(Hello everybody! I apologize for the week late upload, the document manager on Fanfiction had been acting strange for the last week or so, and I was unable to upload. Chapter 10 will be coming out shortly after this upload. Thanks for understanding!)
Morning. Titus felt his eyes thrown open as his alarm sounded on his scroll and he sat straight up. He looked around the room, noting the fact that all of his fellow classmates were still fast asleep and he quickly reached out to his alarm, silencing it and placing it in the pocket of his sweatpants as he leapt to his feet. He noted Ilia, the girl who he had run into yesterday, had been sleeping nearby, as though he was going to offer her some sort of security in the night, or perhaps she hoped that he would forgive her quickly and they could 'kiss and make up.' He convulsed at the thought and quietly made his way through the bodies to the showers. It wouldn't have concerned him to shower with the other men, he was quite aware that they all had the same parts, and it really didn't bother him, but he hoped by being up earlier than the rest of them he would have a little extra time to try and prepare for their initiation mission.
The water rolled down his massive body as he stood directly beneath the showerhead, placing his hands against the wall to support himself, and staring down at the floor, watching as the water dripped off of him and slipped into the drain. He slowed his breathing and began focusing on what mattered. In less than a few hours, he would be out in the field, fighting Grimm to ensure his survival and his placement at this school. He had read the briefing in the packet over at least a dozen times. They would enter the Emerald Forest, fight their way through monsters, retrieve one of the relics, and exit the forest. The thing that seemed to bother him the most, however, was the fact that whoever the first person is that he lays eyes on, he would be stuck with for the next four years. As far as he could tell, there was no changing the rules as far as that was concerned. There was no sort of appeal that could be made, no special ruling if you ended up with someone that even threatened to end you. Four years.
A horrifying thought of being stuck with Ilia came over him and he shook his head as he reached for his shampoo and lathered it into his hair, letting it soak in for a few moments before he rinsed it out. If he was completely honest with himself, he could probably tolerate her for that long if he needed to, but it was preferable that he didn't have to. Please, try and enjoy yourself while you are here. Those were the words that General Branwen had used, one of the last things that she commanded him to do. Enjoy himself? He wasn't sure he knew how to enjoy himself, all that he had known for most of his life was fighting to bring honor to himself, his family, and to Atlas. That in itself gave him enjoyment, but without any of that to drive him, how was he supposed to 'enjoy' anything?
But it wasn't so much a command as it was a request. Here they wouldn't command him to do anything. Everything they did at Beacon was more of a request and if he didn't follow through, the punishment would be far less severe than it had been with General Branwen or his previous commanding officer. He dried himself off in the locker room as he stood there in his boxers, rummaging through his locker for the packet, and reading it over another time. Everything felt off and it felt different. In Atlas, they were in charge of every last thing that Titus did. They scheduled time for him to eat, sleep, think, even breath. There were no options, there was only an exact time that everything had to be done. Here he had extra time this morning to do whatever he pleased. The mess hall had multiple options that he could choose from for breakfast instead of a granola bar and a protein shake. He smirked. If he wanted waffles… He could have waffles.
Titus got dressed and left the Great Hall to the cafeteria, stepping inside and noting that only one other student was there with him, a girl who looked like she probably came from a rough part of town, wearing some thug like attire with a beanie on her head. She had earbuds in and head banged as she turned her music up even louder, despite the fact that Titus could already hear it from across the room. She acknowledged him as he stepped past her, grabbing a tray and loading it up with fruit, adding a bowl of oatmeal and a milk as he moved to the far end of the room, holding the packet under the platter. As he sat he removed it again, memorizing it as he took a bite of an apple, determined to know the material front and back before he finished his meal.
"What's your name!?" The girl called out. His eyes narrowed as he looked harder at the papers, praying that she would just ignore him, or that he could just play it off like he couldn't hear her. "Excuse me! What's your name?!" He sighed, setting the files down and looking across the empty lunchroom at her.
"Titus! And yours?" He asked. Though he knew just by looking at her he was superior to her, he decided to humor her and feign interest in the conversation.
"Tawney!" She called back. She pulled out her earbuds and paused the music for a moment. "Ever heard of Jeff and Casey Williams?" He looked at the ceiling, trying to recall the names if he had ever heard them, but shrugged, unable to ever remember being aware of them. "Caffeine?! Boop?! Nothing?!" He shook his head.
"No, I'm sorry." She shook her head in disappointment and put her earbuds back in.
"You should really give them a listen sometime. The Remnant Broadcast Station is doing a sweepstake! One lucky school will get to have them perform a concert! That would be epic!" She shouted out again, unable to hear her own voice over the music blasting in her head. He nodded slowly, no longer interested in the conversation as he looked back down at the information. If they had a pop quiz about the history of the school, he would undoubtedly ace it. He smirked again as he finished his food and stood, moving to the trash can and emptying the tray before taking it back to the kitchen. "It was nice to meet you!" He cringed as he walked away.
"I'm sure it was," he muttered under his breath as he left the cafeteria and headed towards the courtyard. He looked up at the statue of Team RWBY once again and recalled the words that Glynda had told him. They needed to come together under the idea that no matter who was truly the strongest, they could achieve an even greater strength if they worked together. There was a truth in what she had told him, but there was also the matter that the individuals made the whole, and the whole would only become stronger if the individuals did too. He trained by himself in front of the statue as he waited for the other students to stir. Soon enough he would be leading his team to victory.
Neela slowly opened her eyes to find that Eliana was still lying there across from her, looking into her eyes as she smiled, realizing that Neela was awake. Neela blushed slightly, the feeling returning to her hand and she noted that it was still gently grasping Eliana's. She pulled it away, acting as if she meant to adjust her blanket and made herself as comfortable as she could on the floor. She yawned and stretched, rolling onto her back and causing Eliana to giggle and move closer, leaning her head on Neela's shoulder. Neela startled slightly as Eliana nestled in closer.
"Good morning Neela," Eliana finally spoke. Eliana had finally stopped moving and sighed, comfortable with the position she had found as Neela could hear her lightly breathing. "How did you sleep last night?" Neela tried to ignore Eliana, knowing it was her best bet at not completely losing her cool and she stared up at the ceiling. It felt nice to be this close to Eliana. She smiled slightly and shifted, hoping to roll away but Eliana pulled in closer and Neela swallowed hard. "I slept pretty well last night, which is crazy because thinking about the fact that in less than two hours we'll be starting our initiation has me super anxious."
Neela finally lost her nerve and sat up, forcing Eliana to roll off of her and laugh as she sat up herself. Neela ran a hand through her hair, pushing it away from her face and smiling at Eliana. She hoped she had played it cool and surprisingly, it hadn't bothered Neela as much as some of the other things that had gone on between them yesterday, but Neela knew it had to do with her nerves as well. As much as she loved Eliana, it would all have to be pushed into the back of her mind today. She couldn't be distracted. Today was the first chance she would have to show Glynda and the other teachers what she was made of, and how well she did would determine whether or not she was leading a team for the next 4 years, or following in someone else's footsteps. Neela stood up and helped Eliana to her feet as they gathered up their makeshift beds and headed for the locker room to shower and change back into their normal clothes.
"Neela, you're always so composed," Eliana told her as she opened up her locker after they finished showering and began changing. Neela turned her back to her, noting the potential distraction and smirking to herself. "I just don't know how you do it. You don't even seem nervous about the initiation today! Everything that we've learned so far has led us to this moment, but it doesn't even seem to faze you! This is a life-changing experience and you're just taking it in stride!" Neela bent into her locker and the small chest fell onto the floor from the mess of clothing that had been shoved inside. She panicked for a moment, quickly throwing it back in as she glanced over her shoulder, hoping that Eliana hadn't noticed. She let out a sigh of relief as she noted that Eliana was still turned away, pulling her vest on.
"I don't know if I would quite call it 'life-changing'," Neela told her but Eliana shook her head.
"Four years is a long time to be with the same four people. You'll rub off on them, they'll rub off on you. You might not watch anime now Neela, but beware of Otakus! They know how to pull you in! There's just about every genre of anime you can imagine! At the same time, they might not like waking up at the crack of dawn like you to fine-tune their tracking skills, but maybe you'll change their minds. I mean, your moms met each other on Team RWBY. Maybe Team Neela will be where you meet the one!" Eliana told her getting worked up. Neela shook her head in disagreement. If only Eliana knew… "And yet here you are, calm as ever."
"It takes a lot of self-discipline, but you're one to talk. Once we get out on the battlefield, you'll be just as calm as I am right now!" Neela exclaimed. Eliana smiled and her eyes lit up.
"I guess you're right. I'll be fine once I get out there, but until then, I'm just gonna keep thinking about it!" Eliana closed her locker and sat down, tapping her feet on the floor. Neela looked back at Eliana again who smiled at her. "Well come on slowpoke, what's taking you so long?! At this rate, we're gonna be late getting there, and I still need to eat something before we head out! Wouldn't want to go into a full-blown fight with a couple of Grimm on an empty stomach!" Neela chuckled as she finished getting dressed and held the wooden case in her hands once again, closing her locker shut. This was it, wasn't it? She had to give the gift to Eliana now, and it was going to be her best opportunity to open up to Eliana and reveal her feelings, her deep longing for something more. Her hands shook as she looked at it. "Ready to go?"
Actually, I have something to give you Elli… A gift that shows you just how much I care about you. I love you, Elli, you must have felt it before, right? Please… Please go out with me. Maybe we can go to dinner or a concert. A movie perhaps? Anything? That's what I want to say Elli, but…
Neela had worked so hard to get her hands on these, and somewhere deep inside she had told herself that she'd be ready, but the truth was she wasn't. Her heart stopped in her for a couple of seconds as everything around her faded and she finally came to the realization that maybe it was too much for her to worry about right now. Sure there was potential for Eliana to be stolen from her at every turn at this school, but Eliana had told her last night that they would be friends no matter what, and Neela believed it. The stress would be taken off of her if she could just accept the fact that maybe, for now, they could just be friends. Eliana would still cause her to become flustered, there was no question about it, there was something about the way that Eliana made her feel. However, Neela was okay with just being friends, and it sank in. If nothing else she would do it out of courtesy so that Eliana wouldn't be thinking about in when they were in the forest.
Her focus returned and she smiled at the small container in her hand before looking back at Eliana who was giving her a puzzled look. She would give this gift to Eliana because Eliana meant everything to her as a friend and not anything more. Neela could be okay with that for now. She turned to face Eliana finally who noted the case and then returned her eyes to Neela. Neela was ready to show her and she knew that Eliana was going to love them.
"What's that?" Eliana asked. Neela held it out to her and she slowly took it, setting it gently in her lap. Eliana looked at it with wondering eyes, mystery filled her mind as she placed her hands slowly on the lid. She looked back at Neela, pleading to be relieved of the suspense. "Neela, what is this? Can I open it?" Neela nodded at her and Eliana slowly pried it open before looking inside and dropping it onto the floor, the dual Dust revolvers contained inside fell to the floor and Eliana fell to her knees, her hands covering her mouth as it skewed into a surprised gasp. "Neela… Neela what… These are…" Eliana placed her hands on the weapons before her face twisted into an overwhelming sadness that was tearing her apart, her eyes drowning. She looked up at Neela.
"Exact replicas of the ones that your dad used when he was on the force," Neela explained as her own eyes filled with tears of joy as she watched Eliana look back down at them, picking them up and examining them. Each had a grip that had her emblem burned into the wood and fit perfectly in her hand. The rest of the gun was streamlined, made of a purple and white metal that was light but felt comfortable in Eliana's grip. It was all so familiar. The cylinder swung open to the side in a fluid motion and she snapped it back in, noting a dial just above the grip that would allow her to choose what Dust the bullet would be coated in. It was an exact replica, down to the ability to unlock the grip and swing it upward, causing a tasing rod to extend out past the muzzle. Eliana's hand trembled and she dropped them on the floor again, losing her nerve and falling to the ground in a heap. She cried heavily and Neela walked slowly to her as others peaked around the end of the row, watching the two of them. One glare from Neela gave them the go-ahead to leave before she caused them irreparable harm.
"Neela, how did you get these? These aren't his, are they?" Eliana asked, her voice muffled from covering her face. Neela wrapped her arms around Eliana's shoulder who turned quickly, throwing Neela off balance and taking her to the ground, wrapping her arms around Neela and holding her tight. "I love them more than anything Neela! Thank you!" Neela smiled as she held Eliana in her arms and rested her head on Eliana's shoulder. "I didn't get you anything Neela, I'm sorry! I'll make it up to you somehow!" Neela felt a wave of warmth and love come over her and she held tight to Eliana. You already are.
"It's fine." Eliana pushed herself up and wiped the tears from her eyes as she picked the guns back up off of the floor and replaced her old guns with them. "You always wondered when I worked with my Aunt Weiss last summer if she gave me any cool new prototypes to try out as payment. I told her that your father's revolvers were on display at the police station in Mistral and she sent a team immediately to scan them and draw up a set of schematics. After I finished my work there I told her that this was all I needed. Luckily while we were finishing our entrance exams my moms were able to go pick them up." Eliana placed her old guns into the locker and smiled as tears welled in her eyes again.
"I don't know what to say right now Neela. You don't know how much this means to me!" Eliana exclaimed. Neela beamed as she hugged her friend once more and let her go. "It's like dad is with me wherever I go now. Not just in my soul, but standing beside me. When I hold these I can hear his voice, telling me not to grip them so tight, and not to close my eyes when I fire. I can hear him teaching me all over again. It's amazing Neela!" Neela shuddered, she had never realized that they would have such an impact and she tried to understand what that might be like, but she had been so young when her birth parents died that she barely remembered them, with the exception of her mother's laugh.
"Don't mention it. I'm glad that you like them so much. I knew how much you said you always wanted a pair just like them," Neela told her. "Why don't we go and get some breakfast?" Eliana nodded and smiled, closing her locker and leaving the room with Neela close behind her. They walked back through the Great Hall, the rest of the students finally waking up as their alarms went off and the staff came around, urging them to leave so that they could pull the stage back out. Neela peered out towards the cliff as they left the building, she imagined that she was able to see herself and Eliana sitting there as they had the night before, carefree and glad to be alive. Neela smiled and hoped that they'd have many more moments like that before they graduated. Eliana grabbed her hand and dragged her quickly towards the lunch room, pulling Neela away from her flashback and into the moment, quickly whisking her away.
"You can't know how happy and excited this makes me Neela!" Eliana declared as they stood in line with their trays to get their food. Eliana squealed and bumped into the student in front of her who looked back at her and grumbled slightly. "Sorry!" Eliana giggled and turned back to Neela who smiled at her. It always filled her with delight to see Eliana like this. "What should I name them? Oh Oum, so many things to think about? They're amazing!" Neela laughed and nudged Eliana as the line started moving again. Eliana gave her a look of sudden realization. "So that's why you picked those specialized ammo clusters up when we went shopping the other night. I knew they looked familiar. You told me they were for something Blake was working on."
"So I lied a little bit," Neela replied shrugging.
"Seriously though, what should I name them? It needs to be something awesome and unique!" Neela thought it over for a moment but came up blank.
"What was the name of your dad's," Neela asked her. Eliana snorted as she covered her mouth, trying not to burst out into laughter. "Oh come on, they couldn't have been that bad…"
"Law and Order!" Eliana burst out into a laughter that caught the attention of the cafeteria full of half-awake students who offered them dirty glowers that Neela replied to with awkward waves and a fake smile, turning back to Eliana and trying to break her out of her laughing fit. Neela turned red as they continued to stare and she grabbed Eliana by the shoulders.
"Are you serious?" Eliana nodded through the tears and Neela chuckled herself. "That's awful. We can't give them names like that." Eliana nodded in agreement as she set her tray down on the bar and stood across from Neela, moving down and taking a few packets of syrup. "Any ideas?" Eliana shrugged.
"What's the name of yours?" Eliana asked as she glanced at where Neela's sword was normally sheathed.
"I haven't thought of one yet," Neela admitted sheepishly. Eliana smiled and nodded to the woman at the end of the bar.
"Pancakes please!" Eliana exclaimed cheerfully as the worker slapped them on her plate and motioned for her to move along with a nod of her head. She turned back to Neela, waiting for a moment as she finished picking out her food and they sat down at a table near the kitchen. Eliana scarfed down her food, powering through her meal. "I think we should make it our goal to have them named by the end of the year. You can name mine and I'll name yours!" Neela chuckled and nodded.
"Deal! You should probably slow down though, you're throwing that back as though you've never eaten before!" Neela told Eliana who stopped for a moment to breathe before continuing. Eliana shook her head, suffocating in syrup as she wiped her mouth with a napkin. "Seriously, slow down."
"I'll be fine. If I choke, you'll be here. If I pass out though, are you willing to give me mouth to mouth?" Neela shoved her and Eliana smiled as she continued inhaling her food.
"Of course I would! But I'd rather that we didn't have to test that theory!" Neela exclaimed.
"Speaking of which, I'm a little surprised that your mom bought that last night about us in the closet," Eliana explained. Neela could feel herself turning red and looked away from Eliana. "I mean, I guess it could happen. You do have two moms and I won't say that I haven't been curious about it before, I just thought that she would question it a bit more." Neela buried her head in her arms as she was sure that her face had to be the color of Ruby's cape at this point. She shook her head and took a deep breath in, looking up quickly and at Eliana again who was too focused on her pancakes to notice.
"Please slow down. Just a little bit. What's the rush anyways, we still have an hour and a half or so before we have to think about heading out to the forest," Neela reminded her.
"Are you kidding me," she managed between bites with her mouth full. "I need to go faster then, I want to go try these out before we get to the forest!" Neela smiled again as she slowly drank her orange juice, thinking over the morning and feeling satisfied with everything that had happened so far. If the rest of their time at Beacon was this easy going, they were going to be set. "So, when are we going to start training for Vytal Festival?" Neela gave her a sideways glance and shook her head.
"Not even through our first full day and you're already bringing up Vytal?" Neela asked. "That's not for another whole year!" Eliana scoffed and finished her milk in record time, sitting for a long moment and watching Neela eat. "I haven't even begun to think about Vytal with all of the other chaos going on in my mind. Today, classes starting tomorrow, fitting in regular training, and maybe getting a part-time job… And somehow you think that I still have time to think about Vytal?"
"So? It's never too early to train for that sort of thing. Priorities, right?" Eliana asked. "Hurry up, I want to go shoot things! Please?"
"Give me a moment!" Neela declared laughing again. She finished her oatmeal and dumped her tray into the trash with Eliana, taking the apple she had picked out with her so that she could eat it while waiting to head out to the forest. They headed towards one of the firing ranges near the back of the dorms and Neela spotted her mother watching her from the tower. Yang waved as Blake elbowed her in the ribs, causing her to stop.
"Don't embarrass her Yang!" Blake scolded Yang as they headed into the tower and climbed into the elevator, pressing the button for the top floor. Yang smiled as she stood across from Blake, her arms folded. She shrugged slightly and tilted her head. She moved across the elevator, wrapping her arms around Blake and pulling her in for a kiss, pouting at her wife as Blake's expression remained the same.
"Come on Blake, don't be such a sourpuss!" Yang exclaimed. Blake concealed a smile as she shook her head, looking at the pattern on the floor as they climbed higher.
"Your puns are the worst," Blake muttered. "I hate you sometimes."
"You saw our little birdy back there! She's out of the nest and flying on her own finally! She's all grown up and she looked so happy! I hope that things are going well between her and Eliana," Yang voiced her concern to Blake.
"I'm sure they are. Don't worry about her so much," Blake told Yang. Yang smirked and took a step back.
"You're going to try and tell me you're not worried? When you finally got back to the house last night Neela was all you could talk about. 'Neela and Elli snuck out. Neela got into a fight this morning. Neela and Elli might have been making out in the closet.'" Yang stopped for a moment and thought over the last statement. "Wait, I was half asleep when you climbed into bed last night, did Elli really say that they were making out?" Blake nodded.
"She implied it anyways," Blake replied. She nodded for Yang to turn around as the doors slid open and they stepped into Glynda's tower office. Yang immediately spotted her sister's cape that she could recognize in any crowd and Ruby spun around as she heard the elevator arrive.
"Yang!" Ruby exclaimed as she spotted her sister and flew across the room crashing into her. The wrestled with each other on the floor as Blake laughed and stepped over the two of them, nodding at Glynda. "It's been too long!"
"Hey, sis! I didn't know that you were going to be here today!" Yang exclaimed as they both finally found their feet and walked out of the elevator to Glynda's desk.
"I didn't know either. I really had to twist some arms on the Peace Council in order for them to let me have the day off. I wanted to be here to see how Neela does during the initiation," Ruby exclaimed as she took the seat across from Glynda's desk. Glynda gave them all a polite smile before she turned back to the window and stared out at the chaos below. She was sure that this wasn't the most unruly that the students had ever been, she knew it was the same every year. Yet every year without fail she had a hard time believing that in only four short years, these children would be the ones that they would entrust to protect their lives. "The Council is very impressed with her skills. If I pull enough strings, she might be able to report directly to me in a few years-"
"Ruby tells me that you were able to get your hands on one of Mercury's men," Glynda spoke cutting Ruby off, still facing away from them. Ruby looked up at Blake and Yang who stood above her and they exchanged glances before Yang spoke up.
"Orion, yes. He hasn't given us a last name yet and the police don't have one on record for him. We have a pretty good concept of his power set and paired with the fact that he's trapped in the secret vault north of Mountain Glenn, there's little to no chance that he'll receive help from anyone in escaping," Yang explained. Glynda didn't give anybody expression that would indicate that she heard them or that she felt one way or another in the matter.
"And the Council is okay with this?" Glynda asked after a moment. Ruby scoffed as she shifted in her seat.
"Hardly, I wasn't able to tell them very much per your request. However, I am given the ability to override any decision once every few months and with what information you had given us before on the matter, I decided to risk wasting my executive powers over the Council on this dilemma," Ruby explained. "We can't discuss this with you now, can we?" Glynda sighed as she turned back towards them.
"I'm afraid not. It has nothing to do with the three of you, I would trust Team RWBY with my life before I would trust anyone else, but Ozpin had his rules and they were always there for a reason, no matter how pointless and needless they seemed. What you four discussed when Blake and Yang came to visit you and Weiss last week is all that we know on the matter and it's all that I can tell you at this time. Not even the Council can know what you've been informed of. Blake, we need to start heading towards the Emerald Forest, they will be beginning soon," Glynda told them. Blake nodded and gave Yang a kiss.
"Tell me more about what Eliana said to you last night?" Yang pleaded under her breath quickly.
"Yes! Later!" Blake replied in a hurry and followed Glynda out. The elevator closed and Ruby and Yang were left alone in the tower, they walked to the glass and watched the students below. Ruby smiled before laughing to herself. The light from the sun glinted off of her silver eyes and Yang felt as though they were teenagers all over again, sent to Ozpin's office to be thanked for stopping Roman Torchwick. Ruby had been mesmerized by the view the first time, and it seemed to capture her imagination once again.
"I remember it all like it was yesterday," Ruby told her sister. "You ditching me. Weiss blowing up. Meeting Jaune. Wanting to have normal knees." Ruby laughed with Yang for a moment. "And now your daughter is out there making her very own memories. It's hard to imagine that someday this class might even outdo us. I've seen a lot of strong students here in the last day. Neela, Eliana, the militant that Weiss recommended, the student that Glynda allowed in that was running away from Vacuo, all of them. They're a strong group."
"That might be true, but you remember how cold the world can be. How unforgiving it was to us before we found out just how strong we truly were," Yang told Ruby. "I just don't want Neela to have to suffer like we did just to find the inner strength that she possesses. She's worked too hard, she doesn't deserve that." Ruby nodded in agreement and watched as the first years began to gather in the courtyard. "Ruby, what if we aren't able to stop Mercury in time? What if he finds them?"
"The Council does make it difficult to do anything right away with all of the red tape that we have to go through now. If only Ozpin hadn't been so secretive perhaps they'd be open to deciding things more quickly," Ruby said.
"But he had his reasons, and they were all justified in the end," Yang replied. They both knew that already though. They both knew how Mercury worked and they both knew that his bottom line was getting paid. What they didn't know was who was paying him, and what power they were seeking.
ONE WEEK EARLIER
Blake slowly opened the door to the ranch-style house as Yang peered over her shoulder, slightly confused over whether or not they actually had the right house. Blake looked back at Yang who offered nothing more than a shrug as Shadow snuck past them and Blake reached out to grab her. The clone dissipated and Blake stood there in disbelief as Yang chuckled, silenced as Blake elbowed her in the stomach.
"Hello? Ruby? Weiss?" Blake called out.
"In the kitchen!" Ruby called back out. Shadow ran towards Ruby's voice, laughing as she tore through the living room and leapt into Ruby's arms. "Hey, little kitty! Auntie Ruby hasn't seen you in such a long time!" Ruby snuggled her and swore that Shadow purred as she rubbed her head against Ruby's chest. "Are you guys coming in or do I have to come and get you?" Blake and Yang stepped in and closed the door behind them, leaving their shoes on a small shelf set up near the doorway and crossing through the small homey living room. Blake had a look of confusion on her face as Yang stopped behind her and wrapped her arms around her wife.
"I'm confused. I know the two of you said that you wanted to move, but this is quite the difference from Schnee Manor," Blake stated as she admired the cozy kitchen. Weiss closed the oven and turned to face them, displaying a "Kiss the cook" apron as she offered a smile. Yang's face skewed and she leaned into Blake's ear.
"Now I'm confused," Yang whispered.
"Hey! I heard that!" Weiss exclaimed. She crossed her arms and pouted as Ruby carried Shadow over to her.
"Isn't she cute in that apron," Ruby asked. She grinned and kissed Weiss on the cheek. "It was my idea." Blake rolled her eyes, chuckling.
"Of course it was," Blake offered. Ruby set Shadow down who took off, examining the house for any trace of her cousin Amelia.
"Amelia Rose! Shadow is here to play with you! No glyphs in the house!" Weiss called out. Yang and Blake sat at the petit square table with Weiss and Ruby sitting across from them.
"Glyphs already huh? That's impressive!" Yang declared. Weiss smiled, closing her eyes and looking proudly towards the ceiling.
"She does have Schnee blood in her after all!" Weiss declared. Blake chuckled again.
"I'm sure that's it," Blake stated. Weiss folded her arms and gave a humph of disapproval. She turned away to emphasize her point.
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Weiss asked. She peeked back at Blake and the two of them began to laugh at each other.
"Isn't this great?! All of us having a day together!" Ruby exclaimed as she leapt up and grabbed glasses out of the cabinet. "Anyone want anything to drink?"
"I'll take coffee if you've got some," Yang replied.
"Milk," Blake followed.
"Some water with a bit of ice if you would," Weiss finished. Ruby nodded and got to work preparing their drinks. Yang slouched back slightly in her chair and stretched.
"I bet the two of you don't have days off together very often," Yang offered as she took her arm off. She waved her elbow around in circles, trying to stretch out the best that she could. "That must be rough."
"I miss her when she's gone, but I know that she's busy making the world a better place," Weiss said as she looked back at Ruby who was balancing a glass full of water on her head for no apparent reason. Weiss's smile twisted and she looked back at the other two. "That's Ruby. She's a real warrior." Yang laughed.
"It's the same for me. I miss her when I'm gone or when she's at work, but I know that what we're doing will keep Amelia safe for many years to come," Ruby replied as she pulled the glass off of her head and finished making their beverages and brought them over. "I still can't get over the fact that Weiss and I have a child of our own. It wouldn't have been possible without the scientists over at Schnee Dust and the Atlas Military."
"I'm surprised that it's as easy as extracting Aura from one person and adding it to another's," Yang said.
"It's not exactly that cut and dry. First…" Weiss began to explain but was cut off by the kitchen timer sounding. "Amelia's cookies!" Weiss leapt to her feet and ran to the oven. "Ruby… I need the glove."
"Glove?" Blake asked. Ruby giggled.
"The oven mitt?" Ruby asked holding back.
"Yes!" Weiss exclaimed in a panic. Blake shook her head as Ruby giggled again.
"Hanging above the sink next to you there," Ruby told her. Weiss snatched it down quick and pulled the pan out, putting it on the stove and snatching the glove off, setting it down on the counter.
"There!" Weiss exclaimed. Blake and Yang looked at her with concern and met Ruby's eyes.
"She's still getting used to not having a butler," Ruby explained. Weiss sat back down, seemingly exhausted.
"So, do you have the revolvers?" Blake asked. Weiss smiled as she caught her breath and leaned down, picking up a wooden chest from under the table and setting it down on top.
"They were a bit tricky to make, but it wasn't anything that my weapons design team over at Atlas Academy couldn't handle," Weiss explained. She opened the box and they all peered inside for a long moment, looking them over. Blake reached out to touch them but Weiss slammed it shut and Blake snatched her hand back. "I'm sorry but make sure you tell Neela not to touch them either. The grips have a palm scanner, and they will only work for the first person who fully grasps them. For someone who was never in the Atlas military, whoever the originals belonged to, must have had some connections. This is state of the art technology for as old as they were. The grip contains Dust compartments that are selected with a small dial. Then, when the trigger is pulled, as the bullet exits, the Dust ejects from the barrel through a small pipe of sorts fastened underneath, coating the bullet. It should also be noted that it uses a surprisingly small amount of dust each time. She could probably fire 20 of each type before having to fully refill it."
"That sounds impressive," Yang said. Ruby sighed.
"I love it when she uses big words," Ruby said happily. What in that statement was a big word, Blake wondered. Weiss glared at Ruby shaking her head.
"You dolt." She smirked and looked back at Blake. "Who's the special guy? You said these were a gift right? Neela said that she would refuse any other payment that I gave her, though these guns are hardly enough to repay her for everything she did over the summer." Blake chuckled.
" Her name is Eliana," Blake said. Yang laughed as well and finally reattached her arm.
"But Eliana doesn't know how Neela feels yet," Yang explained.
"Does Neela know that she feels this way about Eliana," Ruby asked. Blake thought about it for a moment.
"To be honest, she's never said anything to us explicitly about it," Blake responded. "But I've got my suspicions."
"I don't know if I'd call it a suspicion," Yang added. "I used to see the same look in your eyes when you looked at me." Blake blushed slightly and Weiss and Ruby laughed. Yang looked across the table at Ruby. "So, school doesn't start back up for a week yet, but we were told by Glynda that you have some Intel that we need to be informed of." Ruby looked at Weiss who nodded and she stood up, pulling the folder off of the top of the fridge and placing it in the middle of the table. Across it was the word "RELICS" and over that was stamped "CLASSIFIED".
"This is for our team alone to know. Team JNPR can't know. We can't tell Coco or Velvet. This has to stay in this room. Those were the instructions that I was given by Glynda," Ruby told them. She opened the folder and on top was a picture of Ozpin's Cane.
"We're all aware of that relic," Weiss said. Yang looked at Blake with concern before they both looked back at Weiss.
"You mean there's more than one?" Yang asked. Ruby nodded.
"According to Glynda, Ozpin had always kept to himself, but through the use of his cane, he left behind messages that would reveal things about his past after a certain amount of time. It was his contingency plan, should he ever die before his plan was fully realized. The most recent message delivered to Qrow via the cane was about these relics. Ozpin stated that he and Salem had once worked together long ago, to try and protect their land from other nations that had formed and meant to attack. Using their magic, they created three relics, one that would bend time, one that could produce life, and one that could kill," Ruby explained. "We already knew about the cane. Ozpin went on to say that the other two relics were lost when he fought with Salem over how the one that could kill should be destroyed. This fight is what ultimately drove the two apart and caused the events that led us to where we are today."
"Is that all he said?" Blake asked, prying further. Ruby nodded.
"With the exception of informing Qrow that they needed to be found before Salem found them, he didn't give a description of how they looked or anything," Ruby finished. They all sat in silence for a long moment. "Glynda thinks we might have a lead though."
"How's that?" Yang asked.
"It is a bit of a stretch, but she says with the formation of Mercury's Gang in Vale, she wonders if there isn't a larger evil behind him," Weiss explained. Blake shook her head.
"Wouldn't we know about it by now though? We've been in peace for such a long time!" Blake reminded them.
"True," Ruby agreed. "But Mercury has always been one to follow. Glynda thinks the gang is a front." Yang sat back and took it all in as Ruby gathered the files back up and closed the folder.
"For what?" Yang asked.
Thanks for the read! If you're enjoying this, make sure you give it a follow and a favorite! Next week the students take on their biggest challenge yet in Chapter 10 - Initiation (Part 1)!
A big thank you to Diyaru4500, Demize00Zero, TheCipherNine, SketchHungry, Ookaminoki, Lightning-in-my-Hand, and Dishwasher1910. All of their artwork can be found at Deviantart, you can search Silent-Celica and under my favorites tab, I have a collection for NITE.