A/N: Looks like things are finally in full swing. If you're wondering why I didn't write any A/N's for the previous chapters aside from a disclaimer, it's because I didn't want to ruin the flow of the prologues.
On that note, I'd like to personally thank my comrades for giving me the idea to write this story, even though I wanted to get through with DAWN first. Also, there will be references to future events in DAWN hidden in the MSTT (pun intended), so let's play that game where you guess what happens from the subtle hints I drop. You will also be able to talk to and ask the Editorial and Creative Department questions, through me. Yes, for the first time on this account, I will be doing active Q & A.
Anyway, we should just probably start this off. EcoActivistElmo, anything you want to say to our viewers before we hit the MSTT story off?
EcoActivistElmo: Prepare your anuses for some sock knocking story telling.
Dalastjedi: …You know I'll be copy and pasting this right onto the first chapter, right?
EcoActivistElmo: Yes.
Dalastjedi: Ok. Like, this whole dialogue.
EcoActivistElmo: You can censor it if you feel it is necessary.
Dalastjedi: No need.
Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY, the quotes I used or any part of Rooster Teeth. All legal rights go to Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum (present tense) and the original geniuses who beat me to creating such fantastic quotes.
Divided We Fall
Five Days after Beacon Fell…
No matter how many times you tell a story, it can always end differently. If there's one thing you learn from living, it's that all actions have consequences – cause and effect. Although, life has this funny way of keeping the balance between the two, a balance we can't understand.
To this day, Tanner still wondered if he could have just said 'No' and not have been a part of this. Waiting in the elevator, surrounded by armed guards and stuck in cuffs around his hands and legs with an Aura Restraint firmly latched onto his right upper arm.
Yet, he couldn't help feeling like he belonged next to the three men standing beside him. Well, one of them was unconscious, and the other was actually a Faunus, but the principle still applied.
Mason still struggled against the bindings and wooden gag stuck in his mouth, and Tanner couldn't help but feel that he smelled worse than usual, trapped in the confined space of the elevator. He was even covered in more blood than usual, but from what had been going on, it was understandable.
They had just been through a war.
On his left, he noticed SK was still trying to steady his breathing as his eyes darted back and forth between the guards and T's unconscious form. He had been that way for five days and now had to be dragged by two guards.
When asked why they should even consider bringing T along for this…questioning, Tanner had only replied with, "Because when he wakes up, what he has to say could save all of us."
Of course they still had to handcuff him and lock down both his prosthetic-arm and Aura, just like the others. In a way though, Tanner hadn't felt this calm in days. It felt good to finally get things straight and make the people who did this to Vale pay. For all those lost and scattered.
It especially helped that he didn't have to fight the good guys anymore.
"SK,-" Tanner tried to whisper, but SK – as he had come to know him – just stopped him.
"Don't." he said sternly as the elevator stopped and they were ushered out to a face a set of glass double-doors, where an oval table and several people were already talking, arguing. The room was dark and had no windows to let in any light, though it was night time and there would be no point in it. Behind them was a large holographic screen playing several different segments of footage of what had happened in Vale on repeat.
As soon as they stepped out though, all eyes were immediately on them and one of the men, dressed in a white robe set and a white mask slightly covered by a black hood disappeared in a flicker of light. Another man had black hair and a scruffy look to him, as well as a pair of ruby-red eyes. He wore a black and grey shirt with matching black jeans, and had a very curious look to his face.
Beside him sat a boy with dirty blonde hair and wore a black trench coat with an ultramarine-blue shirt underneath. The area below his torso was blocked from vision by the horizontal oval table, but Tanner could still make out sky-blue eyes through the shadow cast over his face by the holographic projection. Opposite to him on the other end of the table was a woman that Tanner had become all too familiar with, Glynda Goodwitch. And she did not look happy to see him.
He immediately regained his composure after stumbling from the rough push that the guard gave him; the order to walk.
As he did, two more guards rushed ahead of them to hold open the glass doors, their spears still aimed at his and SK's throats as they were forced through the doors.
The air in the conference room was much colder than the air outside, which shied away in comparison to the three cold glares they were getting.
After being forced down into a mahogany chair, hands still bound behind his back, the guards set T's unconscious form down next to him, followed by SK to his left and Mason after that. Tanner allowed his hands to shift over the headrest of the chair before the crimson-eyed man spoke in a really gruff voice.
"Thank you, now please leave." He directed towards the guards. Tanner turned his head to watch the guards leave the room and shut the glass doors, which then suddenly turned into an opaque shade of grey. It was only after Tanner turned back to face the three people on either sides of the table did he notice that his weapons, and the weapons of his teammates had been strewn about on them.
"You four aren't easy to find, y'know." The black-haired man continued as he rapped his knuckles against the wood of the table.
"That's kinda the point." Tanner said with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.
"Skip the pleasantries, Mr Vermillion." Glynda said with disdain and venom in her voice. "None of us have any times for your jokes."
"See if you were hiding, that must mean you have something to hide." The man said as he leaned across the table. "Something about Cinder Fall, perhaps?"
SK shifted next to him in a more upright position, staring down the older gentleman. "We didn't know that this was her plan."
"So you're saying that you wouldn't have helped her if you knew that Cinder was planning the downfall of Vale?" he shot back without missing a beat.
Mason tried to say something, but it came out as muffled nonsense because of the gag.
"You can think whatever the fuck you want." Tanner almost spat at him. "But you've gone after the wrong people! The ones who are actually responsible for this shit-fest are still out there! And I know for a fact that if both Emerald and Torchwick are involved in it, this fuck-load is only the beginning."
This time, the man slammed a fist on the table before standing up. "I think I've got the right people! So you better watch your trap or I'll-"
"Or you'll what? Kill us? Destroy one of the few leads you have on Cinder and her goons." SK shot back before shaking his head. "No, you need us. More importantly, we need him." He said as he leaned slightly towards T.
T's face was still covered by his facecloth and his cap, as nothing had been done with their attire when they were captured. The only article of clothing the guards had confiscated from them was Tanner's scarf, which now lay amongst their weapons.
"He knows more about what's going on than any of us, so the only way we can sort this out...is with him." SK finished, though the glare Qrow sent his way never diminished.
He looked like he was about to start shouting at SK, but the blonde-haired boy stood up and put a firm hand on his shoulder. "Look, we know you were trying to help…once things started gaining momentum. We found traces of your hack and recovered evidence that suggests that you were the ones to crash Blue Two, not Ruby." He said calmly, while keeping a stern demeanour. "What we want to know is how this all happened."
Tanner visibly relaxed at the mention of the reaper's name. "How is she? I haven't heard from her since the Team-based matches." He asked with a certain urgency. He was, of course, talking about the matches of the Vytal Festival. A time when peace was meant to be celebrated and strength was meant to be tested.
How had things gone so horribly wrong?
"You know her?" the crimson-eyed man asked.
Tanner swayed a little as he considered his answer. "Eh, not well enough to say that we're friends…look, all I want to know is if she's alright."
He stared at Tanner for a few moments, seeming to assess whether he was lying or not before chuckling. "She's fine. A little incapacitated, but she'll recover." Tanner let out a sigh at that.
"Thank you." He mumbled quietly before opening one eye. "Do…are you close to her?"
"Well, I'm her uncle, so I'd say so." He said, causing his eyes to go wide.
"You're Qrow Branwen." SK beat him to it with renewed interest. "The greatest scythe-wielder this side of Remnant." The tone of a sceptic in his voice.
"Kid, if you're trying to sway me with words-"
"I'm not. I just…it makes sense where Ruby got her skills from is all." SK said as he relaxed into his chair. "I also never imagined a teacher at Signal to be one of the few protecting the Maidens."
"The mere fact that you know of their existence proves that you know more than you're letting on." Glynda finally spoke up as she folded her arms.
Mason tried to say something again, but if came out muffled again because of the gag.
"Will someone get that head-clamp already!" the blonde boy seemed to ask no one.
"And Jay, I wouldn't have expected you to be a part of this either." SK spoke up again, giving the boy a narrow-eyed leer.
"That's the point." He said as he leaned across the table. "Nobody expects the kid that preaches Faunus Rights to work in the shadows."
"Makes sense given your background though."
"Wait, you know him?" Tanner asked, having lost the trail of where the conversation was leading.
"We digress." Qrow brought them back to the present. "Look, we're giving you a chance to prove that you're only interested in helping, but we can't do that unless you tell us how this all started. If you tell us the truth, we can discuss not putting all of you to death."
"Well, we won't be able to get the whole story until he wakes up." Tanner said, gesturing to T with his shoulder. As much as he wanted to get out of this hole he found himself in, he felt that he had to do this.
If for no one else, then for a certain team of Huntress-Trainees that were now separated because of them.
The three looked amongst themselves for a moment before turning back to Tanner and SK with concerned looks in their eyes. "He's been like that since the CCT was destroyed, hasn't he?"
SK and Tanner simultaneously let out a sigh. "Yeah, five days. However, as your medics have said; he's perfectly fine."
"In fact, his mind seems to be even more active than a normal human brain when they're awake." Jay commented as he pulled out his Scroll and began typing something.
Tanner was about to speak again, but the sound of wood snapping stopped him. Everyone turned to see that Mason had bitten straight through his wooden gag.
"Hold up." Mason finally said, causing SK to suddenly become agitated – probably at sitting so close to him. "I'm the Carry on this team, so I should get to have a flashback first."
"I don't think-"
"Abububub! I'm going first!"
"Fair warning; most of it won't make any sense." SK told no one in particular, though Tanner also knew that Mason had a tendency to twist the story.
"STFU faggot. I'm the team leader and you're the scrub, so you don't get to tell me how I should flashback." Mason said as he continued to struggle against the bindings, which the guards had bound to even more cuffs bound to the chair.
Qrow looked back and forth between the three and finally sighed once he got back to Mason. "Alright, so, how did you meet Cinder Fall?"