Chapter Ten
Jaune slept poorly. The silence of the night had been sporadically broken by the sound of railgun fire, as the ships above the city fended off some unseen threat. It seemed that every time he started to drift into deeper slumber, a distant crack of thunder would jolt him awake. He'd have to check to see if this was a normal occurrence, or if Atlas's air fleet had had an unusually busy night.
Oscar hadn't slept well either. He tossed and turned, and once Jaune heard him call out in a foreign language. With a sense of foreboding, Jaune realized that Ozpin was the man sleeping in the next bed over, having taken control while unconscious. He wondered exactly how long Oscar had left, and would have to add that to his list of questions for Theodore. Would the mission to reclaim Pietro's equipment be given the greenlight?
When dawn broke, Jaune reluctantly got out of bed and readied himself for the day. He spared Oscar (Ozpin?) a look before leaving the room. He was sleeping more soundly now, and looked heartbreakingly young in the dawn light. Jaune quietly left the room, making sure the door shut soundlessly behind him.
Despite the early hour, Jaune was not the first person in the mess that morning. He did a double take when he entered the room, blinking his gritty, tired eyes as he did. Sitting in the middle of the hall, bold as brass, were teams CFVY and FNKI. They two teams were loud and cheerful, eating and making merry. The scene suddenly froze in a tableau as Velvet spotted him and stood, gaping, finger outstretched, while the others turned to look at what she had seen.
Jaune stared back, seven pairs of eyes on him, and then chaos broke out as Velvet vaulted the table to hug him, knocking over cups and sending plates flying.
"Yo, Jaune! We thought you were dead, man!" Flynt Coal exclaimed.
"He's awfully solid for a ghost, Flynt," Neon Katt said as she poked Jaune's shoulder.
"Jaune! Does this mean Ruby is ok too!?" Velvet exclaimed as she quickly hugged him and then pulled back, bouncing slightly as she awaited his reply.
"Did I catch that right? Jaune Arc?" Fox asked, blind eyes staring at a point slightly to Jaunes left.
"Hey guys! Yeah, Ruby is fine, Velvet. So's her team. Unfortunately, Penny is really gone." He paused there, barely enough to notice, and then continued. "Cinder killed her. The rest of us got lost between worlds for a while, we got stuck when the portals closed."
"Oh no! That's terrible," Velvet said, covering her mouth. "I'm so sorry about Penny."
"Yeah. Me too," Jaune intoned.
"Did I also catch that Velvet jumped the table?" Fox asked, gingerly righting his spilled cup.
"Hey, cut her some slack. It's not everyday a friend comes back from the dead," Coco Adel said. She tipped her aviators down as she eyed him. "Good to see you, Jaune. I gotta say, the clean-cut look suits you a lot better than the scraggly schoolboy look did."
"Uh. Thanks, Coco. Though I am thinking about growing out a beard, so, ya'know, not gonna be clean-cut for long."
"Hmm. You might be able to pull that off. Better hope it doesn't come in too thin, or you'll just be scraggly again," Coco said in a considering tone.
"It is good to see you," Yatsuhashi said, very formally, inclining his head towards Jaune. "I am glad to know that you and RWBY are not among the fallen."
"It's good to see all of you, too," Jaune said earnestly. "How'd the mission to Atlas go?"
"Well, the city is in rough enough shape to make anyone sing the blues. Grimm crawling all over, buildings collapsed, gutted with fires, flooded, or some combination of the three. But there's still a lot there, if you're willing to get dirty," Flynt said.
"Like the payload we secured," Coco said, leaning back in her seat, arms behind her head.
"Yeah baby! We were the two most junior Huntsmen teams there, and we hit paydirt. No one can take that from us," Neon said smugly, rolling on her skates in a circle around Jaune as she did.
"We got six Omega-class Paladins, still in their cargo crates, locked and loaded, ready to roll. They were the newest tech our engineers had been working on, before the fall. They're a new generation that requires a pilot, to make sure there can't be a repeat of the Watts incident, and had just started rolling off the assembly lines," Flynt said.
"They're gonna be an asset in this fight, that's for sure," Kobalt said, joining the conversation.
"They're giving them a shakedown at Amity right now, should be combat ready later today," Ivori said in his smooth, mellow voice.
"That's awesome! Did you guys get a chance to see how intact the military command center was?" Jaune asked as he took a seat at the table.
"It was pretty burnt out, but we didn't spend too much time exploring it. Once we found the paladins, we focused on securing those," Coco said.
"We're planning on asking Theodore to approve a mission to try to recover some of Dr. Polendina's equipment. I was just curious how much of it might be intact," Jaune said.
"Like I said, we didn't get too far in there, sorry," said Coco.
"What do you want with his stuff? Wasn't he focused on like, androids and stuff?" Neon asked.
"Dr. Polendina designed and created Penny. I studied some of his work, he's a fantastic engineer," Velvet said.
"Yeah, that's exactly it, Velvet. We're hoping he can replicate the process, but this time we want to try to get Oscar and Ozpin separated, if possible. Wait, you guys do know about Ozpin, right?" Jaune said.
"Yeah, we got briefed on the situation," Fox said. "Must be weird, having another person in your head," he continued, very deadpan.
"Yeah, wonder what that's like," Coco said sarcastically.
"Couldn't he use his tech to bring back Penny again?" Velvet asked sincerely.
Jaune sighed. "It's unfortunately not that simple. You see, Penny died as a flesh and blood person, and her robot form had been destroyed. We used the staff on her before Salem got it. Even if Dr. Polendina could recreate her, she wouldn't be the exact same. But I don't think it's entirely out of the question. The only person who can really answer that is Dr. Polendina himself."
"Then it sounds like we should head back to Atlas," Flynt said. "Missions have been going there nonstop since the fall. They're trying to get the CCT up and running twenty-four seven, but between that and the other projects the engineers need a ton of resources. I've heard rumors that they're even trying to get some factories set up here in Vacuo."
"We were planning on running an Atlas mission by Theodore and Winter today, actually," Jaune said.
"It'd be good to get out into the field with you guys," Coco said. "I'm eager to see if my team still outclasses yours."
"In your dreams, Coco," Nora called from the other side of the room.
"Nora!" Velvet exclaimed.
"Welcome back guys," Ren said, following close behind Nora. "Mission go well?"
"Damn right it did. We secured some heavy weapons for the fight," Neon said cheerfully.
Emerald walked in behind Ren and Nora and stopped suddenly when she saw Coco and Yatsuhashi. "Uh. Hi, guys," she said weakly.
Coco tipped her aviators down again, staring straight at Emerald. "I see you got your freedom. You still owe me a pair of glasses, if I remember correctly," she said.
Emerald laughed nervously. "You remember right. I hope these will do." She pulled a case out of one of her pockets and walked it over to Coco. "I was hoping to see you sometime. I picked these up yesterday."
Coco took the peace offering and looked at Emerald with respect and an appraising eye. "I may have misjudged you. You're back in my good graces, for now. Me and Yatsu still owe you for that loss, but keep being sweet and we'll see what happens." Yatsuhashi shrugged at this, apparently not worried about settling that old score.
Emerald blushed slightly, clearly a little flustered, and sat at the table. Nora gave her a very exaggerated wink, then winced as Emerald kicked her under the table.
"Oscar still asleep?" Jaune asked his team as they settled in.
Ren answered. "He's not, just having a rough morning, I think. He seemed a little lost in some of Ozpin's memories when we talked to him."
Jaune sighed. "I was worried about that. I'm positive it was Ozpin sleeping in that bed last night, and Oscar had gotten pushed back while he was asleep. I don't think he has much time left."
"It will be ok, Jaune. We have a plan now, we just need to get working on it," Ren said.
"Right. Well, let's get some breakfast in us and go see Theodore," Jaune said.
Before his team went to see the headmaster, Jaune stopped by his room to check on Oscar. The young man was awake when Jaune got there, but when Jaune saw his eyes, he knew it was Ozpin sitting in the bed.
"Good morning. Hard night?" Jaune asked sympathetically.
"Yes. I've been trying to wake Oscar, but he's gone deep. I'm worried that he's slipping away," Ozpin said, concern tinging his voice.
"Yeah, we were actually going to head up to the headmaster's office, see if there was a way to start working on Dr. Polendina's project," Jaune said.
"That's good to know. It's an ambitious idea, and I hope it can come to fruition. Jaune, can we talk about yesterday? Man to man?" Ozpin asked, sharp eyes piercing Jaune's own.
Jaune sighed. "Yeah. I've been meaning to talk to you, just, been putting it off. I'm worried every time you come forward, Oscar slips away a little more."
"Oscar feels the same way. I'm trying my best to give him time, but it's inevitable. It always is."
"How do you deal with it?" Jaune asked, pacing now in the cramped room. "How do you keep all those past lives straight, all of your memories in line? The memories of all the people who you used to be?"
"It isn't easy. They eventually take on a dream-like quality, and it can be hard to separate one life from the next. Who am I, really? When there are so many different people that make up 'me'?"
"Right? I just feel like the Rusted Knight was a completely different life, a different person, but it was still me. I'm having a hard time reconciling 'Jaune the Huntsman' with 'Jaune the Rusted Knight'. I went through the Ever After without any of my friends from Remnant. How do you deal with people who have one version of you as an old schoolmate in their minds, and one version of the fairytale character you were? I had a version of the Rusted Knight from when I was a kid bouncing around in there, do you know how confusing that was, when I realized I was living it?" Jaune kept pacing, and Ozpin let him talk.
"When I met Alyx and Lewis, I felt like I had a purpose again. It didn't take long from there to conclude that I was living the events of 'The Girl Who Fell Through the World'. Only, they didn't all match up. I drove myself crazy trying to live up to my own expectations."
"I can imagine the difficulties, believe me," Ozpin said.
"Even so, after we got all settled in, there were a lot of good times, in those early days." Jaune chuckled.
"Try to keep those in mind, if you can," Ozpin said. "They'll help remind you why it's all worth it."
Jaune sighed and sat on his bed. "I'm trying to, but I have memories, from just before I fell, that have come back to me in sharp detail. They had been buried under a haze of time, but then I met back up with Ruby and her team and it was all fresh again. My two worlds had collided."
"It isn't easy, I know. Coming to terms that one life has ended, and another has started. Trying to get a sense of where things had been left, what needed to happen next." The two men sat in silence for a short while, Jaune lost in thought.
"Have you done anything that you regretted, Ozpin? That you felt like you couldn't come back from?" Jaune finally asked, Penny's last moments playing over again in his head.
"I have more regrets than any other person in this world, Jaune. I'm sure of it."
"How do you keep going?" Jaune asked, looking at Ozpin plaintively.
"I remember the good in the world, Jaune. There's always good, age after age, despite all the bad. I keep those memories in mind and press onward. It isn't easy. Gods, but it's hard, especially lately. I just have to remember the good days, the good people. They're what we're fighting for. That's what keeps me going."
Jaune sighed again. "I'll try. Thanks, for this. I needed to talk this out."
"You're very welcome, Jaune." Ozpin said.
The two men sat in silence for a short while, then Jaune asked, "Oscar any closer to the surface?"
"Yes, thankfully. He's waking up. Give him a little more time, but I think we're ok, for now."
"Good," Jaune said with relief.
Half an hour later, the five members of team JORNE were on the elevator up to see Theodore, ready to face the day. The elevator dinged, and they exited the elevator into the short hallway that led to the Headmasters office. Raven and Qrow were standing in the hall already, and looked at the young Hunters as they lined up next to them.
"Ah, good," said Qrow. "I think Theo meant to talk to you five. Save him some time since you're already here."
"Do you know what about?" asked Jaune.
"An assignment, most likely. That's the usual reason, anyway."
"You guys meeting with him too?" Nora asked.
"Yup," Qrow responded.
Theodore's office door opened, and Winter stepped out, accompanied by two Atlesian naval officers. One of them had a general's pips on his shoulders. All three had grim expressions on their faces. Winter nodded to the assembled Hunters in the hallway, and smiled quickly at Jaune, but didn't say anything as her and her entourage entered the elevator. She looks worried, Jaune thought.
"Welp. You lot coming?" Qrow asked as he and his sister stepped into the office.
JORNE all filed in and saw that Theodore was standing in the middle of the room and examining a large holographic map that was hovering around him. That looks like an arial view of the city, and the outlying desert, Jaune thought as he looked at it.
"Headmaster, did you get our plan for Ozpin from Dr. Polendina?" Jaune asked, not waiting for Theodore to greet them.
"I did. It's a very bold plan, and I approve of it. However, it needs to be put on hold. We've got a more immediate concern." He gestured at the map. "What do you see?" he asked. He was using an unlit cigar as a pointer.
"A top-down view of the city, with the defenses outlined," Ren said promptly.
"Good. And do you know what these are?" Theodore asked, indicating a series of red dots that were scattered throughout the desert around the city.
"Those are mines," Emerald said, stepping forward. "Designed specifically to destroy blind worms before they get too close to the city, without posing a danger to people on the surface."
"Quite right." Theodore made a waving gesture with his hand, and several of the dots vanished, leaving a wide swathe of unprotected desert that led straight to the walls. "We've lost sixty percent of them in the last twelve hours."
"Salem is testing the defenses?" Oscar asked quietly.
"It seems that way, yes. I've never seen them targeted in this fashion before. The Atlesian Airforce confirmed thirty-four blind worm kills overnight, and the grimm kept going for the same mines until they had destroyed them. They were killing themselves en masse to clear out mines. I want to know why." Theodore was pacing now, thinking out loud. "We know Salem was in Vale very recently. We do not know her precise objective there, but she seems to have made Beacon her base of operations. As far as I'm aware, the Crown is still safe, yes Ozpin?"
Ozpin nodded. "That contingency is still in place, though we may need to move into the next phase."
"What phase? Oz, are you keeping things from us again?" Nora asked, anger tinging her voice.
"The less people that know about the crown, the better, Miss Valkyrie. Please trust me on this," Ozpin said.
Nora crossed her arms and glowered at Oz but didn't say anything else. Jaune was inclined to agree with her, as Ozpin had kept several things from them in the past that would have been good to know sooner. But, with the influence and reach Salem had, keeping the information out of the hands of the many probably was the smart choice. Jaune didn't have to like it, though.
"So if the crown is safe, and she's in Vale, what is she after? Surely she would be here in person if she was after the sword, and the Summer Maiden is still missing. Unless she got to her first." Theodore continued to pace, frowning. The assembled Hunters watched him, waiting.
"We don't know the whereabouts of Cinder, Mercury, and Tyrian. Their faces have been programmed into every Atlesian Knight and printed on wanted posters throughout the kingdom. So what is it? What's her play?" He sighed.
He came to a decision. "Alright. Raven, I need you to go to Tai, let him know that we're on high alert here. I want to recall RWBY, just in case they're needed here. Team JORNE, I want you to go to the wall and keep an eye out. It may prove boring work, but I want as many Hunters as possible at the perimeter of the city, ready to defend it. Qrow, I'm sending you on reconnaissance. Fly out and see what there is to see, then report back to me. Radar is showing a potential sandstorm brewing, so keep that in mind. Any questions?" Theodore finished as he pulled out his punch cutter and trimmed the end from his cigar.
"Not so much a question as a statement, sir." Jaune said. "We spoke with Ghira and the White Fang last night. It seems that team SSSNN broke off their original mission to pursue a lead they came across while in Menagerie. Sun thinks he may have found the Summer Maiden. Ghira isn't so sure. He said he would talk to you about it." Jaune stood straight while delivering this news, hands clasped behind his back.
Theodore paused, his lighter halfway raised to his cigar, and snapped it shut with a click. He pulled out his scroll and went through his messages, leaning back against his desk as he did so. His frown deepened, and then he sighed. "So he has. With everything else going on I hadn't seen that yet. Thank you for bringing it to my attention."
Theodore fiddled with his lighter, flipping it open and closed rapidly. "Let's hope that lead pans out. For now there isn't a lot I can do about it." He finally sparked the lighter and lit his cigar, inhaling a deep pull of the fragrant smoke. "You all have jobs to do. Dismissed, Hunters."
Jaune and his team had made their way to the outer wall. Theodore had designated a section of it for them to watch, and they weren't the only Huntsmen team he saw on patrol. The Atlesian military was also out in force, Paladins, Knights, and foot soldiers all patrolling the top of the huge sandstone structure. Jaune's team and the various soldiers were all standing on the first of two walls. The outer wall housed most of the Vacuo behind it, though the poor, desperate, or dumb had still built structures on the outside. Those buildings were all in ruins now, the increase of grimm activity making them entirely untenable. There was a brand-new shanty town that had sprung up directly inside the wall, in many cases built right up against the structure itself.
The inner wall protected Shade itself, and had its own contingent of protectors. Both walls had gun emplacements along their lengths, a mix of the older Vacuan cannons and the newer Atlesian artillery. Jaune could feel the tension in the city behind him, a living thing, sharp edged and vibrant. That alone would be enough to start drawing the grimm in. The people had survived enough to know that the increased military presence and the ships firing all night meant something was brewing, and every civilian was on high alert. He could see a string of people moving towards the inner-city shelters, survival instincts driving the people who lived right inside the wall to seek protection, even if they didn't know what from yet.
Jaune stared out over the desert, that massive flat expanse of sand, dotted here and there by shrubs or cacti. He could see an ancient riverbed meandering its way off into the distance, dry as bone now. According to Ren, the river still flowed, but over the years drought and then sudden rains had sunk the river underground. It was the source of the city's water, and the school itself was situated over the spring that the river fed.
Beside him, Ren stood stock-still, gazing out over the desolate landscape. Oscar was leaning against the wall, trying not to fall asleep in the early morning sun. Nora was also leaning against the rock, elbows on top of the wall and hands supporting her head, entire posture speaking of boredom. And Emerald was looking at the neighboring gun emplacement, apparently admiring the weapon.
"I know this isn't the most riveting assignment, guys, but we still have a job to do," Jaune said, marshalling his team's attention and reminding them of what they were supposed to be doing.
"Right. Sorry, Jaune. Long night," Oscar said, rubbing his eyes and refocusing on the desert.
"This is booooring," Nora complained, not moving from her position. "Why can't we at least be moving or something?" she griped.
"That's an Atlesian Mark IV Lancer," Emerald said, still looking at the gun emplacement. "It's a type of energy cannon; it uses ultra refined dust to fire lances of pure destruction that can travel kilometers. They're usually mounted on their airships. I didn't know they had them available as stationary guns. I honestly feel a little better about hanging out on the wall with the thing there."
Jaune looked at the emplacement, noting the sleek, silver-white metal of the barrel and the two-man crew that were seated behind it. "I didn't know you were a weapons buff, Emerald," Jaune said. "However, as cool as that is, we still need to have our eyes outward, please."
Emerald rolled her eyes at this but looked to the horizon anyway. Nora sighed again. Jaune sighed internally. Only a few more hours of this. Hopefully my team doesn't implode from boredom. I, However, will be very grateful if nothing exciting happens.
About the same time Jaune was catching up with teams CVFY and FNKI, Ruby awoke to the sound of a tray being set down on her side table. Stretching, she rolled over to see Yang seated by her bed.
"Morning, Rubes. You doing ok?" Yang asked. Her eyes were still puffy from sleep.
"Mhmm. How about you? Last night wasn't easy," Ruby said, sitting up and taking a piece of toast off the tray.
"I'm ok. I'm sorry I lost my temper last night. Summer was your mom, and I'm the one who blew my stack," Yang said, subdued.
"Hey, you knew her longer than I did. She raised you, too. It's only natural that you were upset," Ruby said, nibbling at her toast.
"But, once again, something happened that affected you too, and I was only thinking about myself. I should have been there for you, and I wasn't. I'm a pretty crappy sister." There were now tears shining in Yang's eyes.
"You're not a bad sister, Yang. You're human. And besides, you brought me breakfast in bed. I could get used to this kind of service," Ruby said, smiling gently.
"I just, hearing that Raven left her, like she left so many other people, like she left me, just set me off. How can someone be so selfish?" Yang asked bitterly.
"You've seen first-hand what fear does to people, Yang. What it did to Lionheart, Ironwood. People don't act rationally. And Salem is definitely something to be scared of."
"How are you so calm, Ruby?" Yang asked, looking her younger sister in the eyes, pain showing clearly in her own.
"I'm sad, Yang. Of course I'm sad. I miss Mom. I wish things had happened differently. But, Raven is trying. I think we need to give her a chance. And besides, you really think Mom would have left Salem alone if Raven had said no? She would have fought her regardless. That's just who Mom was." Ruby reached out and put a hand on Yang's shoulder. "I love you. Thanks for coming to talk to me."
Yang sniffed. "Love you too, Rubes. Gods, I wish we didn't have to deal with this."
"Me either. But I'm glad I have you and the others with me for it," Ruby said.
"Yeah. I'm glad we have you too."
After Ruby finished her breakfast in bed, her and Yang went downstairs to rejoin everyone else. Tai was in the kitchen, sitting at the table and sipping his coffee. Weiss and Blake were on the lawn, observed by a very vocal Zwei as they had a practice duel. "Morning, girls," Tai said, smiling as his daughters entered the room. "You both ok?"
"Yeah, thanks Dad," Ruby said.
"Yeah. Sorry for losing my cool yesterday," Yang said.
"Raven dropped a bomb on us. I would have been more surprised if you didn't lose your temper, Yang. Maybe don't tell Troy you punched one of my trees to death, though." Tai said. "You guys gonna be ok, next time she stops in?"
Yang shook out her mane of hair and sighed. "Yeah. Ruby made me realize that Mom would have done it anyway, with or without Raven. Raven should have told us sooner, but I can't fault Mom for being Mom."
"Ok. Good. I think you two should try to sit down, talk things out." Tai said. "Just my two cents," he added hastily, raising his hands in response to Yang's glare.
"You're probably right." Yang said, sighing again.
"What's the plan for the town today, Dad?" Ruby asked.
"Continue the work. I've sent Melody and the boys back out to the cove, they'll be patrolling that beach for the next few days. I still want to know if there's anything of use on those ships that the refugees beached. You and your team are good candidates to go check them out. Me and Helsing will provide protection for the foresters. More of the same, really," Tai said, draining the last of his coffee.
"Sounds good. Any grimm attack over night?" Ruby asked.
"Slate said it was quiet. I think we destroyed enough to have bought a few days of peace, but we'll see. Grimm numbers have been on the rise since Salem's forces attacked Beacon. I'm sure they'll be back before long," Tai said.
The door opened as Blake and Weiss entered the room, Zwei trotting at their heels. "Good morning, Ruby!" Weiss said as the two women sat at the table. "Are you doing ok today?"
"Hey, Weiss. Yeah, I'm ok. Grateful Raven told us what happened, even if it wasn't happy news." Ruby said, tracing the grain in the wooden tabletop as she spoke.
"We're here for you, all of you," Blake said from her seat next to Yang. "I'm sorry about Summer. If it's any consolation, it sounds like she was a tremendous woman and mother, and she fought to the end trying to protect you."
"We did always call her Supermom," Yang agreed, leaning into Blake.
"It stings, having it brought up again, feeling it fresh, but we have some kind of closure now, at least." Ruby said, petting Zwei.
"We always knew that there was a good chance that we would die, standing against Salem," Tai said. "It hurts, but like Ruby said, we have some closure now. She went out taking to the fight to Salem, instead of waiting for the end to come to her."
The group lapsed into silence, everyone reflecting on Summer Rose and what she had stood for. Yang was the one to break it, getting up from the table. "Right, enough moping. We're alive and kicking, and there are people to help. Let's go." Zwei barked his assent, and they made their way to town.
An hour later, as Ruby and her team, including the two students, were getting ready, Tai called her. "Ruby, Raven's here. We've got some news from Shade. Meet me at the school?" Tai said.
"Sure thing, Dad." She hung up the call and turned to her team. "We've got news from Shade. Tai wants us to meet at the school."
"Good news or bad news?" Blake asked.
"He didn't say, but Raven is back. A lot earlier than we were expecting her," Ruby said. Yang frowned.
"Are we supposed to come with?" Troy asked.
"He didn't tell you not to. And you're still operating as part of my team, so come on." Ruby started walking towards Signal.
"Is Raven that woman who helped out a couple nights ago?" Rime asked as they walked.
"Yeah," Ruby said.
"She's a pretty good fighter. I wonder if she'd ever be up for teaching," Rime said.
"Good luck. She's not really the nurturing, teacherly type," Yang said.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Rime asked, bristling a little bit.
"She's my mom. And a solid contender for worst parent on Remnant," Yang said.
"Oh. Wait, so her and Tai?"- Rime started to ask.
"Yeah," Ruby said quickly. "She was with him, a long time ago. But she, ah, left, when Yang was a baby."
"Well, this just got awkward," Troy opined, looking from Yang to Rime.
Rime shot him a withering look. "Yang, I'm sorry, I didn't know."
"Hey, I'm not blaming you. She dropped some bad news on us last night, wouldn't be surprised if she's doubling down now."
They entered the school, and Tai and Raven were waiting for them inside. "Bad news," Tai started. "Theodore is pretty confident Shade is going to be attacked soon, he wants your team to head back."
Raven stood, calm façade on her face even as she avoided looking at Yang or Ruby. "I can take you back now, if you're ready," she said, gaze meeting Ruby's briefly and then dropping again.
"Dad, you guys going to be ok here?" Ruby asked Tai.
"We'll manage. You're needed where you're needed, I won't stop you from going. Just be careful, ok?" He said, looking at his daughters.
"We will. Can we talk first, before we go back to Shade?" Yang asked, trying to catch Raven's eye.
"Sure. Maybe somewhere private?" Raven said, giving Tai a brief, plaintive look.
"Abolutely. You guys do what you need to. Rime, Troy, sorry you two, but you're coming with me. You're still my students, after all," Tai said.
"Well, it was fun being on your team, Ruby," Troy said, holding out a hand for Ruby to shake. "Good luck fighting the big bad."
"You were a pleasure to mentor, Troy!" Ruby told the young man. "Keep up the good work."
"You guys are ok, I guess," Rime said. Then she smiled. "Really though, thanks for taking us on. I'll try to be more… open to working with others?"
"You did good, too, Rime. Just remember there isn't anything wrong with relying on people besides yourself. Take care, I'm sure we'll see you both again soon," Ruby told them.
"Good luck at Shade. Kill some grimm for us," Rime added.
"Oh, we will, don't worry about that," Yang said.
Their goodbyes said, Ruby, her team, and Raven faced off.
"Just so you know, I'm still mad at you, but I am sorry I lost my temper last night," Yang said, defiantly looking her mother in the eyes.
"I deserved worse, I think. I'm surprised you didn't yell at me too, Ruby," Raven said.
"I'm not happy with you, but I'm not angry. I think that Mom would have gone and done it with or without you. It would have been nice to know, and I'm sorry you ran out on her, but I think you've been beating yourself up enough already," Ruby said.
Raven considered this, then said, "That's a pretty mature response, Ruby. I don't know that I deserve it. I can't just pretend like nothing happened, and I just hope it isn't too late for me to help."
"My personal feelings aside, I am glad you're here. I'm still pretty pissed, but I think I would be more pissed if you weren't here. So there's that," Yang said.
"While we're clearing the air, I just wanted to say that I haven't forgotten how you took me hostage," Weiss said, eyes flashing dangerously.
"You did go on the run, and crashed your ship in my territory," Raven said. "I wasn't going to turn down that opportunity."
Yang and Weiss both glared at her.
"But," Raven continued, "I know that was wrong, and I'm sorry."
"Hmph." Weiss sniffed, but her expression had thawed slightly.
"What's the situation at Shade?" Blake asked.
"Well, here's what we know," Raven started, and then she told them everything Theodore had told her earlier that day.
Qrow, in corvid form, flew west over the desert. One of the perks of the form Ozpin gave him was his ability to cover ground fast without expending a lot of energy, which came in handy in the desert. He flew over dunes, shrubs, cacti, rocks; an endless parade of desert landscape flashed below him. Before long he came to the first spot that had once been mined, and he circled it, keeping to the sky. There was an odd circular pattern in the sand from the shockwave made when the mine detonated, a series of ripples that spread outward. Other than that, there was no indication that anything else had happened here. He flew on.
The other mines told the same story, and then he was past the limits of Vacuo's defenses. Still he flew, and nothing out of the ordinary stuck out to him. There were no tell-tale trails in the sand that the blind worms left when burrowing, there were no people that he could see, and there were just a few grimm spaced out sporadically, all headed towards the city. Weather reports had suggested a potential sandstorm brewing, but there wasn't even a sign of that.
After another half-hour or so of flight, he found an outcropping of stone and landed in its shade to take a break. He looked at the angle of the sun and knew the hottest part of the day was coming. Midday under the Vacuan sun was brutal. He turned back into a human and took a long drink of water. Pulling out his scroll, he sent a brief message to Theodore.
Nothing out of the ordinary spotted yet. Taking a break from the heat, west of the city roughly five miles. Will continue my search.
Message sent, he leaned back against the warm stone. The sun was making him sleepy, and he yawned. The horizon was clear, and the air was dead and still. Still no sign of any storm. May as well rest a bit, avoid the worst of the heat. Before long, without entirely meaning too, he drifted off into sleep.
He awoke suddenly to the feeling of sand pelting against his face. Throwing an arm up, he stood and looked out over the desert. Shit. There's that sandstorm, he thought. Should not have fallen asleep. There was a massive, billowing brown wall of sand on the horizon. He hurriedly took flight again, wings straining against the wind. The storm hadn't caught him yet, but he knew they moved fast over the open desert.
As he flew, he kept one eye towards the storm. A shape emerged from the wall of dust, struggling through the wind and the sand. An Atlesian Manta, wings damaged, paint scoured and chipped, was trying to get ahead of the storm. There was a lone figure standing on top of the aircraft with what looked like a spear in their hands. It looked like they were trying to ward off the storm, and more, it looked like it was working. There was a bubble of safe space around the Manta, and it started to gain on the wall of sand behind it.
After a brief internal debate, Qrow swooped towards the ship. As he got closer, he saw the figure on the ship was a young Huntress dressed in green, wearing scaled armor under her clothing, and wielding a spear. She looked vaguely familiar but he couldn't place her. He landed behind her, unnoticed as she focused on what she was doing.
The Huntress was twirling her spear in a slow circle, and the sand and wind responded to her movements. She must be using her semblance to create a safe space around the craft, Qrow thought. And then it hit him. This was one of the Huntresses that had been at the Vytal Festival. He had a vague, alcohol-soaked memory of watching her team fight against team SSSN.
He was content to hitch a ride as a crow, particularly since he didn't want to surprise the person who was keeping the aircraft from getting knocked from the sky by the wind. If he could, he would have entered the Manta, but the sliding doors were shut against the storm. His peaceful ride was suddenly interrupted by a black figure emerging from the howling wind. It was a ravager, one of the bat-like grimm that inhabited the deserts of Vacuo. The Huntress deftly speared it out of the air as it dove, shrieking, at her, but when her concentration lapsed the bubble of safe space eroded and the Manta was buffeted by wind. She swore and pulled her concentration back together, but then two more ravagers came flying at her.
Qrow shifted back into human form and dashed in front of the Huntress, cutting both ravagers from the air, scythe slashing in a deadly crescent. He heard a female voice swear robustly behind him, and the Manta bucked as the wind hit it again. "Whatever you're doing, focus on that!" he yelled over his shoulder. "I'll keep the grimm off of you."
He kept Harbinger in front of him, legs braced, trying his damndest to keep his balance against the slipstream rushing past him. Another ravager appeared out of the sand and dove at him. He flipped Harbinger and caught it with a blast from his shotgun. The corpse tumbled past, getting swept away by the wind as it smoked into nothingness. The Manta continued to gain on the wall of sand, and as Qrow watched he could see the silhouettes of hundreds of bat-winged figures in the topmost reaches of the sandstorm. Then, a gargantuan coiling figure, shrouded by the swirling sands, rose and fell again, like a leviathan breaching the waves. Qrow felt a chill. That was the mother of all blind worms. That must be what the others were clearing a path for. Theodore needs to know, now.
He fumbled for his earpiece, dialing Theodore by memorization from his pocket. He didn't want to risk losing the scroll by pulling it out. Theodore picked up, and Qrow started shouting into the wind. "Theo! Sandstorm and grimm headed for the city. Hundreds if not thousands of ravagers. Blind worm, biggest I've seen, in the storm itself. Get ready!" He disconnected, hoping Theodore got the gist of his message.
He looked back over his shoulder at the Huntress. She still stood, fatigue showing on her face as she kept the storm at bay in the space around their ship. "I'm Qrow," he called back to her. "Can you keep that up until we get to the city?"
"Do I have a choice?" she called back, glaring daggers at him.
"I guess not." He spun and cut another ravager out of the air as it dove at them. The ship would have surely gone down if he hadn't shown up, there was no way the girl would have been able to keep the wind off and defend herself against the grimm at the same time. He caught a glimpse of Shade rising on the horizon. They were getting close. He just hoped Theodore was ready.
Jaune and his team listened to the message that Theodore had sent out to all the defenders of Vacuo. There was a sandstorm full of grimm headed towards the city, and there was a huge blindworm coming as well. He could see the storm itself, a massive wall of airborne sand that reached several hundred feet high across the horizon. He had heard that the storms in Vacuo could shred the skin right off of you if you weren't protected against them, and wasn't looking forward to fighting in it.
As it approached, he could see the grimm, too. There were thousands of ravagers swooping around the top of the roiling sand. The noise was indescribable. The howl of the wind mixed with the screeches of the bat-grimm set his teeth on edge, and he wasn't the only one. Nora had a grimace on her face, and Oscar had hunched his shoulders to put his collar up over his ears. Sirens had begun to sound in the city, and there was a din of commotion from behind them as the civilians scrambled for shelters.
The gun emplacement beside them began to fire, adding the shriek of its weaponry to the clamor. Beams of laser-red lanced out over the sands, cutting a swathe through the grimm. The other guns along the wall followed suit, filling the air with fire and destruction. For every ravager that was incinerated though, another took its place. The swarm seemed endless.
Jaune could make out a smaller ship, a Manta, racing ahead of the storm. There were two figures atop it, one dashing to-and-fro, cutting grimm out of the air as they attacked the ship. Jaune recognized Qrow's fighting style, even from a distance. He couldn't tell who the other person was, but they seemed to be doing something to keep the ship up.
Overhead, the frigates added their firepower to the mix. Many of them employed weapons like the lancer on the wall, and glittering beams of energy seared out into the storm. Dozens of grimm died, burning. It wasn't enough.
The Manta roared overhead, rattling loose stones with its passage, trailing smoke from one engine, the storm hot on its tail. "Brace!" Jaune yelled as the wall of sand hit them. He could feel hundreds of minute impacts to his aura shield as the sand blasted him. His team all ducked behind the wall, weathering the immediate onslaught of the storm. Then the ravagers, high overhead, let loose a simultaneous howl that made Jaune's earpiece shriek with distortion. Flinching, he pawed it out of his ear. He could still hear the feedback, a high-pitched squealing that cut through the wind and gunfire. That's not great, he thought.
He was now cut off from Theodore and the military. If the ravagers kept up that howl, it was going to interfere with their radio transmissions. The fight had just gotten a lot harder. He risked a look over the wall just in time to catch sight of a titanic figure rushing the gate. His blood ran cold. A maw that looked like it could swallow the world opened, rimmed with fangs the size of trees. It hit the sandstone wall of Vacuo like a battering ram, smashing through the ancient gate as though it were paper. Juane's team was knocked off their feet from the impact. As he clambered back to a standing position, he saw the huge worm laying half in and half out of the city, the void-like maw vomiting forth a tide of grimm. The wall breached, comms hamstrung by the ravagers, and visuals hampered by the storm, things looked bad. Very bad.
From his office atop Shade, Theodore watched the storm roll in. He didn't see the red lightning that had always been reported when Salem was present, but the situation was still grave. He didn't know precisely what the enemy was after, but their plan was brutally simple. And effective. Attack under the cover of the sandstorm. If it killed some grimm, so what. Salem could make more. Clear out the mines to make way for the huge blind worm that had breached his city and spewed forth legions of grimm into the streets. Use the ravagers as a screen, utilizing their natural ability to create sonic waves to interfere with their comms and debilitate the ships.
He couldn't contact Winter. Raven was in Patch and would be coming back with team RWBY into hell. Through the tempest of sand, he could just make out the Manta he presumed Qrow was on setting down on Shade's landing pad. Amity was also barely visible through the raging sand, the bulky figure beset by grimm. The floating command center was trying to gain altitude, the newly installed anti-air guns spewing thousands of rounds at the ravagers that were swarming everywhere. The frigates and other airships were similarly swamped, the ravagers making it difficult for the larger ships to bring their railguns to bear on the blind worm. Sirens continued their apocalyptic wail, rising and falling above the sound of the wind and the shrieks of the grimm.
Theodore pulled his ruby gloves taught, flexing his fingers. He rolled his neck and stretched out, leaning first one way and then the other. His spine crackled satisfactorily as it flexed. Then, with a predatory grin on his face, he opened his office window and leapt into space. It was time to go to work.