Konnichiwa, Konnichiwa, Planeshunter desu!
[omg omg omg, I really want to crack a joke, but can't think of anything to say...]
Now, without further ado, Everything will be OK (What if…?) 始まります!
Jolly stops it's engine, and Yang let's out a small sigh. It's been a long travel, she's glad to finally arrive at Atlas Academy. On the other side, now the comforting embrace of her partner will be released. Indeed, as soon as she puts a foot in the ground, the pressure around her waist weakens, and the raven haired girl straightens her head.
-"Here we are, girls!" -She says, hiding that small regret- "Atlas Academy! Man, I can't believe it took us two months to find Weiss."
-"And we would still be searching" -her partner adds- "if not for Penny."
-"It was my pleasure, friend Blake!"
As always, the bright voice of the artificial girl seems terribly out of place coming from the grim-looking frame of Jolly. But that's how things are for now. Patting the front of the bike with her left, Yang closes her eyes in silent gratitude. Penny has no proper body now, but her Aura comes from the vehicle, giving off that same inquiring and helpful feeling, so characteristic of hers.
Man, if it hasn't been a long, strange journey up till now! For all it's shortcomings, it also brought good things, but…
-"If only 'daddy Schnee' wasn't a big ***, nothing of this would've happened."
-"Maybe he would've been more helpful if you didn't throw his desk through the window?"
The playful jab earns a half-hurt gaze.
-"Hey! No one makes racist remarks on my partner but me!"
-"We knew that could happen," -her tone is severe, but the smile never leaves her lips- "And I would've done something myself if he got truly offensive."
To say the truth, that remark about Blake only was the last straw. Being tongue-lashed by a penpusher old man who thinks his daughter will be better off around asslickers than between friends had been infuriating to say the least. But they have talked enough about that particular encounter.
-"Whatever, Blakey" -She says instead of getting into the subject again- "We would've never found Penny if not for that."
-"And that's STUPENDOUS!" -Yang hides a smile. Penny's voice really feels odd coming from Jolly. They'd need to find a proper body for her, before she gives in to the urge of tuning the bike to fit- "I missed the whole thing, being inside a box and all, but I'm sure you were fabulous. Thanks again, friend Yang, friend Blake."
That makes her pinch her nose. How many times will she have to tell the girl to stop putting 'friend' before their names? It felt… weird. But now's not the time.
-"Yeah, sure, that's what friends are for, right?" -Now they have to get into the building, and she doubts the guards would overlook a monsterbike going in- "Look, we gotta go talk with this Gray dude they put in charge here. Can you watch Jolly while we are away?"
-"Yes, yes I can!" -This time Yang catches herself smiling. Strange as it might be, there's something contagious in the cheerful behavior of the girl- "Have a productive visit, friend Yang, friend Blake!"
With a last wave of hands, the partners leave Penny and Jolly and enter the building. It's hard to recognise in their bright expressions the same two huntresses that were about to give up, just a week ago.
[...]
-"It has been almost two months, Blake! We have tried stalking the tower, infiltrating the Schnee mansion, fishing for rumors downtown, visiting their summer villa and any other hideout we could think of, for nothing! And while we are running in circles without doing anything, Rubes is facing dust knows what!" -She hadn't intended to yell. Why did she yell? The hurt expression of her partner is enough to make her regret her actions. But she needs to make her point. She continues in a softer tone- "Silver eyed warrior or whatever, she's still my baby sister, you know? I still worry about her."
-"You know it would take us weeks, if not longer, to reach Haven. And even then we don't know if we'll find your sister there, right?"
-"I know, darnit, I know!" -She protests- "And I don't want to leave Weiss alone either, but… you know..."
When Blake moves her hand, she closes her eyes, half-expecting a slap. And it would've been well deserved. But instead, she gets a pat in her shoulder.
-"Alright then, let's make a deal" -Her tone is serious, but not scolding- "We try that one last thing, and if it doesn't work, we switch to looking for Ruby and the others."
-"You're not gonna give up until we try that, right?" -Blake has the decency of blushing slightly, but she doesn't look away- "I still can't understand why the White Fang didn't change their codes after someone like you switched sides."
-"You can't teach new tricks to an old dog?"
That earned her a deadpan stare.
-"Is that… an attempt at misdirection?" -Yang asks after a moment- "Because if it was a pun, is even worse than mine."
Now she blushes a lot, and seems to suddenly find her feet extremely interesting. The blonde lets out a heartfelt laugh, all her worries suddenly gone.
-"Seriously, Blakey…" -She continues, grinning widely- "Alright, we'll assault that mystery cargo. But chances of it having anything to do with Weiss are slim at best, and you know what they say about curiosity and the cat..."
Her groan is the only answer.
In the end, the mystery cargo turns out being what Yang had expected. As much as she tries to make it look otherwise, the White Fang has changed their codes. She knows enough of how they work to get a basic idea about the content of messages, but that's all. That's why this info about a heavily protected vehicle making a night journey sounded so promising to her.
It was obvious the Schnee family was trying to hide the Heiress, and what better way of transporting a hidden person than this? But now, the hatches open before her, the small army of atlesian knights turned into small piles of scrap metal behind, it's time to face the truth. Metal containers. With dust or mechanical components inside, no doubt. Hiding or not, it was stupid to think Weiss would accept such low class transport.
Everytime, everytime she takes the initiative, she ends up with some kind of disaster in her hands. Leaving the White Fang had resulted in Adam swearing to destroy all she held dear and hurting Yang. Focusing in stopping them during her time at beacon had only resulted in undermining her own health and worrying her team. Staying in Vale to recover her partner's weapon had kept her away, sinking the blonde girl further into depression. And now, insisting in attacking this cargo, she's not only risked becoming a criminal if their identities end up revealed, but she has only accomplished to keep the two sisters apart longer.
-"Well, Blakey, I won't say 'told you so', but I told you so" -Lost in her thoughts, the voice startles her. She closes her eyes to hold the tears, now Yang will lose it and yell at her, and she'll deserve it, but then they both will feel horrible and it'll all be her fault- "But since we're here, why don't we check this present boxes?"
Blake opens her eyes again, confused.
-"You're… not mad?"
-"Huh? Why should I?"
-"Well, I was wrong and I'm keeping you from looking for…" -She risks a gaze towards her partner. Not only doesn't she look angry, there's a big smile lighting up her face- "I'm sorry!"
-"Nothing to apologize for, girl!" -Turning to the containers, she dismisses the idea with a wave of her hand- "I would've felt pretty shitty about abandoning Weiss without a last try!"
-"Friend Yang?" -A voice comes from one of the containers. It's tone is distorted by the container, but there's no way they can mistake that mannerism… -"Is that you?"
-"Wha!... Penny?" -The blonde begins putting her ear in every container, all her carelessness gone- "Are you alright? What are you doing here? Didn't Pyrrha kill you during the tournament?"
-"Yes! I'm Penny, friend Yang, it's nice to meet you here!" -Recovering from the surprise, Blake points at the container the voice is coming from- "I'm fine, but I can't move. The scientists of the Schnee Dust Company recovered me from the tournament grounds, I'm being transported to another lab. No, she didn't kill me!"
The matter-of-fact-ly way she answers all the questions in order is strangely amusing. Blake hasn't talked too much with the artificial girl, but it certainly sounds like her. Why would the Schnee Dust Company…? But that's a stupid question, isn't it?
She can't hold a sigh, realizing what completely functional artificial persons would mean to a company that had no qualms whatsoever in driving an entire race into slavery. Getting to know Weiss has softened her opinion on them, but she mustn't forget reality.
-"Don't worry!" -Yang says, making her partner raise an eyebrow. No nicknames?- "I'll get you out there in a second. There! How are..."
Her words get interrupted by what she finds inside the crate. And with good reason. After ripping the container open, they only find a strangely glowing orange and green orb. For a moment, both partners exchange glances, unsure about how to take this. Then the orb talks, glowing with each pronounced syllable.
-"Friend Yang! Friend Blake! It's really good to meet you again!"
That had happened barely three days before their arrival at Atlas Academy, and was followed by a really embarrassing moment when they learnt Penny's core could be attached to other machines, like the atlesian knights they had just turned into junk…
-"So…" -The boy who was leading them to the Headmaster's office was a tall and cool guy of dark skin and long black hair, who ironically had introduced himself as 'Ivory'. He was pleasant enough, even if he kind of gave the same aura as Neptune- "what do you know the Ice Queen from?"
-"We are her teammates from Beacon."
Blake answers, cutting short Yang's joke about stolen nicknames. Well, she'll let it slip this time, she's a generous person after all.
-"Oh?" -The boy slows down long enough to turn and address a wide smile their way.- "Then you're the famous RWBY I have heard so much about?"
Those words make Yang smile, but before she can say anything, Blake cuts her again (Not that she wanted to brag or something, but still...)
-"Are we… famous?"
Her tone is slightly worried. Well, she's the faunus teammate of the Schnee Heiress, ex-teammate now. Becoming well known could give weird ideas to creeps trying to get into daddy Schnee's good side. But this Ivory guy laughs, and there's something oddly shooting in that carefree sound.
-"Nah, not really. But it's the only subject she opens up about" -A second laugh, a bit apologetic this time- "It's hard to get to know a partner like that, you know?"
-"I take you're his partner now?"
At the barely contained poison of her words, Blake shoots a worried look her way, but she couldn't help it. Friendly as the guys seems, if he pretends to be Ruby's replacement…This time the boy stops, turning around to face her. She throws her best glare his way, but he doesn't seem fazed in the least. To her own surprise, she's the one to look away after a brief duel stare. He's no Neptune after all, there's something… oddly pure in his eyes. It hurts to stare for too long.
-"For now, at least" -His choice of words almost goes unnoticed, as Yang's still wondering what has just happened- "I take you're here to bring her back?"
-"Why would you think that?"
Thank goodness Blake's with her to play the cool girl.
-"That Weiss is not happy here is a well-known secret" -He continues with a sigh- "And if half of what she's said about you guys is true, you're not here in a courtesy visit. Not that I can blame her for it. I made into team WITR only because I put the average genius' grades to shame as a daily basis. Tsuchi and Ritz were picked for a single reason: They are less hunter material than corporate bootlikers. Since the Council made Ironwood resign and put that straw man Gray as Headmaster, this place is practically Schnee Dust Company junior division."
-"That bad? How come the General gave up on you?"
-"Well… don't take my word for it, but there's rumors" -The young man is uncomfortable. He's apparently not a big fan of gossips- "Apparently he found himself in a position where he had to chose between the Academy and the Army. Most people here understand his reasons, even if we are a bit sore about it."
-"Ghee… With everything that happened at Beacon, I would like to have an army at hand too, but…"
-"Yeah, you could say that, but…" -There's an intelligent glint in the guy's eyes- "In hindsight, it's a plan so brilliant it's almost scary. What would happen if you put a weak figure on charge of a highly militarized organisation composed mainly by hot-blooded young people? And, to top it off, they get taken over by an outside power with said figure's blessings?"
Yang takes a second to think about it, but Blake's answer is almost instantaneous.
-"Revolution…"
-"If he really planned for it, that might be the smartest move in his life. Actually, when we first heard news of Weiss coming, some guys were hoping she would take charge. 'If she's anything like her sister, maybe she can confront her father for us'" -He shrugs- "Maybe it would've worked, maybe it wouldn't. Unfortunately Weiss worries seem to be elsewhere, so we'll never know."
That's Blakey for you. Guess you can't grow up inside a paramilitary organization without learning one or two things about politics. Yang gives her a congratulatory pat, realizing then the suspicion in her eyes.
-"If you've said the truth" -She starts, the question mark practically hanging in the air- "That's a very dangerous statement to make. Why..."
-"Oh, here we are" -Ivory cuts her- "The headmaster's office is just at the end of this corridor. Normal students aren't usually allowed in. And for the record, it was just a sign of good will, you'd've heard from Weiss anyway."
-"Missing?" -Inside his office, the headmaster tries his best to sound discreet and outraged at the same time. The results aren't too impressive- "What do you mean 'missing'?"
-"Our last report says she was with her partner, sir" -Answers the voice at the other side of the phone- "And then she simply disappeared."
There's a knock at the door, but this is not the time.
-"Not now! Wait a second," -He turns back to the phone- "what's Ivory's report?"
-"That was Ivory's report, sir. But we know she couldn't pull that off alone, maybe her partner is helping her?"
Another knock, more urgent now.
-"I said not now! No…" -The Headmaster's thoughts trail off for a second, trying to recall they student's file. Ivory Bandersnatch is, if memory serves him right, a genius among geniuses, and an exemplary student with a perfect record. Granted, his loyalty isn't as explicit as Tsuchi Mikado and Ritz Viera, the other members of WITR, but he's sure the boy wouldn't stain his perfect record with such an act- "No, he's clear. Run a check on all the students known semblances and take into custody anyone who could've done something like that. Form tracking groups and block all exits too. We'll act as discreetly as possible, but if word gets out, she's been kidnapped. The last thing we need is the media getting wind the actual state of the Schnee's household internal affairs."
There's no third knocking. Instead, the door blasts open with a burst of flames. The headmaster instinctively lets out a pathetic yelp and covers his head before the violent display. By the time he dares to look up, there's two figures standing in the frame. Two figures he recognises from the photos if his 'undesirables' list.
-"Headmaster Gray?" -Says the blonde, her eyes shining dangerously red- "We would like to interview one of your students, if you don't mind."
Penny Polendina considers herself an ambitious person. After all, she wants to become a normal girl, and that one heck of a wish, specially in her current circumstances. But just because one has a grand ambition, that doesn't mean one has to ignore the little pleasures along the way.
She's the first to admit that her current… state is far from ideal. Jolly Roger is a great vehicle, considering her friend Yang put it together from scrap pieces. But without any circuitry to connect them, there's no way for her to control it's features. Is this how a quadriplegic human would feel?
But even with that great shortcoming, she's content with the situation. Two friends care about her, and are always close. They even promised to find her a better body or take her to her father. She's never left her alone for too long either, and all that new things she's experiencing as a motorbike… the vibrations of the powerful engine, the tires against the asphalt of the road and the wind against her while they rode… they were all invigorating feelings. She can't help but be grateful about the interesting experience. Specially after spending months confined inside a metal box.
Immersed in such reflections, she almost misses the white-clad girl, furtively leaving Academy grounds.
-"Friend Weiss?" -She calls- "Is that you?"
Aaaand that's it. For a chapter I didn't give a penny for (pun intended) it ended up being decently long. You guys can thank Ivory. If this was a deep story intended to last long, he'll be the mysterious OC that would keep you wondering whose side he truly is in, but that's unfortunately not the case. He ended up growing a bit on me, and that's noteworthy, I don't really dig into male characters.
Also, anyone knows a good Weiss/Penny romance fic? How's the pairing named? Is that even a thing? You guys wouldn't believe how much I'd like to read about that after writing this chapter.
And lastly, but probably the most important. I'm terminating this series. Most likely with the next chapter. I could blame it to my recent lack of time (I think I already mentioned that last month I got a real job for the first time in years. Man, I'd forgotten how time-consuming that can be) but that's not all.
Since the start, I wrote the first chapter as a standalone story. And while I've done my best to keep the quality up with the follow up, my heart is not really here, and my brain can only do so much by itself. I'm sorry to all the people enjoying the series, I'll try to end with a bang (and without killing anyone)!
Until next time:
-Planeshunter.