Chapter 3: Red Like Roses Part 1

Xiao Long-Rose Household: 5:24 am

Living with humans has been… an experience. They were loud, annoying, utterly confusing, but most importantly, they were spark-warming.

There were ups and downs to being an alien vehicle, of course, especially for the patriarch of the household. One such activity was how adamant he was in replacing my engine.

Horrified was I in that prospect, but more so was I insulted. Top notch was the quality of my engine, and yet he seemed adamant to change it.

And then there was the rodent, the damn beast of urine. It yapped and prodded at my sprockets, and even as I hate to admit it, it was quite adorable… for a time, that is. It wasn't merely pushing its nose on my tracks, it was calculating a risk and had done so without much effort, urinating all over my tracks!

But in the end, I grew to care for them. And now, a year in their household, I never expected to be treated as… blast, what was that word? Ah yes, family. We would talk, we would laugh, they would even place decals on the back of my turret. I wasn't treated as a mere machine; I was treated like I was a part of their family. We've celebrated birthdays, holidays, and even the occasional movie night provided by my projectors and innate collection of Earth movies (of which they said that they haven't seen anything like it before).

The graphics, the stories! They cried and wept on the saddest, laughed and giggled at the funniest. Truly, their own media was subpar now that they watched media produced in a world without the worries of Grimm rampaging.

They partook in what Yang calls, extreme gameplays. Ruby took a liking to the graphics of said video games, with both of them claiming that their video games were nothing compared to what they were seeing!

They were a bit sad that they couldn't play in multiplayer, but the mere fact that they can play a campaign filled to the brim with 3D graphics? Oh, it was over for their old games.

And to think, all of this happened when they decided to bring me in.

Looking back at it now, if their father had never decided to do things early, none of those would've happened. He would be forced to sit back inside the surprisingly huge secondary garage as a mere vehicle, forced to hang back with the family car, with only Yang and Ruby to talk to.

It all happened the day Taiyang decided to perform maintenance three days after the siblings took me in and rinsed away the grime and dirt…

11 months, 25 days earlier: 1:13 am

"Right," Taiyang said as he bit into his biscuit. "Might as well start early and see what's up with you before they wake up."

The garage was huge, able to fit the family car and himself easily. There was also another garage, one that was smaller, housing the only motorcycle in the house. This was the secondary garage, apparently, as it mostly housed tools for repairing vehicle parts whereas the tools meant to remove weeds and gardening were on the main garage. Honestly, it was a confounded thing to do.

Taiyang, for the most part, was a level-headed man. When he told off Ruby about bringing in an abandoned vehicle, he could not fault him for doing so. However, that didn't mean he was perfect. He would occasionally come and watch the siblings as they were removing the foliage, and often times, he would joke around with a pun.

"Shouldn't catch you swinging around," was definitely the worst one yet.

And when they were done with removing everything, from the rust to the mud, he flicked his finger on my side skirt, making a loud "ding".

"Huh, with all that dirt around, I actually thought it would have a bit more color to it," he said as he prodded and poked the side of my turret. "Turns out, it's just beige."

I had to resist shaking my head (or in this case, my turret) on the memory as Taiyang, or Tai, as he preferred to be called, walked around me, carefully dismantling me with a gaze.

He had to stop for a few moments, gulping down coffee as he discerned what to do. Muttering to himself, he pushed on as he went back and forth in his rotation, checking to see where to start.

A few minutes went by, and he finally decided to do something by dismantling my side skirts, revealing my tracks in their full glory. He grimaced as he saw the state of the top part of the tracks; it was full of mud, grime, and even some worms.

With a heavy but understanding sigh, he simply walked towards his faucet as he unlatched the hose. He sprayed it in a sweeping motion, the mud and dirt falling on the ground, swept away by the powerful current down to the drain.

He did the same thing on my other side, rinsing off the hard-to-reach dirt. As he finished, he placed the hose back and crossed his arms.

"So far, the suspension looks fine, if a bit rusty. A bit too long for a normal tractor but at least it's got track return rollers. Sprockets are fine, wheels aren't that damaged… would be a problem to find those specific wheels in the automotive part retailers…"

He hummed as he grabbed his mug, sipping casually as he continued to walk around me. A sudden bark broke his concentration as a small black and white corgi ran circles around him.

"The damn mutt," I thought to myself. Adorable was that demon until it decided to piss on my tracks. Regardless, it wasn't doing anything yet and Tai was petting it as he looked at my turret. The mutt yipped and licked his hand.

Chuckling to himself at the mutt's antics, he began to scratch its ear. "Hello Zwei, did I wake you up?"

Deciding to go for it, he placed his now empty mug on the table and climbed on top of my turret, opening the hatch to see the insides. He groaned when he went in. "Right, they didn't even bother cleaning this place," he said, flicking away spider webs and dust.

He was amazed, though, at the constructs within the turret. Machinery, unlike anything he had seen before, controllers on the sides and buttons for something; a rack for what seemed to be the ammunition and abandoned shell casings. "Perhaps they were test shells before it was abandoned," he said, looking around idly.

Cramped, but not quite, it's enough space to maneuver around at least. He noticed the empty shell casings and carried them, tossing them outside my hatch, with the mutt barking loudly at them.

"Oops, sorry Zwei!" Tai called out. Honestly, he didn't know how to clean all the mess within my turret. Deciding that he didn't know much about the complex systems of the turret, risking further damage if he did try and "fix" things, he hopped out, landing with a thud as he planted both feet on the ground.

"At least he was graceful."

He then walked towards the front as he opened the driver's hatch. Surprised was he to see that the chair was bent all the way backwards, the leather was ripped to shreds as moss filled the tears and cracks. The conditions were terrible, and he shuddered to think that Yang actually sat inside.

"How was she even able to drive this? I don't see any wheels!" There were pedals, and it basically forced the driver to lie down, or at least, the standard model was.

As I scanned a prototype, that driver problem was nowhere in sight as the person driving can now manually shift their seat to what my old crew lovingly called, "bedtime stroll mode" and "casual stroll mode". The issues with the pedals were fixed, as they can now move depending on the position of the chair itself. There were a lot of tweaking for it, and a lot of changes done to the hull, but it was worth it for the crew, at least.

Of course, Tai didn't know that. He struggled to get in at first, cringing at the slimy wetness of the chair. He grabbed the two handles, noticing certain levers right next to him. Curious, he pulled one, only to yelp when he was pushed forward in a now sitting position.

"Huh, so that's how it is… but, again, how did she drive this?!"

He scratched his head as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ugh, kids these days, being much more tech savvy than their old man." He glanced at the many buttons in display at the driver's compartment. "What kind of tractor were you supposed to be anyway?"

"The kind that can bulldoze buildings with a High Explosive round." And it was true. High Explosives were valid, and Ruby agreed, with Yang even more so.

Having aura must've been a blessing. A constant boost to one's own strength, not to mention semblances. Tai managed to dismantle and reapply my side skirts without so much as breaking a sweat, but it did take a few hours to do so.

3:13 in the morning, another cup of coffee, and yet another stroll around me, thinking, converting ideas to reality, until finally, he decided to try and take a look at my engine. When Yang looked at my engine, she merely had a glimpse of the whole thing. Now, however, it was her father trying to pry open the engine deck.

He exhaled, cracking his knuckles, and opened the back of the engine compartment the same way Yang did. Realizing, however, that the top portion can be flipped, he did so and was shocked at what he saw.

"What in the?! What kind of engine is this?! How did it even operate without dust cylinders?"

Grabbing the top sheet and placing it gently on the ground, he clambered over to get a good look at the "engine". It was not the standard gas turbine engine, that's for sure. It was sleeker in design, keeping the turbines at the front and at the side for the cooling systems. The main difference, however, were the noticeably smaller cylinders and larger pistons, setting a higher RPM of 3,840 than the standard 3,000 RPM.

The Heartwell/Sherry C6-AC1 was designed specifically for the prototypes, with 3 versions made. The version I have, version 1, has guaranteed an improved mobility for the tank, boosting the maximum speed from 45 mph to a whopping 55 mph. Compared to the other two engines, however, I have the loudest by a few decibels.

The purpose of the prototype engines was to test both the mobility and the noise reduction of the engines thanks to its state-of-the-art noise suppressors, enabling a quick and silent getaway for the crewmembers or a tactical placement without getting spotted, given the opportunity. The version 2 model was slower, only going upwards to a speed of 48 mph, but it had the quietest engine, with the version 3 being a mix of both but never truly tested due to certain factors.

He saw the engine bolted down and quickly grabbed the nearest impact drill. "This engine is a damn safety hazard! No dust mufflers and cyclers, it's amazing the creators of this tractor weren't arrested!"

He found the right size for the bolts and was about to remove it when I called out to him.

"If you'd mind, I'd appreciate it if you don't yank my engine away, good sir," I said through the radio. "I will not partake in such needless butchery!"

He jumped away, startled, with the drill still rotating when he dropped it. "What the hell?!"

No longer worried for my cover, I decided to reverse and transform, kneeling in front of him with a bit of a snarl at his insistence on removing my engine.

And thusly, he screamed, awakening his daughters in the process. The mutt came back, barking out a storm as he tried desperately to chew off bits and pieces of my parts. He, not having a weapon, merely raised his fists and prepared to counter.

When Ruby and Yang arrived in their pajamas, he, like any father, called out to them to stay back and get away from the, and I quote, "possessed mechanical abomination".

It had taken the entire day for the siblings to talk their father out of his stance of getting rid of me. And an entire week for said father to get used to the giant walking alien robot in his garage.

Funny how such an event happened. Even funnier were the reactions. Humans, truly something to be amused of.

Tired of merely being in my tank mode, I decided to drive outside and transform, stretching out some bits of metal bolts to pop into its place. Today would be a great day, I'd imagine.

The birds were chirping, the squirrels were digging, and the mutt was barking.

I had to resist placing my claws on my head as I gazed down at the annoying pest. Zwei… infamous rodent.

"Good morning," I snarled at the tiny beast. Even after a year in their presence, this mutt hasn't landed on my good graces.

"Well, good morning to you to, Shot!" Tai said as he came out of the front door. "And good morning, Zwei! Who's a good boy?"

"Spoiling the dog early in the morning? Typical," Tai laughed soon after. We walked a few feet as Tai tended to his garden, the tomatoes growing nicely after spending 100 days of waiting.

"They seem to be growing nicely," I said, kneeling down to get a better look for myself without relying on my optical zoom.

"All thanks to you," he said as he released his grip on the nozzle, stopping the water from spraying. "That YouTube thing helped a bit."

I chuckled. Being able to access a satellite despite not being in the same world was a fortunate thing to happen. It meant being able to download newer forms of entertainment, grasping relatively new platforms, so on and so forth. I found myself hooked with watching gardening videos the moment I discovered what a "hobby" was from Yang.

And despite all protests from her calling it boring and lame, I enjoyed it.

Training with the two was another thing. Ruby, for the most part, was an excellent markswoman. Proud to aim and shoot instead of firing wildly and missing every mark. That included the ability to use my main gun accurately without me needing to take control.

Yang was rambunctious, and she knew it. She knew either being the driver would fit her or being the loader to help out with Ruby's surprisingly fast aiming time.

Their reason for training? To effectively combine their skills with mine. And if I wanted to keep up the appearance of being a normal vehicle to other civilians, the two must be able to operate my systems masterfully. Bringing me into a huntsman school would be advantageous as well, for I can help with defensive maneuvers and holding down a line. That would also mean that they, themselves, would train two others should they wish for a full team.

And that alone is taxing Ruby's psyche.

"Say, Tai," I started as he watered the carrots. "If Ruby were to somehow-"

"We talked about this," he sighed. "Yang's got her acceptance letter, and Ruby still has 2 more years in Signal to go through."

"But it's not right to separate them…"

"I think separating them would be nice for Ruby's social development," Tai countered. "In living in Yang's shadow, she has developed a bit of self-isolation; only trusting her sister and, well, us…"

And it was true. Ruby doesn't have as much of a friend group as her sister's. Those who were only ended up being Yang's friends instead. Ruby may not say it in Yang's face directly, but she knows it has hurt her more than anything else. Possible friends were either friendly with her to garner Yang's attention or were genuinely put off by her active love for all things weapons.

It didn't help that she would only communicate with him when there were certain days of melancholy in her heart, afraid to hurt her beloved sister's feelings, prioritizing her happiness over her own woes. It was at these moments that I had to tell myself that humans weren't as perfect.

And he knew that she wasn't ready either. If, by chance, she had gone with Yang, she would only be swamped with literature she hadn't tackled yet. Formulas and history, different missed activities.

Smart was she but plunged with immaturity; she will most likely have to try her hardest to study should she want to stay with her sister.

That conclusion alone made me grumble. It was obvious from their training that they were the perfect duo. Add two more, and they would be one of the greatest teams, should the duo be on par. There was nothing like this situation back on Cybertron, back in the war. If your systems were online and you had good weapons, you would march forward along with the rest…

And die with the rest…

Perhaps the two were digging deep within my sparks, thusly making my thoughts skewed. Of course, there were Grimm, but that is why they were going to classes. Just… seeing them no longer together infuriates me.

"Morning dad! Morning Shot!" Ruby, the subject of our topic, all but smiled as she waved her tiny hands at the both of us. "MORNING ZWEIII!" She said, dashing forth with her semblance, embracing the mutt excitedly.

"You're awfully loud so early in the morning."

"Blehhh, you're just jealous!" Ruby said, allowing Zwei to lick her chin.

"Jealous?! Why I ought to-"

Tai laughed as he approached his daughter. "Now, now, best not to anger the grumpy robot," he said, giving me a vicious smirk as he looked back at Ruby. "Say, why are you up and about so early today?"

Ruby inhaled, a sign that she was about to speak a lot. To our surprise, however, she merely giggled and whispered. "It's a secret!"

I sighed at her antics, and with a bit of smoke coming out of my mouth, I focused more on the plants in the garden. Both father and daughter were talking about the usual things: her breakfast, the dishes, and whatever plans she had for the day. I stood up a bit just to check the perimeter, snorting as I spotted a raven perched nearby.

"Figures they'd be interested with the crops," I said as I lightly shooed away the lonely raven. It cawed and pecked at my finger, but I didn't mind.

Ruby waved goodbye to the both of us, er, to the three of us as she walked briskly towards a familiar path. Ah, so she was visiting her mother's grave…

Family, indeed, was something special.

Summer's Grave: 7:34 am

"Hey mom," Ruby said, standing in front of a grave on top of a cliff. They never really received a body, so it was the best thing to do for her…

"For mom…"

The grave itself had her mother's insignia, a fiery rose. Below were the engravings: "Summer Rose, Thus Kindly I Scatter."

Shaking away the depressing thoughts, Ruby smiled warmly as she began to speak her mind.

"Hey mom, listen! Yang graduated from Signal Academy and got accepted to Beacon Academy! Isn't that great?"

She got into the habit of expressing herself with actions as if she were still talking to her. With a huge smile on her face, proud of her sister's achievements, her arms spread out widely.

"She always said she wanted to be a huntress…" Ruby's smile faltered as she spoke, "and it's really happening…"

She sniffed as she sat down on the grass, her knees so close to her chest. "I know I should be happy, and I-I am, but it's just hard not to think about all the things that we'll be missing out on."

"I talked to Sharp Shot about it, you know, the grumpy robot living in our house… I really wish you could've met him. He's got so many cool alien things, and not just the weapons, but games and movies and cartoons! You'd love to watch some of those."

Ruby was crying softly, her tears staining the edges of her cloak underneath her chin. "It's frustrating, I've got two more years… and I'd be left alone…"

"But dad's there, and Uncle Qrow would probably visit soon, and Sharp Shot's there too. Zwei too."

There was a long silence as Ruby looked longingly at her mother's grave. "Oh, who am I kidding?"

She hugged her knees closer to her chest as she spoke softly. "I really am happy; I'm just afraid I won't see her again."

Remembering what Sharp Shot told her about breathing in slowly, she did so and exhaled sharply. The beating of her heart grew louder and louder.

"Mom… I don't know what to do. I really am trying to smile more, but even dad said that's a bad idea and that I should tell Yang how I feel about being left out. But what if Yang decided not to go to Beacon because of me? What if she starts to hate me because I'm trying to hold her back? I don't want to be a burden."

"I guess I'm just so used to their presence, huh?"

It was at that moment, however, that the revving of a motorcycle could be heard. Quickly wiping her tears away, she smiled through the pain and said her goodbyes to her mom as she spotted her sister, Yang, a few feet away.

"Yang!" Ruby said, smiling as she dashed towards her sister. Yang smiled softly, spreading her arms out for a hug as Ruby drew near. "What were you talking to mom about, Rubes?"

Ruby giggled in her sister's arms as she spoke. "Oh, the usual! Shot being grumpy at Zwei, dad being old, and new video games! Oh, and you being accepted to Beacon! I'm so happy for you!"

Yang knew Ruby was hiding something from her, but she let it go. Seeing Ruby happy was all that she cared for.

"Is that right? Thanks Rubes!" Yang said as she held Ruby in a chokehold, playfully rubbing her hair as the two laughed. Yang stroked Ruby's head as they hugged, telling her little sister about her own plans for the day.

She would protect that smile.

She would always be by her side.

And she would always love her unconditionally.

And she would always love her wholeheartedly.

Vale: 8:16 pm

Ruby's day had been exhilarating. She managed to speak to her mom about her problems (which brought about many emotions), she then proceeded to kick Yang's butt in Tekken 4 (finally) and got some new blueprints from Sharp Shot.

Thanks to his blueprints, she had managed to forge and make new stuff for him, like those mine plows! He looked so much more awesome with those things! It was a hassle to forge and make, though. She had to thank Professor Andre for helping her out.

She also had to thank Professor Herc and her dad for helping her attach the said thing to Sharp Shot.

She also managed to make something to make it possible to mount Crescent Rose on top of the tank, though Yang seemed a bit unimpressed with that decision. A sniping position in the comfort of a walking, well, fast-crawling (eh?) and heavily armored tank sounded like a great plan! That was until Yang demonstrated why when she fired off multiple shots and she couldn't even do anything. Ugh! Stupid Yang and stupid common sense!

Regardless, it was a fun day for her, which peaked only with the glee of buying Yang a super secret present.

She skipped on the pavement, her headphones blaring music, as she was busy thinking about all the new possibilities for equipment! At first, he was adamant not to show her upgrade blueprints of certain parts for himself (some are stashed away and not yet being released to the public, apparently), but such humbleness will not be ignored!

The ability to mount a secondary turret on top of the main turret was just the topping! Sadly, both he and dad disagreed, but still! More guns, less problems!

"I forgot the city was so big! It's so much more fun than Patch."

She glanced around the wide-open street, the warm lights from the lampposts giving off a cozy feeling.

"Heh, I can listen to free music at the scroll shops, have free cake from the cafés, and even visit state-of-the-art weapon shops, and all the time in the world just flies by!" With a pip in her step, she skipped on the cobblestone road, pretending that the lines were deadly.

Her eyes furrowed with sudden determination and a mix of worry as she locked her fingers behind her. "Oh, but what should I do about Yang's present?!"

Looking around, her question was answered with the mere sight of a dust shop. "From Dust Till Dawn," the sign read. "The dust shop is still open! Yes!"

She dashed forward, grinning ear to ear, as she found the perfect excuse to buy some dust for her baby. She reached for the wooden door, a soft "click" signaling a new customer, unaware of the five men entering right after her entrance, about to cause a scene.

They, too, were unaware of a certain vehicle parked nearby.