Howdy, folks, how's it going?
You know, I am actually kind of amazed that I have finally reached this point. I have been envisioning the events of this chapter for years now. To finally put them to paper… Feels good to say the least.
As always, a huge shout out to Chaos for his input and aid.
And for once, also a shout out to the reviewer Flagarach, who provided a legit medical report explaining how Ruby's brain damage could believably work. You rock, m8.
Also as usual, I own neither RWBY nor LoL. If I did, Clover wouldn't have been holding the idiot ball that tightly in the former and we'd have a Bloodmoon Trundle skin in the later by now.
And with that, enjoy the end of volume 1.
/
It was an early evening that found a colourful group of teens lying in wait on the roof of a warehouse in Vale's docks district. One of said teens, not for the first time, saw fit to question why this was.
"So," Weiss begun as she lay hiding by the roof's edge, her voice measured and steady and very much not exasperated. "Let me see if I am understanding this right."
The heiress pointed at Penny. "You, despite being a student and a participant of the tournament, are also actually an agent of the Atlesian military, and have been given a mission to intercept a White Fang raid on SDC shipments that's going to be happening soon."
"That would be correct." The redhead confirmed, backed by a whirr from the ball floating beside her, her eyes not leaving the empty dock beneath them, her smile not affected in the slightest by the rather sceptical demeanour with which the question had been asked.
A dainty index finger then turned to point at Ruby. "And you, somehow got the impression that letting her draft you to assist her was a good idea, and that you should in fact bring the whole team into this."
"Yes…" The red-cloaked girl mumbled in agreement, accompanied by a squawk and a nod from the crow on her shoulder.
Lastly, she turned to Jaune. "And you, for some reason also thought this was a good idea and also decided to drag your team along."
"That's just about the size of it." The boy concurred, looking mildly amused by her obvious struggle against the desire to bang her head against a wall.
"…I am surrounded by idiots." The white-haired girl eventually said, in that tone of voice that indicated an epiphany. "Seriously, am I the only one here who sees how absolutely asinine this is?"
"Now, I wouldn't put it quite that way," Ren interjected, sounding rather uncertain about these developments himself. "But I do have to question whether we should actually be here. I mean, we're students. Shouldn't we have left this to the police and the professional huntsmen?"
"Oh, the police is quite aware." Penny said, as casually as one might be talking about the weather. "My handlers have been in communications with them, and they're preparing an intervention. We are just being sent in as first responders until the backup can arrive. Worry not, I'm not anticipating any major issues."
"Yeah, c'mon, Ren," Nora butted in, cheerily agreeing with her fellow redhead. "We're being given a free pass to kick some bad guy butt! Where's your sense of adventure?"
"Probably crying in a corner somewhere." The boy deadpanned.
"Oh stop being such a sourpuss. Oh, I know, if it makes you feel better, think of this as an extracurricular activity!" The excitable girl cheered encouragingly.
"Not like I can ignore this now that I know of it…" The boy replied as he resignedly shook his head.
"How are you so certain there is going to be a raid?" Blake questioned, giving Penny a look that was somewhere between confusion and suspicion. "Why did Atlas even send you?"
"The recent upturn of dust robberies here in Vale has drawn the attention of Atlas." The girl replied matter-of-factly, in a way that almost sounded rehearsed. "There's concerns on how a dust shortage might affect the incoming festival, which both Vale and Atlas have vested interests in ensuring runs smoothly. A cooperative investigation into attacks on SDC shipments between the kingdoms revealed certain patterns to the heists. They've been steadily increasing in scope, so it would stand to logic this shipment would be a prime candidate for the next target. As for why me specifically, I just happened to be the closest asset on account of coming to participate in the festival."
"And you're sure the White Fang is involved? Something this big does not seem to fit their MO…" The black-haired girl prodded in an uncertain tone.
"You would know about that, wouldn't you, Belladonna?" Weiss retorted icily, earning her a flinch from her teammate and a confused look from team JNPR and Penny, who finally stopped gazing over the docks to shift a confused look in between the glaring heiress and the faunus who couldn't meet the former's eyes.
"Weiss, now is really not the time for that…" Yang interjected in quiet pleading. "We have some issues to sort out, I get it, but you two can't be at each other's throats right now."
The heiress made to open her mouth to reply, when she noticed the warning gaze of her team leader upon her, and promptly closed it with an annoyed scoff.
"Oh," Penny suddenly said as she witnessed the interaction, as if something just now clicked. "So this is why you asked to bring your team in, Ruby? Trying to reconcile the heiress of the Schnee with the scion of the Belladonnas?"
"What?!" Blake turned her head towards the redhead so fast it was a wonder her neck didn't snap. "How do you know about that?"
"Your name and your ears?" Was the reply, as Penny pointed at the black bow upon her head just as it twitched once. "I wasn't aware your parentage and faunus heritage was supposed to be some sort of secret."
"Huuuh, what?" Jaune questioned, blinking in confusion.
Ruby decided it'd probably be better to just get on with it.
"Blake faunus, former White Fang." She muttered sleepily, not acknowledging the odd, wheezing whine that escaped the black-haired girl's lips at the words. "Weiss mad. Big argument. Both not like White Fang, so brought to cooperate, make up, be team again."
…
…
…
"Wonderful…" Blake muttered pitifully, reacting to the innocent comment by slumping by the chimney, hugging her legs as she hid her face with her knees in a vain attempt to shield herself from the surprised stares of those who hadn't been in the know yet about her apparently not so well kept secret.
"Hhheeerrrmm," Pyrrha, ever the nice girl, went to her side and began patting her on the back in an awkward attempt at comfort. "For what is worth, I have no idea what the issue is here, and I don't think the rest of the team does either…"
"Not really."
"No."
"Nope!"
"…Thanks." The cat faunus muttered lamely, her voice muffled and tone awkward.
"To actually answer your question," Penny continued, seemingly taking pity on the girl's distress and trying to shift topics. "My superiors have heard it from a reliable source that the White Fang has been in contact with Torchwick. It stands to logic that they'd be looking for a partnership."
Blake made a face at that, not unlike the grimace one might make upon tasting something particularly unpleasant, clearly not liking what was said but having no reason not to believe it.
"The question that still remains unanswered now is," Weiss interjected, her icy gaze boring into the unperturbed redhead. "Why did you bring us into this?"
"Well, technically, I only requested the aid of Ruby and Jaune," Penny admitted with a shrug. "But I wasn't about to say no when they offered to call upon the rest of you."
"And why them, specifically?" The white-haired girl pressed, her gaze shifting in between the trio as if seeking to make sense of a particularly odd puzzle.
"That's classified. If I told you, I'd have to kill you." The freckled girl replied with a stern frown, causing the heiress to blanch and Ruby to blink at the sudden shift in demeanour… for all of 5 seconds before the girl cracked a grin. "No, I'm just messing with you. I've been hoping for an opportunity to say that forever." She mused sardonically, as if amused by a joke only she was privy to. "I mostly was just curious. Job should be a breeze with the students that stood up to an Ebonmaw on my side."
"…News of that mess have been spreading around, have they?" Jaune couldn't help but ask to no one in particular.
"Well, I wouldn-" Penny's head suddenly snapped towards the sea, piercing green eyes scanning the horizon with unerring focus, the cheery, smile melting into a blank seriousness. "We've got incoming."
The sudden statement and the even more sudden shift in demeanour took the rest of those present by surprise, the students crouching back down into hiding, hands on their weapons and bodies tense.
"What?" Weiss voiced in confusion, staring out in the same direction as the freckled girl, but finding nothing out in the darkness. "I don't see anything…"
"Wait," Blake got up and sneaked to the edge of the roof, a frown on her face as her bow began twitching. "She's right, I hear… engines. Someone's coming."
No sooner had she spoken, a faint rumbling noise indeed began to make itself heard, and a group of large figures broke out from the murky night, the moonlight revealing them as they grew closer to be a squad of bullheads. As the students observed unnoticed, two of the ships landed on the empty docks, and out from them came a group of figures that immediately began spreading around the complex with practiced efficiency. Even from the slight distance, it was hard to miss the black hoods and white masks.
"…Intel not faulty." Ruby mumbled, Merle giving a low croon of agreement.
"It would seem not." Penny concurred ponderingly, as she noted that two of the ships simply had their passengers jump off rather than land. "Four bullheads, 25 grunts give or take, and they're heading straight for the SDC cargo. They've been preparing for this."
Ruby was about to reply to that, when something caught her attention. Out from one of the Bullheads, came a figure that looked markedly different from the surrounding Faunus grunts, in type of attire if not color scheme.
"…Torchwick." She said, the faintest traces of a frown on her face, drawing the teams' attention to the thief as he began barking orders to the White Fang.
"That he is, seems like intel was two for two." Was the reply from the freckled girl.
"This doesn't make sense…" Blake interjected, sounding as if watching the heist going on below was somewhere between painful and confusing. "The White Fang has never needed to raid for supplies in these quantities before, and they'd certainly not resort to working with a thief like him."
She chose to ignore the way Weiss contemptuously rolled her eyes at the words.
"Well, not to be that guy," Jaune saw fit to cut in before the heiress could say something scathing. "But I don't think the hows or whys matter much right now. They're here, they're stealing the dust. What does matter is, what are we gonna do about it?"
"Go in and break their legs?" Nora asked, rather eagerly.
"Yes, actually."
"Fine, no leg br-Wait seriously?" The hyperactive girl couldn't help but double take at the unexpected agreement from her fellow redhead, a reaction that was mirrored by her partner and most of the students present.
"Well, maybe not resorting to limb breaking specifically." The girl clarified. "But at this point I calculate that a stealthy approach would at best allow us to take out 6 or so of them before the others caught on regardless. A surprise attack with a strong entrance is more likely to settle the matter quickly and with minimum risk. In other words, yes, we're gonna go in and beat up all of them."
Nora blinked, blinked again, blinked some more, and then to Ren's obvious distress grinned a grin just this side of manic. "Can we be besties?"
"After this is done with, sure!" Penny replied enthusiastically, before her expression once again became serious and collected. "I would recommend that we separate our forces. Yang, Weiss, Blake, once I give the signal, you go to the left building and stop the grunts that are setting up a perimeter around the dock. Pyrrha, Nora, Ren, you go right and handle the ones that are securing the dust containers. Ruby, Jaune and I will handle Torchwick and the bullheads." She turned her smile towards the younger girl. "You've dealt with him before, I believe."
"Yes." The red-cloak girl confirmed. "Can again."
"Outstanding. So, any questions?"
Most of the others present didn't really have anything to say against the plan, their weapons already out and at the ready. Only Weiss really had anything she felt needed be mentioned.
"Fine," She grumbled resignedly. "Since we're here, might as well deal with this madness. What will be this signal?"
"Oh trust me," The freckled redhead grinned widely. "You'll know when you see it. Now, start heading to the other buildings. We're going in shortly."
"Good luck, guys. Don't worry, you got this." Jaune said towards the rest of his team, giving an encouraging smile. Observing how the simple action seemed to drain some of the tension the trio had been showing, Ruby blinked, then turned to her own team.
"Got this…" She mumbled with a nod. She didn't quite understand the looks it earned her, but she assumed it worked.
With that, the two groups were on the move, discreetly jumping the gaps between warehouses to reach their position, leaving their team leaders and Penny alone on the roof.
"So," The mechanical girl started genially, her tone clearly excited. "You two ready?"
"As I'll ever be, I suppose." Jaune answered, some shades of nervousness in his tone.
"Yes." Ruby said simply, as Merle took off from her shoulder, giving the redhead an inquisitive stare. "You?"
"Oh do not worry about me. A long time may have passed, but I still remember what makes people tick…" She said, friendly smile frozen on her face as her head tilted in a rather stilted, mechanical fashion. "And I still remember how to make the ticking stop."
With that, Penny fully stood up, uncaring of being sighted in the darkness by the faunus below, the ball by her side whirring with eagerness. The android's bright green eyes turned to the skies, focusing on the two bullheads that hovered over the waters just out the docks, then she swung her arm forward, a fluidity in the motion that brought to mind a conductor leading their orchestra.
"Throw."
A series of clicks and a metallic keening noise followed the words as the floating sphere suddenly shot off into the darkness, the green lines running across its surface beginning to glow with steadily intensifying light. It kept going until it abruptly halted, hovering high above the ground, right between the two ships.
The night suddenly lit up in neon green as a bright surge of energy pulsed out of the orb, a shockwave that swiftly surged towards the bullheads, their pilots just barely having the time to glimpse at and wonder about the odd glow suddenly between them. Once it made contact, both ships were pushed tumbling away from the ball as if struck by a physical force. Odder than that, however, was how when the surging wave began receding, the bullheads found themselves being pulled along, the pilots desperately trying to break and move away like fish caught in a net. But by the time the ball cut off the pulse and dove out of the way, it was far too late to do anything but desperately jump off as the massive steel bulks slammed into each other with a defeaning roar before they were sent crashing into the waters below, causing a massive burst of spray to shoot upwards upon impact.
"…Well," Jaune commented, after a few seconds of picking up his jaw. "That wasn't scary at all…"
"Stronger than remember…" Ruby muttered ponderingly.
"I did have quite some time to upgrade." Penny answered with a grin as she proceeded to step off the roof into the grounds below, a small crater forming beneath her upon landing, and calmly begun to walk towards the landed ships at the center of the docks.
"…Is she showing off to us?" The blond boy couldn't help but ask. He found no reply but for the silent fluttering of petals and feathers, as he noticed that Ruby was already rematerializing at the redhead's side.
With a shake of his head, the blond boy made to follow, using his blades as steps on the way down.
/
"What the fuck was that?!" A White Fang grunt, still holding the cables that were supposed to be attached to the containers so the bullheads up in the air could carry them, openly gawked at the spectacle of said ships being suddenly blown out of the sky.
"The coolest signal I've ever seen, that's what!"
"What the f-" The hapless grunt did not have the time to finish voicing his confusion at the unexpected response, for as soon as he turned his head in the direction of the call, he promptly got a face-full of hammer. He was out like a light before his body even hit the ground.
"Next!" Nora cheered tauntingly towards his very confused colleagues.
"Nora," Ren sighed wearily as he approached. "Just because we got the all clear to engage doesn't mean you should not try to avoid causing massive head trauma."
"Oh come on, that was barely a love tap! And he had his aura on." The cheery redhead protested, then noticed the rest of the grunts were shaking off the surprise. "Details later, chhhhaaaaaaaarrrrrggggggeeee!"
She proceeded to do just that, her fellow teammates following soon after, quick to offer pre-emptive apologies to the White Fang as they fell upon them.
/
A bit further on the other side of the docks, another grunt's reaction to the odd spectacle was a bit more muted, if only because experience had taught this one that when explosions started happening, they had been made by whoever they'd been trying to raid. He and is squad, veterans of the cause one and all, thus immediately formed ranks, weapons at the ready, as they tried to figure out where the attack was coming from.
It ended up working against them when a wave of ice froze them all in place.
"That was rather easier than I expected." Weiss commented airily as she walked over, glancing at the few goons that avoided the barrage like they barely even registered in her mind. "Do you reprobates know why the rabble of the White Fang tends to not be too difficult to deal with?"
"Schnee!" One of the goons hissed, quite literally as a forked tongue lashed out, voice filled with vitriol as he recognized the heiress. "Get her-Hhrk!"
He didn't manage to finish the sentence before something slammed into him from behind. By the time he shook off the dizziness and figure out what was happening, he and his other six still free comrades had been subdued and tied up in a bundle with some sort of… black ribbon?
"That would be it." The white-haired girl commented as her teammates walked over to her side. "Just the mere mention of my name and you idiots seem to lose all higher brain functions."
"Fuck you, bitch, I'll kill you!" Was the loudest amongst the fair few angry retorts spat by the restrained terrorists.
"I'm afraid you'd have to take a number and get in line." Was the careless answer.
"Weiss…" Blake interjected somewhat nervously. "I know you have your reasons, but maybe you should stop antagonizing them when they're already down?"
"Wait…" Another of the grunts started, his attention suddenly drawn to the black-haired girl. "You're… You're Belladonna! What are you doing here? Why are you working with the Schnee?! Traitor!"
The cat faunus couldn't help but wince at the accusation. Never mind that it was technically true and that she wanted nothing to do with the organization anymore, it still stung. But right now, she had more pressing concerns.
"You're working with Torchwick, how's that any better?" She asked, trying to fish for information, but to her confusion, the man seemed to calm down.
"Doesn't matter, I suppose." He stated calmly. "You two are gonna be dealt with soon enough."
"Oh, by whom? Torchwick?" Weiss scoffed. "That two-bit thief is probably soiling himself as we speak."
"Not the human." The grunt sneered derisively, before something akin to apprehension flashed across his face as he continued ominously. "No, it's his little freak of a sidekick you should worry about…"
/
With the sedate pace Penny had taken during their approach, it really was not surprising they had been spotted less than halfway towards the landed bullheads.
"Oh great, more brats interrupting my work…" Torchwick grunted, his tone clearly annoyed, as his eyes move through the incoming trio, landed on the little red menace, and a paling grimace grew on his face. "Oh, not you again…"
"Roman Torchwick." Penny called out, in an oddly prim, professional tone. "By the authorities of Vale and Atlas, I am here to detain you. You can either surrender and come quietly, or resist arrest and be dragged in regardless." She gave a little, peppy smile. "Honestly, I am fine with either."
Gritting his teeth, the thief turned to the grunts around him. "What are you animals waiting for?! Get them!"
They did not immediately react, many of them clearly not amused at the derogatory order, but as the trio approached, the hesitation vanished, and a charge ensued.
"Ruby, Jaune." The robot girl called. "I'm going to clear a path. Get to Torchwick."
Without waiting for a reply, she swung her arms forwards, and with a long, high-pitched whirr the ball shot forward, slamming into the closest approaching grunt and sending him flying, ricocheting off the impact into another slightly behind that one, moving like a pinball to the rhythm of Penny's fluid motions against anything that approached. Pretty soon the number of fighters had dwindled enough that there was a clear line straight for Torchwick. A chance that was immediately ceased as Ruby vanished into a red and black cloud, surging towards the man.
Torchwick reacted by bringing up his cane to line up a shot, but was immediately forced to dodge as something came slashing at him, a quick glance behind allowing him to see an intricately decorated floating blade tearing a gash on the bullhead, before floating back towards the blond brat charging him. And by the time he turned fully towards him, the thief got slammed on his side, sending him into a rough tumble across the ground. He immediately tried to stand, but the weight of someone stepping on his back and the edge of a very familiar scythe being pressed to his throat gave him pause.
"Stop." Ruby said firmly, her features hidden in the darkness of her hood as she stared down at the thief.
"Hello to you too, Red…" The man replied with a calm that he wasn't really feeling right now, especially when the slightest motion had that blade pressing further. "I'd say it's good to see you, but that'd be the opposite of the truth."
Ignoring the man, the red-cloaked girl took the time to take stock of their situation. Penny was clearing out the bulk of the White Fang around the Bullheads, Jaune having joined in on that after providing her with a distraction.
It seemed like they had this fairly dealt with as things were going…
"Caw!"
Ruby immediately removed her scythe and brought it up in a parry as a stiletto blade came soaring towards her face. Metal clashed against metal as eyes of silver and green met eyes of brown and pink. The small, daintily dressed girl she recognized from that night stood there, giving her a big, cheeky smile and perhaps even odder, a wink.
She hadn't had the time to see it then, but this time, this close, it was plain to see, to feel. There was something off about the girl, but Ruby couldn't put her finger on it…
The shifting beneath her as Torchwick turned to try to shoot her forced the red-cloaked girl to speed backwards, taking a stance as she observed the other girl and the rising criminal.
"Neo," The man said, his voice laced with contemptuous sarcasm. "Lovely timing as always."
That cheeky smile grew just a tiny bit wider.
"Yes, I am quite sure you must be feeling really proud of yourself right now," The thief continued in this oddly one-sided conversation. "Just as I'm sure that you were most definitely not watching this whole operation going down in flames and only decided to be of some use at the last possible moment."
The girl's answer to that was to tilt her head slightly, putting a finger to her lip in an exaggerated pose of cutesy innocence.
"Yes, yes, I'm sure that usually works." The man rolled his eyes. "But I know you well enough by now. Enough screwing around, it's time to earn your keep."
The girl puffed up her cheeks in a pout, but she did seem to listen as she turned back to the red cloaked girl with a big wide grin and twist of her umbrella. Ruby replied by raising her hand and sending a blast of dark winds flying towards her, the writhing darkness taking the shape of a spectral crow as it flew closer.
Neo casually sidestepped the apparition, staring at the red-cloaked girl in a way that seemed to ask, 'That's it?'.
Then the apparition melted back into an amorphous dark mass, and shot backwards, slamming right into the dainty girl's back… And Ruby's eyes widened minutely as the darkness seemed to almost wash over her diminutive figure, with no apparent effect.
…That, Ruby mused, had never happened before.
Seemingly deciding that now was her turn, Neo charged, blitzing in while stabbing the bladed tip of her umbrella forward. Ruby vanished in a black and red cloud as it was about to make contact, bypassing her attacker to gun straight for Torchwick, figuring she might as well take him out of the fight completely.
"Caw!" Merle cried out from his overhead flight.
And Ruby stopped just in time to avoid the blade a hair's breadth from her silver eye as Neo suddenly shimmered into view right in front of her. She backed up, considering the girl whose cheeky grin turned taunting, almost screaming 'Not gonna be that easy'.
…Fine, if that's how it's going to be.
Once again, the two strange girls vanished, a speeding red and black blur being matched by a shimmering haze as they appeared and disappeared around the area, clashing weapons all throughout.
As this was happening, Torchwick made to get back into one of the bullheads to make his escape. He was promptly stopped when another floating blade came speeding towards him, embedding itself on the floor right at his feet, the thief barely having the time to turn and bring up his cane to block the following strike as Jaune was swiftly approaching him. The man promptly lined up a shot and pulled the trigger, but as before the blazing dust projectile could reach its mark, the ball suddenly appeared right next to the blond, a protective green barrier manifesting around the two. Torchwick spared a glance further back, to see the other brat casually making her way to the scene, those useless grunts all sprawled on the floor in various degrees of incapacitation.
"What is it with kids these days…?" He ground out through gritted teeth, as he suddenly found himself dodging, blocking and parrying the curtain of flashing still that the blond brat was weaving around him with those freaky floating swords. "Neo!"
The girl, currently locking weapons with Ruby on top of the bullhead, rolled her eyes at the call, before once more vanishing in a shimmering haze. The next moment she was by the thief's side, trying to impale Jaune from the side, only to be denied by the protective barrier provided by the ball.
As Ruby followed, appearing between the criminal duo and the bullhead, Torchwick once more made to shoot, but a strike from one of Jaune's blades pushed the cane upwards, making the shot go wide.
And it was then that disaster struck.
"Squawk-!"
In the silence that followed the roaring of Melodic Cudgel, a small figure fell from the sky, landing right in front of the red-cloaked girl.
At that moment, the silence seemed to grow downright stifling, a presence suddenly making itself felt in the air, forcing everyone in the area to cease, the very world around them to still.
Her scythe suddenly falling from slackened fingers and vanishing into nothing, Ruby ever so slowly looked down, staring at the still, unmoving avian form before her.
…
…
"Merle…?" She whispered in confusion, incomprehension for once plain to see in her usually blank expression. There was no answer.
And suddenly, the girl's eyes widened as she doubled over with a gasp. Her entire body began trembling, as she fell to her knees while bringing shaking hands to grasp at her head.
The presence grew in intensity, an insidious whispering at the back of the mind which was swiftly growing into a chorus that physically weighted them down, mired them in place like viscous tar.
"…Ruby?" Jaune couldn't help but whisper, confusion, concern, and no small amount of fear clouding his thoughts.
The girl suddenly threw back her head, beacons of ghastly green light shooting out from her eyes.
Then she opened her mouth, and a noise that had no place in a sane world echoed throughout the night.
A pillar of eldritch green power shot up into the sky, and as the blasphemous, nightmarish shriek continued, it was answered by millions upon millions of raving caws. A black tornado suddenly sprang into existence around the girl, obscuring her from view with countless fluttering black wings.
And as those present watched on in undisguised horror, parts of the spiralling, murderous flock split off for the towering, ever shifting column, tendrils of beaks and talons that lashed out against the nearest targets.
The bullhead that had been behind Ruby was struck first, pushed away by sheer ferocity as the shadowy cloud burst in through the open door and burst out through the hull on the other side.
Neo, having been the closest, suddenly found herself seemingly engulfed, and flung away from the docks, into the waters of the bay beyond. That was all the prompt that Torchwick needed to immediately begin running as fast as he was able.
Jaune, on the other hand, found himself unable to move, frozen in place as he watched with undisguised horror, his mind unable to comprehend what was happening, unable to feel anything but pure, sheer horror-
A hand clamped down firmly on his shoulder.
"Jaune, snap out of it!" Penny cried out to him, struggling to make herself heard above the howling winds and ravenous shrieks and what was that noise? "The murder's growing, we need to get away! Move!"
The words seemed to be enough to jar the boy out of his addled state, to realize with no small amount of dread that yes, the dark hurricane was indeed growing wider. So he let the tugging of the robot girl guide him as the two followed the thief in gaining some distance from the storm.
They just barely managed it. The White Fang grunts they ran by, just now starting to come to from the earlier beat downs, were not nearly so fortunate. Most found themselves engulfed in the advancing swarm, their horrified cries drowned out by the incessant noise. A few more, just as they were getting back to their feet, caught one glimpse of what stood before them and just… stumbled back down, their faces locked in a rictus of terror.
The duo soon managed to overtake Torchwick, who suddenly found himself the target of one of the many flailing tendrils. Just before it could hit however, a shimmering haze appeared at his side, revealing a soaked Neo. With a cheeky grin, the girl grabbed the panicked man's shoulder, and both their figures blurred out of existence, as if suddenly disappearing in murky waters.
When Penny and Jaune were halfway across the yard, however, it finally registered to them that the flock was no longer following. Daring to turn and look back, they saw the massive dark spiral shrinking somewhat, the black tendrils receding as the flock took the indistinct shape of a dome, and just remained there, as the noise kept rattling through reality all around them.
"Guys!" Jaune turned to the side to see the rest of his team approaching hesitantly. From the other end, came Weiss, Blake and Yang.
"What in blazes is going on?!" The white-haired girl shouted, looking flabbergasted at what was going on.
"I, I don't know!" The blond yelled back. "It's Ruby, something's wrong with her! Merle got shot and suddenly she snapped!"
At that, a faint whimper was heard, drawing the groups attention to Yang, the blonde girl petrified in place, trembling as she watched what was going on with terror plain to see in her face.
"Yang?" Blake asked in concern, but didn't get any reply from her borderline catatonic partner, not even when she grabbed at her shoulder and shook it. "Yang, snap out of it."
"It's no use." Penny cut in, voice heavy with uncertainty and her face grim as she accessed the situation. "It's Ruby's power doing this. It's out of control. I don't know how to stop it. And it gets worse, right now she's only affecting the area around the docks. I calculate that if this power keeps spreading further…"
"It'll cause a city-wide panic and attract the Grimm in mass." Pyrrha concluded nervously, to general alarm.
"Yes," Penny confirmed. "If it keeps going at this rate, the city will fall by tomorrow night at the latest."
"…Shit." Jaune summed up what everyone was feeling at that point. "So what do we do? How do we calm Ruby down?"
"You misunderstand."
"What?"
"Ruby's not lashing out in anger." Penny clarified, a weary sadness on her face. "Can you not hear that…?"
Jaune did not understand what the robotic girl was saying. His eyes once more fell to the dome, to the ghastly pale glow visible behind the myriad black shapes, trying his best to blot out that blasphemous dirge…
…Suddenly, the world seemed to slow down, in a way that the boy was all too familiar with. A serene feeling bloomed within him, a faint presence brought to him by the floating blades at his side. The faint, echoing ghost of Irelia was lending him her aid, shielding him from the dreadful presence of Ruby's power, allowing him to hear…
And he heard.
Beneath the howling winds, beneath the murderous caws, beneath the static that seemed to crackle across reality itself, beneath the inhuman wail that would haunt his nightmares for the rest of his life…
…Beneath all of it, there was only the screams of a young girl crying out in agony.
"…Pain. Ruby's in pain. What happened to Merle affected her somehow…" Jaune realized with shock, before his expression settled into a calm, determined frown. "Penny."
"Yes?"
"I have an idea. Can you get me to Ruby?" He asked, causing all eyes to fall on him with varying degrees of shock and disbelief.
The girl did not immediately reply, staring between him and their objective with a quiet, calculating look.
"I might." She eventually replied. "What do you have in mind?"
"My semblance." Jaune answered. "If I get close enough to use it on Ruby, it might put a stop to this."
"So, we will be betting the future of the kingdom on a faint hope?" The ancient android asked.
"It's not much." He admitted. "But right now it is all I have. If you got any ideas, I am open to suggestions."
"…Nothing immediately comes to mind." She concluded, smiling softly as she shook her head. "Let's go save our friend."
Jaune smiled back, before turning to the others. "Guys, stay here, and if the police or other huntsmen show up, tell them to stay back, maybe prepare for evacuations. There's a million ways this could go wrong."
They wanted to protest that, he could see it in their eyes, but as the shrieking within the dome got louder and louder, none had the heart to try to stop him.
So decided, the duo began to approach the eldritch storm. To their surprise, they were not accosted as they approached, the flock seemingly content to ignore them, even as they stood at the edge of the dome.
"Are you prepared for this, Jaune?" Penny asked.
"…No." The boy admitted, if only to himself. "But Ruby wouldn't have hesitated if the roles were reversed. It's the least I can do."
"Good answer." The ancient being smiled, nodding in approval, before turning to the floating sphere by her side. "Ball, command code Protection: Maximum output."
With a whirring beep, the ball complied, an orb of green energy surrounding the duo.
"It's gonna be rough in there. Stay close." Penny cautioned, to which Jaune merely nodded.
And then, they stepped into the storm.
Immediately, they were battered by the countless shades that swarmed in from all sides, shrieking and clawing and pecking and slamming into the green barrier in a disorienting cacophony. They lost sight of what was behind them, there was no path forward, little way of even telling in which direction they were going. At one point, they stumbled into something that may have been a body, now too mangled and shredded to fully identify, and swiftly moved past the grizzly remains, trying to pay them as little mind as they could.
Onwards they pressed, and the further they went, the more the dark storm outside seemed to push back. The barrier buckled and strained, but for the time being it held.
Then, as quickly as it had surrounded them, the murder dispersed. The student of Beacon and the Atlas operative found themselves inside the dome, in a literal eye within the storm.
And there they found Ruby, still kneeling, still screaming.
"Get me closer." Jaune asked, to which the redhead nodded, moving them forwards until the barrier around them encompassed the red-cloaked girl as well.
The second that happened, the calm within the dome vanished, as darkness came to crash into the barrier from all directions once more.
"Jaune," Penny said, her voice strained with effort. "We will not be able to keep this up for much longer. Whatever it is you want to do, do it fast."
Needing no further prompting, the boy approached the red-cloaked girl. This close, he could notice with no small amount of distress the cracks of pale green that had begun to spread in Ruby's face, widening around her eyes and mouth. He then noticed, right there in the ground before her, the fallen, still form of Merle, which made the boy ponder. If it had been the bird getting hurt that had triggered this reaction from his friend, then maybe…
Kneeling down before her, Jaune gingerly placed a hand to the bird's chest. A white glow sprang forth as he let his semblance kick in, shifting from his hand to the tiny feathered body. It poured, and poured, and poured, aura being drained from the boy in far greater amounts than should've been expected from the diminutive creature.
A loud sound of shattering glass heralded a crack in the barrier that was all that prevented the duo from being torn apart.
Then, there was a twitch.
Slowly, ever so slowly, Merle opened a beady, black eye, letting out a low, pitiful croon as it awoke.
And just like that, the darkness outside dispersed, fading from reality as if it had never been, just as the barrier around them shattered and faded in particles of light.
Ruby went silent, slumping to the ground, and the presence that had been asserting itself upon the world vanished, reality taking its normal pace once more.
As Jaune let go of Merle, the crow clumsily got back up, and immediately made to approach the still girl. The boy did the same, immediately and frantically looking for a pulse…
The sigh he released when he felt it, faint but steady, under his fingers was long and loud as he allowed himself to slump on his back next to her.
They'd done it.
/
"And that's the situation now, Headmaster." Glynda finished the report of the mess that had happened earlier that night. It was well past midnight now, and he knew he'd be awake most of the night dealing with the fallout.
"How are the children, now?" He asked what he felt to be the most relevant question first.
"Most of them are shaken, but uninjured." The woman answered, even her calm professionalism not being enough to hide the concern in her tone. "Mr. Arc had a case of aura exhaustion, but he'll recover swiftly. The perks of his semblance, I suppose. Miss Rose, on the other hand… she's under observation in the infirmary, and there's no telling when she'll wake up."
"I see…" Ozpin replied, giving nothing away. "Were there any consequences to Miss Rose's… breakdown?"
"There were casualties among the White Fang. Leave it at that. Other than that, there was a slight upsurge in Grimm activity at the borders of Vale, but nothing the assigned patrols couldn't handle."
"And for once, the council can't stir up trouble about this." He stated more than asked.
"Indeed not. Another silver lining, I suppose. As they were acting under the authority of an Atlesian agent, there was nothing illegal about their actions at the docks." She frowned then. "I will be having words with James about that."
The headmaster pitied the poor man when that happened.
"Thank you, Glynda." He said at length. "If that would be all, go make sure the children are well settled, then go get yourself some rest."
"Sir." She nodded, then about turned and headed towards the elevator, leaving Ozpin alone in his office.
With a weary sigh, the man slumped back into his seat. What a mess.
No sense in pushing this back any longer….
He reached for a hidden button on the underside of the desk. With a click and the noise of rolling gears, a compartment opened before him, a small dais rising. On top of it, an inconspicuous, purple crystal stood. Without a word, the headmaster grabbed it, and focused.
Within moments, the crystal began glowing brightly, a misty image manifesting on top of it.
"Kiddo!" A loud, jovial voice rumbled from the other side. "Been a while since you called."
"Indeed it has, old friend." Ozpin replied, smiling despite himself. "How have the Grimmlands been treating you?"
"Eeeeeeh, you know, seeing the sights, killing beasties, trying to hunt down the pasty white bitch. Business as usual." The figure shrugged. "But you didn't call me for chitchat. What's up, Oz?"
"To the point as ever." The headmaster conceded. "I need you to come to Beacon. One of your… old colleagues has resurfaced."
"Ooooohhhh?" The figure prodded curiously. "Someone's still around after all this time? Who is it?"
"A certain scythe-wielding, frightening character."
"…Well, shit. Didn't think the scarecrow would ever see fit to get off his arse and do something. This could be a problem."
"Not as much as you may believe. She as proven herself quite cordial so far and-"
"Wait. Wait,waitwaitwaitwait. Back up…She?!"
"Indeed." Ozpin confirmed, a press of a button causing a screen to appear behind him, showing the picture of the girl in question and a few filmed scenes of her exploits. "Ruby Rose, current first year at the academy. Scary at times, but quite well-intentioned at heart."
"…What the actual fuck?" The figure breathed out. "You know what, screw it. You got me curious now. I'll be there in a few weeks."
"I figured as much. See you soon, then." The Headmaster replied as he cut off the connection.
On the other side of the call, under a red sky far away from any sort of civilization, the man pocketed his own crystal.
"Well, shit. Things might finally be getting interesting…"
His musings were interrupted by a loud growl behind him. Casually, he turned, finding himself face to face with a troupe of well over 30 Beringels, the ape-like monstrosities moving to encircle him, cutting off any escape.
"Well, back to work for now, I guess." He said, resting his staff on his shoulder as he cried out tauntingly. "Alright, ya creeps, who wants a piece of the champ?"
/
Later that night, in a park by the river in Vale's residential area, a dainty little girl sat, happily eating an ice-cream cone. The fact that she was still soaking wet from the earlier debacle did little to prevent her from enjoying the frozen snack.
Often the girl wondered how she could have spent so long without trying these lovely treats.
Her mind then wondered to the old acquaintances she saw earlier today. Seeing the red-cloaked girl the first time had been surprising enough, but now the boy with the will of blades and even the lady of clockwork herself?
How absolutely delightful.
And they hadn't even recognized her. How so very rude.
The girl took a glance down at her cute, petite body, and shrugged. Then again, she probably would not have recognized herself.
Done with her ice-cream, the girl rose from the bench, walking in no particular direction.
She knew that things were now in motion. And friends both old and new were gathering in response. There was so much catching up to do…
But she could afford to wait just a little bit longer.
After all, time was but another river.
The girl grinned at the thought, a grin that almost seemed to spread too wide and almost seemed to reveal too many teeth.
Then she disappeared into the night, skipping to the beat of a silent, long-forgotten tune.
/
Dun, duun, DDDDDDDDDUUUUUUUUUNNNNNN!
The plot thickens, and more and more blasts from the past keep showing up.
After Rubysticks, Jaunilia and Penny O.R., I now bring to you Neo Kench. And a certain grandmaster at arms will soon be entering the fray too.
Betcha guys wouldn't have guessed that one was'a comin'.
And I am very much looking forward to seeing your reactions, thoughts and speculations on the matter as we move forward, so don't hesitate to leave dem sweet, sweet reviews.
Next up, will be the March update to Beneath a Broken Moon, so look forward to that.
Cya all on the next one.