Interlude 3: Viper Whispering to the Roses

Time frame shift: Team VIEW Year 1 - Volume 7

Character Change: Viralious - Ciel Soleil

Location: Atlas Academy

Ciel walked the empty halls of Atlas Academy thinking of what her professor had just told her… She wanted to complete this mission but she wasn't sure how she would ever possibly complete it. It had been three days since she had to work with Ruby and watched as she was rudely pushed out of the elevator. That should have been a footnote but for some reason it couldn't be.

Taking a deep breath, Ciel focused on the one noise she knew could ground her.

Tick

Tock

Tick

Tock.

Exhaling a sharp breath, Ciel looked at the door in front of her, sadly it was familiar… Standing outside the dorm Team RWBY was designated to sleep in during their time in Atlas. Ciel thought back to her exact assignment,

"So, I'm basically being her handler?" Ciel asked in a confused tone.

"She's not one of the hounds Miss Soleil, and Neon Violet would kill me if I made her one." Professor Basil responds.

Ciel raised an eyebrow but didn't dare question the madness… the past 24 hours had been crazy and quite frankly she wasn't sure how to process all of it. Focusing on the ticking of her father's watch she turns to Basil and rephrases her question, "What is my exact assignment, sir?"

Basil gives a small chuckle before responding, "Your mission is to help Miss Rose discover what that picture means. She has to come to the realization herself though…"

"And how will I know when the mission is successful?" Ciel queries.

"You'll know, don't worry about it." Basil shrugs and responds in a not so reassuring way.

Sharply exhaling, Ciel shakes her head, this is just like watching Penny all over again.

Quietly, Ciel places her knuckles onto the door and is about to knock before suddenly.

"Salutations, Ciel." a familiar but startling voice rings out from her right.

Jumping slightly, Ciel turns and sees the artificial android Penny standing there, "Penny, what are you doing here? It's 6 in the morning!"

"I could ask you the same thing Ciel… though I did mean to ask you a question." Penny answered.

Ciel took a deep breath preparing for the strangeness of one of Penny's questions, "And what is your question Miss Polendia?"

"Why are you suddenly registered as having higher access to materials than Marrow? I was confused when I saw you had artemis level clearance… that is normally reserved for-" Penny begins speaking with little tact.

Ciel, thinking quickly, makes up a lie, "Lieutenant Schnee has granted me temporary access to assist her and Professor Basil with a new trainee program."

Penny looks at Ciel for a moment before smiling, "That is great! What is this program for?"

Ciel sighs and remembers the quick notes on a cover story Lieutenant Schnee had given her. If you have to lie, keep two things in mind, leave a small amount of truth to them and even then, tell so many lies that they won't be able to find the truth. "The program will be working to train Huntsmen to deal with Cultist and Terrorist threats such as the White Fang."

"The White Fang has not been an issue since Headmaster Lionheart gave his life at Haven academy… I don't see why a new program would be necessary." Penny questions.

"Penny, have you heard of Meteion?" Ciel asks grimly.

"According to my Father they were a group of Cultists that performed horrible crimes against the people of Atlas… though they haven't been mentioned as a threat in a report for as long as I've been active." Penny informs her scholarly.

Ciel shakes her head, "Penny, fourteen years ago Meteion tried to kidnap me…" Ciel looked at the shocked android as she revealed this, "I was luckily saved by four Huntsmen in training who were wandering by… They ended up walking me home and their leader unlocked my Aura…"

"I'm sorry that you had such a terrible experience Ciel but I cannot comprehend how it relates to this program." Penny answers

"Lieutenant Schnee was a member of the team that night… I decided to become a Huntress shortly after… When I was called to Lieutenant Schnee's office she asked me if I was the same girl…" Ciel lies as she had this conversation with Winter long before this point.

"I see… I trust Winter's judgment… She's a good friend." Penny smiles back, "And Ciel, I hope that we can be friends as well." She extends her hand towards the beret-wearing girl.

Ciel looks at Penny's hand before sighing, "Penny… I'm not sure we should be friends."

Penny turns her head to the side in a confused manner, "I don't see what would stop us from being friends?"

Ciel sighs, "I am just not sure we should fraternize between the ranks." she answers this way to try and avoid long drawn out discussion.

Penny listens to Ciel's words before hanging her head down, "Oh… I see."

For not being a real person Penny is really good at making someone feel bad for something minor… It's almost like a puppy.

Penny moves past Ciel and opens the door to Team RWBY's makeshift dorm. Staring at the Ginger robot with confusion she instantly knows what's about to happen.

"SAL-U-TATIONS!" Penny cries out with an almost cheerful vigor that could rival the other annoying ginger of their group.

"Ugh" the blonde bombshell cries for a moment before lifting her head up, "Morning Penny…"

"Good morning, Penny." The girl Ciel could have sworn was a human and not a cat faunus says while arching her back up stretching.

"Penny… you were a little late today… what's up?" The Schnee heiress Wiess says groggily rising from the bed.

"Oh, I ran into friend Ciel just outside and we had a short chat." Penny says in an enthusiastic cheer.

Wiess suspiciously turns to Ciel and glares at her, "What brings you here?"

"Groan… Weiss, she was probably just walking by." Miss Rose says from underneath multiple layers of pillows.

"This early in the morning?" Weiss says, raising an eyebrow.

"I came to thank you for taking me in when I was inebriated." Ciel says thinking on her feet quickly for any excuse.

The Schnee heiress narrows her eyes before sighing, "Alright, I can believe that… It was no problem really."

With that Team RWBY gets ready for the day while Ciel stands there unsure what to do… She wasn't happy about the specifics of the mission and Basil's mission name wasn't helping.

Operation Stopwatch.

Objective: Accompany Ruby Rose while she Investigates multiple missions assigned by command. Methods are left to the discretion of the operative however psychological manipulation is recommended. Using shared trauma and personal details will allow for establishment of a close bond.

Authorizations:

Lethal force: Authorized.

Seduction: Authorized.

Qualified Immunity: Authorized

Diplomatic Travel: Unauthorized

Notes:

Winter: As an old friend once said, "Use whatever ass-ets you have to get what you want.

Basil: Ruby seems close to her team, see if you can drive a wedge in that and make her reliant on you as she investigates this mystery.

Ciel was starting to understand why everyone thought huntsmen were crazy… and surprisingly it wasn't bloodlust or want of blood sport.

Ciel sighed as the last member of Team RWBY walked out of their dorm. The normally energetic red-cloaked leader walked down the hall in a slightly sluggish pace… before she's able to stop herself she reaches over and places a hand on Ruby's shoulder.

The small girl turns and looks at Ciel confused as to why she reached out like that… Ciel's mind is blank and stumbling on what to say before she quietly asks "Are you okay Ruby?... You seem a bit more distant than you were…"

Ruby looks at Ciel and gives a tired smile, "Oh… well I haven't gotten that much sleep."

The cat faunus looks back at Ruby and gives a concerned look, "Ruby… Maybe you should get rid of the picture… it's causing you a lot of stress."

The blonde raises an eyebrow, "Wait you kept that?"

Ruby sighs, "Yang… I couldn't just get rid of it. I mean it's a picture of mom that has to be worth something to you."

The blond bombshell gives a frown, "Ruby I think you should get rid-"

"If she wants to keep it you should let her…" Ciel responds annoyed.

Yang looks at Ciel with shock then anger, "This isn't your moment! Seriously, if this is hurting my sister then she shouldn't have it."

"It's her decision, not yours." Ciel answers, placing a hand over Ruby's and looking her in the eye "We should talk after you're briefing… I want to compare notes of what was in your envelope."

Ruby raises an eyebrow, "You got one too?"

"Yeah, mine contained a few pictures from when I was younger… Professor Basil said that the answer lied with those." Ciel lied… sure she was given the pictures which she questioned how they got only after she had taken the mission to create a cover story.

Ruby gained a tired smile, "Alright… we can exchange scroll numbers and make plans." her tone is tired as she pulls her hand from Ciel and reaches into her pocket pulling out her scroll.

Ciel returns the motion and moments later their contact information has been exchanged. "Thank you, Ruby… I'll reach out after classes are done for today… Just message me when you're available."

Ruby gives a small wave and continues walking with the rest of her team. After a few moments there Ciel is just standing there alone in the hallway of Atlas.

Well… got my foot in the door at least… this still feels wrong… No, it's for the good of Atlas if not Remnant as a whole.

Character Change: Ciel Soleil - Ruby Rose

Location: Atlas Academy: Briefing Room

Ruby sighed as she sat looking at the mission board half-heartedly listening to Clover as he explained that the next shipment to Amity was late due to a small electrical fire in the factory making the parts.

"Now then let's look at the missions available today." Clover says pressing a button on the board bringing up the list of missions.

"Jaune, are you helping the kids today as well?" Harriet jokingly turns to Jaune who had just taken a sip of his morning coffee.

"Hey, it's an important job. Those kids need someone to keep them in line." Jaune responds quite calmly.

"Yeah sure… next you're going to tell stories about your battle scars from a scraped knee." Yang jokes, earning an annoyed groan from Jaune who takes another sip of coffee.

"Hey, I've done that job before and believe me, if one of those kids gets hurt you're going to need more than just my semblance to stave off those angry moms… why do you think we have a huntsman doing it." Clover responds glaring at Yang.

The blonde bombshell gives a dismissive wave before straightening in her seat.

Clearing his throat, Clover continues, "We've gotten an odd request, normally I wouldn't let it through but this one had clearance on par with mine." This piques Ruby's interest as well as everyone else's.

"What's the mission?" Vine asks in a short but curious tone.

"Listen for yourself." Clover says pressing a button.

The mission board changes from a light blue hue into a dark black background. The image of a purple rose and a silver fox appears in the middle of the screen.

"This mission is a request from an old friend." a staticky male voice says over the intercom, "We want you to infiltrate the Atlassian Military Intelligence center and prove their security is lacking by planting a ECM device in the server room."

Blake, Harriet, and Clover raise an eyebrow at the briefing before the screen changes to a picture of multiple files of humans and faunus presumably from Atlas.

"This mission flies in the face of Atlas and will expose a crack in the impenetrable armor they present themselves in." The voice says infallibly.

Weiss watches the screen with confused interest and Nora looks at the flowing data with concern… She even spots a few citizens she's seen as she works the walls of Mantle.

"With that understood, I want you to listen to what I tell you. Intelligence collects information on every citizen and determines those seen as unsavory." The voice speaks as it focuses on a close up on a file of Ilia Amitola which elicits a sharp response from Blake.

"These files are only a stopgap measure... a panacea. Perhaps you think I'm an alarmist, but I speak the truth." The voice says as the screen changes back to the initial picture of the purple rose and a silver fox. "You will be compensated for your efforts, including a clue for the question you search to answer."

Upon hearing this Ruby looks up at the screen and stares into the eyes of the fox, "Ruby Rose, If you believe in what I say, then you must take this mission." The screen then changes back to its normal blue hue. All eyes turn to the red hooded huntress.

"So, Miss Rose… Care to take the mission?" Clover deadpans.

Before Ruby is even able to speak, Yang interrupts, "There's no way she should take this mission!"

"And why not?" Wiess asks.

"It specifically called her out! It could be a trap or worse." Yang retorts

"What could be worse than a trap?" Ren questions.

"That's not important, Yang's probably right… This whole thing is strange." Blake states.

"It's not your decision to make Miss Xiao Long." Harriet says

"Harriet is right, If the mission was a trap I doubt Ironwood would have let it get onto the board." Jaune says finishing his cup of coffee.

"Spiky hair is right." Elm says to Jaune's annoyance, "The General looked over this mission and approved it."

Yang turns to Ruby, "Ruby I don't think this is a good idea…"

"Can she take back-up?" Wiess asks

"The mission specifies one huntress… Though on record it shows she will be working with a trusted party… We've verified their identity but it's classified." Clover responds.

"Does that soothe any of your concerns?" Weiss asks her blonde teammate.

Yang glares at Weiss for a moment before sighing… "No, I don't like this but it's Ruby's choice." She then turns to her sister, "I trust her judgment."

Ruby sighs and stares at Clover, her mind racing a million miles before she speaks, "I'll accept the mission."

Clover doesn't respond, just presses a button on his scroll forwarding the information to her. Ruby hears a small chime ring from her scroll before she pulls it out and reads the mission details.

Plant ECM Device in Server Room:

Client: Classified

Advance: 5000 Lien

Upon Completion: 7000 Lien

Bonus: Classified, ViR Letter.

Description: Plant ECM Disruptor in Atlas Intelligence command center. Lethal force is not authorized. Stealth is preferred but not mandatory.

You will work with a specially chosen operative to assist you. You are expected to provide your own transportation to the location.

Rendezvous location has already been sent to your scroll.

Ruby choked on her spit as she read the amount of Lien she would be compensated for this mission… 5000 Lien wasn't something to scoff at, it was the cost of both Ember Celica and Crescent Rose combined! That was only the advance meaning the transaction was processed as she looked at the details!

Clicking on the location menu of the mission, she raises an eyebrow as the starting location isn't anywhere near Atlas Intelligence, instead it's a random office in the Academy proper.

Shrugging, Ruby made her way towards the rendezvous point. Unbeknownst to her, a camera watching her shifts off.

Who knew trying to find a singular office in the middle of a crowded huntsmen Academy would be hard? After what felt like forever Ruby found the simple room, it looked like the office had been empty for a while and once she read the placard on the door it all made sense.

Career Planning

I mean, if you come to a huntsmen academy your career is planned out already. Ruby thought with a shrug before opening the door.

The interior of the office, despite what one would honestly expect, just looks like a simple empty office, though with a distinct lack of spider webs. Sitting on the abandoned desk seem to be three things, first an ear piece of some kind, next a small tube-like device with a blue cap. Lastly, a detonator.

"Please, have a seat Miss Rose." A voice calls out behind her prompting Ruby to give a small jump. Looking behind her, she sees the familiar figure of Professor Basil.

"Professor Basil?" Ruby mumbles.

"Yes Miss Rose, now please take a seat." Basil responds walking towards the other end of the desk and taking a seat.

Ruby follows the mouse faunus' instructions and sits in the surprisingly comfortable chair, "So are you my assistance on this mission?" She asks, confused.

"No, I'm simply a mediator for it." Basil responds

"I don't understand." Ruby plainly states.

"I told you she wasn't all she was cracked up to be." A voice from the earpiece rings out.

"Quiet, Lyla, our resident Stray spoke highly of her." Basil responds.

"Resident Stray?" Ruby says raising an eyebrow

"A poor joke at a mutual friends' expense." Lyla answers.

"Can I ask who the mutual friend is?" Ruby asks.

"No." Both Lyla and Basil answer.

Sitting back in her chair Ruby begins to rethink if choosing this mission was the right idea.

"To make this quick your mission is to go in and plant this electronic condensing mechanism on the server mainframe of Atlas Intelligence." Basil starts pointing to the blue tipped tube sitting in front of her, "Lyla will provide you with mission critical analysis on the operation." She then points to the earpiece "You will locate the central server rack and place this ECM device there, then exfiltrate the facility and activate the trigger." She finishes finally pointing to the trigger.

Basil looks up at Ruby before asking in her teacher's voice, "Any questions?"

"Yes, why am I doing this?" Ruby asks in earnest.

"'Cause we would rather test our security to the highest level of scrutiny then risk the attack." Basil answers, "You're going to be simulating a traitor with insider information making their way into the facility planning to damage the servers. The ECM device simply adds a signal that shows that it's there."

Ruby breathes a sigh of relief, "Oh, this is security testing."

Lyla gives a short laugh, "Sure let's go with that."

Basil sits there stoically, "Well, you have 15 minutes before the mission start time so you should make your way there."

Ruby's eyes bug out before she picks up the earpiece and places it in her ear. Next, she grabs the ECM device and the detonator and rushes out the door.

Basil smiles as she watches the red reaper leave knowing that things are somehow still on track.

Ruby rushed to Atlassian Intelligence and followed Lyla's basic instructions to dodge checkpoints… even showing hidden walls that shouldn't be there.

"How do you know about these?" Ruby whispers walking through one of the hidden passageways.

"Chatter is to be kept to a minimum, Miss Rose." Lyla answers.

"Come on, you said it yourself no one will hear or see us as long as we are in here." Ruby pouts.

Lyla's frustrated Sigh could be heard from the earpiece, "I don't know why Neon Violet cared so much for you."

Ruby raises an eyebrow "Neon Violet?"

"That's the Resident Stray." Lyla answers without actually answering.

"Can I at least get a hint as to who this Stray is?" Ruby asks

"If you complete this mission maybe. Don't open the panel yet, Bill Scarlatina is walking by, hold for eight clicks." Lyla answers.

Ruby waits with bated breath while trying to figure out what a click was in the measurement of time.

"The coast is clear. You have forty-two seconds of an opening to make it from this panel to the service elevator." Lyla speaks robotically.

Pressing a button on the panel the hidden entrance way is revealed and Ruby rushes forward towards the service elevator and enters it just as it closes.

"This elevator will take you to the server room, without it you would have made it through central command." Lyla answers.

"That seems like a design flaw." Ruby states.

"I've brought that up to Ironwood multiple times. Perhaps this mission will show him that for certainty and finally decommission it." Lyla responds.

"You're not really a people person are you." Ruby states without thinking before back tracking, "I mean, I get it, I never really was either. I focused mostly on weapons before I went to Beacon and never really had any friends until I met my team and Penny."

"Ruby." Lyla says in a serious tone.

"Yes?" Ruby asks in bated breath.

"Three things: First, you are on a mission so shut up." Lyla says in a surprisingly aggressive tone earning a sad face from Ruby, "Second, never mention that tin can with delusion's name in front of me. Lastly, focus on the mission. You have twenty seconds until you are in the server room. Place the device and exit."

Ruby thinks on Lyla's words for a second before the elevator doors start to open.

Flying through using her semblance, Ruby quickly places the device and rushes back into the elevator just as the electric gate on the front door opens and General Ironwood steps in .

"This isn't good." Lyla says over the earpiece.

"How come?" Ruby asks, confused.

"The general will see the device, you have to activate it now." Lyla says in the most panic she's been in for a while.

"But where not out of the fac-"

"Do you want to complete this mission or not?" Lyla all but yells.

With a sigh Ruby presses the detonator and through the closing door of the elevator sees the blue caped tube light up before flashing a light. Shortly afterwards the Elevator begins falling rapidly.

"Lyla, what's going on?" Ruby yells as the sudden momentum forces her to the ground.

"The ECM activated damaged the control on the elevator so you're rapidly falling… I'm routing an operative there to recover you at the bottom… Hopefully your aura holds." Lyla responds coldly.

"WHAT!" is all Ruby's able to say before all the momentum in the elevator comes to a stop and her vision goes black.

She fades in and out of consciousness as she hears a familiar voice.

"Ru— Ruby! Can—- are yo—" the voice calls before she weakly responds with a groan.

Next thing she knows she's being dragged by her shoulders and out of the wreckage… the floor she's on looks nothing like she remembered from her way up… the lights are dim and the floor clean… it's almost like no one has been down here in a while.

Ruby closes her eyes just as she recognizes the voice saying one last thing.

"Lyla, I told you I hated this Idea… Ruby Rose needs medical aid now… Damn it, Ruby. Please hang in there, help is on the way." the familiar voice of Ciel calls out.

Character Change: Ruby Rose - James Ironwood

Location: Atlas Intelligence: Server room

General Ironwood looked on with anger… Clover had tipped him off to the mission… not being amused with Basil's backhanded way of poking holes in his security he watched as the ECM device flashed, damaging the elevator as well as scrambling much of the data in the room… Or it seemed that way except it targeted only a few select files…

Clover places his hand on his ear and immediately orders a status report. Moments later he gives their findings to the General "Sir… Every trace of profiling data has been erased it looks like… We're working on recovering from a bac-" Clover starts before the General cuts him off.

"There will be no need, Clover… Basil doesn't delete what could be useful…" He then gives a deep sigh before looking at the message on the screen and nearly bursting a nerve.

It showed a familiar purple rose with a silver fox standing in front. Below it read one simple caption:

Iron Dog of Ozpin

How's the muzzle taste?

Lifting his robotic hand Ironwood punched the screen shattering it into multiple little pieces.

A/N

There isn't much to talk about except that I'm still trying to decide if this takes place in the proper show's canon or if I should just break off and do my own thing… I'll probably not decide that for a while so it's going to be ambiguous for a while.

In other news I can confidently say you will not be getting a chapter on the 1st of September as I've been writing basically 1.5 a week and Armored Core VI will be releasing the week before… Sorry but I need to inject that straight into my veins… for reference I played all of Armored Core for Answer in 4 days completing every mission and ending…. A few references were sprinkled in this chapter.

So, moving forward with Interludes I can say that the two main characters will be Ciel and Ruby. I threw in some references so expect these two to interact a lot… Just as a heads up, interludes are going to be every 5 chapters or so… which means enjoy this cliffhanger! At some point I might just make the interludes their own story and start posting them separately. (Will probably happen if I ever actually finish Team VIEW's first year and don't finish the story of the interludes.)

This is where I would like to thank my Editor AmoebaHewdraw, who is keeping a tally of grammatical mistakes to have a shot counter… we lost count about 30 chapters ago.

AmoebaHewdraw's Note: I don't think there ever was a count, but next project you drag me to edit you bet your ass there will be a count. Whether it should be continuously updated and revealed each chapter or just all at the end though…

I lost count at chapter 13, last time it was updated the counter was around 80

Until Next Time Xcom Out