Here we go again.
The morning air was cool, a mix of the nighttime chill and the ocean winds carrying over with the rising sun. Adam sighed as he took a breath, staring out from the balcony. There were gentle but heavy footsteps behind him.
"How ya doing?"
Adam didn't answer, Jaune walked over to take to his side and look out at Kuo Kuana, the first of the island residents stepping out to greet the day. The silence lingered before Adam shook his head and turned towards his blonde companion.
"Better."
Jaune smirked and shook his head. "Riveting conversationalist as always."
Adam elbowed him but Jaune laughed it off. He grunted and jerked his head back to the house.
"Any word on how we're getting back to the others?"
Jaune shuffled and eyed him wearily. "Yes and no."
"Good news and bad news?"
"Yup."
A sigh. "Bad news first?"
"We're going to Atlas."
Adam swore and gave Jaune an incredulous look. He betrayed no sign that he was joking, meaning that they were indeed expected to dive into the wolf's den that was Atlas. Forget his enmity with the kingdom, after the attack on Vale and their run in with the general? Atlas was the absolute last place they'd be safe. They'd have a higher chance of survival in the Grimmlands.
"The good news better be really good."
Jaune smiled awkwardly and Adam groaned.
"See, about that..."
"When you start like that it doesn't give me hope."
"Who said I was trying to give you hope?"
Adam growled.
"Okay, okay! Yeesh. The good news is when we get there we won't be there long. And we already have a way there! That's double good news!"
That was, in the loosest of ways, good news.
"But hey, we get to see everyone again! And that means I get to watch you get chewed out by your team!"
Adam glared. "You're talking an awful lot for someone within crusading distance."
Jaune laughed. Laughed! At his threats! What had he become?
Adam caught himself and realized what the champion had said. "And how the hell are we getting there?"
Jaune calmed down and let out a sigh. "Yang's mom."
Adam turned his body fully his way, leaning off of the balcony railing. "Beg pardon?"
Jaune pointed inside and, following his finger, Adam could see a very awkward and uncomfortable looking Raven Branwen sitting on the couch whilst an absolute ecstatic Sienna fluttered about the other woman. He didn't know what they were talking about— or rather what Sienna was talking at Raven about— but he could tell it was probably something he wouldn't have appreciated and oh dear God she had pulled out the photo album.
Rushing through the door Adam plastered a smile on his face, looking as awkward as Raven, and interrupted before Sienna could make this even worse. Jaune just watched on, shit eating grin in place that Adam swore revenge on.
"... And it's been so long since he's made friends! Meeting that blonde boy outside was wonderful, but when I heard his partner was apparently a beautiful girl?" Sienna sniffed, and he could tell she was playing it up, "I'm so glad we got to meet! Tell me, do you— as this mystery girls aunt— think that she would take his last name? And how many kids do you think she's capable of bearing?"
Raven had no words, and Adam had never related so intensely with someone as he did right now. He tore the photo album from his mother's hands and placed it on a high shelf that she wouldn't be able to reach without a stool.
"That was very rude Adam."
He scoffed and looked back towards Raven. "Please ignore her. She enjoys making serious people feel uncomfortable. She doesn't even like children."
"I adopted your sorry ass, boy!"
"See? That's not how a woman who wants grandchildren sounds."
Raven just shook her head and Adam turned his head away from Sienna as she clawed at his arm. Both staunchly ignored Jaune, who was now leaning on the railing outside, wheezing.
"Whatever," Raven groaned, "let's just get back to the others. Where are Cinder's two toys?"
From the other room Mercury called back. "I resent that!"
Raven shrugged. Good enough for her. Said assassin peeked through, raising an eyebrow at the chief of Menagerie having a brawl with Adam's arm.
"Just so you know, Roman and Neo gave me this."
He held up a small, pink piece of paper. Adam blinked.
"Is that a pink slip?"
Mercury shrugged and waved it around. "Said we were fired and that they're staying here. Guess they'll be Menagerie's first human citizens."
On the one hand that meant Adam didn't have to deal with them now. Unfortunately that meant they'd still be here whenever he returned to the island. Raven cut through his thoughts with a tut.
"Gather yourselves quickly, we need to get back fast."
Jaune stumbled through the room to get his stuff together, which really only consisted of his armor and weapon. Mercury followed after, calling Emerald to pack her bags. Raven left with him, likely to avoid Sienna.
Said woman sighed as she ceased her assault of her far-too-broody son. She fixed him with a look of concern.
"Be careful please, Adam. No more multi-year absences?"
Adam winced. "Right. I'll try and come back more often."
Sienna lost her tone almost immediately, leaning in with an expectant look. "Aaand...?"
Adam sighed and grumbled. "And I'll bring the rest of the team for you to meet."
Sienna clapped giddily and gave him a peck on the cheek. "So you do know how to make your mother happy!"
He swatted her away as she smirked at his displeasure. He really did make it too easy.
"But honestly," she held his face gingerly. "Watch yourself? I can't say I have the full scope of what's going on but I know danger when I feel it. Take care of yourself. For me, at least."
Adam nodded and, with the stubbornness someone of his heritage would be known for, leaned down and hugged the woman.
"I'll be safe. And you will see me again."
She wouldn't push him to say it, but she knew what he meant.
"I love you too, son."
The portal closed behind them and Adam, Jaune, Mercury, and Emerald had to adjust rather abruptly to the new setting. For one, they stood atop a tall, snowy cliff overlooking Atlas as it floated over Mantle. The other shift was the temperature.
"Holy shit! It's freezing!" Mercury shivered, "Can't believe that we went from sun-shiny Menagerie to cold as fuck Atlas."
Crude but accurate, Jaune clanked around in his armor, the suit meant to protect against blows but not the weather. He was about to ask where the others were when he felt a weight land on him.
"You're back!"
Jaune beamed and turned around catching Pyrrha in his arms as he did. She laughed, face flushed from the cold and their proximity as he peppered her face with kisses.
"Hey!" Ren stomped over, arms crossed and indignant, "Where are my kisses?"
Jaune rolled his eyes but put Pyrrha down, lifting Ren in her place and giving him a peck on the cheek. He nodded in satisfaction before melting out of the champion's grasp. Jaune looked over to Nora and raised an eyebrow.
"Thanks but no thanks," she smirked, coming in and hugging him firmly, a gesture he returned heartily. Not many could match Nora's strength, so it was rare when she could feel someone squeeze back in turn.
Ren scrutinized his leader. "So, oh valiant knight, how was thine quest?"
"Oh you know. Some breaking and entering here, some revolution there. There was even an outdated, unlicensed, cannon. Boring stuff honestly."
Ren looked absolutely offended. "Don't you dare hold out on me! I. Wanna. Know. Everything."
Jaune looked up in contemplation, tapping his chin and humming. He shifted his weight back and forth. "I dunno... It's really not that interesting..."
Pyrrha and Nora laughed as Ren climbed up the champion, banging his fists in a futile effort against his breastplate. Jaune continued to pretend to think about it, getting louder and more obnoxious in his overreacting.
The reunion between Jaune and his team was cute, Adam admitted, but he couldn't dwell on it for too long since he could feel someone's stare boring a hole in his back.
"If you run and hug me like that I'm throwing you off this cliff."
"Man, I thought you were gonna come back happier or something! Instead you've got the same stank ass attitude as before!"
Adam turned around and smacked Yang upside the head, a gesture she took exceptionally to as she tried to wrestle his arm. Seems like that was a common trend today from the fiery women in his life.
Whitley ignored the struggle, strolling up and smiling his way. "Thank the heavens you're back. Now you can deal with her for a while."
Adam grunted and swatted at him too, but Whitley ducked away. "Jackass."
His smile became a lot warmer as Whitley nodded his way. "It truly is good to have you back alive and well."
Adam finally dropped Yang on her ass, his lips upturned slightly.
"I'm... Glad to be back, too."
His gaze strayed behind the two younger hunters to his partner, who was fiddling with her cloak. She waved timidly, a kind smile gracing her lips.
"How was your..."
"Crusade?" Whitley supplied.
Ruby laughed when Adam huffed through his nose at that. "Sure, let's go with that."
Adam shuffled in place for a moment before sighing and replying. "Well, I got absolutely plastered at a seedy Mistrali tavern, got into a fistfight with someone who I'm almost positive was your dad, reunited with my mother, and killed my ex girlfriend."
When he said it all out loud, it really did sound a lot like a crusade. Not that he'd admit that. He noted that his team was staring at him in a mix of shock and concern, which he waved away.
"But I'm better for it."
"Praise be," Whitley mumbled.
Another beat of silence followed before Ruby stumbled.
"Did you say you fought my dad?"
He waved a hand back and forth. "I said pretty sure. Red eyes, cape, scruffy? He smelled like a bar and that's saying something considering we were literally in a bar at the time."
"... You said you fought him?"
He nodded. "Tackled him through the floor. I'd do it again, too."
Ruby walked delicately up to her partner, grabbed both his hands for a moment and squeezed them, then pulled him into a hug.
"You are the best partner ever, you know that?"
He snorted but returned the embrace. Ruby's standards were unique, but he was glad he managed to meet them when it counted.
"Alright reunions over you lot, we've got a city to crash."
Raven, as always, pushed on through all the warm and gooey feelings going on around her. After all, she was correct in her statement. This only brought their attention to the shouting match going on behind her.
"We're not going through with this!"
"Yes we are, woman! It's for the sake of the world!"
"After the flood we nearly caused in Vacuo!? Or like how we destroyed an ocean!? Oh, I'm so glad we're saving the world! Maybe by the time we're done there'll even be something left to live in!"
"Oh for the love of—"
Adam and Jaune jostled at the volume. Had that been going on the whole time? And more to the point, the two participants of said fight didn't even acknowledge their arrival. The two teams converged and watched. Jaune turned to the rest, eyebrow raised as he jerked his head towards the two adults.
"Why's your mom fighting with the chair guy?" Adam asked, watching them go back and forth.
Ruby sighed. "You two kinda... Missed a lot."
"Meaning...?"
Yang spread her arms as wide as she could, standing on her tiptoes with her back arched and a grimace on her face.
"That much, huh?"
"You've got no idea."
Adam shared a look with Jaune.
"Summarize?"
The six of them looked between each other, mumbling something here and there before Ren took an obnoxiously deep breath.
"So it turns out that Ozpin is an ancient immortal wizard parasite and his ex wife and him have been waging a silent war for thousands of years so that they can get all these super powerful relics and summon the Brother Gods back to Remnant but they'll destroy the planet if they see that Salem is alive but Ozpin wants them to come back so he can kill them and we have three of those relics and the last one is in Atlas but it's what's keeping the city floating so if we take it it'll come crashing down and kill everyone in Mantle!"
Ren heaved in and out, hands in his knees after saying the entire summary in one go. Nora rubbed his back and looked at the two incredibly confused men.
"As ridiculous as that sounded, that was all accurate."
Adam rubbed at his horns and blinked a few times as he tried to digest everything he'd heard.
"Uh... Okay?"
Not really the most eloquent reply, but he didn't really know what else to answer with. Jaune tilted his head.
"So what are we doing here then?"
Behind them, Watts called an answer.
"Taking the staff!"
"No we aren't!"
Before the two could start again, the cliffside suddenly got warm. Actually, it got hot. Really hot. Like on fire hot.
"ENOUGH!"
Cinder was currently ablaze, the snow around them skipping the melting process and evaporating into steam as she stomped between the two.
"I am absolutely through with both of your voices! We are here on a mission to save the world! It doesn't matter how we do this, we are getting that staff!"
Watts shot Summer a smug look but Cinder grabbed his face and pulled him in, lifting him slightly from his chair.
"And Salem has given us direct orders to get as few people killed as possible. Good thing we've got Atlas's 'greatest mind' here to do that for us, hm?"
Now Summer was sending him the same smirk he sent her moments ago.
"Are we all clear?" Cinder punctuated her question with another stomp that caused the very edge of the cliff to crumble and fall.
Despite this, the two only groaned and relented.
"Crystal."
Satisfied enough, the heat dissipated and Cinder took a calming breath. Mercury and Emerald golf clapped from the sidelines.
Raven rolled her eyes. "Right. So what's our next move then?"
"Tyrian has located a warehouse we'll be using for our operation. It's in Mantle, so Atlas won't be as quick to catch on. Once we're there it'll be a matter of finding a way into Atlas undetected, getting the relic without killing the masses, and getting out before the good general finds us and breaks our necks."
Adam grunted. "Oh. Is that all?"
She ignored him. "We need to move now. By the time we reach the walls of Mantle it should be dark enough to avoid detection by any scouts. If we see any Atlesian drones, we destroy them."
Nora's eyes narrowed. "Won't that leave that section vulnerable?"
"No. If we do have to take down any robots, it'll immediately send alerts to Atlas. They'll send more thinking Grimm made it through, provided we don't let the drones see us first."
"And if they do?"
Cinder's lips flattened. "Then we're in for an even more difficult mission than before. We're in luck, however. We have an easy way in."
Cinder turned and batted her eyelashes at Raven, who dragged a hand down her face.
"I hate you, woman. So, so much."
After Raven had found Tyrian she had opened a portal to ferry them all in. The warehouse was cold and in poor condition, not suitable for living. Fortunately, this made it a good place to lay low. Unfortunately, they had to actually try and live in it for however many days this took.
"Well," Mercury collapsed into a corner and put his arms behind his head, "Beds were nice while they lasted."
The rest grumbled but found ways to set themselves up in various manageable ways. Watts in particular had set up an entire desk with monitors and was working away already.
Tyrian suggested they all try to sleep now, as the coming days would likely not allow them the time. As uncomfortable as the warehouse floor was, they managed to find some amount of rest, regardless of how quality it may have been.
The next day, they gathered for a debrief on the next step. Tyrian cleared his throat as he stepped forward.
"I have... news. Watts has found us a way up to Atlas."
"Judging by your tone, it's not exactly ideal?" Whitley groused.
"Just so. We need to get some of ourselves arrested."
Silence reigned after his declaration. That sounded like a fast track to being executed or tortured to death, to say nothing of the fact that getting arrested very likely meant coming face to face with the killer robot that was Ironwood, and who knew what he would do if he got his hands on any of them?
"You're joking." Raven snarled.
"Unfortunately not. In order to get ourselves into Atlas, and more to the point, close to the relic, we need to get ourselves into the heart of the Atlesian military. Their confidence in their security will work against them in this case."
"Likewise," Watts floated over from his setup, "It can't just be anyone. It has to be one of you three."
He pointed at Summer, Ruby, and Yang. Summer put her arm up in front of her girls.
"Absolutely not."
"It must be," Watts pressed. "We need to get in and the one with the portal semblance can't use it if she's detained in a cell with no way to access her aura."
"I'm with Sum, on this," Raven stomped. "I'm not letting you put my family at risk like that. Why don't I just fly in?"
Watts shook his head. "There aren't any ways for you to access it other than flying right into the vault itself, which Ironwood most assuredly has on complete surveillance. Not to mention the most important part; we don't have the winter maiden."
Tyrian cut in, addressing them all again. "That's part of this as well. Getting into the military headquarters is going to be a two pronged assault. One team will locate the maiden, the other will locate the vault."
Whitley interrupted. "How do you know the maiden is in Atlas?"
It was barely audible, but Tyrian tensed slightly at the question.
"We... Have reason to believe the maiden is... Weiss Schnee."
Whitley sputtered.
"What!?"
Watts pulled up a file. A file in Weiss. The fact had Whitley gritting his teeth.
"We have records of her time at Atlas academy. At some point just before the Vytal Tournament was set to begin, she suddenly had a massive influx of information from the combat instructor. They marked it down as her semblance developing or evolving. Notes indicate she was suddenly stronger, faster, and possessed a newfound control over dust that they'd never seen before. Sound familiar?"
It did, and the notion sickened him. Weiss had been the maiden when they'd seen each other last? And she'd said nothing?
"But... How'd Weiss become the maiden?" Ruby asked.
"We were confused as well. After some research we found both written and video records that, at the request of General Ironwood, she had been scheduled to visit an elderly woman for an apparent 'humanitarian program' whereby she would meet with a woman nearing her last years under the guise of her having no next of kin. We have reason to believe that woman was likely the then winter maiden, too old to properly use her powers. We speculate that, knowing this, Ironwood manipulated Weiss into becoming close with the woman, and in her last moments her thoughts would naturally drift to the girl who had been taking time to visit her."
Cinder hummed. "Thus passing on the powers to Weiss, all without her ever even knowing until it had already happened."
Whitley nearly fell, and would have if Adam hadn't caught him. The faunus squeezed his arm, a gesture the younger man appreciated.
"Assuming this is all true, which we are fairly certain, one team will find Weiss Schnee before bringing her to the vault, located by the other team. With luck, we'll be able to use the staff of creation to come up with a solution to its retrieval with minimal casualties."
Raven ground her teeth. "And that's all we've got for a plan? Get my family arrested and then try and brute force our way through the strongest military base in the world?"
"With luck, we won't need to do nearly as much fighting as you'd think," Tyrian placated. "We have the added benefit that we may be able to get the winter maiden into position without having to fight her."
With that said, he looked at Whitley, who swallowed and growled.
"I shall make an attempt to reason with my sister and... Persuade her to help us."
Tyrian inclined his head, the barest hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. Turning back, he addressed the Rose-Branwen family cautiously.
"We need a way to get all or most of us into Atlas. I assure you we have no intention of putting any of you in undue danger, but the risk is indeed high. It's our best idea, unless you have any others that work."
Raven seethed. "You're sure I can't just fly up to the vault?"
"We would need to get the maiden to either join us or meet us there, the latter of which being unlikely given she probably doesn't know the vault exists. And I reiterate, we may know that the maiden is in Atlas academy, but we don't know where. Every second getting ourselves into place will matter."
Ren scratched his head. "Can't Whitley just call Weiss?"
Watts snorted. "I can say with utmost certainty that my dear old general rust bucket will have everybody here monitored. That includes calls. But if she were to respond to the call of action and come across her own dear brother..."
Whitley scoffed and held a hand up. "Enough already! I already agreed!"
Summer stepped forward. "Then if we have to, I'll do it. I refuse to let either of my girls get out in a position like that."
Ruby looked ready to argue but Summer fixed her with a steely look. Yang just looked between the two, concern etched into her features.
Raven turned to Watts, her heated glare enough to cow most. "How will I know when to open the portal?"
Watts pulled out a small, circular disk, not even the full size of a coin.
"This will be placed in your," he gestures to Summer, "mouth. The roof of your mouth, specifically. When you press your tongue to it, it'll simply send a signal to myself. Nothing more than a sound notification."
Summer grimaced. "Why my mouth?"
"They'll likely search your whole person for anything suspicious. Thoroughly, and apologies in advance for that. Any metal detector they put you through would go off if it found anything larger, so the size and placement is tantamount to keeping it hidden."
Summer shuddered, but was even more resolved to keep Ruby and Yang from being the ones to go. She wouldn't be able to stop herself if she learned how they may be handled going through.
"But first," Tyrian paced, "we'll need to get Atlas's attention. And enough to have them recognize Summer as someone they need to arrest."
Pyrrha frowned. "But how? Is there anything we can do that won't hurt anyone but still get us on the radar?"
A cough cut through the tension and they all turned to the source. Adam tapped his foot impatiently, looking unimpressed.
Yang smirked. "Are you offering a suggestion?"
Adam shrugged, but there was no denying the look of mischief in his eyes.
"You could say I've been waiting for this moment for a long time."
"General Ironwood, sir!"
The android turned from the work on his desk just enough to see the soldier that had just run into his office.
"Speak."
"There's a commotion! Down in Mantle!"
The general's eyes narrowed only the slightest amount. He turned back what he was doing.
"I would hope you had more of a reason for this level of urgency, soldier. A 'commotion' is hardly uncommon."
"But sir! It is urgent! The causes of the disturbance are from your high priority list!"
His head snapped back up as he dragged a monitor into place. Typing at inhuman speeds, the camera feeds to Mantle started popping up.
"Sector."
The soldier stumbled. "Er, eighth."
The feed for the eighth sector came into view as he scrubbed through each tab. After sorting through several, some of the cameras began showing panic among civilians, with the citizens of Mantle running from... Something. Following the path that the people were fleeing from, the general found what he was looking for.
Stood atop a pile of decimated drones were faces he had made sure to record in his memory. Adam Taurus, sword held high as he cleaved yet another droid in two, laughing all the while, and Raven Branwen, who did the same but with far less visible enjoyment. Behind the two, he could make out another woman, swinging an axe around with a precision unknown to most who would wield such a weapon. Summer Rose.
If they were here, then the rest of them were likely nearby as well. He was not blind to what was happening. They wouldn't come here for nothing. Unless they wanted him dead that badly, they were after something far more valuable. That being said, Ozpin had specifically requested that these individuals be brought back alive, for whatever reason, and so, despite his programming telling him to kill on sight, he overrode it and gave the soldier an order.
"Pull back the drones and send in the specialists. I will be down shortly."
"Sir!" the soldier saluted then beat a hasty exit to follow his orders. Ironwood leaned back as he sent a command through to his ear. What robot needed a phone when he had one embedded in his ear at all times?
Soon after there was a ring, followed by only one more before someone picked up.
"James."
"They're here, Oz."
"... All of them?"
"Adam Taurus, Raven Branwen, Summer Rose."
"My my, what an assortment. I'll be along shortly."
The call hung up and Ironwood wished, not for the first time, that he could sigh. Leave it to Ozpin to cut the call off without another word. Regardless, he had people to meet.
The general stood and walked evenly towards the hangar.
"Adam, I feel like you're having too much fun."
"What gave you that impression!?"
Adam laughed outwardly as he impaled another robot through to the hilt of his sword before turning and throwing it off into another approaching droid. The two collapsed and leapt on top of them before driving his blade down through both.
"The maniacal laughter comes to mind."
He ignored Ruby as she spoke to him through an earpiece. He'd waited a long time to do something so wantonly destructive like this in spite of Atlas. He was going to bask, damn it.
"And to think we were saying that we didn't want to alert anyone by destroying drones."
Whitley's point may have been valid, but you know what else was valid? The roundhouse kick he just delivered that took off that last robot's head.
"And what couldn't me and Ren go with them again!? This is like, so lame!"
"Yang, we went over this." Ruby sounded annoyed, likely due to her sister badgering her for the last hour about this. "We don't want them finding all of us."
"But Watts already hacked his call! We know Ozpin is coming and they know we're all here!"
Adam hadn't really been paying attention when that information came through. He didn't really care, either. He was currently getting maximum wish fulfillment done right now and it was magical.
"Speaking of which," Watts interrupted, "incoming specialist forces to your location. I recommend we move on with the plan."
He sighed. Fun while it lasted. Killing off one more bot, he pulled out the device that the doctor had given them and started priming it.
"Remember, once these go off, we won't be able to hear from you. So do try not to fail spectacularly, hm?"
Watts' warning was met with a grunt from Raven and a sigh from Summer. Adam just ignored him.
"Be careful mom!" Ruby called through the device. "The minute you give us the signal we're busting you out!"
Summer smiled and leaned on her axe. "Yes sweetie, I know the plan."
The three present waited only another minute before they heard the telltale rumble of engines. Nodding to one another, they started to retreat from the scene, running through the winding streets of Mantle. Summer tossed her axe to Raven, who caught it and continued running.
When bullets started pinging against the street and the sound from before was right on top of them, the three split up. The forces chasing them did the same.
"On my mark." Watts mumbled through the earpiece. Adam held the device tighter.
He ducked through an alley as both a bullhead and a heavily armored truck barreled past for a moment before correcting and giving chase again. He hopped a fence, which the truck simply drove through and weaved through whatever bullets he couldn't catch on Wilt.
"You're both out of range of Summer. Activate when you get the chance."
Adam looked ahead. Empty street. Well, empty enough, everyone he could see was hiding behind cars or within the buildings. He started pouring it on, pumping aura through his legs as he pulled the device out.
Last time he'd ever get the chance to say this in earnest. May as well, to honor all his brothers and sisters lost in the Fang before it went south.
"To the fall of Atlas." He muttered, throwing the switch on the small grenade-like object. He hurled it straight up and kept running.
When it went off, people screamed and ducked, but none of them saw any smoke or fire. The explosion it released was more like a wave that buzzed through them, but when they realized they were fine, they peeked out.
The bullhead from before stuttered as its engines seized and came crashing down on top of the truck. The result of that caused the explosion everyone was waiting for. It also started all the screaming and running that Adam was waiting for, and he quickly joined the crowds as they fled, meshing into the masses as they panicked.
He continued to follow the crowds until they started growing thinner as people ran to their homes. Adam made sure to stick to the shadows and alleyways as he returned to the warehouse.
Raven was already there when he got back. Portals, he reminded himself.
When Adam walked in, Mercury gasped with far too much feigned shock.
"Where's Summer!?"
Emerald elbowed him, which hurt doubly due to her pointy metal elbows. As Mercury wheezed, Cinder addressed the two returning anarchists.
"Were you followed?"
Raven raised an eyebrow and cinder sighed.
"Right. And you?"
Adam shook his head. Watts groaned from the back of the room.
"That's what the EMPs were for, girl!"
"Well I was making sure you didn't hand them any faulty cockamamie invention, doctor."
The two devolved into bickering and the rest ignored them. That was generally how one dealt with arguments in this group. Ruby sulked in the corner as Adam rejoined his friends as they tried to cheer her up.
"Your mom will be fine," Whitley assured her, not actually knowing that information but believing it all the same.
"Here, kid," Raven handed Ruby her moms weapon, "you can take care of it until we get the signal. She'd trust you with it the most."
Ruby accepted the axe and cradled it like one would an infant. Some things never changed. Pyrrha sat next to the reaper and rubbed her arm.
"Don't worry, Ruby. We have a contingency plan, remember?"
Ah yes, the tried and true backup plan of teams YSTR and PAVL.
Ren jumped. "We blow up the jail!"
Hey, randomly blowing things up had worked wonders for them so far. Why wouldn't it work here?
"For now we just have to be patient," Whitley, always the naysayer of Plan B (the B meant 'blow it up') ignored the rest of them and continued to soothe the girl. "If we move too hastily things will only get harder."
And so they played the waiting game. Yang kicked her legs, looking idly around the empty warehouse as she blew air out of her teeth in no particular rhythm. The rest of them just idled around, awkwardly.
"... Man, I'm bored!"
Maybe the waiting game would be harder than they thought.
That does it for now. We're very close to the end here. This story had some slight changes to its timeline from when it first came out, but I made a vow that I wouldn't be updating it to fit anything past volume 8 since that's a lot of work and I can't be arsed to include it.
Just being transparent.
Anyways, sorry for the delay yet again. We'll be done soon though, so bear with me as I try to tie up this story.
Follow to stay updated, as I'm aware the site is having constant conniption fits, and leave a review to give me serotonin.
Stay safe and have a wonderful time!