Ruby looked at the helm from the control room of the ship. Nothing but open sea for miles ahead. The young huntress trainee was doing slightly better for herself, but she still had a long way to go. It was just her and her thoughts as she stood at the wheel.
Am I going to need to study oceanic geography as well? Ruby pondered.
At that moment, her thoughts were interrupted as footsteps were heard climbing up the stairs. A young lad, no more than 15 years old, appeared before her with Captain Odell. The lad had slightly dark skin and short black hair, curled in a snake-like fashion. His eyes were yellow but shone with a bright eagerness to them. He had a fairly muscular figure, most noticeable on his arms. The teen wore black jeans and tennis shoes that were clearly painted to be gold. From the top up, he wore a black and dark yellow horizontally-striped shirt, the gold yellow sleeves currently pushed up to his elbows.
"Hello Chrysaor." Ruby greeted. "I see you're going to get some more hands-on experience."
Chrysaor looked nervous. "Do you really think I'll be ready for this? I mean, I've only been training for a few weeks."
That's as long as I have... she secretly thought.
"You'll be fine." she answered.
"T.. thank you." Chrysaor stuttered.
"Alright Ruby, I think we can take it from here." Captain Odell. "You're free to take the rest of the day off."
"Thank you. I hope all goes well!"
Ruby hopped down the ladder. She went downstairs, and gave out a yawn.
Man, I'm tired. But now that I finally have a break, I need to get my teammates and tell them the information I found last night. But first...
She smiled as she called up a number. "Hello. I'm going to need five dozen pancakes and six bottles of your finest maple syrup delivered to room 510."
Later, Ruby was in team JNPR's suite with Jaune and Pyrrha.
"Alright, so what's the news?" Jaune asked.
"Can we wait for everyone else to get here?" Ruby asked to avoid answering. "Besides, I got a surprise for all of you that I think you'll love."
Pyrrha raised an eyebrow, briefly smiling. "Really? Well, hopefully it's a pleasant one." The smile faded as her mind went back to the Trojan Alliance and wanted posters of her seen in Sumire, Aquarian, and Mensonge, as well the Scarlatti Trojan Alliance when they first saw each other in the woods outside Aletheia. "We've gotten a lot of unpleasant surprises in the last two months, give or take."
The flashbacks faded to show Ruby smiling. "Don't worry. This will be a pleasant surprise. I guarantee it!"
"What's a pleasant surprise?" a familiar male voice asked.
Ren and Nora had just arrived, the latter leaning back on the door.
"Ah, Ren, Nora! You're right on que! And the delivery should be here right... about..." Seconds later, a butler knocked on the open door. On a large metal cart with two levels were plates of carefully balanced pancakes on top, dishes of melted butter and six bottles of maple syrup on the bottom. "Now."
The butler looked around. "Special delivery for... Miss Ruby Rose? Five dozen pancakes and six bottles of grade A maple syrup?"
"That's me. Thank you Sir!"
The butler smiled, wheeled the cart in and closed the door. Nora immediately started drooling.
"What's the occasion?" Jaune asked.
"Oh, no reason." Ruby gave off a fake shrug. "Except for the fact that I discovered some information about maidens and I believe we should discuss strategy."
"So this is a business meeting, but with free food?" Ren asked.
The silver-eyed girl smirked. "Precisely."
"Well I'm not complaining." Nora said.
Jaune looked at the accessories on the bottom rack of the cart. "How come I see six bottles when there are five of us?"
"I know Nora has a decency to drink maple syrup straight from the bottle, and I wanted to make sure everyone was able to get some syrup for their flapjacks." Ruby answered.
"Smart girl." Ren complimented.
Everyone took varying portions from the pancake tower, some of them took butter, and everyone took a bottle of maple syrup for themselves. Except for Nora, who took two of them like the sugary sweet tooth she was. All were seated, either on chairs or on top of the bed.
"So you mentioned that you found info on the maidens." Jaune began. "What did you find?"
He took a bite of pancakes as Ruby answered, "After extensive hours of combing through books about fairy tales and legends, I found some information via stories recorded a few centuries ago." Ruby answered. "Turns out that the maidens have a wide variety of elemental powers and some other abilities such as flight. And that the powers they have are not limited to any one season. Additionally, it appears that depending on which aspect of the power the girl inherits, there are certain powers that are easier for her to master."
Nora took a bite of pancakes and smiled, intrigued by what Ruby had said so far. "And how so?"
"These core elements, or native elements as some might call them, vary depending on which season that maiden is associated with. For instance, winter would be easily able to use snow, ice and all things cold. Although water can also be associated with all seasons, winter and spring probably connect with it more closely. Spring has primary dominion over earth, nature magic and some rain and/or thunderstorms. They are also close to an ability called 'revitalization'. Whatever that means. For summer, she primarily controls fire and lightning. They can also create thunderstorms and can control sunlight. And finally for autumn, she commonly wields the forces of air and winds, some storms and a power called 'withering'. I'm not sure what that means either."
Ruby took a moment to eat some of her pancakes.
"So these native elements are based on the common weather patterns of each respective season." Ren concluded.
"That would appear to be the case." Ruby seconded. "It also seems that the maidens would normally master the powers they have in the order of the seasons. So if the Winter Maiden wanted to master her newfound abilities, she would probably start with winter elements, go to spring, then summer and finally fall."
"But Cinder Fall is the Fall Maiden." Jaune brought up. "Meaning that ideally she should be using air and wind storms. And yet she chooses to specialize in fire... Why?"
For a moment, everyone stopped eating. "I'm not sure. My best guess is that she believes fire is the most destructive element and wants to use it to cause the most damage." Pyrrha speculated.
"Is there any way to tell which power she might try to master next?" Ren asked.
"There's no way of truly knowing." Ruby admitted. "Not to mention that if Cinder is defying tradition by using fire, she's likely to continue breaking standard practices and conventions."
The ninja slightly grimaced. "So in other words, we'll need to be ready for anything."
"Most likely. However, if she continues to stick with summer elements, she'll probably go for lightning next." Pyrrha theorized. "She'll probably go for what she thinks is dangerous and damaging."
She nibbled on the pancake she had.
"It does seem that many of these elements can be dangerous if mastered and used maliciously." Jaune stated. "I have a feeling that she might try to learn wind next simply so that she can gain more magical skills under her belt."
"Oh man, how are we going to be prepared to face her?" Nora asked.
The rookie turned warrior turned to his girlfriend. "Pyrrha, you are the one that faced her in combat once before. You got any helpful advice?"
"She does have a lot of powers, but there are some things we should keep in mind. One, she has skills other than her maiden powers. Ruby once told me that she has some pretty good archery skills. And considering that I was almost killed with an arrow to the chest, I'd say she's right. Not to mention that during my fight, she somehow caused an arrow to get past my shield. I think Port and Oobleck were wrong about her semblance. They said she has the ability to manipulate glass, but I think there's more to it."
"Hmmm... You have a good point." Ren stated. "But what about Cinder's aides?"
"Ah yes, Emerald and Mercury." Pyrrha began. "Mercury is powerful, but he's the lesser evil of the two. He has metal boots as weapons, and I suspect, based on the feel of my semblance, that he might have metal legs as well. The real trouble is Emerald. Her weapon isn't too bad, but her semblance could be disastrous if used maliciously. She has the ability to create hallucinations, which can be very dangerous. Don't fall for her tricks."
"Well, we know what we're up against. Time to form a strategy. Anyone got any ideas?"
Ruby mused to herself for a moment as she chewed the pancake bite in her mouth. "Hmm... Emerald seems pretty dangerous. Perhaps me and Nora should face her, Jaune and Pyrrha against Cinder, and that leaves Ren to face Mercury."
"I don't know... Cinder sounds very powerful. Maybe we should have most of us focusing on her." Jaune counter-argued. "Ruby, would you face Emerald alone if necessary?"
"Yes. I would. Hopefully she won't have a chance to use her semblance."
Pyrrha put some more syrup on her pancakes. "Here's hoping."
"Any objections and/or other concerns?" Silence reigned. "Going once, going twice. Sold! The strategy is as follows; Ren against Mercury, Ruby against Emerald, and me, Nora and Pyrrha to face Cinder." Jaune declared.
The Mistralian champion looked sad and solemn. Was she saying some prayers in her head that the fight would end in victory?
Ruby did not know, but she had some mental prayers of her own. I hope my friends and my sister are doing alright...
Meanwhile, the afternoon sun hit the eyes of the former heiress. Opening her eyes, she saw the sun setting over the foreign land. Her head pounded and her eyes pulsated before shutting, being blinded by the sun's glare. She moved her left hand to shade her eyes and then looked at herself. Her legs were strained, but she found the strength to stand up. Turning about forty-five degrees to the right, she looked at herself and assessed the damage. Her dress and sash were caked in dirt. She lifted each leg and expected them. Her bones weren't broken, her wedge heels weren't cracked, but she saw a lot of scrapes on her legs. On her left arm, she saw a large tear in the fabric of her sleeve, but no injury to either arm.
Weiss sighed in relief, seeing that her injuries were minimal.
Terror then ripped through her heart. Wait a second! Where's Fenix?!
She looked around in the wreckage. Upon finding the pilot, she ran to the destroyed cockpit and saw that the windows had been shattered. And the pieces of glass were embedded in both his head and his heart. He was lifeless and upon immediately realizing the truth, she gasped.
"No... no." She tried to stop herself from crying, but the tears fell fast. "He didn't deserve this."
She sobbed to empty air.
Schnees aren't supposed to cry. Father always said that crying, especially in the public eye, is a sign of weakness. I've already cried over Pyrrha so much. But honestly, who would even see me? Who would even care? Certainly not Fenix himself, he's dead now. Oh no... Kobalt is going to be devastated when he finds out that his boyfriend is dead! You mean, if he finds out. No one knows that this poor pilot is dead except me. I'm the only one who mourns for him. At least, at the present moment. I suppose I could cry as much as I want to.
Her tear-stained eyes looked at the water, and nearby forest around her.
But then there's the matter of the Grimm and overall survival. I know I'm not supposed to curse, out loud or in my head, but I don't care.
"Crap. This is bad." Weiss spoke to no one.
Okay, I have a dead pilot, a broken airship and other unfavorable prospects. What now?
Sighing out loud, she looked at the wreckage site. First things first, salvage what you can. Where's my briefcase?
She went back to where she landed and found the handle of her briefcase sticking out of a bush. She pulled it loose, set it down, and looked over the contents.
Alright, I've got dust provisions for two full refills, which hopefully I won't need since I recently stocked during the recent battle, enough MREs to last me a week, one water bottle, filled with fresh drinking water, some spare clothes and feminine/hygiene products. Now, while I don't need extra dust, it wouldn't hurt to have some.
She looked around, but didn't see any dust. No dust, so I guess now the important thing is food and water. The water is connected to the ship's powerline, which is gone now, and thus, useless to me. As for food... Hmm. For the last few weeks, both me and Fenix have been living off frozen meals heated in the microwave, but we recently ran out. He should still have some grain bars however.
After some searching in the wreckage, she found five energy grain bars and put them in her suitcase.
Now, what else could help me, both in and out of the forest?
Then she looked at Fenix himself, and saw that she could easily reach him from how the plane was destroyed.
I feel bad taking a dead man's things, but it's not like he has any use for any of it.
She emptied his pockets, finding his Scroll, his wallet and a pair of earbuds. She put them in her own pockets and looked at him ruefully.
"Thank you Fenix, for helping me. I'm sorry I couldn't save you, but if the CCT tower comes back, I'll tell Kobalt what happened here."
Should I really leave him here?
The former heiress looked at the lake, the water glistening and shimmering in the setting sun.
I suppose I could throw him into the lake, but honestly, I'm emotionally exhausted and don't want to. So I guess this is farewell. Adieu, Fenix Atar. You will be missed.
She took a deep breath and released her sorrows.
Now, how am I going to get to Argus from here? No plane, no automobiles of any kind. Not even any animals to ride on. Looks like I have to make the rest of the journey on foot. I know I have to go north, so...
Weiss looked at the sun, shielding her eyes to avoid its piercing glare.
The sun rises in the east and sets in the west, so if I use the sun as a celestial compass, north should be...
She pointed to a nearby stretch of forest beyond the water directly in front of her.
That way. She looked at the lake. Well, here's hoping that I can make it to Argus without anything else going wrong.
Walking alongside the lake with her briefcase in hand, Weiss made her way forth. About a minute or so later, she reached the northern forest and moved onward.
Eventually I'm going to run out of sunlight to illuminate my path. Unfortunately, I did not think to grab a lantern from the manor and I don't want to use my scroll's light if I can help it. I could light a torch, but I don't want to accidentally start a forest fire. I guess I could use Fenix's scroll in the worst case scenario. I wonder what other information he has on there that might be useful. I'll look at it later. Keep moving Weiss. You have a long way to go and so little time before the sun sets.
As Weiss wondered through the forest alone, Blake and her three closest allies were in their shared hotel room. Kali was shown with a pair of earbuds in her ear, listening to what was likely sad music. Blake was looking at the list of recruits they had got so far, and Sun was staring out the window, thinking of who knows what. Ghira was shown writing in a journal.
Day three. The hand to hand combat training is going well, but they're far from being formidable fighters. Aura training... isn't going well so far, but it's probably too early to say anything. We need time, which is a luxury we may not have. And speaking of time, we know that Adam plans to invade Haven, but now the big question is when. There's no easy way of determining the answer, which is why we need our double agent...
"Blake?" Ghira spoke aloud.
She looked at him. "Yes, dad?"
"Have you spoken with Mata yet?" Ghira asked. "About the idea of him being our double agent?"
"I have." Blake answered. "He's willing to be the double agent if we can't find anyone else within a week. We have four more days to find someone suitable or we send in the benevolent ram. I hate saying it, but the chances of us finding another willing candidate are slim."
"Honestly, considering Mata's timid nature, he'd be the last one they would suspect if they heard news of a double agent." Kali reasoned. "Even if we were to find other candidates, he might be our best option."
"True. I don't want to pressure or force him into the role however. He seems nervous enough already. What do you think, Sun?" She received no response. "Sun?"
He looked dazed. "Huh?"
She gave him a gesture of concern. "Are you thinking about... him?"
"Which one? There's two men I really despise."
"The one who ran away." Blake clarified.
"Oh. You mean Zhu."
The catgirl twisted her index fingers. "Yeah..."
"It's..." Sun stumbled upon his words. "it's not nothing. I don't know what to think or feel. My brother... the only immediate family I have left that I thought was dead... is... still alive, but now evil. And why is he with the White Fang? He claimed that he was given more as a White Fang member than as a tribe member/huntsman trainee, which makes me think that the only reason he joined the Fang is to benefit himself. What if he isn't truly loyal to them? And if so, what would this mean, both for him and us? Or perhaps I'm thinking too much." He sighed. "You're lucky you don't have any siblings."
Ghira and Kali gave each other sad looks.
The former glared at him. "Do you ever think about your choice of words?"
Kali dismissed his words with a wave of her hand. "No, it's not your fault. You couldn't have known."
Sun feared he said something wrong. He asked, "Couldn't have known what?"
"Blake... is actually a miracle baby." Ghira answered.
He looked at her surprised. "No way, really?"
"We struggled for years to have a child." Kali began. "After two years without luck, I was diagnosed with Endometriosis. In simple terms, it made it hard for me to get pregnant and to carry a baby to term. In the span of three years, I had three miscarriages. For a while, I feared I was cursed. When me and Ghira learned we were expecting Blake, we didn't tell anyone until I was nineteen weeks in."
Sun raised an eyebrow. "Really? Why that long?"
"That's when I felt her kick for the first time. It was oddly magical and reassuring. After we told them, we got a lot of prayers and positive vibrations sent our way. In the end, I'd say that they all worked. She's here, and she grew up to be a strong, beautiful and confident lady."
The younger catwoman looked down. "You really think that I'm confident?"
"Of course I do." Kali kissed her daughter on the cheek.
"Most days I feel like a coward." Blake told her. "I ran away from everyone I ever loved time and time. Not to mention my friends, minus Sun who's already here, probably hate me now. Then again, we've got bigger problems. How long are we gonna be able to stay in this haven and not get kicked out for having no money?"
"Don't worry about that Blake. I spoke with the manager just this morning." Ghira told them. "She was lucky enough to have sympathy for us and let us stay longer without having to pay for the room day in and day out. Nonetheless, we're going to need more funding for our counter-White-Fang army. For recruitment, and probably the most pressing issue at hand; weaponry. Or rather, the lack thereof. Anyone have any ideas?"
Silence permeated the room before the monkey faunus spoke up.
"I got one." Sun turned to Blake. "You remember that promise ring Adam got you all those years ago, before he lost his mind? What if you sold that ring to fund training for this army?"
Kali looked at her daughter in saddened disbelief. "Adam... bought you a promise ring?"
"He did. But that was another lifetime ago. After our breakup and my fallout with the White Fang, I originally kept it as a reminder of the promise he made. I had thought of returning to him as a friend before he lost what little remained of his sanity. Before... Beacon fell... But that hope... the hope of talking some sense into him after I would have succeeded in becoming a huntress... was shattered when Vale was brought to its knees. He broke the promise he made several times."
Blake retrieved the black box and showed them the silver ring. The center circular ruby, and the miniature black diamonds on each side were still intact.
"Hmm... it looks surprisingly genuine for a simple promise ring." Kali commented.
"That could easily be worth several hundred, maybe even a thousand or more." Ghira estimated. "You should probably see a professional jeweler before trying to sell it to get a better idea of its financial worth."
"Do you have any idea if a jewelry store would be open at this hour?" Blake asked.
"At this hour? Probably not." Ghira answered. "How about tomorrow morning after breakfast we go out and find a jeweler? I'm sure someone here probably knows where we could go."
She sulkily answered, "Sure."
"Blake? Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." she said, searching through her bag. "I think I'm going to take a shower."
The purple-bowed cat girl got out some kind of clothing from her bag, grabbed a white towel hanging in the open closet, and went into the bathroom.
Kali gave her husband and Mr. Wukong some strange looks. "She took a shower yesterday, didn't she?"
"She did." Ghira confirmed. "I'm worried about her."
"You and everyone in the room." Sun added.
Inside the bathroom, Blake was shown with most of her clothes off, save for her bra and underwear.
Adam is nowhere near me. Why do I still feel vulnerable? Sometimes even more when I take my own clothes off? Stop overthinking and just get in.
She locked the door, took off her undergarments, stepped into the shower and turned the water to a setting on the far left. As the hot water soaked her to the bone, the camera zoomed in on her face and neck. Her tears fell with the water.
All the while, Yang sat in the dining room of her home. An empty plate and glass were shown to the left of her as she was shown writing the letter with her right hand for a few seconds before setting the pen down.
She was looking over the letter she had written to Ironwood, reading it to herself in her head.
Dear General Ironwood,
It's me, Yang. If you're reading this, then this means that the lack of faith I have in messengers has been displaced. I have written this letter because I wanted to personally thank you for the service you have provided me. You gave me a mechanical arm to replace the one that I lost during the fall of Beacon and Vale. Honestly, I was very surprised to have one of your huntresses come all the way here to measure my arm and report her findings back to you. Mrs. Khloris seemed to be very nice. She didn't say much. Or maybe that's because she didn't know what to say. As much as I would like to say that I was eager to try on the new arm, I can not honestly say that I did. After the new limb arrived, I didn't try it on for a week after it arrived. It's not that I was angry with you, or that I didn't appreciate your kind service. If I am truly honest... I was scared. And I believed that I wasn't worthy of the arm, or the pieces of Ember Celica, one of which was stolen with my right arm and later recovered (after being deeply cleaned and sanitized of course.)
Part of me thought that I wasn't worthy of having the new arm, perhaps because of the unfortunate Vytal Festival Tournament incident involving me and my opponent, Mercury Black. I still don't know what truly happened, and quite frankly, with the tournament crashed by Grimm anyway, it probably doesn't matter much in the long run. If you can figure out what really happened and why I thought I saw him about to attack me when he wasn't, well, you may be a better one than I. Another part of me thought that I didn't deserve it as I was reckless, and charged into danger without a second thought. I don't know if you're aware of how these events came to pass, but if you are not, I shall enlighten you.
The night Beacon fell, me and my teammates had been separated from each other. As I went searching for Blake Belladonna, I found myself beating up White Fang terrorists. Then out of nowhere, I heard her scream and saw someone stabbing her. At the time, I didn't know who he was, nor did I care. My blood boiled with rage. Without a second thought, I powered up my semblance, which I call "Burn", and charged towards him. In one swift strike, he slashed through the rest of my aura (of which I had at least half of it left) and sliced off my arm as though I were nothing more than a piece of meat. Almost immediately thereafter, I fainted from shock and blood loss. The next thing I knew, both my right arm, and soon thereafter, my partner Blake, were gone. She fled in the middle of the night to who knows where. My feelings towards her are... rather complicated at the moment, but alas, I realize that Blake abandoning me and my teammates is the least of my problems these days.
I would later learn that the man responsible for this heinous crime was a White Fang terrorist named Adam Taurus. From what I have heard on the news, all attempts to apprehend him have not gone well. He has killed most, if not, all police officers that come into his path. And had it not been for Blake, I'd probably be dead too.
Getting back on topic, I'd like to thank you again for helping me out of my darkest hours. After a few therapy sessions with a local therapist and doctor named Mia Mallari, I tried on the arm. It fit like a glove. I am currently trying to learn how to use it without accidentally crushing or destroying anything with it. I'm not sure if I'll be fighting or traveling anywhere anytime soon, but I know that it takes time to readjust after losing a limb. I notice that you appeared to have some prosthetics, even though I know you may be hiding these from the world and society at large. I know that if you were to write a letter back to me that it may not get here, but if you'd be willing to give me some advice on adjusting to prosthetics for everyday use and even combat, I would greatly appreciate it. It's no replacement for the real thing, but I think I can find a way to make it work.
That was all Yang had so far.
Now... for a closing. the recovering girl thought. What should I say? "Sincerely"? No, I feel like I need something better. Hmm... I got it.
She wrote the closing;
In high appreciation, Yang Xiao-Long
The blonde looked over the letter one last time.
Maybe I should include something about Adam Taurus so that they can capture him?
She wrote the following message at the end;
P.S- In the highly unlikely event that Adam decides to travel to Atlas, I figured you should be aware of what the terrorist leader looks like. He appeared to have auburn hair with brown streaks spiking backward, pale skin and as a faunus terrorist, he has reddish-black horns of some kind. He wears an asymmetrical black, long-sleeved blazer with a white bird emblem on the shoulder and black pants to match. He has a long red sword at his side, which is very sharp and dangerous. I hope this information helps you and any Altesian huntsman that tries to catch him. Alternatively, you can pass this information to others in hopes that he will be apprehended and be unable to cause anymore harm, injury or death to anyone. Nonetheless, I wish you good luck in these uncertain times.
Setting down her pen once more, she smiled to herself. "And done."
"Glad to hear it."
Taking the already-addressed and stamped envelope, she folded the letter to fit and stuck it inside the envelope. With her left hand, she licked her fingers, wiped the saliva on the stick-on part of the envelope fold and closed it shut.
"It'll be taken to the post office first thing tomorrow morning. Hopefully it'll actually get to him."
Yang faintly smiled. "Here's hoping."