The Bullheads transporting the teams of the now conjoined Misfits Private Military Company and the unnamed PMC that the girls had formed touched down at Beacon's landing pads, disgorging their content of laughing soldiers and comrades in arms long thought lost. Laughter echoed throughout the courtyard, much to Ozpin's and seemingly Glynda's joy.
The two older adults of the group walked ahead of the team, sometimes looking back at the platoon of gathered soldiers to see their reactions to seeing each-other again. Katja and Paul seemed to be laughing like they were old friends about something, while Lita and Jim were engaged in recollections about some old games they played and Hassan, Aleksandr and Nicole spoke of their service.
In the middle of it all, walking together quietly, hand in hand and smiling all the while, Victor, the first young man Ozpin had met and seen the tired face of and Vesna, the love of his life that he'd so longed for, walked together, Vesna's own dual Faunus traits twitching and wagging with happiness, her face red as she smiled.
Dushman, Alex, Anja and Saila behind them seemed terrifically overjoyed, too, though their engagement was a bit less than the others', while Robert, though he worked hard to hide his own smile as he sipped from his Coca Cola, walked behind the group, rifle slung over his shoulder, with Alexi and Ayesha.
He'd bothered to learn all of their names for the specific reason that they, who'd perished trying to find each-other, reminded him too much of himself. Though unlike him, they could still smile, because no foul game or play was behind their own misery. He paused as he saw Samantha drag a cuffed Roman Torchwick out by the arm, seemingly being rough with him.
He hummed, then watched as the Marines and Romanian Army troops marched out to greet the 'center' of the Misfits PMC. He turned to Glynda and told her, "Get Argent on the Scroll and tell him he and Malya are going through that merger, finally…" before smiling as he saw Diana cheer Vic and Ves on, giving them both a hardy hug.
The US Marines assisted Sam in dragging the annoyed Torchwick away, all while Glynda replied, "Should we be prepared in case more people arrive? They've already found at least two locations containing people from their world," before she gazed upon the few representatives from that Paratrooper village approach. She murmured, "Heavens only know whether there are others out there…"
"There most certainly are. And we can only hope they're as friendly," The man answered calmly, both hands on his cane as his gaze turned to team RWBY. An excited miss Rose bounced around, while Weiss seemed a bit concerned, Blake was calm after they'd cleared the air and miss Xiao-Long seemed surprisingly sad.
He hummed, then added, "I will have a talk with Lieutenant Lee about sending out a planet-wide encrypted broadcast. Best to gather all potential allies under one banner, deal with any other threats that might arise before they become too great," and he watched Glynda's eyes slightly widen. He told her, "Lieutenant Lee and her troops are proactive… I see it's a good idea now."
"Huh," Glynda nodded, "Very well, Headmaster… I'll have our staff prep the unoccupied dorms for the new arrivals," and she departed. The man gave a nod, then watched the Misfits walk by, each of them offering him a salute and a smile, laughter echoing throughout the crew once more after a joke told by the Lieutenant.
The young huntresses that first found Victor stopped beside the Headmaster, watching them walk off. Ruby spoke, "Heh, so that's how they looked like when they first met," before looking at Weiss. The Heiress looked at Blake, who rubbed her arm, then sighed deeply and gave her a tap on the shoulder. Blake looked at her, turning slightly pale, but Weiss shook her head.
Despite wanting to be a contentious little loud-mouth moments after they recovered Blake, Weiss couldn't help but be a little more calm after seeing the young men that they knew as tired veterans light up like teenage friends. She offered a hand to Blake and spoke to her, dead serious, "Promise me… Promise us… That you will never run away again. That you'll tell us any problems you have. We're team-mates, after all. And if we can't trust each-other, who can we?"
Blake blinked, stunned at Weiss's honesty and maturity. She smiled a little, a tear in the corner of her eye, then shook the girl's hand and said, "I promise…" with a shaky voice. Weiss had become a little more mature in their short half-year stay in Beacon. It was nice to see her like that, even after they threw some pretty nasty words at each-other.
Ruby beamed, then threw her hands up and said, "Ooh, yeah! Team RWBY's back together again!" only for the three to then pause and look at Yang. Despite the sadness gleaming in her eyes, the blonde smiled a little. Her sister walked up to her and gave her a hug, then said, "It's alright, Yang. There's plenty of guys and gals out there!"
Yang immediately snorted, covering her mouth and laughing, "RUBY!"
Weiss chuckled, then shrugged and said, "Can't say she's wrong, Yang," while Blake giggled. Ozpin himself cracked a smile at the quip, then tilted his head toward the dorms, to show them to get some rest. A short two-week break was gonna start come next week and it was going to be Ruby's birthday, too, so she would get to go home with Yang.
… The Misfits, in the meanwhile, arrived home. The joy never faded as the group rallied up inside their homes, with Sam stopping short of the door and handing Torchwick to Rob, only to tell him, "Get him to the back shed and tie his ass up to a chair. We'll deal with interrogating him later," which got a nod out of him. He threw the empty can of coke into the recycle bin, then grabbed Torchwick by the arm and pushed him forward
"Hey, hey, watch the suit!" the ginger barked
Robert only slapped him upside the head, taking his hat off his head and telling him, "Shut your mouth before I sic the Texan on you," only to push him down until he was bent over and forced to walk facing down. The rest of the Misfits laughed heartily at the sight, Vic even picking up the bowler hat and putting it on his head.
Sammy stepped into the middle of the talking crowd of best friends and whistled, grinning ear-to-ear. She spoke, "Alright, alright, ladies and gents!" causing the room to quiet down, though the smiles never faded. She continued happily, "I'm gonna keep this brief so we can go back to our reunion fun. I'm very happy to finally see the girls here, because fuck me, man, me and poor Saila were living through one hell of a sausage party."
Laughter filled the room, Ayesha herself jabbing back, "Oh, come off it, Lieutenant! You know you enjoyed it!" only for even more laughter to fill the room. Lita gave the girl a slap upside the head, but was grinning nonetheless as she hugged her AKS. Sammy lifted her middle finger in one of the most ancient shows of affection any soldier has ever given their fellow, then turned to the others.
"With that in mind, I think some of us are gonna be sleeping on the floor 'till we figure out proper housing-" The Chinese lieutenant paused as her Scroll pinged. She lifted it up and saw that Glynda messaged her about the expansion to the unoccupied dorms being free for the Misfits. She snorted, shook her head, then said, "Nevermind. We'll figure out rosters as we go for the new bedrooms… Speaking of, Vesna, Vic. Vic's room, now. You'll need privacy from us."
Sam had seen just how tense both were to do anything in the room. A moment's pause passed, before both looked at one-another. Vic squeezed her hand and smiled, to which she nodded. The two then walked to his (and now formerly Paul's) bedroom. When the door closed, pretty much the entire formation, save Sam and a returning Rob, went on to listen to the door…
On the other side, Vic gently closed the door, then turned toward Vesna, only to gasp as he saw tears immediately starting to well in her eyes. She opened her mouth to speak, but could only croak out a few noises as she struggled to think of what to even say, her fox ears seemingly instinctively drooping. The Romanian's own instincts kicked in.
He pulled her into a hug again, smiling as tears welled in his own eyes, too, then he patted her head. He gently moved back, cupping her chin in his hands and smiling brightly as he looked into her blue eyes, wiping the tears away and whispering, "I'm so sorry I was late…" as he held her close. She shook her head.
"I'm sorry we didn't run when we could…" She whispered back, voice cracking. She buried her face in his chest, while he kissed the top of her head, right between her ears. She looked up at him, swallowed her own spit and said to him, "We could've defected, left… We were just scared…" as her own voice shook.
"I know. It's not your fault," Vic replied, empathetic to her plight "And I could've joined the others as a volunteer, court martials be damned," then he sighed, his voice shaky, "Instead, I got to walk into the crumbling remains of a country too late to do anything to save you…" and the voice grew low near the end as he avoided her gaze now.
She put a hand on his cheek and made him look at her again, then returned the favor of wiping his tears away, whispering something and saying, "It wasn't your fault either, Vic…" to which he smiled a little, then nodded and whispered something back to her, watching the surprise in her eyes grow. She smiled back, asking, "You learned Russian…?"
"I was always told I'm a hopeless romantic in a way," He replied, then leaned his forehead against hers, stating bluntly, "Thank God we finally found you…" before gently grabbing her by the chin and kissing her again. Her ears, once droopy with sadness, suddenly perked up, her tail wagging. He chuckled a little, then said, "And here I thought you couldn't get any cuter than that time I got you an actual cinnamon roll."
A light giggle echoed, the girl burying her embarrassed face back into his chest. He hugged her tightly again, then whispered, "I missed you so much…" only to hear a mumbled reply that pretty much said the same, then he smiled as he added, "Moya lyubimaya, I love you," before pausing as he remembered something, feeling it and another thing rattle in one of his vest pouches.
He smiled, added, "And I'll show you how much… Close your eyes," and watched her take a step back. He pulled the cross pendant he got back during the entrance into Russia from the village and wrapped it gently around her neck, connecting the golden chain at the nape, then taking a step back. Vesna seemed to blush as she had a moment of realization.
Pulling out a battered black box that fit into his palm and taking a knee in front of the girl, he told her, "Open your eyes…" and she did. He popped the box open, revealing a beautiful ring with a single glistening diamond on top. Her face suddenly glowed red, eyes wider than saucers and tears of joy welling in her eyes.
He smiled at the reaction, but swallowed empty, still slightly worried over this going wrong. He spoke, "Considering the sheer luck we had that God or whatever woke us up here decided to do so, I'm not wasting another second of our lives… Ves. Before I met you, I couldn't fathom ever actually finding someone like you in the world. I always figured I'd be alone for the rest of my life, but then you came into my life and everything seemed to brighten up. And now, again, when we met here, you still brighten it all…"
"... So, Vesna Novikova, will you make me the happiest man to have ever lived twice and marry me?" He smiled, feeling his heart thumping in his chest, rapid-fire like his own machinegun. He thankfully didn't have to wait long, though, as Vesna, bearing the happiest smile the man had seen to date on his face, said the magic word.
"Yes…"
Vic jumped to his feet and immediately wrapped her into a hug, laughing heartily as he lifted her off the ground. The crowd behind the door soon erupted into cheers as well, with Katja seemingly leading the charge on the matter. As he gently let Ves down, she took the initiative this time, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him deeply.
As they stopped to catch their breaths, both of them chuckled as they heard the continuous, muffled cheers echoing from the living room area of their house. He spoke, "Guess I'm gonna have to move you here with me, eh?" with a smirk. She giggled, then nodded and looked back. The two beds, separated by the room and with Paul's items strewn all over one of'em, would also need to either be replaced by a king-size, or placed together.
She hummed, then added, "Surprised you haven't commented on my ears or tail…"
He chuckled and said, "Ves. Alex and Sam both have animal traits like yours… What I'm happy about is you're a foxgirl," to which both immediately paused, Vesna remembering that Vic did, in fact, have a thing for women with fox ears and blushing heavily, while Vic blushed because he'd just admitted that out-loud.
Thankfully, that just meant it wasn't a problem, but something they could address tomorrow…
… Come tomorrow, rather obviously, no chatter had been made in regards to the fox traits or the fact that Victor might have a thing for them. Regardless of that, the Misfits had another order of business to deal with. Gathered within their makeshift motor pool, an area between the two buildings that had now been selected as the Misfits' home in Beacon that was covered by makeshift camo tarps, Samantha walked beside the Warhound, her NCO staff beside her.
"Alright, well, since we're all gathered here, we might as well start with the First Order of Business! Ladies and gentlemen, obvious congratulations to Victor and Vesna for finally tying the knot," Sam spoke, grinning as cheers echoed across the field. She continued, speaking to something over two dozen soldiers and Marines. She added jokingly, "I'm praying they're not too loud, since we share a house," and that got laughs out of everyone else and a slight bit of embarrassment out of both the Romanian and his now-Fiancee Russian.
Grinning, she continued, "Now, onto other matters of importance…"
"Our prisoner, Roman Torchwick, is rather uncooperative, which is very annoying, but we have been able to search his Scroll with a warrant given by the Vale Court of Criminal Justice," She said, lifting the cracked holographic device and stating, "And we've found incriminating data linking Torchwick to the string of Dust Store robberies, not to mention the White Fang."
She set the phone down and let the holographic projector show the images of messages and the likes, adding, "We've also got a few unknown contacts in his messages, with some of the latest few being sent last night, just after our friendly neighborhood smartass, Tarasova, froze him in place," and she motioned to the team's thermobaric Grenadier, who gave a nod. Jim gave Lita a pat on the back and that got a smile and a blush out of her, while Paul and Paula chuckled.
The messages appeared on screen, showing exchanges, plans for future operations going into the next few months and potential redeployment of unknown armed assets throughout Vale. Murmurs filled the area, the lower enlisted and higher-ranking Misfits staff exchanging small-talk. Sam nodded, "Yeah… Things are about to get a little hectic. It's why I want us intensifying patrols now that we have even more extra numbers."
"Additionally, Headmaster Ozpin has asked me earlier today, before you all awoke, to utilize our radios to transmit a broad-band message across all frequencies with an encryption scheme," She offered, scratching the back of her neck. She then added, "Anya and the Soviets were kind enough to lend me their com capabilities for that… We're painting an X Marks The Spot here for any other allied revivals."
"And possibly a target for any potential hostile units in the AO," Vic added with a hint of concern. Seeing nods of approval and confirmation, the Romanian continued, "Seeing as we already know the Good Guys ain't the only ones being revived here. The Russian Bandits are an example. God knows what else we're about to face."
"Indeed," Sam replied, "That's why I want you all to be vigilant… Keep your eyes peeled and weapons loaded. Anything wrong, you call for backup," and she shifted her own combat kit She added, "I'd ask for an entire force to patrol Vale, but this place is as big as fucking Texas, so… Good luck with that. We will have a QRF to help the Cops, though, so-" Only to pause and remember… Then sigh as her shoulders sagged, "Oh, yeah…"
She sighed deeply, then rubbed her face and said, "Do note that we've also vouched to help rebuild the Valeian Army. Vale is going to need its defense forces to be prepared for hostilities, regardless of whatever comes their way. That means they're entrusting all of us to teach and train their command staff and lower enlisted… Start praying you remember basic training if you're selected for that day's duty as DIs."
She stretched, then said, "That's all. Dismissed," and looked at Robert, "Rob. You and Lita are with me for the day. Everyone else knows their patrol buddy and your routes. Take care of yourselves. We'll see each-other in a few hours for the shift change," and she walked off with the two selected personnel, toward the shed where Torchwick was.
Vic and Paul bumped fists, standing up and grabbing their gear, while Vicky and Paula did the same. Vic himself asked, "So, where'd you get assigned to in terms of dorms? I heard Sam had to let us sleep wherever last night, so…" and he hefted his MG off the ground. Paul nodded, shifting his own Minimi onto his back.
"Yeah, well, someone stole my bunk," He spoke, casting a sideways glance at Vesna with a smirk, thus causing the foxgirl to blush, before he continued, "So I napped inside the Warhound until we decide on bunk assignments. Probably gonna come retrieve my stuff after the Shift so you two can move in together, eh, Lovebirds?"
Vic rolled his eyes, smiling with a healthy red tint to his cheeks, then replied with a "Fuck you, too, Paul. Talk to me when you and Katja finally tie the knot," Which seemed to cause the Polak to yelp, while Paul coughed. Paula let out a short laugh, giving a thumbs up to the Machine Gunner before she and Vicky(Who'd armed herself with a simple assault rifle this time around instead of her DMR) walked together.
The Hungarian blinked, then sighed and paused as he saw Vesna approaching. She fiddled with her fingers, but asked straightforward, "Are you okay taking the trip with Ayesha this time, Paul…? I'll tell Sam that I volunteered for the change," to which he paused, smiled, then looked at Vic. Vic seemed quite eager for a patrol together with Ves.
So, Paul shrugged and said, "Sure thing, just make sure you don't get too frisky, heh. My and Ayesha's patrol route intercepts yours," which got Vesna to blush. The two then began their patrol, with Paul snorting as he and Ayesha started walking. Alexi, meanwhile, returned to guard the home, while everyone else went about their usual objectives.
Ayesha hummed a little tune as she and Paul walked through the place, cradling her own AK rifle as she did so. She looked to Paul as the man checked over his rifle, then asked him, "So, how bad was it without us around, eh?" with a grin on her face. She seemed here to tease people for the sake of teasing, though she, too, seemed a bit off.
"You don't wanna know," Paul joked as they walked down their patrol path, past students going to classes. He added, "We were missing the extra rifles when going for the White Fang, though it's nice to know you girls stole a few of our contracts to deal with'em," and that got Ayesha to snort. The redhead Chechen shrugged.
"Hey, you guys were being too slow," She smirked.
He let out a singular 'ha' as a reply. They walked forward, only pausing as they saw Hassan already walking back with boxes of ammo under his armpits and Nicole not far behind him, with Paul then noticing the slight frown on Ayesha's face. He hummed, then sighed and stopped the two, asking Hass, "What'cha got there?"
"More ammo for any future resupplies," He replied, "7,62, 5,56, 5,45, 6,8. Nicole here agreed to help me and we came from the forges with reloaded rounds and a lot of'em," to which the blue-haired Army soldier turned PMC smiled and nodded, hefting six boxes of ammo as well. Ayesha smiled awkwardly, looking at Nicole, who nodded at her, then leaned over and whispered to Hass. He stated, "We'll be out of your hairs."
"Thanks," Paul spoke quietly, watching them depart. As they started back on their patrol route again, Paul spoke, "Guessing that's what's got you down, huh?"
Ayesha sighed, remembering that she had befriended these people a while back, in fact, meaning they would know some of her tics and tells. She replied, "Yeah… It really shouldn't, though. Hassan and Nicole have served together… Chyort, man, I'm pretty sure he even told us about her beforehand," before sighing, "So why's it hurting?"
"Because, unlike anyone else, Hassan got where you're coming from, ditching your religion and all that," He replied understandingly, "So, obviously, you two clicked and you started liking him. Despite the 'badass bad girl' exterior you're trying to put up, you're still a young woman that barely got out of a Cult in a way…"
She wanted to retort, but bit her tongue simply because she knew he was right. She let out a deep sigh and replied, "You and your sister get people a lil' too well," as she checked her pistol quickly, then holstered it. Paul snorted, to which she added with a return-to-form grin, "Not all people, though, considering your and Katja's tensions…"
Paul almost swore at her. No, in fact, Ayesha was pretty sure he'd just said a string of curses in both French and Hungarian her way. She simply replied, "Sorry, I don't speak Goulash or Baguette," before giving him a gentle elbow in the rib and stating, "Don't worry, though, I'm sure Kat won't mind you whispering either in her ear," only to start laughing heartily as he glared at her.
Team RWBY watched the two seemingly exchange jabs like two long-lost siblings with grins on their faces. Yang, meanwhile, noticed Blake seemingly look a little dejected. Regardless of that, though, she, too, chuckled when the two were forced to chase after a Peeping Tom nearby the girls' locker rooms. Paul was faster than Ayesha, though. And faster than the peeping tom. Whom he tackled like a Rugby Player.
Oh, how classy soldiers could be, Blake thought sarcastically…