Review Responses
FMoura: Possibly. I think the most likely adaptation would be "Kill Bill". I might post it on a future voting poll.
NotFortunateOne: Unfortunately, most of the cast in this adaptation won't survive to the end. As for a war flick, I'm thinking about starting a poll for a full-length feature of such an adaptation. Full Metal Jacket and Apocalypse now are good choices.
Guest, September 11th- I'll fix those typos in future updates. Thanks for pointing them out.
Back to the Future" in the one-shot fic, but I'll keep your casting ideas in mind.
BreadManFred: Thank you so much. But did you vote on the poll or is it inaccessible to you?
Bladewolf101: I love all of these! Unfortunately, I doubt I'd have the time to make full-length adaptations out of them. One-shots, on the other hand, are certainly possible. But what do you mean? You only want team RWBY watching them?
GojiraRWBYSW18: I'm sure Pietro would give them to her to help her feel more human.
MarioCatjr: They'll need more than God to protect them from the Xenomorphs.
blaiseingfire: Yes. Unfortunately, most of the cast won't survive in this adaptation.
Pharamine: Ugh. I hate it when FFN malfunctions. You should watch the movie again. As Bill Paxton (RIP) once said, "it's the gift that keeps on giving". And thank you once again for pointing out the mistakes for me.
Blackcross0: Absolutely. Though, given what she went through, who could blame her? As for a Willow x Qrow or STRQ movie, I'll keep those in mind if the opportunity arises.
HunterPrimeAW5M3: I don't think I'll be adding that deleted scene. I'll mostly be focusing on Ripley and Hicks (Summer and Taiyangs) budding relationship as far as the director's cut goes. But, if I ever do "Back to the Future" I'll almost certainly cast Oobleck as Emmett Brown.
Firestar001: Lol. I knew about those fun facts. And I'm positive and completely honest that I've never seen any of your notes. But, if I require any help, I would like to see any notes you have.
DragonKnight SR: Those are definitely good options for the one-shot fic. I'm almost positive that I'll write an "Alien Isolation" adaptation eventually.
Jones man: Those are all good ideas for who should play Deku, but personally, I think Oscar is the best one. I'll keep this in mind if I ever write a one-shot for MHA.
LoamyCoffee: Yeah. For me, "Alien 3" was when the franchise began to fall from grace. And you're right. This viewing will be one to remember for the audience.
Roy4: Oh yeah. That climatic fight will have everyone cheering for Summer, especially Ruby and Yang. As for the Terminator 2 idea, it's a very interesting concept. No promises, but I'll think about it.
StrongGuy159: Thanks. I'll likely adapt "Terminator" in the one-shot verse. Not too sure about a full length one, but we'll see.
StoutShako42Refined: Indeed. I looked up best animated films of all time, and those six poll options frequently came up. As for your question, I only adapt full-length feature films in this fic. The one-shot fic, on the other hand, I adapt just about any sort of visual entertainment.
Inspiration: Aliens
Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit story for entertainment purposes only. "RWBY" is the property of director and animator Monty Oum (RIP) and production company Rooster Teeth, and "Aliens" is the property of director James Cameron, production company Brandywine Pictures, and distributed by 20th Century Fox.
Inside the dropship's cockpit, Elm and Ciel carefully flew the craft downwards toward the surface of the moon.
"Switch to DCS ranging," Elm instructed.
"2-4-0. Nominal to profile," Ciel reported.
"We're in the pipe. Five by five," Elm grinned.
"It looks like they'll have an easier time landing on the moon than the Nostromo, since the dropship is much smaller," Penny pointed out.
"That's true. It would suck if they wound up getting stuck down there," Elm agreed with a nod.
The gunship descended further as it entered LV-426's atmosphere, thick, light grey storm clouds whipping past as it flew on. Its engines emitting a mechanical scream.
"We're picking up some hull ionization," Ciel reported as the dropship began to tremble.
"Got it. Rough air ahead. We're in for some chop," Elm informed the passengers as the dropship began to shake from turbulence.
Everyone closed their eyes and stiffened from the rough flying.
"I'd definitely be puking my guts out at this point," Jaune admitted with a hand on his stomach.
"Not me. That looks like fun," Nora grinned.
"No offense, Jaune, but can only hope you'd be seated as far from me as possible," Yang said flatly.
Jaune sighed and nodded in agreement with Yang's point, while Ruby and Weiss snickered, remembering how Yang got Jaune's vomit on her boot on their first day at Beacon.
The shaking lessened a bit. Summer glanced at Ironwood; the lieutenants' eyes still closed in discomfort. He obviously wasn't used to dropship launches.
"How many drops is this for you, Lieutenant?" she asked.
Ironwood opened his eyes. "Thirty-eight," he answered, then paused. "Simulated."
"How many combat drops?" Harriet asked pointedly.
"Uh…two...including this one," Ironwood revealed sheepishly.
Ironwood's words didn't inspire any confidence in the marines.
"Shit!" Vine hissed.
"Oh, man," Marrow muttered in disbelief.
Summer shot Jacques a look, who simply stared back innocently.
Ironwood balked at the revelation. "Why would they let such green officer lead a rescue mission like this?"
Clover nodded. "It could be because the authorities think it's nothing serious, but even so, they should have an experienced officer in charge just to be safe," he followed up.
"Hmmm," Maria hummed, her mechanical eyes narrowing. "That's a little fishy."
Weiss and Winter thought accusingly about Jacques, wondering if he had a hand in an inexperienced officer being selected for the mission.
In his seat, Taiyang had fallen asleep.
The dropship finished passing through the gloomy storm clouds of LV-426 and the turbulence finally stopped.
"Range 0-1-4. Turning on final," Elm announced.
"I'm telling you, I got a bad feeling about this drop," Flynt said from his seat
"You always say that, Coal," Kobalt said dismissively. "You always say: 'I got a bad feeling about this drop'."
"OK, OK. When we get back without you, I'll call your folks," Flynt chuckled in response.
"He's not the only one with a bad feeling about the drop," Jaune stated, hoping there wouldn't be any marine casualties.
"No doubt, Summer is as edgy about it as we are," Blake stated.
"That's because she's the only there to have even seen one of those damned things," Qrow reminded, not looking forward to seeing aliens again.
Ruby giggled into her hand. "It looks like dad's fallen asleep," she pointed at the screen.
"Good call," Clover said positively. "You should always get as much rest as you can before a mission."
"That reminds me. I need to get more sleep myself," Ironwood mumbled, having suffered from sleep deprivation himself since the fall of Beacon.
Ironwood scanned the wall of camera monitors and vital signs. Clover looked over his shoulder to get a look.
"All right. Let's see what we can see," Ironwood said as he made some adjustments. "Everybody on-line. Looking good."
Everyone's helmet monitor was clear except for Vine's, the screen showing static.
"Zeki, check your camera. There seems to be a malfunction," Ironwood informed.
Vine whacked his head on the side of his seat, clearing up the static.
"That's better," Ironwood said. "Pan it around a bit. Good."
"That's how you usually tried to fix something whenever it didn't work," Ruby looked at her sister.
Yang shrugged. "Hey, it's worked out half the time," she reasoned.
Blake snorted softly. "Oh, you mean when you back at Beacon when you smacked that malfunctioning computer in the library? Because you busted it, if I remember correctly," she smirked.
Yang twiddled her thumbs while Ruby and Weiss giggled as they remembered that particular incident and how angry the librarian was afterward.
"All right, gear up. Two minutes, people. Get hot. And somebody wake up Xiao Long," Clover ordered.
The marines all rose from their seats, grabbed their weapons, and converged on the APC hatch.
The dropships missile pods unfolded, revealing its devastating payload of missiles and bombs.
"Look at all that firepower!" Ruby gushed at the dropship's ordnance.
"They could level a town with that amount of explosives," Qrow stated, impressed.
"You know, if they spot any aliens outside the colony, they could just blow them all to bits!" Nora grinned excitedly, her fists shaking.
"Coming around for a seven-zero-niner," Elm announced.
"Terminal guidance locked in," Ciel responded.
"Where's the damn beacon?" Elm muttered. "Oh, I see it."
Through the viewport, Elm and Ciel saw a huge structure slowly materialize in the gloom up ahead. It was the massive atmospheric processor. It looked like a giant steel pyramid. The mouth of it glowing white hot.
"I would imagine so. If such a building can make the air breathable, as Watts said, it would have to be a huge structure,"
Summer observed the structure on a monitor. "That's the atmosphere processor?" she asked Jacques.
"Yep, that's it. Remarkable piece of machinery. Completely automated. We manufacture those, by the way," Jacques boasted, earning a smirk of contempt from Summer.
"I guess that's the only reason he's tagging along," Weiss said harshly. "To protect the companies precious building."
Winter crossed her arms. "I've got a feeling that's not the main reason, Weiss," she said dubiously, remembering Jacques' job title of "special projects director".
"Well, as long as he doesn't gum things up," Harriet said, although she was skeptical of Jacques herself.
Elm flew the gunship past the atmospheric processor, heading towards the colony not far away.
"OK, Ederne. Take us in low over the main colony complex," Ironwood commanded as he observed the colony down below. "Storm shutters are sealed. There's no visible activity. All right. Hold at forty."
"Roger," Elm complied over the radio.
"Give me a slow circle of the complex," Ironwood continued.
Elm flew low and slow as she guided the dropship around the complex.
"Structure seems intact. They still have power," Summer noted to Ironwood.
Ironwood nodded as he scanned the monitor for an appropriate landing zone.
"That's a good thing," Oscar ate a handful of popcorn.
Blake closely scanned the screen. "I don't see anything moving down there. Human, faunus, or otherwise," she reported.
Marrow shook his head. "Me neither. If there's anyone or anything down there, they must be inside," he added.
"OK, Ederne. Set down on the landing grid," Ironwood commanded. "Immediate dust-off on my clear, then stay on station."
Elm obeyed and lowered the boarding ramp and drop skids lowered down
"Down and clear," Elm announced as the APC hit the tarmac.
Penny quickly drove the vehicle towards the squads destination while the dropship flew off behind it.
"Ten seconds, people. Look sharp!" Clover commanded loudly. "I want a nice, clean dispersal this time."
"This time? I wonder what happened last time," Jaune chuckled.
"Given how rag-tag the squad is, someone must have screwed up," Clover assumed, judging from the marine's demeanor so far.
"I wonder who that could have been," Harriet said, casting a glance at Marrow.
"Why are you looking at me for? Your counterpart was a gang banger," Marrow refuted defensively.
The APC stopped not far from the colony's operations building and the door slid open to disgorge the marines into a heavy rainstorm, their boots hitting the muddy ground.
"Let's go! Move it out!" Clover shouted. "Head 'em out!"
The marines quickly circled around an obstacle and took up firing positions while Clover took out a pair of electronic binoculars. He slowly scanned the exterior of the northern yard. There wasn't a soul in sight.
Back inside the APC, Summer, Penny, Ironwood, and Jacques all watched the marines progress via their helmet-cameras.
"First squad up, on-line. Xiao Long, get yours in a cordon. Watch the rear," Ironwood instructed.
"Bree, take point. Let's move!" Clover ordered, his voice echoing slightly.
Bree led the way as the marines continued towards a closed gate, passing a couple of abandoned construction vehicles.
The squad approached the gate labelled "North Lock".
"Move up," Clover ordered and the squad took up positions around the gate while he checked the door controls. "Amin, run a bypass."
Amin took out a small hacking device and got to work on the door controls.
"It looks like you're the tech expert, Marrow," Elm identified the role of Marrow's counterpart.
"Yeah," Marrow nodded. "Although I would have expected Vine to have that role," he stated.
"Well, that's the multiverse for you," Maria said with a shrug. "Our counterparts onscreen won't always match ourselves in this reality."
"Second squad, move up. Flanking positions," Ironwood ordered from the APC.
"Second squad, online," Clover parroted Ironwood over the radio.
Second squad obeyed and headed towards the gate to meet up with first squad. Vine led the way with his smart gun at the ready.
At the gate, Marrow's efforts were quickly rewarded, and the heavy doors slid open just as second squad converged on first squad. The interior of the gateway was dark.
With Harriet and Vine covering him, Clover took a quick look inside, then motioned for the marines to advance. Harriet took point once more as she entered first.
There was a second door that was half-way open. Clover and Marrow flanked both sides of the door to open it.
"You set?" Clover asked Harriet, who nodded with her smart gun at the ready.
The audience steeled themselves for Brothers only knew what was on the other side of the door. A whole swarm of aliens could be waiting to pounce for all they knew.
"Here we go," Harriet whispered.
"Best of luck to em'" Qrow added softly.
"Go on," Clover said as he and Marrow pried the doors open with a heavy scraping sound.
The door opened into a long corridor. The marines slowly moved down the corridor with Harriet taking point. All around, there were signs of battle: bullet holes dotted the walls, damaged conduits, and wrecked equipment. Rainwater leaked down from a few holes in the ceiling created by collapsed support beams or busted pipes. But strangely, the hallway was deserted.
"Geez. Looks like an earthquake hit the place," Jaune commented.
"Or worse: An infestation of those things," Nora munched on a slice of cut pancake.
"But where are they?" Blake whispered as her eyes scanned the onscreen corridor.
Back inside the APC, Ironwood continued issuing orders. "Second team, move inside. Xiao Long, take the upper level."
Taiyang complied and led his squad inside.
"Be careful, dad," Ruby cautioned her father's counterpart.
Back to first squad. Clover and his squad consisting of Marrow, Harriet, Kobalt, and Ivori proceeded slowly down the corridor. It was eerily quiet, save their footsteps on the metal floorplates. The music was low but tense, as if danger could show up at any moment.
Everyone was on edge as the scene dragged on, half-expecting the aliens to show up and a battle to break out.
Back inside the APC, Ironwood, Summer, and Jacques all observed the marines' progress via their helmet cameras.
"Sir, you copying this? Looks like hits from small-arms fire," Clover reported in a low voice. "We got some explosive damages, probably seismic survey charges. Are you reading this?"
"Hmmm, so the colonists were able to fight back against the aliens," Ironwood observed.
"Indeed. But from the looks of it, they couldn't mount an effective defense," Ozpin followed up.
"Keep it tight, people," Clover quietly ordered.
Meanwhile, Taiyang and his squad consisting of Vine, Flynt, and Neon crept up a set of stairs to the second level.
Summer watched Taiyangs monitor carefully as he made his way upstairs.
Taiyang reached the second floor. It was the same as down below. Silent but signs of a past battle were everywhere.
"All right. Xiao Long, Amin, use your motion trackers," Ironwood instructed.
The two marines took out their M314 motion trackers: small, hand-held devices with built in sensors and view screens. The trackers rapidly emitted ultrasonic pulses to pinpoint movement with precision and determine its location onscreen.
"Those motion trackers look far more reliable than the ones I built," Oscar commented.
"If only they had those on the Nostromo. Perhaps things could have turned out differently," Ozpin said with sorrow.
Long seconds dragged by as the marines swept through the corridors, searching for any movement. But oddly, nothing came up.
"Nothing. Not a Goddamn thing," Taiyang reported softly.
Everyone was mystified by the colony being seemingly deserted. It wasn't what they expected at all.
"The whole colony is like a ghost town," Blake commented, a bit unnerved.
"I thought the whole place would be crawling with aliens," Elm added, puzzled. "And that there would be blood and bodies everywhere."
"Quarter and search by twos," Ironwood ordered.
At an intersection in the hallway, Clover's squad split up. Ivori took to the left. Clover beckoned Kobalt over with a finger snap and head right. Harriet and Marrow went up the middle.
The audience looked apprehensive as the marines split up, remembering what happened on the Nostromo whenever the crew split up.
"Wouldn't it be safer if they all stayed together?" Ruby cautioned,
"Well, they'll cover more ground faster by splitting up," Winter reasoned.
"True," Weiss conceded her sister's point. "But we have no idea how many aliens they're up against. Assuming they're still around."
"OK, Katt, Coal, you're up," Taiyang ordered, splitting his own squad.
Flynt and Neon headed down the hallway while Taiyang and Vine entered an office complex.
Inside the office, Vine led the way while Taiyang kept an eye on his motion tracker. Water dripped down from a hole in the damaged ceiling onto a donut and a glass of coffee.
"Looks like someone was attacked while having breakfast," Maria commented as she drank a cup of green tea.
"Jeez. Waste of a good donut," Nora said, liking them almost as much as pancakes.
"And coffee," Ozpin added, missing his favorite beverage.
Summer watched Taiyangs camera monitor and noticed something on the floor grating.
"Wait...tell him to..." Summer picked up a headset. "Xiao Long, back up. Pan right."
Taiyang backtracked a few steps and tilted his camera downwards, finding corroded burn marks in the floor grating.
"There."
Everybody could immediately tell what the burn marks indicated, and it proved beyond the shadow of a doubt that the aliens were responsible for the colonies fall.
"The acid blood," Yang noted softly.
Ironwood nodded. "The aliens were there all right," he muttered as he sipped a glass of water.
"A downed transmitter. Yeah right," Qrow chuckled mirthlessly.
"But where are the aliens now?" Maria asked what everyone else was pondering.
"You seeing this all right?" Taiyang asked as Vine showed the damaged floor plating on his camera. "Looks melted. Somebody must have bagged one of Summer's bad guys here."
"Acid for blood," Jacques recalled softly from Summer's report.
"If you like that, you're gonna love this," Marrow grinned on camera as it panned up, showing a gaping hole in the ceiling.
"At least they managed to kill a few of them," Nora noted positively.
"Yes. But it seems there were simply too many of them," Ren countered.
In the corridor, Clover, Marrow, and Harriet examined the corroded hole. Directly beneath it was another hole at their feet.
Marrow hawked up a loogie and let it fall through the hole. The acid had melted through two levels below into the maintenance level, revealing pipes and conduits that had been burned eaten away by the substance.
Harriet grinned and nudged Marrow, who jumped slightly in surprise.
"Quit screwing around," Marrow grumbled.
Harriet scoffed. "Look who's talking," she smirked at her teammate.
"Hey. I'm not the one who fell in with the wrong crowd before enlisting," Marrow retorted, earning a scowl from Harriet.
"All right, both of you knock it off!" Clover loudly reprimanded the two, quieting them.
"Second squad, what's your status?" Clover asked through his headset.
"We just finished our sweep. Nobody's home," Taiyang reported.
"Roger," Clover said before speaking to Ironwood. "Sir, this place is dead. Whatever happened here, I think we missed it."
"All right. The area's secured," Ironwood declared. "Let's go in and see what their computer can tell us."
Summer removed her headset. "Wait a minute. It's not secured yet," she protested.
"The area's secured, Summer," Ironwood repeated condescendingly.
Summer could only look away in disbelief.
"Secured? They've only been searching for about ten minutes," Ren noted in disapproval.
"And that complex is huge. There must be plenty of other areas to sweep first," Ironwood blanched at his counterpart's words.
"They haven't even searched the atmospheric processor yet," Winter added.
"What's the point of having Summer serve as an advisor if he won't listen to her?" Elm questioned the judgement of other-Ironwood.
"First team, head for Operations. Amin, get their CPU on-line," Ironwood ordered over the radio.
"Affirmative," Marrow replied.
"Xiao Long, meet me at the south lock. We're coming in," Ironwood informed.
Marrow muffled his microphone. "He's coming in. I feel safer already," he snarked to Harriet.
"Stupid jerkoff," Harriet muttered.
Harriet and Marrow both looked apologetically at Ironwood, but he just waved it off placatingly. Besides, he couldn't blame their counterparts for disliking his counterpart for his acerbic demeanor and inexperience.
"Relax. It's only your alternate selves," Ironwood assured the two Ace-ops.
"Even so, we should give your counterpart a chance, sir," Harriet retorted. "It seems like this is our first time serving under him."
Penny drove the APC down one of the colony's empty, narrow streets until it reached the South lock opposite from where the marines made their entry. Taiyang and Flynt were waiting for them.
The APC door slid open, and Ironwood, Summer, Jacque, and Penny all exited the vehicle.
"Sir, we got the CPU problem," Marrow reported over Ironwood's headset.
"Good. Stand by in Operations," Ironwood responded before turning to the others. "OK, let's go."
The group quickly moved up the ramp to get out of the rain and entered the complex. All except Summer, who hesitated just at the foot of the ramp.
Taiyang noticed and approached Summer. "Are you all right?" he asked with genuine concern. [1]
Summer paused. "Yes," she nodded.
Finally, Summer entered the complex and the heavy metal doors closed behind them.
Ruby and Yang smiled at the screen, hoping Summer and Taiyang would start a relationship as they had in their own reality.
"She looked as though she wanted to just wait it out in the APC," Clover noted.
"Or even go straight back to the Sulaco," Qrow added, hardly blaming Summer's counterpart.
Inside, Ironwood led the way through several makeshift barricades consisting of wall panels, pipes, and other heavy objects.
Vine approached Ironwood. "Sir, they sealed off this wing at both ends. Welded the doors and blocked off the stairs with heavy equipment," he reported.
"Uh-huh," Ironwood nodded.
Behind Ironwood, Summer surveyed the room with wide, wary eyes.
"But it looks like the barricade didn't hold," Vine finished.
"Any bodies?" Ironwood inquired.
Vine shook his head. "No, sir."
"No bodies? That's strange," Ironwood said, expecting the colony to be a bloodbath.
"Where did they all go?" Ruby scratched her head.
"I don't know. But I've got a feeling it can't be good," Ozpin said sullenly, remembering how the aliens reproduced via gestating inside living hosts...
"Last stand," Flynt commented.
"Must have been a hell of a fight," Vine added.
"Yeah, looks that way," Taiyang agreed softly, though he sounded unsure.
"All right, Zeki, this way. You should be able to cut through the med lab to Operations," Ironwood said.
With Vine taking point, second squad, along with Ironwood, Summer, Jacques, and Penny, all slowly moved down the corridor and through an adjoining doorway leading to the med lab. The room was dimly lit, but research equipment and computers were visible.
As the group moved along, Summer turned and spotted something that made her eyes widen and mouth gape slightly. Taiyang followed her gaze, his expression matching Summer's as he noticed what she was staring at.
In a neighboring room were six large, formaldehyde filled containers, each one containing a Facehugger.
"Do you think they'll believe her now?" Elm asked almost jokingly.
"Why the hell would they bring those things back to the colony?" Qrow shook his head in disbelief.
"For study, I assume," Penny said, now realizing how the aliens infested the colony.
"That was stupid idea. They should have gotten the message after the first alien was…well…born," Yang said awkwardly.
Winter tapped her chin. "Speaking of message…shouldn't the colonists have picked up the derelicts distress signal?" she remembered from the first film.
"That's true. Though I suppose after so long, the signal just stopped transmitting," Ironwood presumed.
"Lieutenant. Ironwood!" Taiyang beckoned loudly.
Ironwood and the others backtracked as Taiyang gently pushed Summer aside so he could enter the room first. They all followed her to inspect the parasitic aliens. Four of the Facehuggers had more pale and deathly complexions than the remaining two, indicating they were dead.
"Are those the same ones?" Jacques asked Summer, who nodded in answer.
Fascinated, Jacques moved up close to one of the fresh looking Facehuggers.
"Careful, Jacques," Summer warned.
Jacques glanced back briefly at Summer...then suddenly the Facehugger pressed itself against the glass startling them both. Its "mouth" smudged up against the glass, and its spindly tail thrashing about, tapping the glass.
A few people jumped or gasped, while other's grumbled about the "damn jump scare".
"Ewww! Look at its…I don't even want to say it," Nora gagged at the Facehugger's hideous mouth and…"unit".
"I don't even want to think about it," Ren shivered, remembering his counterpart's gruesome demise.
While neither of the Schnee sisters would wish the horrible chestburster fate onto anyone, they wouldn't lose any sleep if it happened to Jacques' counterpart.
"Looks like love at first sight to me," Taiyang grinned while Jacque looked back nervously at the facehugger. "Oh, he likes you, Jacques."
Penny picked up a nearby clipboard. "Two are alive. The rest are dead," she said as she read a medical report. "Surgically removed before embryo implantation. Subject: Marachuk, John J, died during the procedure. They killed him taking it off."
Ironwood looked over Penny's shoulder to read the document.
"Doesn't that mean…they ripped his face off?" Nora whispered in horror, prompting shudders from a few people.
"I think so…" Elm answered softly as she caressed her own face in discomfort.
"In all honesty, I'd rather go out that way than the alternative," Harriet said bluntly. [2]
"I'm sure everybody would," Vine agreed with his teammate.
"They should play it safe and just get rid of those things in case they get loose," Weiss recommended, eliciting a few nods.
Just then, Coals motion tracker began to emit a soft pinging sound, indicating that something was moving.
"Yo, Xiao Long. I think we got something here," he informed his teammate.
"Behind us," Taiyang said.
"One of us?" Summer asked.
On the tracker screen, a single white dot began to slowly make its way towards the group. The range of the signal was 25 meters and closing fast.
"Ebi, where are your people?" Ironwood asked into his headset. "Anybody in D-Block?"
"Uh...that's a negative. We're all in Operations," Clover responded.
Vine quickly moved in front of Flynt while Taiyang brought up the rear as they began to home in on the signal, weapons at the ready.
The audience leaned forward, some felt excited, others looked concerned for what would happen.
"Here we go," Harriet said in anticipation. "Let's see how they fare against the aliens."
"But we don't know it's an alien. It could be a survivor," Clover cautioned with a finger held up.
"If that's the case, they'd better watch their fire," Ren said, hoping there wouldn't be any civilian casualties.
"Talk to me, Coal," Vine glanced at Flynt.
"Let's keep moving, baby," Vine replied.
The entire group circled around a table. As they did, Ironwood accidentally knocked a thermos off a table, sending it clattering to the floor. Summer gasped in surprise. The trio of marines turned around briefly, annoyed, before pressing on.
A few people gasped and jumped in surprise as well, then exhaled in relief.
Qrow shot a glare at Ironwood's counterpart. "Focus Jimmy," he muttered.
Ironwood cleared his mistake. "My mistake," he mumbled.
The motion trackers beeping was growing louder and higher in pitch. The signal was getting closer.
Taiyang looked at the motion tracker. "It's moving," he whispered.
"Which way?" Vine asked.
"It's coming straight for us. Straight up," Flynt answered, and the group continued onward.
"No offense to you, Blake, but I just hope it's not another cat," Marrow said, having enough of the jump scares the feline caused in the first film.
"None taken," Blake replied with a wave.
"Now that you mention it…I can feel another jumpscare coming," Jaune expected.
Everyone went silent and braced themselves after hearing Jaune's prediction, leaning back in their seats or clenching their armrests.
The marines slipped back into the corridor they had just passed through. The tracker's beeping had reached an almost shrill pitch at this point, the signal only six meters away.
Suddenly, a shadow leaped out not twenty feet in front of the marines. Vine opened fire, but Taiyang instantly slammed his rifle into his smart gun, sending the rounds hammering into the wall.
If the previous two jump scares didn't startle everyone, the third one certainly did. By now, the audience was very annoyed at being subjected to three inside of a minute.
"For the love of the Brothers!" Weiss complained, throwing her hands up.
"Enough already!" Nora shouted in exasperation.
Maria clutched her chest. "That's three in a row," she rasped out. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack, Gold-Sith?!"
"My apologies, everyone. There won't be any more jump scares for some time," Gold-Sith promised.
With that everybody simmered down and let their heart rates return to normal.
"Anyway, I don't think that was an alien," Blake doubted, noticing the shape looked human.
"She's right. It looked like a person," Ren agreed.
"You fuck!" Vine snarled at Taiyang.
"Hold up!" Taiyang ordered before glancing behind him. "Summer."
Summer moved over to Taiyang as he waved her forward. They both crouched down next to the wall. Beneath the conduit, their flashlights illuminated a dirty and terrified girl, no older than 8. She was dressed in overalls that were tattered and stained. Her blonde hair was tangled and matted. In one hand she clutched the head of a doll.
Yang's eyes widened. "It's me! As a little kid!" she easily recognized herself.
Ruby, Weiss, and Blake all smiled to see Yang again in the multiverse, then deflated as they took in her bedraggled appearance.
"Man. You look like you've been through hell and back," Qrow breathed, barely even recognizing the girl onscreen.
"I think that goes without saying," Oscar mumbled, scarcely imaging what Yang's counterpart must have gone through.
Vine looked ashamed of his counterpart for nearly killing a child, even if by accident. Elm took notice and patted Vine on the shoulder in comfort.
Taiyang smiled in relief it was only a girl while Penny shined her flashlight into the conduit.
Summer's motherly instincts immediately kicked in. "Hey... Shh, it's all right. It's all right," she said soothingly.
Taiyang tried to reach in towards Yang, who shirked away.
Penny looked confused. "Why won't she go with them?" she wondered aloud.
"Because she's scared out of her mind. Just look at her," Winter answered, gesturing at the screen.
"They're probably the first people she's seen in days. Maybe even weeks," Elm added, feeling pity for Yangs counterpart.
"For all we know, she could be the only colonist left," Oscar concluded.
"Just grab her, corporal," Ironwood impatiently ordered Taiyang.
"Don't be afraid. Come on. We won't hurt you," Summer promised the girl. "Shh... it's all right. It's OK."
But Yang just kept flinching away from Taiyang's hand, clearly afraid of something. And not necessarily the armed marines.
"Come on out. Come on. Easy, easy," Summer said softly to Yang.
Finally, Yang couldn't shirk away anymore as her back hit a wall.
Just then, Taiyangs hand reached Yang's wrist. "I got her!"
Then Yang unexpectantly bit Taiyang's hand as if she were a cornered animal.
"Ow! Damn it!" Taiyang hissed, withdrawing his hand.
"Whoa!" Ruby, Nora, Jaune, and Elm all exclaimed together.
"I hope she doesn't have rabies," Harriet joked before sipping a soda.
"Come on, other me. Never bite the hand that feeds you," Yang half-joked and half-criticized her counterpart.
Seizing her chance, Yang took off crawling swiftly under the floor plates.
"Don't let her go!" Summer cried.
"She's under the grill!" Taiyang shouted. "Coal, use your lantern! Coal, get your light up here!"
Yang tried her best to evade capture while Summer and the others scrambled to catch her.
"Where'd she go?" Summer questioned. "Shine the light!"
"Down here!" Penny shined her flashlight onto Yang.
Ironwood pointed at Yang's location "Here! Here!"
"Keep back! Don't scare her," Summer hissed at the marines.
"Grab her, man! We're gonna lose her!" Taiyang shouted.
Just as Taiyang said, Yang quickly climbed into an open vent shaft under the floor.
"Damn it!" Summer cursed.
Oscar was confused. "I don't get it. If I were other Yang, I'd be jumping for joy after running into a rescue team," he said.
"I'm sure other me has her reasons," Yang defended her counterpart.
"Trauma can cause erratic and strange behavior," Penny explained succinctly.
Not giving up, Summer grabbed Penny's flashlight and dove into the shaft after Yang, barely fitting inside.
On the other side, the vent shaft opened into a small maintenance chamber. Yang tried to close and lock the vent hatch behind her, but Summer pushed it open and jumped inside before she could.
Summer shined her flashlight onto Yang as she backed up into a corner on the other side of the room, panting.
Summer looked around to marvel at the vent shaft hideout she'd just stepped into. It was filled with an assortment of foraged items: food and water containers, toys, blankets, empty boxes, and other objects.
"Wow. Props to other me for her survival skills and lasting so long," Yang complimented her counterpart. "But not so much for her hiding spot."
"What makes you say that?" Blake asked, not understanding at first.
"Because the aliens seem to have a knack for using air vents to move around," Yang recalled from the previous film.
"Yes. But those vents are smaller than the ones on the Nostromo," Penny pointed out. "Summer could barely fit inside herself, so I highly doubt the aliens could pursue her."
Summer slowly made her way towards Yang, the latter eyeing her warily.
"It's OK. It's all right. Don't be afraid. See?" Summer said softly.
But Yang wasn't having it. She leaped towards another hatch to her right to try and escape.
But Summer grabbed her. "Wait! No, you don't!" she shouted. "It's OK! You're gonna be all right now!"
Yang whined and thrashed about, trying to free herself from Summer's grasp.
Yang looked saddened as she witnessed her counterpart try to flee from Summer. She would have given anything to see her mother again. To be in her arms one last time.
Ruby felt the same way. Taking notice of her sister's expression Ruby gently placed her hand over Yangs, earning a grateful smile from her.
"Shh! Easy! Easy!" Summer said as she held Yang tightly. "It's gonna be OK. It's all right. You're gonna be OK."
Finally, Yang gave up and calmed down. She sagged in Summer's arms, panting in exhaustion.
"Shh, shh, shh!" Summer hushed softly as she gently stroked Yangs hair. "Easy."
Summer spotted something on the floor and picked it up. It was a framed photograph of Yang: clean, dressed in fresh clothes, and smiling, the exact opposite of her current status. Beneath the picture were the words: "Second Grade Citizenship Award: Yang Jordan".
Now knowing the girls identity, Summer again stroked Yang's hair as the latter lay still in her arms, her tired eyes half-lidded.
Yang raised an eyebrow. "Jordan? Oh, right. I forgot. I'm not related to mom and dad in this universe," she remembered.
"I wonder what your parents did for a living in this reality?" Blake pondered aloud.
"They were prospectors and surveyors," Gold-Sith answered simply, deciding to leave out further details for now.
Cut to sometime later in the operations room. Taiyang hit a switch that opened a series of window shutters, giving him a view of the entire colony. Summer walked past him, carrying a coffee mug.
Nearby, Yang was sitting on a table while Neon finished a medical examination.
Ironwood stood nearby. "What's her name again?" he asked.
"Yang," Neon answered as she gathered her supplies.
"Now think, Yang. Concentrate. Just start at the beginning. Where are your parents?" Ironwood asked clearly.
Yang didn't answer or even look at Ironwood. She just kept staring off into space, almost catatonic.
Ironwood persisted. "Now look, Yang. You have to try and-"
Summer cut off the lieutenant. "Ironwood, give it a rest, why don't you?" she chided.
"Yeah, Jimmy. Lay off the poor kid," Qrow said angrily. "Brothers only know what she's been through."
Ironwood frowned at his counterpart's insensitivity towards Yang's counterpart, silently agreeing with Qrow's criticism.
Ironwood shook his head. "Total brain lock," he sighed.
"Physically she's OK. Borderline malnutrition, but no permanent damage," Neon reported.
"Come on. We're wasting our time," Ironwood said as he and Neon left, walking past Summer.
Summer sat down in front of Yang. "Try this," she placed the mug into Yangs hand. "It's a little hot chocolate."
Summer helped lift the cup to Yangs lips, and she quietly drank the beverage.
"There you go," Summer whispered before a bit of it dripped down Yang's chin. "Whoop. That good, huh?"
Summer set the mug down. "Uh-oh. I made a clean spot here," she said as she wiped Yangs mouth with a cloth. "Now I've done it. Guess I'll have to do the whole thing."
Yang and Ruby smiled warmly at the screen, remembering back when Summer would make hot chocolate for them during the winter.
"You look pretty cute as a kid, Yang," Weiss teased her teammate.
Yang blushed lightly. "Shut up," she grumbled, evoking a few chuckles from the audience.
Summer began to wipe the dirt and grime off Yangs face. As she did, Yangs gaze focused on her for the first time.
"Hard to believe there's a little girl under all this. And a pretty one, too," Summer smiled.
Yang kept her silence, but her eyes were still fixed on Summer.
"You don't talk much, do you?" Summer noted.
"That's a pretty big similarity between the two of them," Blake pointed out.
Yang glanced at her partner. "What do you mean?"
"Think about it. Two survivors of an encounter with an alien who don't like to talk about it," Blake explained.
"Yeah. That makes sense," Yang agreed, hoping her counterpart would bond with Summer's.
In a neighboring room, the squad was gathered around a computer console. Marrow was seated at the console, trying to locate any survivors on a schematic map of the colony. Jacques was seated next to him while Ironwood stood behind them.
"Smoking or non-smoking?" Marrow said jokingly.
"Just tell me what you're scanning for, private," Ironwood said irritably.
"PDT's," Jacques answered.
Ironwood looked at Jacques. "What?"
"Personal data transmitters. Every colonist had one surgically implanted," Jacques explained.
"If they're within 20 clicks, we'll read it out here. So far, zippo," Marrow added as he continued his search.
"Oh. That's convenient," Oscar remarked.
"That'll help save time searching for more survivors," Penny said brightly.
"Assuming there are any more," Harriet mumbled under her breath, not optimistic about many colonists remaining.
Back in the other room, Summer had just finished washing Yang's face.
"I don't know how you managed to stay alive, but you're one brave kid, Yang," Summer praised.
"How long ago was contact with the colony lost Gold-Sith," Ozpin asked the host.
"About a month ago. It took the Sulaco three weeks to reach LV-426," Gold-Sith answered.
"And she's managed to stay alive all this time?" Clover said, sounding impressed.
Yang smiled. "Even as a little kid, my counterpart is a badass survivor," she said with pride.
"Thanks," Yang answered, her voice barely audible.
Summer perked up. "What did you say?"
"I said thanks," Yang repeated a little louder. [3]
Summer smiled. "You're welcome. I'm Summer. It's nice to meet you," she introduced herself.
"And who is this? Hm?" Summer asked, referring to the severed doll head still in Yang's hand.
"Casey," Yang answered softly.
"Hello, Casey," Summer greeted the doll before looking back at Yang.
"That's a little disturbing," Harriet commented on Yang keeping a severed doll head around.
"The doll was probably her only friend left for a while," Marrow mildly scolded his teammate.
"She's right. In a situation like this, any kind of companionship is better than being alone," Ren agreed with Marrow.
"What about your family? Any siblings?" Summer continued inquisitively.
Yang hesitated. "My brother. Timmy."
"Is Timmy around here, too? Maybe hiding like you were?" Summer asked.
Yang lowered her gaze, her lips compressing.
"Any sisters?" Summer continued her questioning.
Yang shook her head slowly.
"Mom and Dad?"
Yang nodded lightly; her gaze still lowered.
Summer gently cupped Yangs chin, forcing her gaze up. "Yang, look at me. Where are they?"
"They're dead, all right?! Can I go now?!" Yang snapped.
Summer stared in shock. "I'm sorry, Yang," she said with soft sincerity.
Many audience members looked heartbroken by Yangs words. A few, namely Yang, even had to fight back tears. They could scarcely imagine her witnessing her family and friends being slaughtered by the aliens.
"Poor thing," Elm cooed in sympathy. "Nobody deserves to experience something like that."
"Especially not a child," Blake followed up, her ears flattening in sorrow.
"She'll be even more traumatized than Summer was," Qrow finished with a sip of water.
"Don't you think you'd be safer here with us?" Summer asked Yang.
Yang slowly shook her head.
"These people are here to protect you. They're soldiers," Summer tried to assure the girl.
"It won't make any difference," Yang stated darkly.
Summer stared at Yang, chilled by her words. [4]
Yang's words sent shivers down nearly everyone's spines. Some even felt their confidence in the marines begin to wane.
Oscar swallowed. "Well, that's...ominous," he muttered, eliciting a few nods from the others.
"Now I'm really getting a bad feeling about this," Jaune rephrased his earlier statement.
"I think everybody is, Jaune-Jaune," Nora agreed.
Meanwhile, in the colonies med-lab, Penny was dissecting and examining one of the dead facehuggers. In fact, she seemed intrigued by it as she prodded it with a pair of forceps.
Ciel brought in extra equipment on a dolly. "Need anything else?" she asked.
Penny turned to stare blankly at Ciel.
"Hello, Penny. Do you need anything else?" Ciel asked again.
Penny paused for a moment. "No."
"Nice pet you got there," Ciel sarcastically commented on the Facehugger.
"Magnificent, isn't it?" Penny awed as she continued her examination. [5]
Penny's mouth hung open, her eyes bugging out in shock. Everyone else shared her thoughts, looking very worried at the possibility of her turning traitor like Oscar did.
Ruby began to shake her head in horror, whispering "no" repeatedly. Yang noticed and put a hand on her shoulder to calm her.
"No, I can't! I'd never betray my friends like that!" Penny cried out, feeling like she was on the verge of tears again.
Winter took Penny's hand in her own. "Penny. Calm down. It's not the real you," she assured softly. "I'm sure that's not the case anyway."
"Also, magnificent is hardly the word I'd use to describe that thing," Vine finalized.
Back in the control room, Marrow perked up. "Yo! Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen! I found em'," he congratulated himself.
A few people scrunched their faces in disgust at the words of Marrows counterpart, while others snickered or chuckled reluctantly.
"Ugh! Really, Marrow?" Harriet shouted at her teammate, the latter shrugging with a sheepish grin.
Ruby cocked her head to the side. "I don't get it."
Yang cleared her throat, leaned over, and whispered into Ruby's ear, the latter gasping in disgust "Ewww!"
"They alive?" Ironwood asked.
"Unknown, but it looks like all of 'em. Over at the processing station, sub-level three, under the main cooling towers," Marrow reported.
On the schematic screen, Marrow zoomed in on the atmospheric processor until he found a cluster of a hundred or so blinking dots grouped closely together.
"It looks like a Goddamn town meeting," Taiyang remarked as he puffed on a cigarette.
"Hmmm, maybe there's survivors after all and they set up a stronghold there," Clover assumed, though he wasn't so sure.
"But why would they all be at the processing station of all places?" Maria questioned.
"And all bunched up together? That seems like a bad sign to me," Weiss said forebodingly.
"Let's saddle up, Ebi," Ironwood ordered eagerly.
"Aye, sir," Clover nodded and turned to his squad. "Let's go, people. They ain't payin' us by the hour. Let's go! Head 'em out! OK, Coal, you're driving," he barked.
"Flynt is lucky. I'd like to take that APC out for a spin," Nora said, slightly jealous.
"Why do I have a feeling that shit's about to get real?" Marrow said nervously.
"You're not the only one," Jaune said with deep concern in his eyes. "I didn't like how Yangs counterpart said 'it wouldn't make any difference'".
"All we can do is wait and see what happens," Ozpin said simply, wishing the marines the best of luck in battling the alien threat if they couldn't rescue anymore survivors.
Author's Note: Well, we're about halfway through the film. Unfortunately, everything's about to go pear-shaped for the heroes in the next chapter once they enter the hive…
On a different note, a poll for the next one-shot adaptation is now up. I decided on a live action film clip. Be sure to choose carefully.
Cast
Yang Xiao Long as Rebecca "Newt" Jordan
Author's Points
[1]- Here's another scene from the director's cut strengthening the relationship between Summer and Taiyang. It won't be the last one.
[2]- Does anyone else agree with Harriet? Because I do 100%.
[3]- I changed the dialogue here to remove the whole "Newt" nickname for Yang. I feel having her addressed by her real name strengthens the bond between Summer and Yang and further mirrors the relationship their canon RWBY counterparts had.
[4]- It was at this point I knew the mission wouldn't end well for the marines. Seriously, I couldn't have been the only one who felt a chill when Newt said that line.
[5]- The audience reaction is pretty much like mine back when I first saw this movie. I was certain that Bishop would turn traitor, like Ash in the first film, and I never trusted Burke from the start. I expected the two of them to work together to obtain an Alien and screw over the rest of the team. That must have been intentional to make Bishop a red herring of sorts.