Author's Notes
Howdy again! I'm glad so many of you enjoyed this story so far, I certainly enjoy writing it! I want to thank those of you who left kind reviews, and for those of you that warrant a response, I'll be putting them here.
Yang34: Oh for sure. There will be a lot of conflict between the two of them, rest assured.
Essiter: Great to see you again, ad I'm glad you like the 'partnerships' so far. They were deliberately chosen to, of course, mostly create friction, with Weiss and Vesta being the main bastion of partnership. Also, I do think you should be at least a bit concerned for Jaune.
Guest: Your doubts are understandable, but I have changed how I operate a lot since most of those stories went live. I've learned to pick and choose what I write and when better, and right now Convergence Coronation and one other story (False Attribution) are my main priorities, and will continue to be so. I hope to prove your doubts wrong in the best way, by simply doing it.
I hope everyone enjoys this chapter!
While Team RWBY's members all had varying levels of enthusiasm at being given the job of organizing the dance, none of them were going to not do it. After all, now that they weren't able to go on missions or participate in combat class, the only thing they had to do outside of their other classes was prepare.
Yet, before they could do that, they first had to get through their ordinary classes without raising any eyebrows. Ozpin had made it clear that nobody was to know about their magic, or their new 'room-mates', and each of the girls agreed that that was for the best. If they didn't get thrown in the 'grippy sock fun house' for acting crazy, they'd certainly draw some kind of attention, undoubtedly negative.
And the first gauntlet they faced that morning was, for some of them, just getting ready.
Blake took a shower and dressed in her school uniform. When she looked in the mirror to brush her hair, she heard Meghara sound rather disgusted in her head, "This is the uniform? Ugh… reminds me of all the formal dresses Salem wanted me to wear when I was younger. You should tear the skirt a bit, or wear some pants."
"Uhh…" Blake furrowed her brow and shook her head. "No. I'm not going to damage my uniform just because you like things casual." She huffed and stepped out of the bathroom, going to stuff her textbooks into her bag while ignoring Meghara's complaints in her head.
Next was Yang, who first had to deal with Venus talking about how hot she looked and how she should really get a boyfriend, that any guy would do anything to be with her. Then she had to put on her outfit while trying not to be annoyed with Venus gushing over how cute the uniform looked. She then stepped out of the bathroom and immediately headed out to go to the Dining Hall to drink as much coffee as she could stomach.
Ruby came after, dawning her uniform and putting her cloak on afterward. She heard Persephone in her head note, "Adding your cloak to the uniform? An interesting choice, is that within the school's dress code?"
To which, Ruby sighed and said, "Yes, Ozpin has seen it before, he's fine with it."
Persephone seemed pleased. "Good. Now, I hope you're ready to study! People like us need to be the very best! That means paying attention in class, taking notes, and doing our best no matter what."
Ruby groaned and shook her head. "No! I don't need to study!" She stomped off, intent on not studying just to spite Persephone.
She just wished she could escape the other girl's badgering, "You need to! How else are we going to be prepared for whatever comes next?" Ruby wondered if Persephone was better or worse than Weiss, before settling on worse.
At least she could get away from Weiss by hiding in JNPR's dorm!
Meanwhile, Weiss' morning was… more or less exactly the same as it had been yesterday. She took a shower, got dressed in her uniform, then started brushing her hair. It was during this that she heard Vesta comment, "Your hair is rather lovely. The ponytail you wore yesterday wasn't how you'd expect to see one. Is there a reason for that?"
Weiss nodded, smirking slightly. "When you grow up with as little control as I did, you find ways to show rebellion."
"I think it looks lovely, although your hair in general looks fantastic. Have you considered letting it down, instead of keeping it up?"
Weiss blushed at the compliment before she rubbed her chin. "Hmm. I don't usually, a ponytail keeps it from getting in my way while I'm training. But… I might consider it for the future." She finished up fixing her hair before turning and leaving, heading to the Dining Hall like the rest of her team.
The next challenge, and indeed the one that would be a challenge to all of them, was navigating their school life without anyone getting suspicious about their behavior or figuring out that they actually had four other girls living in their head, making Team RWBY technically eight.
And if three's a crowd, what was eight?
"Just act natural," Vesta advised, "Do as you do normally. Although you may need to put some effort into helping the others more than yourself. While we are quite in sync, the same cannot be said for them."
Oh how right she was. Weiss arrived at the Dining Hall and looked to the table they usually sat at to find a rather odd sight. Namely, JNPR was sitting across from Yang, Ruby, and Blake while Yang seemed to be muttering angrily to herself, Ruby was aggressively reading a comic book, and Blake… well, Blake looked normal, but it was easy to tell she was fairly tense.
Meanwhile, JNPR looked at them with a mixture of confusion and concern. As Weiss arrived and sat down, the other team looked almost relieved to see how normal she appeared to be. "Good morning," Weiss greeted with a small smile, though she smiled a bit brighter at Pyrrha. "How're you guys today?"
Pyrrha waved at her politely, "Hello again~!" She greeted in her usual sing-songy tone. "How are you today, Weiss? I hear that yesterday you and your team went on a little… excursion?"
Weiss had to wonder who had told them about that, but seeing the awkward look on Ruby's face was more than enough to confirm who it was. Still, there was nothing to be done about it now, and normally this sort of thing wouldn't be a major deal anyway (well, relatively speaking, given the things RWBY had been getting up to). "Oh, it was quite… enlightening. Professor Ozpin lives in a very nice place. I kind of wish my home back in Atlas looked like it."
"Oh, if only you could have seen Castle Everday…" Vesta mused with a tinge of homesickness in her voice. "The manor my father lives in now reminds me of it, but even that manor is only a shadow of the beauty of my home. Maybe I'll be able to share memories of it with you, sooner or later."
Weiss felt a tinge in her chest, she could tell it came from Vesta. A profound sense of longing, of wistful homesickness. What was the Vacuan term for it? She couldn't quite remember at the moment... Weiss kept her smile free of this homesickness thanks to her ample training with keeping up appearances.
Jaune, oblivious to this struggle, smiled awkwardly. "Yeah, uh… I'm surprised Glynda didn't give you guys detention for the rest of the semester." He glanced at Yang, who smiled at him in a strangely too-innocent way, as if trying to pretend like she wasn't up to anything but very much was. "And… is everything alright, Yang? You're looking a bit… weird."
Yang tried to play it casual, waving her hand dismissively while laughing the kind of laugh that was meant to seem natural, but absolutely wasn't. "Pfft, what, me? Weird? Naaw! I'm just the same ol' me!" She grinned and pointed at herself with her thumb. "Yang Xiao-Long! Miss 'Not Weird!' Ha ha! Ha…" She deflated slightly, scratching her cheek and looking away, giving up on the act. "Eh… I just feel strange. Maybe I'm getting sick?"
At least that lie, Weiss felt, was more believable than the prior one.
True to his (Weiss had to admit) good nature, Jaune gained a worried expression. "Oh? Are you gonna be able to go to class today? If you're feeling bad, I can just show you my notes! I mean," he scratched his cheek awkwardly, "I usually copy my notes from Pyrrha, but that just means they're even better than what I could write on my own."
Much to Weiss' shock, Yang blushed at this offer. It was subtle, not enough for anyone to notice unless they were paying attention, but it was still there. "Ah, that…" She seemed to consider the idea for a moment. "I think I'll be okay going to class, but… if you want to share your notes after, that'll help." She smiled an awkward smile that was uncharacteristic of her (though Vesta assured her that Venus hadn't taken control, Venus would never look awkward like that).
"Oh, sure!" Jaune grinned. "I'll meet you at the library afterward."
Weiss noticed Pyrrha looking… confused? She didn't seem upset (though the rumors of her feelings for Jaune were well known by everyone but Jaune at this point), just confused. Still, she smiled after a moment, seeming to be happy that Jaune was taking some initiative.
Weiss cleared her throat and took a sip of her coffee before saying, "Pyrrha, if you'd like, we can study together as well! You're one of the top scoring students, so I know you don't need it, but it still couldn't hurt to go over notes together!" While her relationship with Pyrrha hadn't started the best (her desire for a strong partner to dominate Beacon with was certainly a part of that), they were at least on speaking terms now!
Yet, Pyrrha just smiled awkwardly at her. "Oh, thank you Weiss, but I think I'm going to put in an extra couple hours at the gym instead. I need to keep my form in top shape, after all."
If it weren't for her composure, Weiss might have deflated. Vesta spoke to her, "Don't worry, we can find another opportunity later. She is rather beautiful, isn't she?"
Weiss blushed lightly and thought, 'She is. I think… I might have a crush on her.' She wasn't sure how it started, she wasn't sure when, she just knew that it had.
In response, Vesta said, "There will be time enough to try to romance her in the future, as the prospect does interest me quite a lot as well… for now, we just need to accept that she likely wishes to be alone after classes right now."
Weiss smiled at Pyrrha. "Okay, I understand." She knew Vesta was right. There'd be more opportunities to try and get to know the Invincible Girl more in the future. For now, she needed to play her cards right, lest she end up with a losing hand. 'At least we can work together on this.'
Afterward, they all finished their food and took their leave, heading for their first class, Grimmology.
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Blake found sitting around difficult with the stirring emotions in her heart. Everything Meghara felt, she felt. Not as intense, but intense enough that the burning fire in her heart hadn't ceased burning since the day before, and she wondered if it ever would.
'Do you even have an off switch?' Blake dryly wondered. 'I can't imagine you feel like this all day every day. It sounds tiring.'
"Look who's talking." Meghara quipped back. "Aren't you the one who's been planning to pull all nighters behind your friends' backs to learn more about the terrorist organization you used to work for?"
Blake's face drew into a slight frown as her brow furrowed. The worst part about having someone sharing the same headspace as her was that she couldn't hide anything from them. 'Touche.'
Professor Port's lecture had been as droll and utterly boring as it had always been, but today was one of the very special days. A day where he had brought in a live Grimm in a cage, although this time the cage was much bigger, at least the size of a small car (how he had gotten this into Beacon was a question Blake really didn't want to ask). He then asked, "Now! Is anyone willing to step up to today's challenge? To show how much you have improved since last semester? Grimmology 102 may be more intensive than 101, but just because you've more book work to do doesn't mean you can let your physical prowess decline."
Before anyone else could volunteer, Blake raised her head. Her team and her other friends looked surprised at this, but Port just grinned from under his mustache. "Ah, Miss Belladonna! It's rare that we get to see you in action! Go on and get geared up. Students, I recommend you all move further back. This specimen can get rather destructive!"
Without another word, Blake left to gear up. She could feel Meghara's excitement, and she had to admit that she was looking forward to burning off some steam before she got to work on tracking down the White Fang. After she dressed in her Huntress gear and grabbed her weapon, she made her way back to the classroom.
Once there, she readied Gambol Shroud in its cleaver form as Port grabbed his rifle and made his way to the cage, which he opened with a swing of his axe.
Out came running a Beringel, which roared angrily as it honed in on the first person it saw, Blake. The buzzing feeling of excitement grew within her, and she felt Meghara's own power surge through her. It was subtle, but it was there. As it approached, she grabbed her ribbon and pulled it loose, before letting it go.
The Beringel moved to slam its fist down where Blake was standing, but she moved. Her semblance activated, and in a blink she was at the beast's side. She brought down her cleaver on its leg, and the beast roared in pain as it was cut into. Then, in another blink, Blake disappeared and reappeared above the beast, at its back.
In one smooth motion, she drew her wakizashi and plunged it into the beast's back and dragged it down for a moment before blinking away again as it tried to claw at its back. Thus, she began a pattern.
Move, strike, move, strike, with movements so fast that it would be hard for the untrained eye to follow. All the while she was wrapping her ribbon around it, in as many places as she could. The beast hadn't even had the ability to strike her once, the slow and lumbering thing couldn't hope to catch her.
Finally, after a few seconds, the Beringel was entirely wrapped in the ribbon. It fell forward with a roar as it struggled to break free. Then, Blake jumped onto its back and raised her cleaver again. It caught fire, to everyone observing (save her teammates) it appeared that she had just used Fire Dust. Then she brought down her cleaver on its neck, cutting its head off and cauterizing its wound in the process.
Her blade still burned even as the fight came to an end, though it cut off as the clapping of the students reached her ears and the cheers from her friends reminded her just where she was. She cleared her throat as she heard Professor Port praise her for her efficient takedown, and told her that she may return to her chair after she changed back into her uniform.
She left the classroom, and nobody saw the smoke that left her nostrils when she exhaled.
/-/
Thankfully, the rest of their classes were uneventful. Helped, of course, by the fact that they weren't allowed to participate in combat class.
Ruby wondered if maybe Ozpin would be upset that Blake decided to fight the Beringel, but ultimately decided that it ended up fine.
Meanwhile, Yang was still annoyed by the lack of fighting she'd be getting to do that day. As she and the others in the team made their way to the Dance Hall, she tried to ignore Venus' excited words as she said, "This is going to be awesome~! I haven't been to a proper dance in… well, five thousand years! I can't wait to see how much everything's changed!"
'How is it,' Yang wondered, 'that you seem to know so much about fashion trends and other things, but on things like dancing and the like, you're clueless? How do you know anything about the modern day?"
"Simple!" Venus responded. "It was more or less osmosis. I'd hear things, see things, watch things, as best I could. That means there's a lot of gaps in my knowledge of what's hot, but that doesn't mean I'm totally oblivious!"'
'No, you're oblivious for totally different reasons.' Yang quipped with some annoyance, ignoring Venus' annoyed complaints about how she was totally not oblivious as she kept walking.
Once they arrived at the Dance Hall, immediately different members of the team set off on different tasks. Weiss took the role of leader of their efforts to design and plot things, while Yang agreed to move whatever needed to be moved, and Blake… well, Blake kind of just sat in a corner.
Meanwhile, Ruby crossed her arms and stood against a wall while watching Weiss work. She heard Persephone in her mind say, "You should be helping! This is a great opportunity for us to show how great we are at organizing things!"
'I'm not!' Ruby retorted with a huff. 'I'm good at fighting, I'm good at calling the shots on a battlefield, I'm not an event organizer! If I have to try and decide what color looks best I think I'll tear my hair out.'
"Come oonn, you should try it! I know you have never even tried." Persephone egged her on. "I know you have it in you to be royalty! I mean, why else would our souls be deemed compatible enough to be merged? If anything, you should take it as a compliment!"
Ruby snorted the most unladylike snort she could muster as she just crossed her arms harder (somehow) and leaned against the wall. "It's not gonna happen." Ruby stated under her breath. "I'm not a royal! I'm not a princess! I'm a Huntress!"
Meanwhile, to say Yang was having difficulties was more than a little bit of an understatement. She just wanted to focus on moving anything Weiss wanted moved, but Venus really wanted to contribute to the conversation. She kept insisting Yang tell her ideas to Weiss, and when she did, well…
"Give me the wheel, if you don't want to do it!"
"Wha- No!" Yang grimaced as she gripped her head, a mental battle for the controls ensued as her eyes glowed a mixture of blue and lavender, alternating every five seconds. "Come oonnn!" Yang's voice mingled with Venus'. "No! Stop! I'm going to find out how to kick your ass and kick iiii- Pink Drapiers- No! Fuck off!"
Weiss looked towards Yang with worry, and was about to say something when Vesta said, "Allow me." Weiss nodded and gave control to Vesta, her eyes turning a muddied mix of brown and blue. She then walked up to Yang and said, "Venus!" Getting the fighting to stop as Yang-Venus froze and looked at her. "Stop that! You need to learn to act your age!" She pointed at Yang-Venus while placing her other hand on her hip. "We've been given a second chance at life and we need to work together with our hosts, instead of trying to wrest control from them! If you don't then I swear to the Gods above I'll find a way to get into Yang's head just to teach you a lesson! Understand me?!"
Weiss never thought she'd see Yang look so thoroughly scolded before, but thankfully Yang-Venus said, "Okay… Sorry Vesta…"
"Ah! Apologize to Yang!"
"Sorry Yang…" Venus said before surrendering control back to Yang.
The blonde nearly fell on her knees, but stopped herself as she muttered, "Fuck… Why couldn't I have gotten the fiery ass kicker or the stern and in-charge one?" She grumbled before smiling at Vesta-Weiss. "Thanks, Vesta. Good looking out." She rubbed her head. "I think Venus locked herself away, somehow… weird to have a quiet skull again."
Vesta nodded and smiled gently. "She's just pouting. She'll get over it eventually. I swear, she hasn't always acted like such a child. It's like her personality dials were turned all the way up…" As for why she started acting that way, there were numerous theories that could be thrown out, but Vesta didn't want to speculate too much at the moment. "...Then again, the same could be said for Meghara." She sighed and shook her head. "No matter now."
Then, she returned control to Weiss. "I couldn't have told her off better myself." Weiss muttered to herself before nodding to Yang. "Right, if that's over, then we should get Blake and- wait, where's Blake?"
Indeed, Blake was nowhere to be seen.
Ruby spoke up from her position leaning against the wall. "I think I saw her leave, but I was too busy talking to Persephone to really notice." She grumbled. "She's been acting cagier than normal lately, but I guess that's not the weirdest thing…"
"Should we go after her?" Yang wondered worriedly. It was hard not to be worried about Blake right now, given everything that was going on inside and outside of each of them.
"Hmm… no." Weiss shook her head and crossed her arms. "Not yet… give her some space. Then, if she doesn't come around later, then we'll confront her. We need to all stick together, especially with all of this mess going on."
All three girls wanted to believe that Blake was just going to do something different and not going to spend time researching the White Fang, but they all knew in the back of their heads that that was what she was planning to do. They just hoped that Blake didn't wear herself out too much.
That was the last thing any of them needed.
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Ozpin sighed as he rubbed his forehead and leaned backward in his chair.
Ever since RWBY had gotten fused with his daughters, he had been pulling strings, calling in favors, and researching everything he could get his hands on in order to try and discern some way of preventing their merge.
He knew that there existed other magical relics that weren't created by the Gods. Things that were leftover from the time of First Humanity, things that had survived the world being cleansed in deep vaults and other remote recesses of the world.
He had purposefully not been looking for them, because most of them weren't of any real importance, and the more he thought about the humanity that had been lost, the sadder he became. Yet, it was a necessity now, and if he could find something to help stop the merge, then it would be worth all of the painful memories of the world that had been lost.
In all of this madness, he had almost forgotten that there were some people he needed to tell about RWBY's situation. Not only because it was the right thing to do, but because they might be able to help keep an eye on them in the future.
That was what led him to send Qrow a message telling him to return from his mission. He didn't tell him why, it was much too risky to send something like that over text, even if the network they were on was secure, better safe than sorry.
It only took Qrow a day to return, and once he did he headed up the elevator. Ozpin heard him speak, "Oz, is somethin' going on?" Qrow started over and sat across from him. "You've called off missions early before, but never like this."
Ozpin grimaced and took a sip of his hot chocolate before setting it down. "This is a matter of utmost importance, and I couldn't tell you about it over the ScrollNet. You know I have always preferred discretion." He bridged his hands and looked down briefly. "It's to do with Team RWBY. They are fine, physically, but…" He shook his head. "Allow me to start from the beginning."
So, he told the story as it had happened up to this point. That RWBY had broken into his home (which got Qrow to make a joke, "those're my nieces alright"), and then he moved on to explain the more difficult part. "Five thousand years ago, Qrow, Salem and I had…started up a partnership that evolved into something more. For a time, I thought that maybe we could work together peacefully to unify humanity. We got married and had children, we ruled over a kingdom as… pretend gods."
Qrow blinked a few times. "Woah… shit." He shook his head, clearly trying to get some image out of his head. "That's somethin' alright, but what's that got to do with Team RWBY?"
Ozpin lowered his gaze again. "After I tried to sneak my daughters and I out of the castle, she caught me. She said she felt betrayed, that she thought me a fool to refuse her vision of the future, to protect these… husks of what humanity had been. We got into a fight, me and my daughters against her. We lost. My daughters and I were killed. Or, so I thought…
"You are aware of the fact that I reincarnate, that each person who melds with me becomes part of the whole. I am technically the same Lucian Ozpin that existed prior, but also… Ozma. I was inexorably changed thanks to the merge, I am not the same person I used to be prior. I am someone new. And… what I was unaware of, was… some keepsakes of my daughters that I had been holding on to for five thousand years in various ways had become… hosts. To them. And when Team RWBY came in contact with them…"
"Wait…" Qrow rubbed his eyes and shook his head. "Y-You're not serious, right?" He leaned forward. "Oz, tell me you're joking! This…" He ran a hand through his hair. "They're…"
"I'm afraid I'm not joking." Ozpin grimaced again. "My daughters have merged with Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang. How they persisted, I don't know, but they did. They are not fully one with RWBY yet, it seems to be a gradual process like my reincarnations are, but… I'm afraid that, if nothing is done about it, every member of Team RWBY will become someone new. Not quite my daughters, and not quite the girls they used to be."
"Fuck…" Qrow muttered, before standing up and kicking the chair he had been in across the room. "Fuck!" He gritted his teeth and began to pace for a moment, before stopping. "Wait, wait…" He looked at Ozpin. "You said 'if nothing is done about it', does that mean…?"
Ozpin nodded. "On Remnant, there exist various magical relics that were not created by the gods, leftovers from those who came before. If anything might be able to stop their merge, it would be that. I've never looked for such a thing myself because the divine mandate of my reincarnation would overwrite any power the relics had, I know this. But… if it could save them…"
Qrow took a deep breath and seemed to relax, though anxiety was still clearly writ on his face. "Okay, so… not all hope's lost." He took out his flask and drank from it. "I'm guessin' you want me to go looking for these things?"
"I am looking as hard as I can from here, but I can't afford to go on trips to various sites that could hold them. So, yes… I will need you to be the boots on the ground. Take some time to collect yourself, I'll be sending you coordinates to follow later."
Qrow nodded, but his expression darkened as something crossed his mind. "...We're gonna have to tell Tai, aren't we?"
"I'm afraid so." Ozpin hated the idea, but it would have to be done. "Just… not now. Not yet. If we can't find anything within a couple month's time, then we will tell him. I just… don't want him to fall back into that pit he was in after Summer died."
"Yeah… neither do I." Qrow shook his head and turned away. "Keep me updated, Oz…" He took a swig from his flask again. "Man…
"I'm gonna need stronger whiskey."
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The sound of moving weights filled the otherwise silent classroom that Blake sat in.
She pored over countless texts—magazines, newspapers, the occasional book, and even articles online—all in an effort to try and discern what the White Fang was trying to do. At Meghara's insistence, she had begun to lift weights while reading, just using a small dumbbell to always be working out, always doing something with body and mind both.
It kept the fire more subdued, and it kept her mind busy.
Meghara made a comment as they read over a news article. "So these terrorists are really just… going for it, huh? Robbing Dust stores, trying to rob a whole shipment from the docks… they're asking to get burned. So what are we going to do about it?"
"I'm getting an idea." Blake muttered. "I just need to make sure that this is where it is…" She'd been at this for several days, her team not seeing her for most of it, and though they worried, she always left before they could say anything. With the adjustments to their new headmates still underway, none of them were really able to focus too much on what she was doing.
In a strange way, having Meghara was something of a blessing. She was never alone. While that might have annoyed her at one point, she found Meghara to be agreeable company. They shared the same drive to try and change things around them, even if there was more to them than just that. She didn't judge her for staying so doggedly devoted to this one task, if anything, she understood. A kindred spirit.
"They're probably going to confront us tonight." Meghara said before manifesting as a visage only visible to Blake, standing at her side and reading the same thing Blake was. "Your team and my sisters know us well enough to know what we're doing. They're probably going to want to get involved, and I don't think we can tell them no."
Blake took a deep breath and then sighed before muttering, "I know." She changed which arm she was lifting with and said, "Even if I can look after myself, they're not going to want me to go it alone, and I… promised them I would tell them if something like this came up again."
Meghara nodded and huffed. "Then I guess we'd better face the music. If you've got something that needs to be done, getting it done with help is going to make it a hell of a lot easier." She then dissipated, returning to Blake's mind.
Blake sighed and stood up, gathering the books and papers she'd been reading while muttering, "I know." again.
She left the room she was in and started walking. All the while her mind kept thinking about what the White Fang were doing. She had narrowed down their base to likely being a warehouse in the industrial district, but there were still a lot of questions to ask. When were they going to steal again? What were they stealing all of that Dust for? How did Roman Torchwick tie into all of this? Things that she wondered, but couldn't answer on her own.
'I probably wouldn't be telling them anything if it wasn't for you.' Blake pointed out. 'I'm not exactly a team player all the time. At least, not when it comes to the White Fang." She appreciated her team, her friends, greatly, but she felt personally responsible for what the White Fang was doing, and if she had a say in the matter, she'd be working on this all on her own.
"I'm a good influence for once? Shocker." Meghara noted dryly. "Usually I'm not. I guess I'll take this win." Meghara herself had been trying to learn as much as she could about the White Fang, both from Blake's memories and from the things Blake was researching. Their minds weren't fully merged, so she didn't have access to all of Blake's memories, just as Blake didn't have access to all of hers, but she knew with time it would come.
At least, if they didn't find some way to stop it.
They eventually arrived at the dorm, thankfully the team wasn't there yet. It gave her time to put away the dumbbell and set the papers on her bed to do a bit more research before they arrived.
She ended up getting thirty more minutes of researching before the door opened and her team stepped in. All three of them looked up at her, and Ruby said, "Blake… we're worried about you. You've been… distant."
"More so than usual." Weiss added, crossing her arms. "So, Blake Belladonna, what is wrong? You need to tell us, you promised you would."
"I know…" Blake responded, finding she had been saying that a lot today. She then got off the bed, landing on the ground. "It's the White Fang. I didn't want to tell you guys any of this, but… Meghara talked me into it." She sighed. "I think the White Fang is planning something big. Bigger than the Dust heists and the docks. I have a lead on where they'll be, but I can't do this all on my own. So… I need your guys' help."
All three of them looked shocked at Blake actually being so forward with what she needed, but the shock was gotten over quickly as Yang smiled. "Awwh, Blake, good of you to think of your sisters." They were both metaphorically sisters and, with their new headmates, literally sisters in a way.
"Yes…" Weiss nodded. "It is. You know we'll help you, so…"
Ruby finished her thought. "What's the plan?"
Blake was about to speak, but then she heard the window opening. Sun Wukong's voice came into the room. "Yo! We heard there was some undercover stuff going on." He grinned from his position seemingly hanging from the window sill. "I think we can help you. Neptune and I are real discreet."
Blake was about to turn him down, but sighed and shook her head to herself. "Fine, come in. We can't afford to take any chances with this."
"So this is the boy that's been helping you?" Meghara noted, and as Blake told her 'yes' in her mind, she hummed. "I see. He looks capable. He'll probably be able to take down hordes of White Fang on his own, it's a good idea to have him."
Once Sun and Neptune were inside, Blake said, "Alright, so… here's the plan."
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"You know we didn't actually have to go to the CCTS Tower, right, Ruby?" Weiss tiredly said as they headed for the aforementioned building. "We could have just made a phone call."
"What can I say?" Ruby smiled awkwardly. "I've never been here before and I thought it'd be cool! And I was right." Besides, the CCTS offered way stronger connections than just calling someone on the phone.
"There is someone watching us." Persephone noted. "Does not seem hostile, but I would still keep your eyes open."
Ruby blinked and looked around, before spotting the last person she had expected to see. Penny Polendina had been looking at her, but turned away and started walking when Ruby looked in her direction.
That raised a few red flags in her mind, because Penny was not the kind of girl to just ignore her. If anything, she was the opposite! So that meant something had to be wrong. "Weiss, you go ahead. I need to… check on something." Weiss just shrugged and headed on, while Ruby went after Penny.
"Penny!" She called out, yet the girl still pretended to not hear her. "Don't ignore me! I'm right here!" She stepped in front of Penny and finally, she stopped running. "Penny, it's been weeks. Please!" She placed her hands on the other girl's shoulders. "Tell me what's wrong."
Penny looked at her with wide eyes, and Ruby let go after realizing how close she was, blushing red as she rubbed the back of her neck. Penny looked around and whispered to her, "It's not safe to talk here. Come with me."
"Ooh, who is this…" Persephone wondered with an intrigued tone. "She looks rather cute!"
Ruby was glad that Penny had turned around so she couldn't see her blush when she thought, 'Yeah, she is, but that's not important right now!' She hurried after Penny, not wanting to get left behind.
/-/
Weiss wasn't entirely sure why Ruby had run off, but she supposed it ultimately didn't matter. 'Just you and me,' she thought to Vesta as they progressed into the tower and entered an elevator that would take them to one of the communication rooms.
"So it would seem," Vesta replied, "But that's not a bad thing. I rather enjoy your company, you know." She meant that, out of all of the people that this could have happened with, she was glad it had happened to her and Weiss, if only for that. And even if that made her feel guilty, because of what the probable end result would be.
Weiss blushed lightly. 'I enjoy yours too. This situation would be much worse if I had been stuck with, say… Venus. No offense, but she's rather… annoying." That wasn't even meant as a diss really, just a statement of fact. Yang was suffering a lot due to Venus, but Weiss could at least take some guilty joy in the fact that she wasn't in her place.
Vesta hummed. "None taken. She can be rather… that, sometimes. She was always like that, but not quite as bad. I think the events that happened that night are still having massive effects on her, as it does all of us. It may have been five thousand years ago, but… it hasn't entirely been that to us."
As the elevator came to a stop, Weiss had to stop herself from quizzically furrowing her brow as she headed further into the place and sat at one of the terminals. 'How exactly did being stuck in those keepsakes work for you guys? I don't think you ever told me." She didn't want to imagine that they had been entirely aware of the passage of time, but the possibility was there. She might have asked the same thing about Ozpin, but he was able to do things all of that time, he was always… there. Not them. Not the sisters.
Vesta paused for a moment before she responded, saying, "It… was strange. We weren't always conscious, but occasionally we would find ourselves aware of our surroundings. We used that time to catch up to what was going on around us, but… there wasn't much that we could do otherwise. All we could really do… was wait. At least we weren't entirely aware of those five thousand years. I don't think we'd have been able to stay sane."
The very idea made Weiss shudder. They might not have been entirely aware of what was going on at all times, but still. Time simply slipping through their hands and leaving them as nothing but, essentially, ghosts was, for lack of a better word, haunting to imagine. 'I don't know how you all managed to survive that without going insane. Even if you weren't entirely aware of everything… that had to have affected you in some way.'
Vesta was silent for a few moments before she said softly, "It did, Weiss. Trust me, it did. Each of us carries scars from that time. I was left asking if that… if that was all life was. Nothing but quiet, nothing but waiting. Just occasional awareness, and haunting memories of the past. To be free of that… it's a miracle. I just wish it hadn't come at your expense, you and your friends deserve better."
Weiss felt the weight of Vesta's emotions clear as day, it took all of her willpower not to shed a tear. Yet, somehow she managed. Instead she smiled slightly while starting to type on the console. 'You and your sisters deserve better as well. Maybe… maybe someday we'll find a solution.' Maybe some day she'd be there in the flesh, there with her as a staunch ally.
Finally, she connected with the SDC. After talking briefly with the woman who answered (and very swiftly declining talking to her father), she received the information she needed and began to look it over. All the while, Vesta commented, "You don't like your father very much, do you?"
Weiss had to stop herself from shaking her head. 'No. He's… not a nice man. He only married my mother for the money and was always such a… cold man. He only wanted me to be the perfect heiress, and I wanted more. I had to carve out my own way, somehow.'
"I… see. I can't see all of your memories, but the little bit I can does paint an unpleasant picture. I don't think I would like to meet him. He might not survive the encounter, and that would be troublesome for both of us." She spoke in a lighthearted tone at the end, but Weiss knew she wasn't joking.
Still, the idea of Vesta somehow taking revenge on her father for her made her snicker, and she was just glad that nobody saw it. 'I think that would be… interesting to see. Hopefully we won't have to encounter him anytime soon. He should stay far away, in Atlas."
Finally, Weiss downloaded all of the data she needed onto her Scroll and stood up, walking to the elevator again. Vesta sounded amused as she said, "Good.
For his sake, I hope it stays that way."
/-/
Ruby and Penny headed for the Bullhead port while Ruby explained what was going on to Penny. It was only after they landed and started walking that Penny commented on it, gaining an apologetic tone as she said, "I wish I could help you, Ruby, but I don't know anything about those men…"
Ruby accepted that, and she moved the conversation forward by asking, "So what happened to you that night? You just vanished, and we haven't seen you in weeks!" She wanted to tell Penny how sad it made her, but she couldn't quite find the words for it. Instead she settled on saying, "I was worried about you…"
Penny looked at Ruby with sad eyes. "I've never been to another kingdom before, and my father asked me not to venture out too far, but… You have to understand, my father loves me very much, he just worries a lot! I did not… I did not want to leave you."
"I… I get the feeling, believe me." Ruby grinned, which Penny returned. "But… why not let us know you were okay? We were all really worried." She most of all, but she wouldn't tell Penny that.
"I was asked not to talk to you…" She said after a moment's pause. "Or anyone from Vale. It hurt a lot, but… I understood why I was told that. Why it was important."
"I know that feeling…" Persephone said in Ruby's head. "Moth- Salem, rather, was always very careful to not allow us to mingle with the 'commoners'. At the time I thought it was because she did not want anything bad to happen to us, but I think now that she just thought the commoners did not deserve to see us."
Ruby couldn't imagine that. It would be like if Taiyang fell off the deep end and locked her away inside because he was afraid of losing her, and she was forced to just stay inside until eventually she got sick of it and ran away. "Was your dad that upset?"
"No, it wasn't my father…" Penny said, but the conversation stopped as the sound of a megaphone alerted them to a presentation that was going on, with General Ironwood presenting Atlesian androids, talking about how they would help reduce the necessity of humans to put their lives at risk defending their homes.
"Ruby…" Persephone spoke in a warning tone, 'you shouldn't be here. I do not know what it is, but that man, I feel that his soldiers would not appreciate seeing Penny running around the town. Call it a gut feeling."
Ruby nodded to herself, which made Penny look at her curiously. She then stepped back and whispered, "Come on, Penny. We should get out of here before those soldiers see us."
Penny nodded and whispered, "Good idea." as the two of them slunk away, leaving the presentation behind before anyone could see them. "I do have something that I need to tell you, but I don't think I can…"
"Penny…" Ruby spoke softly. "Whatever's going on, I can help you. I promise." She smiled assuredly at the girl. "I don't want anything bad to happen to you. If you're in some kind of danger…"
"N-No, I'm in no danger." Penny assured her. They kept walking, heading through alleyways until they ended up in an emptier part of town. "It's… I don't know how to tell you this, but I know that I need to tell you." She repeated herself. "I don't think you would understand."
"Penny… just let me try." Ruby spoke in a soft and encouraging tone. "If you tell me, I can try to help you. And you know you can trust me." She and Penny might not have known each other for super long in the grand scheme, but Ruby would already give everything to help keep her safe.
Penny remained silent for a few seconds, seconds that felt like hours. Yet eventually, she closed her eyes and nodded, rubbing her left forearm with her right hand. She opened her mouth to speak, but then Ruby's Scroll went off, making the girl groan. "Why now?" She checked her Scroll, and suddenly Blake's face came into view. "We're being chased by a mech! We need help!"
Ruby sighed and closed her Scroll after checking the coordinates. "I guess this will have to wait…"
"Don't worry, Ruby!" Penny smiled. "I'll help you." She gave a salute. "I am combat ready!"
Ruby smiled at her, and together they ran off.
/-/
'How exactly did we end up in this situation again?' Blake thought sarcastically.
"I think we were recognized and then I blew some people up when nobody was looking." Meghara responded. "It's a good thing that it can just be chalked up to Dust. I don't think the roof of that place even exists anymore."
What sucked about this was, in Meghara's mind, she couldn't afford to just blow up the mech that was chasing them without people possibly catching on to there being something weird going on with her. If she didn't have to hide, then this would have been over before it had even begun!
They raced down the street until they reached the highway, and here there was something Meghara felt she could do. When Blake deployed her grappling hook up to it, she used the slightest amount of wind magic to carry Blake up faster. Sun wasn't far behind her, clearly being very adept at climbing.
They thought they were safe as they kept running, eventually jumping from car roof to car roof, but that proved to be a misjudgement, as the Atlesian Paladin just jumped on top of the highway and chased after them. "Oh come on!" Sun exclaimed. "What's it gonna take to get rid of this guy?!"
Weiss jumped into view and shouted, "Yang, I'm in position!" before icing over the ground in front of the mech. At the same time, Yang and Neptune drove into view, with Neptune and Sun both engaging the mech while it was still somewhat far behind the ice. This, however, eventually led to them being knocked off the side.
Yang rolled her eyes. Venus, in an uncharacteristically serious voice, said, "Let's get dangerous." Then, suddenly, vines shot out of the asphalt and grabbed the mech by its legs, which combined with the ice caused it to fall off of the side. "Blame it on Plant Dust or something."
"Hmm." Yang hummed. When Venus got serious, she didn't seem to be half as insufferable. She then parked her motorcycle on the side of the highway and jumped off the edge, using aura to blunt the impact of the fall as Team RWBY assembled, notably with Penny at Ruby's side. Torchwick still struggled with the vines that had wrapped around the mech's legs, and that provided the perfect opening for the rest to make their moves.
Ruby shot rounds from Crescent Rose out at it while calling out, "Freezerburn!" Resulting in Weiss creating a patch of ice that Yang smashed, sending up a mist that obscured the Paladin's vision. Meanwhile, Ruby gasped as she saw Penny's back open and produce several dozen blades that seemed to be controlled by strings. Her back closed, and Penny leaped forward, striking at the Paladin's frame while it was still distracted. Ruby remembered her doing something like this before, but she hadn't exactly been able to notice it then. She eventually had to jump backward, however, in order to avoid getting stomped on.
Torchwick shot out various rounds and missiles at every afterimage he saw, but he left himself open to Ruby's attack as she slammed into the Paladin's front and caused it to stagger backward while Penny sent more blades at it, striking at it with everything she had. Several more attacks came, a flurry of attacks and strategies, but the Paladin still stood!
It became clear that something else needed to be done. So, from within the icy fog that was just starting to dissipate, Ruby blinked a few times before nodding determinedly. Weiss saw her eyes flash with purple energy before they gained splotches of pale blue. She spoke in Ruby's unaltered voice, but it was clearly not Ruby at that moment. "Create a glyph beneath me!"
Weiss nodded and did as was asked, but before she could figure out what it was that Persephone had planned, she jumped in the air. From where the Glyph was, a ghostly apparition of a dire wolf appeared. Notably, it looked very similar to a Glyph summon. Persephone landed on top of it and grinned. "Let's go Wolfie! Charge!" She yelled, before her eyes flashed, returning entirely to silver. Meanwhile, Penny watched all of this curiously, but seemingly not entirely sure what to make of it.
Ruby readied her scythe as the wolf bounded forward quickly, almost a blur. As it passed the mech, Ruby slashed at its leg, before it came back and she did it again. She began a pattern of striking at the Paladin while it kept trying to hit her and the wolf she was riding, but failing each time.
Penny desperately wanted to create a beam, but she didn't want to risk killing Torchwick. So instead she struck at its armor, cutting off chunks of it as she did, commanding her swords with clear expertise.
While that was happening, Blake charged forward and began striking at the front of the Paladin with her burning cleaver, causing it to stagger backward. Torchwick couldn't see the way her eyes were splotched with turquoise, and he wasn't sure if her strikes were just incredibly powerful, or if it was the mixture of attacks. Blake's eyes returned to normal as the girl blinked above the Paladin, landing on top of it and repeatedly cleaving into its arm in an effort to get it to fall off.
Yang followed up, jumping on top of the mech as well and repeatedly punching down at it while firing Dust rounds from her gauntlets. While this was happening, Weiss charged forward, the wind at her back helping her move faster. Briefly, her eyes muddied brown as she mimed reaching into her satchel to mime grabbing Dust before bringing up her hand, now covered in sparking electricity. She placed her hand over her rapier and charged it before striking at a weak spot in the Paladin's armor, causing electricity to shoot through it and cause its servos to lock up.
Finally, all of RWBY (plus Penny) readied one more attack. Ruby commanded Wolfie to jump forward at the Paladin's front, crashing into it while she jumped off and fired at it with Crescent Rose, Weiss drove her rapier further home, deeper into its servos, while Blake finally hacked off its arm and that side of the Paladin on fire. A set of vines appeared at the Paladin's feet, grabbing it and causing it to be stuck in place as Penny struck at it with her blades, cutting it clear in half at its waist.
Blake and Yang jumped off of it as it fell to the ground, unmoving. They all readied their weapons and Ruby yelled, "Torchwick! Surrender now!" Wolfie howled in agreement, and Ruby couldn't hide her smirk.
Torchwick coughed from the smoke emitting from the machine as he jumped out. "You kids are getting weirder by the day! Sheesh…" He shook his head. As Ruby fired a round at him, a woman with a parasol jumped in front of him and blocked the attack with it. "Sorry girls, but I'm afraid that's my time!" He grinned smugly.
Yang charged forward to strike the woman, but as she did Torchwick and her shattered like glass. Thereafter, the sight of Torchwick and his associate escaping caused Yang to growl. "Damn it!"
"Ugh… if only we could have actually used more magic!" Venus said in annoyance. "But we couldn't exactly hide exploding a Bullhead like that. We're already risking enough with what we did."
"Yeah…" Yang growled. Unfortunately, there wasn't much more they could have done. "But we at least stopped him from doing whatever plan he wanted to." She rolled her shoulders and sighed. "Man, I'm tired…"
She was going to say more, but she noticed Penny in the background.
Penny seemingly hadn't caught on to anything odd that RWBY had done, thankfully, but Ruby was looking at Penny with shock. She walked over to her and whispered to her, "What was with your back? Are you…"
Penny nodded and looked away for a moment before whispering back. "I'm… an android. The first artificial being to be created that's capable of creating an aura. I'm… not real."
Ruby then hugged Penny, causing the girl to gasp at the sudden role reversal. "You are, Penny." Ruby whispered to her. "We'll talk more about this whenever we're alone, but… thank you for helping." She stepped back and smiled awkwardly at her, speaking in a normal tone, "I'm guessing your dad's gonna wanna see you, huh?"
Penny gasped. "Not my dad, but… the General can't know that I was here! I've got to go, but I'll see you soon, Ruby!" She waved and then hurriedly ran off.
Meanwhile, Persephone said, "She really is adorable! Ruby, she must become our maid! I can picture no better person for the position!"
To which Ruby shook her head and thought, 'No! I'm not going to make Penny my maid! Even if she would look cute in that outfit…' She shook her head again and turned her attention to the others. "We should get out of here, before the police show up. Professor Ozpin will probably figure out what happened, but I think we did pretty good at the whole… keeping it on the down low thing! Let's move out, team!"
And so, Team RWBY left, heading back to Beacon.
Upon their arrival, they thankfully found that nobody had really noticed their absence. They made their way to their dorm, and while all of the others went into their dorm to rest, Weiss instead headed for the common room.
There was something she needed to take care of, something that Vesta had pointed out that had been a flaw in how she'd been handling not wanting to date Jaune, and she knew he would be here at this time.
Sure enough, he was sitting on the couch, and he smiled at her. "Hey Weiss! So, uh, I was wondering if maybe—"
"Ah!" Weiss held up a finger. "I think that I haven't been communicating this right, maybe you've got some weird ideas in your head about how this all works, but… I'm not interested in dating you, Jaune Arc. You're a great team leader, and a great friend, but I am not romantically attracted to you in any way. I just want to make sure that's clear. Is it?"
Jaune looked sad for a moment, but smiled over it. "Hey, that's okay." Jaune said softly. "I guess… I had this stupid idea in my head about you just playing hard to get, I…" He looked away. "This is going to be hard to get over, but… thanks for being honest with me."
Weiss smiled at him then turned away and left. She was only gone for about five seconds before Yang entered the common area. Jaune smiled at her. "Hey Yang! What's up? Feel like playing some games or something?"
"You should ask him out!" Venus encouraged her. "It'll be so cute! He'll look really nice in a suit! It'd be perfect!" She was seemingly back to her normal attitude, which was a bit annoying to Yang, but she could at least live with it for right now.
She opened her mouth to say something to Jaune, but stopped. "Ah… do you have your notes from today?" She was very tempted to entertain Venus' idea and just ask him out, but the idea of doing that right now felt… wrong. Maybe it was because she knew what Weiss had just done, or maybe it was because she had absolutely no clue how Jaune felt about her. Or maybe it was both.
"Ah- Yeah!" He smiled. "They're back at the dorm. Want me to get them, then we can meet at the library?" He was entirely unaware of Yang's internal battle, and maybe that was for the best. She wasn't entirely sure how he would feel about her having someone in her head that really wanted the two of them to date. She'd rather just spend time with Jaune, instead of dating him, for the moment at least.
"You know it!" She grinned. "I'll see you there, hot shot." She turned and waved as she went back to her dorm, where the other three were relaxing in their own ways. Ruby was playing video games, Blake was reading, and it looked like Weiss was studying. She went to her bed and grabbed the notepad she had just thrown there earlier before leaving.
Meanwhile, Weiss sighed as she looked up from her notes. It looked as if it would be raining in a little while, and all things considered, it would be the perfect weather for just staying inside and studying. So why was it that she was feeling antsy? 'Maybe it's because the dance is right around the corner.'
"That could be it." Vesta noted. "It's quite a complicated life you live, Weiss. It seemed as if you were into Neptune, from the memories I saw. Is that not the case anymore, now that you have a crush on Pyrrha?"
'Yeah, uh…' Weiss shifted in place. 'I think maybe I was just trying to fit the role I was given. I am into guys, just… girls, you know?' The general consensus in her mind was that girls were very pretty, and Pyrrha Nikos in particular was one of the most beautiful women she'd seen.
"I understand." Vesta responded. "Don't worry Weiss. As I said before, the right time will come. For now, just relax and enjoy a job well done. You will have a lot of organizing work to do in the next few days, after all."
Weiss nodded slightly and put away her textbook, grabbing instead a fiction book. 'Good idea. We should keep reading this, we're already halfway through. Maybe we can finish it tonight.'
Ruby, meanwhile, still aggressively ignored Persephone trying to get her to study and be 'proper'. She was considering deliberately wearing more tomboyish stuff every day, just due to her wanting to not be proper. Still, she supposed Persephone wasn't entirely bad. They at least both agreed that Penny was cute. She wondered if Penny would be at the dance…
Well, she supposed she'd find out soon enough.
Author's Notes
Not terribly much different here yet, this was, as the title suggests, mostly setup. Given how close we are to the start of the story, the ripple effects have yet to set in. Rest assured that things will not be staying this close to canon for very long.