Cover Art by CHE3ZY
Work has been kicking my ass lately so I haven't had much time to work on this, but it's here now so on with the show. Enjoy the start of Volume 3! Please let me know what you all think in the reviews. I'd like to give a special shoutout once again to
merendinoemiliano for being a consistent source of feedback. Would definitely appreciate more feedback from other people though.
Vale:
"Are you insane?!"
Cinder regarded Adam with a less than amused look. His little outburst did little to phase her. The two of them stood alone in the city hideout, away from any prying eyes or ears.
Adam, however, couldn't believe Cinder's plan. He knew she was crazy, but this was something else entirely. He'd heard of crazy plans before but this one was far beyond the realm of insanity. He'd demanded to know her plans in greater detail after he found out just how many White Fang soldiers were lost in the tunnels during the Grimm breach. He refused to cooperate until she told him everything. The least he could do for them was find out what they died for.
On top of that, it turned out that another Harvester was on the loose. He sent Faline back to Mistral to warn Sienna about the monsters and to keep their forces on alert.
When Cinder told him her entire plan it left him completely shocked. Using the virus she planted into the CCT tower, she would manipulate the matches as she saw fit. By doing so she could ensure that the attack on Vale occurred at the right time when the most amount of fear and negativity was generated. The Grimm would then attack Vale alongside the White Fang and all of the present robotic assets of Atlas. Cinder would task Neo with freeing Roman and planting the virus into the main Atlas command network.
Adam didn't doubt Neo's ability to infiltrate the ship and plant the virus, but he had his doubts about whether or not Atlas had discovered the virus within the CCT tower already. Cinder had assured him that the virus was designed by someone who knew the work of the current head of the Science and Technology Division of Atlas very well. The virus would be safe from discovery until it was unleashed and by then it would be too late to stop it.
What by far made no sense to Adam was Cinder's use of the Grimm in her plans. The last time he checked, the Grimm didn't care if their prey was human or faunus. She acted as though the Grimm would do as she commanded and that was where he was drawing the line on this whole thing.
He joined her not only because he feared her, but also because he actually believed she could help his cause. Now, it seemed that she was leading him and his brethren to certain death.
"Far from it actually," replied Cinder, earning his attention once again.
"I seriously doubt that Cinder," Adam shot back. "You expect me to believe that the Grimm won't kill any of my men? This will kill all of us and I did not sign up for that."
Cinder regarded the bull faunus for a moment before she let out a tired sigh.
"Very well," she said with her eyes closed. The half-Maiden turned and walked away from the faunus.
"What do you mean?" Asked Adam as he watched her walk away.
Cinder didn't stop walking. She glanced over her shoulder and met his confused gaze.
"Follow me if you want to know the truth."
Adam didn't know what to do. He felt as though she was luring him into a trap to kill him, but he quickly brushed that thought aside. If she wanted him dead, she could have done so at any time. The fact that she managed to kill a Harvester was proof enough that she was far beyond his level; if that hadn't already been made clear.
The bull faunus followed her, intent on learning what she meant.
He caught up with her and she led the two of them to Cinder's makeshift office. It was Spartan, to say the least, if anything. Cinder retrieved a large briefcase from behind the desk. Adam witnessed her whisper a few words into it for some reason before she walked towards him.
"If you value your life you will kneel." Her statement was more of a command than a suggestion.
Adam rolled his eyes but didn't argue and proceeded to do as she said. He observed as she opened the briefcase and out came a creature that Adam had never seen before. The bull faunus looked on in shock at what he was seeing. It was clearly a Grimm but it looked like a jellyfish.
It had a small, black spherical body resembling a smoky crystal ball that was covered with bone-like plates and spikes. It also had six long red tentacles.
Adam watched as Cinder kneeled just as the Grimm began to morph and seize suddenly. The Grimm fell on the floor in a lifeless state just as it began to emit black smoke.
"Adam Taurus."
Adam felt every hair on his body shoot up. The voice he heard was soft and melodic, but it carried a sinister undertone. It was beautiful and terrifying at the same time.
Adam watched as the smoke began to take shape and from it emerged the translucent image of what looked to be a woman, but she was anything but. Her chalk-white skin and her blood-colored eyes made his heart skip a beat. It was as if Death itself was staring at him.
She smiled at him, slightly easing his fears. Just like her voice, she was both beautiful and terrifying.
"Cinder has told me much about you. I understand that you have questions."
Adam was frozen. He didn't know what to do or say. Cinder stole a glance and smirked at the bull faunus' state of fear.
Salem relished the revolutionary's reaction as she laughed.
Solitas:
"This better be good Ash," said a female wolf faunus who was dressed in an orange prisoner's jumpsuit, "I'm missing my workout for this."
Prisoners in the lower security wing of Detention Center Delta were only allotted one hour a day to congregate and work out. Prisoners in the maximum-security wing were kept isolated within an even more secure detention facility within the prison complex.
The wolf faunus was seated across from a male rabbit faunus and a large, muscular male lion faunus. The three were seated outside in the courtyard. The weather today was surprisingly pleasant for Solitas.
"That's certainly a nice hello considering I haven't seen you since we arrived here," replied the rabbit faunus. Since they arrived over a month ago, they'd been kept mostly isolated from each other. "Trust me Lupa. You and Sam won't be disappointed about this."
The two leaned forward to listen to what their comrade had to say.
"Sage is alive," said Ash.
Samson and Lupa stared at Ash incredulously. To them, Ash had gone crazy during his time in prison. Sage was dead, slaughtered by those monsters.
"Uh…" Samson was at a loss for words.
"I'm not crazy," stated Ash with a bit of venom in his voice. "I've seen him with my own eyes. His cell is across from mine, and he's been in and out of the psychiatric ward repeatedly."
The two continued to stare at him in disbelief.
"But how?" Asked Lupa. "I thought the demons got him."
"They did," replied Ash, "but they took him alive."
Ash smirked as he saw that he had their full, undivided attention.
"What do you mean they took him alive? If he's here then does that mean the Harvesters are with Atlas?" Asked Samson.
"Where are the Harvesters?" Asked Lupa with anger, clearly still angry after having lost her lover Lykos to those monsters.
"Easy there," replied Ash, "one thing at a time. First of all, they're called Guardians according to Sage, and they report directly to General Ironwood. Secondly, we don't know where they are. Sage wasn't able to give me much info on them. All he could tell me was what they looked like and he more or less described them as three robots in orange, grey, and green armor respectively."
"That doesn't answer why they took him alive but killed everyone else," said Lupa.
"According to Sage, their target was Adam. General Ironwood wanted to know about that woman who came to Adam. Since he wasn't there when they arrived, they took Sage instead."
"Bah! I knew working with that human was a mistake," said Samson.
Ash glared at the lion faunus.
"We both know that those monsters would have kept coming after us with or without that human's involvement," said Ash.
Samson sighed in defeat, knowing that Ash was right. Those demons, those Guardians, had been hunting the White Fang long before that human girl showed up. With or without her, it was only a matter of time before they found them.
"Can they be killed?" Asked Lupa.
Ash stared at her for a moment before he replied.
"I don't know. From what Sage told me they were like a force of nature, unstoppable. I don't know what they are or if they can be killed, but from what Sage told me none of us would stand a chance in hell to take them on."
The two looked defeated. If these Guardians were as powerful as Sage made them out to be, then there was truly no hope for the White Fang. It was only a matter of time before the White Fang was hunted down to its last member.
"What do we do?" Asked Samson.
"We escape and relay this information to Adam and High leader Kahn," replied Ash.
"But how?" Asked Lupa.
Ash was silent.
"Ok," the rabbit faunus admitted, "I haven't figured that part out yet, but we will."
"This should be good," said Samson with a smirk.
Atlas Academy:
"Come on Harriet! One more! You got this!" Clover's voice was filled with motivation.
He stood over Harriet as her spotter as she slowly pushed the barbell off her chest and up to the weight rack. Harriet was clearly struggling to bring the weight up, but she was steadily doing it. With one final push, she forced the barbell to rest back up on the rack.
"That's a new record, Harriet! Nice work," said Clover.
Specialist Ebi was immediately joined by Marrow, Vine, and Elm in cheering for their fellow Ace Operative's new personal record.
Harriet rolled her eyes in slight annoyance as she caught her breath.
"You all will cheer for anything," she said as she grabbed a drink from her water bottle.
"And you still can't take a compliment," said Marrow with a slight smirk. "Or give one for that matter."
"Hey," she shot back, "I gave you your due respect in Mistral against those bandits two weeks ago."
"If I recall," said Vine, "I believe you merely told him he wasn't a complete failure."
"I think Harriet meant that lovingly," said Elm.
The five Ace Operatives shared a laugh for a moment.
"So," said Elm, breaking the lighthearted moment, "any updates with the investigation?"
Silence.
Their last mission to Mistral had been a much-needed break from everything. They hadn't found any leads to any new White Fang bases, and they had been working around the clock investigating any potential security leaks. The Mistral government had requested their help in dealing with a bandit tribe that was harassing some settlements. The mission had been a success of course, and now that it was done they were back and back to their other mission: helping Specialist Schnee with the internal investigation.
Clover let out a sigh.
"Nothing yet," he replied, "I actually have to go meet with Winter soon."
"I'm glad I don't have your job," replied Harriet. She didn't say it outright, but she felt intense sympathy for her leader.
Diagnostic Scans Inconclusive
Cassandra Haze hummed in thought as she stared at the computer screen in her lab. The good doctor took a sip from her cup of tea before setting the cup down. She'd been analyzing the software that James had sent her from Beacon. Her job was to see if Salem's little pawn had installed any malicious software on Vale's CCT tower. So far, her diagnostics had proven inconclusive. She'd taken the highest safety measures to ensure that the software was contained on a sterile network that had a zero chance of infecting sensitive systems. When this was all said and done, she would have these computers incinerated.
Even though her scans had proven inconclusive, she wasn't about to cease her efforts. There might have been something hidden within, and the scans had only missed it. She wouldn't stop until either she found something, or she was absolutely sure there was nothing there.
The sooner that was done, the sooner she could finish her work with Project Sentinel.
Cassandra glanced over at the television. The Atlas news network was on and once again Robyn Hill was the main story. Her charity exploits in Mantle had been gaining steam and her accusations of James neglecting Mantle were beginning to take root despite James sending in over a thousand troops to bolster Mantle's defenses. Instead of seeing the gesture as a protective measure for Mantle, Robyn spun it as James wanting to exert more control over Mantle and infringe on their rights.
Cassandra sighed.
It was a damned if he did and a damned if he didn't situation. Robyn was far more clever and craftier than her father, Cassandra had to give her that. She was charismatic and peaceful, and she had the support of the people. She was untouchable at the moment. All they could do was continue to monitor her.
Beacon Academy:
"Thank you for coming Penny."
"It is my pleasure General Ironwood. What can I do for you?"
"The reason I called you here is to introduce you to your new partner during the Vytal Tournament."
Penny frowned. She knew that Terre, Rahm, and Jai were not going to participate in the tournament to help maintain security for the event, which was to begin in two weeks. She wasn't happy about the whole arrangement. She wanted to compete alongside her brothers. The general could tell that Penny wasn't happy about the arrangement.
"I understand this might not be the ideal scenario for you Penny, but it's necessary for the mission."
"Sir, may I ask where Rahm, Jai, and Terre will be during the tournament?"
"It's too early to tell exactly, but they'll be wherever they're needed."
"I understand sir," she said with a frown.
"Try to look on the bright side of things, Penny."
Her head perked up before she smiled.
"I believe you are correct sir. This could be a great opportunity to make a new friend."
The general nodded with a smile. A knock at the door to his office alerted the both of them.
"Ah, that must be her. Come in!" He called out.
A young girl of about 17 years of age entered the general's office. She wore a blue beret, a white blouse, a blue skirt, white stockings, black boots, and black fingerless opera-style gloves. Her skin was dark, with straight black hair, and blue eyes. Her hands were clasped behind her back, and she held a stern look that would have made any military instructor proud.
"Thank you for having me General Ironwood," said the girl.
"Penny meet Ciel Soleil. She's the highest-ranked first-year student at Atlas Academy and she'll be your partner during the Vytal Tournament." The general gestured toward the Atlas student. "Ciel, meet Penny Polendina."
"Salutations! I look forward to being your partner during the Vytal Tournament."
Ciel gave a curt nod.
"I also look forward to working with you Penny."
The general smiled.
"It's good to see you both getting along. Ciel," he said as he looked at her, "you have your orders."
"Yes sir," she replied.
Jai ducked under a slash from Miló and went in to sweep Pyrrha's legs, but the Invincible Girl fell into a backhand spring and avoided the sweep. Jai didn't give her much time as he sped towards her and delivered a furious combo of kicks and punches that had perfect form. Pyrrha managed to dodge and block the strikes with relative ease. Pyrrha managed to push Jai away with Akoúo̱ before she summoned Miló's javelin form.
She sped towards Jai and attacked with her javelin while remaining behind the protection of her shield. Jai bobbed and weaved to avoid the strikes from the javelin. As the javelin's tip narrowly missed him, Jai grabbed the weapon and pulled before letting go, sending Pyrrha along for an unwanted ride into the air.
"Whoa!"
The scarlet-haired pride of Mistral managed to right herself in midair. With expert aim, Pyrrha threw her javelin down towards Jai, who managed to roll out of harm's way. Pyrrha landed and ran towards Jai as she threw her shield at Jai, who stopped it dead in its tracks with a one-handed catch. Jai threw the shield back at Pyrrha with greater force than she was prepared for, forcing her to duck underneath it.
Pyrrha threw a few punches that were blocked by Jai. He then blocked an elbow strike before Pyrrha threw a straight right that he caught. Jai threw Pyrrha over his shoulder across the room, but the scarlet-haired Huntress came back with great speed and launched a perfect spinning roundhouse that Jai ducked under. Jai performed a series of backhand springs to put some distance between him and her.
Pyrrha smirked as she used her semblance to summon her weapon and shield back to her. The two stared each other down from opposite sides of one of the many sparring rooms. The Mistralian champion couldn't help but smile. She was having so much fun. This was the first time she had faced someone as skilled as her, if not more skilled.
"You are by far the most challenging opponent I've ever faced. Your skills are most impressive Jai."
"Thank you Pyrrha. It's clear that you took my advice to heart."
"Since you gave me that advice, I've doubled down on my training."
The Guardian merely nodded, acknowledging her progress.
"You know Jai," Pyrrha said as she twirled Miló in her hands, "I believe that we agreed that you would come at me with everything you had."
"What makes you think I'm not?"
"Well for one, you're fighting me without your weapon."
"That weapon is not exactly effective against someone who can control all forms of metal."
Pyrrha rolled her eyes in slight annoyance.
"I would think that someone like you wouldn't let such a thing slow you down," she smirked at him playfully.
Jai nodded.
"Very well then Pyrrha."
Pyrrha smiled. With a flick of her wrist, she summoned Jai's weapon from the bench it was resting on and levitated it over to Jai who grabbed it.
"Ready?" She asked.
Jai nodded.
"Uh…Yang…is this really necessary?" Jaune looked at the blonde firecracker of team RWBY with slight apprehension.
Yang stretched her limbs before she popped her knuckles and neck.
"What's wrong Jauney-boy? Afraid that I'll grind you into the dust?" She smirked playfully at him.
"Yes," he replied without a second thought.
She rolled her eyes.
"Oh come on you dork. This is a friendly spar."
"Right, but why me?"
"The Vytal Tournament is two weeks away and I think it'd do us some good to train with people outside of our teams. That way we can adapt new strategies."
He couldn't argue with that logic. Pyrrha and Jai told him that undynamic training leads to lackluster performance. It was better to switch up training methods and sparring partners whenever possible.
"Besides, I'm dying to see if you fight as good as you dance lady killer," she winked at him.
Jaune felt his face heat up as he blushed.
"Why does she have to do that?" He whispered to himself.
The blonde Arc steadied his fast breathing as he tried to calm himself down. He rationalized that if he could train with Pyrrha and Jai and survive then he could handle Yang.
Right?
After all, Yang never managed to beat Pyrrha in a fight and he highly doubted she could take Jai in a fight. He should be fine against Yang…
…right?
"Don't worry vomit-boy, I'll be gentle with you."
Yup. She was going to tear him apart. Jaune mentally prepared himself for the grinder he was about to put himself through.
Rahm backflipped to avoid the wall of ice that erupted from where he once stood. The Guardian landed gracefully as the ice wall broke apart. On the other side of the outdoor training field stood Weiss, who looked a bit annoyed.
Rahm cocked his head to the side in slight confusion.
"Is something wrong Weiss?"
She gave a slight scoff.
"I didn't think that it would be this difficult trying to hit you."
"You're a ranged fighter Weiss. A ranged fighter will have difficulty hitting a fast target. You're going to have to change your strategy."
The Schnee heiress looked a bit uneasy.
"Close-quarter combat isn't exactly my specialty."
"I'm aware," he replied, "but close-quarter combat is something every Huntress should be proficient in."
Weiss folded her arms across her chest and shot the super soldier a grin.
"I'm going to take that as you volunteering to help me improve my close-quarter combat."
"Well, I was already here sparring with you…"
Weiss smiled.
"Lovely," she said with a smile.
"Lesson one," said Rahm before he rushed towards her.
Weiss wasn't prepared for how fast he moved, and she definitely wasn't prepared for the open-palm strike that Rahm delivered to her stomach, sending her tumbling back. She picked herself up off the floor as she pondered the strength behind the blow. She didn't know, however, that Rahm was holding back heavily.
"Always keep up your guard."
Ruby was panting. She'd been through some tough training sessions before with her father, uncle, and Yang, but this was something else. What made it worse was the fact that her sparring partner looked like he hadn't put in any effort whatsoever. While she was gasping for air, he breathed as though he hadn't exerted himself.
"I swear Terre," she said as she wiped the sweat from her face, "sometimes I think you aren't human."
Terre didn't respond to that. She wasn't wrong though. He wasn't human, he was a Guardian.
"Can't we take a break?"
"No Ruby," he replied, "the Vytal Tournament is approaching, and you asked me to help you train."
She groaned.
"I didn't think it was going to be this hard…"
Terre's stern gaze drilled into her.
"Ruby," he said, "what did I say earlier?"
She huffed as she crossed her arms.
"We train the way we fight because we fight the way we train," she said.
"Exactly," he replied.
The words he told her were the words that General Ironwood drilled into their memories during their early days of training. He told them "War is hell and so your training will be hell." The general wasn't wrong. Tough training makes war less painful.
"Now," he said, "let's try that again."
Ruby reluctantly grabbed Crescent Rose and took a deep breath.
"Let's go," she said.
"I greatly appreciate you and Ren helping us with our training, Nora."
The hyperactive ginger of team JNPR beamed an energetic smile.
"Don't mention it, Penny," replied Nora, "besides, Ren and I needed some training of our own. Right Ren?"
"It certainly wouldn't hurt," said Ren.
"Wonderful!" Penny was ecstatic. "This will be so much fun."
Ciel, who was watching the whole conversation in silence, cleared her throat as she pointed to her watch.
"I don't wish to be pushy, but could we perhaps begin training soon?"
"Certainly Ciel," said Penny with a smile.
Nora leaned closer to Penny and whispered into her ear.
"Hey Penny, so uh, how do you know Ciel again? And remind me again why you aren't fighting in the tournament with Rahm. Jai, or Terre?"
"I know Ciel from Atlas Academy," she lied. She couldn't contain the subsequent hiccup. "None of my teammates will be fighting in the tournament," she hiccupped again.
Nora looked at her quizzically, oblivious to the hiccup.
"Why not?"
Penny mentally sighed. Oh, how she hated lying.
"General Ironwood wanted to change things up this year with all Atlas Academy students. Ciel and I were selected, and Rahm, Terre, and Jai were not."
Nora looked at her fellow ginger for a moment before she shrugged her shoulders.
"Makes sense," she said, "now, let's get this training started."
Pyrrha grunted as she was sent tumbling across the floor. She stabbed Miló into the floor, stopping her from tumbling and standing up. She settled back into her stance with her sword and shield at the ready. She looked across from her, taking note of how calm and relaxed Jai appeared. He twirled his sword before letting it rest in an offensive position.
The red-haired beauty steadied her breathing, taking note of the lack of fatigue on her opponent. They'd been at it for a while now, her aura levels were low, and she was starting to get exhausted. Meanwhile, Jai looked as if he hadn't broken a sweat. She couldn't help but admire her sparring partner's enormous levels of stamina. With her aura levels low, she refrained from using her polarity semblance. In all honesty, her semblance hadn't helped her much here. She would use it to keep Jai's weapon a safe distance from her, but that's about all she could do. Jai clearly didn't need his sword.
"In my years competing in the Mistral Regional Tournament I fought many opponents, but none have ever come remotely close to you, Jai. You're something else entirely."
She sighed.
"I don't think I can beat you. Your skills and abilities exceed my own," she sounded almost disappointed in herself.
She was the Invincible Girl. She was supposed to be unbeatable. She had always been on top of the world when it came to fighting, but for the first time in her life she was truly humbled, and it was an unfamiliar feeling to her. Ironically, though, she didn't hate it. She had always hated the loneliness that being the best brought with it.
"You're not done Pyrrha," said Jai.
Pyrrha looked at him questioningly.
"What do you mean? My aura is nearly depleted, and I haven't been able to make a dent in your defenses. How can I possibly win?"
"Just because you're faced with a stronger opponent does not mean that you've lost. If you can't overpower your opponent, then you need to outsmart your opponent. Keep that in mind Pyrrha because it could very well save your life one day."
Pyrrha looked at him with curiosity. If Jai was saying that then did that mean he had faced someone even better than him?
"Are you speaking from personal experience?"
"No," he replied, "but my mentor taught me that our minds are more powerful than physical abilities or semblances."
Pyrrha found herself captivated by his story.
"As proof of what he said, he demonstrated how historically there were less powerful armies with brilliant leaders that managed to overcome insurmountable odds."
As part of their training, the many Guardians were taught military history. The greatest lesson General Ironwood instilled in them was that their minds were their greatest weapons. Their skills in combat, their marksmanship, their speed, their strength, and their semblances were nothing compared to their minds. Strategy and willpower would always trump ability.
Pyrrha nodded. He was absolutely right. Just because she was outclassed did not mean she had lost. The Great War was full of instances of inferior armies winning strategically important battles. The King of Vale was regarded as the most brilliant military leader during the war, and it was because of his brilliance that he emerged as the victor at the war's end.
Pyrrha let her sword and shield fall to the ground, earning a curious look from Jai.
"I'll be sure to keep that in mind," she walked over to the super soldier nonchalantly.
Seeing how dropped her weapons, Jai let his sword fall to the ground too. The super soldier walked towards her as well.
"Thank you again for training with me. It's a shame you, Terre, and Rahm won't be participating in the tournament. I, personally, don't agree with General Ironwood's decision to change the teams for Atlas."
Jai shrugged.
"I'm not dwelling on it. It is what it is."
Pyrrha shrugged. At this point, she was just a few inches from Jai. Jai wasn't expecting to be embraced in a hug. Being the socially awkward killing machine that he was, he hesitantly returned the hug, not noticing Pyrrha's mischievous smirk. With a flick of her fingers, Jai's sword levitated from the ground and sped towards him, stopping just inches from his back. Jai looked down at Pyrrha who was smiling with her eyes closed.
"I thought about what you said, and I took it to heart. Do you yield?"
Jai couldn't help but give the slightest hint of a smirk. He was impressed at how she had managed to get him to lower his guard. In all of his years as a soldier, no one had managed to get the drop on him like she just did. In all fairness, the fight was technically over once she dropped her weapons, but it didn't matter. Jai was equally impressed.
"So, you used deception to get me to lower my guard?" Jai's question was rhetorical. "Very well, I yield. I have to say that I'm impressed, Pyrrha. You're more than ready for the tournament."
Pyrrha released her magnetic hold on Jai's sword and returned it to him.
"And I have you to thank for that," she replied as she summoned her sword and shield back to her.
Jaune was on his knees panting in exhaustion. He just spent the better part of an hour training with team RWBY's blonde firecracker. To say that he had gotten absolutely demolished would not have been fair. Sure, Yang dominated the spar, but he managed to get quite a few good hits in. On top of that, he also managed to get her on the defensive for a bit before she turned it around. He mentally thanked Pyrrha and Jai for their training sessions. Most people trained for years before applying to Beacon or one of the other academies. The fact that Pyrrha and Jai had been able to get him to the point where he could now put up a fight against someone as experienced as Yang was nothing short of incredible. Of course, he still had a long way to go, but his sparring session with Yang was proof enough of how far he had come.
"What's wrong lady killer? Too tired to go on?"
Though Yang's taunt was playful, she would have been lying if she said she wasn't starting to get tired too.
Jaune smirked.
"You kidding? I'm just getting warmed up," he forced himself to his feet, his sword and shield at the ready. He could feel his vast aura rejuvenating him.
Yang couldn't help but whistle in admiration. If there was one thing Jaune had in spades it was aura and stamina.
The blonde dragon shot a playful smirk right back at him.
"Bring it vomit-boy."
Weiss felt as though her arms and legs were going to fall off. Rahm had just put her through what she considered to be an exercise meat grinder, and what Rahm considered a light warmup. She'd done over 500 squats, 500 pushups, and 500 burpees and he still had yet to let her stop. She looked up at the tall young man from her pushup position.
"Is there…any…" she said through heavy breathing, "…particular reason you're…having me do this?"
"Your skills with your rapier are superb, but your hand-to-hand combat skills and your stamina need a lot of work."
Weiss couldn't help but blush in embarrassment. Their hand-to-hand sparring session didn't last long. Rahm had taken her down without even the slightest of effort. Not only could she not keep up with him, but it was painfully clear that her melee skills were virtually non-existent. Seeing that she needed to start from the basics, Rahm took it upon himself to train her properly.
"But the biggest reason I'm having you do this," said Rahm with a smirk, "is that you were the one who asked me for help."
She felt like she wanted to punch herself in the face. She had dug her own metaphorical grave and now here she was laying down in it.
"How lovely…" even Rahm could tell she was being sarcastic.
"Don't worry Weiss," he replied, "we've still got two weeks before the tournament starts. You'll be ready."
Ruby couldn't move. She was sprawled out on the floor with stars in her eyes, gasping for air. She didn't know how she was still alive after the tortuous training session Terre had just put her through. He had made her run the physical gauntlet. She endured brutal hand-to-hand sparring sessions and she'd done enough calisthenics to earn the respect of any physical trainer.
All of this because of the fact that her melee skills and her physical stamina were not up to par, according to Terre. While she thought it was sweet how he wanted to help her prepare for the tournament, she couldn't help but glare at the super soldier with a bit of venom in her eyes for putting her through this hell. What made it worse was that this wasn't the end. The tournament was two weeks away and Terre was adamant about ensuring that she was ready.
"I didn't say you could rest, Ruby," said Terre.
"Just kill me now," she groaned, forcing herself back to her feet.
"Ready?"
She reluctantly nodded. This was going to be a long two weeks.
Atlas Academy:
Winter rubbed her temples in hopes of easing the migraine she had. She'd been working with very little rest for the past few weeks and the fatigue was starting to catch up with her, evidenced by the bags under her eyes. She sipped from a mug containing coffee as she examined the supply manifests. She was focused on the early prototypes that the SDC shipped to the military over nine months ago. When she wasn't reading on every single Paladin mech prototype that had been delivered, she was cross-examining each mech in the weapons storage facilities. So far, she had identified a grand total of forty mechs that were missing.
General Ironwood's updated report that he sent over two weeks ago showed that a few of those missing mechs had been destroyed in the tunnels beneath Vale during the Grimm breach. Despite these revelations, Winter's progress on the case remained stagnant. She triple-checked the manifests and they all showed that every mech was accounted for. She had interrogated the soldiers who had conducted the inventories and what she found out baffled her. They had indeed noticed that the mechs were missing, but when they dug further, they found that the mechs were listed as "recalled" to the SDC for software patches.
The paperwork was there to back up their stories and so the mechs were never reported as stolen. She had analyzed all security footage she could find regarding the mechs and was disappointed to find out that someone had looped the footage. She contacted the liaison between the SDC and the Atlas military to inquire about the supposed recalls, but when she spoke with him, she found out that the SDC never recalled those 40 mechs specifically.
The only thing the SDC had been instructed to do was to upgrade all mechs, save for one prototype, to the specifications that General Ironwood had given them. The liaison mentioned that the general's specifications were from a report that was compiled by a team of soldiers during a field test of the equipment. Winter knew exactly who the team in question was, but that didn't matter. After she spoke with the liaison, she came to realize that she had gone in one gigantic circle. Someone was manipulating the records and falsifying paperwork with such expertise that it hadn't been caught. Whoever was behind this had to have had a very high-security clearance.
She sighed before she took another sip of her coffee.
This job would have been a lot easier if the Internal Affairs Bureau had been allowed to help, but the general had a point. The more people they had investigating this situation would only let the rat know that they were after him or her.
A knock at her office door made her glance up from the stack of papers in front of her.
"Come in," she said.
The door opened, revealing the commander of the Ace Ops, Special Operative Clover Ebi.
"Please tell me you have something to report," she sounded like she was in desperate need of news on the case.
He frowned, shaking his head.
Great.
That was exactly what she needed; to be told that they still had yet to find any significant leads.
Clover took in her disheveled appearance, noting the fatigue and stress she was radiating.
"Winter," he said, "I think you should take a break."
"The general wants this rat found ASAP, Clover. I can't take a break."
"I know, but it's clear that we're not getting anywhere. You won't be able to do your job properly if you continue like this."
She glared at him.
"I appreciate your concern, but I'll be fine."
He shrugged, offering a comforting smile.
"Just looking out for a friend is all. We'll keep working to figure out who's behind this on our end. In the meantime, I hope you take my advice."
"I'll be sure to keep that in mind. So, unless you have anything useful to report, let me get back to work."
With that said he turned and walked away, closing the door behind him. Winter downed what remained of her coffee before she went back to examining the documents before her. Minutes passed and then so did hours, but her progress remained stagnant.
She sighed in what appeared to be defeat.
"I hate it when he's right," she said to herself.
The sound of her official Atlas military scroll beeping distracted her from her work. She retrieved the device and examined it. Her eyes seemed to gain a bit of life after she read the message. General Ironwood had requested additional security units for the Vytal Tournament and wanted someone to oversee their delivery. The former Schnee heiress thought about Clover's words. He wasn't wrong. They were currently stuck as far as the investigation was concerned, and she did need a break. She replied to the general's message.
Maybe this is what she needed. She could deliver the units to Vale and see Weiss while she was there. Maybe seeing her little sister would help her regain the focus she needed to solve this case.
Looks like Adam has finally met the witch. Let's keep an eye on those imprisoned White Fang members and see if they ever manage to escape haha. Pyrrha's little trick on Jai was meant in good fun. Jai knew he wasn't in any danger but she did manage to get him to lower his guard so the point stands. For the record, I plan on glossing over a lot of the Vytal Tournament stuff because it won't be super important for what I have in mind. Whatever I feel is important to keep will stay. Let me know what you all think of this one. Until next time.
-Dude64