Chapter 3:A Minor Hiccup

As Professor was talking about his stories, Weiss was brought out a holographic clock, which had '3:59' on it.

As he was talking, Jaune slid next to Weiss and said "So, Weiss, y'know, uh, I-I was thinking after this, maybe we could go grab a bite to eat?" He was only met with silence. "And, uh um, I-I've got two tickets to that new Spruce Willis movie, if you wanna make the trip to Vale. I hear it's awesome." More silence. "Aaaand maybe after that, we could study together? I mean, you're smart and I'm, uh... Y'know."

As he was rambling, Weiss's clock began to ring, signaling that class is over. Port did not notice this, as he was still in the middle of his story.

"And then I— Oh. Timed that one wrong, I guess. Well, the stunning conclusion to this story will have to wait. Until next time," he said, as everyone started to leave.

As Weiss got up, Jaune asked "Weiss? Did you hear me?"

Without even looking at him, she said "No, no, no, yes." Feeling like a failure, Jaune groaned and faceplanted into the desk.

As RWB2Y left, Yang walked by him, stroked his hair, and says "Don't poke a hole in my ship." As she left, Jauen said

"Wait…what?"

After RWB2Y got to their dorm, they all changed out of their uniforms. After that, they changed to their new outfits. Ruby wore a long-sleeve; light gray shirt with black belted cuffs near the ends of the sleeves, with a black piece of clothing with two vertical lines of red stitching that resembles a cross between a corset and overalls on top. Weiss wore a pure white dress with black edging and two columns of four black buttons on the abdomen. Blake wore a white V-neck zip-up shirt that is black along the bottom and has mid-length sleeves, and Yang wore a collared cream top over a black shirt, and over top of the former is a black article of clothing that consists of a raised collar, a strap across her collar bone, and mid-length sleeves that are gold at the end. Around her neck are a pendant that has a smooth, round, purple gem set in a round piece of metal that has a point coming off the left and right sides and a small oval shape coming from the bottom.

"I thought that class would never end," Blake said, as she tightened her wraps.

From her bunk bed, Ruby said "Alright, guys, today's the day! The investigation begins!" She jumped of her bed, and landed on the floor, almost landing on Weiss.

"I'm glad to see we're taking this so seriously," Weiss sarcastically said.

"Hey, we've got a plan! That's... moderately serious," Yang replied. Then, they all heard a loud tap, followed by a voice.

"Can I come up?" They looked down to see a small square door on the floor, labeled 'Sanctuary.'

"You can come up," Ruby replied. As she said this, the door opened, with Bill climbing out. His choice of clothing was a black hoodie with red insignias and black cargo pants.

"Well, it looks like we're ready," Legion said.

"Right! Everyone remember their roles," Ruby asked.

"You, Bill, and I will head to the CCT and check the Schnee records for any other Dust robberies or inconsistencies. Seeing as I'm in the family, it shouldn't be a problem," Weiss said.

"The White Fang has regular faction meetings to hand out orders and recruit new members. If I can get in, I can hopefully find out what they're planning," Blake said.

Then, Yang said "I have an old friend on the shady side of town that typically knows everything going on in Vale. Me and Legion will go there and see what we can get. Getting information out of him shouldn't be too hard..."

"I'm afraid to meet your 'friend,'" Legion replied.

"Great! We'll meet up tonight near Yang to go over what we found. Let's do this!"

"Yeah!" They all turned to see a certain Monkey Faunus hanging onto a tree branch.

Everyone backed away as Blake shouted "SUN!"

"How did you get there," Yang asked.

"Ah, it's easy; I do it all the time."

"You do what?!"

"I climb trees all the time!" Without reacting to Weiss's scowl, he climbed into the room and said "So, are we finally getting back at that Torchwick guy?"

"We are going to investigate the situation... as a team," Blake answered.

"Sorry, Sun. We don't want to get friends involved if we don't have to," Ruby replied.

"Psh! That's dumb! We should always get friends involved! That's why I brought Neptune!" RWB2Y+L looked out the window to see Neptune standing on a very thin ledge.

"Sup?"

"How did you even get up here," Ruby asked.

"I have my ways. Seriously, though, can I come in? We're like, really high up right now."

"Amateur," Bill muttered, making Neptune lose his cool. (pun not intended )

"Hey! It's hard to do this. I don't see you-!" But they weren't listening anymore. They were watching Bill climb up to the roof in a few short seconds.

"I'm sorry, what! I can't hear you," Bill joked.

As they both climbed in, Ruby said "Alright, I'll go with Weiss; Sun, you can go with Blake. And Neptune, you can go with Yang and Legion. Everyone good?"

"Well, maybe I can go with you guys," Neptune said, winking at Weiss.

But all she did was pull Ruby by the hood and said "Come on guys. Let's go."

As Ruby, Weiss, and Bill were walking to their location, they heard a gunshot.

"What was that," Bill said, flicking his hand. He was answered by a scream.

"Come on, all of you, get up," screamed the voice, with a southern accent. They all turned to see four people in the same power armors the Blues had, but one was red, one was maroon, another pink, and one orange.

"Come on, Sarge! Just one more minute," said the orange one, sounding quite tired.

"Negative, Numb-nuts. One minute of rest will give the Blues an advantage!"

"Come on, Sarge," said Pink, with a male voice coming out.

'What kind of boy wears pink armor,' Ruby thought.

"I'm sure the Blues aren't planning anything."

"I agree with Donut," Maroon said.

'Donut…really,' Weiss thought. 'Who in their right mind would name their child 'Donut!'

"The Blues aren't planning anything," he continued.

"Kiss ass," Orange muttered.

"Shut up. Do you really want to continue running?"

"You're right! Yep. Yep, I agree with Donut."

"Then all of you are fools," Sarge said. "The Blues are probably somewhere planning a diabolical plan that will kill us all!"

"Hey, Church," Caboose said, walking with Church.

"What do you want Caboose?"

"I just want to say that you are my best fr-!"

"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!"

"Yep. Diabolical plan. Now keep moving!"

"Or what," Orange said. Sarge pointed his weapon, a shotgun, at Orange and said "Or else I get to shoot you." Everyone stood up to that answer, awaiting orders. "Alright, men. Get to your positions. Grif, get behind me. Just in case I want to shoot you." The orange one, Grif, went behind him.

"After you is Simmons-"

"And I'll handle his rear," Donut interrupted.

"Nope. Not doing it," Simmons said.

"Fine. You be in the back, and Barbie here will be in front of you."

"It'll be a Donut sandwich. Mm. Mm."

"Why do you always ruin it!?"

"Alright men. Walk!"

As they walked, they all started to chant. "We are the Reds and we hate Blues!"

"One of us needs a manicure too," Donut said.

"If anyone messes up again, I'll shoot you. Now, again! We are the Reds and we hate Blues!"

"Someone please get me some motherfucking juice!" As Grif said this, Sarge pointed his gun at him and shot him.

"Did he just shoot him," Weiss said. She felt a tap on her shoulder, and looked to see Bill pointing at Grif. On Grif's helmet was pink foam.

"What's with the lightish red foam, Sarge," Donut asked.

"For the last time, it's pink," Simmons said.

"No, it's lightish red."

"Chust someone hlp me!" Grif said.

Then Sarge said "Well, since I could get arrested for shooting someone, I've decided to use training bullets."

"That's a good thing," Donut started.

"Come again?"

"I mean, you get to shoot Grif, we don't get in trouble, you won't get arrested, and Grif doesn't die. It's a win-win!"

"No Donut, it's a loss for me."

"How?"

"I get to shoot Grif, but he won't die. It's a total loss for me."

"Evryone sht the fck up and hlp me," Grif tried to say.

"Don't worry, Numb-nuts. The foam will go away right…" As Sarge said this, the foam on Grif's helmet started to disintegrate. "Now."

"Oh thank god, I'm free!"

"Yes, free for more sprinting, now in formation!" As Grif groaned, and started to jog with the others, RWB were looking quite confused.

"What just happened," Ruby asked.

"I don't know," Weiss said.

"They said 'Blues,' right? So you think they know Blue team?"

"Probably," Bill said. "But enough about that, let's go."

After that whole experience, they kept walking to their objective, the CTC tower.

"Woooow! I forget how big the Transmit tower looks up close," Ruby said in excitement.

"You should see the one in Atlas," Weiss stated.

Bill then said "Yeah, that one is huge!"

Ruby then asked Weiss "That was the first one, right?"

"Correct. Atlas developed the Cross Continental Transmit System to allow the four kingdoms to communicate with one another. It was their gift to the world after the Great War."

As she said this, Ruby began to mock her. "Oooh, look at me! My name's Weiss! I know facts! I'm rich!"

She then brought her hands to her mouth, failing to hide the snort, as Weiss shouted "Don't be a pest! Besides, the only reason we're here is because you like the tower so much! We could have just as easily made a call from the library!"

"I know, but it's so coool! Ooh, I'm going to take a picture!" As she brought out her scroll, she accidently dropped it. Before anyone could pick it up, they heard a familiar voice.

"Oh…" As they looked at the scroll, a hand picked it up and tried to give it back. They looked at the hand's owner and saw that it was Penny. "You dropped this," she said.

In shock, Ruby said "Penny?!"

"Uuuh…"

"Where have you been? We haven't seen you since that night at the docks!"

Now worried, Penny said "S-Sorry. I think you're confused." She then suddenly hiccupped, making the scroll fall into Ruby's hands. "Uh... I've got to go!" She turned around and quickly walked away.

"What was that about," Weiss said.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out." She then started to walk in Penny's direction, while saying "You guys make the call! We'll meet up later."

"Wait!" But Ruby was already gone. "That dolt," Weiss muttered.

"Well…let's make that call," Bill said, pointing to the tower.

"Yeah, follow me," Weiss said before walking towards the tower.

As Penny was walking, she heard Ruby's voice getting louder, until she appeared in front of her.

"Penny! Where have you been? It's been weeks," Ruby asked, looking worried.

"There seems to be a... misunderstanding," Penny answered, beginning to walk again.

"What?! Penny... Is everything okay? Penny, please stop!" With her protests, she finally made Penny stop.

"Look, I don't know what's wrong, but you have to listen to me! Those guys we fought at the docks, we think they're up to something big, something bad! I need you to tell me what happened to you that night! Please... As a friend." This made Penny sigh, and look around suspiciously.

She then lean in close to Ruby, whispering "It isn't safe to talk here."

After giving Ruby a location to talk, she walked away. As she was walking, she accidently walked into someone.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," she apologized. She then saw who she bumped into. It was someone tall and blue.

"Penny!? Is that you," Caboose asked.

"Yes…it's very nice to see you again, Michael."

"Oh, don't call me that. You are a friend, and my friends call me Caboose."

"You have friends," Church asked, surprised.

"You guys."

"I wouldn't call ourselves friends," Tucker started. "I would say forced acquaintances."

Penny then said "I really must go. Goodbye Caboose…and acquaintances."

As she walked away, Caboose said "Goodbye! Pretty, girl lady."

As he said that, Penny looked at him, blushing, and smiled, before walking away. 'What's this thing I'm feeling,' Penny thought. 'I never felt like this before.' After she left, Tex started to laugh, mostly at Tucker.

"Did that just happen," Tucker said, surprised.

"Well, Tucker," Tex started.

"Looks like Caboose has more game than you."

As she laughed again, Caboose shouted "Yes! Yes! I have more video games than you!"

After Ruby left them, Bill followed Weiss into the tower and into the elevator. As they stood there, the tower's AI welcomed them.

"Hello. Welcome to the CCT. How may I help you," the AI asked, sounding feminine.

"I'd like to go to the communications room, please," Weiss said.

"And the other individual with you?"

"Communications room too," Bill said.

"Absolutely. Could you please place your Scrolls on the terminal to verify your identities?" As they let the AI scan their scrolls, she said "Perfect! Thank you, Miss Schnee and Mr. Auditore." As the elevator moved, Bill noticed Weiss was pretending smile.

"Why are you doing that," he asked.

"Doing what?"

"Pretending to smile."

"Oh, umm…"

As she was thinking of an excuse, Bill asked "Is there something you aren't telling me?"

"Let's just say that I…don't like talking to my father," she answered.

"Oh, family issues. I undertand." As she smiled, for real, they arrived to their floor. As they walked to the front desk, a hologram female secretary appeared in the chair.

In a polite manner, she said "Welcome to the Beacon Cross Continental Transmit center. How may I help you?"

"I need to make a call to Schnee Company World Headquarters in Atlas," Weiss answered.

"And you, sir?"

"I'm making the call with her," Bill replied.

"Absolutely. If you two could head over to Terminal 3, I'll patch you through."

"Thank you," Weiss said, before the two headed towards the terminal. Before she sat down, she looked at Bill and said "Just, stay out of the way while I'm making the call, ok?"

"Yeah, yeah."

"Come on, don't sound disappointed. And if you be good, I'll give you and award."

"What kind of award," he asked, sounding suspicious.

"It's a surprise!" As she said this, he quickly moved out of the way. She then sat down and took a deep, unhappy breath, and quickly put on her fake smile as a short-haired brunette appeared on the screen.

Not knowing who she was talking to, she simply said "Thank you for calling the Atlas- Oh! Miss Schnee! Good afternoon! Would you like me to patch you through to your father? I think your sister Winter might be here as well."

Weiss just said "No, thank you! I was actually wondering if you could find some files for me. I've compiled a short list."

As she placed her scroll into the keyboard's slot, the Operator said "I see. If you don't mind... what may I ask is this for?"

"School project."

"Um... There are some sensitive documents on this list, ma'am."

"Well, then, I'll be sure to treat them with care."

"Right... Very well. The data is being transferred to your Scroll now."

"Wonderful! That will be all, then."

Before she could end the conversation, the Operator asked "Are you sure you wouldn't like me to patch you through to your father before you go?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Well, then... Have a nice day!" As the call ended, so did Weiss's fake smile.

As she got up, she noticed Bill next to him. "What did I tell you," Weiss angrily asked.

But all that Bill said was "Why so down, Snow Angel?" Weiss blushed as he said this.

"Like I said before, I don't want to talk about it."

"Ok, well then let's meet up with the others."

Before she walked towards the door, she heard Bill said "Oh, and about that award."

"I'll give it to you when I feel like it."

As she walked into the elevator, Bill muttered "What a tease."

Penny was waiting nervously for her friend, when she felt a hand on her shoulder. This made her jump, as she quickly turned to the owner. She was relieved that it was just a grinning Ruby. The two then began to stroll through the city, as Penny answered Ruby's questions.

"I wish I could help you, Ruby, but I don't know anything about those men," Penny said.

"Well, what happened to you that night? We were all together, and then you just disappeared! Were you kidnapped," Ruby asked.

"Oh, no! Nothing like that!"

"Then where did you go?"

"I've never been to another kingdom before. My father asked me not to venture out too far, but... You have to understand, my father loves me very much; he just worries a lot."

"Believe me, I know the feeling. But why not let us know you were okay?"

"I... was asked not to talk to you. Or Weiss. Or Blake. Or Bill. Or Yang. Anybody, really."

"Was your dad that upset?"

"No, it wasn't my father..." Before she could continue, the two girls hear the sounds of megaphones announcing something. The turned around the corner to see a crowd surrounding a platform, which had a holographic image of General Ironwood in the center with six Atlesian Knight-130 Androids, or AK-130s, near two large cases, three near one case.

Ironwood then started his speech.

"The AK-130 has been a standard security model of Remnant for several years, and they have done a fine job. Wouldn't you agree? Wouldn't you agree?" As he said this, everyone started to clap. "But... the kingdom of Atlas is a kingdom of innovation, and 'fine'... Well, that's just not good enough, is it? Presenting... the Atlesian Knight-200!" The doors of the cases roll up to reveal six new robots, the AK-200. They all knocked down their predecessors as the audience applaused. "Smarter, sleeker, and admittedly, a little less scary. These models will become active later this year, but they won't be alone! Now, the Atlesian Military has always supported the idea of removing men from the dangers of the battlefield. However, there are still many situations that will undoubtedly require... a human touch."

Ruby stood there, amazed by the new and improved defenders, as Penny nervously said "Ruby..?"

Ironwood continued, saying "So, our kingdom's greatest minds, in cooperation with the Schnee Dust Company, are proud to introduce... the Atlesian Paladin!" The image of him was replaced with a robotic white behemoth, featuring hinged piston legs, large guns for hands, and a rectangular head, standing at least twice as tall as the Knights below it. "Now, we couldn't have him here for you today, but these mechanized battle suits will be seen defending the borders of our kingdom within the year!"

"Whoa," Ruby said in awe.

"Ruby? Maybe we should go somewhere else," Penny said, as she backed away. At the side of the stage, two armored soldiers noticed Penny, and start running towards her. As they ran, Penny ran into an alley, leaving Ruby confused.

"Penny! Wait! Where are you going," she screamed. She then noticed the soldiers running towards her friend, and starts to follow her too. After they made it out of the ally, Penny and Ruby run across the street with the soldiers following them, though a honking car nearly runs one over. He manages to brace his hands against the hood, which somehow stops the vehicle, and his partner runs along after the girls.

Ruby was still trying to catch up with Penny, but a high stack of crates on a flimsy support was easily cut down by Crescent Rose, causing a wooden avalanche of boxes to block the path. Seeing Penny right ahead of her, Ruby leaped into the air and landed on the alley wall, ricocheting off to grab Penny around the middle.

"This way, she said, as she used her semblance to quickly go down the long ally. As they were about to make it to the end, Ruby felt weak, and they both fell to the floor. As Ruby slowly got up, she heard a honking noise. She quickly saw a truck heading towards her. Before she could do anything, Penny pushed her out of the way and held out her palms. In the split second where the two make contact, the ground beneath Penny cracks and crumbles into pieces, and the truck is lifted a little ways into the air by the girl's sheer strength. She puts it down, and the driver, the shopkeeper of the store 'From Dust Till Dawn,' stared at her with awe, as her friend was doing.

"Penny," Ruby tried to say, still surprised.

"Are you ok," Penny asked.

The Shopkeep replied with an "Uh-huh." She backed away, hiding her palms as a group of bystanders murmur to each other, attempting to figure out what happened. Penny, now scared, ran past Ruby, and into another ally.

"Penny! Come back," Ruby shouted, as she ran after her.

After leaving the alleyway, she tried to figure out where to go next.

But before she could, Ruby caught up to her, as she asked "Penny! Please! What is going on?! Why are you running? How did you do that?!"

As Penny spoke, she began to hiccup with each lie. "I-I can't! Everything's fine!" Hiccup. "I-I don't want to talk about it!" Hiccup.

"Penny, if you can just tell me what's wrong, I can help you!"

"No! No, no! You wouldn't understand..."

"Let me try! You can trust me!"

The worried girl went up to Ruby and said "You're my friend, right? You promise you're my friend?!"

"I promise."

As the ginger girl showed Ruby her palms, which revealed a grey metal underneath, she said "Ruby... I'm not a real girl."

"Oh."

Sorry for a long wait, I have a lot of things to do right now. I will try to release chapters more often. P.S: Please review.