Gamer4 in. I didn't expect to have to say this, but I am not taking non-Xeno related requests for this story. The entire reason I started this story was so I could focus on one (series of) narratives without distraction. Despite my notes last episode, I don't mind requests for certain Xeno games, so long as that's not all that's being said, but I do ask that there be no requests for other series altogether. I understand the urge, but I'd also like to stick to this story's mission statement. With that out of the way, on to today's episode.
Episode XIV
The Voyage Home
Serenity
"Uncle Qrow, Uncle Qrow, Uncle Qrow!" Ruby sing-songed, eagerly awaiting her uncle's introduction.
"Hm, we've been going on this world for a while," Pyrrha noticed. "Perhaps it would be better to go to another for a little while?"
"But... but Uncle Qrow!" Ruby pleaded, her eyes wide and watery.
"Well, there you have it," Vanessa shrugged.
Ozpin took a long drink from his coffee mug as he sat behind the desk in the center of his office.
"Wait... where's Uncle Qrow?" Ruby pouted.
"Just a quick scene before we get to that," Vanessa promised.
"I didn't look too closely last time, but I think this Ozpin's office is even bigger than yours," Qrow observed.
"Hmm, yes, it would appear so," Ozpin agreed. "Though I think it's rather emptier as well."
"A large glass pyramid open to space on all sides," Weiss summed up. "I think this may be Ruby's dream office."
"Maybe if it had a little more... stuff in it," Ruby shrugged.
He was looking at the artifact on his desk- a large spinning cube surrounded, globelike, by a pair of concentric circles. He had no doubt that most people who entered his office thought it a simple paperweight. He was fine allowing them to think that.
"Oohhh, it's pretty!" Nora grinned.
"A little large for a paperweight, I should think," Whitley shook his head.
It sat on top of a small plinth, bearing ancient letters that gave the artifact its true name: Compass of Order. It had been excavated from a prehistoric temple long ago, on Lost Vytal, and had been kept by Sector ever since. There was something calming, gazing into its eternal spin.
"That thing's... a compass?" Weiss blinked in confusion.
"Doesn't look like any compass I've ever seen," Yang frowned.
"Aren't compasses supposed to be still? Always point north?" Jaune pointed out.
"Well, they are in space right now- perhaps that's what happens to this compass when it doesn't have a north to point to?" Pyrrha guessed.
"A prehistoric temple on Lost Vytal..." Blake mused. "I wonder... the same temple that had the Zohar?"
"That would make some sense," Ren agreed. "Ozma was right there, after all."
Qrow threw a questioning glance towards Ozpin, not daring to ask out loud. Ozpin responded by minutely shaking his head from side to side.
He wasn't so distracted, however, as to ignore the knock on his door. "Enter."
Through the door stepped a remarkably strange figure- clearly a woman, based on size and figure, but all features were hidden beneath her clothing. She wore what seemed like a form of body armor, over which was a large cloak and hood. Her face was hidden beneath a beaked mask, reminiscent of plague doctors of old. All of the above was colored a deep blood red.
"What. The. Fu-" Yang stopped herself halfway through. "Crap," she finally finished.
"She looks like Darth Vader decided to be a plague doctor!" Nora compared.
"Maybe she's an assassin!" Ruby squeaked, wide-eyed.
Ozpin, however, didn't seem to find the woman's appearance strange at all. "Ah, yes, it is that time, isn't it? Please, come in. By sheer chance, I've just finished brewing a fresh pot of coffee. Care for a mug?"
He poured one for her, but she declined with a raised hand. Ozpin shrugged. "Suit yourself."
"It... doesn't seem so," Weiss shook her head.
"I wonder if that fashion statement is her uniform, or something she decided to wear on her own," Yang snorted.
He resumed his seat and took the mug for himself. "Your report?"
"As we suspected, it was an emulator," the woman said promptly. "Jaune and PENNY both escaped the ship's collapse, alongside Pyrrha Nikos and a couple of soldiers."
"Thank goodness for small favors," Ozpin smiled gently.
"Wait... is she the one PENNY was talking to?" Ruby realized.
"That seems to be the implication," Blake nodded.
"So it's ultimately Ozpin!" Nora grinned. "Welp, guess we don't have to worry about that anymore! Ozpin would never have her do anything evil!"
Ozpin didn't speak, but was deeply moved by her faith.
"Does anyone recognize her voice?" Jaune asked. "Maybe if we recognize that..."
"Nah... the mask is getting in the way," Nora shook her head. "I think she's running some filters or somethin'."
"I wonder if even Ozpin knows who she is?" Ren pondered.
"However, it seems the Chateau is making a move on the site."
"I don't think we have to worry about that," Ozpin dismissed. "If Jaune is placed in danger, PENNY will move to protect him, no?"
"Correct," the woman nodded. "That is her prime directive."
"It sounds like he's working against the Chateau, as well," Blake noted. "Or is at least concerned about them."
Ozpin returned his gaze to the Compass. "Everything is proceeding as it always has..."
He looked back to his guest. "Well, with the Rhine Maiden complete, I see no reason for us to interfere any further for the moment. For now, let us pull back and await the entry of the tragic hero and her unattainable companion."
"Well, he sure likes talking in riddles as much as our Ozpin," Yang crossed her arms. "What does he mean 'as it always has?'"
"I'm more concerned about that 'tragic hero and her unattainable companion,'" Weiss admitted. "He's talking like he's watching an opera!"
"Indeed..." Ozpin narrowed his eyes at his other. "I doubt we'll receive any clarification soon, however, especially as his guest doesn't seem to need it."
Through the wreckage of space that had once been the Discovery, a new ship was cruising- a much smaller freighter, perhaps a third the Discovery's size. Its name was proudly emblazoned on its side- Serenity. On board the bridge were three of its four crew members- the pilot, a blond man with a monkey tail, Sun Wukong, the ship's navigator, a tall blue-haired man named Neptune Vasilias, and the captain, a scruffy-looking man by the name of Qrow Branwen.
"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby cheered.
"Captain of my own ship, eh?" Qrow mused. "I can think of worse jobs. Don't know the kids, though."
"Sun Wukong and Neptune Vasilias," Blake reiterated. "They're from Shade Academy, in Vacuo."
"Oh, it's comin' back to me, now. Yeah... blue-hair is the one who freaks out over water, isn't he?"
"Yes... that's the one," Weiss sighed.
Qrow was sitting in his elevating chair, just behind the navigator's, gazing out over the ship's bow at the wreckage. "Yeesh, the gnosis really don't go halfway, do they?" he muttered, almost to himself, taking a drink from his omnipresent flask.
"You think there's even anything worth salvaging out there?" Sun asked skeptically.
"A salvager, huh?" Yang considered. "Just like Jaune in Road to Shambhala."
"Except, based on your description, he never rushed into a recently-bloodied battlefield," Winter narrowed her eyes. Qrow took a drink instead of answering.
Qrow glanced at Neptune. "Talk, kid- how long do we have to search before the Federation gets here?"
"Well, the last SOS went out about half an hour ago, so... I'd say we have at least three hours before we need to bail," Neptune decided after a bit of mental number-crunching. "As far as I can tell, we're the only ship for five thousand lightyears."
"Alright, then let's get to salvaging," Qrow smirked. Salvage jobs were hardly the most reputable- or, strictly speaking, legal- but it was worth a lot of money to the right buyer, and Qrow was not a man in a position to worry about little foibles like that.
"So he's only a step or two above piracy," Winter's eyes narrowed further.
"Not everyone has everything handed to 'em on a silver platter, Ice Queen. Some of us have to work for a livin'," Qrow countered.
"You mean to tell me you have no qualms with this?!"
Neptune seemed to. "Y'know, Cap, I get that we're a little desperate, with the deadline coming up and all, but this feels a little risky. We're looking at ten years if we're caught- and they're feeling merciful."
"No one's gonna find out," Qrow waved his concerns aside. "This is the middle of nowhere- not so much as an asteroid for lightyears around."
"It just doesn't feel right," Neptune persisted. "Picking off the bones of the dead like this... what are we? Jackals? Vultures?"
This time, it was Sun who spoke up. "Hey, now, don't go jinxing us like that! Comparing us to extinct animals, what are you, asking for trouble?"
"Huh, Sun never struck me as the superstitious type," Yang mused.
"You've clearly never seen him go three extra blocks to avoid crossing street thirteen," Blake recalled.
"We're not extinct animals," Qrow agreed. "We're environmentally friendly space recyclers."
"Ah, so that's what they're calling grave robbing nowadays," Neptune rolled his eyes- he was met with a kick to the back of his chair from Qrow, whose elevating chair put him in the ideal position for such a feat.
"You don't gotta kick him!" Ruby whined.
"And he doesn't have to backsass the captain," Qrow shrugged.
"You truly are despicable, you know that, right?" Winter hissed.
Qrow shrugged.
"I mean, he's got a point," Sun finally came to Neptune's defense. "Ms. Maxwell told us to stay away from side jobs, remember? Doesn't wanna hurt the Foundation's image. I know you beat her at poker once, but you can only lie to a woman like that for so long..."
Qrow smirked. "Strip poker, Sun. Not my fault she decided handing over a ship was less humiliating than showing her goods. Besides-"
"Oh, you pig!" Winter growled.
"Hey, whoever it is, she's the one who agreed to play the game," Qrow objected. "Besides, I think a real pig wouldn't have taken the ship in that case, don't you?"
"It is a word that gets tossed around a little frequently," Vanessa mused.
"You're taking his side?!"
"I wonder who Ms. Maxwell is?" Pyrrha spoke up. "The head of a foundation... do any of you know the name?"
They all shook their heads- Winter after calming down for a bit.
"Well, sounds like she at least wouldn't condone this behavior," Weiss crossed her arms.
Sun raised a hand. "Hold that thought- there's the ship! Looks like a Ganymede class!"
"Niiice," Qrow's smirk widened to a grin. "This is why we always keep our ears to the ground, gentlemen! Bring us in!"
"Vultuuuuuuures," Neptune mumbled to himself.
"What was that?"
"Nothing, sir!"
"I'm almost convinced he wants another kick!" Weiss crossed her arms.
Sun allowed himself a chuckle as he turned the Serenity towards the wreckage of the Discovery. A second later, he let out a yelp.
"What is it?" Neptune asked, eyes widening.
"We've got a corpse," Sun reported, already soothing his beating heart.
"Of course there's a corpse- it's a battlefield, isn't it?" Qrow asked with another drink from his flask. "Just let it bounce off."
"You're all heart, Qrow." Yang didn't seem to know whether to laugh or chastise him.
"You see enough shit, you kinda get desensitized," Qrow shrugged.
"You messing with me?" Sun crossed his arms. "Grandma raised this furry to respect the dead! You wanna bounce that body off, you do it!"
"Okay, Sun doesn't strike me as the type to be superstitious, but he absolutely strikes me as the type to call himself a furry," Yang chuckled.
"Yes... he's very flippant about things like that," Blake admitted.
"Is that your grandma out there?" Qrow asked dryly. "Look , do whatever you want, just keep moving-"
His voice trailed off as the corpse got stuck in the railing outside one of the port windows.
Qrow took a deep breath. "Well, congratulations, Sun, now either someone's gonna have to put on a suit and take it out manually, or we're just gonna have an uninvited guest 'til we make port. What's it gonna be?"
"Wait... that body..." Ruby realized.
Neptune was looking at the body- it seemed to be a young, red-haired woman in a pink pinafore dress, head currently turned away, looking out at the stars. "Huh... shame, too, she might have been cute..."
Weiss frowned. "Ever the flirt..."
"Flirting with what he thinks is a corpse? That's next level," Yang snorted.
"You're being creepy again, Nep," Sun whispered.
"I can't tell which one of them is supposed to be the straight man," Nora pondered.
"Damn right," Qrow agreed. "Who cares how she looks, she's dead! Hurry up and-"
The head turned, looking through the window into the bridge with a pair of crimson eyes.
Sun and Neptune yelped.
"I knew this was a bad idea!" Neptune cried. "It's a gnosis! Hurry, someone call ren!"
"Hail Mary, full of grace-" Sun fell back on his more religious upbringing.
Qrow sighed. "Look, it's not a gnosis, you idiots. If it was, you'd be dead by now. Looks like a new model of realian, or a cyborg... pretty sure I've heard of those surviving in space."
"Wait, Renny's there?" Nora immediately perked up. "But wait... why would they immediately call him over a gnosis? What, can he do that Grey thingie too?"
"That... is a fair question," Ren admitted.
The woman crouched on the window, raising a hand and tapping out a pattern on the glass. The crew listened intently.
"Morse?" Sun speculated.
"No, you idiot, it's a transmission code," Qrow sighed heavily. "4...2...3...5...6...1. Neptune, patch her in."
Neptune punched the code into a computer, and a second later, her lips moved, and they could hear a voice through their radio. "Thank you for opening your communications."
"Cool..." Ruby grinned dopily.
"No problem," Qrow shrugged. "I'm Captain Qrow Branwen of the tramp freighter Serenity. We picked up your SOS, thought we'd swing by and rescue any survivors."
"Rescue?" Neptune asked, bewildered- he earned another kick to the back of his chair.
"Have you no shame?!" Winter's eye twitched.
"Eh, no reason we can't pull off a rescue at the same time," Qrow shrugged.
"What can we do to assist you?"
"I'll keep this brief," the woman spoke clearly and concisely. "I request that you set an immediate course for New Vale. Immediately."
"New Vale?" Jaune wondered aloud.
"I think we can work this one out on our own," Pyrrha waved to Vanessa. "If I had to guess, it's a planet inhabited by refugees from Old Vale after the Fall of Beacon."
"That sounds likely," Ozpin nodded his agreement.
"Oh, is that all?" Qrow snorted. "You have any idea how out of the way that is? How much it would cost?"
"I represent Sector Industries- we will cover all fees incurred."
"Oh, you will, will you?" Qrow asked, voice dripping with skepticism. "Let's say I believe you- we've still got some work to do here! We don't have that kind of time!"
"My time is also limited," the woman agreed. "As such, failure to comply will result in the destruction of this window."
"Damn, PENNY don't screw around!" Yang whistled. "I doubt they have enough money to replace that thing!"
"And they would die, you dolt," Weiss sighed heavily.
"Destruction of-" Qrow fought back a laugh. "That stuff's to block meteorites, little lady. Realian or not, a punch from you wouldn't-"
The woman stood, reared back a fist, and slammed it against the window, which immediately cracked beneath the force. All three men recoiled, eyes wide. The window held, but they had the sneaking suspicion that this had been a warning strike.
"I like her," Winter smirked.
"Of course you do," Qrow snorted. "She's not trying to smash your window."
The woman returned to her crouching position. "I make this offer in good will. I am capable of piloting this ship on my own."
Qrow took the time to down the rest of his flask. He was still shaking as he lowered it and responded. "Alright... have it your way. No need to be rash!"
The woman stood. "Had you accommodated me from the outset, we would have saved one minute, forty-five seconds. Please open the cargo bay."
"She's pretty bossy in this world," Ruby observed.
"I get the feeling she has to be, to get a ride off of your uncle," Weiss muttered.
"Of course," Qrow agreed, waving for Sun to open the door- with one hand behind his back signaling to get them out of this situation ASAP.
"You snake!" Winter hissed.
"Would you be willing to house someone who just threatened to launch you into open space?" Qrow challenged.
"One other thing," the woman added as she rose again. "Do not accelerate in an attempt to knock me off- I will redirect my course to the engine and destroy the ship."
Qrow's hand fell, and Sun's quickly retreated from the accelerator. Neptune couldn't help chuckling.
"Someone's got our number!"
"Shut up..." Qrow groaned, unable to muster strength for another chair-kicking.
"Like it mattered anyway," Qrow grumbled, downing another bottle.
A few minutes later, the woman had appeared on the bridge. "Hello," she greeted. "You may call me PENNY."
"Oh, so she can be polite- once she's done threatening to kill you in one of the worst ways known to man," Whitley noticed snidely.
"Nice to meetcha, PENNY," Qrow groaned, just in time for Neptune to interject.
"Captain! We've got more signals coming in!"
"Other survivors?" Qrow asked sharply.
"Probably- should I patch them in?"
"Go ahead," Qrow waved his hand. "Not like it could make this situation any worse..."
Neptune turned some dials and put them on speaker.
"It's gotta be Fearless Leader and Pyrrha!" Nora hopped up excitedly. "Gotta be!"
"Them or Cardin and Hazel," Ren pointed out.
"Or both," Pyrrha put in fairly.
In the immediate aftermath of the Discovery's destruction, Jaune had been inconsolable. "Pyrrha... they're... they're all dead, aren't they? All of them..."
"Chief..." Pyrrha whispered sadly. She'd seen Jaune this broken only once before- at Coco's funeral. She still recalled standing in the rain, as if the heavens themselves wept for the loss. They had both been in full mourning attire, and Jaune had been on his knees, weeping freely, almost on the verge of clutching onto the stone if only it would bring Coco closer in spirit once more.
"Oh... Jaune..." Pyrrha teared up a little for him.
"Losing someone as close to him as she was... I never want to..." Ruby trailed off.
"Yeah, it would be like... like losing Ren..." Nora shuddered at the thought.
Pyrrha distinctly remembered how she'd felt that day, unable to do anything to help but hold the umbrella. She felt much the same now, except all she could do now was broadcast a new SOS signal in the hopes they'd be picked up as soon as possible.
"You're missing a big chance, Pyr," Nora whispered to her.
"Well... what would you say to him?" Pyrrha asked.
"I... don't know," Nora admitted.
Over the next half hour, Jaune had managed to stabilize himself. He looked back and said one word: "PENNY."
Pyrrha was eager to jump on any topic that might lead Jaune away from despair. "Yes, it certainly seems strange, doesn't it?"
"You didn't start her?"
"I don't know the sequence- only you do," Pyrrha pointed out.
"Yeah... that's what I thought, too," Jaune nodded. "We... we have to find her, before something bad happens- something like..."
"Like hijacking a spaceship?" Yang snorted.
Like before, went unsaid.
"Oh... right. That."
"Well, let's worry about ourselves first," Pyrrha suggested. "We're hardly going to find her in an escape pod. Let me see... Hello? Hello? This is Pyrrha Nikos, formerly of the ship Discovery. Can anyone hear me?"
At last, the screen in front of her lit up, showing the bridge of a ship crewed by three men- and none other than PENNY herself.
It was she that greeted them. "Jaune."
"PENNY!" he blinked in surprise. "PENNY- where are you right now?"
"I am on board a civilian ship passing through the area," PENNY reported. "Please remain in your current locale. A Federation rescue vessel should be arriving within three hours."
"Ooooor you could just pick 'em up yourself!" Ruby pointed out.
"Remain here?" Jaune asked, taken aback. "PENNY, what are you doing?"
"Commandeering this ship to travel to New Vale," PENNY stated plainly.
"Commandeering, my ass," Qrow muttered, attempting to take a drink only to be reminded he'd already finished it.
"I feel his pain," Qrow agreed, tipping his current bottle over to reveal that it was bone-dry.
"These are my instructions from Sector Headquarters," PENNY continued.
"New Vale?" Jaune repeated, aghast.
"Wait, so Ozpin and Plague Doctor Lady ordered her to leave Jaune behind?!" Nora gasped. "But why?"
"No, I don't think that's right," Weiss interjected. "If anything, it sounded like Ozpin, at least, was relying on PENNY keeping them safe. It seems to me they just told her to go to New Vale as quickly as possible, and she interpreted that as 'don't make any unnecessary detours, even to pick up Jaune.' If anything, their biggest crime is forgetting how literal machinery could be."
"Indeed," Winter nodded, her tongue sticking through her teeth as she made a note on her scroll to alert Ironwood and Pietro to such potential pitfalls.
"New signal coming through!" Neptune piped up. "Patching them through!"
A second later, Cardin and Hazel's pod had appeared on his screen as well.
"Ah, there they are," Weiss narrowed her eyes again. "The troglodyte and the Chateau member."
"Well, you know what they say- keep your friends close and your enemies closer," Blake reminded her.
"This is Hazel Rainart, Commander of military operations aboard the Discovery," the large man introduced himself. "With me is Lieutenant Cardin Winchester, requesting immediate assistance."
"Hazel? Cardin?" Jaune repeated, eyes wide. "So you made it out okay, too?"
"Ah, great, now I gotta listen to Arc 'til we find port again, huh?" Cardin grumbled.
"Would you rather stay lost in space?" Pyrrha arched a brow.
"I know I wouldn't mind that," Nora growled.
"Might not have to worry about that," Qrow interjected. "Unless this little lady here gives the say-so, we're not picking anyone up. Learned that lesson the hard way." He scratched agitatedly at the back of his head.
"Surely, she'll allow it!" Ruby's eyes widened. "I know she's a machine, but she-" She paused momentarily. "I'm sure she's got a human heart in there somewhere!"
"PENNY, you can't just leave us here!" Pyrrha objected.
"I am afraid that neither you nor military personnel were included in my orders," PENNY shook her head. "Certainly, military personnel are lower on my list of priorities than members of Sector, however-"
"Yeah, fuck you too, robo-skirt," Cardin growled.
"-this mission takes priority," PENNY concluded.
"Yes... it seems she's intent on going straight to New Vale unless Arc is in very immediate danger," Winter nodded. "Literal indeed."
"So, what, we just wait here for the cavalry?" Pyrrha asked.
"Correct," PENNY nodded.
"But what guarantee do we have that the Federation will dispatch a rescue at all?" Pyrrha objected. "What if no one comes and we all starve to death?!"
"That will most certainly not happen," PENNY shook her head again. "You would run out of oxygen first."
"Wonderful, suffocation," Cardin muttered. "Exactly how I always wanted to go."
"But that won't happen," PENNY continued. "There is a ninety-six percent probability that you will be rescued within three hours- a hundred percent within fifteen."
"You sure you want that rescue, Pyr?" Nora wheedled. "You and Jaune, alone in an escape pod for fifteen hours?"
"You know what they say," Ren smirked. "In space, no one can hear you... scream."
"Et tu, Ren?" Pyrrha mumbled from behind the hands she'd buried her face into.
"I can't allow this!" Jaune cut in. "You're not supposed to be acting on your own like this, PENNY! You have to bring us on board right away!"
"There is no time for this," PENNY denied. "End communications."
"STOP!" Jaune insisted. He raised a hand and put it over a nearby lever. "PENNY... do you know what will happen if I pull this?"
PENNY, Neptune, and everyone else all hesitated- the lever in question was an emergency lever to open the pod manually. Opening it in deep space would spell certain death.
"Um... Jaune?" Ruby giggled nervously. "What are... whatcha doin'?"
Pyrrha gulped. "C-Chief... let's not be rash..."
"Well... this is interesting," Cardin smirked, while Hazel watched, eyes widening a centimeter or so.
"You said part of your mission is protecting Sector personnel, didn't you?" Jaune recalled. "I'm in danger- aren't you gonna come rescue me?"
"I think he just threw the gauntlet down on the highest-stakes game of chicken in history," Yang grinned. "Got some nice cojones on you, VB!"
PENNY tilted her head- then she turned around. "Do as you will. I have other matters to attend to."
"But she's calling his bluff," Whitley observed.
Before she could take another step, alarms sounded from within Jaune and Pyrrha's pod- there was the hiss of air as the door opened just a crack. The lever was difficult to pull, with plenty of safety systems, as to be expected of what could be remarkably dangerous if pulled by accident, but Jaune was showing every sign of actually doing so. PENNY turned to face him, meeting him eye-to-eye through their respective screens.
"Except Fearless Leader ain't bluffing!" Nora declared proudly.
"I'm not bluffing, PENNY. Let us on board, or I pull the lever."
Pyrrha had turned ghostly white. "Oh, dear... he... he's actually going to do it!"
"Nice hustle, kid," Qrow applauded. "Of course, watch that you don't actually get yourself killed."
It was a silent battle of wills between the two. Jaune's pressure on the lever slowly increased while PENNY struggled to weigh all possible variables- the likelihood of a bluff, how long they could survive on their now dwindling air supply, how long that supply would last-
"Why not let them on?" asked a calm voice from the door to the bridge. "It may just be me, but I don't think he's bluffing."
PENNY turned to face the newcomer- a tall, slender young man with long black hair tied into a ponytail. A single lock of hair was magenta, perfectly matching his similarly calm eyes. He wore traditional oriental clothing, and a pair of green gloves- on paper, there was nothing particularly strange about him, but she found herself replaying his entry into the chamber over and over again. There was something strange about him, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it...
"Renny!" Nora cheered. "Renny to the rescue!"
"I guess someone has to save me from myself," Jaune chuckled.
"Always happy to be of service," Ren nodded wryly.
The young man seemed ignorant of PENNY's confusion, instead focusing on the rest of the crew.
"Welcome to the party, ren," Qrow greeted. "Sorry to disturb your nap."
"No need to worry," ren smiled gently. "I feel very well-rested, thank you."
"Wait... why is his name all lower-case?" Blake immediately picked up. "It happened earlier when Neptune mentioned it, but I thought it might be a typo."
"It's not," Vanessa shook her head.
"So there is a reason behind it?" Weiss asked sharply.
"There is."
"But you're not going to tell us, are you?" Ren sighed in resignation.
"I'm not," Vanessa agreed.
"A lot of good you are as a host, aren't you?" Qrow asked slyly.
"I'm giving you an essentially unlimited supply of booze, aren't I?" Vanessa pointed out, tossing over another beer.
"Point taken, objection withdrawn."
He turned back to PENNY, who was still sifting through the recorded data of ren's entry- step through the door, stretch arms, continue towards crew.
"What's so confusing about that?" Ruby tilted her head.
"If she can't figure it out, what makes you think we can?" Yang countered.
"So, what do you say? Why not lend them a helping hand?"
PENNY stared at him, remaining silent.
ren shrugged, turning to the captain, navigator, and pilot. "It seems she has withdrawn her objections."
"Well, if it's you askin'..." Qrow scratched absently at his scruffy beard. "Fine by me. Bring 'em aboard, Sun."
"Roger that," Sun beamed.
"What, is he the real captain or something?" Nora wondered.
"I'd certainly feel more comfortable than the oaf being in charge," Winter sneered.
"Hmm... I do wonder what my other may have done to earn Mr. Branwen's regard," Ren admitted.
"I wonder if it has something to do with why Neptune wanted to call him up as soon as he thought there was a gnosis attack," Jaune speculated.
Roughly five minutes later, the previously quiet bridge had, indeed, become quite the party, as the crew found themselves with five new passengers.
"Sorry for the trouble," Jaune apologized as he stepped onto the bridge, Pyrrha right behind him. Hazel and Cardin had already made it- Hazel stood next to Qrow, while Cardin leaned against a wall. "And... thank you for the rescue. My name's Jaune Arc, chief engineer of Sector Industry's First R&D Division. This is my right hand, Pyrrha Nikos."
"Hello!" Pyrrha attempted a chirpy greeting, but she was still weak in the knees from Jaune's gambit- for a number of reasons.
"Oh, weak in the knees is-"
"Beep beep, Nora!" Pyrrha pleaded, picking up the large white cat and pressing her face into her fur.
"Sorry for the trouble our errant PENNY must have caused."
"Captain Qrow Branwen," Qrow extended his hand- Jaune accepted. "And really, you oughtta save your thanks for ren over there- we probably would have ended up leavin' if he hadn't stepped in. Fact is, he's pulled our asses out of the fire too many times for us to deny him a favor."
"I see," Jaune nodded, turning to the slender young man. "Thank you, ren."
"A wise man once said that we all need somebody to lean on," ren smiled gently.
"That's a great song," Ruby smiled.
"All lower-case or not, he's just like our Renny!" Nora crowed.
Jaune smiled back, then turned to PENNY herself. "And as for you... what were you thinking, PENNY?" He marched up to her with the best grimace he could muster. "Abandoning us to run off to New Vale by yourself? What, is your OS malfunctioning?"
"I suppose that is feasible," PENNY admitted.
"Only insofar as leaving them behind goes, I suspect," Weiss reiterated.
"What are these orders from HQ I've somehow never heard of?"
PENNY, just as she had on the ship when asked about these mysterious orders of hers, ignored the question outright, turning to Qrow. "Captain, may I use the maintenance lab next to the hangar?"
"PENNY!"
"Have at it," Qrow rolled his eyes. "I know when to fold 'em."
"Thank you. My maintenance unit from the Discovery should be somewhere within this field- I would be very grateful if you could recover it."
"Listen to me, PENNY!"
"You say Sector's footin' the bill for all this?"
"Correct."
"Man, if I ignored Pops like that, I wouldn't be sitting for the next month or so," Yang cringed.
"No cookies..." Ruby's eyes widened in horror.
"PENNY, will you-"
"Jaune?"
Jaune froze. "Y-yes?"
PENNY met his gaze with her own. "My sensors appear to be malfunctioning. Please adjust them before we disembark at our destination. Additionally, my external appearance is down five percent- I need to be cleaned."
Qrow led the reaction with a spit take. Jaune's eyes bugged out of his head. Pyrrha clapped her hands to her mouth. "Oh, my!"
Nora wolf whistled, Ruby and Weiss flushed furiously, Blake's pen began scribbling away in her fanfiction notebook, and Yang smirked with a "Hummana, hummana!"
Sun and Neptune, who'd just been taking drinks of their own, abruptly spit them out, eyes wide. Qrow looked like he was really wishing he still had some whiskey in his flask, Pyrrha had turned bright red, Cardin settled for widening his eyes, and Hazel remained impassive.
Jaune spluttered. "I- you can't just- PENNY, why should I do any of that?!"
"Please?" PENNY requested. "It is part of your job, is it not?"
She left the bridge and headed for the maintenance bay.
"She should be very grateful..." Pyrrha forced out as she fought back her blush, "that her father figure... isn't Mistralian."
Jaune looked rather red himself. "I... I never programmed her to act like this..."
Slowly, he turned to the crew. "Sorry again- she's turning out to be surprisingly stubborn."
"No problems at all," ren chuckled lightly. "It certainly seems like things will be more lively around here."
"You got that right," Neptune grinned, sliding up to Pyrrha. "We can always use some women on board. What about it? You and me, a nice suite and a bottle of wine..."
"Neptune..." Weiss looked downcast.
"Step away," Jaune narrowed his eyes, earning a hopeful look from Pyrrha.
Pyrrha flushed and spluttered, while Jaune fought off a twinge of annoyance he couldn't quite explain.
"That'll do, Nep- that'll do," Sun interjected.
"At least this one's a real woman," Qrow commented. "Not like that other one- pure battle weapon."
"Perhaps," ren shrugged, throwing in his two lien. "Though, I must say... she seems perfectly human to me."
"A-hem," Nora cleared her throat. "Ruby, about our Penny..."
"I don't think she'd be interested!" Ruby assured her quickly.
Qrow turned to the soldiers. "Alright, where do you two wanna go?"
"Just let me off at the first port, I'll find my way from there," Cardin muttered. "Where are the cabins?"
"Right down the hall," Qrow waved, and Cardin quickly took his leave as well.
"Sooner he exits stage left, the better," Blake sighed in relief.
"Would it cost much to go to Mantle?" Hazel asked.
"Mantle... not too far out of the way. As for the fee... just add it to Mr. Sector's tab. You alright with that?"
"Hmm? Oh- yeah, sure," Jaune agreed, only half-listening- he was still pondering over the annoyance he'd felt when witnessing Neptune flirting with Pyrrha.
"...Jaune?" Pyrrha sounded very hopeful indeed.
"Thank you very much," Hazel bowed slightly.
Qrow scoffed. "I'm a gamblin' man, and rule number one is to know when to walk away from the table. Just chalk it up to my bit of charity for the corps."
He raised a hand and pulled down the front of his shirt enough to reveal a silver chain with three ornaments- a single lopsided cross and two dog tags.
"Me, a military man?" Qrow scoffed.
"Indeed, I doubt you lack the discipline to follow a single simple order," Winter sniffed in disdain.
"And that's why I've achieved the things I have," Qrow fired right back.
"That will do, you two," Ozpin interjected. "That will do."
Before anyone could comment, there was a thud from the roof. Everyone looked up to see what must be the final straggler from the battle- one single shimmering gnosis, a bulky shape with long, bulging arms and an angular, eyeless head. The Grey Effect must have worn off, as it was shimmering and transparent once more as it phased through the window and landed on the ground before them.
"SHIT!" Qrow swore.
"Crapcrapcrapcrap!" Neptune and Sun clung tightly to each other, eyes wide in fear.
"Quick, call PENNY!" Ruby squeaked out.
"Get down!" Hazel roared, grabbing a pistol from his belt and firing three shots in quick succession- each of which passed harmlessly through the creature's body. He succeeded only in getting its attention- it turned and grabbed him, slamming him into the wall a foot above the ground despite his mass. Immediately, his feet began to crystallize, the effect spreading up his legs towards his torso-
"STOP!"
The shout had come from the most unlikely of places- from the thus-far calm, quiet ren, now standing with a firm gaze, hand held out, palm facing the gnosis. And the most miraculous thing of all- the gnosis actually stopped, freezing in place.
"Uh... what?" Ruby tilted her head.
"Release him," ren instructed- and wonder of wonders, the gnosis obeyed, loosening its fingers until Hazel had fallen to the ground, his legs returning to their normal color just as Jaune's had when PENNY saved him on the Discovery.
"Za?" Yang leaned forward, openly staring.
ren approached the gnosis, keeping his eyes fixed on it, raising his left hand to remove the glove from the right. There was no tattoo or scar on it, nothing to hide beneath the gloves, and certainly nothing to explain why, when he reached out and gently touched the gnosis with his ring finger, it immediately began to dissolve. From the point he touched, a bright glow formed and steadily spread across the creature's entire body, undoing everything as it went, until the creature was simply no more.
"Your next line is 'Explanation. Now. Ten words or less," Vanessa whispered.
Weiss turned to her. "Explanation. Now. Ten words or less." Her eyes widened. "Wait, how did you-"
"renny can destroy gnosis just by touching them!" Nora cheered. "Oh, that is so cool! Forget all those weapons PENNY has, renny can do it with his bare hands! Without that Grey thingie! Oh! Oh! You wanna try that against grimm, too, Ren?"
"I would prefer not to," Ren shook his head, also staring wide-eyed at the screen. "But still... how?"
ren offered another small smile as he returned the glove to its place, heedless of the bewildered stares he was receiving from Jaune and Pyrrha.
"What... how did he...?" Pyrrha trailed off.
Qrow, however, was smiling. "Like I said... he's pulled our asses out of the fire too many times to count."
"Well, it... that certainly explains... why Neptune wanted to call him for a gnosis," Pyrrha choked out.
"What, none of them have ever asked how he does it?" Yang crossed her arms.
"I... how?" Jaune finally forced out. "I've never heard of a human defeating a gnosis- and just by touching it?!"
"Fantastic artists, swift runners," ren mused as he stepped forward. "Great scientists... a navigator who knows practically everything there is to know about the UMN..." he inclined his head towards Neptune, "and a pilot who rivals anything the military has to offer- allegedly," he added with a smirk.
"Name someone else who's made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs," Sun smirked.
"And the captain... nobody holds debt quite like the captain does," ren continued.
"Up yours, too, twink," Qrow scoffed.
Winter wanted to add something, but was keeping her ears open for an explanation to this miracle.
"Everyone has at least one skill that allows them to excel above all others," ren concluded. "As for them, so for me. It's... it's just something I can do."
"Well... when you put it that way..." Jaune said slowly.
"Yup, that's just how it is," Sun grinned.
"That doesn't explain anything," Whitley pointed out coldly.
"That's how it-" Pyrrha stammered. "That can't be all there is to it! Talent is one thing, but that was a gnosis!"
ren didn't seem to pay attention to the criticism, instead turning to his captain. "Well, I suppose we ought to get going- that girl seems to be a stickler for schedules."
"Yeah, we'd best..." Qrow groaned. "It's been one helluva day. So much for payin' off my debts and catching that Styx concert..."
"Styx? What does the river that runs through the underworld have to do with anything?" Weiss tilted her head.
"Wait, you've never heard of Styx?!" Yang gaped.
"Come sail away! Come sail away! Come sail away with me!" Ruby sang, remarkably off-key.
"Heh, those are my girls," Qrow chuckled.
"Ooooor you could watch the concert through the UMN," Neptune suggested.
"And lose out on the real-life experience?" Qrow scoffed. "Not likely."
"What 'real-life' experience?" Neptune fired back. "It's not like your brain can tell the difference! Hell, it's just a reconstruction from Lost Vytal anyways- it's not like they're still alive!"
"Bite thy tongue, heathen," Qrow waved aside wearily.
"Six thousand years in the future, I suppose they wouldn't be," Qrow shrugged. "But real good music never dies."
"Don't be such a grandfather," Winter rolled her eyes.
"Don't worry about it, Cap," Sun smirked. "He's just upset the Caramella Girls were never real to begin with."
Neptune gasped. "You did not just say that!"
"You know, with all I've learned about Neptune... I wouldn't even be surprised if he really was a Caramella Girls fan," Blake chuckled quietly.
"Well, at least they are just drawings," Weiss decided.
Jaune couldn't help chuckling at the crew's antics. Pyrrha took a deep breath, and joined him in smiling. She still found ren rather odd, but... he didn't seem to be a bad person- none of them did. Perhaps things would still turn out okay after all.
"We can only hope," Jaune nodded.
XXXX
I am very conscious that this episode is quite a bit shorter than the last few have been, but I'm a little superstitious myself- I wanted to move on from episode 13 as quickly as possible. This is a decent stopping place- next time, we'll get started on Childhood's End- aka, Xenoblade X. For all my talk about this being a Xeno story, I do think I can weave another science-fiction story into X's narrative, mainly to make up for the lack of one surrounding the actual protagonist. What story am I talking about? That should be apparent within the world's first sentence. Until then, go ahead and drop a review, and don't you dare go hollow! Gamer4 out.