Author's Notes:
-Hey guys and gals. Hope you're enjoying the show! This will probably be my last chapter for a (brief) while. I'm approaching finals week quite soon. Hopefully, the next chapter will be out in time for the holiday season!
Anyway, let's get back to the story.
As Weiss finished her rehearsal with Mrs. Delaney, the heiress walked through the halls of the Schnee Manor back to her room. As she shut the door to her room, she sighed softly and began thinking to herself.
Oh man. Rehearsals have been exhausting. And with two weeks and a day until the concert, that means there are at least fifteen left, assuming I continue to do one a day with or without Mrs. Delaney. I haven't had much time to think about going to Atlas.
She took a drink of water from her glass before looking over General Ironwood's letter.
The deadline for entering Atlas is right after the SDC Charity concert. Seems later than usual... Either way, should I really go? The whole reason I went to Beacon in the first place was to get away from my father. Maybe I should go. Mother told me that I could still be free. I wouldn't be alone... But if I went to Atlas, would I really try to find new teammates? There's no guarantee that I would be able to find new teammates, or that I would like them and get along with them. But if I chose not to join the Team Reformation Queue, I would be very lonely. Maybe even more lonely than I am now. I may not have my friends from Beacon anymore, but I still have Klein, and Estelle too.
She sighed internally and thought back to her friends. I miss them. I miss all of them. Nora, Ren... Her eyes began to water and she sniffed. Pyrrha. Even that dolt Jaune. I miss my teammates... Yang, Blake, even Ruby. Once I thought of her as the most annoying little brat, but she's really my best friend. What I wouldn't give to see them all again... But I know that's not possible. Teams JNPR and RWBY are scattered forevermore, and Pyrrha is dead. I failed to save her...
Despite her best efforts, a few tears fell from her eyes and went down her face until they hit the floor like drops of rain.
Pyrrha's loose hair blew around in the wind as her hood hung down. As the heroic quintet moved on further into the outskirts of Vale, they found themselves nearby a large village. However, upon further examination, they realized it was actually a city.
"Here we are; the city of Aquarin." Ren told his teammates. "One of the few major settlements known to be a city outside kingdom limits."
"Alright. It feels like we've been on the road forever." Nora complained. "We can sleep safely for once."
"It's only been two weeks."
"But we have encountered a lot of Grimm during this time." Pyrrha added. "Hopefully we can catch a breath, and a break."
"Uh, guys... We got a problem." Jaune told them.
He motioned to the city before them. It was an area about half as big as Vale, with a big wooden fence around the perimeter. There were guard posts at both the north and south entrances, each patrolled by two guards with a spear in their hand. But the biggest and most disturbing detail was that there were wanted posters of Pyrrha Nikos lined on the wall, along with images of her face and her name in red crossed circles, a small scale horse emblem and even a large poster in big red letters reading;
Important notice for all residents and visitors:
What to do if you find Pyrrha Nikos;
1. If you see Pyrrha, challenge her at your own risk. If you are not skilled enough to face her, call for the closest authorities you can find.
2. Leave metal items at your home. She used her metal-bending semblance to tear Penny Polendina apart and will use metal objects against you. This includes jewelry, decorations and kitchenware.
3. In the event that you find her and successfully capture her, bind her in rope, NOT CHAINS! Don't even think about handcuffs! Other good alternatives include duct tape, long thin pieces of cloth, and, if you are able to obtain one, a straitjacket.
Remember, she is very dangerous! Challenge at your own risk.
Wanted; For the murder of Penny Polendina, and starting the attack on Beacon
Reward; 25,000 Lien
Ruby looked at the city's walls in despair. "Oh no..."
Ren said nothing but looked on in sad silence.
Nora sarcastically quipped, "Aw, that's just great." She gave the knight a displeased look. "What now, boss?"
Jaune answered, "I... I don't know. Honestly, I really don't like the idea of staying here, but I think I speak for all of us."
"You're not wrong." Nora admitted. "They really have it in for Pyrrha big time."
"I'm afraid I have to agree." Ruby stated.
"What they said." Ren responded.
The red haired woman said nothing, but she didn't have to. Her silence spoke volumes about how she felt.
Jaune turned back to his teammate. "Pyrrha, you are the co-leader. You are also the subject in question. Therefore, I am leaving this decision up to you. Do we enter the Forbidden City, or do we move on to the next settlement?"
"Hmm..." She began. "Honestly, I don't like the idea of staying here, even with my disguise. But I fear that we may not have a choice. We've been on the road for weeks, and our supplies are beginning to run out."
Her boyfriend raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
Pyrrha nodded. "Ren's run out of supplies to make meals with, which means our supply of rations is dwindling. How many rations do we have?"
"I'm not sure." Ren motioned to Jaune. "Could you hand me your bag?" Jaune handed his bag to Pyrrha, who in turn handed it to Ren. He began counting silently in his head. A few moments later, he finished counting. "We have thirty rations. Assuming that's three per day, times five people- that's fifteen rations in a day. We'd run out in two days. Assuming two rations a day, that's ten per day. We would run out in three days. Trying to do one ration a day would really be pushing it, but assuming none of us got hungry or angry and made it through, we'd burn through five a day and last for six days. Somehow, I don't think that would work well. Alternatively, Nora could hunt some game for us and I could prepare it, although it would slow us down..."
"That doesn't sound very ideal, especially considering that we're still in early winter." She answered. "And what about water?"
"We have five canteens, each capable of holding two quarts of water. We had them last filled Comforting Inn, where we stayed at roughly two weeks ago. We're almost out of water, and it's lot harder to find potable water than food. And if we don't have it, we'll die of dehydration in days."
"Well it's official. We need more food/rations, water, dust... Not to mention that Rouge Gorlois will need a weapon to call her own."
Jaune looked at his girlfriend curiously. "Don't you already have Milo and Akouo, and the ten remaining swords of Floating Array saved for emergencies?"
"Those are Pyrrha's weapons, remember?" 'Rouge' looked down in sorrow. "Pyrrha can't show herself to the world with the threat against her."
"Oh..." He hung his head in sorrow. "Right..."
"Also, ten swords? I counted nine in my bag. Where's the tenth one?" she questioned.
"Well. I still have the sword and circlet." He put his backpack down and showed them the sword and the damaged circlet Pyrrha gave him months ago. By now, the golden circlet had its gold paint tarnished and even a small line of rust beginning to form.
Nora raised an eyebrow in confusion. "You brought them with us? Why?"
"Well, after you and Ren left for Fiti, Pyrrha gave me these to remember her by if we never saw her again. But since she's back, I figured I'd take them with me. Maybe I'll get some use out of them..."
"That would explain a lot." 'Rouge' concluded. "Either way, we have to go into the Forbidden City. I would like to believe that I could deceive the guards if I had to, but we should come up with a backup plan in case."
"Alright..." He put away the mementos. "Two guards each entrance, who knows how many law enforcement officers, hunters and other warriors... Does anyone know how many huntsmen and huntresses are in this city?"
"At least five, last I looked. But that was years ago, so their numbers have likely increased since then." Ren answered.
"Okay, total of four guards, at least five professional hunters, assuming seventeen police officers in the police force, that's at least twenty six fighters we'd have to go up against, possibly more, in the worst case scenario. Considering how we barely managed to beat Charles Mustard, trying to face off five or more huntsmen, along with other fighters... almost certainly wouldn't end well. So if we're caught, we run. If that is not possible, then we fight them. If things go wrong, we meet up back here. Got it?"
Nora nodded, Ruby gave a halfhearted thumbs up, Pyrrha grimly nodded.
Ren answered, "Alright. Although, there might be one problem. What if they recognize her voice?"
"Hmm... I could try and imitate Rouge's voice." The masked heroine cleared her throat, and spoke in a more French accent, "Salut! I'm Rouge, a super-hot fashion model. Look at me, I'm gorgeous!"
Jaune laughed. "Oh my God. That's too good!" He continued laughing before straightening himself out fifteen seconds later. "In all seriousness, that was actually a very good intimation of her voice." He turned to his teammates. "Are we ready to enter the Forbidden City?"
"Ready!" Nora and Ruby exclaimed.
"Let's go." Ren answered.
"Okay, here we go." Pyrrha answered. She cleared her throat and said in her accent, "I mean okay. Here we go."
She tucked her loose hair into her hood and put it back up. The quintet was seen approaching the entrance, close enough to be seen by the guards but not heard by them.
"Remember guys, poker faces up." Jaune instructed.
Nora looked confused. "What does that mean?"
"Just remain calm." Ren answered.
"Can do."
As the quintet approached the gate, the guards used their spears to block the entrance.
"Halt!" the first guard yelled.
"State your name and business." the second one ordered.
The leader addressed each person in the group one by one, starting with himself. "Jaune Arc," He motioned to the valkyrie. "Nora Valkyrie," Then to the ninja. "Lie Ren," To the simple soul. "Ruby Rose," And finally, the masked heroine. "and Rouge Gorlois." The knight continued, "We are a band of warriors who wish to purchase supplies for our long journey and stay here overnight."
The first one looked at Jaune. "I'm guessing your the leader of this... squad?"
"I am. That isn't a problem, is it?"
"I suppose that it isn't it. But your friend Rouge Gorlois looks suspicious, hiding herself. How can we tell that she's not an evil criminal? Like Pyrrha Nikos?"
Because I love her. is what Jaune wanted to say. But he couldn't.
"Because I am a good and honest soul." 'Rouge' answered in her best French accent.
The second guard responded, "If you're truly as honest as you say you are, then let your hood down."
All eyes were on the red cloaked figure as she lifted her hood down with her hands. As the black gloves were seen, her masked face was revealed to all.
The first looked at her closely. "You have her eyes, and the same crimson locks."
"But she lacks the traditional circlet, and her hair is loose." the second one countered.
"You do look a like Pyrrha Nikos..."
"Yeah, I get that a lot..." 'Rouge' answered.
The second guard began, "So, Rouge, who are you, and why are you hanging out with these former Beacon Academy students?"
"I am a professional huntress, gentlemen. And I've taken these former students under my wings."
"Where are you from?" the first one asked.
She honestly answered, "I'm from Mistral."
A pause was heard before the grilling continued. "Did you go to Beacon like these youngsters did?"
"No, I graduated from Haven just this year. I was a member of team LUNR (Lunar)."
The second one raised an eyebrow. "Then how come you and your teammates weren't in the Vytal Festival Tournament?"
"That, is because I have no teammates." 'Rouge' answered sadly. "Call it a curse, a series of unfortunate events, or just plain old bad luck, but every year, tragedy fell upon us. When team LUNR was first formed, we believed we would graduate together, but we were terribly mistaken. First to go was our team's original leader, Luna. She sacrificed herself to save us from the Grimm on our first training mission. After her death, Urdina took her place as leader, but was killed by Grimm the following year during a camping trip gone wrong in between second and third year. Nubia took Urdina's place as leader thereafter. Alas, she was killed while trying to protect the village of Zephyros from Grimm during the city's annual Flower Festival. She saved so many lives at the cost of her own. At the end of the third year, I was the only one remaining. I nearly died during my fourth year as I faced a powerful madwoman head to head, but by some miracle stroke of luck, I survived. I graduated all alone, and I miss my friends dearly."
"So why didn't you enter the Vytal Tournament during your second year with your teammates or your fourth year by yourself?"
"That was because I believed I had no chance against the competition in either of those two years. During the second year, my teammates agreed with me. Fourth year, I was all alone. It takes a lot of guts to enter the tournament without any friends or help. I know that two years ago, Claire Blanche entered by herself and won. I can only imagine that it took a lot of courage on her part." She looked at the ground in sorrow. "Unfortunately, I lack such courage."
"So how did you find these guys again?" the first one repeated.
She lifted her head back up. "I was getting to that. After graduating, I decided to see the Vytal Festival Tournament in person by going to Vale to get my mind off my troubles. Alas, I never could have foreseen what happened the night that Beacon fell. As the city fell to its knees, I found myself fighting against several Grimm, corrupted Atlas androids and White Fang members. While roaming the city, I found these former students fighting against the Grimm and as a huntress, I had to do something. I quickly stepped in and saved them from the claws of the Grimm dragon. I was unable to slay the beast, for it was too mighty even for me, but I did witness it being turned to stone before it could cause any further damage."
"A Grimm dragon? But aren't those extinct?" the second one asked.
"That's what we all thought, but unfortunately, it seems that we were all terribly wrong."
"Alright. I think we've grilled her enough." The first guard answered. "You may enter." He retracted his spear. "I hope you enjoy your stay and I wish you all safe travels."
"I don't know..." the second guard began. "Something doesn't seem right."
"They're being honest. Now retract your spear."
Reluctantly, he did so. The quintet entered the city, and the second guard glared at 'Rouge' as he watched her pass through the entrance. Once they stood far away enough from the guards, they all breathed a sigh of relief.
"I can't believe that actually worked." Ruby stated.
"How did you do that so well?" Jaune asked.
"Simple." She continued in her altered voice. "Continuing to take inspiration from Rouge Arc, I used the first names of her teammates; Luna Diaz, Urdina Morris, and Nubia Nyx. Then I mixed lies with the truth, making it all the more harder to untangle."
He blinked in surprise. "I am strangely amazed and terrified at the same time."
"We better find a place to stay, the sooner the better." Ren stated.
As they ventured into the city, 'Rouge' did her best to remain calm. Civilians passed them by, not noticing their presence or not caring that they were here. The city seemed to be an even mixture of olden village with cobblestone roads, cottages and log cabins and newer paved roads with skyscrapers and modern apartments. As they walked by an alley in an older part of the city, a small stone was thrown towards their feet. They all stopped and looked around, trying to find where the stone came from. Another stone was gently thrown at them.
"Psst! Jaune, over here!" a voice whispered.
The five went closer into the alleyway, following the sound of the voice. "Hello?" Jaune called out.
They saw a man with white skin, brown eyes, and shoulder length red hair step out of the shadows. He was wearing a crimson turtleneck with slightly torn left sleeve and brown dress pants with black shoes. He was holding several reusable bags of items by the handles on both of his arms.
"Um, do we know you?" Nora quipped.
Jaune squinted his eyes. "Wait, is that...?"
"Edom." The masked heroine answered in her normal voice. "What are you doing here?"
"I should be asking you guys the same thing." he answered. "It's too dangerous to speak out here. Quickly, come with me."
Edom quickly ran through the alleyways, and Pyrrha and Jaune followed suit. After exchanging confused looks, Ren, Ruby and Nora went after them as well. Roughly ten minutes later, they stood in front of a simple wooden cottage. Edom got his keys out and unlocked his door and hurried the heroes inside. Once they were all inside, he used his back to shut the door and breathed a sigh of relief. He then set the bags down on the 'island' of the kitchen.
"I apologize for the rush, but I couldn't risk being seen or heard by the authorities."
"Who are you and what do you want with us?" Nora asked.
"I'm Edom. You need not fear, young lass, I'm no enemy." At this Nora seemed to calm down. "I know these two," he motioned to Pyrrha and Jaune, "because they were some of the last customers my electronic store had before I was forced to shut down."
Pyrrha looked sadly at Edom. "What happened?"
"Couldn't make enough money to stay in business no matter how hard I tried. Ten years of living my dream, only to have it destroyed right in front of me. I lost almost everything in the Fall of Beacon. My home, eventually my business, and even my wife..."
"Oh..."
"I am sorry for your loss." Jaune spoke.
"Thank you, young man, although it does little to ease my soul. I'm trying just protect the only thing I have left..."
"And what might that be?"
"Daddy!" a young squeaky voice called out. "Are you home yet?"
A young girl, probably six or seven years old, ran into room. She had pale skin, long white hair and brown eyes. She wore a white dress with three thin blue lines above the hem and a pair of blue slip-ons.
"Aw..." Ruby smiled. "Who might this cutie-pie be?"
Edom answered, "This is the one thing I have left; my daughter, Gliss."
"Who are all these people?" Gliss asked.
"They're friends of ours. The members of team JNPR." He motioned to the red-hooded girl. "And their friend, Ms..."
"Rose. Ruby Rose." the simple soul answered.
Gliss looked around confused. "Where's Pyrrha?"
"She's wearing a disguise to hide from those who want to hurt her." Edom turned to the masked heroine. "Could you take off your mask now that you're in a safe place?"
Pyrrha took off her mask. Gliss smiled and her eyes lit up. "Oh, Pyrrha!" The little girl hugged her leg.
"She's a big fan of you guys, especially Pyrrha." Edom explained.
"I'm so glad you're okay! I thought those nasty monsters got you!"
"What did she mean by monsters?" Ren asked.
Gliss broke her hug as Jaune responded, "Come on, she's talking about the Grimm, isn't she?"
"Not the Grimm." She looked at the heroes seriously. "Worse than Grimm."
The knight scratched his head. "How could these 'monsters' be worse than the Grimm?"
Edom looked them forlornly. "You don't know?"
"Know what?" Ruby asked.
"About them. The Trojan Alliance."
"No. Who are they?"
The former business owner sighed deeply. "The Trojan Alliance is a group of civilians, law enforcement officers, soldiers and even a few huntsmen and huntresses all united for one sole purpose; to bring Pyrrha Nikos to justice. They believe that she is guilty of murdering Penny Polendina and starting the Fall of Beacon. No one is entirely sure who started the group, but their influence spreads to the outskirts of Vale, Vale kingdom itself, and even as far as Patch. I've heard rumors about them trying to start branches in the other kingdoms, but I do not know if they were successful or not. Sadly, they've been very successful here."
Pyrrha looked at the former business owner sadly. "How did this happen?"
"Three months ago, a few weeks after Beacon's fall, members of the Trojan Alliance met with the mayor of this city; Garnet Scarlatti. It is uncertain whether or not she hated Pyrrha from the start, or if they convinced Garnet that Pyrrha was a despicable person who needed to be stopped. Either way, she chose to join them. As a result, she has banned free speech, shutdown all newspaper businesses save for the one she owns and has implemented other strict rules. They've got wanted posters, petitions, funding campaigns and a police force that's more than doubled in the last three months. And if anyone tears down a wanted poster for any reason, they are charged a 500 Lien fine for every instance this occurs. What's worse is that this city is outside of Vale's territory, so no one can really can stop her. Technically what I'm doing is highly illegal, and I should be reporting you to the authorities."
"So why are you doing this? Risking your reputation and possibly your life to help us?" Ren asked him.
"Because I'm smarter than my fellow citizens. I saw the footage myself, and I saw the look of terror upon Pyrrha's face. She never meant for Penny to be destroyed. Sadly, the Trojan Alliance is blinded by anger and rage, and are unable to see that she's really innocent."
Jaune felt his stomach churn in fear. Even more people were after his love. He dared to ask, "What are they planning to do to her?"
"That is where the group varies. There is some debate on what should be done with Pyrrha if/when they capture her. Some of their members are more humane, and simply want to see her locked up for life. Others are crueler, and are calling for her execution. A smaller few are asking for her to be tortured and executed. And others are in between. Many believe that Pyrrha should ideally be imprisoned for life, and if that's not possible, then execute her."
"Oh... Great... We've already encountered trouble." the knight lamented. "Charles Mustard not only tried to kill Pyrrha, he nearly killed all of us."
"Do you think he was part of the Trojan Alliance?" Nora asked.
"Not likely. Mr. Mustard was stationed in Beacon this whole time." Pyrrha answered. "It also seems that Emerald and/or Mercury stole his scroll, possibly caused him to hallucinate and his sanity crumbled into pieces."
Ren asked, "Did Charles believe you were responsible for all this chaos as time went on, or did he deem you guilty from the very beginning?"
She whipped her hair with her hand. "I think he hated me from the beginning, and his opinion of me only worsened over time." She looked at Edom. "So what are you doing here?"
"Well, about a week or so after you and Jaune visited my electronics ship, I went out of business and went to evacuate Vale. I choose to go to Aquarian, thinking I could make a living here. Alas, things haven't been going too well in my favor. I've been doing various odd jobs when I can to try and make ends meet. I don't have enough money to send Gliss to a daycare. I would hire a babysitter, but I'm worried that they might corrupt her and cause her to lose faith in her hero. Not enough money to live, to move again, nowhere else to go... After Garnet implemented her authoritarian system, I've been stuck here between a rock and a hard place. It gets lonely for me and Gliss, not knowing who to trust other than each other."
"Then why don't we just storm City Hall and take her down?" Nora asked.
"Easier said than done, Miss Valkyrie. Garnet was a personal squad of guards patrolling the entrance and the interior. Not to mention her personal bodyguards are a team of three huntsmen and one huntress that graduated from Beacon ten years ago."
"Looks like Jaune was right. We can't fight our way out." Nora groaned and pouted. "So much for breaking legs and taking names..."
After a brief moment of silence, Ren put his hand on her shoulder to comfort her. "Don't worry Nora. By the time we're done here, that'll hardly matter to us. Speaking of which, who wants to come with me to get supplies?"
"I'll go." Nora said still pouting.
"I'd rather not go out there if I don't have to." Pyrrha answered.
"Alright. Since your alter-ego Rouge has requested a new weapon for her, what do you want her to wield?"
"Hmm..."
I could go with a dust filled sword, similar to Rouge's dust daggers. But which kind of dust to use? Not fire. Too painful. Wind probably wouldn't help my fighting style... Ice or electric? Hmm... Ice would be an interesting one to try out. Let's do it.
"How about an ice dust filled sword that can convert into a gun?" Pyrrha requested.
Ren finished writing her request down. "That can be arranged. Anyone else like to come?"
"I'll pass." Jaune answered.
"I suppose I'll join you two." Ruby said.
"You ready to leave?" Ren asked.
"Uh-huh."
"Yep." Nora answered.
"Alright then. Let's go. Assuming nothing goes wrong, we should be back in a few hours."
"Take care." Jaune said.
Pyrrha smiled. "See you soon."
"Be careful out of there." Edom advised.
"Good luck." Gliss said.
Ren opened the door, and Ruby and Nora exited the cottage. Afterwards, the lotus warrior walked out, closing the door behind him.
The scene transitioned to Salem in Evernight Castle. As she gazed through a Seer, she saw the ruins of Beacon and the Grimm wondering the area.
"Reinforce our numbers at Beacon. The relic is there." she spoke to it.
She waved her hand and through the looking glass saw Sienna and Maura walking through the forest of Vale.
Hmm... Sienna Khan has been trying to aid her friend Maura in restoring order to the Mistralian White Fang. It's highly unlikely that she'll even succeed. But just to be sure... I'll need to separate those two. Now for the real question- how will I do that without making my presence known to anyone?