Chapter 9: The Gray Team
Remnant, Kingdom of Vale, Beacon Academy
POV: Teams RWBY and JNPR, Sun and Neptune
Premise: Teams RWBY and JNPR begin to question the appearance of the Reds and Blues, while trying to get Blake to go to the upcoming dance. Red Team comes into conflict with a bandit tribe...
Ruby sat on Weiss' bed, with the Ice Queen sitting right next to her. The young huntress was staring at her old pendant that she gave to her 'boyfriend': Michael J. Caboose.
She wasn't alone with Weiss. The rest of her team, along with Team JNPR, Sun, and Neptune were in the room as well, staring at her. The atmosphere in the room was rather tense, as if there was an actual 'elephant' in the room.
"So…" Ruby muttered as she looked up from her pendant, "What should we do?"
"What should we do?" Nora repeated, "What should we do? We must celebrate!"
The young bubbly girl proceeded to bounce off the walls of the dorm room, even bouncing off Weiss' head in the process.
Nora then stood on top of Yang's bed, "The mighty, charismatic, and idiotic Reds and Blues! Loved by us, and hated by Weiss, are on Remnant! Stopping White Fang in their tracks, bringing fear to the criminal underworld! Imposing justice to all! Our friends and Weiss's forced acquaintances! They. Are. On. REMNANT!"
"Nora!" Ren shouted at her
"Heh, sorry Ren." Nora muttered, as she smiled innocently at her long-time friend
"Ok." Sun spoke up, catching everyone's attention, "That's right, still here. So tell me what exactly are these uh...Reds and Blues?"
"Do you remember that dust incident we got ourselves into?" Yang asked him, "Along with us and Team JNPR going missing a month before the start of the second semester?"
"Uh yeah?" Neptune replied
"Well...we kinda got stuck in another universe. Met the Reds and Blues. Stopped an evil AI, and a crazed maniac who wanted more AI. You know, fun stuff!" Yang explained
Sun looked at Blake for answers, "Blake, can I get your version of the story?"
Blake sighed, knowing Sun won't believe them. Granted, who would.
"It's true." Blake said to him, "In fact, they are the reason why Ruby changed her appearance."
"Really?" Neptune muttered as he looked the reaper
"Yep." Ruby replied, "I have a...special relationship with one of them."
"Relationship?" Yang snickered, "More like boyfriend!"
Yang proceeded to bake kissing noises at her little sister. Which earned her a punch in the arm from Ruby.
"So yeah…" Ruby muttered
"Alright then." Neptune said in response
"So how long has it been since you saw these guys?" Sun asked
"Uh, about a month." Jaune replied
"And why didn't you go back to see them?" Sun added
Both teams were silent.
"Me." Weiss replied
"Weiss." Ruby groaned
"No Ruby it is my fault." Weiss insisted, "I accidentally broke our teleporter. The only thing I didn't do was lose access to the experimental dust."
"And how did you lose that?" Neptune then asked
"You can blame my father for that." Weiss muttered darkly, "Apparently supplying your daughter with the most important material in order to survive is less important then supplying dust to contractors who pay the most."
"That's dumb." Sun replied
"You bet." Weiss continued, "And not just that new dust. Even stopped supplying me with regular dust as well."
Weiss then sighed and looked at the floor, "Maybe I just-"
"Weiss stop." Ruby cut her off, "This isn't your fault. Sure you don't like them as much as everyone else does, but that doesn't make you guilty."
Weiss smiles, "You're right. But I'm still wondering why they haven't stopped to see us?"
"Well, maybe they haven't for a reason." Pyrrha suggested
"Maybe it isn't even the Reds and Blues." Jaune spoke up, "Ruby, your mother shared the same symbol with you. Maybe that was your mother's."
"That's possible." Ren muttered, "But if it is them, why are they attacking the White Fang?"
"Yeah." Yang muttered, "Blake you said that there was a group of bandits who raided White Fang battalions outside the kingdom. It seems like a decent connection."
"But stripping them of their aura." Blake muttered coldly, "Why would they do that?"
"Yeah, they aren't that violent." Weiss added, "At least they don't seem to kill them. Except for that lousy sniper shot that hit Torchwick."
"Probably Church." Yang chuckled
Ren then looked at Ruby, "Ruby what do you think?"
Ruby sighed, "I'm not sure. But right now let's not worry about it."
Blake's eyes widened, "What?"
"This news is quite surprising for everyone." Ruby explained, "But welcoming nonetheless. Whether it truly is the Reds and Blues or not is still a debate. But these bandits are also giving us breathing room to focus on our normal lives here."
"But they don't know that White Fang like I do!" Blake protested
"Aw, don't worry Blake." Yang assured her, "We'll still have time to investigate ourselves."
Blake sighed in despair, "Whatever."
The cat Faunus got off her bunk and made her way for the door
"Where are you going?" Ruby asked her as Blake opened the door
"I'll be in the library." Blake replied darkly before shutting the door quietly leaving everyone in the room.
"Ruby's right." Jaune muttered as he stood up, "We can't let this hold us back. We have our own problems here right now. In fact, I think it is time for some training." he said as he looked at his partner.
"Right." Pyrrha smiles as she got up and followed Jaune out the door to train on the rooftop."
"I could go for some pancakes." Nora snickered as she looked at Ren.
"Yes Nora, I'll make you pancakes." Ren replied as he and Nora left the room as well.
"Well, I guess this talk is over, see ya!" Sun muttered as he and Neptune then left, leaving the rest of Team RWBY in the room.
Ruby stares into space for a moment, catching her friends attention.
"What do you think Ruby?" Weiss asked her
"It's been a month for us, right?" Ruby muttered
"Yeah." Yang replied
"Well, how long has it been for them?"
POV Change: The Reds and Blues
Blue Team stared at the cryo pod that contained Wash, whose condition had only worsened. It had been a day since they indirectly assisted Team RWBY in stopping Torchwick.
"I've meaning to ask you." Tucker said to Carolina, "Did he have any problem while we were gone?"
Carolina sighed, "No, nothing big."
Tucker then smirked, "Did he kiss you?"
"What!? No!" Carolina's face turned red underneath her helmet. Tucker and Kai started laughing.
"We're kidding. Jeez." Kai chuckled, "But something tells you wished he did."
"I will not deny nor confirm that." the ex-freelancer muttered, "So I heard you ran into your friends."
"Not exactly." Caboose replied slowly
"We indirectly helped them stop Torchwick." Tucker explained, "Simmons shot off the bastard's arm in the process."
"So they still know that we're here?" Carolina questioned
"I hope." Tucker sighed
"Hey I've been meaning to ask this, but why can't we just go see Ruby anyway?" Kai asked
"We could." Tucker replied, "But there are too many questions that we have about this place. We need our own answers. We still know the identities of the other 'horsemen' in this White Fang Operation."
"Hopefully with that new bug Simmons planted into Vale's communication tower will give us some answers." Carolina added
Suddenly, Sarge entered the room with a warning.
"Sarge, what's wrong?" Carolina asked him
"The nearby village is under attack." Sarge explained
"White Fang?" Kai asked
Sarge shook his head, "No, bandits of some kind."
"Go stop them." Tucker ordered him, "We'll stay here and watch after Wash."
"On it." Sarge nodded before leaving the room to address his men, "Men! Our orders are to push back the enemy from our territory. Those dirty Whites-wait. I mean...Blues? Simmons, think of a color to call these guys."
"Uh, the Grays?" Simmons suggested
"Really?" Grif said to his friend
"Perfect!" Sarge shouted, "Now fall out! Oh and Donut?"
"Yeah?" the lightish-red soldier asked
"Bring the pig."
Later…
The entirety of Red Team were at the cliff overlooking the village. The same place they were when they first arrived on Remnant. Donut hled a stuffed animal pig in his hands.
"Why do you have that?" Grif groaned, "What's the point of bringing a stuffing carnival toy?"
"Shut up dirtbag." Sarge barked at him, "Locus what do you see?"
"It's a small bandit tribe." Locus explained while looking through the scope of a sniper rifle, "I count only ten, but their leader seems to be out of sight."
"We'll split up then." Sarge suggested, "Donut and Lopez will take five of the men. Grif and Simmons the other five. While me and Locus will look for the leader."
"You're just suggesting that so you don't have to fight anyone." Grif muttered
"Of course not!" Sarge countered, "Once I have captured their leader! I will be the bandit's new leader! It's just like Mad Max!"
"Which one?" Donut asked, "The original or the reboot?"
"[I prefer the reboot.]" Lopez added his two cents
"Ah shut up guys." Sarge grumbled, "Come on let's move."
With that done, the team made their way into the village. With Sarge ordering each to split up and fulfill their duties. The red soldier and merc on the other hand, made their way into the village square. It was quiet, aside from the gunshots and sword clashes heard in the distance. Presumably coming from the rest of Red Team and the bandits.
"I don't like this." Locus muttered as he nad Sarge walked back to back and weapons at the ready
"As much as I hate to admit it, I agree with you." Sarge replied, "Bandits usually use large numbers to overrun villages and steal their supplies. These guys only have enough men to get themselves killed."
"It's probably a coordinated attack then." Locus suggested
"I smell a trap." Sarge grunted
"What do you suggest?" Locus asked him
"Spring the trap."
A gunshot then ran past the duo and hit a nearby pot, shattering it into pieces. A figure jumped from the rooftops and tried to attack Locus, but Sarge pushed him aside and managed to punch the figure right in the face. Knocking it to the ground. Locus put his foot on the figure's stomach to prevent it from moving, and kicked the user's weapon away from it's grasp. Sarge pointed his shotgun at the figure's head.
It was then that Sarge and Locus got a look at their attacker. It was a young woman, perhaps in her late 20s. She had light-tanned skin, very short brown hair, and icy blue eyes. She wore a light brown vest, with dark brown panels on the top, and a dark brown buckled strap on the back. A torn white shirt was underneath and was unbuttoned slightly at the top. Maroon jeans were on her, with the right side rolled up to her thigh, revealing a dark brown calf guard. On top of that, she wore boots, and armored gauntlets.
"Who are you?" Locus demanded
"I-I have no interest in you." she sneered, "But my leader insisted that we meet."
"And who's your leader?" Sarge asked her
A loud hum filled the air, and the two soldiers turned around. With Locus still having his foot on the girl's chest. Behind them was a red portal of some kind, and a lone figure emerged from it before disappearing. The figure was a woman, presumably older than the one they just met. She had extremely long raven black hair that had a layer of normal hair on the bottom, and a layer of messy hair on top, similar to a bird, with a red bandana holding it in place. She wore a red and black kimono-like dress, needed a necklace around her neck, black pants with heels, and red armored gloves. A large grimm mask covered her face, and a sword of some kind was sheathed at her hip.
"Damn, I swear it is nice to see everyone supporting the Red Team around here." Sarge chuckled
The woman just stared at him.
"Ok, not the answer I was expecting." Sarge muttered before speaking directly to her, "I take you're the leader?"
"That's correct." the woman replied as the two proceed to circle one another, "I needed to see if you people were the real deal as weak minded folks in Vale tell everyone."
"One, you could've just called us." Sarge said to her, "Two, are we a threat to you?"
"Perhaps." the woman shrugged, "You people are going to make the rest of society rely solely on you. If you disappear, they won't have the ability to defend themselves."
"What are you trying to say?" Locus asked her
"Simple, to stop doing what you are doing." she explained, "I don't even know how you people can even be heroes."
"Explain." Sarge demanded
"Well from the looks of you, you seem to live under the delusion of honor and duty. Which bleeds into your normal life as well." the woman said to them, "As for your friend, I can sense a sign of guilt and pacifism."
Locus growled slightly, "I've heard enough."
"I'm sorry." the woman said in a hurtful tone, "I thought we were fighting now?"
She then got into a fighting stance, waiting for Sarge to attack her.
"I don't need to fight you." Sarge muttered, "All I need to do is waste your time."
"Huh?" the woman grunted before her face was slammed into the ground. She rolled onto one knee and took out her sword, a long red bladed weapon that appeared to have some sort of trigger mechanism. The person who hit her in the back turned out to be Simmons, now joined by the rest of Red Team.
The woman under Locus' foot managed to break free, and was now back-to-back with her leader.
"Vernal, are you ok?" the red woman asked
"Yeah." Vernal replied, "They aren't pushovers."
"Boring." Sarge mocking said to them, "Let's fight!"
Vernal charged at Donut, the pink soldier blacked with his arms before rolling out of the way and hitting her in the gut with his hammer. He then pulled her back with the magnetic force of his weapon and hit her in the head, sending Vernal flying into Lopez. The Spanish robot proceeded to punch her in the gut. Vernal then spin kicked Lopez in the leg, causing him to fall over. Vernal then jumped onto the rooftops to try and get away.
"Donut!" Locus shouted as he was fighting the red woman, "Open the pig!"
Donut put the pig on the ground and found a zipper on the toy's belly. He unzipped it and inside was a plasma grenade launcher. Donut loaded the weapon and fired a single shot in the air. The grenade stuck to Vernal's back and exploded, sending her flying off the rooftops and onto the ground right at Locus' feet.
"Oh I get it now!" Donut muttered, "Pig! Portable. Integrated. Grenade launcher."
"[Seriously?]" Lopez groaned
The red woman on the other hand attacked Sarge, who immediately dodged the attack. He took out his knife and pistol, slashing at her chest which blew off small chunks of her aura. She then blocked him with her sword before kicking him to the side. Her next attacker was Simmons, she dashed toward him moving quickly and in a zig-zag maneuver. Simmons, was unable to shoot her with his SMG and was immediately hit in the face with a sword, luckily there was no major damage.
"Ow the front of my face!" he shouted, "Come here!"
He then punched in the gut with his own fist, which was enhanced by his armor's thrusters. Sending her flying into a building.
"Yeah suck it gray!" he taunted at her
The woman got up and growled. She sheathed her sword before drawing it again, with the blade now a light blue color. She dashed at Simmons again before her sword shot out ice which froze the maroon soldier in place.
"Oh shit." he muttered
The woman tried to slash at him, but Simmons managed to break out of the ice and before he could be hit. The woman sheathed her sword again, and the blade became orange, and was engulfed in fire. She tried to attack Simmons again. But was blocked by Grif, who was using his sword. The two proceed to fight in a display of swordsmanship, with the woman on the defensive due to Grif's violent fighting style. The woman then had another attacker: Locus. The former merc drew his energy sword and tried to attack but was blocked, and she managed to grab him and throw him into Grif.
Once the duo got back on their feet. They noticed that the woman disappeared.
"Where'd she go?" Locus asked
"I don't know." Grif replied
"Hey guys, look a bird!" Donut shouted as raven flew past them
"Yeah Donut." Simmons said sarcastically to him, "It's a bird. Now CAN WE KEEP FIGHTING THE BI-OW!"
He was then hit in the side by the woman's sword just before she disappeared again.
"Where'd she go now!?" Sarge cried
"Uh, the bird is back." Donut muttered, noticing the bird fly by again
"[No one cares idio-SHIT!"]"
Lopez was then smacked to the ground by the woman before she disappeared yet again.
This happened again and again with Sarge, Donut, and Locus. Grif then realized something odd: Anytime the woman disappeared, a raven would fly by. So he came up with an idea. He was the next one to be attacked. He looked up and noticed the raven flying overhead. He pointed his pistol and fired a single shot, hitting the bird. The creature fell to the ground and suddenly in its place was the woman. She had lost a large portion of her aura from the single bullet, as it was flickering ever so faintly.
Grif walked up to her, and she tried to attack yet again. But the orange soldier dodged it and punched her in the face, knocking off her mask. He then grabbed her by the collar and brought her up to face level.
"Alright lady!" Grif shouted, "Who the hell...are...you…"
Grif dropped her in shock and stumbled back a bit. The woman got up and looked at him in confusion. She had fair skin, and red eyes. Vernal was soon right next to her, holding her weapon up in defence.
Grif took off his helmet, revealing his face, and one word escaped his mouth.
"...Yang?"
The woman's eyes widened before narrowing in seriousness. A portal then opened up behind her and Vernal, and the two jumped in before it disappeared.
"No wait!" Grif shouted as the portal disappeared
The rest of Red Team soon joined him.
"Who was that?" Simmons asked his friend
"I don't know." Grif replied, "But she looked like Yang."
The group started to make their way back to their base. Completely unaware that they ere being watched by a figure who was on the cliff. He had messy black hair, and red eyes. He wore a gray shirt, and black pants along with torn red cape. A sword-like weapon was also on his back.
"Well, this just got interesting." he muttered he suddenly turned into a crow and flew off.
POV Change: Beacon Academy
"That is all for today." Glynda said to her class as they started to leave the classroom, "And remember, the dance is this weekend. But you all have your first mission on Monday. I will not accept any excuses."
Team RWBY left the classroom and started to head back to their dorm when suddenly they were stopped by Sun
"Hey Blake!" he said to her as he walked up, "You uh, doing ok?"
Blake closed the book she was holding and looked at him in annoyance. Her eyes were saggy and she looked tired.
"I'm fine." she muttered
Sun decided to cut right to the chase, "So I hear there's this dance going on this weekend... ah, sounds pretty lame, but you and me, I'm thinking, not as lame, huh?"
Blake just looked at him in confusion, "What?"
"The dance!" Sun shouted, "This weekend! You wanna go or not?"
Blake frowned even more in disappointment, "I don't have time for a stupid dance." she huffed as she walked away, "I thought you of all people would get that."
Sun sighed and sagged in rejection. A thing that was noticed by her entire team.
POV Change: Team RWBY's Dorm
"You what!?" Blake shouted at her teammates as they all sat together in their dorm
"We want you to go to the dance." Ruby said to her
"That's ridiculous." Blake protested
"Blake, we're worried about you." Yang said to her, "This investigation is starting to mess with your head."
"You can't sleep, you hardly eat, and to be honest, your grades have been suffering." Weiss counted out on her fingers
"You think I care about grades!?" Blake shouted as she pointed out the window, "People's lives are at stake!"
Yang put her arm down, "We know, and we're all still trying to figure out what Torchwick is up to."
"Thanks to you and Sun, we know they're operating somewhere outside of southeast Vale." Ruby explained
"And, the Schnee company records singled out Vale as the primary target for Dust robberies over the last few months." Weiss added
"Don't forget about their missing military tech too." Yang muttered
"But there's still unanswered questions!" Blake protested, "We still have the Reds and Blues out there fighting!"
"We don't even know if it's them." Weiss countered, "Sure Ruby found her old pendant that she gave to Caboose. But that doesn't mean that they're the ones who are fighting the White Fang."
"And whoever is fighting them is giving us breathing room to enjoy ourselves." Ruby added, "Blake, you won't be able to find anything if you can't even keep your eyes open!"
"All we're asking is that you take it easy for one day." Yang explained
"It will be fun!" Weiss shouted, "Yang and I will make sure of it."
"Yeah! We're planning the whole event!" Yang added, as she pumped her fists together
"Excuse me?" Blake muttered
"Team CFVY's away mission lasted longer than expected." Weiss explained
"So, Weiss and I were asked to pick up where they left off." Yang continued, "And now we can make sure you have the perfect night."
"And once it's all over, we'll return for our search, rested and ready." Weiss assured her
"So what do you think?" Ruby asked
Blake looked down at her feet before looking back up, frowning.
"I think this is a colossal waste of time." she said before getting up and heading towards the door, opening it.
"I'll be in the library." she muttered before shutting the door behind her
"Great." Yang groaned
"She can't keep going like this." Weiss frowned
Someone then knocked at the door, and the heiress opened it. Only to see Jaune standing in the hallway with a guitar.
"Weiss!" he sang, only for the rude Schnee to slam the door on him
"Oh, come on, open the door!" Jaune groaned, "I promise not to sing."
Weiss huffed before opening the door.
"I lied!" Jaune shouted, before singing again, "Weiss Schu-nee, will you accompany me, to the dance on... Sunday!?"
"Are you done?" Weiss ask him
"Yes?" Jaune muttered
"No." Weiss huffed before slamming the door on him again. She then turned to look at her teammates, who just stared at her.
"What?" she huffed
"And that is why they call you the Ice Queen." Yang quipped
Weiss sighed, "All my life, boys have only cared about the perks of my last name. Besides, I already have a date in mind."
"Date or no date." said Ruby, "None of this will matter if we can't get Blake to go."
POV Change: City of Vale
Roman Torchwick leaned against the wall of the White Fang-operated warehouse. He was gazing at the new robotic arm he got thanks to one of Cinder's contacts. It wasn't anything special, all it was a black robot arm. Adam was watching him.
"I want you to explain to me. How has this happened?" Cinder sneered, via a holographic projection. Emerald and Mercury were standing with her
Torchwick frowned before making a fist, "Those bastards that you told us not to worry about, are starting to poke their noses in our little operation."
"To further explain." Adam continued, "They killed several of my men, and destroyed one of our paladins."
Cinder put her hand to her chin and smirked, "Hmm, these soldiers are much more chaotic than we thought they were. But no matter."
"No matter!?" Adam shouted, "These fucking idiots are a threat to all our plans! Mine, yours, Torchwick's, everything!"
"Watch your mouth!" Emerald shouted like a loyal dog
"Sure, they are powerful." Cinder continued, "But our plan is still suitable to be set into motion. Torchwick, start moving all our forces and supplies to our base in the southeast. Adam, you will go and oversee the recruitment of more faunus."
Torchwick nodded before ending the transmission.
'This better work.' he thought to himself.