Chapter Sixteen: The Storm

(Ruby pov)

I slid across the pavement, Weiss and Blake landing in a heap beside me as we all slowly crawled to our feet. Crescent Rose stuck in the concrete behind the giant Atlas mech out of my reach for now.

"Ruby any ideas?" Weiss huffed as she stood on shaky legs, Myrtenaster held limply at her side, a giant gash running up the right side of her torso, blood soaked through her white coat.

"No clue, we can't make a dent in the armor." I huff, blood dripping down my chin, a small cut placed underneath my right eye. "Our auras are low, and Team PNLY is caught on the other side of town fighting White Fang. I don't know what to do."

"My aura is broken, I can barely stand." Blake grimaced holding her ribs, they had to be broken. "This is bad."

"Well Red, I guess this is the end of your little story, you should have stayed home." Torchwicks voice echoed out of the speakers of the mech, the man laughing behind the safety of the bulletproof glass canopy of the mech. The mech sent another volley of misses at us, dozens of missiles whistling through the air as we braced for impact. I couldn't move, my legs felt frozen in place.

"Ruby!" Blake and Weiss scream, I close my eyes, waiting for the end.

I'm sorry… I failed.

Four hours earlier…

(Ruby pov)

"You sure you can handle this?" Weiss asked as we stood outside of Ryker's room.

"I want to see him before we do this. I want him to know we are going to stop Torchwick." I mutter hand on the door handle.

"Yeah, but Ruby, you haven't gone to see him since you got back."

"I know, but I need to do this. I'll be ok, promise." Weiss gave me a small smile, her eyes showed that she still wasn't convinced that this was a good idea for me, but I needed to do this. I had been avoiding him for long enough.

"I'll wait out here." I gave her a nod, appreciating the privacy that she was giving me.

I turned the handle and walked into the room, the heartbeat monitor slowly chiming. I slowly approached the bed, looking at Ryker with a pained expression. "Hey." The words come out of my mouth softly. I place my hand in his, giving him an affectionate squeeze. "We are going to go after Torchwick today, we are going to make things right."

I smiled before removing my hand from his. "I brought you my headphones. At this point, they are more yours than mine though." I giggle pulling the headphones from around my neck. I gently place them on Ryker's head and pull out his scroll. I load up my favorite playlist, hoping that he would enjoy the music. I wonder if he was aware of anything while he was in the coma. Could he hear us when we talked to him? I wonder if he missed us like we missed him? Or maybe he didn't even know how long he had been gone. Was being in a coma like being asleep? Did you not have a proper feel of how much time has passed?

"Ryker…" I sniff, feeling my tears starting to flow. "We need you. Please wake up soon." I press a kiss on his cheek and walk away. I had finally seen him, nearly three months and I had finally gone and seen my teammate. I wipe my eyes as I leave the room, Weiss putting her arm around me in a half hug. "We have to stop Torchwick… For Ryker." I sniff.

"We will Ruby, I promise," Weiss spoke confidently. I couldn't keep the smile off of me. We could do this, we just had to rely on each other. We were a team, and we would do this as a team.

We hurried over to the CCT tower, Vale bustling with people as they walked around. I saw plenty of students from Beacon hanging around the tower.

"I forgot how big the tower looks up close." I breathe in awe. Like a monolith piercing the sky, it was amazing.

"You should see the one in Atlas, it's way bigger." Weiss chuckled.

"That was the first one, right?"

Weiss nodded, her face smug. "Yep, leave it to Atlas to be at the forefront of technological advancements." She boasted as we walked towards the building. "Atlas developed the Cross Continental Transmit System to allow the four kingdoms to communicate with one another nearly instantly. It was their gift to the world after The Great War. With it, we have gone into a golden age of knowledge and connection to one another."

I snort rolling my eyes. "Oh look at me, I'm Weiss, I know facts. I'm rich!" I tease, Weiss, blushing in response.

"Shut it, Dolt. Besides, the only reason we are here is because you wanted to see the tower. We could have just as easily done this at the library in Beacon." Weiss huffs.

I grin poking her cheek, her hand swatting my own away. "I know, but this is much cooler than the library.

Weiss chuckles finally giving in to my excitement. "I suppose it is."

"Oh, I know, I'm going to take a picture!" I exclaim digging my scroll out of my pocket. In my excitement I accidentally launch my scroll out of my hand, the small device sliding across the concrete till it lay at the feet of a familiar orange-haired girl. "Penny?"

Penny reached down and grabbed my scroll before handing it to me. "You dropped this."

"Where have you been, we haven't seen you since that night at the dockyards?" I ask, Penny shifting uncomfortably as she refuses to look me in the eyes.

"You must be confused with someone else." She says lamely, a small hiccup pouring from her mouth. She waits a moment longer before she turns and walks away from us.

"What was that about?" Weiss wonders.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out. You go to the tower, I'm going to go see what's up with Penny, we will meet up later." I call ignoring Weiss' call for me to come back. I had to figure out what was happening with Penny.

I ran after Penny, the ginger-haired girl ducking into alleys as she tried to shake me. I burst into a whirlwind of petals, catching up to her in an instant as I planted myself right in front of her and grabbed her shoulders. "Penny wait!"

"Please unhand me, there seems to be a misunderstanding." She hiccups once again.

"What?" I ask in astonishment as Penny forcibly removes my hands from her. "Penny please stop and talk to me," I begged as the girl kept turning away from me every time I would go to cut her off, she refused to look me in the face.

"Please stop impeding my walk random girl I don't know." Another hiccup.

I snap, more petals flying everywhere as I push Penny into the wall of the alley. "Penny please talk to me," I beg tears starting to dot my eyes. "Look I don't know what's wrong, but you have to listen to me! Those guys we fought at the docks, the ones that hurt my teammate. They are up to something big, something bad! I need your help, I need you to tell me what happened to you that night! Please… As a friend."

Penny finally met my gaze, her eyes filled with sadness and uncertainty. She seemed to be debating what to say next. "I'm not a real girl." She breathes.

"What?" I ask. "What do you mean?"

"Most girls are born, but I was made. I'm the world's first synthetic person capable of generating an aura." Penny explained, I staggered back in surprise. Penny wasn't human?

"So… You're-"

"Not real. Yes." Penny answered before looking away from me, a frown on her face.

I grab her hands, smiling as the robot friend turns her head to look at me in confusion. "Yes, you are. You think just because you have nuts and bolts instead of squishy guts, that makes you any less real than me?"

Penny blushed. "You are taking this extraordinarily well."

I giggle. "So what if you are a robot? You've got a heart." I say tapping the center of her chest. "And a soul. I can feel it."

Penny swept me up into a hug. "Ohhhh Ruby. You are the best friend anyone could have!" She cheered as I slowly pried myself out of her arms.

"So how were you made?"

"My father built me. It took him years but he eventually was able to bring me online." Penny smiled, talking about her father seemingly adding to her already positive mood.

"So your father built you all by himself?" I ask getting a nod from the ginger-haired girl.

"Yes, with a little help from Mr. Ironwood," Penny confirmed.

"The general?" Penny nodded.

"Yes, though I worry our time may be up. The general soldiers have been looking for me all day." Penny bit her lip as she looked at both ends of the alley.

"Wait, why are they looking for you?"

Penny giggled. "They like to protect me."

I scoff with disbelief. "They don't think you can protect yourself?"

"They're not sure if I'm ready yet... One day, it will be my job to save the world, but I still have a lot left to learn. That's why my father let me come to the Vytal Festival. I want to see what it's like in the rest of the world, and test myself in the Tournament." Penny exclaimed.

"Wait what do you mean 'save the world'? Penny, we are in a time of peace?" I question.

Penny bit her lip again, making me wonder if there was anything under the fake skin of her lips. Was it all just some kind of pseudo skin, or was their malleable metal and wires underneath? "That's not what Mr. Ironwood sai-"

"Down here!" A masculine voice shouted as shadows grew on the wall of the entrance to the alley.

"You have to hide!" Penny yelped grabbing me by the shoulders and lifting me above her head. I let out a yelp of my own as Penny threw me into a dumpster and closed the lid.

"Wait, Penny, you don't have to go with them. I can help you." I hiss as I push up against the lid of the dumpster to no avail.

"It's okay, Ruby. They aren't bad people. I just don't want to get you in trouble. Promise me you won't tell anyone else my secret, okay?" She whispered back to me, her face turning serious for a moment.

"I promise."

(Weiss pov)

"Ruby wait!" I call out, groaning with frustration as my speedy team leader disappears from view, chasing that weird girl we had met the previous semester. "Guess I'm doing this myself." I groan.

I hurry into the CCT and walk up to a terminal. Typing in my credentials before being put through to Schnee Company World Headquarters, the building up and running again after the devastating attack on it nearly a year ago. The screen flickers for a moment before a woman in a Schnee Company uniform is looking at me.

"Thank you for calling the Atlas- Oh! Ms. Schnee! Good afternoon, would you like me to patch you through to your father? I think your sister Winter might be here as well." She spoke with a kindness that only someone with the name of Schnee was afforded.

"No, thank you! I was actually wondering if you could find some files for me. I've compiled a short list." I say sending the list through to the woman.

"I see," She says slowly as she scans over the list. "There are some highly sensitive documents on this list."

"I will be sure to treat them with care." I wave off, a company-taught smile plastered to my face.

She hesitates for a moment before nodding. "Right well, I will send these to you right away. Is there anything else you need?"

I go to shake my head but stop. "Yes actually. I would like you to pull any documentation we have on one Ryker Thorne and any relatives who may have worked for the SDC."

The woman looked at me with confusion before she began to type at her own terminal. "Yes, Ryker Thorne is the son of a former colleague of mine. Maria Thorne, she died during the attack on the headquarters last year."

My eyes widened… Maria… That name was familiar. I clear my throat, trying to hide the shakiness of my voice. "Yes, well can you send me everything on both of them, as well as the employee ID photo of Maria Thorne?"

"Might I ask why you want these documents, Ms. Schnee?" The woman asks as she begins the transfer of all the documents to my scroll.

"School project."

My scroll chimed with the success of the transfer. "Right well, that's all of the documents you asked for. Are you sure you don't want me to patch you through to your father?"

"That won't be necessary, Have a good day," I say before cutting the call. I grab my scroll and walk out of the building. I find a small cafe and take a seat, a waitress brings me a coffee. I sip at it as I scroll through all of the documents about the Dust robberies. I groan with frustration as I fail to really pull anything of use from them.

I instead flick over to the other set of documents and begin to scan through them. My breath hitches as I read through Ryker's documents. My family had taken his mother's remains while he was in an aura-induced coma, similar to the one he was in now. The company had turned his mother into a Dust Crystal without his permission, then they stuck him with the bill. I winced at the amount of zeros that he was charged with.

"Ryker…" I breathe as I see his wanted poster. He was suspected of aiding the attack on the headquarters that killed his mom. That didn't make any sense. No arrests were made on the attack, and only three Fang members died in the attack, their bodies unrecoverable as their comrades dragged them from the scene before Atlas Military Police showed up to the scene. The only way we know they died was through security footage.

I clicked on the documents detailing Maria Thorne, Ryker's mom. I gasped as the ID photo showed someone who had haunted my dreams for weeks after the incident. "Oh no," I whisper, staring at the face of the woman who saved me that night.

(Neopolitian pov)

I hummed to myself as I watched Little Red's sister and her team head into Junior's Club. Cinder had me on recon today, wanting me to pay attention to Little Red and her friends. Tonight Roman would be unveiling the Atlas Palidin mech. We needed to keep eyes on the group as a whole, so when they all split up, with Blondie's team heading straight for Juniors I chose to stick with them. I sent off little updates to Roman and Cinder, letting them know that the Beacon students were making a move tonight and that they needed to be on the lookout for them.

Cinder wanted me to keep Blondie busy. While Roman could handle the broken team of broken girls, we didn't want to risk going up against Pyrrha the Invincible Girl, and Little Red's sister. Pyrrha didn't need justification on why we wanted to stay away from her. She was easily the strongest student in all of Beacon, the girl beat anyone who got in her way. Blondie was another story. She was like a dark horse, nobody really expected much out of her. She was air-headed and looked more interested in sleeping around than actually training to be a Huntress, but she was scary in a fight. She was second in her year only to Pyrrha, and with her on Pyrhha's team, she was only getting stronger. Given enough time she could easily become a bigger threat than Pyrrha and that's something we wanted to keep away from Roman tonight.

I smiled as I followed behind the team as they walked into the club. I stuck walls as my form shifted into some random woman, Blondie walking to the bar with her team only a few steps behind her, Junior polishing a glass as he finally noticed who was sitting at his bar. I slid onto a stool that someone else must have been in, stealing the drink they so kindly left me. It was sweet and neon pink, the burn of alcohol letting me know that it was strong.

"Hey, Junior!" Blondie said with a smile. "You still owe me a drink."

Junior rolled his eyes before he got started on the blonde's drink. "What do you want Yang? Are you here to trash my club again?"

"Waaaaaaahhhh? Noooooooo." Blondie gasped with fake astonishment, it made me giggle, she was cute for an air-headed bimbo. "I would never come and wreck your fine establishment unprovoked, Junior." Yang smiled before leaning over the counter. "Are you trying to provoke me?"

Junior gulped his hands starting to shake as he made Blondie her drink. "What can I do for you, I know you didn't just come here for a drink." He said as he placed a neon yellow and pink drink in front of the girl. The drink was in a martini glass, a little yellow umbrella placed on the side.

Yang smiled before taking a sip of her drink. "Tell me about Roman Torchwick. He messed with my sister, and hurt my friend. I want to know what he is up to, and where he's hiding."

Junior froze before he looked down the bar to me. I smiled giving him a small wave as I let my form shift back to my original for a moment. Ripples of glass shifted vertically as he paled at the sight of me. I placed my finger to my lips in a shushing motion. He would keep quiet if he wanted to live.

Junior broke his gaze from mine before he looked down the other side of the bar to act as if he was looking for anyone who could listen in. "I can't do that Yang. My life is literally on the line. I talk, and I will be dead by the end of the week." He mumbled.

"Are you saying you are being threatened? I thought the great big Junior ran this part of Vale's underground." Yang taunted, a look of frustration adorning her face.

"I'm saying that there are bigger and badder forces that have come into Vale, and they have made it clear that if anyone talks, they will meet a grim end." Junior bit out. "Now please leave, I can't have you seen here by the wrong people."

I frown, even with Junior knowing I was sitting right here he was trying to protect Blondie and her teammates. That wouldn't do. I fish my scroll out and send a quick text to Roman and Cinder.

Neo: Send some Fang to attack Juniors Club, need to keep Blondie and her team busy.

I sit and sip my drink as I see Roman's name light up, three dots flashing as he writes back.

Roman: On it. Stay safe. Make sure you come home.

I smiled, it was so cute when he worried. My semblance ripples, leaving me in my natural state as I stand from my stool. I type into my notes app a quick message then slide my scroll down the bar top sliding past the orange-haired girl and black and pink-haired boy and landing right in front of Blondie. She jumped slightly before reading what was on my scroll.

Little girls and boys should learn to keep their noses out of others' business, no matter how cute they may be.

Blondie and her team turned to look at me just in time as a blast of Fire Dust shot from the tip of my parasol. The wall of glass and alcohol behind Junior exploded. This would be fun.

(Blake pov)

My hand traced the three gouges in the concrete of the building. Me and Sun had been searching around all afternoon for this spot. Three slashes, the sign of the White Fang. It was easy to find when the next recruitment meeting was, it was hard to find where. All it took was to walk into faunus neighborhoods with my ears out. I had spent my weekends in Vale, hanging around, and eventually, I was approached by a shady man in a hood, his tail curled around him like a belt. He told me that tonight there would be a recruitment event and that I just had to search for the marks in the faunus warehouse district.

"This is it," I mumble. I look around the corner seeing two other faunus being given masks by a doorman who also wore the Grimm mask. I wordlessly walk around the corner, Sun following behind me closely. I undid the bow on my head just as we reached the doorman. He looked us over, he was obviously looking for our traits. Once he had seen my ears and Sun's tail he wordlessly handed us our masks. I took it from him, handing one to Sun.

"You know, I don't get it," Sun mumbles holding the Grimm mask like it was poisonous. "If you believe what you're doing is right, why hide who you are?"

"The masks are a symbol. Humanity wanted to make monsters out of us, so we chose to don the faces of monsters." I replied as I placed the mask over my face, only my nose and mouth now exposed.

"That's kind of dark," Sun replied as he put on his own mask.

"So was the guy who started it." I shrug as we walk into the warehouse, following the other new recruits as we are all lined up in front of a stage.

"Always sunshine and rainbows with you." Sun snickered. Though we tried to keep our faces towards the stage, we both risked looking around to see how full the warehouse was. There were easily over a hundred soldiers here, they stood in mass next to us, as well as filling out the rafters of the warehouse. If we were spotted, we would be in trouble.

We both looked forward as a fully masked faunus walked onto the stage. "Thank you all for coming. For those of you who are joining us for the first time tonight, allow me to introduce you to a very special comrade of ours. I can assure you, he is the key to obtaining what we have fought for, for all these years."

A round of applause started before suddenly stopping as none other than Roman Torchwick walked onto the stage. "Thank you, thank you. Please hold your applause though, we are only just getting started." Roman called out to silence.

"Whats a human doing here?" Someone in the crowd shouted in anger.

Roman smiled, taking the question in stride. "I'm glad you asked, Dearie! Now, I'll be the first to admit, humans are the worst. Case in point." He smiles as he gestures to himself. "So, I understand why you would like to see us all locked away, or, better yet, killed."

"Is he going somewhere with this?" Sun whispered.

"But, before the claws come out, I'd like to mention the fact that you and I all have a common enemy. The ones in control, the people pulling the strings, the dirty, rotten humans that run our kingdoms!" Roman exclaimed as the crowd started to turn in his favor. "Government, military, even the schools: they're all to blame for your lot in life. And they're all pests that need to be dealt with!" Roman hissed much to the delight of the crowd.

"This isn't good," I mumble under my breath.

"Fortunately, I'm the best exterminator around… No offense to any rodents in the room." Roman chortled as he snapped his fingers, the curtains on the stage falling to the floor revealing an Atlas Paladin mech.

"That's not good." Sun gasped.

"How did he get that!" I growl. I tune out Torchwick as I start to look for the closest exits. We needed to get out of here and call for backup.

"Blake, he sees us." Sun hissed as he waved at Torchwick with a smile.

I scan around the building once more spotting a powerbox. "He can't see in the dark," I mumble drawing Gambol Shroud and firing several bullets into the box, powering the whole building shutting down and concealing us in the dark.

"Stop those two!" Roman's voice called out.

We scramble through the crowd, both of us jumping and climbing the rafters of the warehouse as we burst through the windows of the warehouse. Our feet pound the concrete and sheet metal of the buildings as we run from the warehouse, the wall to the building exploding as the Paladin mech bursts through the wall. Missiles launched from it as we jumped across buildings.

Explosions rang out right on our heels as the mech followed us. "Hey, we need backup!" Sun called over the sound of a particularly close explosion. We leaped over the wall of the highway, both of us landing on cars as we continued to run from the mech chasing us.

"On it." I bite out as I pant, my hand grabbing my scroll as I call the group chat we had made for the operation. "We need help. We found Torchwick, he's chasing us with an Atlas mech that he got his hands on. We are on the highway heading towards Beacon." I screamed into the scroll as I avoided a punch from the mech, the car I was just on being reduced to a heap of metal. My heart breaking for the civilian inside.

"Me and Weiss are on our way." Ruby's voice rang out.

"We can't make it, we are being attacked by some crazy lady with an umbrella and some White Fang goons," Yang replied as her line went dead.

I stuffed my scroll into my pocket. "Sun, we need to hold it off till Ruby and Weiss make it here," I call out as I turn on my heel and take potshots at the mech, I send out a clone of myself, using the body to kick off the car and avoid the armored fist slamming down on the car I used to stand on.

Sun groaned as he pulled out his gunchucks, the shotgun shells bouncing off the hull of the Paladin. Sun took a breath before going still as he lifted his arms out, yellow clones appearing as they leaped from the car, each one slamming their staff into the mech. The clones dissipate as Sun himself leaped from his car, his gunchucks connecting together to form his staff mid-air. Just as he was about to strike the Paladin, the mech swatted him out of the air. Sun flying over the wall of the highway.

"Sun!" I scream. I keep leaping from car to car, avoiding the Palidin and its missiles before seeing Weiss standing in the middle of the highway, her rapier at the ready. Weiss slams her rapier into the ground, a giant white glyph filling the entire highway as the ground turns to ice. The Paladin tried to stop in time but failed, the moment its feet hit the ice it slid out of control slamming into the wall of the highway and falling over. I leap from my car, off the highway landing next to Ruby, Weiss next to us a moment later.

"Alright, let's do this!" Ruby spoke, her voice oddly monotone. I snuck a peak at my team leader. Her face was angry, her teeth gritted. "Go, checkmate!" Ruby called, and like the team we had become, we sprung into action.

(Ruby pov)

Blake and Weiss rushed the Paladin as I switched my scythe to its sniper mode. I took shots at the joins of the mech, hoping my bullets could find a chink in the heavily armored mech. The entire time I feel the biggest sense of deja vu. I couldn't understand it. I felt like I had been here before.

Blake slid under the legs of the Paladin, her blade slashing at the legs, her blade bouncing off the armor uselessly, all while Weiss jabbed her rapier into the torso of the mech. Both of them tossed away from the mech with a single swing of its arms. The mech's right arm transformed, a giant buzzsaw of a blade replacing where its hand used to be.

Blake and Weiss landed on their feet, both of them looking back at me for directions. "Ladybug!" I call out as I burst into rose petals. I grab Blake up a mass of red and black petals slamming into the front of the mech before we burst apart. Blake grabbed my hand as she threw me back onto the mech as I swung my scythe right through the glass of the cockpit. Roman yelped in surprise as my blade nearly pierced his shoulder. I pull the blade free and kick off of the mech landing beside Blake as we rush under the legs, both of us chipping away at the armor. The mech was heavily covered in front of itself, but its armor was thinner behind it, my scythe getting stuck in the knee joint of the Paladin before a series of small explosions impacted the ground around us, me and Blake being thrown back, Blake slamming into a pillar.

I slid across the pavement, Weiss coming to my side and lifting me up to my feet. A severe sense of deja vu came over me in a much bigger wave than the first time. I shake my head, trying to focus, and ignore the creeping nausea in my stomach. Crescent Rose is stuck in the leg of the giant Paladin.

"Ruby any ideas?" Weiss huffed as she stood on shaky legs, Myrtenaster held limply at her side. Weiss was shivering, her legs shaking as she held me up.

"No clue, we can't make a dent in the armor. It's thinner on its back, but every time we get close it nocks us away with powerful hits" I huff. "Our auras are low, and Team PNLY is caught on the other side of town fighting White Fang, I don't know what to do."

"My aura is at half, but I can't take another hit like that" Blake grimaced as she limped over to us, her leg looked like a mangled mess. She must have dropped her aura at some point to save it from being shattered. "Also pretty sure my ankle is broken."

"Well Red, I guess this is the end of your little story, you should have stayed home." Torchwicks voice echoed out of the speakers of the mech, the man laughing behind the safety of the bulletproof glass canopy of the mech. The mech rushed at us, but none of us were able to react in time as the giant buzzsaw swung down on us.

"Ruby move!" Blake screamed before she grabbed me and Weiss and tossed us away from the attack. My eyes widened as the blade came down on Blake. I closed my eyes, I couldn't see another loved one die.

I'm sorry… I failed.

(?)

I floated, the inky blackness that was the void had become my home. I felt safe here. I heard voices sometimes, but they were always faint. I didn't hold onto them, it was easier to let them slip through my hands like water.

It was safe in the void.

Till the music started, and a warmth pressed onto my cheek. I held onto that warmth, it was different than the voids. While the void felt like the warmth of a mother holding her child, this warmth was like a fire that would burn everything till there was nothing left.

"Ryker… We need you. Please wake up soon."

The voice was familiar, for the first time in who knows how long I didn't want to ignore the voice. I wanted to follow it. It was above me, it was above the void. I needed to follow it.

I swam through the black lake that was the void, climbing, searching for that fire that I had felt. I needed it more than I needed to be safe. I would throw all of the safety the void brought me if it meant feeling that fire again.

My eyes open, and I shoot up in my bed, a tube clogging my throat. I grab it and yank on it, slowly removing it from my stomach. I hack and cough as my lungs begin to breathe fresh air. The first word that spilled out of my mouth in who knows how long echoed into the hospital room I was in.

"Ruby."