*Legend 23*
Supremacy: The Alpha
…
Despite Lord Shaxx's announcement only mere minutes before, the OWT hub was already full to the brim with excited spectators.
This did not deter Weiss one iota.
She determinedly made her way to the front of the crowd, Ruby along in tow.
And finally, when they had breached the surface of the mass of onlookers, the girls found themselves looking upon the many docks and platforms that ringed the enclosed building.
Ruby looked about, though she could see almost nothing through the dense wall of excited humanity that surrounded them. "I think we lost Yang in the crowd somewhere…" she said. The end of her statement trailed into silence as Ruby then had startling realization.
She was still holding Weiss's hand.
The determined aversion of Weiss's own face as well as the color in it, lead Ruby to believe the girl had just made the same discovery.
Her own face surely blazing, Ruby held the small, graceful hand in her own just that much tighter.
The commotion and chatter then became localized in a single direction as a pair of the great doors in the facility parted, allowing the entrance of a grand and aggressive-looking dropship.
"The Ragnarok!" did someone in the crowd cry.
"Zwei, scan that ship," Ruby said to her Ghost.
"The Ragnarok. Also called the 'Super-high-mobility-flying-ship. Built in the city of Esthar, capitol of Balamb. Registered to a 'Cid Kramer'."
"Cool..."
Ruby grimaced just slightly as the incredible sonic whine of the ship's engines played throughout the space. She plugged her left ear with her finger, unable to use her right as she had absolutely zero intention of letting go Weiss's hand.
The Ragnarok glided to a stop as the crowd craned their collective necks to get a look at who was disembarking. The ship's gangway was soon deployed, and down it came four tall and burly figures. Broad-shouldered and covered in long, dark robes. They formed a four-point formation as the ship's owner then made himself apparent.
A pleasant and content-looking man made his way down the ramp. Dressed smartly in a button-down blazer and creased slacks. He and his entourage met Shaxx at the foot of the ramp.
"Ah, Cid, so good to see you again!" Shaxx boomed.
"Likewise, my old friend," said the bespectacled headmaster.
The two joined in a handshake that segued into a brotherly hug. "It has been some time since my last visit. I'm sure the forests of Timber have changed much."
"They have indeed!" did Cid chuckle. "But the owls are still around."
A last exchange and a clap on the shoulder saw Cid and his bodyguards make their way from the station, swarmed by Ghost-cams and press alike.
"Pretty cool," Ruby said. "I wonder who we're gonna see next!"
Weiss was already bobbing on the toes of her wedge-heeled boots, her head swiveling this way and that. Ruby could feel the nervous heat radiating from the girl. The strength of her grip had increased intensely, but absently. And her palm was a good deal...wetter upon Ruby's own.
'I'm never washing this hand again,' was her thought then.
I heard that.
"Shut it, Zwei," Ruby said with a grin.
A new commotion began then.
The hangar doors once again parted as another ship made its way into the OWT station. There were 'ooohs' from the congregation of onlookers at the decided elegance of the silver-skinned craft. And for all her nervous energy before, Weiss had become completely still. Her eyes trained intently upon the incoming ship.
"Weiss, who is that?" Ruby asked her.
"The forbidden Memory…" was her breathy answer.
The ship came to a halt and instantly a swarm of guards armed with auto rifles took to the landing.
"Holy hell, dude. It's really her!" This came from the person nearest Ruby as the crowd began to roil in anticipation again.
The ship's door opened and its occupant stepped out onto the ramp.
"Traveler…she's gorgeous…" Ruby had not meant to voice this aloud, but such was the woman's visual impact upon her, that she could not help doing so.
She was tall, beautifully and militantly so. Elegant thigh-length boots encased lithe and sturdy legs that crossed one another perfectly in their calculated strides. Her icy hair, swept practically to one side, revealed sharp and piercing eyes that scanned the crowd before her.
"Ladies and gentleman," did Shaxx say in introduction, "Hailing from right here on Venus; the coach of Fireteam Lilysteel; I give you...Winter Schnee!"
The crowd of adoring Venusians erupted in adulation as Winter acknowledged the lot of them with a stately wave of her hand.
Most, if not all of this was lost on Ruby as her attention was firmly on Weiss at the moment. "Schnee!?" did she strenuously echo. "Is she...is she your mother!?"
"Hardly," said Weiss, a knowing smile in place. "She's my big sister."
With another acknowledgment of her people, did Winter and her crew make from the stage, the fanfare still going strong in her wake. After the excitement, Shaxx again took center stage. "Thank you one and all for attending this little event. I'm sure your anticipation is no doubt at a fever pitch! But fret not, for your patience will soon be rewarded!" With a gesture, the great screens around the station came alight. Upon them, was what looked like a countdown.
09:59:31
09:59:30
09:59:29...
"The greatest guardians in the galaxy will begin their battle for supremacy on tonight's eve. Tickets and premium seating are still available but going fast! Where will you be when the battle begins?" With this parting and inquisitive invitation, did Shaxx transmat from the spot, and the station burst into chatter again.
"Was that it?" Ruby said, only slightly disappointed.
"Well, Pyrrha is representing Team Cinder and she's already here. And Traveler knows that Redwing doesn't need any representation; they are their own jurisdiction. So, yeah, that's the end of this little show," did Zwei say in her head.
"But what about Fireteam Vector?"
"They're headed by James Ironwood from the Dust Palace on Mars. They're being pretty secretive, but I hear they have one helluva entrance planned for later tonight."
"Okay then…"
Having barely had time to digest this, Ruby again found herself being lead along by the ever insistent Warlock she was still coupled to. The going was markedly easier this time as the crowd here was mostly disbursed. She weaved around just a few more stragglers, and there did Weiss find her person of interest.
"Winter!"
The woman turned her great snowy head at the call of her name. She turned about fully as she beheld just who it was hailing her attention then. "Weiss…"
Finally decoupling her hand from Ruby's own, did Weiss dip into a particularly ornate Warlock salute; her knees bent at some angle indeed.
Winter held up a hand, a signal to her entourage. "Leave us."
They scattered obediently. As did the Ghost cams and press agents immediately surrounding them. There were of course, any number of onlookers that ringed the outskirts of the scene, many with their scrolls pointed directly upon the scene.
Her back straight, her posture at attention, did Winter look upon the two girls before her. Her gaze then singled in on Ruby, who was sure the woman's previous command extended to her as well, and was trying to figure what the hell she was still doing here. "And you are…?"
"I...um…" Ruby's articulation abandoned her under the harsh and glacial gaze from the Venusian commander.
"She is-"
Winter stayed her sister's tongue with an upheld hand. "Ze girl will speak for herself." She again turned to Ruby with expectant intensity.
"C'mon, Ruby. Don't let this icicle intimidate you! We've faced much worse than her!"
At her Ghost's encouragement, did Ruby find her verbal footing. "My name is Ruby Rose. I'm t-the leader of Fireteam Rosenkreuz."
"Ata girl!"
Something sparked in Winter's eyes then. She looked at Ruby more closely. "Black combat skirt; hair like a lady beetle…" She tilted her head. "Do you have ze weapon…?"
Ruby needed not further elaboration. From transmat, did she retrieve her beloved and deadly pulse rifle. Many eyes and mouths rounded at the sight of this level-gold monstrosity.
Winter's own reaction was less pronounced, but still equally intense. "Mutter Gottes…" did she whisper. "Weiss would do quite well to follow your lead into battle, young Hunter."
Ruby offered a Hunter salute, her smile widening all the time.
"And speaking of…" she said, now turning her attention to her sister, "That was quite the interview you gave yesterday."
"Danke, gnadige frau," Weiss said, dipping into a Warlock salute.
"That was not a compliment."
Weiss gulped as she righted her stance.
"Firstly, your posture was awful.Secondly…"
Through Winter's various bullet points of criticism, Ruby had left off listening, as she was set to verbally object that first point. Weiss's posture during that interview was immaculate! As were her answers to the interviewer's questions! Just what was this bitch's problem?
"...trying to preserve the state of the Schnee name, for what little that's worth these days. Commendable, but coming from you, ultimately fruitless."
Ruby looked to Weiss, convinced the girl would say something, anything at all in her own defense. But she remained silent; her back straight; chin high; eyes forward and unblinking.
Winter relented then, if only for a moment. "I've some time yet before I must meet with my team. Perhaps I can use it to drill something of value into that head of yours. Come." And she marched off, Weiss trailing in her wake."
Now somewhat alone, amongst the remnants of the onlookers, did Zwei pop out of Ruby's head.
"Sheesh, what a bitch!" did the little machine shriek.
Ruby shrugged somewhat helplessly. "I guess things just work differently in her family…"
"Hey Ruuuuby!"
"And speaking of families…"
Ruby turned and set eyes upon her own sister for what must have been the first time today. "Yang, where have you….ohhh…" Ruby's question trailed mischievously as she saw who Yang was with. "Hello, Blake, uh, ma'am." Ruby offered a Hunter salute to the blushing Faunus.
"No need for that…" Blake said as she and Yang walked onto the scene, Yang's arm firmly around her waist.
"Well, now that I know where you've been, did you see any of that, Yang?" Ruby asked.
"Didn't see nothin'," Yang said with triumphant smugness. "Was a little too busy. Isn't that right, kitten?" She gave Blake a pronounced kiss on the cheek.
It was all Blake could do to keep her legs from collapsing.
Celica popped out of Yang's head. "I saw the whole thing! It was fucking glorious!"
Blake's beautiful cat eyes widened with embarrassed alarm. "Don't tell me you were recording…"
"Every second!"
Blake's previously widened eyes then narrowed menacingly. "Yang, I'm going to destroy your Ghost. Sorry, but not sorry."
"Do what you will, kitty cat," Yang invited. "It's already uploaded to my cloud, preserved forever in digital history." Yang gave her Ghost a tiny fist bump as Blake laid her head on Yang's shoulder, finally defeated.
"Well, with all that outta the way, lemme tell you what you missed…" and Ruby and Zwei walked the two of them through the day's events thus far.
…..
"Three months…"
The Schnee sisters had retreated to Winter's opulent hotel suite, a room that was only just larger than Weiss's own bedroom proper.
"In three months, you have only managed to elevate yourself to rank six." Winter stopped her pacing of the room and turned to face Weiss in full. "Please explain how this is possible."
Weiss cleared her throat before she began. "For a time, as you know, I did not have a true Fireteam. And even as I floated about, I was undergoing many Cryptology courses…"
"Cryptology!" did Winter explode. "Utterly useless nonsense!"
Weiss's lips tightened at that.
"You are a Guardian, Weiss; a Warlock; a soldier. That is what I trained you to be. That is not to say that you can't be a thinker, but your thoughts must be schooled only in battle, not in a bloody classroom!"
Winter's Ghost appeared by her side, projecting a readout of Weiss's Guardian profile. Upon digesting the information, did Winter shake her head. "Your loadout is woefully behind. Such primitive weaponry..."She tapped the projected screen before her, making various adjustments and upgrades.
"But, I'm...not yet eligible for level blue…"
"You are now," Winter said decidedly. A few more taps saw Weiss's rank increased accordingly. "Your lack of ranking belies your skill, little sister. We both know that." She dismissed the screen in front of her as she approached Weiss. "And I have one more adjustment to make." She held out her hands palms up. And her Ghost transmated into her grasp an elemental blade. The crystal in its grip shining with Voidlight.
"A Void edge…"
"One I am sure you recognize quite well."
"I do…" did Weiss say voicelessly, the phrase triggering a certain memory.
….
"This sword is for you. It represents your passage to the next level of training."
Weiss looked upon the weapon being presented to her. "Is this a joke?" did she say.
"Far from it," did the elder Schnee respond. "It's a pity you think yourself above such armaments, Weiss. For you seem to have forgotten that weapons such as these: the sword and the shield; the bow and arrow; were once the premier weapons of battle and conquest." She looked her younger sister in the eye. "There will come a time when can no longer rely only on your Light; only on your guns. This weapon just may save you life one day."
And from there, the two spent four solid hours sparring with their blades. Despite making solid progress, Weiss saw not the merit in such hand to hand combat.
For their next exercise, Winter taught Weiss many methods in which to silently incapacitate her targets; to fell them before they could raise the alarm.
"Do I look like a Hunter to you, Winter?" did she say after several failed attempts.
"No, not yet you don't," was the mirthful reply. "But I can make a sword fighter of you yet." She turned her back to Weiss, her hands up. "One more time. Do it."
Weiss huffed a silent breath of preparation as she approached her target. She raised the Void edge to strike just as she had been instructed. Just as she was set to unleash the blow did Winter whirl about. In an instant, did Weiss find herself artfully disarmed and pinned down on her back.
Winter loomed over her, the blade of her very own weapon poised above her face. "You will never be that good…" With a precise flick of her wrist, did the Void edge score the left side of Weiss's face. Winter was already on her feet, ready for the next round. "Again," she said to Weiss.
Weiss stood, her fingers feeling the precise pattern of the cut over her left eye. Her teeth chattered as her breath rattled from her mouth.
Her next attack was graceless and unsubtle.
…
Here in the present moment, Weiss again looked to the same sword that Winter presented her two short years ago.
"You can; you will understand and master this weapon. Ze only thing stopping you from doing so, is you." Winter said this with penetrating emphasis.
Her own hands extended now, Weiss slowly, reverently, took the sword from her sister. Its weight in her hands felt familiarly foreign; a reminder of the challenge she failed on that day two years ago.
"Take this weapon and this knowledge and do as you see fit, Weiss. Ze decision you make will most likely determine if you'll live long enough for us to meet again."
Weiss's head moved in a mechanical nod. "Danke...gnadige frau…"
And with her own nod, did Winter Schnee transmat from the scene.
…..
"This supremacy thing is gonna be dope!" Yang said. The two of them had returned to their hotel room after a few hours spent in the Ishtar shopping district. Yang rewound the video of the representatives arrival at OWT and paused it upon a closeup shot of Winter Schnee. "Dude, she is hawt! I seriously thought she was Weiss's mom when I first saw her. What a cougar!" She growled alluringly.
"You fucking skank!" did Ruby laugh at her. "Why are you growling at other women, I thought you were with Blake?"
"Oh, I am all over that Faunus thirst trap, believe me."
"How far along with her are you?"
"Yes."
"Can I see the video?"
"No."
Ruby checked the time on her scroll. "The tournament starts in three hours. We should head for the grounds."
"Yeah, but we need the princess to show her pretty little rump before we can leave," Yang huffed. She then smiled at the look Ruby was giving her. "Oh, c'mon, Weiss has a great ass. Something I'm sure you've noticed, no doubt," she said devilishly.
"She's not wrong…" Zwei chime in.
"Really, you too, Zwei?" Ruby sighed.
"All I'm saying is that she has a very fine, feminine bell-shape. That why she always wears a dress. If I were human, I'd definitely be attracted to her."
Ruby groaned theatrically. "Great. My Ghost is a whore too…"
"What was that about whores?"
Both girls turned to the room's new entrant. "Ah, the princess is upon us!" Yang sang.
Weiss smiled with expectant superiority. "I've come to collect the two of you. We should be off to the stadium about now."
"Hell yeah!" Yang cried. "Less time here, more time there! Let's go see Uncle Qrow whoop some serious ass!"
And she tore from the room at mach speed.
Weiss then looked to Ruby, who could feel the room shrinking around her again with only her and Weiss in it. "Um, shall we, Ruby?"
"We shall," did Ruby confirm.
And without a thought or hesitation, did she join hands with Weiss and they made from the room, on their way to watch the supremacy tournament.
….
*End of Legend 23*
…..
A/N:
Definitely wanted to update again before the end of the month. I'm on the comeback trail, so I gotta be consistent! That said, the lead-up to the supremacy battle is over. Next chapter is the big dance, it's gonna be all action, believe me. All that said, if you liked what you read, consider a favorite or follow the story. If you didn't like what you read, I thank you for reading this long. Thanks again and take care.
-B.