Ch. 54 City in chains
By the time Jaune sat down inside the Atlasian transport he was done, sick and tired of arresting people. While Ruby was more than willing to see the night through with him, after several hours of corralling arrested soldiers into the transport, Jaune convinced her to get some rest instead.
Winter still had some staff she knew personally and trusted enough to let them form the skeleton crew of the transport, but that didn't mean much to Jaune as he was largely stuck performing the duty of removing the roots restraining the soldiers while Winter and the others put them in handcuffs and led them back to the ship.
Jaune could only thank Keel that the forest still parted in front of them when they transported Penny. Thanks to that the trip to the ship and back was significantly faster than before, making the many repeat trips bearable. It still took hours to get everyone locked up and from what little Jaune heard, it involved threats from Winter to secure some modicum of cooperation from the soldiers. The sun was already up when Jaune sat in one of the seats on the bridge and strapped himself in next to Ruby.
Ruby was already napping in a seat next to where Penny's body was placed, still wrapped in the red foliage. Jaune quickly swallowed his motion sickness medication since Winter was already starting the take-off procedure. It would seem she was the only one with the necessary experience to pilot the ship. As the ship left the ground, Jaune finally closed his eyes and allowed himself to relax.
His mind wandered, first to the familiar feeling of Lunatum Cor Rosae in Ruby's lap and by extension Ruby's Aura slowly pulsing in time with her heartbeat. There were other weapons close by and Jaune could feel them on the edge of his consciousness like a fuzzy image. Then there was Penny's Aura. It was a familiar feeling, though it now mixed with sorrow as her Aura was stoic, unmoving.
Surprisingly as they distanced themself from the forest Jaune could feel Keel, or rather his dominion over the place. Curiously he could somewhat feel the same from the vines wrapped around Penny.
Jaune could be imagining things but he swore he could almost feel the immortal bidding him farewell when they finally crossed the threshold and left Forever Fall. At the same time though he could feel something leaving him. Like a fog being lifted from his mind. Jaune's eyes shot open and he could see Ruby doing the same, a slightly panicked expression on her face. Now that they were outside of Keel's influence the unnatural calm wore off.
"Did you feel that?" asked Ruby, roused from her nap by the sudden feeling of distress.
"Yeah… We just left Forever Fall. My guess is that whatever Keel did to keep us calm when we met him wore off." Jaune answered in a hushed voice, being mindful of the few people on the bridge with them.
"That's…" Ruby was about to say something when she noticed the vines around Penny start to visibly wilt and lose colour. "Jaune, look at this!" she whisper-shouted.
Jaune unbuckled his seatbelt and walked over to Penny.
"That's strange…" he closed his eyes and ran his hand over the red vines in an attempt to feel out what was happening.
"It's Keel's domain, or whatever connection he had with the vines, leaving." Jaune frowned, now that he examined the connection closer he could tell why the vines were there in the first place.
"The vines are doing more than just holding her body together, they're feeding her Aura. It's why the remnants of her Aura are so clearly felt despite how long she was like this. Keel was working to preserve her all this time…"
"He was? But why? It couldn't be because of us, right?" asked Ruby.
"No, he must've been doing this ever since Amity crashed. He said she was dispersed when we asked about her, but then we found her like this. Maybe he took interest in her because of what she is?"
Ruby frowned. "...well that's not creepy at all. More importantly though, you said his domain is fading?"
"Right… the clock is ticking. Once the vines die completely Penny's Aura will continue to deteriorate. Ideally we want to stabilise her before that happens, though I have no idea how."
"I'll talk to Winter about speeding up the flight, can you figure out how much time we have in the meantime?"
"No promises…" said Jaune. He kept his eyes closed and tried to focus on the vague feelings his semblance and Aura provided.
Ruby approached Winter swiftly. Whatever conversation she was having with the current navigation officer was cut off when they noticed her.
"Ruby, what is it?"
Ruby looked over at the navigational officer briefly before deciding that secrecy wasn't worth the potential sacrifice.
"It's Penny. The forest's influence was keeping her Aura from deteriorating. Now that we left it'll start dying again."
"What? How can you be sure?"
"Jaune can feel it."
"Right his semblance is uniquely attuned to weapons. I assume it has something to do with his command of the forest too?"
"Kinda, but that's not important right now. We need to hurry up and get to Atlas faster. The longer Penny's soul breaks down…"
Winter nodded and threw her navigation officer with a pensive look.
"Maam, surely you don't mean to…"
"You heard miss Arc-Rose, time is of the essence."
"We would be flying through a flock of Grimm with minimal crew. It'd be dangerous at the best of times, but it's borderline suicide as we are right now."
"I can divert some of the focus from us with my semblance, I'll be counting on you to pilot in the meantime."
"Maam!?"
The navigation officer seemed distressed, both at the prospect of flying straight into danger and being the one to pilot the ship through it.
"Just go full throttle ahead and we'll take care of the rest. Ruby, you use a sniper rifle if I remember correctly? Could I count on you to help thin out the swarm?"
"I'll do you one better, Jaune will be joining me."
"I was under the impression… isn't he more suited for close quarters combat?"
"Not since he built Testa Cordis Septima. You'll have two snipers on the job."
"Then I'll be counting on you two."
As Ruby ran off to tell Jaune the navigation officer turned to Winter.
"Permission to speak casually, maam?"
Winter sighed and nodded. Claire was one of the few friends she made during her time in the academy. Despite that she was only ever casual with her when no-one else was around.
"Do you trust these children, Winter? They barely got a year in Beacon under their belt."
"They were also there when it fell. Branwen's niece is a prodigy and I've heard what Arc achieved since the fall. Port personally recommended him for this mission. The kid went back to Beacon during the cleanup efforts and then some after it was deemed a lost cause. Claire, trust me when I say that these kids are something else."
=O=O=O=
Jaune stood in the open side door of the transport. He was wearing a harness strapped to the inside of the ship to make sure he didn't fall out. The harness had ammo pouches strapped all over it, all filled with magazines of ammunition for his rifle.
Jaune knew Ruby was currently standing in the other door, looking out at the same swarm of Grimm he was. With Testa Cordis Septima nestled comfortably in his shoulder he took aim at the distant swarm. He could tell his semblance assisted him greatly in keeping the scope steady.
He waited for the Grimm to get in range. He couldn't tell himself, his semblance didn't reach that far, but he knew Ruby would know. And as a shot rang out over the loud wind, his own followed suit and he watched the first two Grimm fall out of the sky as both bullets hit their target.
There was no time to dwell on it though as they only had so much time before they reached the flock. Jaune listened to nine more shots from Ruby's side as he fired nine shots of his own. He reloaded swiftly, his semblance assisting him, though before he could pull back the bolt he could already hear Ruby fire Lunatum Cor Rosae again.
Rosa and Septima shared many design features, magazine included, so it really showed just how skilled Ruby was to reload faster than Jaune by over a second. Jaune couldn't help but smile as Ruby hit every one of her targets, thinning the Grimm swarm one bullet at a time. Not that Jaune was far behind. It was hard to miss when firing into the black of the flock.
Jaune was on his twelfth magazine when the first Nevermore reached the ship. Though they have successfully cut down the swarm by at least a third, it would still be difficult to pass through them with only Ruby and Jaune. That's where Winter's semblance came in. Jaune watched as many white snowflake glyphs appeared in the sky, launching small Nevermores like a hailstorm.
Jaune could feel the ship's engines top out as their transport accelerated to its maximum speed. They continued their aerial battle for what felt like hours, though it must have been tens of minutes at most. By the time the end of the flock finally came into sight Jaune could tell that Winter's summons slowed down significantly. Nonetheless he reached for the next magazine and reloaded. He had long lost count of how many he emptied into the Grimm.
Soon they were taking potshots at the few pursuing Grimm, distancing themselves from the hateful black splotch in the sky. Jaune closed the door and revelled in the comparative silence before recalling Septima into his semblance and leaving to meet up with Ruby.
=O=O=O=
The shortcut through a Grimm swarm meant that they went nearly in a straight line, shortening the trip significantly compared to the more secure paths commonly used to transport goods.
It would still take a few more hours to reach Atlas, but now they had a chance to arrive before the Forever Fall vines died completely. While Jaune sat with Ruby, eyes closed but awake to monitor Penny, Winter was out cold. She got no sleep the night prior and using her semblance drained what energy remained. And so despite Claire's protests Winter fell asleep in the navigator's chair, leaving Claire to pilot the rest of the way.
The ride was a little bumpier as Claire tended to overcompensate whenever they hit turbulence, but otherwise uneventful as cruised above the clouds.
It gave Ruby some time to think. The moment they left Forever Fall they had a new pressing issue on hand, but right now she had time to reflect on what they learned without the effect the blood tree had on them.
There was the immortal Ozpin issue, but she could put a pin in that for now. Until Ozpin either came back or someone close to him confirmed it, she couldn't be sure it was true or that Keel was even talking about Ozpin.
The immortal tree was a separate issue in and of itself. He clearly had some influence over them while they were inside the forest, though it clearly affected Jaune differently. Jaune's hunch that first led them to the blood tree was a good indicator that he was more sensitive to it. If Ruby could help it they would never return to that damned forest again.
Then again Keel was strangely helpful. There was no way he would help them as he did for a few drops of blood… But whether there was some value in what Jaune offered that she couldn't see or if the immortal was doing this for his own benefit somehow, Ruby just couldn't tell.
There was also the issue of what Jaune left out during their encounter with Keel. It clearly disturbed him, which was doubly concerning when considering the unnatural calm they felt in the forest. She could ask, but… perhaps it was better to be there for him, to support him should it ever come up again.
And at last, there was one more thing Ruby was a little miffed about. Specialist Winter Schnee. She didn't really think about it when it happened but Winter actually stood up for them when Lieutenant Colonel Airgiod berated them for not being military. Now Ruby could no longer hold a grudge against her for berating Jaune after their attempt to capture Torchwick.
Did Winter mellow out? Or did she just see them in a different light after Beacon? Or maybe she saw them as more mature since they were married now? Ruby didn't know, but she took solace in that no matter the reason, Winter was now firmly on their side.
=O=O=O=
"Maam…" Claire tried to wake Winter up unsuccessfully "Winter!"
Winter opened her eyes, looking inquisitively at her.
"We're nearing Atlas, it'll be in view soon…" there was a short pause from Claire as she listened to her headset. "They're hailing us, maam."
Once Winter realised that she slept for longer than she wanted she quickly sprung to action.
"Hand me the headset and switch seats with me."
"Yes, maam."
As soon as she put on the headset she could hear the callout from ground control.
"Crimson Seven, I repeat, Crimson seven, this is ground control, respond to our hail!"
"Ground control, this is Crimson Seven, pilot specialist Winter Schnee speaking."
"Finally! Crimson seven, we've been trying to hail you for a while. Also I have warrant officer Wong on file as your pilot, why are you flying, specialist?"
"We ran into some problems regarding circumventing the chain of command. Would you be so kind and inform general Ironwood of our arrival."
"I had orders to let the general know the moment Crimson Seven showed up on radar, he should be heading to the landing pads together with project personnel."
"Good, we'll be approaching port shortly."
"I'll have landing pad Foxtrot Three ready for you, approach at your leisure."
As Winter started to descend through the clouds Ruby poked Jaune to open his eyes. The view was breathtaking.
When the clouds parted, Atlas came into view. A floating island fortress, glowing white towers spaced around its perimeter. The island had its own mountain range covered in tall buildings, the most prominent being Atlas academy and its CCT tower. The city in the sky, held in place by chains that disappeared into the fog below.
=O=O=O=
Winter was first to leave the transport and by the time Jaune and Ruby left as well she was already talking with Ironwood.
While Ironwood spared them a look and went back to talking with Winter another man took interest in them. Or more accurately took interest in the medical stretcher they were accompanying.
"Penny, you brought her back! Let me see my daughter!"
As soon as they left the ramp the dark skinned man sitting in a four legged mobility chair approached them. As he laid his hands over Penny's body his Aura flickered briefly, prompting a similar flash from Penny. Jaune who was still monitoring Penny felt a brief connection form between them similar to what the vines were doing before.
"But that's impossible. It's been months."
"She had the vines feeding her Aura, they only died about an hour ago." commented Jaune.
It was only then that the man first looked at them properly.
"I recognise you two. You're Jaune and Ruby, Penny talked about you while at Beacon. Oh but where are my manners? I'm doctor Pietro Polendina, Penny's father. I am most grateful for bringing her back to me."
Ruby smiled and introduced herself to their friend's father.
"Ruby Arc-Rose, and this is my husband Jaune Arc, it'll be a pleasure working with you."
"Oh! Congratulations, I assume this is a recent development. And I would certainly love to work with you further, if Penny's stable condition is in any way thanks to you, you have my most sincere gratitude." The doctor pulled out a scroll from his chair and started issuing orders. "Now quickly, help me get Penny into a stasis pod. I hadn't anticipated… I didn't dare hope we'd be able to save any of her original Aura."
As they passed general Ironwood he turned to walk with them for a while.
"Mister Arc! Miss Rose! Welcome to Atlas. It seems doctor Polendina had already commandeered you to help him with Penny. We expected the soldiers to help, but that doesn't seem to be possible." He glanced at Winter who walked beside him, receiving a nod from her. "For what it's worth, I'd like to extend an official apology for what Lieutenant Colonel Airgiod attempted. He will be court martialed and the attempted murder will be investigated. We will get to the bottom of this, I promise you. I'd like to see you after you help doctor Polendina. You'll need to be debriefed and provide testimony for the case against Airgiod, as well as setting you up with Atlas ID and provisional huntsmen licences."
"Of course sir."
=O=O=O=
Author's note:
We've arrived in Atlas! The embargo hasn't yet gone into effect (yet) and Ironwood is still somewhat sane. If it wasn't clear the stasis pod mentioned is the same as the one Amber was placed in under Beacon.
Oh and I now have a page on that patronage site that I gather FF doesn't like if mentioned directly so... it's /OlympianScribe
I have put the Beacon arc (the first 46 chapter) as a sort of Vol.1 on there and may provide early access to some of the one-shots from the pile. I'll see about publishing chapters of Arsenal of Arc there too.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed and are looking forward to the next chapter: Ch.55 Run before you walk