Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or World of Tanks

"I'm telling you guys," Jaune insisted, "There's a... a whatchamacallit-"

"I'm still pretty sure it's a tank," Ruby reminded, and Jaune nodded, "A-A tank, that wants to kill us, and we can't kill it! Or, uh, n-not permanently, anyway."

He let the silence of that revelation fall amongst his classmates. They were all gathered- surprisingly organized for it being only their second day of classes- amongst two rows of seats in their first class of the day, professor Oobleck's history class. The reveal shocked all of them to their core, as they remained silent-

"Yeah, sure," Yang said. Jaune persisted, "It's real! I saw it!"

"I'm sure you saw something," Pyrrha soothed, and Nora pointed out, "We could just smash it!"

"But then it would just come back!" Jaune retorted, "That's the point!"

A long moment of silence followed.

"So it's just a ghost story," Blake said, and Jaune shook his head, "Th-The other tank people said they'd be back, alright?"

"Did they provide any evidence?" Weiss argued. Jaune fell silent, and Weiss said, "Then there's no reason to believe any of this."

"But if they are right," Jaune pointed out. Weiss sighed deeply, and Ruby answered, "Then we'll just stop them again, right?"

Weiss nodded, "There's no reason to believe that we aren't capable of dealing with them."

"But then they'd come back again!" Jaune said, and Blake questioned, "Why haven't they come back yet?"

Jaune hesitated a moment.

"Is this entire scenario perhaps fictional?" Weiss put in, "Made to inflate their worth so that the headmaster won't see their lack of qualifications?"

"I mean, they did get out of the forest," Ruby pointed out, "Doesn't that make them ready for Beacon?"

Weiss retorted, "Hardly."

Yang nodded, "I... actually kinda agree. Getting in here was really hard, and they just showed up."

"Oh," Ruby murmured, then nervously chuckled and nodded, "Y-Yeah, I, uh, guess it's us on our, uh... merits, over them."

"Didn't you get in just by stopping one robbery?" Blake questioned, "I think it was on the news."

"I, as your leader, think we should talk about something else!" Ruby quickly said, "Uh... so, Jaune, what kind of gun did the tank have?"

Yang rolled her eyes, and Jaune answered, "Uh... a big one?"

"Cool," Ruby nodded, "Like, big in terms of caliber or was it long? Or both?"

"Oh, hey, here they come," Yang informed, pointing at the front of class. And, sure enough, through the door came the four newcomers, still in their red coats, quietly sitting down at the first set of available desks. Jaune said, "They'd, uh, know more about the tank than me."

"Okay," Ruby said, and then immediately left. Weiss sighed, and Blake questioned, "Yang, shouldn't you do something?"

"It gets her to talk to other people," Yang shrugged, and Weiss noted, "In this case, that may be a bad thing."

Yang glanced at the white-haired heiress, who was glaring quite vehemently at the group, and joked, "What's wrong, ice cream? Are you jello now?"

"What?" Weiss perplexed, and Jaune agreed, "Yeah, what?"

Yang haphazardly explained, "Well, y'know, ice queen, ice cream, jealous, jello, they're both deserts-"

"I am not jealous of them," Weiss shot, "I'm concerned for our leader."

"Sure," Yang nodded, and Pyrrha noted, "They seem pleasant."

"I mean, other than that one weird guy who only talked to Weiss," Yang said, then realized, "Oh... that'd be why you think they're so bad..."

"That 'weird guy'," Weiss shot, "Is arrogant, rude, and bigoted in the extreme. I hesitate to say it, but I think Ozpin shouldn't have allowed him to stay on campus."

"Uh... the person following you yesterday?" Jaune questioned. Weiss nodded, and Jaune informed, "I- th-they- Gladys, um, killed him."

A long moment of silence followed after that.

"Ooh, but he'll just come back," Yang imitated, and Nora cheered, "And we can kill him again!"

A longer moment of silence followed.

"She's joking," Ren assured casually. Yang nodded, "Right."

Abruptly, the bell rang. Quickly, Ruby dashed back to her seat, and Oobleck stood up, and began lecturing.

-Later

Gladys sighed quietly as she sat down, then took a moment to look over, confirming that her crew had once again followed her. Around them, more students- fellow students, she mentally corrected herself- poured in, sitting down for the second class of the day; dueling. Which Gladys expected to quite excel in; she was, after all, well experienced in battle, even if the lessons of tank warfare wouldn't apply to the elegant dance of swordplay. There was one, though, that she considered to be relevant; surveying one's battlefield. Which, she suspected, was the place below. It didn't look like an area with much advantage to be had by either side by any means, merely a flat, large surface. But, still, that did present advantages; she wouldn't get caught on a piece of cover trying to retreat, for example, and her line-of-sight would be good.

The bell rang, and she straightened herself, looking ahead as Glynda entered the room, and called, "Miss Xiao-Long, you will begin today."

Gladys blinked, then realized that the woman simply jumping in made perfect sense. This was, after all, the second day of school; Gladys would have to instead ask another student what the terms of the duel were.

"I'm gonna fight Gladys," Yang said, standing up. Gladys blinked in surprise, and Glynda nodded, "Very well. You both have five minutes to get your equipment."

Gladys stood up, and considered objecting for a moment, wishing dearly that she knew the rules of the engagement. Ultimately, though, she didn't; she simply locked her gaze to Yang- already leaving to go wherever they were meant to go- and hurried to catch up to the blonde. She ended up doing so just as Yang left the main classroom area, and Yang almost immediately asked, "So, have you ever done this before?"

Gladys nodded, "In a manner of speaking, yes."

"Outside of your tank?" Yang retorted. Gladys shook her head, "I go outside of it when the fighting's already done."

She smiled a little, remembering the times when she and her crew would relax after a hard-fought match, having a spot of teatime. The sun and warm breezes greeting them in Yukon or Castilla, or looking at the moon and feeling the crisp, cold air in Winter Prokhorovka and (ATK). Simpler times, in essence; times when the fighting was impersonal, the danger farther away. Unconsciously, she let out a small sigh.

"I'll go easy on you," Yang said, "Goodwitch doesn't want us to really hurt each other, anyway."

"That's, ah, very good to hear," Gladys admitted, "Though I'll certainly do my utmost."

Yang snorted in amusement, and Gladys asked, "How long, by chance, have you been doing this?"

"Uh... since I was six," Yang answered, "In combat school. Though I used to wrestle with my uncle a lot..."

She sighed, too, and Gladys nodded, "To each their own reminiscing."

Yang shrugged, then turned a corner, entering a large room filled to the brim with metal lockers. Gladys tried opening one, and Yang questioned, "Did you get one, actually?"

Gladys shook her head, then noted, "I wasn't given equipment for a duel, either."

"Well, I just punch stuff, too," Yang said with a shrug, "Guess that means we'll just be faster."

"I suppose I could try my hand at fisticuffs," Gladys nodded, and Yang said, "Just wait a bit while I get my stuff."

Gladys nodded again, and Yang headed away. After a little bit, the blonde returned, now in the clothes she'd been wearing in the forest, complete with those rather sharp-looking- sharp as in the bladed sense- yellow bracers. Gladys guessed, "I suppose you're ready, then?"

"Yep," Yang nodded, heading away. Gladys followed, and the two strode out into the open arena. Standing in it, with the raised stands nearby, Gladys was suddenly overcome with something she rather rarely felt; a sense of smallness. Usually, she was in a tank, navigating world built for people, or simply a person appreciating a small bit of relaxation in that same world. Now, looking around, it seemed as if the arena she was in was built for giants.

"One of you is on each side," Glynda instructed. Gladys quickly nodded, "R-Righto."

Quickly, she headed back towards the locker room, before finally picking a place that was neither close to the exit nor close to the circle's middle. Everything was far away, and-

She sighed, clearing her nerves. Gladys would be fighting, after all; and the way to win a fight was to have a clear head, to notice when an enemy made a mistake and not make one yourself. Along with, of course, having some mediums that would cover your flanks, but that was beyond the purview of a woman-on-woman duel.

"Begin!" Glynda called. Gladys quickly raised her hands up in what was vaguely reminiscent of an attack position, her thumbs dumbly still kept below the rest of her fingers. Yang approached quickly- very, very quickly, all things considered. Gladys cried, "Have at-"

She didn't get the final word off, as she was cut off by a series of sounds. The first was a Boom!, as Yang punched Gladys in the side of the head, activating Ember Celica's trigger at the same time. The next was an extremely odd, distinct, unforgettable sort of wet mashing noise, as buckshot penetrated straight through Gladys' temple, mashing her meaty brain-bits in an instant. And then there was a thud.

Yang, of course, noticed that second noise, and naturally stopped. Ruby yelled, "Finish her! You can do it, sis!"

Those words ended up seeming completely out-of-touch, as a red pool of blood started flowing out of Gladys' head. Everything fell silent, and Yang stared at her hands, realizing there was blood on them. Realizing that they were the hands of a murderer.

"Bollocks," Ribbans griped, "Emma, go on and get the kit."

-Later

Yang stared at her lunch, not really seeing it. The ketchup, perhaps, was the only part she really saw- but even then, she wasn't really seeing the ketchup. She was seeing the red hue it had, which was, by some cosmic joke, roughly the same shade as Gladys' coat had been.

"Are you gonna eat that?" Nora loudly asked. Ren glanced at her sternly, and Nora objected, "What? It's sitting there."

"You can have it," Yang said, "I'm... gonna go take a walk."

"Alright," Ruby said, "Just... come back tonight, okay?"

Yang snorted softly, then nodded. It was sweet of her little sister to care... but Yang had to wonder if she really deserved it. As she left the cafeteria, Yang again glanced at her hands, the hands of a murderer. The weapons she'd used weren't on her wrists anymore, and she'd cleaned off the blood- there had been relatively little, after all, as the buckshot mostly spread the mess away from Yang's fist. But that didn't change the fact that there was still metaphorical blood on them, and did nothing about Yang being a killer.

Ozpin had said that it was alright to feel bad. Glynda had said it was her own fault, and that she should have recognized that Gladys wasn't registering on Beacon's Aura tracking system and called the match off. Ruby had said it wasn't Yang's fault, and that she couldn't have known. Weiss had pointed out that Gladys really should have spoken up about not having an Aura. Pyrrha had claimed that accidents happened all the time. Even Jaune had tried to make her feel better, saying that Gladys would've done the same. That last one didn't help at all- none of them did, really. At the end of the day, Yang had killed someone, after all.

The only one who hadn't tried to make her feel better was her own partner. Blake was silent most of the time, but in the hour that had passed since the match, the bookie hadn't said a word to Yang. Just... glaring. As if measuring Yang. It was almost as bad as the guilt in Yang's stomach; the thought that someone else knew that she was a monster. She had killed someone, after all- and even if everyone else said otherwise, Blake knew that Yang was a bad person for it. There was a person who was dead for it, after all.

But what stood out most was Gladys' own crew. Yang had expected them to be up in arms. She'd thought they would start screaming at her for killing their precious commander- but they didn't. The other woman among them had left first, and then the two men had carried Gladys' body away during the time that Ozpin was asking about the incident. The headmaster didn't even have a chance to ask them a question before they were just gone. They didn't come over to team RWBY's dorm to yell at Yang, either.

The breeze Yang had been feeling abruptly stopped, and she looked up, then saw the reason why. Stood just to her side was Gladys' tank; the boxy, somewhat ugly thing. Yang stared at it a while, wondering what would happen to it now that Gladys was dead. It was a bit of a silly thing to focus on, but it was better than thinking about the fact that the woman was dead. And besides, staring at the tank was rather calming; it stood motionless, exuding a sort of restrained martial spirit where it sat on the cool grass. Something about how it was shaped, maybe, made it seem like it was just holding guard there. It would also be a good piece of cover, Yang considered, and quietly started striding around it.

She hadn't let herself cry since the match. It wasn't right for her to cry, after all- she was the one who did the deed. Maybe that was what Gladys' crew were doing; mourning their lost commander, their fallen friend. What would give Yang the right to try and do the...

Her train of thought trailed completely off, as she rounded the corner and saw the four red-coated people sat on the grass around a tea pot with a few tea cups and a tin of biscuits. With an emphasis on four; Gladys was there. Head and all, sitting mostly upright.

"Bugger off," one of the men shot, then asked, "Could I repay her favor with a bit of Bofors?"

"No," Gladys said, shaking her not-exploded, not-bleeding head, "I was actually rather hoping she would come by."

Ribbans sighed, and Emma nodded, "Right, you should get your own revenge."

And then it was Gladys' turn to sigh.

"Wh-What?" Yang murmured, "How? I... what?"

"You are a very good pugilist," Gladys complimented, "But a simple multi-kit is very effective."

Yang blinked, then murmured, "Sh-She's really there, right?"

"You did kill our commander," the other man nodded, "But she's recovered."

"Just a bit sore," Gladys said, "I would have let you know, but we have Bosh to look out for."

Yang blinked, then stepped forward and reached towards Gladys-

"You'd better not," the first man shot, and the other woman agreed, "Haven't you done enough of that for one day? These people are savages."

"As if you're one to judge," the first man retorted. Gladys interjected, "It's quite alright."

Gently, the woman touched Yang's hand. It wasn't a firm touch, but it was a touch that did definitely exist.

"There you are," Gladys said, "I'm still alive, and you haven't hallucinated. I would offer you some tea for the trouble, but..."

She sighed, glancing around, and Yang pointed out, "But your head... it exploded..."

"I got better," Gladys said with a smile. The second man chuckled a little, and Yang fumed, "Y-You were alive, and you just... sat here and drank tea!"

Gladys nodded, and the other woman questioned, "Did you think she would run back to you?"

"I thought you would shout at me!" Yang said, "About killing her! Because she was dead!"

"You disappointed?" the first man said angrily, and Gladys said, "Please, Ribbans- save your anger for the Hun. They should be coming any second now."

"Does anyone else know you're still alive?" Yang asked. Gladys hesitated then shook her head, "I suppose not. But, still, there aren't too many people effected, sad as it is to say."

"But now I seem like a murderer!" Yang pointed out, "Because you were hit by me and died!"

Gladys paused, then nodded, "Oh, dear."

"You say 'murderer' like you didn't win a duel," Ribbans said, "I'd say it makes you a proper badass."

"No, she has a point," Gladys said, then sighed, and informed, "I would have come back for the next class regardless. I simply need to be around for in case Jerry pokes his Panzer around these parts again."

Yang sighed, then questioned, "That's real, too? There's a tank that just comes back? Would yours?"

"I believe so," Gladys said, and the other woman noted, "We haven't actually tried leaving like that."

"And all we would risk is being a bunch of corpses," Ribbans pointed out. Yang questioned, "What makes you think they'll come back?"

"Well, they did before," Gladys said, and Carney agreed, "I don't believe they would give up very easily, either."

"Rather a problem, that," Gladys nodded, and Yang demanded, "Come with me, and show everyone you aren't dead."

"Make another demand," Ribbans shot, "And I'll see if our MG works on people, at least."

"You aren't the only one here willing to bloody deck someone," the other woman agreed. Gladys interjected, "No, I... suppose I have rather put this off. This has been a nice return to the days of Mines and the old Yamato Harbor, Castilla..."

She sighed nostalgically, while Ribbans rolled his eyes.

"But being in a new world means I have new resposibilities, which I haven't handled," Gladys said, "Emma, you'll be commander, and Ribbans will serve as loader. If you see a Panzer III, shoot on sight- otherwise, wait for it to shoot someone else. Even if it's another Kraut tank. That clear, Ribbans?"

"Yes," Ribbans sighed, and Gladys nodded, "Very good. Give 'em hell for me."

Author's Note: Some of you have probably already guessed this, but I didn't really start this with a plot in mind, and don't really make the chapters with a plot in mind- the closest I have to that is some vague ideas of cool things I want to do in volume three. Usually, I'll be able to just make it up as I go, often times with the solution of 'idk, have a tank shoot something'. However, this is still volume one, and... well, I really struggled to figure out what to do with this chapter. I'm not going to do what I did with chapter two, and quickly push something out without it being able to connect into a chapter after and so on. So, I'm very sorry, but I'll probably take a while longer with the next chapter, as I try to manage where I want the plot to go. If it does release in the normal two-day timeframe; yay, I probably figured out what I'm doing, and this is all unnecessary. But I would be a liar if I said that was likely. To all of you reading this, who have- for some reason beyond my comprehension- taken a liking to my rambling, incoherent mess, I merely apologize.