through the city and possibly getting somebody killed!"

"Gotcha!" Yang shouted as she made a sharp turn, with Pyrrha using her semblance to keep herself attached to the wall, while still holding onto the unconscious girl, who then began muttering in her sleep.

"M...Ma...plea...," was what she managed to hear, as the Champion looked at the Maiden Knight's face which was set in a grimace, "don't...go...t-tower,"

Pyrrha couldn't understand what she was saying but the way she was whimpering along with perspiration on her brow, it was definitely not good.

The chase continued as the three police cruisers continued their chase of the van, determined to stop from getting away. Soon they arrived at the main road, which was a mostly unused dirt road, due to the school using Dust planes and Bullheads, but was still usable, and thanks to the surprising off-road capability.

"Geez! Off-road capabilities too!?" Yang shouted.

"It was meant as an quick escape vehicle, in case our hideout at the Palace was compromised!" the A.I. spoke up, "Now it looks like we're using it! Though, I don't think the destination was something she did not have in mind to go to, though"

Qrow quirked an eyebrow at that.

"What's the matter with Beacon?" he asked.

"All I can tell is that my partner has...issues with Professor Ozpin," causing confusion among the group, "I'll tell you when we reach the Academy, and away from those annoying flies,"

The sudden sound of gunfire got their attention again, as the policemen in the cars chasing them were now closing in on them and firing with their guns.

"Okay, time to bring them down!" Nora shouted and was about to use Magnhild's grenade launcher mode to shoot down the chasing police, only to be stopped by Ren.

"Nora don't! You can't shoot at the police!," the green ninja said, "They're only doing their job, and attacking them will just get you into trouble,"

Nora was reluctant, but then just gave a sigh in defeat.

"No fair...," she whined.

"Don't worry, we're halfway there!" Yang shouted, "Just need to get passed the forest and we're home free!"

A series of pings on the van's roof made half of them doubt that.

"That is if they don't kill us, first!" Jaune shouted.

Qrow gritted his teeth, as she wished a miracle would happen.

In one of the Police cars, one of the officers looked at his partner as they chased the van.

"Get me in closer!" he shouted, "I'm gonna try to aim for the tires!"

"I'm trying but whoever's driving this van is a real pro!" he shouted, "And not to mention this road hasn't been used in years!"

"Just try to keep me study for a few minutes!" he shouted, and then leaned out the window as he took aim with his service pistol

He smirked as he lined up a shot to one of the front tires of the van.

"Now I got you," he uttered, and was ready to squeeze the trigger...

...only for something to hit the car, and cause it to suddenly shut down.

"WHAT THE HELL!?"

Qrow watched in surprise as what could only be described as darts hit the three police cars, while what looked arcs of electricity surged around them and caused them to stop.

"Who or what the hell did that?" he questioned to himself, but his question was as quickly answered, as something flew over them and away before disappearing into the forest..

It was too fast for him to get a clear view, but he could recognize a gunship when he saw one.

"Saved by a damn gunship." Qrow sighed, "And I owe whoever's piloting that thing a drink,"

He then turned to the front of the van as he spotted Beacon not too far in the distance.

"And in the nick of time, too,"

He watched as the police chase of the vehicle abruptly ended when the police bullhead's camera suddenly blacked out.

"...This footage was obtained from a VPD airship as it pursued the suspect vehicle out of the city near the Emerald Forest. Officers report that the camera was destroyed by a bullet fired from an unknown source, while at least three police cruisers were disable by, shockingly, Police issued EMP darts meant for disabling fast going vehicles. The Suspect vehicle was later found in a tunnel not far from the edge of the forest, but no sign of the driver, or any of it's passengers..."

He pressed a button to shut off the newsfeed before he gave a sigh.

"Well played Ozpin...well played," he said to himself, "But...this is far from over."

Beacon Academy

Team JNPR's Dorm

The two teams were all in Team JNPR's Dorm Room, looking over the person who was now resting on one of the beds, Pyrrha's to be specific, as Qrow watched from the doorway.

They had arrived at the school about half an hour ago, after meeting some of the security staff who helped them move what they found in the palace to a place on the grounds where it could be properly looked through. They then brought the said person to Team JNPR's Dorm room as they waited for Professor Ozpin.

Jaune was holding the scroll which was containing Sprite as his holographic form looks over his partner.

"Well, since we're here, even though she will be REALLY incensed when she wakes up and finds out, I can deliver the message I was programmed to deliver," the A.I. said much to the gathered groups surprise.

Qrow raised an eyebrow at that, "What sort of message?" he asked, and the holographic form of the A.I turned to him.

"Let's just say it concerns the future of ALL of Remnant, with Teams RWBY and JNPR at the center of it," he said, making everyone eyes widen in shock.

"The future of Remnant?" Pyrrha asked, and Sprite nodded.

"Yes, but it would be better that if Professor Ozpin is here, along with all of you since it concerns you all as well," he said, and just as he said that...speak of the devil and he will come.

The said Headmaster arrived at the doorway to the dorm, along with Professor Goodwitch.

"I hope everyone is alright," Ozpin as he walked in, "When I heard you found her, and saw the police chase on the new..."

He stopped as soon as he saw the girl on the bed, more specifically her face, before turning to Pyrrha and back again.

"It appears that I have lot to catch on," he said, while Qrow sighed, as he and Sprite both said the same thing regarding the situation.

"No shit/No Shit,"

A/N:YES! I am invincible! ...Ahem, sorry about that, be sure to leave a review. Oh and disclaimer, RWBY, including all characters and story belong to Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum. Now then to the next After Chapter Scene

After Chapter Scene: Dreams of Despair

She saw nothing but a dark void, as she laid on the floor, curled into a fetal position, listening to the various memories of the two people, whose love she so desperately wanted, but knowing it's impossible.

"SAVE HER! Please...save her,"

"Do you believe in Destiny?"

"...Please! Don't do this!"

"...I'm sorry,"

She wasn't new to these memories, they have haunted her ever since she was born. They were one of the many reasons, why she grew up too soon, and why she never had any parents...well, in her special case that is, they were dead before she was even 'born'.

Still it didn't stop the pain she felt in her heart and soul. In fact, it made it all the more painful, almost to the point of unbearable

"...Dorée..."

At the sound of her name being called, her eyes snapped open, and she sat herself up and looked around.

After a few moments she sighed and proceeded to return to her original position.

"Dorée,"

She stopped and looked around, again. Searching for the source of the voice.

"Dorée!"

She scrambled to her feet as she looked around more frantically now.

"Hello!?" she shouted, almost desperately.

"Dorée!"

The voice, which sounded like a young woman, shouted again, desperately this time.

She knew that voice, it was like her own, but...her eyes widened in hope, as she proceeded to run into the void the, the woman's voice shouting her name over and over, until it was suddenly accompanied by another, this time a young man.

"Dorée!"

The sounds of her armored boots clicking on the floor echoed in the darkness as she proceeded to call out herself.

"Where are you!?" she screamed out, hoping they would answer back and tell her, "Please, tell me where you are!"

She continued running and calling out, hoping that she will find the voices owners.

She didn't know how long she ran for, but she didn't care as she continued searching.

Soon though, her face was now in a desperate grimace, as tears flowed in despair.

"Please...tell me...anything...please..." she then slowed before finally stopping and collapsed to her knees, sobbing as she reached out the void, hoping that somehow, the people behind the voice will grasp it. But they didn't

Taking a few deep breaths she managed to scream out two words. Ones she really wanted to say.

"MAMA!...PAPA!"

Dorée jolted awake, screaming and her hand raised toward the ceiling. Her emerald green eyes were wide, as she laid still on her bed in the Old Royal Palace.

Before long, her arm quivered before falling and resting over her eyes, the hand clenched into a fist, as the tears flowed from them.

"Dammit...DAMMIT!" she shouted in distraught, as she began to sob into her arm..

"How much more...?" she asked to no one, "How much more must I endure this torture? This...this pain?"

She didn't move from her bed, considering it was still the middle of the night, as she cried at the pain, misery, and torture she had endured for as long as she could remember.

But, unknown to her, she was not the only one suffering from this torment, as she didn't know of being watched by a simple drone spider as it recorded everything that was going on, while those watching could only look on in sorrow, as Dorée cried herself back to sleep.

A/N: Annnnnd done! Until then folks, I hope you have a terrific week! Later!