4 days until the party.
CCTT (Day)
After a bit of compromise, Team RWBY decided to allow Sun and Neptune to assist them in their little endeavor. Sun went with Blake, Dominic, and Connor, while Neptune teamed up with Yang. Connor discreetly thanked her for that. He saw the look Weiss gave that imbecile. He'd rather she didn't associate with someone like that.
"Wow! I forgot how big the Tower looks up close." Ruby said, amazed.
"You should see the one in Atlas!" Weiss said, sure her partner would prefer size over much else. Her weapon was evidence of this.
"That was the first one, right?" Ruby asked.
"Correct!" Weiss confirmed, proud of her homeland. "Atlas developed the Cross-Continental Transmit System to allow the four Kingdoms to communicate with eachother more easily. It was their gift to the world after the Great War."
Gregory thought on those words awhile. 'Can people really forgive that easily?' he thought to himself, eyes flashing blue for a moment.
"Oh, look at me. My name's Weiss. I know facts. I'm rich." Ruby mocked, making her brother and his partner chuckle.
The Schnee in question stopped, turned around, and addressed all three of the younger students. "You're all pests." she berated. "Besides, we're only here because Ruby likes the Tower so much. We could've made a call from the library just as easily."
"True. But where's the fun in that?" Ivy asked rhetorically.
"Yeah! I'mma take a picture." Ruby said excitedly, pulling her Scroll from her pocket. Unfortunately, she dropped it and the device fell to a nearby person's feet. The group were certainly surprised to see her again.
"Oh, you dropped this." the person said, handing the Scroll back to it's rightful owner.
"Penny!?" Ruby exclaimed, shocked. "Where have you been? We haven't seen you since that night at the docks."
"Sorry. I think you're confused." Penny said, hiccuping halfway through her sentence. "I've got to go." the ginger-haired girl said as she left.
"What was that about?" Weiss asked.
"I don't know. But I'm going to find out. You go make the call. I'll meet up with you guys later." Ruby said as she ran after her friend.
"Wait!" Weiss called out to no avail. "Aren't you going to follow her?" she asked Gregory. The boy didn't answer her and continued moving toward the Tower.
'What's going on with you?' Ivy wondered as she saw her partner walk away.
Nobody saw the tears streaking down his face. 'Ellie. I'm sorry.' he thought to himself as he entered the building.
White Fang Initiation (Night)
"This is it." Blake said after placing her palm on a wall with three scratch marks on it.
"You sure?" Sun asked, making Blake glare at him. "Y'know, I'm just gonna take your word for it." After a few moments, the faunus decided to speak again. "Where's your friend?" he asked Dominic, who was eating a burger he got due to boredom. It wasn't his fault the meeting was scheduled to happen at night.
"Shadow will come. He just has a tendency to show up EXACTLY when he's needed. I don't know how he does it." the blonde explained.
"You called for me?" Shadow asked as he appeared before the group, startling Blake and Sun.
"See?" Dominic said, proving his point. "Everyone, meet Kage-Orochi. Or as I like to call him, Shadow. Shadow, this is Connor, Blake, and...I want to say...Rebecca?"
"You had to have known that wasn't right." Sun deadpanned, to which his fellow blonde shrugged.
"Anyways, Shadow can make me and Connor virtually invisible to everyone in there with his Semblance." Dominic semi-lied. The first part was true, how Shadow could help. But the very idea that it was due to his Semblance was laughable.
"I really hope this goes well." Blake said as Shadow placed a hand on Dominic and Connor, covering them in a yellow aura.
"Uh, we can still see you." Sun said, confused.
"My power only makes them undetectable to enemies. It would be counter-productive if it affected allies as well." Shadow explained as he approached the entrance to the hideout.
"I don't get it. If you believe what you're doing is right, why hide who you are?" Sun asked, referring to the White Fang Masks.
"The masks are a symbol. Humanity wanted to make monsters out of us, so we chose to don the faces of monsters." Blake explained.
"Grimm masks. That's kinda dark." the monkey faunus responded.
"So was the guy who started it." Blake said, faint memories resurfacing.
"Always sunshine and rainbows with you." Sun said sarcastically as he, Blake, and Shadow put on the masks. When they walked past one of the guards, he didn't notice Dominic or Connor. For now, the plan was working. Good thing too, because the place was flooded with faunus that would most likely enjoy tearing the Schnee apart.
After finding a place to stand in the crowd, the man on stage began speaking. "Thank you all for coming. For those who are joining us for the first time tonight, allow me to introduce two very special comrades of ours. I can assure you, they are the key to obtaining what we've fought for for so long."
From backstage, a familiar man walked forward. Roman Torchwick. From behind him, The Ghoulfather followed, gaining the attention of Shadow.
'Another one like me.' the snake faunus thought to himself as Torchwick began speaking.
"Thank you, thank you! Please, hold your applause." the man said, responding to the jeers and boos from his 'audience'.
"What's a human doing here!?" a deer faunus asked in outrage, unaware two humans were behind her.
"I'm glad you asked, deerie." Roman said, poking fun at his 'fan''s heritage. Suffice to say, this didn't win him any points in the eyes of the faunus. "Now, I'll be the first to admit: Humans are the worst."
'Nice try. I've been saying that since grade school.' Dominic thought to himself, agreeing with what Roman was saying. To an extent at least. In his mind, all humans barring his family and Team were terrible people. Experience taught him this. However, this level of violence was crossing the line. Even by his standards.
"So I understand why you'd love to see us all locked away, or better yet, killed!" Torchwick continued.
"Is he going somewhere with this?" Sun asked Blake. She didn't respond.
"So before the claws come out, I'd like to remind you all that we have a common enemy. The ones in control, the ones pulling the strings, the dirty, rotten humans that run our Kingdoms. Government, military, even the schools! They're all to blame for your lot in life." Torchwick said, fueling several metaphorical flames in the crowd. One of which burned brighter than the rest. "And they're all pests that need to be dealt with. Fortunately, I'm the best exterminator around. (No offense to any rodents in the room.)"
Torchwick snapped his fingers, prompting a White Fang Grunt to remove a large tarp from something enormous. An Atlesian Paladin.
'Sheep.' Dominic and Connor thought at the same time. They had seen Ironwood's little speech in the middle of the city, so they knew this machine was designed to withstand anything the world could throw at it. However, the real question was how Torchwick managed to snag one. From what the Schnee learned from Winter, Atlas' defenses are second to none.
If that were truly the case, it could only mean...
Someone on the inside was working with the White Fang.
"As some of you may have heard, this right here is Atlas' newest line of defense against all the scary things in the world. And thanks to my employer, we've managed to snag a few before they...hit the shelves." Torchwick explained.
Dominic was wracking his brain around that. 'Ghoulfather joined them around a month ago, and I know he wouldn't allow this to go off smoothly. How long has this been in the works for?' he wondered.
"Now, many of your 'brothers' have already moved down to our new operation in the southeast. If you'd rather stay in the city, that's fine. But if you're truly ready to fight for what you believe in, this is the arsenal I can provide you." Roman finished. "Any questions?"
Unless you count the resounding cheers and fist-pumping, there were no questions.
"We should get out of here." Blake said after looking around at the crowd.
"Don't need to tell me once." Dominic responded as he turned around to leave.
"Would all new recruits please step forward?" Roman asked, making the blonde stop. This was not going to end well.
"What are we going to do?" Sun asked, mildly panicking.
"I'm thinking." Blake responded, surveying her surroundings.
"We've been spotted." Shadow said, lightly gesturing to Torchwick and Neo. Once the former began approaching, Sun gave a small wave.
Dominic looked back to The Ghoulfather, who winked in his direction. Suddenly, the lights in the warehouse all turned off.
"Don't let them get away!" Torchwick yelled into the darkness.
"Everyone, prepare for something rash!" Dominic said as he blasted a metal door with flame, melting it into scrap. "Gods, I love myself." he said once they were outside. Unfortunately, that feeling didn't last long, as Torchwick had hijacked the Paladin and was running after them.
"If there's ever been an appropriate time to say this, it's now. SHHEEEEP!" Dominic cursed as he ran for his life.
"So, you wouldn't happen to have, oh I don't know, SOME KIND OF BACKUP!?" Sun yelled, finally able to voice his concerns.
"On it!" Blake said, getting out her Scroll.
CCT (Night)
Back with Weiss, Ivy, and Gregory, the three had gotten access to sensitive information regarding Dust going missing from Atlas ships. It was embarrassingly easy for them to do so. As they exited the elevator, Weiss' Scroll started ringing. When she answered it, Blake's voice came through.
"Everyone! If you can hear me, we need bac-"
"HELP!" Sun interrupted, making Weiss roll her eyes before running to where they agreed to meet up. "We've got a robot on our tail! And it's huge! REALLY huge!"
Dominic spoke next. "Torchwick, the crazy bastard that he is, is piloting an Atlesian Paladin! Repeat: A WEAPON BUILT TO FIGHT HUNDREDS OF GRIMM AT ONCE IS RUNNING AFTER US AT TOP SPEED!"
Highway (Night)
"AND FRANKLY, I DON'T THINK IT'LL GO DOWN WITHOUT A FIGHT!" the blonde finished as he hung up. Right now, he was standing on top of a moving car as it sped away from the murder-bot. At the speed Torchwick was going, Dominic had to change his 'perch' frequently. "When's the rest of the gang gonna get here?" he asked himself as he jumped to another vehicle.
Thankfully, Yang and Neptune arrived on her motorcycle, Bumblebee. "We've got to slow it down!" Yang told her passenger.
"Got it!" Neptune replied as he got ready to use his weapon.
Seeing Torchwick gaining speed, Yang did the same. "Hold on!" she warned Neptune, who struggled to hang on. Once the turbulence was over, the boy shot the mech with three electric blasts before stabbing it in the back.
"Neptune, hang on!" Sun yelled to his partner as he activated his Semblance. In a flash of yellow light, two Light Clones appeared at his sides and ran to his partner. They collided with the Paladin, dealing a bit of damage. Then, Sun himself engaged the robot, striking it with his weapon. Unfortunately, it shook both him and Neptune off of it and over the side of the highway.
"I'm sure they're fine." Dominic commented.
"Blake! I'm in position!" Weiss said over her Scroll. The heiress and Gregory combined their strength to make a sheet of blue ice that covered the floor, making Torchwick slip and fall over the edge of the road. He landed on the ground, right in front of Ruby. Gregory, Ivy, Dominic, Weiss, Blake, and Yang soon joined her.
"FreezerBurn!" Ruby called out, prompting Weiss and Yang to use their Combo Attack. Yang jumped into the air as Weiss covered the ground in ice again. When the Brawler landed, she struck the ice with a flame-covered fist, creating a smokescreen of mist. This obstructed Torchwick's vision, hindering his ability to fight. The group ran around the mech, hoping to confuse him.
"Extinction Event!" Dominic commanded, having his Team use a Combo Attack as well. Gregory stabbed his weapon into the ground, making icicles that jutted out from the pavement. Connor used his Dark magic to levitate the spikes into a Spacial Rift. After a few moments, another Rift appeared over the mech. Icicles shot out of it with the force of a ballistic missile, dealing immense damage.
"Checkmate!" Ruby yelled, making Weiss and Blake attack the robot in perfect unison. Eventually, they had to fall back when Roman shot missiles at them.
"Taiga!" Dominic commanded, using the same tactic from the food fight. Ivy sent out a green wave of energy that caused vines to grow around the missiles. Gregory shot freezing magic at them, making them no more than glorified door-stops. Finally, Connor used a Spacial Rift to send them all right back at Torchwick.
"Ladybug!" Ruby called out, running at the mech at full speed along with Blake. The two huntresses-in-training used several pincer attacks on the robot's legs before striking it's arm, severing it.
"Solar Eclipse!" Dominic shouted, running straight into a Spacial Rift Connor made. Soon after, 8 identical Rifts spawned all around Torchwick. The blonde shot out of one, slashed the mech, then moved into another Rift. This process repeated for a while until he inevitably got dizzy. Seeing a chance to strike, Torchwick punched Dominic with full force, sending him crashing into a pillar.
"Ow." he said, holding his head in pain. When he regained proper function to his senses, he noticed something. The pillar had shifted to cushion his fall as much as it could. Pressing a hand to the structure, he saw a faint, yet clear, red light cover the stone. "Well, that's new." he said to himself as he was punched again, this time tearing through his flesh. He fell to the ground, a gaping hole in his abdomen.
"DOMINIC!" Ruby and Yang cried out in worry. They knew their brother was durable, but this was more than even he was used to.
From Gregory's perspective, he knew his brother would survive. But that's not why he was worried. That could just as easily have been Yang or Ruby, people who don't have Magic to help them heal. His eyes glowed blue as he went through all the horrid possibilities in his head. 'I will not be responsible for another death.' he vowed as his Aura became visible. Right now, his body and Soul were colder than they've ever been in the past. As such, his magic also got more powerful.
He blasted the mech with pure subzero energy, turning the metal into ice as the temperature kept dropping. He may not have been able to save Ellie or Charlie, but he'd be damned if he let Ruby die when he could protect her. He rushed forward and attacked with every ounce of frost in his body, shattering the ice and launching Roman out of the now frozen Paladin.
"I just cleaned this thing." Roman said sarcastically before Gregory blasted another Ice Beam at him. Unfortunately, it was deflected by Neo's parasol. The ice-cream lady gave Gregory a confident smirk that riled him up even further.
'Is that really the best you have?' was what the boy assumed she was trying to convey. He had a feeling she couldn't speak, otherwise she would've tried verbal assault instead of relying on facial expressions. But even if his opponent was mute, he wouldn't hold back anything.
"Ladies, gentlemen, Ice Queen." Roman said, eliciting a 'Hey!' from the Schnee in question. "Always a pleasure! Neo, if you would?" At that, the pink/brown haired girl took a bow. Not taking kindly to being toyed with, Gregory shot another Ice Beam at the duo, only for them to shatter like glass. Confused, he looked behind him to see them escaping in a Bullhead.
As Team XICR left, something lingered on Dominic's mind. "How did Roman know Weiss' nickname?" he asked Ivy.
"Lucky guess?" she replied, unsure of her answer.
From atop the highway, Shadow gazed down at his comrades. "The Maiden has gotten stronger under His Majesty's care. I only hope she can one day stand up to HER. I doubt she'll get proper closure until she does." the faunus said before disappearing.