Chapter 20
Author's Note: Wow! two out of fifteen weeks of school are finished already. It doesn't sound like much when I put it that way, but they're not holding anything back. Anyway, this chapter more-or-less concludes this arc; I know, mostly uneventful. I won't need to do any major time skips again as we get ready to dive into the rescue and the mission they have to take on. There should be two more arcs, both will have a quite bit more action than this one, I just had to use this time to set up the obstacles they have to face. As always, review, review, review, and I'll see you all next Thursday!
Thank you for reading!
"Do you know when she is going to wake up?" Ruby asked worryingly.
"To be honest, I don't know. We managed to stitch up the wound in her neck, but she lost a lot of blood." The doctor explained. "…and we're running low on units of blood due to all of the injuries sustained during the White Fang attack." He finished.
Ruby was more than concerned for her sister at this point. "I can give more if–"
"No, you can't." Weiss interrupted.
"I have to agree with Miss Schnee, You've already given one pint. If you were a grown adult, I would allow a second pint to be drawn in this extreme scenario…but taking another one from you now, given your age and size, would likely cause serious damage." The doctor stated.
"I've already called the Schnee Medical Center to have more units of all blood types sent over, it should be arriving within the next forty-eight hours." Weiss stated.
"But what if that takes too long?" Ruby asked.
"Ruby, this is her fourth unit of blood and the hemorrhaging has almost completely stopped, she will be fine for the time being." Weiss explained.
"I agree. When I stated that she had lost a lot of blood, I should have specified that I meant that I'm mostly worried about how much blood made it to her brain. The biggest concern for her now is the possibility of brain damage." The doctor said.
"The best thing for you to do now is to get some rest; the more you think about this, the more worried you will become." Weiss stated.
"Okay…" Ruby mumbled. "What about Weiss, will she be fine?" she asked the doctor.
"She'll be fine. I don't see much possibility of permanent damage, just a tedious recovery process." The doctor stated.
"That's good news!" Ruby said with the first smile since she woke up.
"Before I take my leave, are there any questions you have for me?" The doctor asked.
"No, sir. Thank you for all of your help." Weis said.
"No problem at all." The doctor said as he walked out.
"I think I'm going to–" Weiss began before being interrupted by the clingiest of all bear hugs.
"Thank you. Thank you so much for saving my sister. Thank you, thank you, thank you." Ruby said as she began to cry, not letting up on her hug.
"You don't have to thank me, Ruby…she is my teammate…" Weiss said in a serious tone. "…and friend." She finished.
"I know! But Yang won't thank you, so I have to make sure you know just how much she and I appreciate it!" Ruby said as she pulled away from Weiss.
"Don't worry about it, I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I'm going to get some rest now, Ruby. I suggest you do the same before you worry yourself to death. Besides, We'll want to be well rested for when Lionel returns from his meeting with Ozpin later this evening." Weiss said as she laid down to rest.
Before drifting off to sleep, she felt an unfamiliar warm sensation around her hand. Weiss opened her eyes to see her leader's head down on her bed with their hands intertwined. "Dolt." She said before closing her eyes again, enjoying the butterflies in her stomach that came with the sensation.
"Ozpin, have you figured out who the second person is? Who else did they kidnap?" Lionel asked.
"We've done a count on all of the faculty and staff of Beacon academy and the only person absent was Miss Belladonna." Glynda said from the side of Ozpin's desk, switching between typing on her laptop and her scroll.
"We have received reports that there was another attack on Atlas academy and General Ironwood's fleet. It would seem the attack on their academy was a ruse to isolate the General's fleet when they broke off from their regular route." Ozpin explained before a ringing began from his scroll. He pressed a button which caused a hologram of General Ironwood to appear.
"What happened?" Lionel asked.
"The White Fang sent suicide bombers to attack Atlas Academy, but Ozpin managed to warn us about it. We ordered all of the students to evacuate to the safe-rooms, so there were few injuries and no casualties on their end."
"That's good to hear, what about on your end?" Lionel asked.
"Of my sixteen ships, three were attacked and one was completely destroyed. We didn't know that those White Fang occupying the academy were suicide bombers as the White Fang has had no history of such a despicable tactic." Ironwood said with noticeable disgust.
"It seems that they just keep getting worse." Glynda stated.
"When our ships arrived, the occupying forces exited the academy with jetpacks and began making their way to our ships. They entered through every opening they could find. Once inside, they began to detonate the bombs strapped to their bodies; as I said, two were damaged and are receiving repairs and one crashed when an explosion took out the port-side engines." Ironwood finished.
"I'm sorry to say this, as I will sound impudent and uncaring; I need you to do a headcount on every person aboard your ships, find out who were killed, and notify me any missing persons that could not be accounted for." Lionel said.
"Yes, Ozpin told me about this 'second person' that the White Fang managed to get their hands on. I believe I already know who it is: a woman by the name of Cinder Fall. Each of my ships is outfitted with a section for jailing undesirables, and she was the only prisoner missing." Ironwood stated.
"What was she arrested for?" Lionel asked.
"You name it. Aggravated assault, Murder, Robbery, Battery, the list goes on. But the most noteworthy one is Conspiracy against the Union of Hunters and Conspiracy to assassinate Knight-General Sean Donovan." Ironwood stated.
"So she doesn't like me?" Lionel joked.
"Probably not…especially if she was going to try and kill your father." Glynda stated.
"Sounds like she's our girl. Next question: We've known for a while that they have military-grade weaponry, but how in the hell did they make it past both academy's sensors?" Lionel asked to no one in particular.
Ironwood crossed his arms as he was thinking, "From what information I've been able to gather, one of the White Fang lieutenants' semblance is capable of manipulating atomic bonding. Basically, she can prevent them from conducting certain physical properties like electricity, sound, light, among many others. Since every sensor known to Remnant relies on picking up sound, movement, heat, electromagnetic waves–"
"…she can pretty much hide the presence of almost anything." Lionel finished.
"Exactly." Ironwood responded.
"Do we have any information regarding who this person is?" Ozpin asked.
"No. All I know is that she oversees most of the White Fang's finances, transactions, and cargo movement." Ironwood stated.
"Romanov Synther." Lionel said as soon as he heard the term 'cargo' mentioned.
"How do you know?" Glynda asked.
"When I spoke to Team RWBY about the mission we would be taking in a few months, Blake informed me about this woman and that she generally operates from a cargo ship that passes through the area that the mission takes place at. Hence the reason why I took such a simple mission." Lionel explained.
"She seems like a likely suspect for a head on assault. The White Fang are planning something big." Glynda stated.
"I agree…and if Sir Donovan would tell us what that is, I'm sure we could do something to help him." Ozpin said.
"Ozpin…this isn't just some little attack that they are planning, they are manipulating powers far beyond their control." Lionel said.
Ozpin sighed, "Which is even more of a reason–"
"Furthermore, I've already entertained the notion of letting the three of you, as well as the other headmasters, in on this little secret. I've come to the conclusion that if the mission Team RWBY and I will be taking is a failure, or does not go according to plan, I will give you any information that you may desire." Lionel asserted.
"Do you plan on doing this mission with one less team member?" Glynda asked.
"No. We're going to rescue her." Lionel said.
"How? Do you have a plan?" Glynda asked mockingly.
"Yes, I do. And it will begin any time now." Lionel stated.
"You've formulated a rescue plan without us? We can help you, Lionel, if you would simply let us. What are you planning?" Ironwood asked.
"I can't tell you, that's one of the most important parts of the rescue plan; I can't tell anyone. I'm just waiting for her to initiate the plan…and she doesn't even know she's a part of it." Lionel said cryptically.
"She? Who doesn't know they're a part of it?" Ozpin asked.
Before Lionel could say another word, his scroll began to vibrate. "Hello, Ruby! What can I do for you?" he asked after answering the call.
"Yang's gone! She left the hospital room, took her motorcycle from the academy's garage, and left!" Ruby yelled loud enough for everyone present to hear.
Lionel pressed the mute button on his scroll. "It has begun." He said before switching back to speaking with Ruby. "Listen, Ruby…I need you to remain calm. I will be there as soon as I can." He said to his student.
"I cannot believe that woman; is she completely insane?" Weiss asked.
"Love makes a person do crazy things…" Lionel stated as he was scanning through his network, looking for his student.
"You don't seem very concerned about this." Weiss stated matter-of-factly.
"Well, of course I'm concerned, I just knew, and accepted, the very high possibility of her taking this course of action." Lionel said.
Weiss was extremely annoyed, "You just let her–"
"Which is why I took the liberty of tagging her motorcycle. Don't worry, I'll know every move she makes." Lionel said with confidence.
"She is in no position to be making a rescue on her own!" Weiss said.
"And she won't be… I'll be there with her." Lionel continued.
Weiss was getting noticeably more annoyed with each passing moment. "Sir, with respect, this is completely–"
"I'm surprised at how quickly you've gone to her side after just a single fight. I guess Yang isn't the only person who speaks the 'fighting' language." Lionel joked.
"What are you guys talking about?" Ruby asked.
"Nothing, don't worry. The bottom line is that I knew Yang had contacts, personal contacts. The hunting academies, the kingdoms, all of the well-known Intelligence Organizations are compromised, so they are more-or-less unreliable. I knew she would be the best person to find Blake given her connections and determination." Lionel explained.
"What about your network? You're pinpointing her location right now!" Weiss wondered in annoyance.
"My 'network' consists of the major Intelligence Organizations around Remnant, hence the Knight-Remnant Act, and the Knights themselves. Just because we're a powerful Order doesn't mean we're wealthy. Most of the Knights live on land their family has owned for generations, grow and hunt their own food, and pay for any luxuries using lien earned from normal hunts; we mine and purify our own dust, maintain our own weapons and armor, and build our own tools. Any presence of organized structure within the order is entirely funded through donations from generous people or the Knights themselves. Long story short, we can't afford a person intelligence network; I just combine all of the already existing networks." Lionel explained.
"So you're going to wait for Yang to get to where she needs to go and then we'll help her?" Ruby asked.
"I'm going to wait for Yang to get to where she needs to go and then I'LL help her. You're staying here." Lionel said.
"What?!" Ruby shouted.
"I can understand why I need to stay…" Weiss said while holding up her IV. "…but why can't she go?" She finished.
"Because I need you ladies in peak condition for when our mission comes." Lionel said.
"We won't be able to go if we don't get Yang and Blake back." Ruby argued.
"Ruby, I need you here to hold down the fort. Since our Intelligence Organizations are compromised and our scanners are not effective, I need every student to be ready to respond in a moment's notice. I managed to convince each headmaster of the Hunting Academies that, instead of hiding their students underground and 'waiting for it all to blow over', they need to be ready to fight." Lionel started.
"I suppose…" Ruby mumbled. "Jaune was telling me about how many students were upset when they found out they were told to head underground to hide from an attack. Cardin and Coco managed to make it back to the surface to fight." She finished.
"Precisely. But, also, imagine the kind of message that sends our enemies." Lionel said.
"It tells them we're weak." Ruby said.
"Yes. And because of that, the White Fang attacked other locations this morning, most notably Shade Academy." Lionel said.
"What else did they take?" Weiss asked.
"Nothing. They attacked us to get Blake, and they attacked Atlas Academy to rescue a prisoner, but they attacked Shade Academy for, what seems to be, the sole purpose of destroying some of the campus. There have been other places, as I said, but the trend is the same: Just destruction. They're mocking us." Lionel explained.
"I understand." Ruby said.
"No, you don't. But you will fully comprehend the gravity of this situation when you get fully settled into your new position." Lionel said as he stood up from his laptop.
"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.
"I placing you as one of the four students who will coordinate the student-body during the event of an attack. The four students in charge of this will be yourself, Jaune, Cardin, and Coco, for obvious reasons. Think of yourselves and the generals. Ozpin, Glynda, Port, and Oobleck will coordinate the teachers." Lionel stated.
"Are you sure about this?" Ruby asked breathlessly.
"Are you?" Lionel retorted. "I've chosen you four based on your tactical know-how, determination, and skills. If you feel that you would only get people hurt, then it is up to you to step down." He said monotonously.
"No…I think I'll be fine." Ruby said worryingly.
"You will not just be defending Beacon, but you will be the first responders in the event of an attack on Vale. Without Intelligence and our sensor array, the military will take much longer to respond, so it will be up to you to take care of these people until soldiers start arriving." Lionel continued.
"Heh…no pressure." Ruby said, still breathing in controlled portions.
"No, a lot of pressure actually." Lionel joked.
"I always looked up to the Knights for their battle prowess, but I never considered how much pressure is put onto you guys…how do you manage to stay so calm knowing how many people are relying on you?" Ruby asked.
"A lot of experience." Lionel responded.
"Ha, you don't look a day over twenty-three." Weiss stated mockingly.
"True…but I have magnitudes more experience than even Ozpin." Lionel replied.
"I can do this. I won't let you down." Ruby said.
"And I won't let you down. The next time you see me, Yang AND Blake are going to be with me." Lionel said.
"I take it you'll be leaving soon?" Weiss asked.
"Yes; in fact, I've already packed. I'll be leaving as soon as we're done here. I'll be on a mission, so I might not be able to respond to you as often as you like. But, if you need anything, just give me a call." Lionel reassured them.
"Don't worry about us, we'll do just fine!" Ruby said playfully while childishly saluting.
"I'll be sure to keep her in line." Weiss said.
"I know you will." Lionel joked. "Is there anything else you want to talk about before I go?" Lionel asked.
"I just…" Ruby started before beginning to think about her question. "…what are the rules of engagement in case of an attack?" Ruby asked.
Lionel chuckled. "Your number one priority is to protect the innocent at all costs. Eliminate hostiles as you see fit. If you see an opportunity to take them alive, then do so…but take no chances." He stated clear as day.
"Yes, sir!" Ruby said.
"Alright. As I said, you'll be in charge alongside the other seven people I mentioned, so you'll have regular meetings with them. Your first meeting is tonight, at 9:00pm, in Ozpin's office." Lionel said.
"Okay." Ruby said.
"One more thing, you said that the mission would be happening sooner than we expected, right? Do you know when?" Weiss asked.
"Unfortunately not. It depends entirely on how this whole thing with Blake and Yang goes. As soon as I get any more information, I'll let you two know. Trust me, I want you to be as prepared as possible." Lionel responded.
"Okay. While I'm in this hospital, I'll see if I can get anything through the Schnee network; it's probably not compromised since it is powered by omni-dust. I'll text you anything I find out." Weiss said.
"Yeah, that's a good idea actually. That would be too powerful to be cloaked by the limited aura of someone using a semblance. I'll E-Mail you a list of keywords I want you to find out about." Lionel said.
"No problem." Weiss responded.
"Okay, I guess it's time I make my leave." Lionel said as he packed up his laptop.
"Good luck, Lionel." Ruby said.
"Indeed. Be well on your mission." Weiss added.
"I appreciate it, but I don't need luck." Lionel said in a cocky tone before opening the door. "I just need a target." He finished as he left the room.
"You're still all dirty from our training this morning, you'd better get cleaned up for the meeting." Weiss stated.
Ruby looked at her scroll. "Oh, I didn't know it was so late already." Ruby said while trailing off at the end.
"What's wrong?" Weiss asked.
"I'm just so surprised at how quickly things manage to change…when we all woke up, we expected another day of training and we even planned on going out to eat tonight. Then you and Yang fought, the White Fang attacked and Kidnapped Blake, Yang left, and I have to be partially responsible for an entire Kingdom." Ruby said with worry written on her face.
"I know. What's even more unfortunate is that it took an attack on three of the world's most heavily guarded areas to begin taking this terrorist organization seriously. But, look at history…all of the bad guys are repeatedly appeased or blown off until they do something unspeakable." Weiss said.
"Those who do not learn from history, are doomed to repeat it…I think I'm finally understanding that now." Ruby mumbled.
"Yeah, and you're maturing more and more every day. That's why you're such a good leader…and you'll make an even better huntress." Weiss said with a smile.
"Thank you." Ruby said as Weiss embraced her in another hug.
"Now head back to the dorms and get cleaned up." Weiss said, still holding onto Ruby.
"I'll have a bit of time after a shower, and I'll be heading close to the Medical Ward on my way to Ozpin's…do you want me to pick you up something to eat?" Ruby asked.
"No. I have to wait for my endoscopy results before they let me eat anything. Thank you though." Weiss said.
"Oh. Well, let me know if you find out anything new." Ruby said as she began heading to the door.
"I'll be sure to keep you in the loop. And as soon as I'm all fixed up, I'll be right there with you." Weiss said reassuringly. Ruby stood at the door, just staring at Weiss as she laid in bed. "Is something wrong?" The heiress asked.
"No. I'll see you later." Ruby said as she opened the door to leave her hospital room.
Weiss' heart suddenly sank as she realized she was alone in the room. "Why does that always happen…why her? Why are my feelings so strong? I don't know what to do." Weiss wondered while lying down to rest.