Like any guard worth his salt should do in the event of potential hostilities, I pulled out my provided radio and sent out an alert as soon as I realized what was going to happen.
"Two-five here, reporting in. I have eyes on what appears to be a White Fang member on top of the center skylight, and I have reason to believe he's not alone. I think we're about to be attacked, if we aren't already."
I got a response from a voice that I recognized as Tsei-se's in no time.
"Can you confirm that he's a Fang?"
A logical question, as I didn't say I was certain.
"Well, sir, he's wearing a cloak, carrying a bow, and there's no mistaking the Grimm mask. Yes, I can confirm he's a Fang."
"Roger. We'll notify everyone to prepare for combat. Remember, protect the guests above all else. This is going to get messy."
"Yes, sir."
With the warning sent, I replaced my radio and grabbed the attention of everyone in the general area.
"ALRIGHT EVERYONE, I'M GONNA NEED YOU ALL TO MOVE TO THE DINING HALL IN A CALM AND ORDERLY FASHION!"
Unsurprisingly, quite a few of them weren't partial to that.
"Who do you think you are, ordering us around like that?!"
"Have you any idea to whom you are speaking?!"
More red dots were converging on Parid's position. Sparing a glance upward, I saw more Fangs begin to crowd around him on the skylight - and if my eyes didn't deceive me, they were about to break in.
I turned back to the crowd.
"IF YOU WANNA KNOW WHY, THEN LOOK UP AND YOU'LL GET YOUR ANSWER! NOW MOVE IT!"
A few seconds after I finished my sentence, the sound of a bunch of windows shattering all at once rang out, and a moment later, hundreds of small glass shards assaulted a gaggle of overly finely-dressed men and women.
I looked up again, and bore witness to a mass of enemies in the process of rappelling onto the dance floor. They all looked generic, and that was reinforced by their tags.
White Fang Infiltrator
Sneak
Lv. 12
White Fang Fighter
Drifter
Lv. 12
There were variations for each of the nine class lines, all with different names and stat spreads. Their levels were all locked at 12. But their one big weakness?
Not a single one of them had an unlocked Aura.
Which meant that when they hit the ground, my tranq pistol was already in my hand, dropping them as fast as I could pull the trigger.
You have targeted: White Fang Infiltrator (Lv. 12)
Status effect "Foe" inflicted.
Skill [Perpetual Advantage] triggered. STR/DEX multiplied by 1.2.
ACTIVATING COMBAT MODE
Track Cue: Targets! (Super Smash Bros. Melee)
...really? ...you couldn't pick something a little more… I dunno… fitting?
Okay, how about this?
Track Cue: Battle! (Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna - The Golden Country)
…meeh, still not Really Feeling It.
Oh, shut up.
It took only one dart for every grunt, each mark slumping to the ground only a few seconds after being hit. All of my targets were given the expected Sleep effect, with this brand lasting for about an hour, give or take ten or so minutes. As a bit of a consolation, I still received EXP for each neutralization, but it wasn't much since I only got 10 points for every mook I sent off to dreamland.
More security guards were rushing to the epicenter, drawing mainly non-lethal weapons and taking aim. Others were hanging back and herding the civvies to safety. I couldn't see anyone I knew… yet. But I was sure that they were dealing with other breach points.
Luckily, by the point the Fangs shoved down enough numbers to give them time to actually fire their weapons, most of the guests were gone. Those of us who had Aura were quick to shield those who didn't, keeping the death count at zero. I tried using some of the surroundings as cover, but that idea was mostly abandoned after I took a bullet to the arm when I ducked behind an overturned refreshment table.
Right, this isn't Hollywood. 1-inch thick slabs of wood aren't going to do shit against assault rifle rounds.
Thankfully, not all of the landscape was prone to piercing. There were quite a few pillars around, made of what I assumed to be marble. I figured they might be able to block a few shots, if nothing else. In a way, I was right - but only if the bullet hit dead-center. If it was a grazing shot that hit the edge, the bullet would still go right on through, which didn't do me any favors.
More Fangs were quickly approaching, now from different directions. I took that as an indication that they had broken through the outer lines, and took out my radio again.
"Two-five here. I believe the outer defense ring has been compromised - we're getting swarmed here. Permission to pull back to a more defensible position?"
"Granted. Unfortunately, law enforcement has been delayed, and the army's too far away to be of any help. We will be receiving reinforcements in 15 minutes, at the least. If we can hold out until then, we win regardless, but it would also be preferable if we cleaned this up sooner rather than later."
"Understood, sir. I'll see what I can do."
I reloaded my weapon while the Smith Curator relayed the message to pull back to everyone else, then broke for an arched entry leading to one of the building's many hallways, switching my channel to an area broadcast.
"Head for the halls! We'll clog 'em at the choke points! Go, go, go!"
Yet, even among my comrades, there was some discontent.
"You really think you can boss us around, kid?!"
I growled and prepared to retort, but was beaten to the punch by Reid, of all people.
"Damn it, Dagger, now's not the time fer yer bitchin'! Just do it!"
I determined that the unexpected, but welcome surprise would stamp out any dissent and stored the radio again. Shortly after, I reached the hallway's main exit, and was quickly joined by a few friendlies. Already, I was beginning to see a few Fang grunts barreling towards us, weapons primed and ready.
...I feel a rallying cry coming on. Eh, why not? My charm stat's low, but it's not zero.
"Alright, normally I wouldn't say this at the risk of sounding racist, but I think these idiots deserve it for choosing to mess with us despite all the obvious warnings."
The hand holding my weapon thrust diagonally to the heavens.
"LET'S PUT THESE DOGS DOWN!"
I was answered by a resounding cheer from my allies.
Well, whaddaya know - it actually worked.
Unfortunately, despite the extra motivation, we still found ourselves being pushed back over the course of the next few minutes. Though there was the silver lining that nobody had died so far. Quality-wise, we outranked them. They were all locked at level twelve, whereas our worst few were at level fifteen, and that was only like one or two guys. On the other hand… they just.
Kept.
Coming.
I found myself wondering just how many mooks had been drafted into the assault. I quickly lost interest in counting my hits after I broke twenty (and that had been back when they were still rappelling in), but with how much pressure we were against, not to mention all the fodder that was being sent at the other groups, the sheer amount of numbers they were able to throw at us made me begin to think that this whole debacle was being influenced somehow. By what, or who, I had no idea, but I was damn sure that there was no way they could have possibly had this many shock troops at their disposal without outside help.
To add even more weight, there was still the matter of Parid, who I assumed was the commander of this little operation. I hadn't seen hide nor hair of him since the skylight shattered, and I was starting to get antsy for when he'd finally reveal himself. After all, while I did have a minimap, there was no way for me to tell which of the countless red dots was him.
Speaking of the minimap, I soon saw a dark grey dot make its way towards my position during a short break in the assault. When it came into view, I turned around to see who it was, and…
"What the- Petra?! The h*BEEP*ll are you-"
"Helping, what else?! And I'm gonna be doing it with my fists, if none of you have anything I can use!"
I already knew that it would be a waste of breath to tell her to leave, and I probably couldn't be bothered to try anyway. So, I did a bit of quick thinking, until I looked down at my uniform and recognized the other loaned item I had received from my temporary boss. I took it out of its harness and presented it to the combat school student.
"Okay, what about this baton? It's not a tonfa, but the principle's the same, isn't it? Besides, none of these guys have Aura, and I don't think now would be a very good time for you to experience your first kill."
She studied it for a moment, then nodded and took the blunt weapon.
"Yeah, this should do just fine." She then scowled as she glanced down at her dress. "Of course, it'd be great if I had some kinda gun right now, but this thing doesn't have any places to store ammo in."
I processed that, then pulled out my borrowed taser.
"Alright then, go ahead and use this too. I have my tranq-er right here, and I'm competent at hand-to-hand anyway. If I keep these, I'll likely just end up not using them. I'm sure you'll do right by them."
She took the device in her right hand, switching the baton to her left.
"Thanks, Zeiss. I'll be sure to put these to good use."
I flashed her a thumbs-up.
"I know you will. Now get out there and kick some ass! I believe the group down the corridor over there's in need of some assistance. Why don't you go show 'em how a Compass student gets the job done?"
She was already moving when I finished speaking.
"Right! See ya!"
While she left, I pulled out my radio again.
"This is Two-Five. Be advised, we have a huntress-in-training coming in on our side. If you see a girl in a dark grey dress with a baton and a taser, help her out and try to make sure she doesn't get in over her head. She dies, and it comes out of our paychecks."
"Roger."
The battle continued without any fanfare. More and more unresponsive faunus bodies began to pile up in the hallways, and I began to get pretty damn suspicious.
Going by how many are down right here, and the number of defense groups we have… Jesus fucking Christ, we must've taken out at least 200, 250 of em' by now! Where the hell are they all coming from?
Eventually, we were pushed back to our last line of defense, that being the big set of double doors leading to the dining hall, behind which laid all the relocated guests. We were down to five minutes until reinforcements arrived, and as much as I'd like to say otherwise, things were starting to look bleak. Quite a few of our own men had been put out of commission by this point, which should be expected of us, as we weren't perfect. The enemy forces still showed no signs of stopping their advance, which I found a little unfair and tiring, but I wasn't allowed to brood on those thoughts with all the shooting still going on.
We were all pretty worn down. Petra had a little over 40% of her Aura still intact, and most of my allies were running on empty. Thankfully, with a little stealth-healing, I had been able to stay well within a safe range of 70-80% for the most part, so I was still able to occasionally charge into melee range and lay waste to a few groups with my newly-achieved level 35 in Unarmed Mastery, plus liberal application of the Grievous Harm With A Body trope.
(If you don't know what that means, think like how Hulk lays out Loki in the first Avengers movie, only with more enemies around for him to slam Loki into. If you don't know what that means, then I have several concerns with your taste in pop-culture, and it just means that I used the body of a grunt as a bludgeoning weapon against other grunts. It's actually pretty hilarious to watch - you should try doing it yourself if you ever get the chance.)
Then, when the time hit four minutes thirty seconds, I took a look at my minimap.
And saw a single red dot suddenly blip into existence in a small side room that opened into the dining hall.
Said side room also had three other occupants.
Two green dots, which designated generic allies…
...and one icy blue, almost white dot. I'm sure you can take a guess as to who that signifies.
Track Cue: Hurry! (FINAL FANTASY VII)
Oooohhhh, SHIT!
Unfortunately, pinned as I was, I couldn't get to their location without showcasing my abilities.
But luckily, before the two green dots were turned transparent-grey by the new red dot, part of a message got out before being silenced.
"One-seven here, we have an intruder in the VIP room! I repeat, we have an intruder in the-"
KRRSSCHHHH!
It abruptly cut off, signaling nothing but bad times ahead in the immediate future of a certain heiress.
Seizing the opportunity for an excuse, I turned to Tsei-se, who had been forced to step out onto the front lines and assume the role of field commander.
"Sorry, sir, but the VIP needs help! Dock my pay if you want, but I can't risk her life!"
I began to run even before finishing my first sentence. I didn't hear him respond, as I sucked myself into an ID to avoid paying for even more property damage than I'd already caused.
CONFLICT RESOLVED
Escaped - No Rewards Gained
Still kinda pissed that you restricted these for the cannon, though I can see why you did so. Honestly, it kinda feels better this way - I earned that win, I didn't just cheese the hell out of it like I probably would have if I'd gotten that chance. Penny, though… not quite over that yet. I mean, I knew I needed an asskicking to put me in my place, but that was just…
I took the extra downtime to heal myself back to full. I had a feeling I'd need every hit point I had for what was about to go down.
Oh, quit your bitching. You just want to blame me for the fact that you totally forgot they existed and only remembered after I suggested that you train in one a few days after the mess was over. And this was even right after you were pulled into one for the Mach Speed Stage! I mean, come on, really? I should sin you for that! In fact…
DING!
Story Sin Counter: 1
And let's not forget…
Wump-woomp-wup-wumm-bowwwwrrrr!
OFFICIAL ZEISS FAIL COUNTER: 13
Damn it, Gaia, I thought I told you not to let the readers know about that!
I bulldozed right through the dining hall doors in my little reality marble, motoring for the side room.
You didn't honestly think that they'd forget about one of the staple skills of the niche, and not notice your suspect lack of use of it? They wanted answers, so I figured I might as well throw them a bone.
Dodging tables was getting tedious, so I simply decided to begin table-hopping.
There's a difference between throwing them a bone and just chucking a whole damn skeleton at 'em. And don't I remember you saying that the fourth wall was something to be avoided?
That was because you thought that you were being written by another version of you. I had no idea if whether or not understanding the implications of that would do to your psyche what the NerveGear does to brains, so I usually steered you away from that topic on the off-chance that your mind might spontaneously combust.
...that's bullshit, but what the hell, I believe it.
Good boy, Giorno. Now do your damn job.
I began to close in on the side-room's location.
Say… Weiss is technically a guest, right? Doesn't that mean she's unarmed?
True, but we also don't know if she's unlocked her semblance yet. If she has, she may be able to defend herself slightly, but if she doesn't…
Well, either way, she's gonna need a weapon. Do I have anything that might suit her?
Maybe, let me see…
Thankfully, she found one right as I was preparing to smash through the last door standing in my path.
How about this?
I gave it a cursory glance right before I performed standard breach procedures (read: crashed right through the door like The Heavy, or Timmy's Dad without a battering ram, or knocking beforehand).
Yeah, that should work. Hope Marth managed to grab the Starsphere, otherwise he'll be up shit creek without a paddle once he fights Medeus.
Meh, if all else fails, he can always just call up Master Radd Quetz, give him the Mercurius and tell him to go ham.
True. After all, he is simply amazing.
With that, I popped out of the ID, and was greeted with the sight of one rapierless Weiss Schnee squaring up against the resident White Fang Commander, who currently had a sparking energy arrow nocked on an ethereal bowstring and pointed right at the heiress's face. Flanking her were two dead guards, both of which were full of smoking, cauterized holes.
I wasn't about to let another person get shot, so I quickly pulled out a small Fire Dust crystal to mask my next action.
You have targeted: Parid Kaol (Lv. 22)
Status effect "Miniboss" inflicted.
[Vantage] triggered. "Flinch" inflicted.
Flinch
Discount Stun, without any of the particle effects and a fraction of the duration. Prevents the victim from moving for as long as the effect lasts or until the victim takes damage.
In hindsight, it was a major 'I'm a dumbass' moment when I figured out that all I needed to dissolve any suspicion about my magical abilities was to make sure to always have decoy Dust crystals on hand. Why I hadn't thought of that sooner, I doubt I'll ever figure out.
[Fireball]
I chucked the little red sphere at the guy's head, my boosted 186 DEX score and the extra momentum from my running speed ensuring a deadly direct hit. The sudden impact jostled his aim and caused him to loose the arrow in a knee-jerk reaction, with Weiss's own instincts moving her head just enough to ensure that the projectile narrowly avoided grazing her cheek.
"Burn" inflicted.
Burn
They don't teach Stop, Drop and Roll like they used to. Victims take 0.5% of their max health as damage every second for 20 seconds or until the fire is put out. Wind-element skills that target victims are granted a bonus damage multiplier of 1.5.
While Parid's cloak began to catch fire, I lashed out with a brutal roundhouse kick while he was still off-guard, knocking him a fair distance away.
With the immediate danger taken care of for the moment, I dashed to the heiress's side and pulled out the weapon I'd selected for her.
"Pseudo-Falchion" removed from inventory.
From within my dress shirt, I removed an ornate-looking sword with a curving, forked copper-colored crossguard that had a blue oval gem embedded in the center. The same copper hue carried on past the brown grip, extending to the pommel, which sported an orange gem. The blade itself, while double-edged, was noticeably thin, only slightly larger than about twice the width of the grip, and had a prominent tip. It was also ever-so-slightly tinted blue.
I held the weapon up to my designated charge. "Here. Questions later, fight for your life now."
She appeared to still be understandably shaken after being held at arrowpoint, but she didn't let that deter her from taking the sword in her left hand with a nod and an "all right."
I had actually gotten this way back when I was still on Patch, from a special I.D. that ended up forcing me into a tactician role, and tasked me with re-enacting the first chapter of Shadow Dragon (or technically Dark Dragon and the Blade of Light, but that's semantics) using RWBY characters. All you need to know is that it involved pirates, interesting maneuvers, and a rage-inducing 1% crit.
In a minor fit of paranoia, I checked the weapon again.
Pseudo-Falchion
Might: 100
"The forces of evil are in serious trouble!"
A replica of a sword created for the sole purpose of slaying dragons. Because it is forged from the fang of a weakened reincarnation of the model's original material supplier, it is not as powerful as the real Falchion. Its sleek design lends its preferred style of usage to be more like that of a rapier rather than a standard sword.
Weapon might is doubled when calculating damage against draconic foes.
Lowers accuracy if user's Sword Mastery level is below 80.
Lowers AGI if user's STR is less than 100.
Cannot be used if user's STR is less than 50.
Weapon weight and Sword Mastery accuracy penalties are nullified if user bears royal blood.
Said paranoia at the potential restrictions had me asking "does it feel usable?"
To answer, she gave it a few test swings, gracefully maneuvering the weapon in quick, short arcs with ease. She even twirled it around for a suitably flashy finish, blatantly showing off at that point. "I believe this should make a fine substitute, thank you," she responded when she was done rubbing her skill in my face.
I let out a relieved breath. "Okay, great. Now get ready, he doesn't look too happy."
While Parid recovered and removed his fast-burning cloak, curing the Burn effect in the process, I took the time to Observe them both and take out my own weapon of choice for this engagement. Collateral damage was still a big concern, so I obviously couldn't use my BFS if I didn't want to completely wreck the environment.
"Steel Knuckles" removed from inventory.
These guys really weren't all that special. I'd gotten them at a local shop when I was out looking for new equipment to use as backups in case I was ever put into a situation where I either lost Crimson Violet, or it would be impractical to use it. When I saw that my Unarmed level had gotten high enough to wield these things without suffering from an accuracy debuff, I snatched them right up. The fact that they were on sale was just icing on the cake, as the Lien rewards from the quests covering the recent incident were quite generous to make up for the noticeably lacking EXP portions.
Of course, immediately after I'd finished that shopping trip, I forced myself into shoveling almost all of my remaining money into the massive, gaping hole in the planet (and my self-esteem) that was my debt.
Steel Knuckles
Might: 60
A simple pair of knuckle dusters forged out of steel. They don't hit as hard as their bigger gauntlet brothers, but they are lighter and easier to use.
Lowers accuracy if user's Unarmed Mastery level is below 35.
Lowers AGI if user's STR is below 60.
I then checked out our opposition's weapon. Honestly speaking, the bow looked like something straight outta the future, or a weapons laboratory. For starters, it was coated in the standard-issue spartan white that Atlas was so fond of. Small black grooves denoting interlocking parts lined the frame, with the occasional strip of gray transparent material here and there, and the red insignia of the White Fang emblazoned right above the handle. The back was thick, and contained a trench running from the grip to the ends of both limbs - the purpose of which was found in the weapon's description.
Kingslayer
Might: 66 (Melee), 88 (Ranged)
An experimental bow developed by Atlesian scientists that was stolen and repurposed by the White Fang. It uses a type of rechargeable dust to generate a bowstring that automatically creates arrows whenever it is pulled back by the user. It can also be used as a melee weapon, as it can use the dust to form energy blades on the outside of the bow. In addition, adding a second dust crystal can change the elemental effect of the weapon, from creating fire and wind arrows to generating ice and electro-blades. Beware, however - if the primary dust battery is depleted, the weapon becomes effectively useless. Parid Kaol's personal weapon.
Weapon damage scales with Parid's level.
Oh, wonderful. A Maliwan-brand Fujin Yolo. I guess I should start calling him Takumi, and I might as well blame him for everything, too.
Ice-blue eyes flicked over to look at me. "You do have a plan, don't you?"
I glanced at her, then back at our opponent. "Something tells me his close-combat skills are much weaker than his ranged abilities. My advice, get up in his face, and do whatever you can to stay there. Keep him on the back foot, and don't let him put any distance between you, or he'll turn you into a pincushion."
It was the best I could come up with using what info I had. Of the five personal attack skills he'd gained upon being hit with the Miniboss effect (which, if you're wondering, had the exact same effect as Foe, only it multiplied their total HP by 1.5), only one was melee-focused, while the other four were ranged-exclusive. Of course, it was still a pretty good damage-dealer, but it also still had a cooldown, and we could exploit that if we stayed inside his guard and prevented him from getting the distance required for those ranged skills.
Anyway, I think you've gone long enough without my company's stat screens. So without further ado…
Weiss Schnee
Title: Ice Princess
Class: Celerian
Level: 18
HP: 1,560
VIT: 78
STR: 80
INT: 135
DEX: 133
AGI: 133
RES: 59
LUK: 93
CHR: 76
Status: Healthy
About what I was expecting, really. Fast, accurate, average striking power that was significantly boosted by her new weapon, and bad endurance. Unfortunately, the page listed her semblance as 'locked,' which meant that the ensuing fight would be that much harder.
Her Sword Mastery level was sitting at 35 - conveniently, the exact same number as my Unarmed Mastery level. I was a little tempted to call bullshit on that, but it did make a bit more sense when I considered that she had likely been taught by the best tutors money could buy. It was still a little bullshit in terms of how high its level was, though. As for our opponent…
Parid Kaol
Title: Righteous Ranger
Class: Archer
Level: 22
HP: 7,495/7,856
VIT: 129
STR: 155
INT: 85
DEX: 181
AGI: 180
RES: 103 [Nullified]
LUK: 67
CHR: 93
Status: Healthy
Egh. Well, if nothing else, he'd be a bitch to take down. That agility score was also definitely going to be a pain to deal with, especially in terms of keeping him locked in melee. Him being faster than us would make it that much harder to keep him from getting us in his weapon's effective range. But even if we did, that 155 strength would still prove to be a serious danger if we got careless. And like with Penny, his class was a tier above us, widening the stat gap even further. In short, he was not a foe to be taken lightly.
I suppose this would also be a good time to mention his appearance, now that the cloak was gone. He sported bright green hair in a pointed windswept style, kinda like what you'd see on certain types of birds, say, a Robin for instance. He wore a modified version of the standard White Fang outfit, still keeping the reds and the whites of the uniform's regular color scheme, but also adding in some greens here and there, wherever tasteful. The Nevermore mask on his face evoked the image of an old Plague Doctor mask somewhat, with the protruding nose and the circular reflective glass-covered eyeholes, though the nose was much smaller, only extending out around two or so inches from his face, not a foot.
I turned back to my ally. "Prepare yourself. This is gonna get very dangerous, very fast. Remember, don't give him an inch, or he'll take a yard. Ready?"
She may or may not have gulped - I couldn't tell - but she nodded anyway, and lifted the Pseudo-Falchion. "Yes."
With her approval, I returned my attention to our enemy, dropping into a battle stance of my own. "All right, then. Let's go educate him on the folly of committing to this fruitless assault."
ACTIVATING COMBAT MODE
Track Cue: Last Surprise (Persona 5)
In a rare reversal, Parid was the one to make the opening move, drawing and firing in an instant.
[Rogue Arrow]
The glowing gray projectile slammed into my chest before I could even attempt to dodge, sending me back a step from the sheer force and cleaving away more than a sixth of my total HP pool.
-240 HP
However, an undeterred Weiss took the opening and ran with it, flying towards him point-first.
[Linear Lunge]
The strike landed, leading to a short bout between them that I assumed would give me a chance to flank him. Unfortunately, he rolled high enough to block my attack of opportunity, while also catching my companion's sword using the energy blade on the other end of his weapon.
But then again… that was only one of my fists.
[Hard Cross+]
My other arm swooped under Kingslayer, nailing him right in the gut.
"Break" inflicted.
The hit broke his guard, leaving him open for another skill.
[Lumberfell]
I immediately followed up with a sweep kick, yanking his legs out from under him and sending him tumbling to the floor. Even better, this skill actually gained bonus damage if it was chained with Hard Cross, dishing out even more pain than normal.
"Topple" inflicted.
For my next trick, I took inspiration from what the Smiths had pulled on me back during their fight. I grabbed Parid by the legs, then swung him around and tossed him at Weiss in a truncated airplane throw, calling out "send him flying!"
ASSIST STRIKE TRIGGERED!
She wasted no time in doing so, swinging the Pseudo-Falchion in a backhanded underhand slash.
[Upward Tilt]
Even if Parid had managed to block the sword, he still wouldn't have been able to escape being sent flying.
"Launch" inflicted.
But she wasn't done yet.
[Peck Blitz]
Her weapon became a blur as she executed the rapier variant of the Sword Flurry skill, landing the expected 8 stabs in little more than two seconds. And lo and behold, RNJesus finally decided to bless us with a Bleed trigger!
"Bleed" inflicted.
Hot on her heels, I made to complete the Driver Combo and give the Commander a taste of some good old-fashioned teamwork.
[Flying Guillotine]
I leapt up after the juggling victim, somersaulting in the process in order to drive the back of my heel down into his chest.
"Smash" inflicted.
Needless to say, he hit the ground pretty soon after that.
-1,571 HP
But even after all that… my mind was screaming that it wasn't enough.
So I decided to give him one last 'fuck you' before backing off.
While still in midair, I twisted my body around and began to drop towards the man below me. My arm became coated in a shining yellow hue, and right before impact, I couldn't resist shouting two words that would most definitely elicit an extremely polarizing response from my audience.
"PEOPLE'S ELBOW!"
[Sol]
The sheer amount of Cutscene Power my action carried caused a cloud of dust to appear around the epicenter.
+267 HP
I biggity-bounced outta the opaque plume a moment later, landing next to Weiss as she scrutinized ground zero.
Without taking her eyes off her target, she inquired about the state of affairs. "Is he incapacitated?"
I narrowed my eyes before responding. "...I don't think so. It's never that easy. Keep your guard up until further notice."
And sure enough, not long after, Parid spoke to us for the first time.
"Fuck your people's elbow."
[Snare Tether]
What the- that wasn't in his skill list!
All of a sudden, from out of the dust cloud came a black energy arrow that emitted a purple glow, landing between us.
Huh, doesn't that color mea-SHIT!
We reacted too late, and were caught in the resultant singularity field when the projectile imploded.
Weiss and I were violently tugged towards the spot on the floor that the arrow had pierced, and collided with one another, rooted in place. Accordingly, we were left completely helpless against the ensuing chain of skills.
[Quiver Feeder]
Five more sparking gray projectiles flew out and hit the both of us. I suffered three hits, while the Ice Princess only received two.
[Double Nock]
Parid extended the combo with another two arrows, one for both of us.
And to finally cap it all off, came one last arrow, this one a blazing red-orange hue with a yellow glow.
[Burst Shot]
It didn't take a genius to figure out that we were about to suffer quite the explosive attack. Moments later, we were hit with just that, in the form of a blinding nova.
-130 HP
-154 HP
"Burn" inflicted.
[Resolve] triggered.
The blast canceled out the singularity effect, sending us flying off in opposite directions. We recovered as fast as our current bodily limitations would permit us to, which for me was pretty damn fast, owing to the stat boost from Resolve. That same quickness also allowed me to dodge the next salvo of arrows that was sent my way, narrowly avoiding every single one.
His fixation on me and resultant disregard for Weiss let her take him by surprise with what was currently her only ranged attack, launching a shining projectile from her weapon by thrusting it in his direction.
(Did I mention that all this was happening while we were on fire?)
[Energy Needle]
The ethereal spike stabbed him in the midsection, causing his Aura to shimmer, a sign that I interpreted as meaning that it was about to break.
Seeing an opportunity, I dashed towards Parid, only for him to jump out of my range and towards Weiss, triggering another combat skill as he did so.
[Twinblade Swing]
The out-of-left-field nature of his action to willingly enter melee range caught both me and my partner off guard, letting him land three consecutive spinning slashes on the heiress, knocking her away.
As you might be able to imagine, that didn't really endear him to me. Thus, I reacted in a perfectly appropriate manner.
"Hey, buddy…"
[Vulcan Combo]
Said reaction basically amounted to 'beat the shit out of him.'
"THAT WASN'T VERY CASH MONEY OF YOU!"
Seven left-handed jabs made contact on his natural shield, one hitting harder than expected.
CRITICAL!
What came after was probably the single most savage right cross I'd ever thrown.
CRITICAL!
-1,262 HP
The sheer amount of force it carried was enough to send him flying back.
Directly towards a certain princess, who by this point was visibly pissed off.
I decided to give her a little extra incentive - could never be too careful.
"FINISH HIM!"
Upon hearing those words, a smirk with an oh-so-slightly bloodthirsty edge to it appeared on her expression.
"With pleasure."
[Powerthrust+]
Parid attempted to block, but the power behind the stab and his momentum in the opposite direction smashed it right through his guard, piercing him and obliterating the last vestiges of his Aura.
Parid HP: 0/7,856
"Shatter" inflicted.
Shatter
Please don't do this to the meta. Seriously. The victim's Aura reserves are depleted, leaving them vulnerable to bodily harm for as long as the effect lasts.
He was sent flying back over to me, but I figured he'd had enough already, so I moved back over to Weiss and let him hit the floor, signaling the end of the fight. Coincidentally, the Burn effect wore out right then.
Yeah. To emphasize that again: that all just happened WHILE WE WERE LITERALLY COATED IN BRIGHT RED FLAMES. If that isn't 'Up to Eleven,' then I don't know what is.
(How Weiss managed to deal with it without issue, I'll never know.)
Parid Kaol (Lv. 22) defeated!
+2,000 EXP
+4,000 Lien
Bonus Objective complete: Defeat Parid
Track Cue: Victory! Cloud (Super Smash Bros. 4)
YOU WON!
Battle Rewards:
X1 Lawful Extremist set
I checked the new threads after confiscating the downed commander's weapon, shoving it into my suit and subsequently inside my inventory.
The Lawful Extremist
A standard-issue uniform given to all newly-recruited White Fang members. Perfect for marking those designated as cannon fodder, but beware of the rare badass this outfit may hide. For some odd reason however, this set is missing the mask.
Heh… nice. Once I get the mask after completing the quest, I'll have everything a guy could need to infiltrate the Fangs. I think Mistral may just be my next stop after I'm done with Atlas. Or maybe I could pay a visit to Vale's branch instead…? Eh, I'll decide once I pin down Blake's location.
Track Cut
Finalizing that thought, I pulled out a set of cable ties I had left over from my recent heist and went about binding Parid after instructing Weiss to hold him down. With a little application of the Real Super Power of Teamwork, he was wrapped up in no time. Idly checking the clock, I noticed that we still had two minutes left until reinforcements arrived.
Now that the big threat was taken down, I pulled out my radio again. "Two-Five, reporting in. VIP has been secured, repeat, VIP has been secured."
The boss's response came quickly. "Excellent work. We've managed to neutralize the remainder of the White Fang's forces out here as well. And with that, I believe it's safe to say that the assault is over. We'll be moving to clean-up operations soon. Well done."
Right on cue…
Bonus Objective complete: Do not let any guests die
Bonus Objective complete: Do not kill any White Fang Infiltrators
Bonus Objective complete: Complete the quest within 18 minutes
Quest Complete!
Stealing From the Rich
Rewards received:
1,500 EXP
10,000 Lien
Bonus Rewards:
Hero's Bow
15,000 Lien
White Fang Mask
Support progress increase with Weiss
I pushed aside checking those in favor of replying back. "Thanks, sir. Been a pleasure working with you. Hope to see you within the next thirty minutes for my paycheck, 'cause hell if I don't feel like I deserve it. Over and out."
The 'click' of the radio going silent was soon drowned out by the breath I let out after I replaced it inside my suit. "Whoof. Thank god that's over."
"Excuse me…" Whereupon I found my attention drawn to Weiss, who was holding the Pseudo-Falchion towards me, handle-first. "I would like to thank you for your assistance. Had you not arrived when you did, I doubt I would have been able to put up much resistance, loathe as I am to admit as such. You may have your weapon back now."
I gave her a blank stare for a moment as I processed that, then took the sword from her…
...and promptly reciprocated the gesture, holding it out for her to take. "Nah, you can keep it. As it stands right now, I can't exactly use this thing properly. But you can, and I think I'd feel better if I knew it was in the hands of someone who could make much better use of it. Either way, though, in my eyes, you've sure as hell earned it. And besides, even if you do end up stashing it away, you have to admit that it would make a great memento. You know… a reminder of your feats, or a representation of everything that you've achieved on your own merits. How's that sound?"
I absently noted that my digital censor didn't trigger when I said 'hell.' But I was stopped from dwelling on that when the unthinkable happened next.
Weiss Schnee, heiress of the Schnee Dust Company, daughter of Jackass Schnee, future Ice Queen of Beacon Academy, and the world of Remnant's most famous tsundere… graced me with a smile as she took back the blade.
A small one, sure, but still, a real, honest-to-god smile.
I almost missed her reply while I was caught up in the rush that came with knowing that I coaxed a smile out of one of the series' coldest characters. "That sounds just fine to me, mister…?"
Thankfully, I caught myself before I had the chance to look like an idiot, and held out my hand. "Zeiss Serven. But please, just call me Zeiss. Pleasure to make your acquaintance, miss…?"
She clasped my hand in her own, giving it a suitably formal and clearly practiced shake, fitting of her upbringing. Hard and firm, but not overly so - just enough to leave an impression. "Weiss Schnee. And the pleasure is all mine."
Once we got all the other pleasantries out of the way, I inquired about something that had been on my mind after checking my watch. "Say, what about your scheduled performance for tonight? I mean, sure, I imagine it'll have to be delayed, but I think everyone in the dining hall right now could really use something to take their minds off recent events, don't you think?"
She made to respond, but was interrupted by Parid mumbling something unintelligible. (Literally, his subtitles read 'unintelligible.') Annoyed, I strode over and gave him a boot to the head. "Shuddup, dumbass. You lost the right to join in on the conversations of intelligent folk the moment you decided that staging an assault on an event that had this much security was a good idea."
Seriously, I could understand that this party's attendance list was basically a veritable who's who of the White Fang's highest-value targets, but the argument fell to pieces when the joint security force of the Smiths, standard Atlas personnel, and hired freelancers came into play. No matter how you looked at it, that did not result in good odds for anything the Fang could muster.
Anyway, with the clowns shooed out, I turned back to Weiss. "Apologies. You were about to say?"
She cleared her throat. "Yes, thank you. While there is no denying that recent events may have… impeded the performance, I do not think that is an adequate excuse to cancel it outright. I believe that if we simply take some time to recover, the show can still go on. I would say that I can be onstage in… about an hour, at the very least."
Now that dedication was definitely something I could approve of. "Great to hear. I suppose I should probably leave you to it, then?"
My question got a nod. "Yes, that would likely be for the best. While I do find you to be pleasant company, I also require privacy to get in top form. A shame, really - you seem like a fairly interesting fellow."
I shook my head to that with a chuckle. "Oh, trust me, miss Schnee - if your first impression of me was when I was off the clock, you would have a very different opinion of me. At the risk of sounding offensive, all I will say on the matter is that myself and the average member of Atlesian high society do not mix all that well. Actually…" I leaned in close. "Can you keep a secret?"
I was met with a deadpan expression. "Zeiss, I am the heiress to a multi-billion lien company with a monopoly on Dust in more than 80% of all inhabited regions in the entire world. I probably have more secrets than you do possessions. I think I can keep one more fairly well."
I shrugged and conceded. "Fair point. But anyway… quite a few attendees saw fit to subject me to ridicule concerning my position and the supposed fact that I'm 'too young' to have the job that I do. Now, if you'll pardon my rudeness, I don't exactly take kindly to being shit-talked like that."
Now that there was nothing to interrupt, I was able to focus on the fact that she had already been desensitized to swearing to the point where my filter didn't bleep out 'shit.'
Oh, dear. Not even 16, and she's already okay with this kind of language…? Granted, I was slinging that left and right under my breath by the time I was ten, but that was back in California, and I was never really a conventional child.
But back to the dialogue…. "So, accordingly, I've come up with a little something to fire some shots back at them. And here's what I've got in mind…"
I was then treated to Weiss's visage running the gamut of facial expressions while I explained my big plan for petty revenge. Included in the list was surprise, dread, awe, fear, eagerness, amazement, disgust, and quite a few others, before finishing at blank when I wrapped up.
She held that neutral face while voicing her thoughts. "Zeiss Serven. This is, without a doubt, the single most vindictive, unnecessary, extravagant, malicious, and utterly over-the-top scheme I have ever heard."
My smile faded a bit at her words.
"That being said…"
Her countenance suddenly twisted itself into an expression of pure evil as she finished her thought.
"I absolutely love it."
My smile widened by a factor of 10 in no time.
Ohhh-ho-ho-ho… this is gonna be satisfying.
ONE RIDICULOUSLY VINDICTIVE, UNNECESSARY, EXTRAVAGANT, MALICIOUS, AND UTTERLY OVER-THE-TOP SCHEME (and about an hour and a half) LATER…
If I had to choose one word to describe the aftermath of The Plan, it would be 'glorious.'
Hell, it was so glorious that I couldn't find it within myself to give a shit about the fact that this had a very real chance of putting me back on Atlas's 'Most Wanted' list.
But hey, at least I still got paid for my shift. No regrets, bitches!
Some bluebloods were standing stock-still at the horrors their eyes feasted upon. A few were on the floor, shaking and rocking themselves in the fetal position. More were making their way to the exits at varying speeds - some as fast as they could go, others at a stiff, shambling pace. The odd one here and there was confusedly staring at the rest, wondering why they were having such severe reactions.
The fireworks had started right after Weiss had concluded her performance and walked off the dining hall stage. What followed… well, I'll give you some snippets of the reactionary dialogue and leave your imagination to run wild.
"G-gods… oh, gods…"
"MY LEG!"
"WHAT IS THIS?! WHAT IS THIS?! WHAT IS MY LIFE?!"
"MY TWENTY-THOUSAND LIEN CABBAGES! YOU MONSTERS!"
"SPEAK TO ME, WILSON! WILSOOOON!"
"My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined."
"Dad, I'm straight-up not having a good time right now."
"Hmph. You sheep crack at the slightest pressure. Pathetic."
"My glasses… that's just not fair…!"
"Bwahahaha! Oh, oh my lord, you absolute madman! You actually got down on the floor! Eat dat dirt, fool!"
"BROTHERS HELP US, THE WORLD'S GONE KOO-KOO FOR CHOCO POOFS!"
"...call my therapist. Tell her she's a rich woman. Now."
At the very least, you can probably tell it was totally bonkers.
"OH GOD, THE CEILING!"
...okay, even I don't know how that happened.
Holy shit, that's nasty. I think that may be my cue to leave.
"Psst! Zeiss! Over here!"
I turned to see Weiss's upper body poking out from behind a door, waving me over.
Deciding it was better not to ask questions, I stealth-dashed up and let her pull me in.
Once inside, she began leading me forward. "Follow me. This isn't the first time I've been here, so I know of a few escape routes."
Being myself, I questioned literally everything. "And… why exactly are you willingly assisting me?"
I saw her eyes snap to me for a second before focusing back on the path. "You're a supremely interesting person, Zeiss, and I believe that potentially leaving you to rot in a prison cell would be doing a disservice to the world. By the way, I really must commend you on your effectively flawless execution. I doubt anyone suspected you before it was too late, and even then, right now I would bet that they're still scratching their heads over the culprit's identity."
What little I could see of her expression then shifted slightly. "The ceiling, though…"
Oh, no. I know a Running Gag-slash-Never Live It Down situation when I see one. "For your information, that was entirely unintentional. Hell, I have no idea how or why that ended up the way it did, and I was behind everything!"
She audibly sighed at my retort. "Regardless of whether or not it was intended, I'm still going to blame you for any nightmares I may suffer from being scarred for life."
I rolled my eyes, but smiled as the perfect set-up for a classic line fell right into my lap. "Well, ex-cuuuuuuuse me, princess!"
Weiss shot me a glare in response. "For your own safety, I recommend that you refrain from making me regret my decision."
Okay, reminder to not piss off the Ice Queen. "Right, shutting up now."
The silence that followed gave me enough time to realize that I may have unintentionally given her blackmail material on me. All she needed to do was threaten to expose that I was responsible for everything here, and she could force me to do all manner of tasks. In essence, I had wrapped myself around her finger, without her even needing to lift it.
...I'd say 'damn, I'm good,' but that kinda has the opposite effect in this situation. I'll just stick with 'no comment.'
Rounding a corner, we reached a small hallway with a door at the end.
"Here we are. I would suggest that you get moving, quickly. Which direction to do so in, I will leave for you to choose."
I nodded, and reached for the knob… but hesitated as I decided to try one last thing before I biggity-bounced the fuck outta dodge. "Say… would it be presumptuous of me to ask if we could exchange scroll numbers? I mean, I fully understand that this probably isn't the ideal time or place to do so, but… well, I don't know if we'll ever see each other again, and to be honest, I've kinda started to like you, even if we did only meet for the first time a couple hours ago. Whaddaya say?"
She stared at me for a good bit, scrutinizing me with a narrowed gaze, as if debating whether or not this idea was tolerable or Lemongrab levels of unacceptable. Until finally…
"...all right. Because you have wormed your way into my good graces, I will give you a chance." She pulled out her scroll. "I hope for both our sakes that you don't squander it."
I did the same. "Well, I don't really have much experience dealing with royalty, but… I asked for this, so I suppose I'm obligated to put in the effort to make it work. I'll try my best, miss Schnee."
We held them next to each other, a flashing green light on the casing signifying the successful recording of another user's contact information. "See that you do."
With that done, I again reached for the knob, this time grasping and turning it, opening the door. I turned back to Weiss, offering a goodbye.
"Welp, as much as I'd love to stay and chat, something's telling me that I won't be welcome here pretty soon. Talk to you later?"
She just made a shooting motion with her hand. "Oh, just get going, you."
"Right. Bye."
And with that, I slipped outside.
Weiss's support level has advanced to rank E.
[Private conversation with Steelheart]
Steelheart: Zeiss? Mind telling me where you bugged out to?
SSJ Mercenary: Escaped through an unused side entrance. Currently motoring the h**l away from the building.
Steelheart: You really think that's a good idea? Wouldn't it be better to go back inside to reduce suspicion of where you went?
SSJ Mercenary: Nah, I already made them think I left after I got paid. Going back after that would only raise more questions.
Steelheart: Alright, then. Seriously though, the fact that you actually managed to pull all that off without getting caught is nothing short of amazing.
SSJ Mercenary: Well, it certainly wasn't the easiest thing in the world to do. I was almost busted a few more times than I'm comfortable with.
Steelheart: But was the ceiling really necessary?
SSJ Mercenary: Oh, for the love of- okay, for the record, that was completely accidental. I didn't even see it myself until after I set everything off.
Steelheart: Wait, you don't know how it happened?
SSJ Mercenary: No! I'm not even sure how I could have done that! I mean, have you seen how high up those roofs are? You'd either need a really big ladder or a grappling hook - neither of which I own, mind you - to do what I supposedly did with the ceiling!
Steelheart: Well, I'm just saying, this isn't the first time you've screwed with physics…
SSJ Mercenary: ...huh. S**t, then.
Steelheart: Just make sure to stay out of trouble like this in the near future, okay? You already got on their hit-list once, and I'm not sure you'll be able to erase your name a second time.
SSJ Mercenary: Right, right, I hear you. I'll try to be more careful. I can't make any promises, though.
Steelheart: I'd be questioning your identity if you did. Get home safe, Zeiss.
SSJ Mercenary: Back atcha, Petra. And I'd prefer if you did it sometime soon. You've got school tomorrow.
Steelheart: Aaaaaand you ruined it.
SSJ Mercenary: Good. See you later, Iron Girl.
Steelheart: Goodnight, you big troll. Have fun sleeping under your bridge.
SSJ Mercenary: Hey, at least it's more comfortable than the wet blanket of loneliness.
Steelheart: Oh, shut up and go to sleep.
SSJ Mercenary: Right here on the street?
Steelheart: You know what I meant, jackass.
SSJ Mercenary: Just making sure.
A/N: Hoo boy, what a doozy that was. I'd say it was a good thing I split this party episode into two, otherwise this would have been a 15K+ word monster.
Honestly, that story sin counter should be WAY higher than it is right now. I'd actually appreciate it if one of you readers left an "Everything Wrong With Soft Reset in One Review." If someone does do that, I'll update this chapter with the proper sin count.
I'm kinda iffy on whether or not it was a good idea to make the White Fang shootout portion a battle instead of a minigame. Looking at it now, I probably could have made it a huge Time Crisis reference or something like that. Then again, I have practically no experience whatsoever with the Light Gun Rail Shooter genre. The best I have was when I used to own the Wii version of Ghost Squad, but I can hardly remember anything from that game.
Speaking of battles, I'd like to hear your opinions on Zeiss & Weiss vs. Parid. And yes, the similarities in our names was not lost on me. You can expect to see at least one joke about that when we see her again. Anyway, if it seemed short, that's probably cause it was - in-universe, at least. The system I created doesn't really allow for the kind of fight lengths we see in canon because the relationship between HP values and damage calculations means that quite a few enemies - and allies - go down in much fewer hits compared to most JRPGs. To add to that, we've also seen that Remnant is noticeably lacking in quote-unquote 'healing spells,' meaning that pretty much 90% of the Huntsman population has no way to restore Aura and prolong a battle. And when you combine all that with the lightning-fast pace of RWBY's signature fighting styles, then even with an abundance of blocks, dodges, and parries, it usually only results in fight lengths of around two minutes. Of course, certain major opponents will be getting vitality boosts to make their fights last longer (check out the newly-introduced Miniboss effect), but even I'm not sure how much more time that'll tack on. I suppose we'll just have to see in the future.
Speaking of which, this chapter marks the introduction of Weiss. Writing her was a bit of a unique task, for a few reasons. For one, in my experience, a lot of people have differing opinions on how to characterize her, from either making her somewhat cold, melancholy, and distant (like Blake, but with truckloads of better character development), to making her standoffish and temperantial, with a bit of a short fuse. For another, we never really see her interact with anyone besides the main cast or anyone that doesn't piss her off, unintentionally or otherwise (barring the badass bullhead pilot, but he's a special case). I don't have any hard reference material for the situation I put her in, so I had to wing it and try my best not to make her sound too out-of-character. Again, I would appreciate feedback on this.
Someone call the Flame Emperor, because I think I may have had a bit too much fun with The Plan™️. The bit about the ceiling was something I came up with on the fly, and I was like 'okay, that sounds reasonably hilarious, lemme shove that in.' Hope you got as much enjoyment out of reading it as I did writing it.
For anyone wondering, that last conversation was through scroll texts, not the system chat. That's why I didn't label it with 'chat logs.'
That seems to be everything. You can probably expect another timeskip between this chapter and the next, but I haven't fully decided how long it's going to be, or even what the chapter itself will focus on. Meh, I'll figure it out later. Ciao!
[TRANSMISSION ENDED]