Arc 2: Baron's Rising
Chapter 13: Light At The End
Back in Team RWBYS' room, Sky sat on his own in silence, as he sketched a drawing in his book, his eyes narrowing every now-and-then to get every detail correct. His legs were swinging off the edge of the off-balanced bed, then he hummed a (Familiar) Tune, to himself.
But sadly, the peaceful silence, with only the sound of his pencil meeting page, was abruptly interrupted, as he looked up from his book, then quickly sat his eyes back to the page, turning the book at an angle, as he nodded to himself.
"So, what seems to have troubled you, Miss Belladonna?" Sky spoke up, not meeting the frowning girl's face, as he flipped the page, and looked directly at Blake, his gaze calm, but it felt like he was staring right through her
"Nothing, just...trying to find a quiet place to think." Blake responded, then Sky's gaze dropped to the book, as his hand made rapid, and steady movements around the book, then he shook his head
"You know, perks of being bullied all your life, you tend to pick up on who's lying, and who's not," Sky questioned, as Blake glared at him, not that he noticed, but he knew she was. "I thought you promised Weiss to tell us if something was bothering you, am I wrong?"
"Well...no, but...you..." Blake tried to respond but had nothing to hide behind, Sky kept his gaze on the book, but it still felt like he was watching her. "It's about the White Fang..."
"And I'm guessing that Torchwick person? Not surprising, as he is still at large. There's that, and you've been rather antisocial, and moody." Sky added with a point of his pencil, making Blake's resolve falter. "You can trust me."
"...I just...can't understand how you all can be so calm, with all that's happening, no one is doing anything about it." Blake complained as Sky nodded to himself, both agreeing with himself and Blake
"Ozpin told us not to worry, not that I believe if for a second given how not a single member has been apprehended," Sky responded, but that sent Blake over the edge, not what Sky had in mind
"But they don't know the White Fang as I do!" Blake snapped, making Sky sigh, putting his book on his lap for a moment, as he stared down at Blake with a neutral expression
"You explain to me then how a bunch of teens are to take down a large extremist group, and cunning criminal and whoever else is working in the shadows?" Blake didn't respond right away. "Case-and-point, we aren't ready to handle something this big in scale."
"-And we may never be ready! Our enemies 'won't' wait until graduation! They're out there, somewhere, planning something, and no one knows what it is! And they're coming, whether we're ready, or not!" Blake argued as Sky pulled his book back to his face, continuing his sketching
"Alright." Sky replied after a moment of silence, which caught Blake off guard
"What?" She asked in bafflement
"You want to investigate what it is they're planning, then let's get the others on board and take these guys down, or at least find out what they plan to do, that seem fair?" Sky asked, a smile crossing his face. Blake went to respond, only for the door to burst open
"Ugh, we should have never let him play!" Yang scoffed in anger with Ruby giggled behind her, pointing to her sister
"You're just mad, that the new guy beat you," Ruby retorted, watching Yang clench her fists, hard. "You see if you just attacked when I told you, none of this would have happened."
Not long after, the three arrivals all looked to Blake and Sky, the latter with his arms crossed, before pointing with a thumb down at Blake. "They're all yours."
[Sometime Later, Sky's POV]
Ruby jumped back, her arms raised in determination.
"Ok...All in favor of becoming the youngest huntresses, and hunter, to single-handedly bring down a corrupt organization, conspiring against the Kingdom of Vale...say 'aye'?" Ruby rapidly spat out, before taking a breath at the end. I was generally caught off guard that the whole team didn't work against the idea
"If I get to punch someone, I'm in." Raising my hand, I then looked to Ruby. "Aye."
"Yes! I love it when you're feisty!" Yang agreed, an evil smirk crossing her lips
"Well, I suppose it could be fun." Weiss agreed, just as I flipped myself to hang upside-down from Ruby's bed
"You? Have fun?" My face met a pillow at that comment. "I deserved that."
"Alright then...we're in this together." Blake agreed with a more relaxed and hopeful expression, with Ruby jumping back with her arms raised
"Let's hatch a plan!" She shouted
"Yeah!" Both I and Yang cheered, before Ruby's mind seemed to hit a firewall
"I left my board game in the library!"I quickly felt my legs give in at that, my head crashing into the floor with utter deflation, all the while I watched Weiss shake her head
"We're doomed."
"Understatement of the century, to be honest, I'm surprised we made it this far." I chuckled, this plan will certainly be creative, there was no doubt there
[The Next Day...]
"-So, remind me again...why is their a third wheel with us?" I asked, looking to Yang, and beside her was one of the students from Vacuo, Neptune, he was an alright guy, just...rigid, but he is with Yang, so I can understand that. The three of us were heading to the maintenance wing of Beacon, myself already armored up as we made our way to 'Bumblebee', Yang's motorbike Beacon, Sky had already suited up in Cognitum, whilst he waited for Yang to check 'Bumblebee', her motorbike.
"Because, having comic relief will help with these guys ease up more, you're here for intimidation bonuses and 'I' will gather information 'My' way." Yang explained, clearly certain of her ability to 'persuade' our target, who happens to have information leading to most things shady in Vale. I looked to Neptune, who seemed a little uncomfortable about this ordeal, or the fact that he was getting on the motorbike with Yang of all people
"Wait-wait-wait! How am I getting there?" My answer was that of an evil grin from Yang, who slowly held up a rope to me, and I immediate drooped. "You planned this."
"What?" Yang tried to sound baffled, but her lips kept twitching to hold back her grin, and the strained excitement in her voice only made it obvious
"You planned this, I know you did!" I pointed to Neptune, who merely held his hands up in defense
"I'm not getting involved." Neptune backed out
"You honestly don't trust me?" Yang looked shocked, a hand to her chest, yet a sudden chunk of rebar clanged against the ground by my feet, when I looked to my left, I only saw Coco, waving me off with a grin
"Have fun~!" I hate you Coco
[Industrial District, November 15th, 19:07]
"I Haaate thiiiiiis~!" I yelled at the top of my lungs in pure terror, I mean, who wouldn't when your being pulled by a rope a near 60 MPH, in a sense, 'urban skiing'. The wind was nothing to me inside the suit, the sound null and void, but in a weird way, this was kind of fun
"Hey! Hope you've enjoyed the ride, 'cause we're here!" Yang called on my coms as I nodded, readying my body to slow itself down, as my foot trailed across the tarmac with my heel extended, slowing me, along with Bumblebee, down
Once we came to a stop, I took notice of the area, in contrast to the rest of Vale this place was the 'Rundown' part of town, with warehouses and industrial factories lined up like a maze, the one we approached was a shady nightclub, the beats of the music reaching to us. Heck, the place was also under a massive bridge, which only made me more cautious of the area, then I saw Yang approach me.
"Ok, you stand behind me, try not to talk too much, and change up your voice to sound intimidating." Yang's idea of using me as a form of bodyguard would be amusing, so I simply motioned for her to go ahead. "-C'mon, my friend's right in here!"
"Hey buddy, you alright?" I asked the rather star-struck Neptune, as he nodded dizzily, but I shrugged it off and followed Yang, what I didn't expect was for the doors to be slammed in front of us, only for Yang to smash it in with brute force, which honestly made me feel less safe in Cognitum, makes me wonder how durable Cognitum is against certain energies
"Guess who's back!" Yang all but announced to the massive army of guns pointed at us, only then did I step out of the shadows, pointing my blades towards some of the men, to which they hesitated
"Stand Down," I growled, seeing some lower their pistols, I have to admit, I love the voice modulator so much! Then Neptune popped around to the left of Yang, some guns now pointed to him, only then did I notice the irritating noise of the DJ. "Shut That Crap Off." In a mere moment of those words leaving me, the DJ removed the tonearm from the turntable
"Maybe now these background characters will allow us in?" Iota grumbled
"Yeah...so can you define 'friend' for me?" Neptune asked, as I just kept up the act, then I saw some big guy approach, adjusting the tie around his neck nervously, must be the boss
"Or the mascot." Ha! That's a joke...
"Stop. Stop, nobody shoot." He declared as the remaining weaponry lowered themselves. "Blondie, you're here...Why?"
"'You', still owe me a drink." Yang pointed out, as I followed after her, deciding to let them talk this out, I'm here for any...difficult situations, but judging by how she just dragged the guy away, I doubt that...
"So essentially, we're worthless to this opperat-Wait..." Iota went dangerous quiet, and I motioned for Neptune to keep an eye on Yang, so he nodded, moving to stand with Yang as they interrogated the boss
Meanwhile, I had my body turn to view the entirety of the disco, seeing men watch us with scowls or fear, while others worked on repairing the hinges on the door. What did Iota sense? Was someone here?
"It seems you detected my transmission, I'm impressed." I froze on the spot, placing my index and middle finger against my helmet where my ear was
"Who is this?" I answered, looking around slowly and carefully
"You won't find me here, I'm an ocean away from you, so you don't need to feel threatened." The calm, yet stern woman responded to my internal conflict
"Hard, considering you managed to bypass Cognitum's frequency, know where I am and can see me. Forgive me if I'm not the most trusting of people on Remnant." I dryly replied to her comment, but I did hear her sigh
"I understand, I only wanted you to know that I am here to help you...and myself, in a way, I think?" She thinks? What did that mean? "I know about Project Eclipse?"
"Project Eclipse? How do you-" I suddenly felt my fist clench at my side. "Did you do this?"
"No, but if you are willing to accept me as your eyes and ears of Remnant, then I can help find the person who brought you to Remnant." I felt my heart stopped like a shackled animal in a cage. "You were brought here by someone else's means, so please, let me help you, and in return, help me?"
...
...
"...Okay, just tell me what I should do? I'm at a loss on what I 'should' be doing?" I replied reluctantly, maybe I could finally get answers, even find my way home again...home...I just hope Erika can wait a little longer
"The White Fang and Roman Torchwick had stolen a large quantity of Schnee Dust over the course of the last three months, this not only has resulted in a large movement of Atlas Military, not just for the Vital Festival." She began to unravel the plan for my ears, and my personalities, to hear
"They are now stationed atop Mountain Glenn, an old settlement rests there, and due to the failed attempts to expand, the city was abandoned, making it the ideal place for their operations to amass."
"But why take Dust and White Fang members? I get for robberies, but why ship it all to the outskirts of the city?" What was he planning?
"I don't know, my resources are limited, that and my knowledge, the rest is up to you, but please, do not mention any of this to your friends." Now I was about to question why
"Hold on-"
"-I don't know!" My head quickly turned to look at the irritated man, just as Yang leaned in
"How could you not know?" Yang argued, this only made the guy more agitated
"I haven't talked to him, I haven't even seen him since the night you came here." He answered. "I paid up front, he took my men and not one of them. Came. Back." He pointed dangerously at Yang, who wasn't phased in the slightest
"Good luck." Wait, who the hell even are you!? "Call me..." I swear if you call yourself- "Specter." Fucking. Comical.
"So where did they go." Neptune drove the final nail, for I, along with Iota face-palmed, this was going to be a painful night
Once outside, I honestly saw no other options we could go on, the guy's men were gone, Torchwick was about as easy to catch as mist, and now I have some mysterious lady calling herself 'Specter', probably to piss me off with the 'Original Name', but what was Torchwick planning?
Suddenly, an incoming call from Blake resounded through my helmet and Yang's scroll, when we answered, she sounded like she was in the middle of an airstrike.
Blake: Everyone! If you can hear me, we need back-
Sun: They got a robot, and it is big, REALLY big!
Sun: The Torchwickguy is in it! But not like, it didn't eat him-he's like, controlling it or something!
"Where are you guys!" Yang asked as I saw the red dot move towards us, then past us as I saw the most intimidating robot in history. Painted silver with grey camo patterns, and the bold, crimson claws and wolf head of the White Fang on the shoulders, the large machine looked to be a literal Hulk Buster in the making, both making my sensors scan it, my heart drop, yet racing at the awesome sight
"I think that was them-" No really? Couldn't have guessed, but Yang was already on it, as she threw me the rope, and I prepared for the pull as she threw Bumblebee into drive, nearly taking Neptune off his sense of balance
[Vale, Central Highway, 19:25]
Suddenly, the three of us flew onto the busy highway, passing by cars, with my legs instinctively pushing up to throw me over the roof of a car and back to the road to continue skating across the tarmac. Just ahead of us were Sun and Blake, the two attempting to gain space between them and the Mech.
"Sky, I'll throw you!" Yang alerted me through my coms, and I immediately readied my body as she did d a sharp U-Turn, passing by another car and with the momentum, I leaped into the air with my enhanced strength due to Cognitum, the speed enough to catch Torchwick off guard, my right arm reeling back with my grapple blade at the ready
"No, you don't, brat!" Torchwich's surprising response had me recoiling at the agonizing pain of his torso rotating by the pelvis, the right arm backhanding me down, and nearly through the tarmac of the highway, but the grey chain had followed me, the hook embedded into the arm, leading to my back pulling the rest of me out of the road, and into the air
I was flung into view of his front, with the arm rising to throw me upwards, so I retracted the chain, pulling me down onto the back of the arm, so with my adrenaline putting my senses on high, I coiled my fingers together, raising the gleaming, black blade on my left arm, followed by a sharp skewer of metal twisting and slicing.
Opening my palm, the warmth radiated across my arm, and to my strange sensation, it was embracing me completely, I only channeled the fire dust to my left palm though? Why did I feel it...harmonize? Ignoring that thought, I fired wave after wave of searing novas into the joint of the Mech, despite this, I saw the pistol in the elbow pump out.
"Have a nice flight!" Torchwick mused, and the sudden push of the limb ejecting outwards threw me into the air, just as the electrical blade of Neptune's naginata sunk clean into the shoulder blade, forcing Torchwick to abandon me, and leaving me to see the rope from Bumblebee fly into my field of view
Grabbing hold, my body slammed into the ground again, my skating giving me and Yang room to move ahead of the Mech, where Sun and Neptune were painfully thrown into one-another, the two flying over the hardlight barrier to the streets below.
"That must of hurt!" I cringed, yet my eyes were drawn to Weiss further down the stretch of road, her stance firm, and if I were any slower, I might have missed this opportunity. "Yang, swing me to Roman's right!"
"You got it! HyyYAH!" Roman missed a powerful punch to the ground, only managing to skim past Yang's motorbike, her sharp turn throwing me past the Mech, and towards the hardlight barrier. Out the corner of my eye, I saw Weiss plunge Myrtenaster into the road, and a cascade of ice cloaked the ground
In that same time-frame, I felt my feet press against the hardlight, the emitters flickering at the massive strain of weight from the velocity I was thrown at, luckily they held. With a quick transfusion of the red cells to my legs, I felt my feet erupt with fire, bringing the barrier down but throwing me towards the now out of control Mech on ice. Twisting my waist and throwing myself into a tailspin, my right leg flew around with a trail of orange, the black-iron boot striking the Mech with a bone-shattering clang of metal, and to my widened eyes, Roman fell through the barrier and down to an empty lot of land below.
That included me.
"Son of a bitch!"
"Son of a bitch!"
"Son of a bitch!"
At me and Iota's cursing, we fell off the side of the highway, my grapple line had nowhere to attach itself to cease my fall, or at least, that would be the case if not for the black fabric and familiar pistol wrapping around my arm, pulling me back around as to land safely with a slight tumble forwards, my savior standing before me with a hand held out.
"Thanks for the save, Blake." I sighed with relief, her hand grasping mine to pull me up
"Anytime." Blake gripped my hand tightly, looking at me with a sympathetic look. "Consider 'this' my thank you for convincing me earlier."
"Let's be honest, we still would have come here either way." I mused, just as Yang, Weiss, and Ruby joined us from above, my pride deflating slightly. "I really wish I had a semblance." Changing the subject. "Guys, its got armor that can rival mine, guns that can take on an army, and a madman at the wheel...what's the plan?"
"Obvious, we smash it!" Yang all but said with a Hulk-like grin, so I looked to Ruby, to which she nodded. Once in position, we watched the Mech approach us. I, Yang, and Blake fell back, as Ruby called out 'Freezerburn', one of the combos we made.
What followed was a floor of ice, along with Yang's Ember Celia's releasing fire to defrost the ice, causing a large hue of mist to appear, the rest of us all ran to our marks, cornering the Mech as we carefully watched its scanners pass by us, some narrowly avoiding me, but my scramble system helped to lead them astray, only the silence was broken by its colossal footsteps.
"Focus. Our time to strike is now." Good call Iota let's dance
Just at the thought, I watched as a shot fired at Yang's silhouette, followed by both Ruby and Blake, Ruby using Crescent Rose to hook around the groin of the Mech and sling herself behind it, from there, her and Blake sliced the ankles of the Mech twice horizontally. Roman attempted to blast Ruby, but the two utilized Weiss' glyphs to rise into the air, the two connecting blades in an 'X', and with a clean stream of purple and red, the left arm was severed from the Mech.
"Digital Eclipse!" At my call, Ruby spun on her heel with Crescent Rose, driving the scythe down in a vertical curve, as my claws swung upwards, the ten, blue slashes and single, large red gash erupting with ice and fire, mangling some of the Mech's optical sensors, other than that, it was still in one piece, enough to reel its remaining arm back at Ruby's blind spot.
"Ruby!" I called out, my hand grabbing her waist and pulling her into my chest, just as I felt a freight train shatter my spine into fragments upon our tumble, with Ruby still in my arm as she fell atop me, as I felt my body jerk sharply at the pain vibrating through my back. "Ahh...that smarts!"
"Sky!" I merely held my thumb up for her, then I pointed to the Mech
"Black and White." I wheezed, and after a moment of hesitation, Ruby moved off my stomach to sit next to me. "I'm gonna feel that when I wake up...ow..."
"Checkmate!" Both Weiss and Blake responded in accordance, letting loose dozens of strikes, and even cutting off more of its scanners, but my sensors went off, alerting me to the signs of missile fire from atop the shoulders, forcing me to push up with my elbows. "Wait, here, you can't-"
"I'm not...done...!" I spat, pushing myself onto my knees, then with a slight kick, I managed to force myself into a run. Quickly pressing a button on Cognitum, a half-empty cell of fire dust ejected from my hip, my hand crunching down on it, coating my body in a massive aura of concentrated fire
The flames did help lure the missile astray, the result was a fireworks display around my body, but my save was short-lived, since a few struck me directly, throwing me off the ground, and from the embers I winced in agony as the metal fist struck me, burying me into the dirt with a scorching wasteland around me.
"Sky, why did you do that!?" Ruby was already at my side, with the rest holding Roman off, but Yang had been shoulder charged into one of the concrete supports, and soon, punched straight through. "Sky?" I looked up shakily, seeing the worried look on her face
"I...I'm fine..." I was kneeling at Death's door, but I couldn't distract her from the fight, but was that really it? Was this the limit of what I and a machine I was given can go? Then why do I feel so angry?
"Please, just wait here." Ruby ignored me, pushing me lightly to kneel on the ground, watching her spin Crescent Rose around her back, yet she never noticed my fingers digging into the soil. I was left to watch, just like before...like always.
"While I can see this world has given us a limit, I'll be damned to eternal subordination towards that 'Runt'." Iota spat in my head, but why... "We are trapped in a world we cannot understand, but with Cognitum...with this power over matter and creation...we can go farther, more than some petty semblance can ever hope to achieve."
What Iota was saying, it actually gave me the strength to move my legs again, my hands had already left the soil, I was beaten and burned, I felt my own breath burn down my throat to my lungs, my heart raced to the point of failure, but I was alive...me...Iota...Eric...
"We can still fight!" Eric's right. "I am?"
"For once...but yes, we refuse to be seen as insignificant again, and if we go down in flames...so be it." Iota, I couldn't agree more. But Yang, she needs time to recover for her semblance to work, why don't we give her an opening? "I can work with that."
"Ok...then," I growled, the lights of Cognitum sinking into a royal red hue. "Let's test our limits again!"
I ran for the broken remains of a support beam, seeing that it was still three quarters of its original size, with all my remaining strength, my claws sunk into the concrete, my legs pushing hard into the dirt, to the point I felt myself sink slightly, and the strain in my arms was beginning to weaken, Cognitum was beginning to adapt to the weight, as I saw the metal plates squeeze against my arms, almost skin-tight, but it worked, slowly, the large shadow of the concrete support was lifted high into the air, just as I turned to Roman, who was ready to continue his assault on my friends, my team...
"I GOT YOUR LIMIT RIGHT HERE!" My scream and Eric's drew the attention of them all, most gawking at the sight but I couldn't quite focus yet, as I swung the massive support around towards the left, with Roman striking out with the Mech's fist, the two of us recoil at the sudden force of kinetic energy and gravity, with a heavy heave, my foot dug into the ground, resting the massive pillar on my left shoulder, with Roman thrusting the fist out again
*CRASH-CRUNCH*
We recoiled again, my footing nearly lost, if not for the glyph holding my feet to the ground, allowing me the time to push back with a scream, and the moment our attacks met, we both pushed to outlast the other, sparks screeching off the Mech, while cracks ran up the length of the pillar. Yet, finally, the pistol in the arm had seized up, and the sudden relief of tension crushed the arm under the concrete support.
Yet I pulled back once more, running a few feet ahead, and with a powerful jump I swung the support from over my head, and the sudden, ear-bleeding crunch of stone shattering against steel rung through the air, clearing the mist, and throwing me through the raining rock and over the other side, where I finally fell to my knees, hearing my joints pop.
"H-How's that for my l-limit..." I couldn't move, even with the sparking shadow looming over me, yet to my throaty laugh, the Mech was working on fumes, and mine was spent, just as I fell onto my back with a yelp, turning to look up at the Mech, the fist rising high into the air. "S-Shit..."
"The smartest thing you've done tonight, kid." Roman sneered, and the fist came hurtling towards my gasping body
"Sky~!"
*Thud-Crank*
But to my heavy eyes, a Golden Dragon stood before me, her hair glowed like an ember, and her eyes filled with crimson hate, and she put it on display. As the Mech's arm groaned under her slow twisting, her hand stopping its push with ease, before lifting her left fist.
"Don't you dare touch my best friend, you jerk!" With a yell, Yang's left fist shattered the arm completely, throwing the Mech backward from the force
Torchwick quickly kicked towards us, but Blake threw her a line, literally, as she swung her around in a massive, flaming arc. But the swing missed as Torchwick moved, so I watched with a smile at Ruby and Weiss forming 'Ice flower', shooting forth high-caliber rounds of ice, as it not only froze the Mech's movements but also broke many fissures in its armor.
And alas, Yang swung around once more, where her right-hook embedded itself into the Mech's cockpit, shattering the suit into fragments, funny it left Roman unscathed, the man merely rolling across the ground with the pieces that remained of the Atlas Mech.
"Just got this thing cleaned!" Torchwick grunted as he dusted himself off. "Ladies, Ice Queen, Split." He guested to us
"Hey!" Weiss fired back at the insult
"Always a pleasure...Neo, if you would." He asked the girl with an umbrella, the strange girl with heterochromia eyes bowed, a smug grin on her face. Yang wasted no effort in sprinting towards them both, her fist ignited with Ember Celica, yet when contact was made, only the shattered glass of mirror-like copies remained
In the distance, both Neo and Roman had managed to make their way into a hidden Bullhead, the two criminals escaping without a stolen suit atleast...thank...God...ok, I think I'll pass out now, goodnight.
"Sky? Sky, are you ok!?" I heard Weiss call to me, but my vision had already slipped away, but I did manage to say something
"That...was one hell...of a battle."
To Be Continued...
I need to find a better way to manage time, so here you all go, a longer chapter for the wait! I kind of changed the chapters around, so the one I mentioned last time will be next, just thought I give you this to progress the story and such, hope you enjoyed, seeya in the next chapter!