Gamer4 in. With my cat Nia cheering me on, I move to push these tales forward. If anyone's interested in the current results of the poll, it is a three-way tie. With an estimated two episodes remaining before we visit another series, there's plenty of time yet to cast your vote... or drop a review. Just a suggestion, I mean, it's not required or anything... it'd just be nice... let's get going.
Episode VI
Chronicles of the Crescent Blade
The Singing Cave
"Perhaps we ought to move on from this world," Weiss suggested, keeping more than half an eye on Ruby's drooling. "It would seem Crescent Rose's ascended role in it is-"
"Moooooore..."
"Er... can't believe I'm saying this," Yang laughed nervously at the look in her sister's eyes, "but maybe Weiss is-"
"MOOOOOOOOORE!"
"Your wish is my command," Vanessa rolled her eyes. "Roll clip."
The camera returned to Qrow's house, this time entering and showing the man leaning back in his bed. His arm had healed somewhat since Ruby's flashback, but still didn't look fit for much more than scratching his chin. He was wearing pants, but nothing higher than that, causing some of the female viewers to blush.
"Hearing how much he drinks... I didn't expect him to be so..." Blake muttered, glancing away.
"Ripped?" Nora asked shamelessly- she was firmly on the 'non-flushing' side, Rensexual as she was.
"...No comment," Weiss muttered.
"Can you stop undressing our uncle with your eyes?" Yang crossed her arms sternly. "Not very cool, ladies."
"Qrow! Uncle Qrow!" came a voice from the stairs- turning around the corner was Jaune Arc, wearing a smile and carrying a tray in his hands- upon it was a bowl of curry. "Thought I'd bring you some lunch!"
"Wait, I thought Ren was JNPR's cook!" Yang glanced towards her brother team.
"No reason we can't have two," Pyrrha smiled and shrugged.
"Not that I remember curry ever being a specialty," Jaune considered.
"Curry is... something of a running theme in this worldline," Vanessa admitted.
"You know I always appreciate the food, runt," Qrow smiled as he accepted the tray, "but you don't have to treat me like an invalid."
"And you didn't have to take me in when mechon killed my parents," Jaune countered. "If I didn't want to do this, I wouldn't. Now eat!"
He watched as Qrow picked up a spoon in his right hand- it was somewhat clumsy, his fingers not quite cooperating to their fullest, stiff and trembling- but he was managing to eat nevertheless.
"A year later, and he still hasn't regained full control," Pyrrha noted sadly.
"I can't believe Crescent Rose would do that to him!" Ruby pouted. "And it's so cool otherwise!"
"I'm sure he'll be back on his feet soon enough," Yang thumped her bracingly on the back.
Qrow clearly noticed his gaze, and chuckled. "I'm telling you, I'm alright, runt- the day I need a pipsqueak like you taking care of me is the day I really can put Crescent Rose down for good."
Jaune's face suddenly became severe. "Qrow, don't say that- the mechon are gone now! You never need to touch that thing again!"
Despite his advantage in age, Qrow had the decency to look abashed. "I'm just saying I'm prepared is all. Don't worry- I'll never touch it again if I don't have to."
"Yeah, seeing what it did to him, I'd prefer it stayed down in that lab of yours," Jaune agreed with his other.
"Maybe... my other will find a way to keep her from freaking out?" Ruby suggested hopefully.
Jaune took a deep breath, then put on another smile. "Well, eat it while its hot."
Qrow smirked up at him. "If you're worried about the heat, don't feel like you have to wait around here."
"Eh?" Jaune asked, tilting his head.
"Well, I'm sure little Rubes would like some before it cools," Qrow's smirk grew more pronounced.
"Wai- wha?!" Ruby squeaked, flushing vibrantly.
"Qrow... is shipping Ruby... with Vomit Boy?" Yang stammered out in shock.
"I... uh... I... don't really..." Jaune reddened, looking as though he was considering putting up his hood and hiding beneath it.
Jaune's smile wavered again. "No need to... worry about that. You know Ruby, she has no sense of taste- I could give her a rock and she'd say it was delicious."
Qrow chuckled. "Well, maybe she'll actually mean it today, huh?"
"Hey, I have a fine sense of taste!" Ruby objected.
"Not here," Vanessa corrected. "This world's Ruby's sense of taste is genuinely ruined."
"You mean... I can't taste... cookies?" Ruby's eyes widened in horror.
"Not very well, no," Vanessa shook her head.
"Waaaaaaaaaaaa-"
Weiss cut off her scream by sho .ving a cookie from a nearby tin into her mouth. "It doesn't affect you, you dolt," she sighed.
"Go on, bring her some lunch," Qrow encouraged. With a smirk, he added, "Unless you wanna hang around here and spoonfeed me?"
Jaune chuckled. "You're right- thanks, Qrow." He got up and headed downstairs. Qrow smiled as he watched him go, before picking up his spoon and lowering it back into the bowl. Before it actually made contact, though, his hand began shaking so violently he dropped the utensil to the ground. He had to grab his right hand with his left to stop the trembling. "Damn..." he cursed under his breath. His gaze shifted to his bedside table, where a photo was enshrined, depicting the old Team STRQ, himself, Tai, Summer, and Raven. "Summer... if the mechon come back, I'll have to fight... lend me your strength..."
"Aww... I feel so bad for him!" Ruby sniffed. "Crescent Rose, why would you do that to him?!"
"Yeah... Crescent Rose..." Yang growled, her eyes narrowed oat one particular member of the team in the picture.
Jaune grabbed another plate of curry from the kitchen before stepping outside, where he immediately bumped into Taiyang. "Oh, hey, kid!" the older man greeted with a grin. "Glad to see you made some lunch for me!"
Jaune chuckled. "Not for you, Tai- it's for Ruby. I was just off to the lab."
Ruby giggled. "Yeah, he does stuff like that all the time."
"He is a dad!" Yang grinned, crossing her arms.
"I see... that is what fathers are supposed to act like..." Weiss mumbled.
"Well, you won't find her there," Tai told him. "I'm just comin' back from the lab, sent her out to get some fresh air. You know where she'll be."
"Outlook Park?" Jaune guessed innocently.
"That's the one!" Tai nodded. "Best get on up there before that food gets cold."
"Right- thanks for the tip!" Jaune nodded before continuing on his way.
"Outlook Park?" Nora wondered.
"At a guess, a park atop a cliffside overlooking the colony," Ren surmised.
"I see... how... romantic..."
Everyone looked towards Pyrrha, and casually moved as far away from her as they could when they saw the chips of ice that had replaced her eyes.
Jaune headed out of the colony through the gate that Ruby and Yang had entered through not too long before, and followed a path along the cliffside surrounding the lake. Eventually, there was a staircase built into the rising cliffside, which he followed up to a grassy clearing overseeing the entire lake- one could indeed see anywhere in the colony from up here. There was a single tree in the middle, beneath which were several benches, upon one of which Ruby sat, gazing pensively over the colony. He smirked when he heard her muttering under her breath: "Crescent Rose... Qrow... unlock the secret..."
"I can actually hear you overthinking," he chuckled as he sat next to her on the bench.
"Oh, Jaune!" Ruby visibly brightened when she saw him sitting next to her- and even more when she saw the food he was offering her.
"Thought you could use a bite," he smiled.
"It's okay... I'm fine... I'm fine..." Pyrrha muttered as she squeezed tightly on the cat sitting in her lap, who... didn't seem to react. She was sound asleep.
"Heheh... we're in danger," Nora giggled nervously.
"How is it?" Jaune asked on tenterhooks as she dug in.
"It's amazing!" Ruby praised through glowing eyes- which only caused Jaune to sigh. "Is... is something wrong?"
"Rubes, you say the same thing every day."
"Not quite!" Ruby said quickly. "It's always good, but today, it's amazing!"
"Slick with your words, Rubes," Yang chuckled.
"I'm- I'm sure it would be!" Ruby nodded rapidly.
"Really?" Jaune asked, seemingly mollified. "Oh, good- I mixed up the recipe a bit today. If you'd said it was the same as usual, I'd have known for sure you had no sense of taste!"
"No sense- what?" Ruby tilted her head in confusion.
"Ah- nothing," Jaune looked pointedly away, turning red.
"Ah, my favorite dorks," Yang sighed with a small smile.
"You don't... say..." Pyrrha growled.
Jaune leaned back, looking up at the vast titan above them. The wind gently played over his face. "The breeze feels so good..."
"I like it up here... the peace and quiet," Ruby agreed.
Jaune glanced at her out of the corner of his eye as she finished up her curry. "That's the problem with hanging out with Yang all the time- you're getting used to all the noise she makes!"
"Yeah, maybe!" Ruby giggled, leading to a laughing fit between the two of them.
"Surely, my dear sister wouldn't say such things about me!" Yang cried, grabbing at her chest as though it had been pierced.
"I mean... he's not... wrong?" Ruby more asked than stated.
"My heart- oh, my heart!"
Jaune looked out over the colony, so peaceful from this distance. "It would be nice... if every day could be like this. Always..."
His monologue was interrupted by a siren- the two youths looked up to see a large chunk of rock falling down towards buildings. Before it drew near, one of the three giant cannons stationed within the colony turned towards it and fired, shattering it into much smaller fragments.
"I see," Ren observed. "Because they live so low on the Bionis, they must always be wary of things falling from above."
"I'm sure those cannons help fight off any unwelcome intruders as well," Weiss concurred.
"It's gonna be raining fragments for a bit," Ruby groaned. "Better head back to the lab- I was gonna make a new weapon for Yang."
"Sounds good!" Jaune agreed, rising to his feet with a quick grunt. The two headed back down the stairs and through the back gate of the colony, into the Residential District.
The district's main thoroughfare included railing directly overlooking the lake below- on a bench nearby, the two encountered an elderly man with a large pair of square spectacles and well-combed gray hair. "Oh, you two!" he grinned when he saw them walking by.
"Uncle Steve!" Ruby smiled as they approached.
"Eh? I don't have any Uncle Steve," Ruby pondered.
"He's exclusive to these worlds. Not your real uncle, that's just what all the younger residents of the colony call him," Vanessa supplied.
"Are you feeling better?" Jaune asked as he knelt down to scratch the ears of Steve's loyal golden retriever, Prettygirl.
"Much better, since you made that medicine for me," Uncle Steve grinned. "Worked a charm. I knew my tutoring would take you far!"
"Oh, your tutoring... yeah..." Jaune awkwardly scratched at the back of his head. Beloved as he was, the entire colony knew he was slipping into senility, as evidenced by the sorts of things he taught to those willing to listen.
"The 'New Math,'" Ruby nodded with a giggle.
"Two and two is twenty-two! It only makes sense!"
"Exactly, Grandpa, now let's get you to bed," Nora chuckled.
"He's a sweet old man," Pyrrha smiled gently.
"But enough of that!" he shook his head. "Have you young'ns heard about the coming ether fish?"
"Ether... fish?" Ruby tilted her head. "I... can't say I have."
"One of the great wonders of nature, my girl!" the old man beamed. "A fish that glows with the power of ether- normally, it sleeps near the bottom of the lake, but every hundred years, it comes back up to the surface to spawn! That time is a-comin'! She'll be comin' up to the surface in the next month or so, then she'll sink back to the bottom once more! We should count ourselves lucky to witness such a historic event!"
"Oooh, that sounds so cool!" Ruby perked up. "You think we'll get to see that?!"
"I... don't suspect we will, Ruby," Weiss sighed.
"We'll keep an eye open," Jaune promised, before standing up straight and continuing their trek.
Not far from where the defence force had crashed their mobile artillery was a small park surrounding a tree, and on a bench beneath the tree sat a younger man with spiky green hair, thick glasses, and an askew tie. "Ah, Ms. Rose, Mr. Arc!" he greeted quickly when he looked up to see them passing by. "And how are you doing on this fine day?"
"Oh, hey, it's Oobleck! Hi, Oobleck!" Nora waved jauntily.
"Huh, we haven't really been seeing him around at all," Jaune realized.
"He does seem to prefer sticking to the background," Pyrrha nodded.
"It's going fine," Ruby answered evasively.
"Excellent, excellent! Now, may I ask if you have given some thought to my proposal? Even a lone artist such as myself could do with an apprentice, after all."
"Oobleck, an artist?" Weiss blinked. "Erm... I don't think I can see that."
"Doesn't artisting... take time? Patience?" Ruby agreed, tilting her head.
Weiss sighed. "I'll ignore the fact that you just said 'artisting,' and simply answer that yes, yes it does."
"Sorry, Mr. Oobleck-"
"Doctor," Oobleck interrupted simply but severely.
"Right, Doctor Oobleck," Ruby amended. "Sorry, but Jaune and I don't really have the time to learn about art from you right now. Defence force business, you know..."
"I quite understand," Oobleck conceded. "However, should you ever find the beauty of nature and artistry calling to you, you know where I'll be!"
"Not really," Jaune chuckled as they took their leave over a bridge towards the Military District. "There's never any telling where that guy will go next."
"I heard he once climbed all the way to the tip of Bionis's horn!" Ruby whispered conspiratorially.
"Nah, even he couldn't make it that far!" Jaune laughed.
"That does seem like quite a distance, especially from this starting point," Pyrrha agreed.
"Still, if anyone could do it, it would have to be the doc!" Nora declared proudly.
Directly over the middle of the lake was a square where three bridges met- to the north was the Residential District, the Commercial District lay to the east, and the Military to the south. The west overlooked the remaining half of the lake- off in the distance was Agora Shore, to which kids often dared each other to swim and bring back a krabble shell as proof of the journey.
The two continued on their way into the Military District, just outside of which they had another encounter- it was a young woman with long hair of disparate colors- pink on one side, brown on the other. Her eyes were similarly split, but on opposite sides. She was only slightly taller than Ruby, and almost had to crane her neck to look at Jaune- nevertheless, he was the one she was currently looking at with a small smirk on her face.
"Oh, hello, Neo!" Jaune greeted, flushing brightly.
"Oh, good," Yang growled. "I love it when this bitch shows up!"
"You're just upset that she beat the crap outta ya!" Nora chuckled.
"It was a draw at best!" Yang objected immediately.
"She knocked you clean out," Blake pointed out.
"Traitor!"
"How's the force been treating you, Neo?" Ruby asked cautiously.
Neo nodded brightly, before turning back to Jaune and reaching into her pocket, from which she produced a small watch. She opened it and showed it to Jaune- the glass was cracked, and the hands were clearly not moving.
Jaune sighed good-naturedly. "Again, Neo? If I didn't know better, I'd say you were breaking this watch on purpose!"
Neo gave an exaggerated gasp, with a hand to her chest.
Ruby's smile, meanwhile, was growing strained as she said, "You know, Neo, I'm the engineer here. You could take the watch right to me- I mean, Jaune will just do it anyways."
Neo responed only with a shrug.
"I agree with Yang... I don't like her," Pyrrha narrowed her eyes.
"Me neither," Ruby nodded quickly.
"Well, we were on our way to the lab anyway," Jaune pointed out reasonably. "I'm sure Ruby could fix it up while we're there."
"Yeah... no problem," Ruby sighed as they continued on their way. She did not miss Neo pulling a lid down at her as they continued on, and fought not to retaliate.
"I... don't get it," Jaune admitted.
"I know you don't, Jaune," Pyrrha sighed heavily. "I know you don't."
As they were descending the stairs, they both froze when they saw Yang already standing in the lab- reaching out towards Crescent Rose. "Yang!" Ruby cried, picking up the pace and leaping down the last few steps. "What are you doing?!"
"What are you doing, you dolt?!" Weiss agreed whole-heartedly. "Did you not see how dangerous it is?!"
"Er... maybe she hasn't?" Yang shrugged helplessly. "I don't think she was in the war originally..."
"Ruby!" Yang yelped when she realized she'd been spotted- unfortunately, her instincts caused her to clench her hand around the weapon she'd been examining, causing it to instantly come to life. Lines lit up all along it, and the large blue blade of light came out.
Then, it went ballistic.
Yang found herself being dragged along by the weapon, screaming as it swung around at random, slicing through everything in its path.
"Goddammit, Yang," Blake sighed heavily.
"Yang, Yang, stop!" Jaune called, attempting to grab onto her by force- but he only succeeded in getting flung into the wall and watching in horror as the blue blade swung right towards him...
Only to bounce harmlessly off of him without leaving so much as a scratch.
"Huh?" everyone stared.
The fault seemed to do the trick- the scythe jerked, and flew out of Yang's hand. The second it lost contact with her, it deactivated, laying harmlessly on the ground as if it hadn't just rent the lab apart.
Yang pulled herself to her feet, and, remembering the last thing the blade had been aiming at, immediately turned to Jaune. "Jaune, are you okay?!"
Jaune was shaking as he rose to his feet and looked himself over. "I... I think I'm okay..."
"No thanks to you nearly gutting him!" Weiss pointed out furiously.
"...You're not gonna let me live this one down, are you?" Yang guessed.
Ruby, however, was looking at the machinery. "Look at all the things you broke, Yang!"
"The machines?" Jaune asked, aghast, before furrowing his brow in frustration. "The machines? Aren't you worried about me? I could have died!"
"Now it's Rubes's turn to be tone deaf!" Yang chuckled.
Pyrrha didn't speak- her instincts to sympathize with her friend was warring with her instincts to internally cheer for any girl messing up speaking with Jaune.
"No, you couldn't have," Ruby denied. "Crescent Rose can't cut people. More importantly..." She crossed her arms as she turned back towards Yang. "What were you thinking?!"
"...Sorry?" Yang cringed away sheepishly.
"That's not an answer," Blake sighed.
"I think I can answer on her behalf- absolutely nothing," Weiss groaned.
"Rubes, everyone is bullying me!" Yang cried.
"Yes, they are, Yang... yes they are," Ruby nodded.
"I just... wanted to touch it," Yang admitted shamefacedly. "Didn't know it would go off like that."
"Even so," Ruby chastised, slipping on some gloves and gently picking the weapon up, gingerly returning it to its pedestal, "it's a weapon, not a toy. We need to treat it with respect."
"Yeah, got that," Yang agreed, looking nervously at the blade. "Is that true, though? It really can't cut people?"
"Homs, nopon, faunus... it can't bring harm to any of the sentient life of Bionis," Ruby nodded. "I couldn't tell you why. Maybe one day, though... when I can finally unlock the secret of its power-"
"Yeah, that's all well and good," interjected an agitated-looking Jaune, just as Ruby was removing her gloves, "but why were you more worried about the machines than me?"
"Because she's a dunce, too," Weiss sighed.
"I... I just..." Ruby stammered, caught off guard by his sudden anger. "I just explained why!"
"That's not the point!" Jaune shook his head.
Ruby took a step back, and, quite unwittingly, brushed her hand against Crescent Rose. Just as before, it instantly activated- but unlike before, it didn't set off on a rampage. It lit up, and the blade appeared, but the greatest occurrence was in Ruby's silver eyes, which began to glow, flooding with light...
"No! Crescent Rose wouldn't hurt me!" Ruby stood firm.
"I... don't think that's what's happening, Rubes," Jaune shook his head.
Ruby's vision had changed, tinted with silver, as though she were looking through a haze. The scene changed with a flash, again and again, showing her things she couldn't make any sense of:
A hulking figure was sneering, "Look at you, worthless without that little gardening tool!"
A large, elderly woman reared back, surrounded by flames. "Let the shackles be released!"
A cat faunus aiming a rifle into the distance, screaming, "-until I've scrapped each and every one of you!"
A woman with long, red hair and sad, emerald eyes- "Your blade... it did not... cut deep enough."
A man with a military crew cut and several bandages on his face-
A woman with long, white hair in a sidetail, partially hidden beneath an elaborate headdress-
Ruby struggled to hold someone back, saying, "Of course I want to get my revenge!"
There was a tall, elderly man with large wings emerging from his head- he looked up in pain-
A sword, longer than most homs were tall, bathed in blood, as Ruby screamed...
Finally, it stopped, and Ruby staggered forward, barely caught by Yang before she could hit the ground.
"Oooookaaaaayy... anyone want to tell me what the hell happened there?" Yang asked.
"And nothing about Ruby 'tripping balls,'" Weiss interjected before Nora could even open her mouth.
"Well... I have some ideas, but nothing I can verify without further information," Ren muttered through steepled fingers. "There are a couple things I can note, however- this world's Ruby has no knowledge of Pyrrha or Weiss, as of yet- she witnessed them both there, but didn't seem to recognize them."
"A lot of good that does us," Blake rolled her eyes. "But... he's right. I think I have an idea, but we need to see more before I can say for sure."
The others didn't really like it, but accepted it as truth.
"Ruby! Rubes!" Jaune was calling, earlier frustrations forgotten.
"I... I'm fine," Ruby assured him as she came to. She turned and saw Crescent Rose sitting quietly and innocently on the plinth. "Er... did either of you two... see that?"
"What, Crescent Rose going crazy again? Yeah, kinda hard to miss," Yang nodded.
"No, not like that- for a moment, it was like... time had stopped..." Ruby trailed off as she realized she had no way of explaining what she'd just experienced, especially when Jaune and Yang looked confused with what she'd said thus far already.
"I don't think there's any easy way to explain that, no," Pyrrha agreed. "We saw it too, and we hardly understand it."
"No, didn't see anything like that," Yang shook her head.
Ruby looked back at the blade. "Well... I can't say that's entirely new... it's happened before, when I've accidentally touched it, just... never that much..."
"Make sure you don't do it again," Yang instructed. "Hell, if that's what it does to anyone who touches it, I guess Qrow really is the only one who can use it."
"I'm not gonna let that happen," Jaune interjected, putting his foot down. "Not after what it did to him- he can still barely use his arm!"
"Right- sorry," Yang apologized quickly.
"Man, I didn't think anyone would ever be able to make Yang apologize," Ruby giggled.
"Don't get carried away, VB," Yang advised. "Another world, remember!"
"Duly noted," Jaune sighed.
"Anyways," Ruby piped up, clearly looking to change the subject, "why were you looking for me down here in the first place?"
"Oh!" Yang snapped her fingers. "Almost forgot- so, I ended up being late to drills; I'm sure you can imagine how much the Witch loved that."
"Ouch!" Ruby winced sympathetically. "She was already angry earlier- did she hit you?"
"Eh, you know the Witch," Yang chuckled awkwardly. "...Yeah, she did." She tried to covertly rub her stinging rear. "Then made me do squat-thrusts all around the Colony. Then she gave me my punishment duty."
"What, all that other stuff wasn't punishment enough?" Ruby objected.
"Have you met Goodwitch?" Jaune pointed out.
"Sounds like a group of privates crashed some mobile artillery into a house earlier," Yang explained.
"Yeah, I heard," Ruby agreed. "It's all out of ether."
"The Witch wants me to go up to Mag Mell ruins and get some replacement cylinders," Yang finally reached her conclusion. "Wanna tag along?"
"Do I?" Ruby grinned, eyes sparkling- she'd take any chance she could to go up to the Mag Mell ruins- unfortunately, the danger involved meant it was unwise to go alone.
"Mag Mell... I don't think I've ever heard those words before," Pyrrha pondered.
"Must have some nifty weapon-looking stuff, to catch Rubes's interest like that," Yang guessed.
"You think so?" Ruby asked eagerly.
"Hold up, you two!" Jaune interjected. "Ruby, think about this- Tephra Cave is dangerous. You really want to pull her into that kind of risk, Yang?"
"Hey, she'll have me with her!" Yang pointed out. "Tell ya what- I promise I won't let her get a scratch!"
"A promise doesn't mean much coming from you," Jaune muttered.
"Oh, harsh!" Nora winced.
"I mean, he's not entirely wrong," Weiss rolled her eyes.
"Hey, I'm plenty reliable!" Yang objected.
"Yes? Where's my fifty lien?"
Yang hesitated, scratching at the back of her neck. "...I'll get it to you soon!"
Jaune turned and took off, leaving two sisters looking awkwardly at each other. "Let's... let's get going..."
They climbed their way back out of the lab, out of the Military District, and through the Commercial District and out of the same gate they'd entered earlier. Next to the ravine that would take them back to Ruby's favorite clearing was another that climbed its way up the cliffs surrounding the colony. At the highest point was the entrance to a series of tunnels worming their way up through the Bionis's lower leg.
"Alright, you ready, Rubes? There might be some scary caterpiles in there!" Yang smirked.
"As long as you can deal with the arachnos!" Ruby smirked back, hoisting her scythe.
"Arach- wait, my other is afraid of spiders?" Yang gaped.
"Spiders are creepy-crawlies!" Nora nodded in approval. "I see one, I gotta whack it with Magnhild!"
"And knock the house down," Ren gave a long-suffering sigh.
"Tell ya what- I'll knock the caterpiles out if you handle the arachnos," Yang chuckled.
"Sounds good!"
"And who's gonna carry the ether cylinders back?" came a third voice- they jumped as they turned to see Jaune Arc ascending the hill behind them, smirking with a large case strapped to his arm. "Somebody forgot the transport cases!"
"Oh, you dunces," Weiss rolled her eyes. "If ether is anything like dust, I certainly hope you weren't planning on carrying it with your bare hands!"
"If anyone would try it, it would be Yang," Blake sighed.
Yang pouted, but noticably didn't object.
Yang and Ruby glanced at each other again, and giggled sheepishly. "Thanks, Jaune." Yang reached out for the cases, but Jaune pulled them back. "Ah-ah! I'm coming too! You need someone who's not afraid of caterpiles or arachnos."
"That... would be helpful, yes," Pyrrha smiled.
Jaune hoisted a sword in his hand and led the way inside. Yang glanced at Ruby. "He doesn't trust me at all..."
Ruby could only shrug as they headed into the cave.
It wasn't a difficult journey to the ruins- there were the usual bats, wisps, and, of course, plenty of caterpiles and arachnos, but they were able to sneak by without too much of an issue, and fight off any creatures that decided to get too close. It wasn't long before they had passed by the rough rock and found an area made of what seemed like metal, much smoother and more organized than nature would allow for.
"You know," Jaune commented, "I'd heard of them, but I think this is the first time I've actually been to the ruins. This... doesn't look like it was carved out of the cave."
"No," Ruby agreed. "It feels more like... some kind of vehicle."
"Doesn't really look like any vehicle I've ever seen," Yang shook her head.
"No, it doesn't," Ruby agreed. "It doesn't feel like homs architecture."
"It sure ain't nopon, either," Yang shook her head.
"I'm not sure where it came from," Ruby shrugged. "But... it's not completely impossible to understand. Anything that's been created before can be recreated- it'll take some time, but we can understand it."
"That's... a surprisingly good attitude," Weiss blinked. "Well done, Ruby."
"Heheh... thanks," Ruby blushed.
"Don't hurt yourself trying," Yang advised with a chuckle as they continued on their way. "As things are, it's a good place to come for defence force training- and, of course, the cylinders."
"Yeah, about that," Jaune pondered as they smacked down some lizards. "Why would we have to come all the way up here for cylinders? I know there's a fueling station in the colony."
"Yeah," Ruby agreed as they stepped out momentarily onto another cliff. "But it's a rough process, and it doesn't always work. There are loads of cylinders up here, and they're more efficient than the ones we make ourselves."
"I see..." Jaune pondered as they took a last turn into a large chamber, a perfect dome loaded with cylinders in small pockets in the walls. Even after all the years the colony must have been taking them, the pockets were still well over half full.
"But it won't be forever," Weiss noted. "It may not be in their lifetimes, but those cylinders will run out eventually."
"But it's like my other said!" Ruby chirped. "If it's technology someone made in the past, it can be recreated! Give her time, maybe she'll find a way to make them more self-sufficient!"
"We can only hope..." Blake whispered pessimistically.
"Alright, now hand over the cases," Yang instructed. Jaune nodded and shrugged them off his shoulder. Yang took them and began filling them up. It didn't take long.
"Not bad at all!" Yang grinned as she loaded the last cylinder they needed. "Nothin' like bringing little sis along to make the time fly by!"
"Especially on your punishment duty," Jaune couldn't help digging.
"Yeah, heheh..." Yang smiled sheepishly. "'Ppreciate it, Rubes!"
"No problem!" Ruby waved cheerily.
Jaune sighed. "Just come up here yourself next time..."
"My sentiments exactly," Weiss sniffed.
"A bunch of killjoys, all of you," Yang huffed.
"Wait, quiet, everybody!" Ruby raised a hand. "Do you hear that?"
The other two strained their ears, and looked up at the sound- just as the ceiling of the chamber opened up and revealed two mechanoid objects, shaped like white steering wheels circling around a large robotic eye.
"Are these mechon?!" Jaune gasped, immediately clutching at his sword.
"No- this isn't mechon technology!" Ruby shook her head, grasping her scythe.
"But they're definitely hostile," Yang shook her head, readying her gauntlets. "Follow my lead!"
"Following Yang's lead? This can only end in disaster," Weiss groaned.
"Then again, it seems like she's the only trained soldier there- maybe she really is the best one to defer to here," Pyrrha speculated.
"Yeah, Yang's the boss!" Yang cheered.
And Yang proceeded to lead them to victory, following up on Ruby's attacks to smash the machines while Jaune acted as their shield. Within a minute, they were scrap on the floor.
"Definitely not mechon," Jaune concluded as he removed his blade from one of them. "The armor's not nearly tough enough."
"What are they, then?" Yang wondered, gently kicking one. "Nobody's ever reported something like this before..."
"Maybe..." Ruby knelt, examining them closely. "Maybe they activated in response to something?"
"Hmm... maybe we should get going before any of their friends show up," Jaune pondered.
"Yeah, good id-"
Ruby was cut off when she heard an explosion from outside. "What on Bionis?!"
"That... didn't sound good," Pyrrha fretted.
The sun had been setting when they'd entered the cave, but that alone didn't account for the darkness they emerged to. There was smoke rising from the buildings below, as large black machines ran rampant through the streets.
Mechon were attacking, and Colony 9 was on fire.
XXXX
I hope this episode didn't feel too rushed. As you're probably able to guess, we'll have one more episode in this world before moving on. As of now, the game leading in the polls for the next one to reintroduce is... The Last Contact (Xenogears!) I can live with that- if you can't, you still have time to cast your vote! I really ought to get back to Mario Mario first, but whatever the case, until next time, don't you dare go hollow- Gamer4 out!