Now you might be asking, didn't I just post a RWBY/Overwatch story, but it was set in Remnant, why yes, yes I did! I'm trying out a little experiment, to see which story I end up liking more since I'd been jumping back and forth with setting Overwatch characters in the RWBYverse and vice versa, but hey now you get two stories for the price of one! Which you know is nothing anyway, but hey, Hope you enjoy it, I'll be back with the second chapter as quickly as I can.
Last Time on Remnants!
"How did the strike on Vishkar go?" Oz asked, turning to look at his assistant.
"Crow, Lotus and Valkyrie pulled off the mission with a resounding success, though there were some unexpected consequences." Glynda informed.
"Show me," Oz stated, turning to the screens as they once more sprung to life.
Now, to this episode's gripping action-packed, high paced, slightly depressing continuation!
Chapter II: Through the Looking Glass Part I
Location Unknown, 19:16 UTC
"Again." the voice stated, detached. There was a flash as several sleek drones solidified before her. Ignoring the cold sweat that coated her palms, she rose to her feet.
Weiss Schnee hadn't expected to end up where she was, but as she had been told many times before this was "necessary". She was dressed in a simple blue and white jumpsuit, a white patch of a diamond over a blue uppercase V marking the left side of her chest. Her long white hair was pulled up into a messy side ponytail. Clutching the white wand-like baton in her sweaty hands, she fell into the fencer's stance that had been carefully ingrained in her.
"Whenever you are ready Miss Schnee." the voice stated, Weiss's pale blue eyes narrowed.
"Ready," Weiss stated, breathing in deeply, as she felt the familiar snap of energy course through her body. Gesturing with the Baton, the tip snapped to life leaving a trace of neon blue light in the air.
The drones darted forward, circling around her in a menacing pattern.
A familiar pattern.
Her father's voice erupted into her mind, "They can help you, to finally get control of this...ability of yours. Control is important."
Control. That was why she trained every day, battling these drones to get a hold on what strange abilities she'd been born with.
"Begin." the voice stated, causing the Drones, to begin darting around at random, their singular eyes flickering. Five blinks and they would fire, she'd memorized that at this point.
Gesturing with the baton, and focusing intently she felt a calm stillness overcome her before behind her head a spiraling snowflake-like sigil appears in the air made of semisolid blue light, then split into two smaller copies of itself over each shoulder.
One of the drones darted forward, eye flashing for the fourth time. Weiss pointed with the baton, focusing, the snowflake on her right starting to shine and spin. A blast of light flew free and shattered the drone. The pieces flew past her, digitizing as they went.
Twisting as two more darted towards her, she traced a pattern in the air with the baton. Another snowflake erupted to life larger than the others, more solid. The faster drone smashed into it, shattering into pieces which discorporated. The other veered off, nearly bumping into one of its fellows.
The remaining drones' eyes blinked for the fifth time, a beam of energy erupting forth. Twirling away from one blast, she raised her shield, blocking the rest. Small cracks began to appear across its surface, sending a pulsing tension through her spine. Ignoring the sweat beading on her forehead she flicked the baton.
The smaller snowflakes began to spin, glowing along the arms before small bolts fired free, weaving towards the remaining drones. They left light tracers behind them as they went.
The drones disappeared in small detonations of blue light, leaving Weiss alone in the chamber.
"Very good, Miss Schnee." The voice stated, "Beginning the Second Round."
Weiss breathed out, concentrating on the sigils around her, feeling the strange mental tethers that attached them to her. As she did, larger humanoid drones digistructed into existence. They were sleek, their limbs hovering detached from the main body. Still, only one eye sat within their streamline heads, and long batons extended from their wrists. Seven in total, they stood expectantly.
This is where things got interesting, these larger drones were faster and took more hits. Today would be different, she was going to get past this trial, though deep down she dreaded what came next.
This part of the trial wasn't about dealing damage, it was about agility and keen reflexes. Evasion, she'd failed more times than she succeeded, but she felt that today would be another success.
The first of the drones darted forward, baton sparking slightly as it punched towards her. She pirouetted to the side, leaping, concentrating as the three snowflakes disappeared. Beneath her feet another snowflake appeared, pushing her further into the air. As she spiraled upwards the baton in her hand flared with light, a crossguard digistructed into existence, while a long rapier-like blade of neon blue light emerged from the tip. Still spiraling she lunged out, catching the charging drone in the back of the head, the blade piercing clean through. It fell to its knees, dissipating in a flurry of pixels.
Control. That is why her father had handed her to Vishkar, that's why for months she had trained and pushed to get where she was now, and it showed.
Platforms appeared underneath her feet as she practically danced into the air. She weaved and dodged like a professional ballerina. She'd always had a talent for dancing, and singing, though she rarely got to pursue either of these passions in her current situation.
When she dug deep in these training sessions however, she could hear an allegro tempo deep in her soul. It moved her body in a dangerous pattern that confounded the attacking drones, and she fought the urge to burst into song even though she had no idea what the words could possibly be.
She opened her eyes in the midst of a midair twirl, lashed out at the Drone beneath her, catching it in the top of the head, ending it in a flurry of pixels. The strange song that filled her head suddenly hit a sharp staccato pattern, and she slid to the side as the baton of one of the drones came down slamming into the floor instead of her back. Flipping backward, she avoided another lunge and jabbed forward with her blade. From the tip a hard light blade shot free, impaling the offending drone.
The four remaining drones darted forward in sync, trying to catch her off balance. The tempo increased and the sigil behind her back began to spiral quicker and quicker before she was thrust forward like a shot out of a cannon. She managed to dodge the drones oncoming strikes, and even spear one through the torso as she rocketed past.
The remaining three drones turned and darted after her, their eyes glowing brighter as the closed in. Weiss slide to a stop raised her rapier into the air and then sank the blade deep into the metal floor. Nothing seemed to happen as the Drones leaped in unison, bringing their batons down towards her head.
Then three sigils sprang to life on the ground before her, shining vibrantly before three almost icicle-like protrusions of hard light emerged and speared clean through each of the drones. The spears and their occupants both dissolved a few moments later, leaving Weiss alone with her adrenaline high and the impassive eyes she knew were watching. A small bubble of anxiety rose into her through at what came next, but she steeled herself all the same.
The back wall flashed and then dissolved in a flurry of hexagons, in its place a pitch-black room. Then an ominous red light blinked into existence, shaped like the visor of a knight's helmet. The head of the immense drone appeared first, the similar sleek lines and rounded shapes but instead of the white plastic-like covering the other drones wore this one was made of space-grey steel. It stood two times taller than her easily, but what was most intimidating was the heavy blade that projected from its right wrist. The Drone stared down at her silently, the singular red eye burrowing into her.
Defense was the mark of this challenge. Keeping the drone from landing a hit on her, not by evading but standing strong against whatever it could throw at her.
She waited for the go-ahead before the drone suddenly surged forward. The massive blade flew toward her face. She narrowly dodged aside, panic leaping into her throat as it swung once more without warning.
This wasn't normal. She'd always had to confirm she was ready for a fight. Fighting with her panic, she concentrated, a wall of hard light appearing to separate her from the seeming berserk drone. Sweat began to drip off her brow as the wall began to thicken and go from clear to opaque like a sheet of ice.
She had this, she could do this, "Just focus on control, focus on control." She fought off the old memory that tried to creep in, "London, seven years ago, gunshots, screaming, approaching metal footsteps."
As her concentration lapsed, the wall before her shattered. The drone lunged clean through it, the blade heading straight towards her head. Panicked she raised her rapier in defense and felt the hard-light shatter and a searing pain erupt across the left side of her face as she closed her eyes. She felt her head hit the wall behind her, and then the darkness deepened.
"What on Earth were you thinking!" a voice demanded in a light French accent, she flinched slightly at the noise, as cold gloved hands gently probed around her left eye.
"She needed to be prepared for everything." a clipped voice stated back, "She won't get a "ready" in real life."
"Tell that to Schnee, and your superiors." the french voice stated harshly.
"You think you have the merit to report me?" the voice asked, laughing slightly as if this was all some big joke, "You're an Atlas contractor, independent of Vishkar, it would be my word against yours."
"Doctor Kateb might be stonewalled, but I would not be." a calm Indian accented voice stated, her tone just north of biting, "This was an egregious misstep, and I will make sure our superiors know this to be an unshakable fact."
"This is a young girl, that you sir, are acting like is just another experiment of yours." Doctor Kateb stated, "Now if you don't want to see what it looks like when I get quite angry, I would leave. Now."
Weiss tried to push off the Doctor's hand, only for him to calmly admonish her, "Don't move please Madame, I need to examine your wound a bit further."
"Wound?" Weiss asked, suddenly aware of the wet-feeling around her eye, on top of the searing pain.
"When your blade shattered, a piece of it flew towards your face and cut a line across your eye. Luckily it was deconstructing as it flew, so your eye should be fine." the Doctor reassured, "However, I still need to clean the wound, and administered some medication. I'm going to be giving you a light anesthetic to dull whatever pain might occur during this procedure."
"I-thank you," Weiss stated as she felt the sharp prick of a needle in her arm, that swiftly changed to a comfortable numbness as the anesthesia passed through her system.
"Do not thank me, my dear. I am simply doing my job." Kateb stated. Several moments passed as she vaguely felt him probe around her eye with a cloth or sponge, then felt a spray of some form of liquid.
"You can open your eyes now Madame." the doctor stated, "I will need you to hold still for a moment though, I do not believe any damage was done to your eye, but I would like to triple check."
Weiss opened her eyes and felt a wave of relief as both of her eyes took in the scene around her. Sitting directly in front of her was a man with kind brown eyes, pale skin, dressed in blue medic combats, with slight silverish gray armor plating on his shoulders, chest, and knees. His hands were covered by white latex gloves which were reddish-pink at the tips, which she realized with a jolt was her blood. A strange pistol rested on his hip, and a medic bag sat at his side.
Standing behind him was a slightly severe-looking Indian woman, with a blue holographic visor over hazel eyes, dressed in a blue and gold slip dress, with strange leggings, and black high-heels. Her left arm appeared to be robotic, with sleek white metal plating covering blue light and wiring. She was looking down at Weiss with a cool expression, her eyes locked on the left side of her face.
Dr. Kateb pulled out a monocle from his bag, placing it in front of his left eye, leaning in to examine her own, "The choroids seem to be intact, the pupil is dilating properly. To say you got lucky sounds incredibly impolite to my ears, so I will say that all seems well Ms. Schnee."
"Thank you," Weiss said, fighting an urge to bring a hand up to check the wound.
"You would like to see it wouldn't you?" The woman asked stepping forward, her voice tinted with just the faintest hint of pity.
"Satya I-" Dr. Kateb began only for her to raise a hand, still looking down at Weiss, and offering the other.
Weiss stared up at her and cautiously took the offered robotic hand, which pulled her to her feet quicker than she expected, the limb much stronger than it appeared.
Smiling softly the woman stepped back and gestured with the robotic hand a perfect diamond of hard light appeared floating above her palm and then began to enlarge slowly taking on the silvery sheen of a mirror as it did so.
Weiss caught sight of her reflection and gasped lightly at the long thin fresh wound that carved upward from the base of her cheek across her eye and into the hairline. The redness of the scar set her stomach ill at ease, and she let out a sigh of relief now realizing truly how close she came to losing an eye.
"You are incredibly gifted." Satya stated, examining her critically, "Even being born as a Remnant such as you were, you turn your abilities into a dance, making order of chaos. It is something I understand quite well. I am sorry that this happened."
"T-thank you." Weiss stated, slightly taken aback, though the shock of the wound and a new fear of what the next "training" session could bring asserting itself in her brain.
"I imagine you would like some rest?" Satya asked, matter-a-factly.
"Yes," Weiss said, the strain on her muscles and mind truly beginning to weigh on her.
"Very well, I will accompany you to your room if you would find that acceptable?" Satya stated, looking over at the doctor.
Weiss nodded mutely, turning to look at Dr. Kateb, "Thank you."
The Doctor chuckled, "As I said before Madame, there is no need."
The base was usual for Vishkar, pristine white plasteel walls, hovering turrets, orderly patrolling guards, blue lights shining out of every crevice they could manage. In short...it stood out like a sore thumb against the thick jungle around it. You'd have thought they'd have tried for a bit of camouflage, but Vishkar believed they were untouchable.
"Their mistake." Qrow though as he and his companions sat patiently watching the goings-on within the fort from a nearby tree.
Valkyrie was fidgeting slightly.
Why he'd agree to take her on this mission was beyond him, though the Boss had forced the issue so here she sat, anxiously rubbing her knuckles. Her face was hidden behind the black plasteel helmets they were all wearing, but he would have bet his bottom dollar that she was chewing on her lip at that very moment.
Lotus, on the other hand, was a paragon of calm. If Qrow hadn't known any better he would have sworn the young man had frozen up.
Qrow wouldn't have blamed him, this place wasn't too dissimilar from where he'd been picked up. Vishkar claimed to stand for order and prosperity, but they wanted into a very ugly arms race that needed to be addressed.
Lotus had been one of those "weapons", not a Remnant like his partner or Qrow himself, but they'd been damn sure to turn him into something near enough.
Both of his younger team-mates' weapons sat ready, though Qrow hoped if he did his part perfectly, they wouldn't need to use them, except for a little creative "redecorating" on Valkyrie's part.
"Bit of a SNAFU," a clipped voice stated over the comms, causing Qrow and the others to perk up.
"What happened?" Qrow asked, his gravelly voice muffled and slightly scrambled thanks to his helmet.
"Take a look," the voice stated, as the HUD inside his helmet turned brilliant red, numerous biosignatures flashing to life across the complex, standing out amongst them was a faintly blue outline deep within the main building, "Doc got it right, they've moved all but one of the Remnants that were on-site."
"And they could have been sent anywhere Vishkar has friends or sank in its hooks," Qrow muttered, watching his young compatriots' shoulders drop.
"Brazil or Russia are likely bets." the voice remarked bitterly, "I've told the Sergeant, she's holding the go-ahead for your recommendation."
"Honestly, this uncomplicates quite a few sticking points," Qrow stated, turning to look at the others, "Thoughts?"
"I want to go in," Valkyrie said, "Helping one person is better than helping none."
"I agree," Lotus stated, nodding in agreement.
"Right, the plan stays as before, though now we're only running interference for one hostage. Once I make enough noise, you two enter the main complex and get them out. Pulse stay on overwatch, and tell Sergeant that we are a go."
"Understood." Pulse said, a bit of humor entering his voice, "Give em hell 'Misfortune'."
Qrow chuckled softly, and turned to the others, "Time for you two to disappear. Remember, on my mark, so keep on comms and keep out of sight."
"Let's do this!" Valkyrie stated excitedly, as she drew her compact grenade launcher. Lotus's reaction was more muted, as he simply lowered his head, the gauntlet's on his arms and the small hologram projector on his back flashing with pink energy for a moment. A shell of hard light surrounded both him and his partner, both seeming to blip out of existence. Qrow knew that if he took off his helmet he'd be able to spot the both of them, but at the moment he just listened to them leap free of the tree, landing gently on the wall.
"My turn." He thought as he launched himself out of the tree. He pushed off the wall so he landed in the middle of the courtyard, directly in front of a patrolling guard. The pristine ovular helmet he wore hid his surprise but the panicked step back and fumbling with his sleek energy rifle gave it away.
Qrow never let him raise the weapon as his fist came up, punching through the feeble shield he'd been wearing, and leaving a slight indent in the plasteel as he crumbled to the ground. Qrow snatched up the rifle, and with some help from his gift narrowly dodged a shot from the sniper he'd missed on the way in.
The Boss and his old teammates liked to joke that Qrow had been born too lucky. The eggheads had claimed his Remnant ability allowed him to manipulate probability in his favor. His sister had pegged it right, Qrow was a walking disaster, just most of the time other people suffered from that fact not him.
He fired quickly, a lance of plasma flying free of the barrel and slamming into the sniper's shoulder plating. The sniper flinched, his shield softening most of the blow, though the brief flash of color further revealed his location giving Qrow a better line on his next shot. Tapping a button near the trigger quickly, he fired an orb of plasma firing free of the gun. It slammed into the sniper, sending a jolt of electricity throughout their entire body, knocking them unconscious.
There was an electrical snap off to his left, and he ducked low as a stun baton swung past. He shoulder checked the Vishkar guard in the abdomen and wrapping his arms around his waist. He rolled them over his shoulders, smacking them to the ground. The guard fought to regain his feet, only for Qrow to strike out viciously with the butt of the gun. Plasteel cracked against bone, there was an audible snap as the guard's jaw dented to the side slightly and his body went limp as he lapsed into unconsciousness.
"Hey!" a voice cried out, as four more Vishkar mooks raced towards him, three with their rifles in hand the last carrying what looked to be a Vishkar Light Cannon.
"Perfect," Qrow smirked, as he fired off two shots with the stolen rifle, reaching back with the other hand for his main weapon mag-locked to his back.
"On my mark," he stated over the comms.
The three riflemen skidded to a halt and leaped behind cover as the plasma bolts whipped past their heads. The heavy charged forward, her cannon glowing dangerously, as she ground to a stop and fired. A great sphere of blue plasma fired it's way free.
And out came Harbinger, Qrow's near six-foot-long Crusader-stylized club of a sword. He swung down with all his might, a glowing red edge burning to life. The blow bisected the sphere, sending it careening behind him. A conflagration of green fire erupted behind him.
"Now," he stated. He stood, sword held in a reverse grip, staring down the now swarming Vishkar guards.
"That's right, all eyes on me."
Lotus and Valkyrie landed on the wall and watched as Qrow leaped above them, and silently made their way further across the wall.
Lotus quickly took the lead, Valkyrie a step behind him.
"Alright kids, you're aiming for this window," Pulse stated, their huds highlighting a large window on the top floor. "Remember cams first, and then go for the hostage."
They didn't respond, simply walking closer along that wall to their target.
Lotus looked around, his eyes peeled. The refraction tech on his back would keep him and his partner out of the view of any drones, cameras, or tech-based visors, but one pair of keen human eyes could make them.
He looked over at his companion, who had been with him longer than anyone at this point. She was rubbing her knuckles again.
He reached out and put a hand on her shoulder, "We're going to be fine."
She turned to look at him and nodded her head, whispering back despite the private comms, "I know, it's just bad memories."
"Bad memories." He parroted, turning back to the building.
Gunfire broke the silence, and they both tensed, Valkyrie prepping her launcher, while Lotus checked the meter on his pack one more time.
76%, which meant it would be a while before he'd have to worry about a recharge.
"On my mark." their mentor's voice remarked over the comms. Valkyrie pulled the trigger on her launcher, a dark cylinder of metal firing quietly from the muzzle.
It hit the window with a soft tink, suckering to the window, a beeping pink light on the outer edge. Valkyrie's finger hovered over the secondary trigger while Lotus focused ahead.
There was a colossal explosion, green light erupting from their right-hand side, and over the comms came, "Now."
Nora pressed the trigger, the window popping inward in a rain of shattered glass, the sound drowned out by the remnants of the explosion and the uproar of gunfire.
Lotus locked his arms around Valkyrie's and together they leaped forward, soaring through the window with ease, twin hardlight daggers erupting as the former landed softly, the latter loading another charge into the chamber.
They were in, now came the hard part.
They had reached the door to Weiss's room when the explosion had rocked the complex.
Satya froze as warning lights began to flash along the ceiling, "Get inside."
Weiss complied, turning to face the older woman as she was already walking away.
"What is going on?" Weiss asked.
"I do not know," Satya responded, "but your safety is paramount Miss Schnee."
She pulled both hands inward towards her torso, both fingers twitching. Three balls of energy appeared above her robotic palm, and with a flick of her hand, she threw them above the door frame to Weiss's room.
Small metallic orbs emerged from the light, maglocking to the wall and began swirling around. They resembled eyes in a way, with a vibrant cyan light as the pupil.
"Stay here," Satya commanded, and then took off at a brisk pace heading for the front end of the complex.
Weiss walked deeper into her room, and slowly sank onto her bed, flinching at the faint sounds of gunfire.
"Is it Null Sector?" her panicked brain asked, "Talon? What should I do? Stay here, but what if they come from me."
She looked up as the door slid shut, her freshly scarred visage staring back at her, "What if?"
What if indeed! I hope you enjoyed the way I've retooled Weiss, Qrow, and *ahem* "Lotus's" abilities. I didn't want everyone to be a Remnant and for those that are, some stuff needed to be retooled a bit to work in the Overwatch setting. I'll answer any questions people might have, just feel free to ask!