Gamer4 in... I don't really want to be awake right now, but since I've been forcefully wrested from my sleep, I may as well write up the reactions to another episode. Make the best of a bad situation- made worse by having to slog through that scene of Persona 3 Reload. Oh, to sleep... perchance, to dream. I promise there will be no musical numbers this time around- I'm way too tired for that... maybe. Let's dive in.
Episode XIX
The Last Contact
The Sands of Vale
"It's coming a couple hours late, but soup's on!" Jack grinned as he returned from the kitchen with plenty of curry to go around.
"Thank you very much!" Velvet nodded politely as she accepted hers.
"For me as well?" Penny tilted her head in surprise as Jack delivered her a plate.
"Just trust me," he winked. "Just... keep it on the down-low."
Penny took a tentative bite, and her eyes seemed to turn into stars. "It tastes... wonderful!"
"How-" Winter was on the verge of asking a very revealing question, but pivoted mid-sentence. "-could you possibly have made curry this delicious?"
"Maybe you wanna take a bite before praising it, Ice Queen," Qrow suggested slyly as he dug into his own.
"So... we're going back to the world where Jauney climbed into a gear, then it exploded and destroyed his village?" Sun clarified.
"It was... not pretty," Ren muttered as he dug into his own food.
"There were some other things at play, but yes, that is descriptive," Pyrrha nodded.
"This... should be interesting," Raven leaned forward as best she could with a black cat growling in her lap.
"Let's hit it!" Jack clapped.
Jaune awoke to a gentle light filtering through the trees above, tinted an emerald green. More pleasant still were the sound and smell of sizzling eggs and sausage. He pulled himself up to find the expected sight of Ren stoking a pan over the fire. "Ah, good morning, Jaune. Thought I'd cook some breakfast."
"That's Renny!" Nora beamed. "When in doubt, fix everything with his cooking!"
"There are worse ways to wake up," Jaune nodded his agreement.
"Hmm, the boy's smaller than I expected," Raven crossed her arms.
"Yeah, we know, you were hoping he'd be some hulking galoot," Qrow rolled his eyes. "Not how it works, I'm afraid."
"Thanks," Jaune nodded, moving closer to the fire and accepting some eggs. "Pyrrha's gone?"
"Yes. She left during the night... she..."
Jaune shook his head as he took some sausage as well. "No need to lie, Ren, I heard everything."
"Okay, good, I didn't lash out," Jaune let out a breath.
"Heheh... 'No need to Lie Ren," Yang smirked.
"Haven't heard that one before," Ren groaned.
Ren paused for a moment. "Everything?"
"Yeah. You told her to go back to her family."
"...Well, I suppose that makes things simpler. I suppose you heard her apology, as well?"
"Yeah. But... she didn't need to apologize. It was harsh, but nothing she said was wrong. She brought the fight to us, but I'm the one who climbed into Weltall. If anything, I should be apologizing to her."
"No, I was absolutely out of line!" Pyrrha objected. "The things I said to you-"
"Yeah, yeah, you apologized to him, he apologized to you," Sun interrupted. "C'mon, can't you just accept each others' apologies and move on?"
"I... guess you're right," Pyrrha smiled slightly.
"I've noticed he has a great deal of wisdom... in his own way," Ren matched her slight smile.
Ren reached out and placed a hand on Jaune's shoulder. "Try not to blame yourself too much, Jaune. You were trying to save the village- you had no way of knowing how volatile the gear would be."
"He's right," Nora agreed in a surprisingly gentle voice. "We all know you'd never have climbed into that thing if you'd known it would go crazy like that."
"Yeah... somehow, Ren has a way of making his comfort sound logical. It makes it feel less... empty, I guess."
"Always happy to be of assistance," Ren touched his forehead in a sort of salute.
"...Thanks, Ren." Jaune decided to accept this comfort for the moment. "How is everyone in the village?"
"Recovering as well as can be expected," Ren said gently as he helped himself to some breakfast. "As we speak, Nora is guiding them to Garreg Mach- a neutral territory to the northwest of Vale. They'll be safe there. In the meantime, we need to figure out what we should do. Unless you have any objections, I suggest we continue towards San Miguel- the more information we have on Vale and Atlas, the better decisions we can make moving forward. Besides, I can't fix Weltall with the parts we have to hand."
"Fix it? Are you insane?! After all the damage it caused?" Whitley's eyes widened.
"A gear with that sort of strength? They'd have to be insane to not fix it," Raven scoffed.
"I hate to say it, but... I agree with her," Winter wrinkled her nose. "If they can bring the gear under their control, it's far better to have it with them than leave it somewhere that their enemies may find it."
"But still... imagine how Jaune must feel..." Velvet's ears were very visibly drooping.
"Do we... have to fix it?" Jaune asked tentatively. "What if we just... left it here, broken? So it never hurts anyone again?"
Ren met his gaze steadily. "Hmmm... I understand your desire to be rid of the thing, Jaune. And, truth be told, it's not the worst thing we could do with it... but if we are to dispose of Weltall, I recommend not doing it in these woods."
"What do you mean?"
"It seems Atlas has a very significant stake in our friend here... they won't rest until they have it in their hands. Hiding it has some merit, but consider its last known location- Ansel. They know nothing of the exact circumstances, only that they sent a squadron towards Ansel pursuing Weltall, and neither has been heard from since. Put yourself in the shoes of Atlas... what is the next step?"
"Oh... crap," Yang grunted, rubbing at the back of her head in agitation.
Jaune's heart sank. "Hunt down any survivors of Ansel..."
"Exactly," Ren nodded.
"We need to get Weltall away from the people of Ansel- as far away as possible."
"Heh, a stellar bit of manipulation- you're a credit to your race," Adam smirked.
"Is it really manipulation to point out what's going on, just because it led to him reaching the same conclusion?" Ozpin countered.
"Always swift to defend your own machinations," Raven sneered.
"Just like you're always eager to defend abandoning your daughter!" Yang growled. One look at her face, and the conversation was officially over.
"Exactly- but doing so will be difficult without some repairs."
"...Alright. San Miguel it is."
"Wonderful. Eat up- we have a long walk ahead of-"
A loud noise filled the air, a great roaring- Jaune spun around, looking for another grimm that had located them, but Ren silently shook his head, pointing up into the sky.
Jaune craned his neck, and his jaw dropped as he saw a large metal vessel soaring through the air above the forest. "What is that?"
"A battleship... from Vale, if I'm not mistaken. News of Atlas's attack must have reached their ears. They'll not allow such an affront to go unpunished."
"Damn, if that's Vale's battleships, I'd hate to see what Atlas is packin'," Qrow raised a brow.
"Qrow..." Winter grimaced.
"His logic is not unfounded!" Penny pointed out. "Atlas has always been the most militarily advanced kingdom!"
"Y'see, Ice Queen? I'm just pointin' out facts, no need to get so... flustered," Qrow smirked.
Winter sighed. "You are... impossible."
"Vale has technology like that...?"
"It wasn't always like this. Of course, the war between the kingdoms has been going on for five hundred years- since around the time of Second Impact. Gears, though... those were only introduced a few decades ago. Both kingdoms began uncovering ruins of an ancient civilization, their weapons of war within. Practically all gear technology is built on what we've found.
"Things only got worse when the Ethos appeared. They firmly took Atlas's side, providing them with all their resources. Atlas began devouring the continent, moving well into Vale's territory. Just when it seemed like Vale would be destroyed altogether, Gebler appeared, standing by them and helping them to push back. And now... here we are, the border back where it's always been, along the mountains."
"Basically recapping what the opening text crawl told us," Blake nodded.
"Except... Second Impact. This is our first time hearing of such an event," Ren pointed out. "Five hundred years ago... and it sparked the war between Atlas and Vale?"
"Five hundred year war, yeesh," Sun rubbed at the back of his neck. "Any point asking where Vacuo is in all this?"
Blake thumbed through her notebook, and gasped. "Oh... um... maybe we should wait for them to say..."
"It's been destroyed, huh?" Neptune closed his eyes.
"How'd you know?" Nora asked, tilting her head.
"Her reaction says all."
"Well, that sucks," Sun crossed his arms. "How'd that happen?"
"Honestly, we're... not entirely sure," Pyrrha recalled. "There seems to have been some debate on the subject."
"And... Pyrrha is part of Gebler?"
"It would certainly seem so." Ren steepled his fingers. "Hmm... I have heard rumors that these organizations are more interested in the ruins than the kingdoms themselves."
Jaune wasn't sure what to say, so returned to his breakfast.
"Wouldn't doubt it," Torchwick chuckled. "They don't have any stake in the war, just tryin' to make a decent profit off of it."
"Hmm... the Ethos puts me in mind of a religious organization, separated from any particular state," Ozpin mused. "But Gebler... I wonder what other country they may represent?"
Once they started moving, only about ten minutes passed before the trees ended, and a vast wasteland began. The edge of the forest gave way to a seemingly endless ocean of sand. Barring some dunes, it was almost entirely flat- even from a distance, Jaune could see what he guessed was their destination. "This... is Vale?" he asked, surprised.
"Indeed it is," Ren nodded.
"Huh... that moment when Vale looks more like Vacuo than Vacuo," Sun tilted his head.
"What... happened?" Ruby stared. "This isn't our Vale- I don't know this place!"
"I... expected something a little more... iunno, lush."
"It's said that Vale was more temperate, once upon a time, until a meteor impact altered Remnant's alignment, causing what you see before you."
"Second Impact..." Jaune muttered to himself. "Was that... what destroyed Vacuo, too?"
"So, Second Impact was a meteor strike... that would certainly cause a great deal of damage," Ozpin nodded. "Perhaps the war began over the resources that existed in the immediate aftermath?"
"And it landed right on Vacuo?" Neptune shuddered.
"No, something about that doesn't quite-" Blake started.
Ren glanced at him, surprised. "Where did you get that idea?"
"-click," she finished.
"I remember the Gaffer talking about the Demon of Vacuo. I thought maybe it was the meteor, or something..."
Ren thought for a moment, then shook his head. "No, Vacuo survived Second Impact. It was only destroyed about fifteen years ago. There was an invasion going on at the time, but the true cause was an earthquake that plunged the kingdom into the sea. The leader of the invasion was rather feared- I have no doubt that fanciful imaginations would paint him as the true cause of the destruction... a demon of Vacuo."
"Damn, someone so feared that people thought he destroyed an entire kingdom single-handedly," Sun whistled. "Wonder who he could have been."
"I know my share of freaks back home, but none of them have done anything close to that," Qrow shook his head.
"He sounds like a dark lord from one of Yang's stories," Ruby shuddered. "I... don't think I'd like to meet him."
They fell silent, devoting all their energy to crossing the desert towards the town at its edge. The camera took the opportunity to soar across the desert to a much larger city far to the west, dramatic music starting up in the background.
"Oh, good, another musical," Whitley sighed.
"I like the songs we've been hearing!" Nora cheerily declared.
"I suppose it could be worse," Ren sighed.
When the camera entered the city, the music lost a great deal of its drama, as the screen focused on the citizens going about their business to the rhythm of the music. Finally, some of the citizens began to sing along to it.
"Vale's desert is gloomy..."
"Vale's desert is bleak!"
"My skin got roasted from standing here
All week..."
"Oh, since Hill's revolution,
Our lives have been so grey!
Thank goodness for the gossip
That gets us through the day!"
"'Hill's revolution?'" Torchwick repeated.
"It sounds as though there was a recent transfer of power in Vale... one that these citizens, at least, don't seem to appreciate," Ozpin surmised. "Hmm... Hill... did the revolution take place on a hill, or was that perhaps the name of the leader?"
"Have you ever heard of someone by the name of 'Hill?'" Penny asked.
"Hill?" Ruby asked.
"Hill?" Weiss tilted her head.
"Hill?" Blake pondered.
"Hill?" asked Yang.
"Hill?" asked Sun.
"Hill?" asked Velvet.
"Hill?" asked Neptune.
"Hill!" Penny repeated.
"NO!" everyone agreed.
"That's enough," Winter crossed her arms. "What movies are you showing them at that school of yours, Ozpin?"
"I like Seventy-Six Trombones!" Nora grinned.
"...I know you do, Nora," Ren nodded.
"Have you heard?
There's a rumor on the great desert!
Have you heard
What they're saying on the streets?"
A group of citizens were gathering around an old man on a street corner, whispering to anyone who would listen:
"Although the Queen did not survive,
Her daughter may be still alive!"
The citizens all gathered around and cried out:
"The Raven's Golden Dragon!"
They suddenly fell silent when a group of guards came passing by. The old man raised a hand to his mouth and whispered,
"Please do not repeat!"
"So, that's some more context," Pyrrha surmised. "Whatever 'Hill's Revolution' is, exactly, it ended with the death of the old Queen. People unhappy under this new regime wish for a return to the old monarchy with the princess, this... Raven's... Golden..." She looked up, her eyes flicking from a shell-shocked Raven Branwen to an equally shocked Yang Xiao Long. "Ohhhhh..."
"Raven, a queen?" Qrow chuckled. "Now that, I'd have liked to see!"
"But that means I'm dead!" Raven burst out.
"And Yang might be dead, too?!" Ruby wailed.
"I'm... a princess in this world?" Yang stared.
"I suppose we ought to start calling you the princess, in that case," Weiss smirked, eager for some long-overdue payback.
"Assuming, of course, that your interpretation is correct," Whitley interjected. "This is all based on one line from a song I'm assuming is mostly non-diagetic, after all."
"He's... he's right," Blake shook her head. "We should watch some more before jumping to conclusions."
When the guards had passed, the citizens went back to singing:
"It's the rumor,
The legend,
The mystery...
Something whispered
In an alleyway
Or through a crack!
It's a rumor,
A part of
Our history!"
An elderly woman standing in a stall whispered to her customers,
"They say the Church of Sophia
Would pay a royal sum..."
Apparently, her customers knew the rest of the rumor, because they finished it for her:
"To someone who can bring the princess back!"
"A foolproof system," Torchwick nodded with palpable sarcasm. "I'm sure nobody will try to take advantage of that."
"You're already laying out your plans, aren't you?" Neo smirked.
"You know me so well."
What followed was a series of different vendors clearly attempting to cash in on the rumors:
"Ten lien for this painting,
It was Queen Branwen's, I swear!"
"Come buy the Queen's pajamas,
Come and buy the pair!"
"I got this from the castle!
It's likely real fur!
It could be worth a fortune,
If it belonged to her!"
"How... violating..." Raven glared.
"Hey, they're living under the code you set up for them- people are only worth the value you can get out of them," Qrow fired back.
"You think about that, Tammy," Jack mused to himself.
The camera next entered an alley where Roman Torchwick seemed to be conspiring with a tall but scraggly man, with a rough beard and two missing teeth.
"Shay?" Raven immediately recognized.
"One of your men?" Qrow gathered.
"A somewhat recent recruit. Something that will likely change depending on what I see here..."
"Well, if he's working with me, I think you can get a good idea of what he's up to," Torchwick put his hands behind his head.
"Have you no shame whatsoever?" Winter narrowed her eyes at him.
"Hey, I know what I am- to thy ownself be true, right?"
Torchwick was the only one singing, his co-conspirator merely smiling and nodding along with his words.
"It's the rumor,
The legend,
The mystery...
It's the Raven's Golden Dragon
That will help us fly!
You and I, friend,
Will go down in history!
We'll find a girl to play the part,
And teach her what to say!
Dress her up and take her to
Sophie!
Imagine the reward
Those lunatics will pay!
Who else could pull it off,
But you and me?
We'll be rich!
(RICH!)
We'll be out!
(OUT!)
And this dull desert will have some more to talk about!"
"Well, you'd better hope that nobody at this church actually knows Yang," Weiss commented. "Anyone who does won't be fooled by any imposters. I suppose that's... tangentially a positive of her being... the way she is."
"Nora has... the same boon," Jaune chuckled.
"Nobody impersonates the master!" Nora whooped.
The citizens were forced to sing quietly as a group of guards walked down the streets, their hands raised as they practically whispered their song to each other:
"Have you heard?
There's a rumor on the great desert!
Have you heard
What they're saying on the streets?"
Soon, the guards disappeared, and they grew more joyful.
"Hey!
Hey!
Hey! Have you heard?
There's a rumor on the great desert!
Have you heard?
My friend, what do you suppose?
This fascinating mystery!
("The biggest con in history!")
The Raven's Golden Dragon...
Alive?
Or?
DEAD?!"
An old man on lookout noticed another set of guards approaching, this time in the company of Robyn Hill, the new ruler of Vale. "Who knows?" he whispered, raising a finger to indicate silence.
"So... Hill is the name of the person who overthrew the previous queen," Weiss surmised.
"And I think it's pretty safe to say by now that that old queen was my dear sister," Qrow nodded.
"But Yang!" Ruby flapped her arms. "Is she alive?"
"Well, given that the camera is returning to Jaune on the other side of the desert, I don't suspect we're going to learn the answer to that for some time," Ren speculated. Everyone turned to see that it was as he'd said.
"Oh, weak!" Yang couldn't help moaning.
The trip to San Miguel ended up taking much less time than Jaune expected- it was less than an hour before they had reached the white stone wall that surrounded the town of San Miguel.
There were arches at the north and south ends that permitted them entry to an enclosure of various buildings- Ren had been very right in calling it a 'small' town. Jaune thought he might be able to see from one end to the other- even Ansel had been larger, if only by a narrow margin. The buildings were constructed of the same stone as the wall that surrounded them, and in the center of the town was a large well, around which the buildings had no doubt been constructed.
"Welcome," Ren smiled, "to San Miguel. I hear they're planning some expansion- in the past few years, it's become the center of Vale's excavations. I'm sure we can pick up some spare parts for Weltall here- and if we keep our ears open, we may well hear something about Vale and Atlas's movements."
"That would be helpful, yes," Winter nodded her agreement. "It seems they're in for a delicate balancing act, making it clear to both sides that the gear is no longer near Ansel, while refraining from actually being captured."
"No pressure or anything," Jaune chuckled nervously.
Jaune still wasn't entirely sold on the idea of fixing Weltall, but raised no objections as Ren led him down the road past several natives bundled up against the sun's merciless rays, easily distinguishing them from those who were just passing through, who were not nearly as protected.
It took less than a minute to find what Ren was looking for- a large tent near the southern end of town. It had a crest imprinted into the cloth- a crimson cross, except the top portion spiraled into a pair of ram's horns.
"That kind of looks like Adam's proposed new crest for the White Fang," Blake recalled.
"My dear, my crest wasn't nearly as tacky as that," Adam objected.
Despite being a tent, it was the largest structure in town, the purpose of which was immediately obvious upon entry, where they found a trio of men working on a gear.
"A Gebler workshop?" Jaune guessed.
"Indeed. The only places in Vale to get gears repaired... officially, of course."
One of the men glanced over and saw their guests. "Afternoon. How can we help?"
"Our gear has broken down- we're searching for parts to repair it."
"Tough luck. What parts you need?"
"Firstly, an X-29 model injection bypass circuit."
The man scoffed. "You think we've got parts like that layin' around? Those are the kinds of things you only find on the latest military models! You'd have to put in a special order for somethin' like that, and good luck gettin' it within the month!"
"I quite understand," Ren bowed his head. "I apologize for the bother."
Ren turned and left. Jaune flashed an awkard smile and wave before following.
"I hate it when the shops don't have the parts you need," Ruby sighed heavily.
"I've seen your shopping list," Weiss narrowed her eyes. "I'm not convinced some of those parts you wanted even exist."
Ren led them across the street to the Prancing Pony, the very inn he'd originally planned to meet Jaune at. Inside were several tables, a counter, and a man plunking away on a piano, crooning out,
"Hey, Jude,
Don't make it bad.
Just take a sad song
And make it better!
Remember
To let her into your heart,
Then you can start
To make it better!"
"Oh, god, we're not doing another number again already, are we?" Whitley groaned.
"I don't think so," Velvet shook her head. "I think he's just... playing that song in the background."
Ren took them up to the counter, politely pulling out a chair for Jaune before sitting himself. "Well, this is a problem."
"This is the center of excavation for Vale, right?" Jaune recalled. "Could we go looking for parts ourselves?"
"We could, though crossing the desert presents many problems of its own," Ren pondered. "The Mohaine Desert is the largest on Remnant- the apotheosis of all deserts, I've heard it called. There are many traders that choose to go around it for miles rather than risk the more direct path. Beyond the normal wasteland, there are large patches of lightning sand."
"...Lightning sand?" Jaune didn't like the sound of that.
"Sand into which you'd sink as if it were water- faster, actually, as lightning sand negates buoyancy. There are ships designed to cruise across the desert, but... I don't fancy our chances of finding a captain who will ask no questions about Weltall."
"Lightning sand... that sounds familiar," Yang pondered.
"It came up in that book you used to read me whenever I was sick, remember?" Ruby's eyes started glowing.
"Oh, yeah!" Yang snapped her fingers, grinning. "In the Fire Swamp, along with the R.O.U. !"
"Er... R.O.U.S.?" Velvet asked tentatively.
"Rodents Of Unusual Size," Ruby explained. Smirking, she added, "I don't believe they exist-" She yelped as Yang tackled her for a tickle attack.
"...How long are we supposed to put up with this?" Torchwick rolled his eyes.
"Let's just continue, they should be done in five minutes or so," Blake gauged.
He tapped the counter as the bartender went by. "What'll it be?"
"Two strawberry sunrises, if you would."
The tender grabbed some bottles and mixed their drinks right there in front of them- there was a certain beauty to the art that put Jaune in mind of Old Man Sakura with his coffee. It caused him a pang- he didn't know if Sakura had survived, and he didn't have the courage to ask.
"I hope he made it out, he seemed like a sweet old man!" Nora nodded.
As the bartender plopped their drinks in front of them, Ren seemed to be seized by inspiration. He leaned forward and asked her, "Excuse me, do you know where I might go about getting a sand buggy?"
"Just down the road on the left, you can't miss it," the woman pointed before turning back to her drinks.
"What's that about?" Jaune asked quickly.
"I believe your idea has some merit. I intend to rent a sand buggy and go out on my own- I know the desert well enough that I think I can track down some likely locations. Atlas and Vale are at constant battle- if I can find a well-worn battleground, it's far from out of the question that I might locate our missing parts."
"On your own?" Jaune asked, surprised.
"Nothing against you, of course," Ren assured him quickly. "However, speed and secrecy are key, and most sand buggies only hold one. Here..." He pulled out a wad of lien and handed it over. "Have some drinks on me- you deserve a rest after everything that's been happening. I'll be back by morning at the latest- if I'm not back before dusk, just stay the night."
"Now those are some famous last words, if I've ever heard 'em," Sun chuckled. "Only redder flag would be if he were a faunus!"
"You'd better not be saying Renny's gonna die!" Nora growled threateningly.
"Not necessarily," Neptune shook his head, resigning himself to his usual role as Sun's interpreter. "But... there's no way things are going to be as simple as he's making them out."
Jaune nodded mutely as Ren hurried out the door. He must have found the buggy he'd been looking for, because ten minutes later, he had yet to return. Jaune shrugged and returned to his drink- it danced on his tongue. He had never really tried alcohol before, but this concoction, at least, was alright by him.
"Those aren't alcoholic," Yang shook her head.
"Pardon?" Pyrrha asked, turning to her.
"Strawberry sunrises- no alcohol," Yang repeated wistfully. "That's why I always get them when I'm out on the town."
For a while, he followed Ren's advice, taking one drink and then another. For someone who couldn't recall ever drinking before, he was holding his liquor rather well- three in, and he was hardly feeling a buzz. Then again, he had the feeling that this particular drink was slighter on the alcohol than most others.
"Hmm... either there is some alcohol in it in this world, or he's an even bigger lightweight than I pegged him as," Sun chuckled.
It was about two and a half hours later that there was a loud rumbling on the outside of the bar- the tender rolled her eyes. "Oh, boy..."
The batwing doors swung open, and in walked a man even taller than Jaune himself- who was known as one of the tallest men in Ansel. He was rather bulky as well, with a head of red hair greased into a small pompadour as he made his way up towards the bar.
"Oh god," Blake groaned.
"Oh... I certainly... wasn't expecting to see him around..." Velvet shifted uncomfortably.
"Pour out the strongest stuff you've got, barkeep, for me! Biiiiiig CARDIN!"
"Afternoon, Winchester," the woman sighed as she got to work on his order.
"And he's even more annoying," Yang huffed.
"Well, I don't know about that," Pyrrha giggled lightly. "He's been in Jaune's presence for five seconds now without attempting to give him a wedgie, at least."
"This... is the man I'm paired with in Road to Shambhala?" Adam narrowed his eyes.
"Yup," Blake nodded exasperatedly. "Believe me, I'm having trouble believing it myself."
'Big Cardin,' as he called himself, plopped himself down on the seat next to Jaune's- Jaune eyed him apprehensively. "WHOO, is there some shit going down out there! There's a goddamn storm out over that desert!"
"Storm?" Jaune asked. "Like... a sandstorm?"
"Not a sandstorm, little man, a gearstorm! Atlas and Vale are really going to town out there! I pity the fools who were driving out there in their sand buggies, looking for loot- they're all getting ripped apart out there!"
"Aaaaand the penny drops," Neptune sighed.
"Yes, friend Neptune?" Penny asked.
"No, no, I wasn't talking to- it's just a saying," Neptune waved his hands, flustered.
"One local brew, on the rocks." The bartender's eyes were at risk of rolling right out of their sockets as she plunked a tall glass of brown liquid in front of Cardin.
"You know me so well, darling!" he grinned. "But how could you not know BIG CARDIN?!"
He flexed and posed as he called out his name, much as he had the first time.
"I like this version, he's at least funny annoying instead of break his legs annoying," Nora giggled.
"While I certainly understand your disdain towards the Cardin of our world, I do ask that you refrain from breaking any of his bones," Ozpin shook his head.
Jaune, however, was fighting an icicle attempting to penetrate his heart. "Wait... there were ruined sand buggies?"
"That there were, little man, that there were!"
"Did you see any of the drivers? A tall man, with long hair in a ponytail?"
"Hmmm... can't say I saw anyone like that, no, but it's not like I was looking close, either. What, is he your boyfriend? Haha-"
Jaune didn't hear most of what Cardin said- he was already leaping to his feet and dashing out into the street, looking around wildly for the Sand Buggy Rental. It didn't take him long to find it, rushing into the building and immediately confronting the man behind the counter. "Sir, I need a sand buggy, as soon as possible."
"'Fraid I don't have any at the moment," the man pointed out, waving a hand around the otherwise empty building. "That dark-haired man took the last one a couple hours ago. Maybe when he gets back-"
Jaune's heart leapt. No... there has to be a way!
"When Jaune has his mind set on something, there is little that can stand in his way," Pyrrha nodded approvingly. "Especially where the safety of a friend is concerned!"
He ran back to the inn, where Cardin was brandishing his arms as he told a wild story. "He struck to the right, and I parried to the left as blood was leaking from my stump leg-"
"What stump leg? His legs are clearly intact!" Whitley pointed out.
"Well... Nora's right," Blake sighed. "I'd take Narcissistic Braggart Cardin over Racist Bully Cardin any day."
"He's anti-faunus?" Adam's eyes narrowed further.
"Again... I can't believe there's a world where the two of you teamed up either," Blake repeated.
Jaune produced the remainder of the money and pressed it into his chest. "Your bike works on the sand, right? Is this enough to borrow it?"
Cardin stepped backwards, taken aback. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, kid, who said anything about taking my bike?"
"I need to go out into the desert and find my friend!"
"Kid, I-"
Jaune spotted the key on the counter in front of them- he quickly reached out and grabbed it, leaving the remainder of Ren's lien in its place. "Thanks!"
"Kid- hey, get back here!"
Jaune paid him no mind as he rushed back to the street, spotting the bike Cardin must have ridden in on. "I promise I'll bring it back!" he shouted behind him as he quickly mounted it. He placed the key and kicked the bike into life, taking off with a roar and a cloud of dust before Cardin had the chance to pull him off.
"I... can't say I approve of what is, essentially, bike theft," Ren said slowly. "On the other hand, knowing that you're willing to do such a thing for my other... I can hardly find it in myself to complain, either."
"At least you gave him some money and promised to bring it back?" Velvet shrugged.
The bike carried him swiftly out of the town, none of the guards bothering to get in his way as he turned it towards the vast desert. He had to find Ren, no matter how difficult it would be. He wouldn't rest until he knew the one person he could trust was safe.
As the Mohaine Desert expanded around him and San Miguel shrank behind, he went up and down dunes, keeping his eyes open for any odd patches of sand, remembering well Ren's warning about lightning sand. He didn't encounter any, which was fortunate, as he had no idea what it might look like anyways.
"It looks like normal sand, but it's white and really really fine," Ruby recalled. "You also gotta look out for fire fountains and giant rats while you're at it."
"This isn't the Fire Swamp, Rubes," Jaune reminded her. "Fortunately, I think my other only has to deal with the lightning sand."
What he encountered far more often were the chunks of metal and machinery that Ren must have come out here to find in the first place- bits and pieces of broken weapons and gears. He half-wondered if any of them might be the exact part they were searching for, but of course, such things were irrelevant now- he needed to ensure that Ren was still alive.
However, Ren's other prediction proved equally true- the desert was incredibly vast, and riding this motorcycle was only getting him lost quicker. Before long, San Miguel was out of sight, leaving him with no landmarks to navigate the vast sands.
"Congratulations, Arc! You've rushed in where angels fear to tread, and ended up hopelessly lost yourself!" Weiss threw her hands up.
"Er... sorry?"
"Try not to take it too personally, Jauney-boy," Yang smirked. "Getting upset is just her way of showing she cares."
"Enough from the peanut gallery!"
He quickly lost track of time, the sun the only timepiece he had as it steadily began to sink towards the horizon. He was no closer to locating where Ren may or may not have gone, and now had no idea where he was himself.
At long last, he saw something other than bits of metal buried in the sand- there was a fight going on nearby. He could hear the clash of metal, the chatter of gunfire. He brought the bike around to see the battle going on. He had no intention of getting involved himself, but if he skirted around the edges, perhaps he could find something that would help him find Ren.
However, he hadn't even drawn close when a pair of large gears leapt over the dunes he'd been moving between, causing a shockwave that knocked the bike to the ground, sending him sprawling onto the sand.
"Well, this outing just keeps getting better and better," Neo rolled her eyes. "At this rate, maybe you'll have sunstroke and lose a couple limbs by suppertime!"
He looked up, attempting to scrabble backwards as if he had any hope of outrunning a pair of mounted gears on foot- until another series of bullets ripped through the air, destroying the both of them.
Jaune looked around wildly for his savior, and his chest seized when he saw a familiar black gear climbing over the nearest dune. "Weltall?"
Weltall knelt down, and the cockpit opened up, allowing Lie Ren to hop down. "Jaune... what happened to waiting at the inn? What's this I hear about you stealing a motorbike?"
"Safe!" Nora proclaimed, her arms outstretched like an umpire.
"Safe... and likely agitated," Ren surmised.
"I... I heard you were in trouble! I had to find you!"
"And when I returned to the Prancing Pony to find you'd left, I had to run out to find you!"
"Is this what people mean when they talk about 'Crossed wires?'" Penny asked.
"Yes, Penny... yes it is," Winter confirmed, pinching the bridge of her nose.
They were both distracted when they looked up to see more gears approaching- their struggle seemed to have caught the attention of the gears Jaune had been approaching in the first place.
"We can argue later," Ren shifted quickly. "Jaune, come up into the cockpit. I can operate this gear at a rudimentary level, but my bond to it is not equal to yours."
"Er... right!"
"His bond?" Torchwick snorted. "What, you're gonna start talking about the heart of the gear or some crap?"
He looked to see Jack looking pointedly away, borrowing Ruby's index-finger-tapping maneuver. "You are shitting me."
"Well, at the very least, there doesn't seem to be anyone out here to get hurt as collateral damage, should it go berserk again," Pyrrha noted hopefully.
As Jaune climbed up into Weltall's pilot seat, Ren swung his way up onto its shoulder, holding on tight as Jaune turned the gear against their new opponents. It felt much like it had back in Ansel, as though Jaune were being piloted as much as the gear was. The world around him almost seemed to slow down as he calculated exactly where he needed to be for the optimal position at any given time.
They fought their way across the desert, until Jaune finished the final assailant by smashing it into the stone of a large mesa rising above the desert.
"A great deal of power indeed..." Everyone else could hear the hunger in Adam's voice.
"But according to Ren, only Jaune can use it properly," Blake pointed out sharply.
"Between the two of them, maybe. But he took it from another army, didn't he? Clearly, there are others out there better suited to pilot it than some kid who blew up his own village on his first try."
NPR looked nervously towards Jaune, concerned about the effect these words might have on him, but he was standing firm.
"I'll answer to the people of Ansel- not to a shameless murderer," he retorted through narrow eyes of his own.
The sun had truly fallen below the horizon by now. Jaune looked around, surprised at what he'd done. "Ren, I... whenever I pilot, I..." He struggled to find the words to describe the sensation that came over him whenever he took control of Weltall.
He was relieved of the burden of finding words when he heard another voice coming in from the outside- and it wasn't Ren's.
"It's a fine feeling, isn't it? As though the world itself could bend to your whims."
"Oh, who's this now?" Qrow groaned.
A loud, booming voice- Jaune swung around, backing away from the mesa until he could see the large gear, looming dark against the full moon. From its back stretched appendages akin to wings, and standing atop it was what he could only assume was the pilot- a man in black armor and cloak, even his face hidden behind a helmet.
"Hmmm... Darth Vader, by the looks of things," Sun analyzed.
"Hold on to that feeling," the man seemed to advise. "It is a sign that your bloodlust has not been entirely slaked."
Jaune wanted to scream- everything had been happening so fast lately, and he was struggling to keep up with it. "Who are you?!"
He asked that, but... there was a tickle in his mind, at the very back of his brain... something telling him he knew who this man was. That's right... he's the one...
"What one? Don't leave us hanging, VB!" Yang objected.
A vision flashed before his mind's eye. He stood at one end of a rainy field, forming the points of a triangle with two other men. One was this man in black- the other was a tall, burly man, with frizzy blond hair and a large beard, almost resembling the mane of a lion.
"Well, I can tell you that that's my dad, at least!" Jaune recognized.
"That's your dad?" Ruby blinked. "Huh... he kinda looks like our dad with a thicker beard, doesn't he, Yang?"
In the Man in Black's hands was a cross, swinging back and forth like a pendulum- each time it reached the bottom of its arc, Jaune heard that awful chime.
"That's the same sound he heard just before Weltall went berserk!" Nora recognized.
"You think this man in black had something to do with it?" Pyrrha asked, her eyes narrowing in immediate dislike.
"That seems to be what is being indicated," Ren nodded, his own eyes becoming chips of ice.
That chime summoned another vision, of a young boy with blood splattered across his face...
"No!" the boy seemed to cry. "I didn't do it! It wasn't me! It was him! It was the habit!"
"Er... perhaps I am simply naive," Penny spoke up, ignoring a 'You're damn right' from somewhere on the villains' side of the room, "but I do not believe 'habit' is something one would normally blame something on."
"No, you're right," Sun shook his head.
"Habit... that word is on Jaune's arm," Blake recalled. "A series of scars."
"Oh, dear... perhaps the Man in Black did it to him?" Ozpin speculated.
Another boy, his hair long, red and wild, a dark grin on his face. "Heheh... rabbit or habit? Habit or raaaaaabbit?" He was crooning some odd tune. "Go on, lie there...Coward."
"I don't like that song," Velvet shuddered. "And not just for the... obvious reasons."
"No, I don't like it either," Jaune agreed. "Something about it feels... cold."
Jaune forced himself out of this chain of memories. "Ren, who... who is this?"
"I wish I could tell you, Jaune... I wish I knew."
"If you must call me by a name, call me Bane- I am the seeker of power. I have been watching you since the massacre of Ansel- when you showed how much power you truly possess, Jaune Arc. You still lack the power required to complete your mission. To that end, I arranged for the gears to land near Ansel... to ensure that power would be awakened."
"Er... his mission?" Ruby tilted his head.
"You got me," Yang shrugged and shook her head. "Everything this guy's saying sounds like nonsense to me."
"You two... did you not hear what he said?" Pyrrha asked, looking down, her hair covering her face. "What he just... admitted to?!"
Jaune was so taken aback that he was momentarily speechless. When he did speak again, every syllable trembled with rage. "You arranged... you caused that... intentionally?!"
"Correct. It was necessary... the deaths of your loved ones... you, powerless to stop it... the screams of your heart born of the tragedy... and at last, your power was awoken."
Yang's jaw dropped. "Wait, he caused that massacre?! He made sure the gears were going over Ansel?!"
"That's what he just said," Qrow nodded, glowering at the Man in Black. "Somehow, someway, it's his fault that everything that happened that night... happened."
"Urge... to break legs... rising," Nora growled.
"Why?!" Jaune demanded. "Why was it so important to you that I get in this damn gear?! Why was it so important that Ansel needed to-"
"Does it truly matter? Their lives were meaningless before the eyes of Heaven. Wretched vermin, living from day to day chained to the wall of a cave, and content to be so. Born from nothing, destined to return to nothing. Besides, it was by your hand, not mine, that the village truly fell. Or had you forgotten?"
"You literally just said you set it up!" Neptune objected.
"But the kid's still the one who pulled the trigger," Raven butted in. "In the end, it's on him, no matter who else he decides to blame."
"I... I was trying to protect the village!"
"Is that so? Or was there another voice speaking within you? A voice that craves destruction?"
"Okay, back to random nonsense," Yang shook her head. "Move along, buddy, VB is nothing like you!"
"I don't have to answer to you!" Jaune fired back. "I don't have to answer to some freak in black armor who's standing here, telling me they caused the massacre in the first place!"
"Hmm... ever seeking to shift the blame. Your essential nature has not changed."
For someone that he had only met a few minutes ago, Jaune found himself seething with hatred. "So you want my power, do you? Why? To what end?"
"An end you know all too well. To rise to the Heavens... to slay God herself."
"Wait... what?" Ruby paused. "He wants to... he wants to do what, now?"
Jaune was taken aback. "God? You want to... kill God?"
"Yes. That is our destiny- to become the bane of God."
"Well, that answers a lot of questions," Qrow threw back a gulp of whiskey. "No wonder he set all that up- he's just another whackjob with delusions of grandeur."
"Perhaps... but he's all the more dangerous for it," Ozpin pointed out. "It is the people crazy enough to believe they can change the world, after all, that ultimately do. For better or worse."
Jaune backed away. "Then find someone else. I'm not interested in whatever crusade you're going on about. You're welcome to go and kill whatever gods you want on your own- leave me out of it!"
"You... are so much like your father. But he gave in, too, eventually. It was a most delightful scream."
"What... did you say?!" Jaune looked up, fire filling his eyes.
"Jaune, try to shut him out!" came Ren's voice. "He's trying to anger you!"
Jaune took a long, deep breath. "You're saying you know my father? How? What happened between the two of you?"
"Hmm... perhaps I will tell you, once you are strong enough for my purposes. You are nowhere near that power now. Like a weapon, you must be tempered until you are suitable."
"I'm with Jauney on this one- if you're so darn strong and above everyone else, why d'ya need anyone else to go off on this crusade of yours?" Sun raised his arms. "Sounds like you're pretty confident you can do it on your own!"
Bane climbed into his gear and leapt onto the sand below, sending a shockwave through it. Almost immediately, a massive form emerged, causing a wave- a great worm, sharp ridges all along its body as its mouth opened wide in a roar.
"Hmm, so this is actually Arrakis," Whitley commented. He looked around, but only received looks of confusion. He sighed. "Of course, nobody understands the references I make..."
"What the hell?!" Jaune gaped.
"If you die here," Bane goaded, "then that's that. If you survive, and still wish to know more... seek me out. Perhaps there is some bliss in ignorance... but something tells me that will never truly satisfy you."
Jets fired from the gear's wings, and it rose into the air and soared away across the desert.
"Yeah, you'd better run away! Fearless Leader was three seconds from curbstomping you!" Nora yelled after him. Abruptly, she shifted to a thoughtful pose. "Or... I guess dunestomping, in this case?"
Before Jaune could even consider pursuing, the great worm had wrapped itself around Weltall, a sick slurping sound coming from wherever its mouth had latched on.
"Get... off of me!" Jaune roared- he pressed Weltall's hands against the insides of the worm, forcing it apart until it slid off of him. He forced it to the ground and gripped onto the ridges, using a foot to finish ripping it asunder. He turned around again, but Bane was already gone.
"The criminal has already made his getaway," Penny noted sadly.
In a second, Weltall was returning to its kneeling position, and the cockpit opened up. He hopped out, looking up at it. "Broken again?"
"No... out of fuel," Ren diagnosed as he hopped down to the sand himself. "That worm seems to have sapped it out somehow..."
"One step forward and two steps back," Blake observed.
"Except when it was broken, they were at least in the forest- now they're in the middle of the desert," Ren pointed out forlornly.
He turned to Jaune. "However, I'm more concerned for you. You seem unharmed, but..."
"I'm fine," Jaune shook his head listlessly. "It's just... did that man... really know my father?"
Ren was unable to offer any answers before more gears surrounded them. It seemed the struggle hadn't gone unnoticed- there was even a sandship cruising by. "You, with the black gear!" came a loud, amplified voice from the ship. "You are hereby under the custody of the Vale military! Surrender peacefully, and no harm will come to you!"
"You know, Jaune, sometimes I can't tell if you're the luckiest or unluckiest guy in Beacon," Nora pondered, hands on her hips in contemplation.
"I ask myself the same thing," Jaune sighed.
Ren slowly raised his hands. "Well... this isn't quite what I had in mind when we awoke this morning. For now, let's remain calm, Jaune... Jaune?"
He turned to see Jaune standing absolutely still, eyes on the ground, mutely raising his own hands in the air. Clearly, panicking wasn't going to be a problem... but Ren had a hard time thinking all was well, either.
XXXX
Apologies, I ended up giving into my temptations again. I'd been planning this number for quite some time, and ended up using it despite my weariness... which I will once again attempt to shuck off. We're gonna stick to Gears a little longer- I haven't decided what we'll shift to next yet. I just want to sleep... in the meantime, please drop a review, and don't you dare go hollow- Gamer4 out.