Chapter 6
Fists and Fangs
"Anything Goes..."- Royce's last words to Wernher before departing from the Pitt.
"So...we're supposed to be on the lookout for who exactly?" Weiss asked as she tapped her foot impatiently. "We've been here for two hours already."
"Just look for someone who's suspicious." Royce said as he took another swig out of his canteen. He sighed. "Either way I have a very bad feeling about Ruby and Yang working together. I hope Blake's okay with the both of them."
Weiss failed to keep the cringe off her face. While she was on better terms with Ruby and her elder sister, there were some things that made her feel rather ill. Like the both of them on a mission that required subterfuge and patience. And as she had witnessed during their time together in Beacon Yang was not very patient. Or subtle.
Royce must have noticed because he shook his head with a chuckle. Decked out in his armor he was quite frankly the most intimidating sight Weiss had ever seen. The scar across his right eye only completed the hard badass look. Still, he was quite friendly. And handsome. Weiss quietly disposed of that one thought before grumbling. She was bored. Why Ozpin sent them on such a boring assignment was beyond her. Still a grade was a grade and Weiss Schnee knew that if there is something to be done, there was no excuse for it not to be done well.
"There he is," Royce said quietly. Weiss turned to look at the weird stranger in the long coat but Royce shook his head. "Act normal, we'll follow him into the bar."
"What?" Weiss whispered as she took one look at the establishment they were about to enter. If her father caught sight of her entering such a place...
"Yeah we're going in there so stick close." Royce said as he finally stood up. While he had chosen to leave his Xuanlong and Power Fist behind he was still armed. Blackhawk and the Novasurge were holstered at his sides. His trench knife was sheathed across his back. Royce had also proven himself to be an able fist fighter. Weiss wasn't worried anymore.
/
It smelled in here but Royce focused on following their target. The moment the guy sat down at the bar he tugged on Weiss's sleeve and both of them sat in the nearby booth. Seriously, he thought it was stupid. Whoever their target was he, or she, must have been stupid thinking that putting a trenchcoat on with a hat and shades was going to work. Royce had them the moment they walked into the bar. A few guys tried to approach Weiss but one solid look from Royce was enough to make the men consider their options. That and they realized that the dude in the combat armor had two big guns on him. The girl was also not a person to approach lightly. The rapier looked sharp.
One would be smart to just leave the pair alone.
"Royce," Weiss whispered. "What are we waiting for?"
The Wanderer looked her in the eye. There was something in his eyes that said: Take it easy. We got this.
Weiss obeyed but she took another glance at their target.
When the target was done with whatever he was talking about with the man at the bar Royce stood up with Weiss to trail the stranger. Outside was when things went to hell.
The stranger suddenly turned pulled a machine pistol out from his pocket and fired. Royce tackled Weiss out of the way as the bullets broke through the glass windows of the bar behind them. Panic ensued and in the now worsening chaos their target had fled through the crowd.
"Weiss! You okay!?" Royce asked as he got up from a reddening Weiss who nodded. She was shocked. She had faced Grimm before sure but a human being trying to kill her was different. At least the Grimm were predictable. Royce helped Weiss up. That was when he noted the men and women staring at them. Men and women who were heavily armed and wearing masks. He'd seen those masks before.
They must belong to the White Fang. Fine, he mused. They were about to be put to the test.
Royce and Weiss drew their weapons as the group of White Fang charged waving several sharp objects in the air. Royce ducked a swing meant to take his head off countering with an uppercut that sent the wielder of the sword flying backwards. His knife lashed out, pushing aside an axe head meant for Weiss's side. The girl moved quick her rapier jabbing two in the legs before she danced out of the way of a third assailant. Parrying the club away from her Weiss grabbed the man's sleeve pulled him in before using momentum to throw the thug into a nearby wall. Royce was impressed with Weiss's quick swordsmanship. He was not too happy with how the Fangs were trying to end their lives.
The Lone Wanderer wasn't so merciful with his opponents after seeing that they were attacking with lethal force. He upped the ante. While he was not wearing Fisto Royce still had considerable physical strength as a weapon. He lashed out with a brute front kick and with some form of satisfaction watched as the Fang's leg bent into an obscenely painful angle. The scream was lost to the Lone Wanderer as he smashed into another assailant and punched him in the side of the head. The impact was enough to make the man black out.
He was probably bleeding internally too.
Royce saw Weiss cast another one of her Glyphs as she surged to the side to avoid gunfire. Royce flipped his knife, holding it by the tip, and threw it at the gunman and was rewarded with a scream of pain as his Trench Knife embedded itself in his leg.
Weiss blinked in surprise as Royce walked over to their fallen opponent and kicked him in the head. "Sorry," he said with a small smile.
"I-It's fine." Weiss lowered her rapier. She looked to the goons they had both beaten around. The one with the broken leg was sobbing his guts out as he reached for his ruined left leg.
/
"Hey guys...whoa..." Ruby lowered Crescent Rose as he saw the scattered unconscious thugs scattered around the street. Royce and Weiss were standing in front of one, his leg was bandaged but he was tied up.
Yang gave an appreciative whistle. "Dang guys..." She said to Royce and Weiss. "Nice job," She looked at their new captive curiously. "Is he the one we were looking for?"
"No, but I bet he knows." Royce said shrugging his shoulders. When the guy tried to struggle the Wanderer mashed his fist into the captive's head making him stop moving in fear of further reprisal. "Let's bring him to Ozpin and see."
They technically didn't get their original quarry but maybe a member of the prestigious White Fang could reveal what was going on. Team RWBY headed back to the academy with their kicking and screaming captive.
/
"Well, it's not who I hoped it was but..." Ozpin took another glance at the captive White Fang Member. "Better than nothing."
"Yup! Sorry we couldn't get the right guy Professor." Ruby said cheerfully. Her mood was offset by the angry looking guy in the great coat. Dude had a beer gut and he was not happy judging from how red his face was. Seriously it was so red Royce wondered when the guy was gonna pop. Or have a stroke.
And the smell wafting off the guy...Christ, did he even shower?
"That is simply unacceptable!" The man slammed his meaty hand down on Ozpin's desk. Inside the room Professor Goodwitch frowned. Ozpin raised a brow as he turned to regard the angry businessman.
"How so Mister Ramses?" The Headmaster was all cool and calm. Royce bet five Lien that he was kinda pissed about the coffee currently making its way to the edge of his desk.
"I want these cretins caught NOW!" Ramses bellowed. "My shipments are way passed their due date! By whatever powers that be this is Beacon! You are all supposed to be more competent than this!" He stabbed a fat finger at team RWBY. "Instead you send me these...these children! You guaranteed success! It seems that I was wrong to count on the so-called best of the best that Beacon can send us." Yang scowled but a single look from Professor Goodwitch told her to stand down.
Ozpin frowned as he looked at the livid Ramses.
"Well sir, I guess you should invest in better security." Weiss muttered snootily. It was just too bad Ramses heard her.
"Ah Miss Schnee is it?" His sneer was contemptuous. "I could say the same to you. How many of your employees died in that one raid?" Judging from the way Weiss reacted that sentence hit a weak spot. She looked livid. "Humph, perhaps the Schnee Dust Company should consider a more-"
Weiss's face turned into a snarl but it wasn't her who moved. A large green blur moved at an abrupt speed. Royce Walker slammed Walter Ramses into the bookshelf. Everyone flinched as Royce's left hand wrapped around the fat business man's neck like a vice.
"Mister Walker!" Glynda exclaimed. She turned to see Ozpin who shook his head calmly. The Headmaster knew Royce would not be killing anyone today. Not when he was trying to make a point. Although the old headmaster did wish that Royce was a bit more...calm. Judging from the cold mask the boy had adopted Ramses' statement seemed to have hit a spot close to home.
"You listen to me." Royce said to Ramses his voice a dangerous whisper. "I will not tolerate any other words that come out of your mouth. You do not insult someone's memory like that. Not in my presence." The room seemed to chill. Ruby hid behind Yang looking terrified. One minute Royce was all okay, the next he turned into someone else entirely. Gosh he seemed like a different person right now. She had never seen him so angry before. Yang gulped as she tried to say something. Royce was actively ignoring them. Blake checked on a quietly shocked Weiss who was thinking the same thing.
What else has his home done to him?
Ramses gagged and tried to pry the Lone Wanderer's grip off his throat but there was no point in trying, Royce was just that strong and thanks to several cybernetic implants and mutations he was more than capable of crushing his windpipe. "We'll find your man." Royce promised. "And when we do you will apologize to the Headmaster and my teammates." He dropped Ramses who started breathing heavily. Before he recovered Royce turned his head and he glared down at the business man with nothing in his eyes but scorn.
"Don't say another word." He spat hatefully.
/
(The next day...)
Fuck. Fuck, god fucking damnit!
Royce gritted his teeth as he walked down the hallway. He could not believe what the hell happened yesterday. He should not have lost control. There was no excuse for that. Royce managed to get out to the courtyard and he sat down on a lonely bench. He sighed as he looked at his hands.
The last time he lost his temper was...well, the result was not very pretty. What was worse now? Ruby, hell all of his team, was looking at him as though he were some kind of monster. Even Ozpin was speechless.
"Shit..." Royce muttered feeling shaky as he covered his face with his palm. "I shouldn't have gotten so angry..." He flexed his fingers as he stood up to find Ruby already there.
"Gah!" He jumped back so fast he tripped backwards over the very bench he was sitting on. Ruby, surprised and amused at the same time, ran over to help him.
"Oh gosh, Royce!" She exclaimed trying not to laugh. "Are you okay?"
"Ouch..." Royce got up and brushed loose grass off his uniform. "Yeah, I'm fine." He winced as he stretched his ankle. Nope, no sprains. Dying to a Mole Rat would have been less embarrassing. Most of his body was reinforced anyway thanks to mutations and other cybernetic implants. Nobody believed him of course.
"Um..." Ruby didn't exactly know when to begin. She was still rather shaken at how Royce lost his temper with the businessman. Everyone was.
"So..." Royce stopped himself. "Look, you go ahead. Besides I was curious as to why Ozpin hasn't kicked me out yet anyhow."
"He doesn't want to. And we all didn't want that to happen," Ruby said softly as she sat down next to the Lone Wanderer. "Weiss spoke up for you."
"She did?" Royce asked.
"Yeah, she was really adamant about you defending her. And that...fat guy wasn't exactly a good person."
"Really." Royce stated.
"Yeah," Ruby smiled as she pulled out her scroll. "We're still on the job Royce. You okay? Because it's fine if you want to...you know clear your head."
Royce smirked as he shook his head. "I'll be okay Ruby," he said. "Look, I should apologize to all of you. I never meant to lose my temper."
"Royce, it's okay." Ruby tried to reassure the shamefaced looking young man. "Everyone wasn't very happy with what fat guy said." Royce tried to hide his amusement. "I was surprised you didn't beat the tar out of him."
Royce was close to. But he remembered that the Headmaster was there. "I'm sure Professor Ozpin wouldn't appreciate any of that happening." He said and sighed.
Then he remembered what he needed to do and what he had in his pack. "Jeez. I just remembered something. I gotta go." He stood up and headed to the dorms.
"What- wait Royce!" Ruby followed. "What's going on?"
"I got an idea!" Royce called back.
/
"Hey Walker!" Bierce Colt looked up from his desk as Royce walked in with Ruby in tow. Hanging off his shoulders was what looked like a close fitting armored bodysuit. In hand was his combat armor. The boy looked positively excited about something.
"Hey mister Colt." Royce greeted back. "Uh do you mind if I tinker around with the workshop a bit? I want to try something." His grin was very wide. Behind Ruby was looking at the jumpsuit curiously.
"Sure kid," Colt answered. "Just try not to blow something up."
Royce smiled.
Back during the War, the Chinese had developed a set of armor that could basically make its wearer invisible. That was what Royce was holding right now as he looked between his Ranger Battle Armor and the Chinese Stealth Armor.
"Okay," Royce said as he grabbed some tools. "Ruby? You want to help?"
"Awesome! Sure!" Ruby said.
The pair got to work. By the time they had finished it was sun down. Royce grinned at their handiwork. It only took a couple of tries but they finally got it.
Now all he had to do was try it on.
/
Next morning...
"Ugh...What's taking them so long?" Weiss complained as they waited at the entrance to the academy to leave for Vale. The final part of their mission involved hunting down the man they had missed. It was already around ten o'clock and the air ship would be here very soon.
"I heard the two of them made something crazy." Yang said as she stopped whistling. She grinned. "Honestly, I'm surprised. Ruby looked ready to explode."
"There she is right now." Blake pointed as Ruby stopped in front of all of them holding Crescent Rose aloft.
Weiss looked around. "Ruby? Where's Royce?" She asked.
"Right here!" Ruby exclaimed making a grand gesture at...nothing. She was met with silence. Yang and Blake looked expectantly at her.
"Are you insane!?" Weiss scowled her mood already darkening. "Does he look like he's-"
"Hello!" Royce said appearing seemingly out of nowhere next to Weiss. The Schnee Heiress yelled in terror as she jumped back away from Royce.
"Ha!" Yang burst out in laughter. Then she took a look at Royce's new threads. Combining the solid protection of the Ranger Battle Armor with the fluid design of the Chinese Stealth Armor, Royce looked even more intimidating now. The jumpsuit was worn under the plates of the Combat Armor. Royce widened up some parts of his armor in order for the design to actually work. When he wore the thing Colt had nearly jumped out of his skin when Royce disappeared from sight and reappeared right next to him.
Colt had been very impressed.
"Nice," Blake said as she looked Royce's new armor up and down.
"It took me and Ruby pretty much the whole of yesterday." Royce said scratching his hair. "Well, technically it was my fault cause I forgot I had to wear the stupid thing and I kinda messed up. I'm still working out the kinks, I had to ditch a lot of material to actually bind the armor together."
"Doesn't matter." Ruby said eying the armor with glee. "Still awesome looking."
"So that was what Ruby was excited about." Yang said as she punched Royce's shoulder. "Dang...So you can turn invisible at will?"
"Hmm...Technically it's not invisibility. What my armor basically does is bend light. Optic Camouflage." Royce started to explain what that meant.
"Ah..." Yang looked really confused. Sometimes she forgot how incredibly smart Royce was, the big guy had brains and brawn it seemed. "Okay...that's cool."
"Royce I think Yang's starting to look a little overwhelmed." Blake told the young man whose shoulders drooped in disappointment.
"But it's so cool though," Royce said grinning. "I mean this stuff was advanced even for Pre-War stuff. I remember reading that the Chinese had other things in store-"
"Can we go now?" Weiss interrupted. She looked annoyed. "I'm sure that we can all appreciate a history lesson after we complete the mission."
/
It was about to rain. But that didn't matter. Because getting into a firefight was usually what occupied people first before the weather. Besides the entire firefight was inside a warehouse anyway. Outside the thunderstorm roared over head as gunfire and the clash of steel echoed in the expanse of the abandoned warehouse the White Fang was using to store their goods. From what Royce had seen inside was a mess of crates, shipping containers and other large objects. That meant lots of cover and concealment and close quarters combat. He had planned on using the cover to sneak in and surprise the enemy.
Too bad that didn't happen.
Yang had the bright idea to just walk in through the front door. Ruby had agreed and both sisters had knocked the door down. The White Fang inside the warehouse were surprised but they had enough of their wits on them to open fire on the intruders. Royce had taken out a bunch by shooting the support beams on a catwalk above a bunch of very persistent White Fang members manning a machine gun. Needless to say the ensuing collapse of said catwalk made things very confusing.
Poor guys never even stood a chance as the gunfight turned to RWBY's favor.
"You know," Blake winced as a round punched into the concrete next to her foot. She fired a burst from Gambol Shroud before heading back into cover. "I thought I'd be more scared about this."
"What?" Royce leaned out of cover and fired his Xuanlong. Someone screamed. Royce didn't bother checking and fired another blind burst. He loaded another magazine into the receiver and chambered a round.
"Getting shot at." Blake answered.
"Well..." Royce shook his head. "Guess I'm gonna have to spice things up a bit then." He cloaked. And ran out into the gunfire.
"Hey..." Blake looked a little irritated as she realized Royce had let the White Fang gunmen fire at her instead of him. She then gaped as Royce reappeared from the left flank and smashed a gunman several feet away with his Power Fist. Another succumbed to a bone shattering blow as Royce tore into the enemy position.
That was enough for Ruby and Weiss to hit them from the right. And for Yang to just smash straight into the middle. Blake jumped in with her.
/
"You..."
Trenchcoat didn't look very pleased, Royce mused as he hauled the man up. Dressed in a sharp coat the young man winced as Royce checked him for weapons. The Wanderer pulled the handgun out of the hidden holster looking very unhappy at what a gun was doing in Trenchcoat's possession. He ejected the magazine and threw the pistol away where it smacked against a cargo crate.
"On a technicality..." Royce said nudging his head at Ruby and everyone else. "It's all of us. So...enough with the bullshit. Why were you and your White Fang buddies..."
One of the White Fang groaned and tried to stand up. Yang punched him back into unconsciousness.
"...Stealing cargo from a mutual friend, Mister Ramses of Ramses' Dust Export?" The man in the coat looked between Royce and the others, his expression was terrified, that gave the Lone Wanderer some idea of what this guy was trying to do. How sad. Royce exhaled through his nose. "Answer the damned question."
The man gulped as Royce cracked his knuckles. "Ruby, hard way?" he asked Ruby who smiled. There was nothing good about that smile. The man started babbling excuses and threats as Royce raised his fist. Weiss, suitably ignoring the ensuing beat down behind her, opened up one of the crates. She saw a lot of Dust inside. She closed the crates and told everyone what she found.
/
"Interesting." Ozpin said as he took a look at the incriminating papers linking the target, Guy Fischer, to the White Fang. Ramses had fired him over gross incompetence and as a result he started giving out locations of Dust Shipment's belonging to Ramses' company to members of the White Fang. Mister Fischer was dropped off at the Vale Police Department where no doubt he would possibly spend the rest of his days inside a cell.
He leaned back in his chair and relaxed for a bit. Relaxing was always good. Especially when Walter Ramses had shown up and apologized not only to him but Team RWBY as well, the Headmaster smiled as he took a sip out of his mug of coffee. It was rather amusing to see the look on the businessman's face when he spoke his apologies to mister Walker. The boy looked satisfied with the apologies and let the man go on his merry way.
/
A week passed by.
Weiss found Royce in the library. Studying. Again. She shook her head with a bit of a frown. He was always studying. Or reading, much like Blake but compared to the more stoic member of Team RWBY Royce was usually reading something technical, not like the romance novels that Blake read when she thought no one was looking. Here he was with the Grimm Anatomy and Physiology book again. He noticed her and gave a lazy wave.
Weiss walked over and sat down in front of him. She hoped he noticed her perfume or the new makeup she was wearing. She was nervous, she had never been like this before. It was a strange feeling but she pressed through it.
"What are you doing?" Weiss asked quietly.
"Just a little research," Royce answered. He yawned. "Sorry, I meant light reading. And research."
"Light..." Weiss looked at the book he had just put down on the table. It was a door stopping marvel. How Royce considered that light reading was beyond her. It was around five o clock in the afternoon. Already the sun was setting.
"Say Royce," Weiss said as she looked out the window. "Would you like to take a walk with me?"
"Huh?" Royce thought he heard her wrong.
"W-Would you like to take a walk with me?" She asked again.
"Uh..." Royce thought about it for a moment. "Sure!"
/
"Ruby, I'm pretty sure this is a bad idea." Jaune said nervously as he and the rest of RWBY and JNPR followed the pair leaving the library. "I mean a really bad idea. Not that I'm gonna say anything because you know...Royce can break me in half if he caught us spying."
"How is it a bad idea?" Ruby asked him as she peeked around the corner at her targets. "We're just...watching out for their general safety. And Royce wouldn't break you in half, he's too nice!"
"You're totally crushing on Royce." Yang deadpanned. She grinned when Ruby turned and scowled, blushing madly.
"I am not!" Ruby whispered harshly, face as red as a tomato.
"Look they're leaving right now." Pyrrha pointed as Royce and Weiss turned to walk outside to the central courtyard. The entire group followed them, getting strange looks from other students as they passed by.
"Oh my gosh!" Nora squealed. "Look at them, they are so adorable together."
"Nora. Come on," Ren shook his head. "Keep it down." This was a rather stupid idea but when did that ever stop Nora before?
/
"You thought that was a good idea!?" Weiss exclaimed as she glared at Royce who shrugged noncommittally. She had just listened to Royce's exploits with Moira Brown, the resident partially insane but chipper tinkerer of Megaton.
"Well thinking about it now, getting that high of a dosage of radiation probably wasn't such a smart choice." Royce answered sheepishly as he avoided Weiss trying to smack the back of his head. "But I did get something out of it, a beneficial...perk I must say."
"Beneficial how exactly?" Weiss asked looking ready to hit him at any moment.
"My limbs basically regenerate on their own," Royce answered almost cheerful. "And my bones are pretty much reinforced. Almost nigh unbreakable."
"And what else has this endeavor gotten you?" Weiss said. "I am surprised that you're still even alive."
"I took every chance I got to get stronger, I didn't care if I wouldn't recognize myself in the mirror. I had to find my dad." Royce spoke calmly. "You all heard me you know, DC isn't a good place anymore. You either adapt or die."
Weiss clammed up. Yeah she knew how bad he got it and it scared her just how different they were. She was an heiress to a company, one of the most powerful in Remnant. Everything she wanted, she got. He was a doctor's son who lost his mother and father, an ordinary young man with so many burdens on his shoulders who lost everything he owned. And yet with nothing more than his bare hands he took it upon himself to change his broken world for the better.
And he had sacrificed everything to do it, even his life.
"You still endangered yourself, I admit that I was...abrasive to you before." Weiss said looking unsure. "But we're a team now. I have to worry about my teammates don't I?"
"No problem," Royce said. As always he took it in stride. Weiss could not understand how he did that. Although she had seen what happened when someone pushed his limit. She remembered him almost putting Cardin Winchester through a wall when he made a comment about the Faunus after class. Slavery was a big no-no in Royce's view. "We just met all those weeks ago. You didn't know whether I was dangerous or not. I probably would have done the same."
The walk got a little more quiet after that. Weiss and Royce continued on their stroll, not even noticing as Ruby snuck behind them, trying to listen in on what they were talking about. Yang and Blake followed, Yang thought it was funny how Ruby was so obsessed with tailing Royce and Blake simply had nothing else to do. Jaune did also, although he was reluctant to show himself as he was worried about what Royce might do to him if they were all found out. Ren and Pyrrha had taken off after Nora who had found something else a lot more interesting and dangerous to dabble in.
"Royce, you mentioned that you..." Weiss was not sure she was supposed to ask this question. "Well...it's about your father."
"Go ahead," Royce told her with a small smile. "Don't worry, I can deal with it."
"I...well, he was a doctor right?" Weiss felt like she was stepping on a landmine. One wrong move and Royce was probably going to go into orbit.
Or snap her neck like a twig.
"Yes. He was the Vault's doctor actually." He said. "Before he left and I got kicked out, he was pretty much responsible for taking care of everyone. He was quite popular," Royce chuckled. "I guess the Overseer didn't like that part about him."
"He must have been a good man." Weiss commented.
Royce turned sad for a moment. "He was. The best I ever knew." His voice was bitter. "I miss him."
"I'm sorry," Weiss apologized as they continued walking. "I shouldn't have pressed."
"...It's alright. I'll be fine." Royce said. "I should thank you actually."
Weiss blinked. "For what?"
"The walk." Royce said. "And us talking like this."
"Oh! Oh..." Weiss blushed. "Th-No problem, no problem at all!"
/
By the time Weiss and Royce got back to the dorms it was already a few hours past sunset. When they opened the door they faced a bombardment of dangerous magnitude as Ruby and Yang began asking them questions. Weiss argued back, her face turning a deeper shade of red as Yang insinuated that she was trying to "get into Royce's pants."
Royce, like always, handled it in his constantly easy going manner and said that it was a talk. Nothing more, nothing less. He told them, with a humorous grin, that if Weiss wanted to date she could always just ask. He ducked when an angry Weiss attempted to slug him in the face for the joke.
As things settled down Royce stayed awake for a little while when everyone was asleep. Yes, he understood what Weiss had wanted from him. But he asked himself if he was ready for such a relationship with the Schnee heiress.
Amata's face appeared briefly in his mind before he shoved those memories into the deepest part of his mind. No, there was no use dwelling on her anymore. As far as anyone knew back in DC, he was dead. He turned over and before he knew it, he was asleep.