Howdy, folks, how's it going?
Hope you all have been keeping safe.
Another month, another update, not much more to say here. However, if you take the time to check the author's notes at the end, there ARE a few things that I feel need to be mentioned.
As always, shout out to Chaos Productions for his continued assistance in shaping my stories.
And as always, I own neither RWBY nor LoL.
Enjoy!
/
"So," Arslan stated, in the privacy of their booth in a fairly empty snack bar, as she regarded Penny with an appraising look. "You're a robot."
"Technically, I am a human in a converted synthetic body." The robot in question clarified with a friendly nod. "Though I suppose the difference at that point is pretty negligible."
"And you're really, really, really old." The buhru girl continued.
"This is correct." The redhead confirmed bemusedly.
"Old enough to remember a time before the coming of the Grimm, and to be personally acquainted with Jaune's predecessor, that girl's demon and my own people's forebears." The platinum blonde further probed as her gaze swept through the people around the table. "And we know that something happened that pretty much broke things and eventually got us to the world as is right now, but you have no idea what exactly."
"Indeed." Penny replied with a small smile. "Although I will say, it is actually quite nice to see that the buhru managed to survive to the modern day in some way."
"…Uh." Arslan eventually voiced, after a few moments of owlish blinking as she processed the revelations she had just been told. "Alright, then."
"You're taking this remarkably well." Penny could not help but comment at her rather blasé reaction.
"Well, from what you've said is not like I don't have anything to do with all this. It is quite surprising to see that the old tales of my people about how the world used to be different had some truth to them, but we don't care all too much about the past other than to learn not to do the same mistakes in our future." The buhru replied with a shrug, glancing at Jaune. It didn't escape Ruby's notice how she'd yet to let go of his hand, but it didn't seem polite to mention it. "If it's Jaune vouching for all of this, then it's most likely the truth of it. No point fussing too much about it."
The boy couldn't help but return the stare with a bemused but fond smile, touched despite himself at the implicit trust.
"…Eh, definitely buhru." Penny replied with a small chuckle, before turning to Jaune with a more serious, somber expression. "Jaune, you have my condolences… and I am sorry. I should've noticed any heightened White Fang activity in the city after the docks. This… might have been avoided if I had…"
"Hey, hey, none of that." The boy interjected with a tone of finality, before faltering into a weary sigh. "I appreciate it, Penny. Really, I do. But it's not your fault this happened. And we cannot get hung up on "what ifs" and "could have beens", or we're never gonna get anything done. What matters now is to…" He faltered, Arslan's hand giving his own a squeeze in silent support. "To do what Tukson would have wanted, which is to make sure those bastards don't get their hands on the collection. Everything else, we can sort out after it is safely stored in Beacon."
"…Very well." The redhead replied, her somberness replaced by a kind, approving smile. "In that case, I would like to offer my assistance in this, if you would have it. I am technically still an Atlesian asset in the city, to deal with the White Fang situation for the Festival. Helping ensure they don't get what they want is well within the parameters I was assigned."
"Wait, they still have you on that, even after the mess at the docks?" Jaune inquired, suppressing a shiver at the memories of that night.
"You've still not told me what was that all about, by the way." Arslan interjected curiously, not missing how Ruby seemed to slump slightly and her crow suddenly seemed to find the table extremely fascinating.
"Not the time now, Arslan. I swear I'll explain later." The boy replied, giving her a look that made her nod in reluctant acceptance.
"To actually answer your question, yes, that is still my assignment. Now more than ever, they really want the White Fang dealt with before it can threaten the festival. They kind of believe I was instrumental in stopping the situation then from escalating too far, and so they want me ready to intervene for whatever else may happen." The ancient robot then leaned forward, speaking in a stage whisper. "Also the security footage of that night may or may not have been compromised, so they kind of had to take me at my word as their only agent present. It was good fortune that Headmaster Ozpin seems keen to keep things under wraps, because he apparently helped smooth things over."
"But you really were a big part of how we-" Jaune stopped as the words clicked, staring blankly at the girl for a long moment. "…Penny, did you just say you tampered with the video evidence to trick the Atlesian military?"
"Well, I wouldn't quite say trick." The redhead replied with obvious mirth as she glanced at Ruby. "I may or may not have just taken the opportunity to divert their attention away from you, and fully into what was already their primary focus anyway, by focusing my report on how things only really went sideways after something Torchwick did and let them draw their own conclusions."
"They believe…?" Ruby inquired, with a small tilt of her head.
"Thing is, other than my father, nobody in Atlas actually knows the full truth of my circumstances. A fair lot of the people who even know I exist just think me a more advanced version of the regular Atlesian Knights, that he's got on a tight leash. General Ironwood does know I am a fully sentient being, but he thinks that I'm just eager to please." The ancient robot smiled slily. "You'd be surprised at how much freedom you can have when the people that believe themselves in charge of you don't really expect you to have the ability to decide for yourself what you want to do."
…
…
…
"…I gotta say, Penny, hearing stuff like that, it's really a huge relief that you don't intend to rise up and destroy us all." Jaune eventually replied in a deadpan manner, which made the robotic girl giggle lightly.
"Eh, I like this one." Arslan concluded with a pleasantly surprised smirk. "She's pretty in motion for a machine."
"Well, I suppose you could say that my motion got a bit of a jumpstart recently." Penny replied, sounding appreciative of the praise. Ruby had the feeling that the words meant more to her than Arslan realized. Illaoi certainly would not have shared that opinion of how the Lady of Clockwork had been… "At any rate, I understand that the moving of the collection will be happening soon, yes? What's the plan?"
"Let's see…" Jaune muttered, as he took a moment to glance at his scroll, checking the time and the messages. "Yeah, we told the rest of our teams to come meet us here, they should be arriving in a bit. By then the guys at the firm should have things ready, so it's off to escort the collection to the air strip and all the way into Beacon."
"Would you like me to have some Atlesian forces ready to intervene in case back up proves necessary?" Penny inquired, earning her a look from the boy that started out startled but quickly grew pondering.
"What kind of forces are we talking about here?"
"Nothing too major, I'm afraid. The bulk of the Atlesian military sent to help protect the Festival will only be arriving in a few days along with the General, but I did come with an escort, a small squad that is currently settled at the Atlesian embassy with me." Penny explained, her demeanour suddenly more serious and to the point. "I can have them ready to deploy at a moment's notice, if you so wish. If nothing else, we have a couple of ships that could help escort the flight back to the Academy."
"Hhhhmm…" Jaune pondered this information, sharing a look with Ruby, who simply nodded. "You know what, if you can have them waiting for us at the airport, but ready to come to us if it proves necessary, that'll do. The extra support might come in handy, if the White Fang really does try something."
"As you say." The robot conceded, her pupils shrinking and growing faintly. "Done. They'll be waiting for us when we arrive."
"Great." The boy nodded gratefully, before looking around to see they'd all been done with their food for a good while now. "Uh, maybe we should head outside, it'd be easier for the others to find us."
Nobody saw a reason to object, so the bill was paid (courtesy of an insisting Penny), and a few moments later they were in the busy streets of Vale, to Arslan's discomfort.
"So, just to confirm," Penny continued the conversation as she looked up and down the street. "It's gonna be us, the rest of your respective teams, plus the drivers the company's gonna send, correct?"
Ruby nodded in confirmation, but then a small detail that she had overlooked suddenly sprang to mind, causing Merle to startle at the sudden realization.
"Jaune," She called out to the boy, earning her a curious look. "Forgot one…"
"What-Oh crap, that's right!" Jaune retorted after moment of confusion, eyes going wide as he realized the implications. "There is someone else. Ozpin said he was going to send some backup of his own, and well…"
"Know who prolly is…" Ruby continued when the boy hesitated, staring blankly at the robot, who now was looking between the two of them with a raise eyebrow at their sudden evasiveness.
"Oh? Who is it? I don't believe I am acquainted with anyone in the Headmaster's circles other than Ironwood and you guys, I haven't even met the man yet…" The ancient android said ponderingly. "Someone else with power or gear familiar to me, I take it?"
"I suppose you could say that, yeah."
"BEEEEEEP!?"
…
…
…
At the sudden, casual response from an unexpected but very familiar voice, Penny let out a startled gasp and went very, very still, noticing how the duo standing before her were now looking to something behind her. Ruby glanced back towards the very wide-eyed, fearfully expectant stare, and gave a small, encouraging nod. Slowly, very slowly, the redhead and her sphere turned around.
Standing there just a bit further down the street, was none other than Jax, approaching the group in a lazy stroll. Even through the mask, it felt like the champion was staring at his long-lost colleague appraisingly. The ball went wild, whirring and beeping as it darted all over, but Penny herself just stood there, as still as a statue, just dumbfoundedly staring back…
"Long time no see, Orianna." The grandmaster at arms greeted with a nod, far more casually than the moment had any right to be. "I gotta say, dead eyes over there was already a surprise, but when she told me you'd gone and gotten yourself an upgrade, I wasn't expecting it to be by this much. Really gotta question what's up with Atlesian tastes if they go for all that faceless white and black look when we coulda' had this-"
He didn't manage to get much more out other than a slight grunt, as the girl suddenly barreled into him, wrapping her arms around his torso, and clinging on like he was the life-line to a girl lost at sea, the ball slowly orbiting around them, as if seeking to capture the moment from every angle possible. And while the champion did not look particularly comfortable with the contact, to Ruby's quiet vindication, he still had the decency to not comment on it, and even awkwardly return the hug, one wrapped hand hesitantly patting at her back.
Jaune and Ruby did not dare interrupt the scene, each understanding fully well what this reencounter meant for the robotic champion. Arslan did not interrupt mostly because they hadn't, for once able to read the mood.
After a while, Penny finally, if reluctantly, loosened her embrace a bit, head turning up to take a good, long look at the cloaked champion, as if trying to reaffirm that what she was seeing was indeed real.
"You are actually here." She eventually stated by way of conclusion, her tone one of surprised wonder.
"Last I checked, yeah." The man answered glibly with a small shrug. "Guess the kid there was right about you getting your emotions back too. Good on ya', really."
"How? Where have you been all this time? How did you not change one bit? How did things even turn out like this? Why-" Penny's words eventually petered out, the redhead shaking her head ruefully. "I have so many questions…"
"I'm sure you do." He conceded with a nod, placing his hands on the girl's shoulders and gently pushing her off. "Hate to be that guy, though, but I think longer explanations will have to wait, since I'm technically down here on a job and we ain't got much time to dawdle. The kiddo wants that stuff safely back in his joint asap. You're welcome to stick around after it gets there, though. He wanted to meet you anyway, I'm sure he'll like to be there when we're bringing you up to speed."
Penny made to protest, but the words died in her mouth as she apparently pondered the situation, then she reluctantly nodded.
"…Fine." She huffed with a pout, giving her fellow ancient a stern glare. "I got to this point, I suppose I can afford to wait a little bit more. But we are gonna be talking at Beacon."
Her unhappy demeanour apparently did little more than amuse the hooded man, as he reached out to pat her on the head with a chuckle.
"Well, ain't you just the most adorable metal gal now, Orianna." He said with open amusement. "First the scarecrow, now you. Next you'll tell me freakin' Thresh's still around somewhere as a cute goth 12-year-old or something."
The robot girl looked supremely annoyed at the man's behavior, but nobody really missed how she leaned into the touch regardless, even as she grumbled. "You really have not changed one bit. And the name is Penny now."
"Is anybody gonna fill me in here, or what?" The moment was finally interrupted by Arslan, the girl no longer managing to contain her curiosity as she looked on with a raised eyebrow, earning her an exasperated sigh from Jaune.
"Well, you remember all that stuff about the League and champions and stuff? Turns out…"
"Jax, champion." Ruby finished for him. "Older than Penny. Really old."
"Not too old to beat the ever-loving crap out of you at practice, dead eyes." The champion drawled out dryly, to which Ruby just stared blankly, while Merle shot him a dirty look.
Arslan for her part, took this information in stride with a small, curious 'huh', as she sized up the man before her.
"Yeah, I can believe that." She concluded after a moment of silent pondering, some slight confusion in her expression. "There is something off about this one, that I think could only really be explained by such circumstances."
"Well, ain't you the observant one." Jax replied as he met her gaze evenly. "Just going with the flow, how buhru of you. Illaoi would be proud."
"Moving on," Jaune cut in before Arslan could retort. "I take it you're the assistance Ozpin mentioned."
"Got it in one, kid." The champion nodded. "Guess it's just fitting that I'd be part of this little shindig given what we're dealing with. You do have a plan for how this's gonna go, right?"
"Kind of? It basically boils down to "escort the transport and beat back anyone that tries to take my stuff"." Jaune admitted, rubbing the back of his head contritely.
"Simple plan. I like it. People complicate too much nowadays." The champion nodded approvingly, without a hint of mockery, before shouldering his staff. "Welp, I'll be off to do my part, then."
"And that is?"
"I'll be keeping an eye out from the sidelines, and handle whatever I see that looks like it could give ya trouble."
"…We're gonna be riding on a truck." Jaune pointed out. "How are you gonna keep up?"
"Kid, you're talking to the champ." The man snorted, amused that such a thing could be considered a hindrance. "Don't worry, I got ya covered, and I'll be there if shit goes sideways. Nice seein' ya again, Orianna. We'll have a beer later, assuming you can."
His piece said, Jax turned and walked away with a lazy wave, vanishing behind a building.
"Well, he's certainly a character." Arslan commented after a moment of silence, with a hint of approval. "Odd how one who feels so stagnant can be so in motion…"
"He was always like that, even back in the day." Penny replied with an amused shake of her head. "Always doing things his own way, regardless of what anyone else thought. And could always get away with it too."
"Oh, there you guys are!"
The sudden, unexpected call was followed by a swiftly approaching purple blur, which turned out to be Arslan's green-haired teammate, riding on the hoverboard that Ruby had since learned was actually her weapon. An original choice, if she was being honest, although one that did not seem terribly practical. Maybe Jax was really on to something with his thoughts on modern weaponry, the red-cloaked girl pondered to herself…
"Reese." The platinum blonde greeted, nodding in acknowledgement, and giving a knowing smile. "Just couldn't help but take an opportunity for a ride, could you?"
"You know it, boss! Rest of the gang shouldn't be too far behind, though. Yang was bringing her bike too. How cool is it to actually have a bike?! Maybe I should think about getting a license…" The green-haired girl replied with a cheery grin, which held strong as she turned to look curiously at Penny but faltered slightly when it turned to Ruby. "Oh, uh, hi, Ruby… So, who's the new girl?"
Ruby had to give credit where credit was due. Reese, Bolin and Nadir, Arslan's teammates, were a friendly bunch, and had gotten along well enough with the rest of Jaune and her own teams, always joining them in their usually otherwise deserted corner of the cafeteria or any given classroom, but like everybody else among the students they were… uncomfortable around her, to say the least. She didn't think she'd seen Nadir manage to finish a sentence while speaking to her yet. Apparently that even earned them some comradeship with the rest of JNPR, who'd been pretty much on the same boat earlier in the year. They were better now, fortunately (though according to Jaune, Ren's Semblance had gotten a lot of mileage during that earlier period…), and she could appreciate that Arslan's team at least still made the effort to be civil despite how scary they thought she was. Maybe they'd stick around long enough to get better at it as well…
"Hello, there, I'm Penny O.R. Polendina. I'm a friend of Ruby and Jaune, and I'll be lending my assistance to what you'll be doing in a short while." The redhead introduced herself with a polite smile.
"That so? Well, the more the merrier, I say. Reese Chloris, nice to meetcha!" The girl replied happily, before noticing the Ball curiously approaching her, and with a squeal she wrapped it in a hug, earning a happy little whirr from it. "Aw, ain't you just the cutest thing?"
Merle could only stare sourly at the scene, as if it was something he'd have enjoyed watching if not for how much the annoying drone was obviously enjoying the attention.
At that moment though, the roar of an engine was heard, as Yang arrived, appearing from a corner from the other end of the street. A small, familiar crowd arrived from the same way not long after.
"There you all are." Weiss said as soon as they had all gotten within earshot, before doing a small double take as she noticed the one unexpected person. "Penny? You're gonna be helping with this?"
"But of course," The redhead replied, waving her hand in greeting. "I always have time to help my friends."
After a few moments of introducing the Atlesian to the ones who didn't know her yet, the Heiress turned towards Jaune, for once not showing any exasperation as she addressed him with somber respect. "And speaking of help, Ar- Jaune… are you certain that you want me here? As I understand it, the idea is to not draw the White Fang's attention. Having something they want and someone they hate in the same place might be… somewhat counterproductive to that."
Ruby calmly watched as Jaune listened to her partner's worries. For the briefest of moments, something seemed to flash before his eyes, vanishing swiftly as he pondered the question. It wasn't anything that she could pick up on with her senses, but for some reason, it made her feel some concern…
"Well, to be honest, I did consider that." The blond conceded the point calmly, his gaze going around the assembled students before falling back on her. "But honestly, given… given what they've shown themselves to be willing to do to get their hands on this stuff, I don't really think we can slip under the radar so easily. And don't get me wrong, I hope that I am worrying too much over nothing and this transport run goes smoothly. But if they do try anything? Well, then I'd rather have all hands on-deck to deal with it as quickly as possible. That said, you don't have to be here if you don't wish to, Weiss. This isn't really your fight, and I wouldn't hold it against you."
He blinked when the white-haired girl scoffed at the last chance to back out.
"Who do you take me for, Arc? This is the White Fang, of course it's my fight. And I'd imagine same goes for Blake." She stated imperiously, while for her part the faunus nodded in silent support. "Besides, I wouldn't refuse to help a… somewhat tolerable acquaintance. Most of the time, at least."
"Fair enough." He conceded bemusedly, guessing this was probably as much of an acknowledgement of friendship as he'd ever get out of her. "What about you guys?"
Yang shuffled awkwardly at the sudden question, before replying with a quiet, but resolute voice. "I want to help. It's important to Ruby and to you."
She seemed surprised when her sister came to her side and put a hand on her shoulder in quiet appreciation.
"Really, Jaune?" Nora replied, a surprisingly serious expression on her face. "You really think we wouldn't want to help our fearless leader break the legs of the people who hurt him?"
In the background, a disturbed Bolin quietly mouthed 'break the legs..?' to Yang, who could only shake her head in a 'don't ask' way.
"What she said." Ren said with a slight smile, nodding his head towards his partner. Jaune for his part, could not help the smile that grew on his face at the unhesitant support. He then turned towards his own partner, his expression suddenly nervous.
"We're in this together, Jaune." The redhead said with a smile, that while sad, and even somewhat ashamed, was the first genuine one she had given him in a fair while, and he cherished it for it as he gave her a grateful nod. He had missed his friend these days…
"Before you ask," Bolin spoke up as he then turned towards them. "Not counting everything else, you're important to Arslan. That's good enough for us. We're in."
"Awww," The platinum-blonde in question smirked, throwing an arm around her teammate's shoulder playfully. "I'm so proud of these kids of mine."
"You'd probably beat the crap out of us if we didn't pitch in…" The boy retorted dryly, though there was no real bite to the words.
"Everybody… Thank you." Jaune stated, after a moment needed to steady himself. "Let's get going then."
At that, he begun leading the group back towards the nondescript building of the security firm. As they approached, a figure could be seen standing by the entrance.
"Ah, Mr. Arc." The familiar clerk greeted with a polite nod. "Right on time, and with quite the back up too."
"Is everything ready?" The blond asked after a respectful nod of his own.
"Quite so." The man replied, sweeping his arm towards the entrance. "If you would follow me."
With that, he led the group inside the firm, passing the lobby and taking some stairs down, towards an inner parking lot, where a small fleet of jet-black vehicles of several different models was. He led them towards a particular one, a rather large, heavy looking box truck, the walls of the container at its back looking rather sturdy, with a smaller, but no less impressively armored jeep by its side.
"This is the toughest transport vehicle we have available." The clerk explained in his politely professional manner as they approached it. "It could survive a goliath stampede with minimal damage. It was deemed the best option for this… delicate task."
As they got closer, they saw a couple of men standing at attention before the truck, clad in black apparel with the firm's logo on it.
"These two gentlemen will be the drivers. They're not at huntsmen level, but they have been trained for these sorts of missions, know the city like the back of their hands, and have their aura awakened. They will see you through."
"So, I take it you're the client." One of the drivers said, nodding towards Jaune and then calmly looking over the students present. "Quite the escort we're getting."
"Is that gonna be an issue? I mean, room-wise." Jaune inquired, getting a pondering grunt from the man.
"Well, we got room in the truck itself for four people in passenger seats, besides the driver, and one more seat inside the container proper, while the escort armored vehicle can take another five. That leaves three out."
"Hhhmm, Yang, how many people can your bike take?" Jaune asked after a moment of consideration.
"Two people, normally. Three, if we squeeze together tight." The blonde replied promptly.
"Hhhhm, how about this then?" The boy suggested, fully embracing the role of team leader. "Weiss, Pyrrha, Arslan, Penny and I will take the truck. Penny, you can ride in the container if you wish. That'll place some heavy hitters closest to the objective. Blake, Nora, Ren, Bolin, and Nadir will take the armored vehicle, where they'll be quick to move as necessary and make good use of their range (sorry, Bolin). Yang, you take Ruby and Reese on Bumblebee. Should be easier that way, since with your mobility you'll all be able to act quicker."
After a moment's consideration, nobody found any cause for objecting to this plan. Penny and Reese in particular seemed delighted, the former for the chance to take a look at remnants of her time, the latter likely for the chance to ride on a bike.
"Good, remember everyone, stay sharp. We're hoping for the best and preparing for the worse here, but above all else, no matter what happens, we'll all be going back to Beacon today." Jaune stated meaningfully, with a serious look at the group that was met with a series of nods and affirmatives, before turning towards the clerk. "Guess we're all set then."
"Very well, Mr. Arc. In that case, I suggest you best be on your way. The transport ship to Beacon is finishing preparations as we speak. It'll be waiting for you shortly. And we will be tracking your progress every step of the way, ready to signal the alarm to the police and the huntsmen should a threat come to pass." The man replied with a nod, before looking at the blond in quiet consideration. "Normally, it's against company policy to say this, as it casts doubt upon the quality of our service, but in this instance, I wish you luck, Mr. Arc. I hope you'll be a satisfied costumer once this business is done with."
With that, he bent forward slightly in a polite bow, then walked away, back towards the parking lot's entrance, Yang, Ruby and Reese making to follow in order to get to Bumblebee. The red-cloaked girl took but a moment to glance back towards Jaune and Penny, a nod of understanding passing between them, before walking away, Merle taking to the sky as she did.
With that, everyone split up to head to their assigned placements. A last few checks, and moments later the large truck was exiting the garage, the armored vehicle following closely behind, and as they passed by, a familiar orange and yellow bike followed. They were on the move.
"So, here's what we were thinking for the route." The truck's driver said to Jaune, who was sitting in the passenger seat next to him. "From here to the station, safest bet would be to take the old southern highway. Not only are we going against rush hour at this time, that road doesn't get much use nowadays, so it's ideal to move quickly and to avoid collateral if someone does try to hit us in transit."
"Huh, you guys thought this through." The boy replied with a raised eyebrow, honestly impressed by something he had failed to consider.
"Minimizing possible risk is part of the service, sir." The driver replied. "I take it you agree?"
"Sure." Jaune nodded, after a quick glance back to the other passengers for confirmation. "I'll trust you to know more about this than I do."
"You're the boss." The man replied, moving the rather unwieldy vehicle through the twists and turns of this part of the city with an ease that could only come from experience.
It was not long before they'd reached the intended highway, which, just as the driver had predicted, was completely deserted at that time of day apart from their convoy, the bike scouting ahead of the truck and the armored vehicle following closely behind. The ride went on in a tense silence in all three vehicles, everyone keeping alert, all eyes checking for anything off in the swiftly passing by roof tops and nearby roads.
Then, just as some of them begun to think that maybe things were gonna go without incident after all, a line of five cars entered the highway from a sideroad from behind their convoy, followed by a white van, none of them with license plates or any other identifying markers. With an utter lack of other vehicles around, it didn't take long to realize they were speeding to catch up.
"We may have company." Pyrrha noted with a glance to the rear-view mirror.
"So it'd seem." The driver agreed, booting up the comm's system. "Dispatch, be advised, we got unknown vehicles fast inbound. Possible enemy contact imminent."
"Acknowledged, Fort 2, please-shshhrrzzzttttt!"
"Dispatch? Dispatch!?" The man tried to no avail as the comms gave only static.
"It's no use." Penny called from her seat. "The signals are cut off. One of those vehicles must have a jammer."
"How'd they get their hands on one of those?!" Weiss couldn't help but voice her bewilderment.
"Stolen Atlesian property, most likely. There were reports a few weeks ago of an armory being raided." The android replied succinctly.
Before much else could be said, the two closest of the approaching cars took position trailing behind at either side of the escort vehicle, and windows and roof panels rolled open, revealing men in familiar, white-masked outfits, all of then carrying guns.
The second driver barely had a moment to curse before the White Fang opened fire, a hail of bullets pinging all over the armored plating as they kept their approach trying to box in the second team.
But then there was the sudden screech of burning tires and the loud roar of a revving engine as Yang noticed the attack and immediately turned around, passing back by the truck's side. As she went, two blurs dislodged themselves from behind her, heading towards each of the offending vehicles.
On the left, the speeding red and black blur slammed into the wind shield and rematerialized into Ruby. The grunts at the driver and passenger seats barely had the time to process the sudden appearance before a scythe's edge punctured through the glass and embedded itself squarely between the both of them, allowing the red-cloaked girl purchase to remain where she stood, staring blankly down at them.
It took them a moment longer after that uncomfortably close, wickedly sharp-looking blade settled for the faunus within this particular vehicle to react, training their weapons on the intruder. But she was having none of it, her eye burning with ghastly flames as she flared up her power.
The sudden surge of fear made the driver freeze up and lose control with a horrified scream, which was swiftly chorused by the other grunts as the car began to swerve wildly to the side until it slammed into the divide in the middle of the road, stopping it in its tracks. Satisfied that this one was incapacitated, Ruby promptly blurred away in a cloud of feathers and petals to catch up to the chase, landing herself on top of the truck's container.
Meanwhile on the right, Reese sped towards the car on her hoverboard, whooping loudly as with a leap she had it grinding against the side, complete with a shriek of tearing metal and a shower of sparks as the hoverboard's bladed edges carved a gouge across the vehicle. This was not enough damage to stop it, but it did distract the grunts within from attacking the escorts. A precious window that was all that Nora needed to slide herself halfway out the window and fire off Magnhild's explosive payload.
The overly pink missile hit dead center on the engine just as the green-haired girl managed to clear away, causing an explosion that sent the vehicle leaping into the air and falling upside down, down for the count.
The purple-hooded girl was swiftly picked back up by Yang before she could fall too far behind, Bumblebee proceeding to ride back towards the front of the convoy both for protection and preparing for another turn. It passed close enough for Reese to reach out and clap the extended, pink-gloved hand in a high-five.
The rest of the team on the secondary vehicle proceeded to take the opportunity to return fire which along with the sudden loss of two of their number, had the remaining White Fang pursuers slow down and swerve away from any shot too close, increasing the distance between them and the convoy.
"Nicely done. Even as kids, huntsmen never fail to impress." The truck's driver commented praisingly after having witnessed as much as he could through the rear-view mirrors. "I don't suppose it'd be too much to ask that they just take the hint and leave?"
"Not likely, they want this stuff bad." Jaune grunted with a frown. "Penny, anything you can do about that jamming?"
"Not until we find out which vehicle's housing it." The redhead called back, staring at the containers walls as if she could see through them, which frankly wouldn't really surprise him at this point. "Certainly weren't those two."
"Yeah, I didn't think we'd be that lucky." The blond grumbled. "The others are keeping them at bay, but stay ready. They're not gonna give up so easy."
Despite his thoughts on the matter, their pursuers seemed to hesitate. For a good chunk of the road ahead they kept their distance, only occasionally a particularly belligerent grunt trying to open fire once again, to little avail.
"What are they doing? White Fang doesn't hesitate like this…" Weiss hissed, clearly suspicious. "It's like they're waiting for something…"
No sooner were the words spoken than a deafening boom followed, a plume of fire and smoke shooting upwards into the sky from amidst the building just next to a sideroad they passed by.
"The hell was that?!" Arslan cursed loudly, voicing everyone's startled thoughts.
"Can't rightly say, ma'am." The driver replied. "I can only speculate, but it's possible that they were expecting reinforcements to cut us off, and if so, clearly something went sideways."
Whatever it was that had happened, it seemed to galvanize their pursuers into action, as after a moment the remaining vehicles suddenly blitzed forward in a rush, one of them dead-locking with the escort vehicle and trying to push it off the road, while the other two got past, trying to get ahead of the truck from either side, guns firing as they went, pinging harmlessly against thick metal plates and bullet-proof glass.
"And I guess that's our cue." Arslan commented as she noticed the approaching car, before addressing the driver. "Oi, open the windows."
"That'll leave us open to their gunfire." The man replied, not so much in protest but just as a statement of why that didn't feel tactically sound.
"I got that covered." Pyrrha cut in, earning her a brief raise of an eyebrow from the platinum blonde. "Just do what she said."
Not looking too thrilled at the idea, the man nonetheless acquiesced with a nod, and the black-tinted glass rolled down. Immediately their pursuers concentrated fire there, but Pyrrha threw her arms to either side with her hands outstretched, a look of intense focus on her face. To the surprised of those watching on either vehicle, the bullets suddenly froze in midair before harmlessly dropping to the ground all around the cab.
"I can't keep this up for long." The redhead grunted with her eyes closed. "Stop them now."
The others didn't need any further prompting. On the left, Arslan held her idol out the window, its roaring maw glowing green as a large, spectral tentacle manifested from it, and before the attacking car could react, slid underneath the chassis, and pulled upwards, tossing the vehicle and its screaming passengers in an arc all the way across to the other lane, where it crashed hard on its side.
On the right, Weiss peered out the window and focused as she pointed her rapier just ahead of the chasing car, a black glyph manifesting on the road. As soon as it passed over, the vehicle froze in its tracks as the semblance arrested its forward momentum, the abrupt stop roughly yanking its passengers forward as inertia took hold, knocking most of them out as their heads slammed roughly on the vehicles dashboard, and Jaune took the opportunity to send out his blades to puncture the tires for good measure.
While this was happening, the third vehicle was similarly dispatched, when a window slid open just enough for Bolin's staff to lash forward like a striking serpent, smashing against the side of the faunus driver's head and promptly knocking him out, after which the out-of-control vehicle was easily pushed away against the lane divide, down for the count.
This left only the white van, and upon seeing their comrades so quickly dispatched, the grunts that occupied that one responded by opening up the vehicles top panel, which for general alarm to those who could actually see it revealed what seemed to be a rocket launching emplacement.
"What the-Are they insane?!" Weiss yelled, clearly alarmed once she noticed it. "If those hit, they might well blow up the truck and the road its standing on!"
"Either they're that desperate or they just decided that if they're not getting this stuff, nobody is." Jaune replied through teeth gritted in anger at the thought.
"Oh boy…" The driver commented dryly as he saw what was coming. "Buckle up, ladies and gentlemen, things are gonna get rough."
Just as that seemed to be the case, from a nearby rooftop, a figure leapt.
/
The two White Fang grunts in the passenger seats of the van took a moment to blink in confusion and then stare at each other, seeking confirmation that the hooded, black-masked man that was now casually sitting between them had, in fact, not been there just a moment ago.
"Howdy, fellas." The newcomer greeted casually, looking completely at home there. "How about we save ourselves the trouble, and you just surrender?"
The grunts blinked again. Then all of them hastily reached for their weapons.
"Welp, let it be on record I tried diplomacy first."
/
The van suddenly begun swerving and buckling, it doors sliding open as masked figures were unceremoniously tossed screaming out of it. After a few moments of this, the van proceeded to slow down and quietly park itself by the side of the road, a purple clad man calmly leaving the driver's seat and tossing a casual salute in the convoy's way.
…
…
…
"Who in blazes was that?!" Weiss broke the confused silence that had fallen in the truck at what they had just witnessed.
"That's Jax. Ozpin sent him as back up." Jaune explained succinctly, for once sharing in her flabbergasted demeanor. "Frankly, I'm kinda glad he did…"
/
From her perch atop the truck, Ruby spared a nod back towards the swiftly diminishing figure of the grandmaster at arms. She had little doubt that he'd catch back up with the rest of them easily enough.
With his intervention with the last of the pursuing vehicles, the red-cloaked girl could not help but wonder if that was all they'd be dealing with for now.
"Caw!"
No sooner had the thought crossed her mind, than a presence suddenly made itself known right next to her. Before she could react, she felt a hand daintily grabbing her shoulder, the world around her blurred…
…And the next thing she knew, she was somewhere else entirely. Blinking owlishly, it took her a few moments to recognize via the surrounding cityscape and skyline that she was now on one of the rooftops near the highway. And standing before her was a by now familiar figure.
Torchwick's little sidekick, Neo if she recalled correctly, grinned at the red-cloaked girl as she gave a little curtsey. And once again, Ruby noticed something off that she hadn't the first time she'd seen the other girl. Behind that cutesy grin, there was a gleam to those color shifting eyes that was… familiar…
As if guessing what she was pondering, the girl grinned wider. And then, with a dramatic flourish, she pulled out her scroll, presenting it like a magician would present a card just before performing a trick. Ruby could only blink at this, tilting her head slightly as the girl proceeded to begin typing into the device.
Moments later, a modulated, monotone, but oddly accented female voice drawled out:
"Hey there, sister. I think it's high time that you and I had a little chat."
/
First things first: Thresh is NOT a 12-year-old goth girl. He's not even around anymore, none of the Shadow Isles champions are, for reasons that have been explained in story. That was a joke people, nothing more.
And speaking of story development, there's something that needs to be addressed. You see, I love the lore of League of Legends. That should be obvious given I'm writing this fic, and I try to follow all the lore developments even though I haven't touched the game in ages and was never much good at it even when I did (that MMO can't come soon enough…). But the fact is, with a lore that is constantly shifting and expanding, it can sometimes be tiresome to deal with, whenever a new champion appears and suddenly you think "Ok, that sounds relevant to something that happened in the story, so why wasn't it mentioned…?".
So with this in my mind, I am taking a page out of a friend's book and implementing a cut off point of sorts. In the AU of this story, Gwen was the last champion to join the League of Legends proper, after the war with the Shadow Isles. Every champion that comes after either never joined, or never even existed depending on how useful I may find them. Bel'Veth doesn't exist in this continuity, she didn't get the chance to manifest into the world before it went to shit. And Nilah never traveled from her country to Valoran, so nobody there ever heard of her.
SPEAKING of Nilah though, and boy oh boy do I have a plan here, can we just take a moment to consider this latest champion?
A girl who used to love stories and fairy tales, who had an encounter with an ancient demon, and came out of it harnessing its power, at the cost of a greatly altered psyche leaning towards what that particular demon represented, and now seeks to help others with this great and terrible power?
That sounds oddly familiar, doesn't it…?
Like, it might sound presumptuous of me, but I couldn't help but wonder if anyone at Riot actually reads this story (in which case, more reveals of the Ten soon, please.), or if this is just a wacky coincidence. Either way, it's rather vindicating of everything I've been planning for this story. xD
Also, on the RWBY side of things, we got Ice Queendom. Watched the first three episodes. Gotta say, while it felt at bit rushed at times, it was a pretty good watch overall. I am pretty curious to see how it turns out, which frankly is more than I can say for Volume 9, whenever that happens…
Ok, that's about all I wanted to say. Sorry for the large AN.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, be sure to leave a review and let me know what you think.
Next chapter, a meeting of demons, and the crew is not out of the woods yet, but before that we got the next chapter of Beneath a Broken Moon next month.
Cya all on the next one, stay safe and take care.