Gamer4 in. Back to The Voyage Home we go! I'm trying to get through all pre-written material, all of which that's left is from that particular story. Not to say I intend to go straight through it for now, though- details in the end-notes. For now, my sleep-deprived self once again decided to introduce new reactors and leave me to clean up his mess- the jerk. Let's see what we can do.
Episode XXV
The Voyage Home
Operation Ladybug
"Hmm, I believe I understand the gist of what you are saying," Ghira sat down on a second couch that Jack and Tom had brought up just for him and Kali. "Actually believing it is another thing."
"Trust me, Pops, we've been here the longest, and we're still having trouble believin' it!" Nora nodded.
"...Pops?" Ghira repeated, the corner of his lip twitching with amusement.
"You get used to Nora... eventually... kind of..." Blake mumbled- she was still quite red-faced at the sudden introduction of her parents to her friends.
"And... why were we brought here in particular?" Ironwood asked, seating himself beside Winter.
"Because Yang was thinking out loud that it would be nice if Tai were here, Lana heard her, and ended up bringing half of Remnant here before finding him," Tom sighed heavily. "She's... an interesting case. When I found all four of you lurkin' round, I figured I oughtta bring you to the party so we can finally just get things rollin'."
"So it's blondie's fault we're all here?" Torchwick narrowed his eyes.
"Um... sorry?" Yang flushed at all the eyes on her.
"Nah, we really should have been keeping Lana on a shorter leash," Jack dismissed.
"Well, it's not all bad!" Kali chirped optimistically. "After all, we've finally been reunited with our darling daughter!" She waved jauntily at a Blake who was trying to immerse herself in the couch cushions.
"Hey, any chance to hang out with my daughters!" Tai grinned- that said, he was sitting on Qrow's opposite side, as both sisters had violently flushed and made it clear there was no room on the couch for him as soon as he'd attempted to sit between them.
"Well, if we're all as comfortable as we're likely to be," Jack rose to his feet, "I think I'm gonna step out and try to pull V off of Lana. I think we'll need her help if we're gonna keep so many people under control. You good 'til then, Tommy?"
"Yeah, I got everything under control," Tom waved. "Try to make sure she doesn't bury Lana alive again, would ya?"
"I'll do what I can," Jack sunk into a half-bow before evacuating the premises.
"You're... exaggerating, right?" Velvet asked, her ears twitching nervously.
"Be very thankful you haven't seen Vanessa on a bad day," Tom advised. "Now, if we're all good to go, we have some more worlds to go over. Now that we've got all the Belladonnas here, I'm thinkin' it's as good a time as any to get back to Voyage Home."
"Why now that we're here?" Kali asked.
"Well... you'll see," Tom shrugged. "Everyone caught up alright? Good. Let's go."
The Discovery may have failed its mission to uncover the fate of Chorus, but that fate wasn't entirely unknown. In fact, it had been recorded by an organization known as U-TIC- Unknown Territory Intervention and Creation. On paper, they were a group of scientists in the employ of the Galactic Federation- in practice, they were the military branch of a larger organization known only as the Chateau.
"Ohhh, Federations, galaxy-spanning organizations- this is quite fascinating!" Kali beamed.
"Try not to get too excited," Blake warned. "The Chateau makes the modern White Fang look like a single kid waving a protest sign."
"Oh, dear..." Ghira folded his hands. "In that case, we ought to keep a close eye on them."
U-TIC alone was a sizable organization, with bases across the galaxy- the most active one currently, however, was a stronghold built into an asteroid. It had been constructed by the Chateau's High Priestess, Sienna Khan, who had dubbed the structure Shangri-la.
"Shangri-la... another name for the eastern concept that we might call Shambhala," Ren noted. "The idea of Heaven on Remnant."
"It seems Sienna is quite as pretentious here as in our own world," Ghira analyzed.
Khan was not there at the moment- sitting in the command chamber instead was U-TIC Commander Adam Taurus and his direct suboordinate, Ilia Amitola. It was Ilia that was currently reviewing footage on her scroll of Chorus's final hours.
Across the planet, holes seemed to be opening up- glowing fractures resembling explosions of anti-matter. The video on her scroll was sped up significantly, hours passing in seconds- in reality, it had been an awful experience, taking place over the course of several days.
Before long, the entire planet had been consumed, until it finally disappeared altogether.
"So that's... that's what happened to Chorus? The planet that disappeared?" Velvet stammered out.
"An entire planet... rent apart... the loss of life must have been incalculable!" Ironwood stared, horrorstruck.
"Well... not quite incalculable..." Tom shook his head.
Adam seemed to recognize how much the troubled Ilia- he scoffed. "What's one and a half billion lives when compared to our lofty goals?"
"One... one and a half billion?!" Winter's jaw was on the floor. "That's over half the population of Remnant!"
Even Adam was taken aback by his other's statement. "All the faunus that must have died as well..."
"They were innocent," Ilia whispered quietly. She was a chameleon faunus, her body coated with scales that shifted to help her disguise herself- or shifted to reflect her mood. At the moment, they were a dull, muted blue.
"Innocent of everything," Adam agreed. "Innocent of hindering us, innocent of making anything of their small lives. Save your philanthropy for lesser causes, Amitola. Instead, ruminate on this- that event was caused with a mere copy of the Zohar- imagine what we could accomplish if we possessed the true artifact itself!"
"The copy did that?!" Pyrrha gasped. "A mere imitation made an entire planet disappear?!"
"If so, then the true Zohar must be kept out of the Chateau's hands at all costs," Ozpin agreed, his hands white around his cane. "With that kind of power, they could very well bring the entire galaxy to its knees."
"Or protect it..." Ironwood considered quietly, almost off-handedly- nobody seemed to hear him.
He paused, then shook his head. "Not that we truly need the original- the emulator is far closer at hand. All we need is to repeat the experiment until it yields results."
Ilia looked away, her scales refusing to change.
"That monster..." The students turned, surprised to see Whitley shaking with anger. "You mean to say you will repeat what you did on that planet on another, and another, condemning countless billions of lives until you finally get whatever result it is you're looking for?!"
"As if a Schnee has any room to-" Adam started, but to everyone's surprise again, Whitley cut him off.
"I don't care how you plan on finishing that sentence! I am not my father!"
Abruptly, Whitley seemed to realize who he was mouthing off to, and suddenly retreated again, earning bewildered (and some begrudingly respectful) glances from the teams.
"Not bad, rich boy, not bad..." Yang whispered.
"Is this all too much for your conscience to bear, Ilia?" Adam asked silkily. "Well, I invite you to take everything you've seen to the Federation. Don't be surprised when you find yourself in a cell, looking up as the security cameras blink out. And for what? A desperate effort to see one such as I tried in a court of ignoble commoners? You should know by now that it is up to us of the Chateau to mete out justice and punishment- life and death."
"Worse than the White Fang indeed," Ghira glared. "Not at its worst has it possessed such wretched ambitions."
"Or that level of power..." Blake added in a sort of horrified daze.
Before Ilia could formulate a response, much less give it, one of the lesser soldiers in the chamber stood up. "Commander Taurus, we have a message from Lieutenant Commander Rainart. The Discovery has been destroyed, the military unit decimated, and the Emulator has been taken by the gnosis."
"I see," Adam grunted. Only a slight downturn in his lips expressed his displeasure at this turn of events. "I suppose we ought to alert Hill, in that case. This eventuality was meant to fall to her. Tell her to move her fleet into standby and await further orders."
"Yes, sir."
"Hill?" Ironwood cocked his head.
"Her name has appeared once or twice in the past- though not, as far as I'm aware, in this world in particular," Winter recalled.
"Hmm, I certainly never saw her as someone who would be involved in a conspiracy of this magnitude," Ironwood pondered.
"Eh, try not to take everything you see too literally," Tom advised.
A second later, another soldier entered through the door. "Commander Taurus- the prisoner-"
"Please, Perry," Adam silenced him with a raised hand. "'Prisoner' is such an ugly word. Now, offer your report on our esteemed guest."
Perry offered a quick salute and nodded. "Our guest, she... she's still refusing to eat, sir."
Adam crossed his arms. "I see... very well, I'll speak with her again."
"'Her?'" Jaune repeated. "Who've they got locked up down there?"
Being built into an asteroid, Shangri-la was hardly a large facility- it took mere minutes to make it to the holding cell where their esteemed guest sat, despondent, on a bed. Whatever Adam wanted to call her, the chamber was rather spartan, including only a rather spartan bed, a steel toilet, and an unfolding table with a tray of basic nourishment upon it.
The prisoner had the appearance of a fifteen-year-old girl with short black hair, tipped with red, slightly longer on one side than the other. Her eyes were a bright silver, matching the crosses that pinned her red cloak and hood to her black skirt. Those eyes were currently trained on the ground beneath her.
"Me?!" Ruby yelped.
Yang smashed her fist on the couch. "Urge to murder... rising..."
"Get in line, firecracker," Tai growled.
"I've still got first dibs," Qrow reminded him. "Ever since you lost that poker game, remember?"
Adam didn't say anything, but felt a sudden chill down his spine.
Adam crossed his arms as he glared down at her. "Is the food here unsatisfactory? Even realians require nourishment, you know."
His lip twitched downward again as the girl refused to speak.
"Are the Federation's realians so ill-behaved that they refuse to answer the most basic of questions?"
The girl finally looked up from her knees. "I... don't like that name," she said quietly.
"So... I'm a realian?" Ruby realized.
"Doesn't look like your boy Adam thinks much more of realians than ours does of humans," Sun considered.
Qrow and Tai both threw Adam an evil look- he would never admit it, but he was beginning to sweat.
"Where am I?" Yang demanded. "Surely, I'd be trying to bust her out of there!"
Tom glanced around. "Let's just say... you're not in a position to."
Yang narrowed her eyes at him, but didn't object for the moment.
"Oh, my goodness, pardon me," Adam apologized in a voice dripping with sarcasm. "And what title would her majesty prefer me to render upon her?"
"My Mom... told me not to give my name to strangers."
Ruby winced. "...Mom?"
"Hold on, if she's an artificial human, or whatever, how does she even have a mother?" Torchwick asked. He immediately quailed under the united fury of two fathers. "What, I'm just askin'!"
"Presumably, her creator- her mother in all but literal blood," Ironwood supposed.
"Hmmm... wise of your mother, Ms. 100-series realian, very wise indeed," Adam scoffed.
"Where are you taking me?" the girl asked, not truly expecting any more of an answer than she'd received the last several times she'd asked.
She wasn't surprised. "That is not for you to know."
"What do you want with me?"
"Is it so strange for us to want your assistance?" Adam asked. "Machines like you, after all, exist to be used. And once that usefulness is up... Well, your fate after that is in the hands of God- assuming, of course, that creatures of your caliber have a God at all."
"A fine thing to hear from someone who's supposed to fight against prejudice!" Kali gasped.
"Wrong," Ghira shook his head in disappointment. "He fights prejudice against faunus. No other."
"That's... something I realized, too..." Blake admitted.
"What other type is there?" Adam scoffed.
"I pray you will be able to answer that one day, Taurus," Ghira met his gaze quite evenly. "I truly do."
The girl shuddered. "But... it's like you said, I'm just a 100-series realian! All I'm good for is tracking gnosis!"
"True, that's all you can do," Adam agreed, "but what about the woman in your head? The one you call... mother."
The girl gasped, and Adam smirked. "Now you see. Eat up, realian- our reader will be here soon."
He turned and stalked off. The girl wrapped her arms forlornly around herself. "Mom... Dad... I'm scared..."
"I'm about to kick some ass..." Yang growled.
"What does he mean, 'Mom's in my head?'" Ruby asked, befuddled.
"Huh... maybe she told you something?" Jaune speculated. "Gave you some sort of information that the Chateau wants?"
"Kinda a weird way to put it, if so," Nora tilted her head on her knuckle.
"And what's a 'reader?'" Neptune added his own question. "Is that what they call an 'interrogator?'"
Adam scoffed. "I'd like to think I'm more than capable of extracting information from a little girl."
"It's almost like you want us to come over there," Tai narrowed his eyes.
Far away from Shangri-la was the planet of Fifth Vytal. In the years following the official disappearance of Lost Vytal, it became a tradition to establish the Federation's capital on a planet that best matched descriptions of humanity's forgotten homeland. In size, temperament, gravitational pull, atmosphere, and a variety of other factors. This planet would then be named after that near-forgotten land. Quite clearly, Fifth Vytal was the fifth such planet.
"We are quite nostalgic creatures, aren't we?" Ozpin noted with a chuckle.
Additionally, each iteration of Vytal was outfitted with an orbital ring matching the one said to have been constructed around Lost Vytal in its final years, held up by three great towers that still held those names of old- SkyTree Rhadamanthus, Minos, and Aeacus. The latter of these was where, at this very moment in time, the Federation's Contact Subcommittee was meeting.
The Contact Subcommittee was something of a misnomer- it was less about making contact with anything than it was about cleaning up the mess left behind by the Fall of Beacon- a job they were still ankle-deep in fifteen years later. It had been established by a man named Taiyang Xiao Long, who still sat on it today- a tall, burly blond man with a rough, unshaven face. Many planetary governors sat on the committee, including Representatives James Ironwood of New Vale and Robyn Hill of Atlas.
"Never saw myself as someone to go out and start a committee," Tai crossed his arms and tilted his head.
"And I never fancied myself a politician," Ironwood agreed.
"Heh, first time?" Torchwick scoffed.
"Hold on- Adam mentioned Hill as being part of the Chateau!" Blake realized. "They've got someone on the committee!"
"That... can't be good," Velvet agreed nervously.
At the present time, they were discussing some very serious business.
"What do we actually know about this woman?" Ironwood asked.
The member who had summoned the woman in question answered. "She was a captain of Menagerie's police force, often collaborating with the Interplanetary Division. She led a counterterrorist unit with countless successful missions to their name. Of course, that was over a hundred years ago- she works freelance missions now."
"Uh- a hundred years ago? And she's still active?" Qrow blinked slowly. "What's her diet plan?"
"Advances in technology have basically tripled their lifespan," Tom explained. "Strictly speaking, she's not even middle-age yet."
"That... is impressive." Raven suddenly looked more interested than she had at any point previous.
"You think that's interesting, Jack tells me he found the recipe for the Philosopher's Stone," Tom smirked. "Though he also said you wouldn't like it."
Another of the committee members snorted. "A cyborg, hmm? How anachronistic."
She directed a rather snide glance over at Ironwood, who was known to be over half mechanical himself. Ironwood dutifully ignored the dig. The only one who acknowledged it was the woman sitting next to Ironwood, a tall woman in white, including her hair, tied up into a neat bun, who offered a frosty glare through her icy blue eyes. On all records, this woman's name was Freya Maxwell, and she owed more than enough to Ironwood to direct disdain at anyone who sneered at him like that.
"Okay, I've got my disagreements with the Tin Man," Qrow readily admitted, "but him being a Tin Man ain't one of them."
"Er... thank you?" Ironwood didn't seem certain what to say. "From what I understand, Hill considers herself rather progressive- and subsequently agressive to what she considers relics of the past. If cyborg technology falls under that category in this world..."
"Freya... Maxwell?" Winter wondered.
"Freya... one of the old Atlesian gods," Whitley identified. "How... appropriate."
"A relic from the old days, when reanimating life was considered laudable," agreed another member. "Before realians became the de-facto artificial life form."
Tai flicked through his scroll. "Quite the resume she's got... seems she takes on the most dangerous, most life-threatening missions available."
"So, is she insane, or just fascinated with death?" Robyn Hill asked.
Ironwood shook his head. "She has a clean bill of mental health."
Hill snorted. "Advances in science have filled our shelves with drugs for all afflictions, yet we still allow these... 'psychiatrists' power over us? We allow them to use these assessments to justify their existence when everything can be solved with a simple pill? I don't trust their word for a second."
"Still, she's never failed," Tai shrugged. "I think she'll be fine."
"Urgh, it's driving me crazy! Who are they talking about?!" Yang burst out.
"I don't believe we'll have to wait much longer," Ren interjected calmly.
Freya Maxwell coughed. "She's here."
"Very well," Ironwood nodded- with a press of a button, the door to the circular chamber opened and the woman of the hour stepped through.
She was tall, with long black hair that reached down her back. From the top of her head protruded a pair of cat ears, and her eyes of were of a bright amber that roamed around the room, taking in the view of space around and Fifth Vytal below. Most notably, she was significantly augmented through cybernetics. Both legs, her right arm, and over half of her torso were all mechanical, and while it didn't show physically, significant portions of her brain were more computer than biological matter.
She flicked her ears slightly as she stepped into the room's center.
"Whaaaaaaaaat?!" all of Team RWBY gasped.
Robyn Hill took the lead. "Allison Church, nee Belladonna, isn't it?"
"Allison?" Kali tilted her head.
"Church?!" Ghira's eyes were bugging out of his head. "NEE?!"
"Never heard that name, and I feel bad for the guy if he gets roped into this," Sun gulped.
Allison looked her in the eye. "I would prefer you to refer to me by my model number. I am Ziggurat 8, from the Blackwood Institution."
"I... want to be referred to... as a model?" Blake stammered.
"Yeah... that ain't like you at all," Yang narrowed her eyes.
"Who could have done that to her...?" Adam growled.
"For your sake, I hope it wasn't your other," Ghira outgrowled him.
"As you like it," Hill agreed. "Upon your death in 4650 TE, your body was donated to the Blackwood Institute and developed into what it is now, correct?"
"Correct."
"And she died, too?!" Ruby squealed.
"But I was revived!" Blake pointed out quickly, unwilling to have Ruby start crying- especially in the presence of her parental figures. "I'm still around, see?"
"Have you been informed of this mission's details?" Ironwood asked.
"No, sir, I have not."
Ironwood cleared his throat. "Recently, we've received information that a certain armed group is showing signs of resurgance. The very group, in fact, held responsible for the Fall of Beacon fifteen years ago."
"The U-TIC Organization, correct?" Ziggurat 8 recalled.
"So the Chateau caused this... Fall of Beacon," Ozpin noted.
"Should have guessed," Yang snorted.
"Now, now, Yang," Ozpin chastised lightly, "while our first guess may have been correct here, don't forget that it is a mistake to theorize without as much information as we can get. Inevitably, one begins to twist facts to suit theories, rather than theories to suit facts."
"Correct," Ironwood nodded. "After a great deal of searching, we were able to locate one of their bases."
He tapped a button on his scroll, and an overhead screen produced an image of Shangri-la.
"Reconnaissance, then?" Ziggurat 8 guessed.
"Not quite," Ironwood shook his head. "Operation Ladybug is a rescue operation." He motioned to Tai, who tapped on his scroll- the image of Shangri-la was supplanted by the image of a young girl with silver eyes and black hair tipped with red.
"Oooohhhh!" Ruby's eyes started to glow. "Blake's gonna come save me?"
"I suppose it makes sense," Blake considered. "They called it 'Operation Ladybug,' after all."
"Our team attack name!" Ruby cheered.
"A child?" Ziggurat 8 asked. "A civilian?"
"A realian," Hill corrected. "100-series. Heard of them?"
"Only rumors. They were built to combat gnosis... I didn't know they were meant to look like children."
"You can blame Summer Xiao Long for that," Hill commented, nose wrinkling as if an unpleasant smell had passed beneath it.
"You'd best have a good explanation for that look, if you're interested in keeping your teeth," Yang cracked her knuckles.
Ziggurat 8 ignored this. "I was given to understand that Sector is already mass-producing the 100-series. Was I wrong?"
"This is the prototype," Tai answered. "Upon which all future units will be modeled."
Yang's anger vanished in a second. "They're... mass-producing Rubys?"
Tai crossed his arms, clearly taking a darker meaning. "They're... mass-producing Rubys?"
"Very well," Ziggurat 8 nodded. "Recover the girl, all other objectives secondary, correct?"
"Correct," Ironwood agreed. "Will you accept the mission?"
"I'm a cyborg- I have no right to refuse," Ziggurat 8 confirmed. "Allow me to analyze the situation- I'll tell you what weapons and equipment I'll need." She then looked away, as if ashamed of something. "I understand I have no right to demand compensation, either, but... if you will..."
"Oh, dear, what happened to you?" Kali asked with shining eyes. "Our Blakey would never say things like this!"
"When I find whoever caused her to feel this way..." Ghira glowered, half an eye in Adam's direction- but, with Ozpin's earlier advice in mind, he did not act right away.
Adam was hardly any better himself. "No matter what I did, it would hardly cause her to actually believe that she's sub-human."
Blake was trying to figure out her other, and begrudgingly admitted to herself that Adam had a point there.
"We'll hear you out," Ironwood nodded, eyes narrowing curiously.
"Upon my return, I'd ask that you eradicate all memories from my previous life... as Allison," Ziggurat requested.
Ironwood blinked. "Well... that can certainly be accomplished, but... it could be a difficult procedure. Most of your parts seem rather outdated-"
"You may add any synthetic parts necessary," Ziggurat insisted.
"Hnmm... how odd," Hill observed. "We're on the cusp of finally granting realians human rights, and here we have a human that wishes to become a machine. Very well... we'll make the arrangements."
"Thank you."
A chill ran through the audience. "Is it just me... or is her requested compensation essentially an execution?" Weiss choked out.
"That... is certainly what it sounds like..." Ironwood agreed uncomfortably.
Tai stood. "I'll show you to the recon room, let you do that analysis."
He moved over to her and guided her to an elevator, leaving a deafening silence in their wake.
"What an odd individual," Freya Maxwell commented.
Ironwood continued looking through his scroll. "Ah... I see... she didn't die in the line of duty. Her death was... self-inflicted. One shot to the head courtesy of her own service pistol."
"NO!" both Ghira and Kali leapt to their feet.
"Took... took her own..." Weiss stammered.
Blake choked as Yang wrapped her arms around her tightly. "Don't you dare, Blake Belladonna- no matter how bad things get, you don't do that, you come to us!"
"We'd never want to see you... see you... do that!" Ruby agreed fiercely.
"We'll all stand by you, no matter what!" Pyrrha insisted.
"Yeah... what they all said!" Jaune nodded.
"Someone makes you feel that way, I'll break their legs!" Nora put in.
"...Quite," Ren agreed, quietly but sternly.
"You've got a lot of people on your side, Blake," Sun gave a small smile, quite different from his usual wide beam. "You can count on all of us."
"I... I know," Blake nodded slowly. "Don't worry, I've... I've never considered doing... that."
"Suicide?" another member sat up straight. "And we're entrusting the 100-series prototype to her? What if she takes this opportunity to finish herself off?!"
"Her cybernetics won't permit that," Ironwood denied. "She can neither self-terminate nor intentionally fail her mission." He rose to his feet and gazed through a window at the planet far below. "I suppose that explains her request, however... she was resurrected against her will. Only when every last biological component is replaced with machinery... will she be truly dead."
"Ooohhh, I just thought of something!" Nora realized, slapping a fist into an open palm. "It's obvious what's going to happen!"
"Er... is it?" Jaune asked uneasily.
"She's gonna go in and save Ruby, and Ruby's gonna restore her will to live with her cuteness!" Nora sat down, proudly crossing her arms. "Cracked it!"
"Um... I'm not sure that's how that works?" Ruby more asked than asserted.
Yang glanced at her, and pulled her into a tight hug. "I believe it."
Ziggurat 8 allowed itself to be led to a dark chamber full of holographic maps and date terminals, where Tai took a seat and offered it the seat across from him.
"I'll stand, thank you,"
Tai shrugged in a way that indicated, Alright, suit yourself.
He then crossed his arms. "Any other questions, before we get down to business?"
Ziggurat 8 thought for a moment, then asked, "What's the real reason this girl is so valuable?"
Tai couldn't help smiling. "Sharp one. I like that." He paused. "That realian... isn't just the prototype. She was developed directly by the founder of U-TIC, Summer Xiao Long. That information... could determine the future of mankind."
"Wait, waitwaitwait- Summer founded U-TIC?" Tai interjected.
"Well... she clearly didn't intend it to become part of the Chateau!" Yang objected.
"No... no she didn't," Tom admitted. "U-TIC was founded to examine hte Zohar- the Chateau took control of it from under her nose."
"Bastards," Yang grunted.
"Nothing major, but... Summer actually took my name in this world?" Tai noticed.
"I mean, she was planning on it before... before," Qrow reminded him heavily.
"Summer... Xiao Long..." Ziggurat 8 pondered.
"You've probably also heard of her as the woman who caused the Fall of Beacon," Taiyang Xiao Long nodded.
Ziggurat 8 continued to gaze at him, wordlessly.
Finally, he sighed. "Yeah, I see there's no getting anything past you. She was my wife, too. Alright, time for the questions, I know they're coming. 'What was it like being married to the madwoman who destroyed an entire planet? Did she show any signs that she was going to summon the gnosis?'"
"WHAAAAAAT?!" Ruby, Yang, Tai, and Qrow all reacted poorly to this news.
"C-c-caused the Fall of Beacon?" Ruby stammered.
"Madwoman?!" Tai looked affronted at his other's assertion.
"Summoned the gnosis?!" Qrow and Yang's jaws dropped.
"Hmm... I'd like to dismiss the claims out of hand, but if Tai, of all people, can admit to such things..." Ozpin considered.
"There... there must have been some mistake!" Ruby flapped her arms. "She wouldn't do that! She wouldn't!"
"I mean... I suppose there's room... for it to be a misunderstanding of some sort..." Whitley suggested quietly.
"You geeeeet iiiiiiit!" Ruby wailed, clinging onto him in a tight hug. Whitley sat up straight and alarmed, not least due to the glare Yang was directing his way.
Ziggurat 8 remained silent for a moment before replying. "...No. I have no intention of asking such questions."
Tai let some air out through his nose that might have been a scoff or a sigh of relief. "Regardless, I'm sure that that's why U-TIC abducted her. We can't let them get their hands on that data."
"Understood," Ziggurat 8 nodded, then hesitated again. "There... is one other question, if I may?"
"Fire away," Tai nodded, producing a cigarette and lighting it up.
"This realian... she's registered as your daughter... but instead of taking her to you, you want me to take her to New Vale. Is there... any particular reason for that?"
"Obviously, he's gonna meet us on New Vale!" Ruby nodded confidently.
"Hmm..." Tai flicked off the end of his cigarette, clearly deciding how much to tell her. "There are operations going on in the area between the Vale and Menagerie star systems- operations that she's best placed as part of." His voice trailed off, but it was still audible to Ziggurat 8's faunus ears. "Besides, this way, I don't have to see her either..."
Ruby faltered. "He... he doesn't want to see me?"
"What are you doing, you idiot?!" Tai snarled at his other. "Why wouldn't you want to see her?!"
"Why would he be acting like... acting like..." Yang stared.
"...Go on," Raven sneered.
"I don't think I need to," Yang sneered back.
When it finally left the chamber on its own, the 124-year old cat-eared woman who'd committed suicide only to be revived as a cyborg who refused to be referred to by anything except her model number had only one thought for Taiyang Xiao Long:
What a strange man.
"Strange is right," Tai scoffed. "Ruby, I'm so sorry."
"It's okay," Ruby assured him. "It's... it's not like it's actually you."
Forty-six hours later, Ziggurat 8 was riding on a ship towards the asteroid of Shangri-la. It had slipped aboard a U-TIC ship, and was currently hiding in the cockpit, crouched and disguised by its classic stealth camouflage- a nifty little device that bent light around it, rendering it effectively invisible.
"Oh, sweet, this is Metal Gear now!" Nora grinned. "Blake? Blake? BLAAAAAAAAAAKE!"
"We all appreciate your enthusiasm, Nora," Ren muttered, turning his pinky in his ear.
When the ship finally made port, it snuck out into the dock, silently as it could- which was rather silently. Stealth missions had always been its specialty.
It slunk through the dock, immediately taking notice of a small, two-man ship- an obvious escape vehicle if it had ever seen one. But first, to make sure they wouldn't be followed...
It snuck around to the other vehicles in the bay, carefully planting bundles of explosives on each. They wouldn't, of course, be destroyed outright, but they'd be too damaged to immediately pursue without repairs.
Never one to waste resources, it planted more explosives periodically throughout the bay, less for damage and more in case it needed a distraction for a quick escape. Finally, it left through a dark hallway.
"Hmm, she may never have been in the White Fang in this world-" Adam started.
"-Likely because it doesn't really exist," Torchwick pointed out somewhat sardonically.
"-but she still knows how to run an infiltration."
"It seems only yesterday she was still playing with her little dollies!" Kali wept.
"Mom!" Blake objected.
The hallway was like a cathedral, with high columns and arched passageways, periodically with statues of those the Chateau considered ancient heroes and priests of renown.
However, it wasn't until she passed through another door and found herself on a bridge that she realized just what Shangri-la was.
The bridge spanned above a massive chamber. Below her were several pews sitting before an altar where the greatest statue of all stood- the statue of the Chateau's founder, a relic from Lost Vytal. A pipe organ stood nearby, ready to play, and Ziggurat 8 came to understand- as much as this was a military base for U-TIC, it was also a place of worship for the Chateau- they were a religion as much as an organized force.
"I'd noticed the current White Fang does have something of a religious fervor to it, but nothing to this extent," Ghira crossed his arms.
Ziggurat 8 didn't think much of religion one way or the other. Even as Allison, she'd never been devout in any of the universe's practices, but neither had she had scathing words for those who did. However, when it gazed upon this steeple, it send a chill up her spine. Something about this place... was wrong. Very, very wrong.
It hurried through, and found itself amongst stark, barren hallways, occasionally emptying into chambers where it could see the soldiers of U-TIC running drills and practicing inside mechs of their own, further distancing the asteroid from the place of peace that, to its understanding, holy places were intended to be.
"I think the fact that they kidnapped a child might have something to do with that," Neptune pointed out fairly.
The girl in question, the 100-series prototype realian, was back to sitting on her bed, staring despondently at the wall when she heard a ruckus from the guards placed right outside. "Something's wrong," one said. "B block hasn't checked in yet. I'll go see what's happening- stay here and guard the girl."
"Yessir!"
She hurried to the door, standing on tiptoe to reach the small window. "What's going on? What's wrong?"
"Shut up and sit-" the guard started, only to choke as he was grabbed from behind by invisible arms. A second later, his head twisted around with a sickening crack! He slumped to the floor.
"I'm... not entirely comfortable with killing..." Blake muttered uncomfortably.
"Kidnapping Ruby? I'm not gonna complain too much," Yang snarled.
The girl squeaked and pulled away, retreating to the bed as the sound of the guard's key being used met her ears. The door slid open, and after a crackle of light, a woman stood there- a cyborg.
"Yes, Blake to the rescue!" Ruby pumped a fist.
"Who- who are you?" the girl squeaked nervously.
The cyborg raised its hands. "I'm not a threat- the Contact Subcommittee sent me to rescue you."
"The subcommittee- Daddy!" the girl's eyes immediately lit up.
"Why would I turn away from such a precious angel?!" Tai demanded.
The cyborg stepped in and knelt down to her level. "Just to confirm, you are the 100-series prototype realian, correct?"
The girl's eyes darkened a little. "I... don't really... like that name..."
"Then what shall I call you?" the cyborg asked politely.
"Y'see? That's how you ask for her name," Sun couldn't help smirking over at Adam.
Before the girl could respond, alarms began blaring- the cyborg turned to see that the other guard had returned, a device in his hand that had clearly caused the blaring red lights. The cyborg quickly picked up the other guard's gun and shot him down, but the damage was done. It extended a hand. "We need to go."
The girl gulped, then squealed, "Ruby!"
"Hmm?" the cyborg asked, glancing back at her.
"My name... it's Ruby. That... that's what Mom called me, at least..."
The cyborg's eyes softened. "Well, let's hurry up and go, Ruby, before we're both caught."
Ruby nodded and followed her into the halls.
"So sweeeeet!" Kali cooed excitedly. "You know, little Valkyrie, I think you might just be right!"
The cyborg fidgeted a bit with the stealth camouflage, but it refused to turn on. It had always been a bit finnicky. Ah, well, it could hardly have disguised Ruby with it as well. It guided her through the halls- upon hearing a regiment of U-TIC soldiers thundering from the opposite direction, it grabbed Ruby by the shoulders and dragged her into a disused room, quickly shutting the door behind.
They remained silent as the soldiers thundered past. Even when the sounds died down, they remained there, crouching.
Ruby whispered to her, "So... are you a military realian?"
"Ex-human- a cyborg," Ziggurat 8 corrected. "An ancient relic of the Life Recycling Act."
"I've heard of that," Ruby nodded in understanding. "That was just cancelled twenty years ago, right?"
Ziggurat 8 nodded. "I registered as an organ donor without giving it much thought. I died, and the next thing I knew, I was waking up on a lab table."
"Nice of her to leave the exact hows out," Torchwick scoffed.
"I'm guessing telling her she committed suicide wouldn't exactly make her confident in them getting off that asteroid alive," Neo giggled, somewhat sadistically.
Ruby hesitated. "So... what's your name?"
Ziggurat 8 hesitated. "I'm... Ziggurat 8, developed at the Blackmoore Institute."
Ruby pouted. "You're human, though! Why should you go by a model number?" Suddenly, she clapped her hands together. "I've got it! Blackmoore... what if I called you Blake? It kinda fits your style!"
"She... even gave her that name," Ghira's eyes widened. "Yes... perhaps the girl in pink was correct after all."
"She can be surprisingly perceptive at times," Ren nodded approvingly.
Ziggurat 8 hesitated, suddenly flooding with memories.
"Here you go, Adrian."
"Wow, sweet, Mom! A dog!"
Kali's eyes suddenly seemed to turn feral. "Did I hear something about... a grandchild?!"
"Other world, Mom, other world!" Blake pleaded, turning redder than Ruby's cloak. "I'm not even old enough in ours!"
"Sorry I had to settle for a robotic one. I wanted a real one, but they're just too expensive."
"Oh, no, he's great! What's his name?"
"Er... Zweiton Mark 2."
"Oh, that's just his model number. Makes him sound like a robot... hmm... I know! How about Zwei! Short for Zweiton, and two! Whaddya think?"
"And she got her kid Zwei?!" Ruby squealed.
"Er... Zwei?" Ghira asked.
As if he'd heard his name, the famed corgi burst into the room, excited anew at the presence of so many new friends.
"Oh, if you're not just the cutest!" Kali started cooing again, picking him up and chuckling as he licked eagerly at her face.
"Great... he's taking over my family, too," Blake groaned.
Ziggurat 8 pulled itself out of her memories to find Ruby gazing up at it anxiously. "Do you... not like it?"
It hesitated... then shook her head. "Call me whatever you want."
"Alright, Blake it is, then!" Ruby beamed, holding her hands together.
The corner of Blake's mouth twitched upwards. She strained her ears. "Sounds like we're all clear. We just need to make it to the docks."
"I hope someone picks up that phone, because I freakin' called it!" Nora preened.
"Nobody likes a sore winner, Nora," Ren chuckled.
Things were frantic in Shangri-la's control room. "Commander!" one of the soldiers cried. "It's the prototype- she's escaping!"
"One of the government's dogs, no doubt," Adam speculated, his hand clenching into a fist- the only sign of his anger.
"They disappeared near D Block- we have soldiers patrolling the area as we speak."
"Surround it," Adam agreed, "and fence them in from both sides. I'll head to the docks."
"Yes, sir!"
"Well, if he's the one who caused Blake's current state, we are about to see their confrontation," Penny assessed.
Adam leaned forward. "Blake..."
Blake and Ruby had arrived at the docks themselves- they were currently crouched behind crates of cargo. Blake scanned the area, and was pleased to find that none of her explosives had been located, disarmed or removed.
The downside, however, were the three large AGWS units that blocked their way. Blake quickly scanned the area, searching for every possible asset and liability. "These people have money to throw around- I think this is a little more than a simple resurgance."
"What do we do?" Ruby asked. Blake flinched- the girl was looking up at her with those sparkling silver eyes, so confident that her rescuer would know exactly how to break them out, but the fact of the matter was...
"I don't know. We certainly can't stay here all day. I'm sure the soldiers on on their way as we speak."
"They are," Ruby nodded. "Eight hundred soldiers- they should be here in about ten minutes."
Blake nodded- she'd almost forgotten that this girl was also an observational realian.
"Handy little buggers," Torchwick commented. "Maybe I oughtta get me one of-"
A twin pair of hands appeared on his shoulder. He looked up to see two sets of eyes- one red and one blue glaring down at him. "You. Will. Not."
Blake looked around again. "Either way you look at it, we need to get past them... but rushing them is out of the question..."
"Even for you?" Ruby asked, wide-eyed.
Blake felt her lips twitch upwards again. "Even for me. Cyborg or no, those AGWSs' guns will tear me apart."
"Sturdy, not invincible," Ironwood nodded his agreement.
"What if their sensors were deactivated?"
"That... would give me a fighting chance, yes," Blake agreed.
"Alright!" Ruby beamed. She closed her eyes, and the air around her began to glow. "Mystic powers... grant me a miracle!"
A pulse emitted from her body- a wave that rolled over the room.
"Why does that look familiar?" Ruby put a finger on her chin.
Blake heard the pilots panic. "My sensors are down!"
"Someone's using the Grey Effect on us!"
"Oh, that's right- the Grey Effect!" Ruby remembered, slapping a fist down onto her palm. "But... I thought that was just for gnosis!"
"Nah, it fiddles with electronics, too," Tom clarified. "It's just the gnosis it's mostly used for."
Sensing her chance, Blake spun around and, using the UMN just as PENNY might, summoned a rocket launcher to her side. With a single blast, one of the lesser AGWS was destroyed.
"The intruder!" barked the leader, marked by his large red unit. "Attack!"
"I still can't see!" the suboordinate wailed.
"Attack before I kill you myself!"
The lesser unit staggered its way in Blake's general direction, but was met with another blast from her strongest weapon.
The leader grunted angrily, kneeling behind a shield. "Deactivating sensors- I'll find you, bastard-"
He opened up the shielding surrounding his cockpit, allowing him to see as Blake leapt over his shield and landed directly in front of him. From her prosthetic arm emerged a large sword. "Don't take it too hard- you didn't stand a chance."
The blade burst through the glass and ended the man's life before he could feel any pain.
"Y'know, the whole death-seeking thing aside, I actually like this Blake," Yang grinned.
"While I'd prefer not to have to kill... I see what you're saying," Blake admitted.
Blake returned to the ground, flexing her mechanical arm. "Hmm... the Grey Effect... our weapon against the gnosis..."
She knelt next to Ruby, noticing that she looked pale, leaning against one of the crates. "Are you okay?" she asked quickly.
"Ruby? Ruby? RUUUUUUBYYYYYY!" Nora wailed.
"This isn't actually Metal Gear, you know," Jaune pointed out, uncovering his ears.
"Yeah, I... the Grey Effect can interfere with mechanics, but..."
"But you're not immune," Blake surmised. "Not entirely, at least."
"Hmm... that would seem to be quite the oversight," Ironwood observed.
"Then again, she certainly appears resistant- she's a little pale, but she didn't shut down entirely the way their sensors did," Winter pointed out.
"Still, perhaps that is something worth fixing in the next patch," Penny suggested.
"That's, uh... one way to put it," Ruby giggled nervously.
She glanced at the newly-empty docking bay. "Do you need me to carry you out?"
Ruby's eyes widened and she shook her head as she resolutely rose to her feet. "No, no, no! I'm... I'm a lot stronger than I look!"
Blake smiled. "So I see. Come, let's go."
Yang sighed. "Okay, fine, Blake, I'll do it- I dub you Ruby's honorary big sister. If I'm not around to big sister her, I trust you to be able to do it instead."
"Um... thanks?" Blake accepted uncertainly.
"Just accept it," Ruby advised. "That's the highest honor she ever gives to anyone."
They had barely taken three steps forward before the doors leading deeper into the base exploded, and from them emerged Adam Taurus, sword out and ready for action. "Hmm... I wondered who would be foolish enough to steal from us."
He ran his hand along his sword, covering it in fire ether before bringing it down- it created a wave of white-hot flames heading right towards the escapees. Blake quickly turned, wrapping her arms protectively around Ruby, defending her from the worst of the heat.
"Well, if they know each other, he sure didn't see fit to observe the pleasantries," Whitley observed.
"Which means we don't know each other in this world," Blake decided. "He absolutely would have said something otherwise."
"Yes..." Adam heaved a sigh. "Yes, I would have."
The moment the attack had ended, Blake turned to face the new adversary head-on. He seemed amused. "I see... so it's your body that got you this far. Still... I can't believe my men were unable to stop a mere cyborg."
Ruby squeaked in fear. "Blake, this is him- this is the guy who-"
"I know," Blake whispered.
"At least I can finally get some decent exercise," Adam scoffed, running a hand along his blade again. "It's been quite some time since Wilt and Blush had their fill of blood."
"My weapons retain the same names, at the very least," Adam noticed.
"And you're just as much of an edgelord," Torchwick scoffed.
"Say that to my face," Adam snarled.
"Oh, I am- it's just you're too busy being pinned by a cat."
He rushed forward- Blake barely managed to parry with the sword in her arm. She attempted to summon her launcher again, but Adam didn't permit her such time- had she dodged a second later, she'd have lost her other arm as well.
He was remarkably fast- she spent so much time on the defense she didn't have any left over to attempt a strike of her own.
"Weak," he sneered as he leaned over her in a sword lock. "Weak and pathetic. Are you sure you don't have any other tricks up your sleeve?"
"Ask and ye shall receive," Sun smirked.
In response, Blake used her free hand to grab the detonator and activate all the explosives she'd planted. She braced herself, but Adam was knocked to the ground by the shockwaves.
"Let's go!" Blake called- Ruby quickly pulled herself to her feet and dashed after Blake towards the only ship she hadn't just destroyed. The entire bay was awash in flames that were spreading and keeping Adam from pursuing.
"Almost feels like Deus Ex Machina bullshit, but she did set it up in advance, so..." Torchwick conceded.
"You'd have to be CinemaSins to be that stupid," Tom agreed with a chuckle.
Just as they were climbing in, Blake felt a chill down her spine. There was someone or something else in the bay with them... something she didn't like at all. She looked around, searching for it with her faunus eyes, augmented by cybernetics... but she couldn't make it out past the flames.
"Uh-oh, that doesn't sound good," Ruby gulped.
"Blake's senses have never let us down before..." Weiss agreed.
"Blake!" Ruby squealed- she'd already assumed her position in the backseat.
Blake shook her head and dove into the front, activating the ship and taking off with all due speed.
Adam was left alone on the bay until soldiers arrived prepared to fight the fires the intruder had started. He looked around, taking in the wrecked ships. It would take some time to organize a pursuit. "Well, she really did do this properly..."
But above that, why was he fighting a sense of deja vu? Did he know that woman from somewhere? He felt so strongly that he did, but could place nothing...
"So... he does recognize her, but doesn't understand why?" Velvet asked.
"That's... odd," was all Blake could think to say.
He sheathed his sword and turned to face the new arrival, whom he'd sensed just as Blake had. There were, in fact, two of them- a man and a girl. The girl was small, her face nearly identical to the recently departed Ruby's, but she was dressed in a uniform that marked her as a servant, from her skirt to her hat.
"Um... a Ruby with white hair- and a maid outfit?" Jaune tilted his head.
"I wish I could- wait!" Weiss halted when she recognized the person Adam was actually addressing.
All of Adam's attention was for the man walking before her. He was tall, slender, dressed in a white button-up shirt and a blue vest. His hair was a shock of white, and immaculately maintained. His icy blue vest matched his icy blue eyes, which were the only thing giving away that this was no ordinary man. Over his right eye was an ugly, jagged scar, and within the eyes themselves was a deep sense of madness.
"Whitley?" Winter stared.
"What happened to..." Weiss trailed off.
"Those eyes..." Even Ironwood was shivering a little. "I've seen eyes like those before... it never bodes well."
Whitley said nothing- even he was unnerved by the appearance of this other, though he couldn't quite put his finger on exactly why.
He wore a small smile as he stepped out into the bay from a mech far larger than any AGWS Adam had ever seen, imprinted with the name Kisaragi. He moved without any fear of the flames, and met Adam's gaze quite steadily. "As successful as I expected, Taurus."
Adam's eyes narrowed behind his visor. "Impeccable timing as ever... Schnee."
"Okay, saying I might team up with a human is one thing," Adam interjected. "But a Schnee?! I would never!"
"If it helps your wounded pride," Raven rolled her eyes, "it doesn't look like they actually care for each other. I imagine any alliance between these two is purely one of necessity."
Adam grumbled, but didn't object again.
"So... is he the reader that Adam was talking about?" Velvet wondered.
"Hmm... it's difficult to say for certain," Ozpin admitted. "It seems feasible, but our evidence for now is... circumstantial."
"Where are we going?" Ruby asked, assuming control of the ship.
Blake was still staring at the stars, recalling that chill she'd felt as they took off. She couldn't explain it, nor could she stop thinking about it.
"Hell, she didn't even see him and she's got chills up her spine," Sun blinked.
"Blake?"
"Hmm?" Blake looked around. "Oh, yes... get us to the nearest column. Don't worry about a specific location yet- for now, just get us out of here."
"Aye aye!"
They took off, speeding away towards the nearest gate until Shangri-la was less than a speck on the horizon.
XXXX
Might be a bit before I get to the next episode- I expect to pick up Stellar Blade on day one, and that's liable to take up some time. Then again, the next episode is gonna be another installment of Voyage Home that I only have to touch up and add reactions to, so who knows? After that... I have a bit of a conundrum. My instinct is to go back to either Xenoblade 2 or 3 (Road to Shambhala or Chariots of Fire.) RTS/Xenoblade 2 is indisputably the most popular world being run here, and it's higher on the tier list, but... I looked back and realized we haven't touched on CoF/Xenoblade 3 since this story was in single digits, in terms of chapters. I've been putting it off because it so greatly builds on Blades 1 and 2 set up. I'm leaning slightly more towards a few episodes of CoF for that reason, but if you would prefer to see more 2 instead, feel free to tip me off. If you have any thoughts, feel free to drop a review or PM, and until next time, don't you dare go hollow- Gamer4 out!