RWBY: Team CRML
Chapter 53
Team CRML
Seeing the massive air fleet, Liam looked to Weiss. "Do you know what this is about?"
"No clue..."
"We are here in Atlas, though." Nicci said. "Maybe we could just land somewhere and get some answers?"
"I'm not so sure." Weiss said. "I've never seen our forces deployed so aggressively before. If we land in a stolen ship, there's no way the security team will let us anywhere near Ironwood. They might even take me back to my father."
"So, what then?" Marek asked.
"Winter!" Weiss chimed as she pulled out her scroll. "Put some distance between us and the fleet."
As the ship lowered into Mantle, the group flew passed a screen with Ironwood on it. "General Ironwood..." Yang said softly.
"He looks exhausted." Marek pointed out.
"James, what have you been doing?"
"This isn't right. None of this is right." Weiss said.
"Manta 5-1, we've noticed a detour in your route. You are to make your way to docking bay Omega 12 immediately. Do you copy? Over." the lady on the radio said.
"We're kind of running out of time here, kids."
Looking out the window, Liam pointed to a small clearing. "There. We can ditch the ship."
"Agreed. Get lost in Mantle and buy ourselves some time." Qrow nodded.
"I'm telling you, my sister can take us to Ironwood." Weiss said.
"Uh, Weiss?" Weiss walked over to Blake's side and looked out the window with her.
"A reminder." Winter said. She was displayed on a giant screen.
"Huh?"
"Failure to cooperate with Atlas military personnel is a punishable offense. If your sector is under lockdown…"
"Winter?"
"No offense, Weiss. I'm not sure that's a good idea anymore." Qrow told her.
"There's obviously something very wrong. If we can just talk to her, then we-"
"Look, I'm not even sure we should be talking to Ironwood until we know exactly what's going on with Mantle." Qrow cut her off.
"But-"
"Everyone, calm down. I know someone who can help with both." Maria said.
"Manta 5-1, you are to make your-"
Maria shut off the radio. "Geez, lady, take a hint!"
After landing the stolen ship in Mantle, Maria cautiously led the others out of an alley and down the street. "It shouldn't be much of a walk, come on."
As Maria led the group, Nicci looked around at everything going on around them, her fox ears folding back as her tail stiffened slightly as she felt more and more nervous. "Is this many Atlas guards usual in Mantle?"
"No." Weiss replied. "At least, I didn't think so."
As they walked, a loud crash was heard behind them. Looking back, Yang smiled awkwardly. "Maybe we should pick up the pace."
Continuing their walk, Blake and Nicci kept looking around. Team CRML stopped at the end of the sidewalk, as a truck with Faunus workers in the back drove by.
"This whole city just seems awful." Nicci said.
"Yeah?" the four glanced back to see a drunk man stumbling forward. "You don't like it here? There's plenty of space out in the tundra."
"Sorry, I didn't mean to-" Nicci tried to apologize.
"Atlas is the greatest Kingdom in the world, alright?!" the man said.
"Hey!" Marek stepped forward.
Nicci extended her arm in front of Marek. "We can't cause a scene."
Another drunk man, sitting on a porch to the right of the group, spoke up. "The embargo... The embargo's got us in a rough patch. But it'll blow over, you'll see."
"We try and help the other Kingdoms, and this is what happens? I say let 'em rot!" the firsr drunk man said.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to insult you."
The drunk man spit on the ground, glaring at Nicci. "Stupid Faunus like you wouldn't unders-"
He looked down to unscrew his flask and paused when he sees a black glyph beneath his feet. His glasses hover off his face as his eyes widen in surprise. The glyph flung him into the air, and he fell into a dumpster in the nearby alley, his glasses and flask accompanying him soon after. Marek, Liam and Nicci stare at the dumpster, then turn to see Chrome pointing his weapon where the man had been standing.
"What?" Chrome asked with a shrug. "I say it was worth it."
The group fled. However, a nearby drone managed to catch the whole thing.
Catching up with the others, they all walked inside a building with a glowing green plus sign above the door.
"Ah, it's good to see you again, old friend." Maria said.
An older man is sitting behind the desk, shuffling things around in a drawer. Maria cleared her throat, startling him. He lifted his head to look at her, shutting the drawer.
"Ah, yes, yes." he pushed a stack of papers aside. "Have we met?"
"Well, this is off to a fantastic start." Ren said.
"Cybernetic optical implants." Maria pointed to her eyes. "You adjust them. Every ten years or so?"
He stared at her for a few moments before throwing his hands cheerfully into the air.
"Maria!" The robotic chair he is sitting in walked out from behind the desk. "Yes, with the cybernetic optical implants! I adjust them every ten years or so." the man said. He offered his hand to her and led her to an examination table. "Oh wow, has it been that long already?"
"Ah, I know. I age like a fine wine. Would've been here sooner if I hadn't run into these jokers. At the time, I thought they might need my guidance while fighting a little old Sphinx." Maria said.
"Oh, did they?"
"No, no. They had much more complicated issues." Maria replied.
"Uh, excuse me." Marek stepped forward. "Who is this?"
"So impatient. I didn't think I'd need to introduce one of Atlas' finest minds." Maria said.
"Working in a place like this?" Nicci asked as she glanced around the room, raising an eyebrow.
"He likes to keep a low profile. Something I've come to realize none of you know anything about." Maria growled.
"You can call me Pietro." the man said.
"Finest heart, too. This pharmacy is just where he volunteers when he's not building the future of Atlas alongside Ironwood, up in the clouds."
"Oh, it's stuffy up there." Pietro said. "Down here, I get to help the locals and have a little fun. I'm currently working on shoes that make you dance. Wanna try 'em on?"
"YES!" Nora said, excitedly.
Yang suddenly stepped in. "Before we get to that, we were wondering if you could help us. We came to Atlas hoping to talk to General Ironwood, but um…"
"What exactly has been happening here?" Chrome asked.
"Well, the Fall of Beacon took a toll on all of us. James was no different. I couldn't tell you exactly what it was he saw there, but it changed him. He's…"
"He's scared." Qrow said.
"Paranoid would be the more appropriate term." Pietro corrected. "You have to understand, it wasn't just the Grimm. Someone completely dismantled Atlas security code, made it their play-thing, and made us look like traitors to some and buffoons to everyone else. Whoever managed to do that is either a genius or one of our own. I fear the answer may be both, and so does the general."
Marek suddenly placed a hand on his forehead as the memory of when he was injected with Beowolf DNA flashed in his mind.
"Maybe Atlas isn't as safe as we thought."
"After we came all this way, we can't just leave, can we?" Oscar asked.
"How does the council feel about all of this? Or Winter Schnee? Do you know anything about her?" Weiss asked.
"Well, the council's so scared, they'll agree to whatever he wants. Though, some representatives from Mantle…" he trailed off as his eyes widened. "Wait, you're… You're Weiss Schnee!"
Weiss gasped and stepped back, with her friends looking nervous.
"Wait, what was it that you were trying to say about Mantle?" Liam asked quickly.
Pietro looked at Yang's prosthetic arm. "You painted it."
"Huh?" she raised her arm in front of herself.
"Is everything okay?"
"You're Team RWBY!" Pietro said, looking at each of the four girls.
"You know us?!" Ruby asked, shocked.
"Oh, my girl, I do. I most certainly do. And I feel like such a dunce for not recognizing you sooner. My daughter's told me so much about you."
"Your daughter?" Nicci asked.
They weren't able to continue talking as a siren began going off. Civilians began running as the street lights turned red. "We'll have to finish the later." Liam said. "C'mon!" rushing outside, the others quickly followed.
Ruby and her team immediately stood side by side, as did Jaune and his. As for Chrome, and his three teammates, they all glanced to one another. Hearing a crash down the street, two Atlesian Knights were thrown onto the road, destroyed. Suddenly, a Sabyr, a Grimm that looked very close to a saber-tooth tiger, rushed the Huntsmen and Huntresses in training. A second passed, and the rest of the pack followed.
Chrome and his team rushed ahead, passing the others. Engaging the Grimm, more came from the other streets and even alleyways. Ruby, Jaune, and their teams worked to fight them off.
Nicci was the first to kill one of the Grimm, slashing her axe down onto one and firing her shotgun into another as it pounced at her. Dashing passed her, Liam created three copies of himself, each one charging a different Sabyr. With three distracted, Chrome pulled the lever on his hilt and threw the blade at on as Marek threw his spear at one while firing off a shot to spead it up. The spear went through Liam's copy, the Sabyr in front of it, and finally stopped as it impaled a second Grimm.
Rushing over, Marek picked up his weapon before falling to his knees as a third Grimm pounced at him, maw open and ready to bite. Thrusting his weapon into its open mouth, Marek flung the beast away. As it turned to dust, he used his semblance to absorb it for later use.
As another pack charged them, Liam spun around, ready to fight but froze as the area around him suddenly changed. He was back on Beacon Tower, Pyrrha a few feet away and Cinder about to kill her. Reaching out, Mist suddenly stepped in his path.
She vanished as a Sabyr pounced at him, only to be cut in half by a green beam. Flinching, Liam looked up to see a flying figure. As they slowly lowered to the ground, a loud gasp came from Ruby. "Penny!" Ruby shouted in surprise at the sight of her orange haired friend.
"Darling, why don't you say hello to your friends?" Pietro said.
Penny turned to look in the direction her father's voice came from. Upon seeing Ruby, she gasped and her eyes shine with joy. Ruby smiled and put her weapon away as Penny leaned forward a little.
"Sal…"
"Huh?"
Penny lowered to one knee as a high-pitched charging noise sounded.
"U..."
"Uh…?"
Penny began to gleefully sprint toward Ruby at high speed.
"Tations!"
Penny leapt forward and activated her jets, rocketing forward and tackling Ruby. Upon crashing to the ground, Ruby groaned in pain. Everyone else put their weapons away and approached the pair. Penny popped back up onto her feet, while Ruby slowly got up with her hand on her head.
"It is such a pleasure to see you all again!" Penny said.
Ruby began to tear up a bit. "Penny, I… I-I thought you…"
"Died?" Pietro asked as his riding chair moved over to Penny's side. "I guess, in a manner of speaking, she did. But we were able to recover her core from Amity Arena once it had made its way back to Atlas. It took me some time, but…"
"I'm as good as new! Better, even! And now I'm the official protector of the city!" Penny said, proud.
"That's my girl." Pietro smiled. "We're not going to let a little ripping to shreds stop us, are we?" he laughed, before coughing.
"No sir!"
"This is…"
"Strangely wholesome." Blake finished for Nicci.
"Sounds like Penny to me."
"We have so many things to catch up about. I cannot wait!" Penny said. Just as Penny finished her sentence with a grin, the city's alarms begin blaring again. "It seems we will have to wait."
Penny bounced backward and performed a salute. She charged her jets and then rocketed off into the sky as she continues speaking quickly to Ruby even as she takes off. "Let's talk more later! I can't wait to hear about all of your adventures and tell you how I have been and I am just very excited about the whole experience!"
After a few seconds, Marek shrugged. "That was unexpected."
"Never a dull moment."
"But I wouldn't say unwelcome. I was honestly expecting things to go a lot rougher." Qrow said.
The group began following Maria and Pietro. However, as they walk, several bolases wrap around Nora, Oscar, Jaune and Ren, the spheres at the ends of the ropes locking into place with Gravity Dust. Blake turns to look back at the commotion, just in time for all of Team RWBY to be caught. As they hit the ground, four more wrap around Team CRML. As Ruby fell, the Relic of Knowledge unhooked from her belt and clattered to the ground. Qrow drew his sword and looked for their unseen enemy, before being captured himself. Five uniform-clad people come out of hiding and surround the group.
"Good work, team."
"Hey! What's going on?!" Oscar shouted.
"Hey, pal! I'm a licensed Huntsman! Just helped save everyone?" Qrow said.
The leader, from the looks of him, looked down at Qrow, twirling a horseshoe on his finger. He put the horseshoe away and picked up Qrow's weapon. The other uniformed operatives begin gathering everyone else's weapons, while Atlesian Knight-200s approach, and the operatives hand the confiscated weapons to the robots. Clover then approached Ruby, picked up the Relic, and looked at it.
"Hm. Let's get them loaded into the next transport."
"Please! We were just trying to help!" Ruby yelled.
"This is one helluva way of saying 'thanks'!" Marek shouted, his bandanna falling off his face as his hood slid off his head.
One of them noticed and knelt down to look at him. "You... don't look like a Faunus I've ever seen."
Marek glared back at her.
"What is the meaning of this?" Pietro asked. "What are the Ace-Ops even doing down here in Mantle?"
"Ace-Ops?" Liam asked.
"Doctor, good to see you. Well, we heard a report of an unauthorized ship making an unauthorized landing, followed by an unauthorized use of weapons by unlicensed Huntsmen." the leader replied.
"If we could just talk this out-"
"They'll be able to talk this out once they get to Atlas. Let's move out!"
The Ace-Ops split up and leave the area. Team RWBY, Team JNR, Team CRML Oscar and Qrow are forced into the back of a secure van with their wrists bound.
"Now, this… This is much closer to what I was expecting." Qrow said as the doors shut.
Liam glared at his father. "Shut up, Qrow."
Minutes earlier, Mist
Seeing an airship pass overhead, Mist immediately got curious. "What's the matter?" Watts asked, noticing her distraction.
"There weren't any Atlas airships scheduled to land in Mantle today, right?" Mist asked.
"That's correct."
"Hm." Mist suddenly got an idea. "I'll be right back."
Running up the side of a building, Mist grabbed the edge of a windowsill, pulling herself up before jumping to catched the edge of the roof. Climbing up, Mist quickly began following the airship. Watching it land, a lot of familiar faces emerged from it. "You gotta be shitting me." Mist growled. "What the hell are you annoying pests doing here?"
Crouching down, she began stalking them.
After a few minutes, Mist watched them enter Pietro's store. Getting an idea in her head, Mist pulled out her scroll and called the Atlas police. Telling them what was happening, Mist was told that the Ace-Ops would be there shortly to take care of it and that she stay on the line. Doing so, the city's arms began going off. Watching as they fought Grimm, Mist informed the woman on the phone of their weapons. "Thank you, miss." there were a few seconds of silence. "The Ace-Ops have been informed. May I get your name?"
"Oh, yeah, my name is-" Mist hung up and crushed her scroll, which was a burner. Watching the group, her eyes landed on Liam. "Hm..." thinking back to Haven, she remembered how he didn't seem fazed fighting the person who tried to kill him. Using her semblance, which she borrowed from Emerald, she made Liam think he was back on Beacon Tower.
Seeing him hesitate, Mist smiled. "So, it did affect you." she chuckled softly. "Good to know."
As Penny showed up, and the last of the Grimm were killed, Mist silently dropped back down to ground level, running back to Watts to continue their plan.
End of chapter 53
