Welcome to the next chapter of RWBY: Team DUSK. Let's answer some reviews:
altajir95: Thanks. I'll continue doing that.
Guest: That would take a long time considering I just finished Volume 1. But, I've got no trouble with that seeing as Blake is bisexual and wouldn't change much of their dynamic, seeing as by that time they would all be dating Daniel. I'll be working more on how it starts considering some issues brought up from the execution.
The Session, Pt. 1
For the students of Beacon Academy, it was the first day of their mid-term break, and some were thinking about what they would end up doing; among them, there were the three teams: RWBY, DUSK, and JNPR who were thinking about what their break would entail.
"Hah, I'm so glad we're free from that punishment."
Sandra started to stretch and think about their punishment for getting involved with the White Fang and Roman Torchwick. It seemed as if Glynda timed it so it wouldn't intervene in their mid-term break, which is a considerable thing from their strict teacher.
"So, was this a reminder to not get involved with dangerous business meant for Huntsman?"
Alyssa asked, finding herself walking forward.
"Hm, I think us getting caught while getting involved was the problem."
Around them, there were still preparations for the upcoming Vytal Festival, but there appeared to be some exhibits set up for introductory purposes. One, in particular, which caught Daniel's attention was the Starhead Industrial Company, a company he heard about with their development and manufacturing machines focused on Dust mining, refining, and uses. It seemed to be getting some attention as fliers were attracting the attention of some people, with the setup taking a couple of days to complete.
'…,' after getting Daniel's attention, Hunter started signing. 'Do you want to go there?'
"Thinking about it, I've always been one to show an interest in some new concepts," Daniel replied, showing interest in the exhibition. "I did learn from one of the best."
"Ah, right, Penny's dad. Hm, I haven't seen her since then."
Sandra pointed out.
"Yeah, based on how excited she was about making friends, we haven't seen her."
Alyssa added, finding that to be something surprising.
"I haven't either," Daniel replied, not being secretive. "I imagine Atlas' personnel would be more cautious about their new 'weapon'. But, I can at least tell that Doc gave Penny her Scroll meant for communicating with him and would ensure to remain in contact with her. So, no matter what happens they would not take that from her. I gave Penny my number so she could contact me whenever she was free. But, I haven't even heard anything from Penny yet."
Daniel found himself mulling over the reason Penny hadn't contacted him since he gave her his number so it made her feel isolated from others and wondered what was happening with her the last couple of days.
Meanwhile, in the residential district of Vale, in particular, where the higher class resided, there was one hotel that people from Atlas rented out for the Vytal Festival. Most notable, was the location rented out for someone who would be the main representative for Atlas Academy. Also, most knew she wasn't a 'normal' student and could even be dangerous if her existence was revealed without proper preparations. Most wouldn't know the treatment to give such a person, but their General and Headmaster, James Ironwood ensured that her treatment was based on the most essential accommodations.
In the particular room, where Penny was placed, there were different essential items, in particular, a machine to recharge her systems and others meant for repairs. Most notably, there seemed to be a lot of magazines focused on teenagers accumulated in the room, most being read. Each one of them was appropriately stacked, almost in a way no one could manage. It was surprising for those who'd visited Penny to find her reading teen magazines but wrote it off as her attempt at getting to interact with them.
But, for the past couple of days, Atlas personnel found themselves noticing that Penny was particularly nervous about something. But, most passed it off as her being nervous about the Vytal Festival, when there was a bigger, more important issue running through Penny's mind.
"Ooh, what am I going to do?"
Penny found herself pacing around the room with the same issue in front of her.
On the table, her personal Scroll was positioned, with the contacts, there were three contacts placed on it. The first, of course, Pietro Polendina (Papa), someone whom she ensured to regularly contact and even informed her about her first interaction with Daniel and making her first friend. The second, James Ironwood is an essential means of communication as the main one aware about her being Remnant's first synthetic person who could generate Aura. And third, which was the cause of her nervousness and uncertainty.
And the third, Daniel Norden, the first and cutest boy who gave her their number and the first person she wanted to meet most of all in Vale. From the moment of her birth, then creation, Penny was relatively new to things such as interacting with people and being a teenager. Before creating her physical body, Pietro wanted to ensure that his daughter would have a stable transition into the world. So, he designed a sophisticated AI different from other ones, where Penny learned the basics of life instead of following instructions similar to an infant learning.
One of the things she learned about was her father's first and only protegee, Daniel Norden, who would spend the most time in his shop. The first interest she had in someone other than her father, whom she loved more than anyone else. And yet—
"Daniel gave me his number. So, it's fine if I text him, right? He wouldn't get mad at me."
Penny started, as she continued moving around the room.
"Ruby said it herself, Daniel would like me," mentioning the word 'like', Penny then found herself feeling flustered, an emotion she wasn't used to. "I mean not 'like', like. I meant like like as a friend. Though, this is the first time we have ever met. But, Ruby and I are friends, though I did think that would have been Daniel first. But, it was an unexpectedly happy moment for me to have met someone knew that I didn't know and learned about. Though, I haven't talked to Ruby since then. And I was told not to interact with them."
Penny continued mulling about the new and first real experience that she had with people her age, though it wasn't something she was told to do yet. She wanted to interact with them, in particular, Daniel and Ruby, but it was difficult to interact with Ruby. But, she couldn't contact Daniel, because she didn't know what to text him and didn't want to mess it up.
"Alright, I don't want to sound too nervous, even though I am. I don't want to sound weird, even though I am. I want to wound confident, even though I'm not."
Penny stated, finding herself immediately heading towards the bed in the room, then face-planted into the bed, causing it to creek due to her actual weight. A part of this bedroom was the fact that the bed was enhanced to be much sturdier than normal, then groaned from the nervousness. Ironic enough, it was simple enough for Penny to text a simple greeting, but complicated the situation with wanting it to be her first time texting someone.
As that was happening, Jaune and Ren stood in front of the exhibition headed by the Starhead Industrial Company, which the composed teammate wanted to come to. The team leader stood around eating a hot dog purchased from oddly the same Dust Shopkeep who runs From Dust Til Dawn, something which he found odd. It didn't seem as if Ren noticed this, instead being most focused on the exhibition itself.
The two entered the exhibition, where multiple people were watching the different exhibits around them with high-tech inventions and machines.
"Is this really okay Jaune? Coming along with me for this?"
Ren asked, turning his attention towards his leader and friend.
"But, it's rare that you would say, "I have somewhere I want to go". And what's more, Nora couldn't come either."
Jaune replied, finding himself finishing the hot dog in his hands after a couple of bites, then swallowed the rest of it which entered his stomach.
"I did speak with Nora, she just didn't wake up."
Ren replied in a matter-of-fact tone.
In the morning, although, Nora would often be the first person up in the morning and make noise, but this time as it was the mid-term break, she had a reason to sleep in.
"But the fact that Nora couldn't come could be a blessing."
Jaune pointed out, something which caused Ren to wonder what he meant about that.
"What do you mean?"
"Ren, what's the most important thing about two guys hanging out together on break?"
Jaune asked, finding himself standing in front of his friend.
"…hanging out?"
Ren replied, as Jaune almost stumbled.
"I learned something from Daniel," Jaune started, finding himself standing up straight. "I thought girls would be interested in someone who goes over the top to impress them. So, I'm going to go around and act like Jaune Arc to see if I can practice interacting with women who don't know me. I might fail to attract anyone's attention, but I'll be me and know what not to do."
"…."
Ren didn't find himself agreeing with the reasoning, but the purpose made him see more and more how Jaune had grown. It might not have been much, but it was in the right direction. Before Jaune made numerous attempts at inviting Weiss out on dates and acting almost like someone he wasn't, but this time around, he was learning what to do. However, that didn't change their group's end goal.
"It's good that Jaune is learning something like this, but we plan to lead him and Pyrrha together," Ren thought, as it was something their group came to agree with. "Well, I doubt that you'll meet many women here seeing as this isn't something most would have an interest in. Unless they're like Ruby."
At that comment, Jaune couldn't disagree with that comment, but it did bring up another question and thinking of the reason Ren came here. And also…
"So, what does the place have? I see a bunch of SIC logos everywhere, are they a famous brand or something? But the video earlier was more like a history lesson. Are the two related?"
"You'll understand once you see it first hand."
After that response, Ren led them pass the event entrance, and then further into what became on display by the Starhead Industrial Company.
"Oh, Oh…?"
Jaune found himself having a full view of the grand hall, having high ceilings and a wide atrium, where there were booths displaying large machines with the staff explaining their product. Walking between the booths, there was a collection of autonomous machines that mimicked animals, like dogs and horses. Their robotic robots seemed to be a lot sleeker than most made in Atlas based on what Jaune could see, not that he was something like Ruby or Daniel, both of whom showed greater interest in such things.
But, none of their mechanisms made much noise as they worked, walking around aiding the visitors through the clear voices that came from them. The much larger ones, such as the horses allowed the patrons to ride right on top of them without resistance and worked diligently. Based on what some could hear, the "animals" responded diligently to their specific questions and did their duties.
For Jaune who wasn't interested in such things as his first two best friends, it was still a marvel seeing such things in front of him. It was almost as if he was taking a look into a future that their group was planning for Remnant, a marvel in seeing talking animals.
"If we're here, I doubt that you'll be able to have conversations with girls like you planned."
Ren pointed out, barely seeing many women around.
Most of them had their attention focused on other things and joined with their friend groups, not seeming to be at all interested in casual conversations.
"Good point."
Jaune came to see that Ren might be right about that comment.
"Welcome to the Starhead Industrial Company's corporate exhibition. The philosophy of Starhead Industrial is to watch over humanity, and its vast potential, and to help it grow. For today our products will be on full display so feel free to look around to your heart's content."
Both of them started hearing the announcement and the explanation came from a speaker in the grand hall. It was a good display of showing their intention was the development of humanity based on what they were looking at. And it is something that would undeniably attract the attention of those like Daniel and Ruby. Among the things placed on exhibit, there were weapons, machines, and unrefined Dust which has been mined from their personally owned locations.
"Yeah, I have a feeling that if it isn't someone like Ruby, then you'll never get a second date."
Jaune pointed out.
"You might be right. Let me see what they have here."
Ren replied, retrieving his Scroll from his pockets, then started looking up the Starhead Industrial Corporation. As he went to the brochures detailing the event.
"How about this? A new 'Lazy Man's Pet' exhibit. It hardly moves, will require minimal charging, and doesn't need maintenance."
"Isn't that just a stuffed doll? Anything else?"
"An experimental 'Bionic Arm' exhibit? 'For those that need help in their everyday lives.'"
"Two arms is enough for me."
"The rest …are video files."
Jaune found himself interested in the events that Ren looked up, which he might have been interested in.
After getting to the video files, he found one of them, one that looked the most interesting.
"Sapang Island, owned by SIC is home to many facilities for research and development. Along with the research done here, a resort is being built on this since Sapang Island is a perfect resort location. We periodically invite the general public here to help us improve our…."
As the female voice explained the Sapang Island, where were was a resort for them.
"Did it just say that there are general public invitations?"
"Seems there's a detailed explanation written here."
After Jaune seemed interested in this detail involving the island resort which was opened to the general public, and then Ren found himself stopping the video, then looking up more details.
"It seems that the leisure facilities built for the employees were recently opened up to the public. In exchange for SIC deciding the scheduling both the travel and lodging costs will be covered."
"A free resort?"
"That's what it says."
Hearing Ren's explanation, Jaune found himself getting excited at the thought of being able to get into a free resort being opened to the public. It was also the perfect location for them to spend their mid-term break, more so seeing as it would be the best location for their entire team. A tropical location where there were clear skies, white sandy beaches, blue seas, palm trees, tropical fruits, fresh fish, and most importantly, beautiful girls in swimsuits.
"So how does one get invited to Sapang Island?"
Jaune excitedly asked.
"That, however, is not explained."
"Haha, no way they would leave that out."
Immediately, Jaune found himself disappointed about that but found himself continuing to talk. Ren kept looking at the video and information, yet couldn't find the slightest information about getting into this resort.
"…Really?"
"Maybe it's only for shareholders or people that are in a business relationship with SIC."
"Why would they do that?"
"To test the facilities and entertain important guests."
During the conversation between Jaune and Ren, both of them had found themselves looking at the possibility of them getting invitations there. Noticing such a thing, the blonde-haired team leader found himself slumping being unable to fit the criteria of being invited there. He was a humble student born in a family of warriors, but none of his relatives met the criteria of company associate, shareholder, or machine operator. Aside from that, there were both Daniel and Weiss, both of whom were from affluent families, with the former fitting the criteria for an operator.
"Hey, Ren, do you think…?"
"That either Daniel or Weiss get us into the resort," Ren replied, knowing where Jaune was going with that kind of talk. "I could imagine that Daniel would do it if you asked, Weiss might not all things considered, but I don't know. It might be short notice too."
"I thought so."
In that instance, Ren found himself looking at the time and noticing that there was something in a particular path that caught his attention.
"Sorry Jaune, but I got something I have to do first."
Ren stated, that Jaune looked surprised about that comment and misunderstood those words.
"You aren't here to preview the machinery?"
"No, I don't have that kind of hobby."
"Then to check out some new weapons?"
"No."
"Then, Dust? Some new effect they put into bullets?"
"No."
At that point, Jaune was stumped about what Ren wanted to see because those were the kinds of things that he could see around here. And the fact that his friend sought to come here in the first place, with him joining along out of curiosity and wanting to do something.
"Then what?"
"Pancakes."
"What?"
Jaune looked stunned about that random response but noticed Ren looking dead serious about being there for what sounded like the pancakes. His friend took out his Scroll and immediately went straight toward the section he was referring to. Arriving there, Ren turned the Scroll towards Jaune, showing him what looked to be the SIC's special-made pancake-making machine.
"I came to see a specialized pancake-making machine. It is a new groundbreaking machine that will overturn all the previous specialized pancake makers. In this brochure it …here Jaune …hey …. Jaune. Here … It's written here Jaune."
Ren was going through the entire explanation about the pancake-making machine built by the Starhead Industrial Company, while Jaune looked on almost unable to keep up with the surprisingly excitable explanation from Ren.
"…Ya sure."
Jaune couldn't give any other response aside from that.
"Anyway, this is why I'm here."
Ren replied.
"So, you're getting a new pancake-making machine for Nora's benefit."
Jaune stated, surprising Ren for a moment.
"What makes you think that?"
"Well, you always make pancakes for Nora. So, I thought that it was for her."
Jaune thought, with Ren surprised he could come up with that thought, but not the fact that Pyrrha does like him.
"…well, if you put it like that, then I guess you're right."
Ren replied, not sounding embarrassed or flustered, with Jaune thinking that he was internalizing it. He looked to find Ren turned around with a surprising spring in his step, then vanishing in the crowd of people glancing around at the various exhibits.
Left behind by his friend, Jaune found himself looking dumbfounded about standing around in an unfamiliar place he didn't know much about. Noticing Jaune's inactivity, one of the Dog Drones found themselves approaching him with a robotic voice coming out.
"If you're having trouble and get lost, how about the latest mapping app for your scroll?"
"No … I'm fine," Jaune stated, but then a thought came to him. "Hey, you don't happen to know how to get invited to Sapang Island do you?"
At Jaune's question, the Dog Drone found itself unable to respond to that question and found nothing about it.
"Apologies, that is an unrecognized question."
After that, the Dog Drone turned around and started heading in another direction. It was an interesting situation to see Animal Drones roaming around. If it wasn't for the fact that they were machines and talked like them, Jaune would have confused them for the real thing. He didn't know much about the whole technology business, but he could tell the Animal Drones looked and acted close to the real thing.
But, Jaune couldn't pretend to be interested in this event, considering that he came because Ren was coming and thought it would be a good practice area for him. Looking around, he could tell that there were women, some around his age, but they were too focused on what was in front of them. And Jaune wasn't inconsiderate enough to ruin that by using this scene to practice talking to women.
So, instead of standing there, he found himself walking around aimlessly and watching the monitors to find if there was something that could interest him there. As Jaune walked around without much thought as there were people invested in the exhibits in front of them, it wouldn't be surprising if he ended up bumping into someone. And—
Bump!
"…ow."
Jaune ended up feeling a light bump on his back as he was preparing to move, it wasn't enough to make him even trip or flatter, but the same couldn't be said about them. Looking down, he found himself staring at a young girl, dressed in elaborately decorated overalls, wearing bluish goggles on top of chestnut hair. From looks alone, Jaune wondered if she was ten, if not a little younger.
He could see that her bag, which was on her shoulders was knocked over, revealing documents on the ground, most of which had footprints on them. And that was discovered after he removed his foot from them, making him feel a greater sense of guilt. First, he knocked over a younger girl and now, he stepped on her belongings without even a second thought.
"Sor, Sorry! Are you okay?"
Jaune asked concerned about the girl, who ignored him and dove for the laptop that fell from her bag too. After getting it, she opened the laptop and then proceeded to check and confirm whatever damaged state it could've been in due to the impact. It seemed as if she was ignoring everything happening around her and instead focused on the laptop. Taking that opportunity, Jaune instead focused on picking up the fallen documents, while cleaning them off as much as possible.
As he tried cleaning off his footprints, he noticed the SIC logo on the documents he picked up, one in particular, which had a picture of a beach.
"Sapang Island…?"
Jaune found the same as the island that he was looking up with Ren and wanted to go to, causing his desire to go there to be reignited. Noticing such a stroke of luck made him remember the time that he once won the prize of a Bingo, as well as some other instances that made him receive good fortune. Although, the girl didn't seem to notice him at all, making it easier to slip the discarded papers back into her bag.
"Are you a SIC associate?"
Jaune asked.
"…."
Again, she ignored Jaune and seemed about finished checking up on her laptop, which wasn't at all broken. The young girl returned the laptop to the bag and then glared at Jaune with a pouting face. It was obvious to him that she wasn't happy about her belongings being dropped on the ground and being stopped.
"Oh right, my name is Jaune Arc, a student at Beacon Academy. I have a quest…."
Jaune tried introducing himself and starting a conversation, but the girl didn't seem interested in such things and then started walking away.
"Wa, Wait! I have something I wanna ask you!"
Jaune didn't surrender as this was his chance to get a trip to the island for the mid-term break.
As he tried going after her, it seemed as if the much smaller girl managed to navigate and transverse the crowd compared to Jaune. The young man himself was having a much more difficult job in attempting to follow after her while trying not to bump into every person who happened to be in front of him.
"Excuse me, sorry coming through…. Ouch! You're stepping on my foot! You're stepping on my foot!"
Jaune complained as he continued following behind.
Meanwhile, in another part of the same exhibition, there was someone else interested in the Starhead Industrial Company. It was Ruby who had her hands positioned in front of her, looking giddier as she walked inside the exhibition. To most, it looked as if she was preparing to bounce around the walls without any kind of limitations, a feat that Yang ironically had seen before. Those joining her, of course, consisted of the other three members of Team RWBY, Weiss, Blake, and Yang.
Of course, this wasn't the kind of location that either of them wanted to be, but it was decided that their attention would be focused on doing what the others wanted to do day by day. And going by the initials of the team lineup, it was Ruby's day. Of course, there was some opposition, particularly from her older sister, who voiced out how boring it sounded to be here.
"It's not a dance club or a beach or any fun place young people go. Why do we have to go to such a drab place?"
Yang initially complained.
Arriving there, the three shared a similar reaction to Jaune, not being interested, but the fact that there were also animal drones around caught their attention. Some found themselves assisting the people with a question or possible directions. It could be known that despite how intricate their weapons were, aside from Ruby and Daniel, the three didn't have "that" much of an interest in the topic.
"Eiiiii."
Ruby squealed as she noticed the Animal Drones, then zipped to one of them excitably, having not seen anything such as this. Appearing before, the drone, she found herself getting a closer look at the drone's appearance that resembled a dog.
"Oh my gosh, this is sooo cool, I didn't think that I'd see something like this. But, it looks sooo cool."
"If you're having trouble and getting lost, how about the latest mapping app for your scroll?"
Thinking there was an issue, the Dog Drone found itself asking that question.
"Ooooh, they even speak like this too?"
Ruby didn't seem to register the question being asked of her, but the Dog Drone seemed to respond to it.
"The drones working in the exhibition are programmed to respond to a specific question."
It seemed as if that was one of the questions the drones were programmed to respond to.
"Oh, that's cool. Weiss, what do you think about these Dog Drones?"
Ruby asked, turning to her partner as she started touching the drone's robotic body, causing it to respond in such a way that a normal dog would react.
"…."
Weiss found herself staring at the Dog Drone wearing a blank expression as she examined it.
"…it's not the same."
She uttered under her breath, seeing a big difference between the normal and fluffy dogs compared to the robotic and rough drone in front of her. Aside from Ruby, neither Blake nor Yang was aware of the fact that she had a soft spot for animals.
"Oh, um, where are the weapons?"
Ruby asked, wondering where the weapons exhibits were being put up for view by the Starhead Industrial Company.
"Follow me."
Doing its job, the Dog Drone proceeded leading the four young women towards the location that Ruby wanted to go to. Seeing that, she found herself happily following behind the Dog Drone who was faithfully leading her to the intended location, while the three young women followed more casually. As the group continued walking around, they witnessed the different inventions being showcased by the SIC.
For Weiss, who was born in Atlas, which was the most technologically advanced on Remnant, it was a unique kind of experience for her. There was one part of her that wanted to see what else was her, but there was another part that wanted to do something else. She thought of going somewhere with her boyfriend like any normal girlfriend and practicing for the Vytal Tournament like an ideal student. There was Blake who'd found herself focusing more on the White Fang while wanting to do something quiet like reaching for books.
Yang, who spoke about not wanting to be here, glanced around at the different inventions and wondered if there were any new about vehicles, i.e. bikes, parts, and tires, focused on improving Bumblebee.
"Wow!"
It seemed as if they arrived at their destination, as the Dog Drone thanked them for their interest and then went elsewhere. And left there, was Ruby, who held her hands together as she looked on at the different assortment of weapons begun hung around them. Each of them caught Ruby's attention, who was a self-proclaimed and proud dork when it came to weapons. Most of the SIC weapons consisted of firearms, with few close-range weapons, seeking better efficiency in handling Grimm.
"…Eeeee."
Ruby squealed as her eyes were trained on the weapons in front of her, to the point of excitedly grabbing Weiss' arm in an attempt to contain herself.
"LOOK, LOOK AT THAT WEAPON! AMAZING! I WONDER IF THEY'LL LET ME TEST-FIRE IT!?"
"Look where you're going! AND CAN YOU NOT PULL ON MY CLOTHES!?"
As Ruby's excitement seemed to be getting the better of her, Weiss tried reigning in her excitement, which began involving herself. As usual, Yang and Blake found themselves witnessing the interaction between the partners as if it were a genuine comedy act.
"So, didn't think that we'd spend our first day of mid-term break here, right?"
Yang asked, leaning next to her partner, who closed the book in her hands with the bookmark appropriately in it.
"No, there isn't anything that I'm interested in here."
"Well, I guess the whole having talking animal drones walking around sounds and looks cool," Yang stated, while somewhat agreeing with it. "Hm, I wonder if there's anything that you'll be interested in here. How about some new Dust for your Gambol Shroud? Or a new fabric for the ribbon?"
"…," Blake thought about that for a moment. "That might sound nice actually."
"Alright, let's see if we could find anything on the site here. I wonder if they have anything new on bikes, tires, or seats for motorcycles."
Yang stated, smiling as she retrieved her Scroll, then proceeded to look up whatever information she could find on the site about the exhibition. During this, Blake found herself leaning in as her partner looked up the various information detailing what was at the exhibition. Together, the two found there were different inventions and also ideas being presented by the SIC.
"Ah, these look sooo coool."
Ruby couldn't stop marveling at the new model weapons before her, finding herself watching the demonstration videos provided by the company. As usual, Weiss found herself standing beside her partner but started gaining an interest in what the Starhead Industrial Company had compared to the Schnee Dust Company.
"…."
After a moment, Blake found her cat ears underneath the black ribbon, causing her to turn toward the particular direction that caught her attention.
"What's wrong, Blake?"
Yang seemed to notice Blake's change in expression as her partner pointed in that direction.
"I think I heard Jaune over there."
Blake replied, with Yang turning toward where her finger was pointed.
"Hm, Jaune's here too, but…wow," Yang looked first confused that Jaune would be there, but noticed that a giant elephant was over there. "That looks awesome. How didn't we notice that?!"
"Notice whaaaaat is that?!"
Ruby noticing Yang's reaction, she'd turned her head and immediately found out what she was looking at. There, she realized the same thing that Yang saw, which was the giant Elephant Drone. But, from there she could see it seemed as if there was an opened cockpit.
"OH…MY…GOD, IS THAT A MECHA ANIMAL?!"
Ruby found herself excited as she stared at the machine with sparkling eyes, placing her hands on her cheeks.
"Hm, what was that about Jaune? I highly doubt that Jaune would be…?"
But, Weiss was interrupted once there was one thunderous sound that caught their attention and everyone else around them. Accompanied by that sound, the people working for the Starhead Industrial Company had started to move to see what was happening. And then there was the familiar sound of a 'girl?' screaming in the distance and…
"Someoneeeeeee!"
And hearing that voice, the four young women stood side-by-side with different expressions on their faces.
"Déjà vu, anyone?"
Yang asked, causing them to be reminded of their School Initiation before heading off to provide aid.
A couple of minutes earlier, Jaune found himself following behind the young girl who seemed to be an associate of the SIC. Passing by the people, some of them who seemed to be Faunus, he managed to find out where she'd gone. In front of him, there was a much wider and clearer area where some people were looking at the biggest of the machines in front of them. There was even a rope barricade that kept people from going near the machine and made it seem as if it wasn't prepared for testing or showing yet.
"What is that?"
Jaune asked.
He looked to find one different from the other smaller Drones, instead resembling an elephant, with a long nose and tusks. It had the same color scheme as the others and a smooth robotic body, with the long nose seeming to be designed to extend and curl no different from a normal one's nose. Jaune hadn't seen an elephant up close, but he knew that the size of this Elephant machine dwarfed him in size and looked modeled after a mature one. For some reason, he found the young girl from before climbing the machine using some collapsible climbing pickaxe carried inside of her bag. Looking around, he avoided the attention of people and drones, managing to get much closer to her.
"Uh, you okay up there?"
Jaune called out.
"…."
Hearing and recognizing the voice, the girl stopped moving and then looked down to find herself looking right at Jaune with caution, almost as if she were condemning him for being immature and chasing her there.
"Sorry to disturb you. Do you remember me? I introduced myself earlier."
Jaune stated, with the young girl making a sour face, then clicked her tongue.
"…Did you just click your tongue at me?"
Jaune asked, but she continued ignoring him.
Reaching the Mecha Elephant's neck, he started messing around with some controls, causing its head to open up, and could see that it was a cockpit. She then jumped right into the seat, then started messing around with the interior controls.
"EH?!"
Jaune looked surprised as the Mecha Elephant started shining and looked as if it were coming to life. As soon as it moved, the slightest step caused a thunderous sound across the exhibition hall, catching the attention of every single person in the vicinity. Everyone saw the immobile Mecha Elephant moving around, but whatever the young girl was doing its trunk moved and knocked over a nearby crane.
"!"
Noticing that the crane fell over on top of another exhibit near them, the people who were around watching what was happening started panicking and fled. All the staff members as signified by their SIC armbands ran off too as the Animal Drones blared their sirens and directed the crowd to somewhere safer. No one aside from Jaune was aware that the young girl in the cockpit was piloting the Mecha Elephant.
"OII! What are you doing?! You're …WHOA! That was close."
Jaune called out but found himself stepping back as the Mecha Elephant's foot seemed to crush whatever it had stepped on without resistance. He carried around his weapon as a Beacon Academy Student, something which was a sign of that. But, his Crocea Mors was a simple sword and shield that might not do much against its hard robotic body. As Jaune was preparing to move from the Mecha Elephant who was beginning to move again, he found that he couldn't move at all.
"…Huh?"
Jaune looked on, realizing that he wasn't touching the ground and that his feet were now dangling on the ground. It didn't take long to realize that the metallic tusk was now being swung around like a rag doll moving from side to side and up and up and down several times.
"Someoneeeeeee!"
Jaune shouted out loud.
Once again, the Mecha Elephant's head opened up revealing the young googled girl, who was looking straight at him, then could hear her clicking her tongue.
"Tsk."
"Again with the tong…HYAAAAAAAA!"
Jaune complained and continued screaming in that instance.
It was caused by the Mecha Elephant's pace continuing to increase as it seemed to start running with the other exhibits being hit too. But, due to the increase in speed Jaune was released from the metallic tusk, however, this was caused by him being flung straight into the air above the Mecha Elephant's head.
"OHH NONONONONO, AHHHHH!"
In the air, Jaune found himself scrambling to grab onto something, but there wasn't a single thing in the air to get a grip on. So, as expected, Jaune ended up landing straight on top of the Mecha Elephant's back, which kept on running around, clinging onto whatever he could to keep himself from falling. As he was doing that, he'd found himself experiencing the earlier signs of his motion sickness.
"PLEASE STOP," Jaune pleaded, but it wasn't heard as almost all the boots and exhibitions were emptied, as it started getting worse. "Uggghhh…. I'm gonna be sick…."
During this, he started looking up to notice several impacts that made the Mecha Elephant rock further, and the familiar rose petals floated about, then a familiar figure appeared in front of him.
"Hi, Jaune."
It was revealed to be Ruby, who embedded Crescent Rose into the Mecha Elephant's back, looking almost as if she were sitting casually on a bench.
"Ruby?"
Jaune asked, feeling nauseous, but managing to call out the smiling Silver-Eyed Reaper, who then proceeded to explain what happened thus far.
"So when Blake said that Jaune was riding on the back of the Mecha Elephant I said 'No way'. But, after zooming in using our Scrolls, it turns out you were on there. And since it would probably be a good thing that someone saved you I came along."
Ruby finished explaining.
"I…I get it, just please save me."
"Sure, but the signal hasn't…."
As Ruby mentioned something about a signal, Jaune looked to notice that something was approaching the young girl from behind.
"…RUBY! BEHIND YOU!"
Jaune called out.
Getting that signal, Ruby dislodged Crescent Rose, then immediately switched to its rifle mode, and then fired off an assortment of shots that knocked the trunk off course. After that, she smiled, then transformed it back into its first form, while grabbing onto Jaune.
"I have a bad feeling about THIIIIIIIISSSSSSSS."
Jaune stated but it was too late as Ruby fired the gun attached to Crescent Rose's scythe form, which sent herself and her first Beacon Academy friend off the Mecha Elephant, showcasing its recoil.
Managing to get herself and Jaune off of the machine's back, the two landed on the ground, well, he had much of a harder fall than hers. Now, off of the Mecha Elephant's back, he tried getting over the nausea and regaining his bearings.
"Ruby," Weiss called out, gaining their attention. "I told you to come down with him AFTER I give the signal!"
"I had no choice, the trunk was coming at us."
Ruby reasoned, as Weiss sighed and didn't continue with that complaint.
"…."
Jaune wanted to attempt to speak, but the fact that he was nauseous moments ago would have made him puke right then and there. After that, the Mecha Elephant seemed to stop moving around and instead turned towards the two young women, almost as if they were acting intimidating and surprised about their intrusion. Suddenly, there was a series of small explosions that slammed against the Mecha Elephant's body, causing it to stumble back on the ground resulting in a massive sound that made Blake flinch.
"Oh no oh no OH NO!"
Jaune started screaming as Ruby grabbed onto him and moved using her Semblance again, while Weiss moved back with a light step.
"Yang! When you're bringing down a target are you ever aware of what's around it!?"
Weiss called out, glaring straight at Yang who landed right beside her without skipping a beat.
"It shouldn't be that difficult for a student of Beacon Academy to dodge something like this. So you and Ruby and …," Yang called out, then looked down to see that Jaune was sprawled onto the ground, then started moving to see if he was alright. "Oh, Jaune? It's me Yang Xiao Long, how are you hanging?"
"…Can't you tell by looking?"
Jaune asked, then found himself leaning up, managing to recover from the nausea.
"Of course, you're perfectly fine."
Yang replied, finding herself helping Jaune back up, then noticed that the Mecha Elephant started moving again.
"Weiss, Yang."
Ruby called out, as the two started preparing themselves, but then noticed Jaune moving right in front of them with his arms help out.
"Wait, guys!"
Jaune called out.
"What's wrong Jaune?"
Ruby asked, confused that he would be stopping them as the Mecha Elephant started getting back up on its big feet with a thundering sound.
"There's a little girl in that machine's head."
Jaune called out, pointing at the head.
[Eh?]
Ruby, Weiss, and Yang looked surprised about the fact that there was someone, a little girl inside of the Mecha Elephant's cockpit.
"So there was someone inside."
Blake stated, landing beside them almost without making a sound.
"Um, Blake?"
"Blake, you knew? you knew there was someone inside?"
"Well, there is a noise coming from inside."
That was the conversation between Blake and Jaune, who was surprised that she managed to hear something in the loud sound. He didn't question the entire thing as the members of Team RWBY compared to him were among the best and most skilled fighters that he knew.
"Hm, well, this complicates things. How are we going to get her out of there without breaking this thing?"
Weiss asked, holding her weapon, Myrtenaster.
"The bigger question is why she's in there in the first place?"
Yang asked, feeling bad that she shot at the Mecha Elephant with a little girl inside of it.
"Well, she opened it up from the inside and I guess that it went out of control."
Jaune replied, recalling the time that she opened up the cockpit from the outside.
"…is she controlling it?"
Blake asked, feeling suspicious based on what she was hearing.
"I think that she's an associate of the SIC. She had a laptop and a bunch of papers with their logos on it."
Jaune stated, with the four of them hearing the explanation.
"Hm, a little girl is an associate of the Starhead Industrial Company? I find that hard to believe, but I doubt Jaune is lying about what he saw."
Weiss stated, thinking about what they heard from Jaune and could see that the Mecha Elephant started to move. It was unknown if it was the girl or some issues, but if it was the latter, it meant it could go haywire. But, it complicated things as they couldn't do anything drastic like breaking it with her inside.
"So, um, would someone mind explaining this situation?"
Another familiar voice came as Daniel, joined by Alyssa and Sandra stood there wearing a casual smile.
"Guys, we just got off of punishment. So, why are we involved in something else," Sandra stated, finding it a terrible situation when eight students just got out of punishment in the middle of another fight. "I don't feel like cleaning up the cafeteria again."
"In our defense, this wasn't our fault."
Yang pointed out raising her hand, despite the destruction caused by knocking down the Mecha Elephant.
"There's a little girl in that Mech, she might be controlling it."
Ruby pointed out, pointing at the Mecha Elephant.
"Where's Hunter?"
"Oh, we didn't know what was happening, so, he's posted somewhere out of sight in case," Daniel explained and turned to the Mecha Elephant. "So, there's a little girl in there. Sandra, mind asking her what's going on."
"Alright. Weiss, you mind?"
"Here."
Knowing what Sandra wanted, Weiss pointed Myrtenaster forward, then started making several glyphs that could act as a foothold. After landing on top of the Mecha Elephant, the little girl was sitting inside the cockpit ignoring Sandra, who landed on top of the machine. Inside the cockpit, there were the typical controls and a seat too big for her but adjusted to reach the controls with a window that granted a unique view of the outside world.
Her laptop was in front of her, connected to the Mecha Elephant's terminal, with a series of codes running through it. It seemed incomplete in front of her and could require a checkup. The Mecha Elephant was placed here as a showing and wasn't intended to be turned on for the exhibition but instead as an example for one of their future projects.
"Hm, well since whoever that was isn't in danger and those girls aren't attacking the machine I'll fix it and…."
In that instance, she noticed someone grabbed the back of her overalls, then lifted her off the seat, and passed through the cockpit and outside.
"…."
She blinked multiple times as she found herself outside of the cockpit while holding onto her laptop.
"So, mind explaining yourself?"
Sandra asked, staring straight at her with a more serious look.
"Uh."
It didn't seem as if the girl still realized what was happening in that instance.
"You're scaring her Sandra."
Alyssa playfully called out.
"I'm scaring her," Sandra said, then raised her hand around seeing the amount of damage caused inside of the now desolate location. "She scared everyone else off."
"I'm…I'm sorry, I just wanted to help Papa…"
In that instance, the girl immediately apologized and began tearing up.
"Ah, Sandra now you made her cry."
Daniel added, finding himself placing his hands beside his mouth.
"S-Shut up! I'm coming down with her!"
Sandra replied, with Weiss creating another set of glyphs for her to come down with the young girl in hand, then placed her on the ground with the girl seeming to hug onto her laptop.
"Alright, so what happened?"
Daniel asked, not wanting to be mean to the young girl.
"Papa is an engineer at SIC but couldn't come here today. I thought I could come and make the adjustments in his stead but instead, the thing went berserk. I tried to stop it but…."
She replied to Daniel's question as the group circled her, there were Ruby, Yang, and Jaune, who felt a kind of sympathy for her, more so since the blonde previously knocked down the Mecha Elephant with her in it. Weiss and Blake were skeptical based on what the two heard from Jaune, the same could be said about Sandra. Daniel and Alyssa had no idea what to think about the situation but were aware that the girl was acting.
"Hm, since the animal drones around here act based on a simple enough Artificial Intelligence to function and answer questions. If that's the case, I'm guessing that the Mecha Elephant is acting on different programming but isn't complete. So, it'll act unpredictably, which was why it was shut down and instead used as more of a showing for their new project."
"…," For a moment, she looked surprised that Daniel managed to guess that much and could see that he had an understanding of computers and mechanics. But, she maintained the act of an innocent and teary-eyed girl. "Y-Yes, papa said that it couldn't function properly and might go berserk if activated. So, I wanted to fix it."
"A little reckless, but I can admire the consideration for your father. But, Jaune you might want to grab onto her."
"H-Huh, but I didn't mean for that to…."
"Oh, I didn't mean that. I mean, that it's AI about to go berserk."
As the girl was preparing to attempt to escape from what she thought was a punishment, the Mecha Elephant in that instance seemed to turn back on without a pilot to control it. It seemed to glance more at Yang right in the instance of gaining control of itself.
"Uh, is it looking at me?"
Yang asked, pointing to herself, as Mecha Elephant seemed prepared to move.
"Huh, I guess it is like an Elephant with a good memory."
"I mean, you did knock it down."
Daniel and Ruby chimed in, as Yang glanced at the two of them, who looked on innocently.
Just before it could move further to attack them, three arrows hit the Mecha Elephant at three precise points where it was most vulnerable. At each of those points, the arrows exploded causing them notable damage to the Mecha Elephant.
"Thanks, Hunter! Everyone…."
"…move out!"
At that command from Daniel and Ruby, Jaune grabbed onto the little girl to move her out of the way of the fight, with the others grabbing onto their weapons to begin the assault. The little girl in Jaune's arms looked back as the team consisting of Team RWBY and DUSK (not counting Hunter) started getting into action.
"Guys, it looks as if this thing was designed for construction instead of combat," Daniel called out, as Retribution was in his hand. "But, this thing is still an important item for this company. Also, I don't think that anyone here is in the mood to potentially pay for destroying this thing. So…."
"Let's break to where it stops moving, right?"
Yang called out as the Mecha Elephant still seemed more focused on her, in particular, the AI which recalled her as the one who knocked it down. In response to this, she was running around the most, using all the empty stands as cover before launching two more explosive shots at its head, causing it to respond by stepping back. It was then followed by Alyssa leaping up and striking it at the side causing it to stumble.
Based on movement alone, it looked as if it was keeping itself from falling through the mechanisms in its legs, but it seemed as if it was an incomplete and untested model. Noticing that Jaune continued looking at things from the sidelines, then called out.
"Ruby, Sandra, go for the legs!"
Jaune called out, something that surprised the young girl as she hadn't expected much from him.
""Got it!""
Neither Ruby nor Sandra doubted those words from Jaune, who the two were aware might not be the best fighter but had some talent for noticing things in combat. After leaping forward, they aimed at their scythe and spear at different parts of the Mecha Elephant's legs. In response to that, it started falling to the ground without a moment's notice. It seemed as if the AI determined that it would switch to using another leg to support itself, but it couldn't as a shot from Daniel's Retribution made the other leg more or less unable for that purpose.
"Daniel!"
Weiss called out, as she raised Myrtenaster in the air as if signaling him.
"Alright, babe."
Daniel replied, waving his hand and smiling.
"…d-don't call me that here!"
Weiss responded with a reddened face.
But, it didn't take Daniel long to respond to his girlfriend's call, arriving beside her as she pointed her rapier right at the Mecha Elephant, who was still attempting to move. Myrtenaster's revolver started to turn and shift over to Weiss's favorite Dust, Ice, and then summoned a large glyph underneath it. And from Daniel, who summoned a series of runes around them, changing the glyphs' size and pattern. Before the Mecha Elephant's AI was able to come up with a response, it was instantly frozen and unable to move again.
The Schnee's Glyphs and Norden's Runes are similar, but different from one another in terms of uses, with both being able to do things the other wasn't capable of. At the same time, there were almost no other Semblances that were compatible with one another; resonance and amplification.
After things were said and done, the Mecha Elephant was still frozen, in particular, at the more movable joints, as its AI seemed to have ceased attempts at moving. At that moment, the cockpit had another occupant in the form of Daniel who was using his Scroll and proceeded to see what the issue was.
"Well, let's see what I can do with these controls."
Daniel said to himself, but he wasn't alone there.
"Oh, I can't believe that I'm near a Mech."
Ruby stated, sitting beside Daniel, but not in the cockpit and instead on top of it beside it.
"Believe it, Red Hood. But, this wasn't built for combat, instead for some handling things like construction," Daniel replied as he worked on the computer and talked to Ruby. "Still kinda wild that we can't go out anywhere without something bad happening."
"Yeah, but it was still fun. So, what were you guys doing here?"
"Same as you, but we found some exhibits about some new vehicles they made."
Daniel replied, his voice in the now quiet environment was loud enough for Yang to hear.
"Ah, so they did have some new vehicles here."
Yang said, sounding disappointed about not being able to see it.
"They were probably animal-themed too."
Weiss stated, finding herself surveying the situation and watching the perpetrator of the incident alongside Blake who was doing so from a far distance.
"Hm, kinda surprised you're not up there watching your boyfriend work like Ruby."
Yang said, leaning closer to Weiss.
"I'm not like Ruby who would bother Daniel when he's working."
Weiss replied, crossing her arms and seeming serious about that.
"Sure thing, babe."
Yang said giggling happily, causing Weiss' face to turn a bright shade of red as those words echoed in her mind, but instead in Daniel's very own voice. She wanted to bury her face into her hands to hide the embarrassment that was difficult to maintain without breaking the calm mask. Weiss prepared herself for the interactions with Daniel but found himself managing to make her flustered and her heart flutter.
During that, Blake found herself keeping her eyes on the young girl with suspicion.
"She was acting innocent and crying about not being able to help her father, but I don't believe it. She was acting too suspicious from her interactions with Jaune and tried acting innocent in front of him and the others. I don't know what's with her, but this is bothering me," Blake thought as she didn't lose her usual look, but the girl could feel eyes on her. "Besides, why is there a little girl acting as the associate of the SIC? She's intelligent enough to operate that machine, but would they hire someone her age?"
As someone who was a member of the White Fang, Blake was skilled and experienced in things related to both espionage and noticing certain details about things. And since the organization started working with someone like Roman and operating in Vale, she started feeling herself becoming more suspicious about what was happening around them. Blake didn't want anyone involved in the White Fang, but it seemed as if their group kept getting involved, even without attempting to.
"Geez, who were those people," making a sour face, but curious look on her face, the young girl who sat beside Jaune now without tears in her eyes looked on. "Although it wasn't made for battle, those eight still took down a seriously heavy-duty machine."
"They're Beacon Academy students."
"Oh, so Prospective Huntsman, no wonder."
"I'm also a student at Beacon, by the way."
"…," At that comment, the girl looked straight at Jaune with a suspicious look as Jaune puffed himself up to look more heroic. "I guess that I could believe that, you're strategy for targeting the machine's leg wasn't wrong. But, it doesn't as if you're ready to fight."
"It's not a joke. I've beaten Grimm before, me and my team killed a Death Stalker during our initiation."
"Oh yes, how you were screaming at the top of your lungs and yelling for help proved that you fought against one of the biggest threats. …Oh, I'm not blaming you though, you helped out by not being in those four's way."
"You might not know this, but I'm friends with someone who uses sarcasm regularly."
During that, the younger girl seemed to move her attention to the now wrecked exhibition which was initially held by the Starhead Industrial Company. Despite being someone who portrayed herself as wanting to assist her father, an engineer working there, she seemed to have a satisfied look.
"What you said to everyone about your father and…."
"I was lying."
Jaune replied with the utmost surprise after hearing those words from the young girl.
"Then, Then you…you're…a terrorist?!"
"Terrorist? No, I'm not a terrorist. How rude."
At Jaune's surprised look, as she looked on seeming visibly insulted about that.
"Even though you took over a giant machine and made it rampage around this exhibition?"
"…I have something I just can't leave be okay."
For the first time, she looked awkwardly as she glanced at the broken pieces on the ground.
"IONA ROCKSHOW!"
A booming voice caught their attention as she and Jaune, as well as the members of Team RWBY and DUSK all turned towards the source; hearing a man screaming caused Weiss to visibly flinch. It originated from a far older man with a profound muscular build and a sharp face that looked to have been beaten into shape with a hammer. Based on the uniform, which bared the SIC logo and the man's build, he seemed to be the head of security.
"You know why I've come right? You ought to know," Right in that instance, the man approached the young girl, now named Iona Rockshow, not caring about her young age, and continued shouting at her. "What is the meaning of this? Explain! I need to understand!"
"I'm…I'm sorry. I tried to bring it under control but I lost power to…."
Iona returned to being teary-eyed, shooting Jaune a discrete look underneath her face-covered hands that read: 'Don't say anything unnecessary'.
"You are responsible for the maintenance of the machines!"
"Uwuuu, I still don't…*sniff*."
"It's your job to figure things out and explain it to us!"
It seemed as if Iona got annoyed at the man's tone, despite being in charge of security there wasn't the slightest hint of calmness or rationality.
"If you have a complaint with me then go ahead and contact the CEO and tell him."
At Iona's comment directed at him, the man didn't hesitate to grab onto her hair and pulled it back, causing her to wince in pain; seeing that Jaune, as well as the members of Teams RWBY and DUSK, turned their attention towards the scene, most with livid expressions. Despite finding Iona suspicious, Blake didn't like to see a child being handled like that.
"I'm not as kind as the CEO, I'll make sure you understand that if you ever forget!"
The man shouted, not noticing the approach of eight people heading straight in his direction, without the slightest hint of letting him off with a couple of bruises.
"OI, Stop! Leave it to the police!"
Jaune stated, standing up to the man in front of him, causing the man to glance at Iona who glanced in another direction as if asking to explain.
"…He's just a normal visitor to the exhibition, I don't know him."
Iona replied, showing no visible reaction, and made some wonder if this was a regular occurrence.
"The police? We didn't call the police. Make sure you don't say anything about what happened here today forget everything altogether. Understand? If you say anything I don't know what might happen. Got it?"
He used his much bigger and bulkier build as a means of intimidating Jaune, causing him to be reminded of what happened between him and Cardin. But, this time around, the blonde young man wasn't going to be intimidated by another bully, more so someone who was abusing a child.
"If you didn't call the police, what are you going to do with her?"
Jaune asked.
"That's none of your business, now…."
Fall!
In that instance, an ornament that was hanging above the man fell hitting him on top of his head and also breaking. It was enough to force him to release Iona's hair, letting her stand on her own, with Jaune looking up to find an arrow piercing the wall.
"Way to go, Hunter."
Jaune uttered, knowing well about Pyrrha's best friend and training partner.
"Dammit, get back here!"
He made another attempt at grabbing onto Iona but was stopped as Jaune raised his weapon, activating its pure white shield and stopping the man's advance. After that, Jaune called onto Iona's hand and then started running off in another direction outside of the exhibition hall.
"Damn brat!"
The man found himself cursing as Jaune ran off with Iona, giving off an intimidating air, not realizing that the first two of the eight people behind him were staring at him with a violent 'aura'. He turned around to find Daniel and Yang, whose eyes turned and shined with a fierce red shine.
"Eh, who the hell are you brats? Look, I'm sure you'll be properly compensated for the trouble that brat caused us all. So, move somewhere else and let…."
Before the man could finish the sentence, his collar was grabbed by Daniel and Yang, causing him to be brought down to their height. Both of them stared into the previously rude and harsh man's eyes, resulting in the man all but experiencing a hint of fear as they stared him down.
""What the hell did you think you were doing to that little girl asshole?""
Daniel and Yang asked, oddly in sync as their aggression became more apparent and directed at the man, who in that instance was experiencing fear for the first time.
Most of the time, the most rational people in their friend group, i.e. Weiss and Blake would attempt to stop them, but this time was an exception. Neither of them liked the fact that the man in front of them was abusing a little girl in front of them and making threats to them at the same time. But, there was a nagging question about what Iona Rockshow as the man called her planned on doing there in the first place. Based on what he just said, Iona was someone who worked on checking on and fixing machines. It was odd no one else there could be the ones responsible for that.
As the people arrived on the scene to see what was happening, the planned exhibition that was meant to introduce their technology to Vale was in shambles. There seemed to be eight teenagers around who looked to know what happened, standing beside one of their unused machines was covered in ice. And last but not least, the man responsible for security, a well-known hard-ass, and a bully was standing around looking as if the fear of god had just been put into him. All that either of the employees knew was that it would end up with a major issue for the company, which was the reason that an idea entered some of their minds.
A/N: Well, this is the end of the next chapter of RWBY – Team DUSK, another chapter after the end of Vol. 1, but not the start of Vol. 2. Instead, this is going to be diving into their mid-term break based on RWBY: The Session. For those not aware of it, it is a Light Novel that details Team RWBY and JNPR going to a tropical island on their break. It isn't the work of Rooster Teeth, but I do like the concept and idea, plus it does coincide with what happens in the future. Plus, this would be a good experience for them, seeing as a lot of them might not have gone on trips to places outside their particular kingdoms.
Also, no one has translated it officially or not, up until small parts of the second chapter from the beginning so in this story, some things will (might) be expanded on and different.
In this chapter, the members of Team DUSK, RWBY, Jaune, and Ren found themselves going toward an exhibition held by the Starhead Industrial Company which has built Animal Drones functioning on an AI. Iona Rockshow seems to cause a Mecha Elephant to rampage causing the group to stop it and meet the young girl responsible. But, before that she builds up some 'relationship' with Jaune as soon as they bump into each other, and ends with him taking her from the abusive security guard, who Daniel and Yang put into his place.
We got another appearance from Penny, who hadn't contacted Daniel despite having his number. I do think that this would be her actual reaction to having a boy's number, and not knowing how to respond or start up a conversation while being much too nervous about it; in particular, Daniel, who she was already a bit nervous about meeting. I'm planning on more interactions between Penny and Daniel,