Chapter 4
"Uh…Yang. Is that man really a friend of yours?" Asked Jack as he saw the owner of this dance club, a man named Junior, filling a glass and then drinking it. He was saying this because this place has been known for dealing in secret government information to various criminals.
"Of course, he is! Right, Junior?" Said Yang with a vicious grin. He flinched before nodding his head. "See!" Yang, then smiled at Jack, completely oblivious or uncaring to Jack's disturbed look.
"Uh…sure. So, what do you know, sir?" Asked Jack, after the man finished his drink. The man groaned before slamming down the empty glass on the bar.
"I don't know." Said Junior, holding his head.
"What do you mean you don't know? You're supposed to know everything!" Said Yang with a scowl.
"*Sighs* I don't know what Torchwick is doing. The day you came here and trashed my joint, was the last time I ever saw of him." Said Junior.
"There must be something." Said Jack.
"There's nothing. Believe me, I looked." Said Junior, glaring at the three students. "Last time I saw him, he paid up front, I lent him my men, and none of them came back."
"So, where did they go?" Asked Neptune, wanting to get in the conversation. Jack, Yang, and Junior all looked at him like he was an idiot.
"What kind of stupid question is that? They never came back! Who is this guy?" Asked Junior, pointing at Neptune.
"Forget him," Yang then slapped Neptune for being an idiot, who then stood at attention, not wanting to anger the brawler. "Worry about me if I don't get what I want." Junior just scowled in frustration.
"I already told you everything. Torchwick hired my boys and I guess he wasn't happy with them, which is something I can relate to!" yelled Junior, glaring at his men, who looked sheepishly away. Yang stared at Junior, before leaving. Jack and Neptune following close by.
"I guess this trip was nothing, but a waste of time." Commented Jack, causing Yang to sigh.
"Yeah, let's hope everyone else is having better luck." Said Yang as the three went outside.
"If anything, Blake and Sun are having a better time. They're probably getting tons of White Fang plans and the like." Said Jack.
"You're probably right. *Sighs* Should have switched jobs with Blake, then I could have some fun tonight." Said Yang.
"You mean go in and punch everyone there until they give you what you want?" Asked Neptune with a raised eyebrow. Yang simply nodded with a smirk. "Okay, remind me to have someone else as a partner."
"Same here." Said Jack, making Yang pout.
"Oh, c'mon you big babies! Nothing wrong with cracking a few skulls." Said Yang while slamming her fists together.
"I guess." Said Jack, uncertain with his answer.
"Speaking of them, I wonder how they're doing." Said Neptune as the three got on Yang's motorcycle. As they were about to endure another uncomfortable ride, Yang received a call on her scroll. She pulled it out, answered the call, and put it on speaker.
"Everyone, if you can hear me, we need…" Blake was interrupted when Sun, full of distress and panic, yelled out.
"HELP! They got a robot and it's big! Really big! Torchwick is in it. It didn't eat him. He's like controlling it or something." Said Sun in a rushed voice.
"Where are you guys?" Asked Yang, concerned for her partner. They got their answer when Sun yelled out hurry in the street behind them.
"I think that was them." Said Neptune.
"I got it. Hold on, you two." Said Yang before swerving her motorcycle a full 180 degrees and then flooring it to catch up with Blake and Sun. And the giant mech suit pursing them. After a few seconds, the trio managed to find the mech in the highway.
"We got to slow it down!" Yelled Yang as she maneuvered her motorcycle past various cars and trucks on the highway.
"One problem. Me and Neptune can't bring out our weapons without risking falling off. We need to get off!" Yelled Jack as he held on Neptune's waist tightly.
"You're holding me too tightly, man!" Complained Neptune as he tried to stay on. Yang gave a grunt of frustration before accelerating her motorcycle.
"Then we'll just take this somewhere else." Yelled Yang as she got closer to the mech.
"What are you…OH SWEET OUM!" Yelled Jack as Yang jumped off and punched the mech off the highway. Neptune barely had enough time to grab the handles and drive them to safety before a car could smash into them. He struggled to stay in one lane as he drove wildly past cars. "Can you even drive a motorcycle!?"
"No, I don't even have a driver's license!" Yelled Neptune as he continued to drive.
"Why not!?"
"I was planning to get one after the Vytal festival!"
"Well that just…look out!" Neptune screamed as he made a tight right turn as a truck nearly ran them over. The two eventually stopped near a median that separated two opposing lanes from each other. The two then got out of the motorcycle and sat down to take a breath. After recovering, Jack got up and helped Neptune up as well.
"We should go and help everyone take down that mech. You with me?" Asked Jack as Neptune got up.
"Yeah, just let me take a break for a moment. All that maneuvering really took it out of me." Said Neptune as he took a deep breath. "*deep breath* Alright, where are they?" They got their answer when they heard missile impacts along with the occasional energy blast. They looked down to see team RWBY, and Sun fighting against the mech. Upon seeing the mech, Jack realized with a start that it was an Atlesian Paladin, a weapon that being manufactured by the kingdom of Atlas.
"How did the Torchwick get that?" Thought Jack in shock at seeing the machine. Last time he checked or heard, they were still in the prototype stage and were under tight security. Deciding to ponder on it later, Jack got out his weapon, a simple rifle with a retractable bayonet attachment, and jumped down to help with Neptune in tow. When they landed, they saw a fog surrounding the area where the Paladin was, which was currently using several laser sights, trying to detect team RWBY and Sun. The two then saw a blur and so did the Paladin as it fired where the blur once was, however, it missed. It then continued to fire whenever it detected something, also missing as well, until Ruby charged at it and hit it with her scythe. Unfortunately, it do much as the Paladin was covered in thick armor. She then shouted out commands, which her teammates complied, and together they fought against the Paladin, wearing it down. Jack watched this with both astonishment and awe. He was witnessing a Atlas machine, designed to fight off Grimm and the like, being beaten by a first year team. To see this happening, he felt a little undignified, but also proud. Proud that there were such strong individuals willing to stand against tyranny and fight for the greater good. After he witnessed team RWBY taking out one of the Paladin's arms, he decided to go in and help. With that, he fired at the Paladin. Unfortunately, due to his ammunition not being armor-piercing as well as the Paladin's thick armor, all he did was chip the paint a bit. Nonetheless, it inspired Neptune to attack the Paladin as well. He first fired his rifle at it while running at it, the blue balls of energy smashing into the Paladin knocking it back a bit due to the impact force, before jumping, switching his weapon into a glowing trident, and stabbing the back of the Paladin with it.
Sun, seeing his friend, jumped in to aid him. He used his semblance to summon two spectral clones of himself. They then charged at the Paladin, exploding when they smashed into the cockpit. Seeing the Paladin was distracted, Ruby yelled out another order, which Yang and Blake followed. Blake threw out the ribbon attached to her weapon, which Yang then grabbed and began to run in circles, gaining speed and momentum. Blake then began to swing her around once she had significant speed with Yang helping out by using her gauntlets as a speed boost. Ruby and Weiss then teamed up and fired several rounds that were coated in dust at the Paladin, causing ice to form around the impact points. Seeing this, Neptune got off in order to avoid being blasted or coated in ice. Once the Paladin was immobilized enough, Yang slammed her fist into the cockpit, creating a hole, so everyone can see Torchwick, who growled in surprise at this. Seeing that it was a lost cause, Torchwick then got out the cockpit, dusting himself off, mumbling about his coat. He then looked at the group of teenagers that defeated him. Yang, seeing his outside, fired a blast at him. As it was approaching him, Torchwick remained clam, seemingly accepting the blast. Just when it was about to hit him, a small woman appeared out of nowhere and shielded herself and Torchwick from the blast with an umbrella of all things. She then placed the umbrella around her right shoulder, giving everyone a clear look at her. Strangely, she had several different color for her hair. One side was brown, the other was pink with streaks of silver. She had a brown eye on her right eye with a pink one for the left, making her a heterochromia. She had a white jacket with a pink interior, brown pants, black gloves, and black and white boots with very high heels. Under her jacket is a brown corset, curved in the middle and at the bottom, exposing her hips. She also wears a multitude of necklaces, which hang haphazardly around her neck. She was also rather short. Even with high heels, she was shorter than even Ruby, who was fifteen. Upon seeing the diminutive girl, Roman smirked and addressed everyone.
"Ladies. Gentlemen, Ice queen." Said Torchwick, causing Weiss to yell in protest at her nickname. "Always a pleasure to meet or see you all. Neo, if you would." The short girl, now known as Neo, then made a pose. After a few seconds of this, Yang charged at the two and punching the girl. However, much to everyone's shock, the two criminals just broke like glass. They then heard the roar of an engine, causing them to look up and see the two criminals in a bull-head. Yang scowled at this while everyone walked up to her.
"Well, he's got a new henchman." Said Yang, looking at the retreating bull-head.
"Yeah. She made our plans…fall-apart." Said Weiss with a smile. Ruby giggled at this while everyone else just shook their heads or smiled awkwardly at the bad pun.
"No. Just no." Said Blake before walking away.
"What, but you do it." Said Weiss, looking at Yang.
"There's a time and place for jokes." Said Yang, scowling at Weiss for taking her role as comedian.
"Was this not it?" Asked Weiss, putting a hand on her hip.
"No, it's just yours wasn't any good." Said Yang while leaving.
"Hmph. At least I'm trying." Said Weiss while also walking away.
"Yeah, not to be disrespectful, miss Schnee, but you need to work on it." Said Jack as he walked with her. Weiss then scowled at the boy, making him flinch. Seeing this, Weiss sighed and looked at the boy.
"Fine." She said before walking away, making Jack sigh in relief at not being in trouble with her. Neptune then patted him on the back.
"You need to work on speaking with girls." Commented Neptune before walking up to Weiss, trying to cheer her up.
"Yeah, you kind of…suck at it." Said Sun as the two boys caught up to the group.
"Yeah. That's what Winter said to me during my first year at Atlas after we saved that village from Grimm and we eat at that restaurant." Said Jack, remembering her scolding him for saying things that get him into trouble among other things. Unfortunately, it seems history is to repeat itself as Weiss heard him eating with Winter.
"What!? You ate with my sister!?" Yelled Weiss, marching up to Jack.
"Yeah. We had to go and eat somewhere, so we eat at this tiny restaurant in that village." Said Jack, wondering what was Weiss's problem.
"And you two eat alone together?" Demanded Weiss, arms crossed.
"Yeah." Said Jack, unsure what she was going on. Meanwhile, everyone else was shaking their head in amusement, looking confused, or grinning.
"Oh, this will be good." Said Yang, amused at this with Sun nodding his head in agreement.
"Miss Schnee, what exactly is the problem? All I said was that I ate with your sister." Said Jack, causing Weiss to look at him in bafflement.
"You ate with my sister alone! Publicly! Do you have any idea what that means?!" Yelled Weiss, jabbing a finger at Jack as he processed the information. He eventually got the idea and blushed.
"It wasn't a date, Miss Schnee!" Protested Jack, holding up his hand. "We just had lunch and that's it. No kissing or flirting involved!" Weiss, however, was not convinced and still scowled at him.
"And did you, by any chance, have any…intimate moments with her?" Asked Weiss. The question caused Jack to blush even more.
"W-w-what!? We've never did any of that!" Sputtered Jack. "All we did was save a village from Grimm, ate lunch, and slept in an inn for the rest of the day since pick-up wasn't until the next day. And before you ask, we slept in separate beds." Said Jack immediately upon seeing the scowl and anger in Weiss's eyes. Weiss looked at him evenly for several minutes, wondering if she should believe him, when Neptune came to his rescues.
"Snow angel." Said Neptune, using his nickname for her in order to calm her down. "I only known Jack for a day, but I can ensure you that he's not the type to be forward with any woman. Heck, I'm even sure if he can even flirt with a woman without her slapping him for making an offensive remark."
"Hey." Said Jack, offended at Neptune's instigation that he can't flirt with women. Weiss looked at Neptune then at Jack before sighing.
"Fine. I'll let it go." Said Weiss, making Jack sigh in relief. "Besides," Weiss then smirked. "Winter would have beaten him to a pulp for making advances with her." Jack would have disagreed if it weren't so true. The group then resumed walking back to Beacon academy. They were half-way there when Yang spoke.
"So, this mission with Weiss's sister. Was there any scandalous things during it? I mean with her being a Schnee and all, there's bound to be some juicy gossip coming from you being with her alone." Said Yang.
"Well," Said Jack uncertainty. "Not much really. All we did was fight Grimm, eat lunch, and sleep together. That's it." Yang then frowned, wanting juicier things, before she smirked.
"So, did you two…you know…accidentally bumped into each other during the fight?" Asked Yang, catching Weiss's attention and everyone else's.
"No, aside from that one incident." Said Jack.
"What incident?" Asked Weiss, narrowing her eyes. Jack cursed at this, realizing that he had to talk or else, Weiss would stop to end to know the truth. And most likely, hurt him more for keeping it for so long.
"Well…during the flight back to Atlas, I may have…sort of…touched her intimate parts." Said Jack, causing jaws to drop. Jack then looked at Weiss, who's eyes were wide as dinner plates and jaw was wide open. He then looked at Yang wolf whistling. Sun and Neptune looking at him like he was a lucky bastard. Blake just smirked at him while Ruby was confused at what he meant. He then looked back to see Weiss drawing her sword at him and walking to him with an angry look on her face, making him panic.
"Listen, miss Schnee. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do it. The transport just shook and I accidentally did it. It was completely….AHH!
The resulting scream was so loud that Ozpin dropped his cup of coffee as a result as it reached his office. He frowned at the spilled coffee before signaling Glynda to come up and clean it up as well as getting him a new cup.
Meanwhile
1 to 2 hours later
Mountain Glenn
Torchwick was currently smoking another cigar as he saw the White Fang grunts making bombs full of dust and then loading them onto a train they found that was still operational. He then groaned as one almost dropped a case of dust. Fortunately, another caught it before it hit the ground and explodes.
"Idiots." Thought Torchwick as he saw the grunts make rookie mistakes far too often to his liking. He then looked at Neo, who was having swinging her legs as she sat on a crate. Upon seeing Roman was looking at her, she pointed to a White Fang grunt trip and fall to the ground. She then smirked when another tripped over him. While she found it amusing, Torchwick saw it as proof that the White Fang were not cut out for this job. Even with the armaments he procured for them, he doubted they had the training or skills necessary to hold off any actual huntsman or huntress, which is backed up when quite a few of them got beaten by teenagers. Neo was his most skilled accomplice, but even she wouldn't be enough if a full huntsman/huntress team came, figured out their operation, and stopped it. What he wouldn't give for another competent hand. He was about to go and yell at the White Fang lieutenant in charge of this group when suddenly a White Fang grunt came running at him, yelling out something. Just as the man was about to crash into him, Roman sidestep out of the way, causing him to crash into the crate Neo was on, who jumped out of the way before he collided. She chuckled as the grunt crashed into the crate and went over it in an undignified manner. "Like I said. Idiots." Thought Roman as the grunt got up. The grunt then began to sputter out. Roman, rolling his eyes, hit the grunt in the head as a result.
"Slow down and speak up." Said Roman, pointing his cane at the Faunas. The grunt then nodded and took a deep breath.
"My group was scavenging in the ruins here for stuff we can salvage when found something in the ruins. Something that doesn't belong here." Said the grunt. Roman rose an eyebrow, intrigued.
"What exactly is it?" Asked Roman.
"It's a giant robot." Said the grunt. Roman then groaned at this information, thinking it was the Paladins he helped steal some time ago. He was told that they will be arriving soon and thought they got here early.
"Relax kid. Those are ours. Hey, with luck, you can get to pilot one of them. Isn't that fun?" Asked Roman sarcastically. To his surprise, the grunt shook his head.
"No, sir. It's not one of those. It's completely different. Bigger even." Said the grunt. "I'll show you." The grunt then began to run to the ruins in the caverns. Curious, Roman began to follow the grunt with Neo in tow, wanting to see what it was too. As the three walked deeper and deeper into the ruin city, Roman began to wonder if this was an attempt to remove him from the equation. He was about to attack when he saw a group of White Fang looking at something in a crater, mumbling to each other. The grunt that led him here stopped and pointed down at the crater. Curious, but on guard in case they tried something, Roman looked down. His eyes then widen in shock and his mouth was wide open, causing the cigar to drop to the crater.
"Well, kid. You're right. This is big." Said Roman as he saw the half-buried remains of a fully intact machine. Its lower body was still underground, but the upper portion was fully uncovered. The machine was mostly green with some black on it's chest. Its head had a small mouth that protruded out and was a grill-like piece instead of a regular mouth. The grill-like mouth was also attached to a large cable on each of it's sides that went to the back of its head. It had no visible eyes, instead it had a black line visor that went all the way up to the sides of its head. It had a spiked, ball-shaped shield on its left shoulder while the right had a simpler shield that arched down to its hand. Even with it submerged under rubble and sand, Roman can see that it was much larger than the Paladin. At least five times it's height. Roman looked at the machine for a moment before looking at a grunt.
"Get this thing out of there and find a way to power it up. I think we just found an ace." Said Roman before leaving with Neo in tow. He looked at his accomplice, who looked at him in wonder at his decision. "Well, Neo. We needed more competent hands here, so I decided to get one that can do just that. Don't worry, I'll make sure it's restrained properly. And hey, if it joins us, we get a giant robot for a friend. Isn't that fun?" Neo just rolled her eyes as the two walked, making Roman laugh.