RWBY Volume 5 Premiere: Critique and Review

 

Hey, everyone.

This blog entry is brought to you by my new novels: Remnants of Chaos: Chaotic Omens and Heroes of Majestia: The Company of Flight. You can buy ROCCO here and HOMCOF here. HOMCOF is also available for free download until Sunday.

So, I attended the RWBY Volume 5 premiere on Oct. 12th. Besides critiquing the first chapter of Vol. 5, I thought I would also review the overall experience of seeing RWBY in a public theatre and what the extra content was that was promised in ad. So, how did it all go? Well, it was an interesting night to say the least. It felt a little strange to see RWBY in a movie theater. I know RT has hosted such events before, but I've never attended them before. I attended this one because I saw it as an opportunity to connect with other RWBY fans and maybe get some insider information on RWBY that I hadn't known before.

The evening started just fine with me arriving at the theater with time to spare. When I got inside, I thought I would have to scan my receipt that I printed out so I could get my ticket. Instead, all I had to do was flash the copy of the receipt to the clerk, and she told me where to go. Down the hall, I followed five others to the theatre, three guys approximately my age and two very short girls. It was there I got a bit of a disappointment.

These days, all the new fangled move theatres have you reserve/choose a seat when you buy it. I'm not new to this phenomenon, but apparently I don't understand the layout of the seat selecting image. For whatever reason, they put the front of the theatre at the top of the screen and the back of the theater at the bottom. This makes no sense to me for reasons I don't fully understand, and I ended up buying a seat in the very front row rather than the very back. However, there was a silver lining: I was the only one in my row, I was as far as could be from those very short girls who turned out to be very annoying with some of their comments and laughing at dumb jokes, and I had the perfect spot to bootleg the whole evening. It's too bad I hadn't thought ahead like that.

Anyway, the commercials before the show droned on. I must say, I don't give an ass rat's about Firstlook or whatever crap they bring before me. But, I did see an interesting ad for Chevy trucks where two other trucks were being carried by a third. Soon though, show time arrived and the theater went dark, but nothing happened. Instead, we sat there before a huge Chevy logo as some country or pop song started playing. There was one after it, and people were complaining about the wait. My way of looking at it is that because we were there to see RWBY and not a movie, they had to make up for the lack of advertising by flashing us with a Chevy logo. But, eventually it came to an end, only for a crummy commercial for whatever company it was that organized the event to pop up. A timer then appeared in the corner of the screen and alerted us all that we were 30 minutes for the start of the show--there was a collective moan.

As I tried to jump on the Facebooks to tell my Facebook RWBY group (RWBY Wonderland) what was going on, someone cracked the joke we had time to watch all of Volume 4 before the start of the show. A guy behind me hopped on his phone and blasted "This Will Be the Day." Mercifully however, the timer in the corner got down to 26 minutes, and the show started. So, what did we see?

Well, we actually watched the last three episodes of Volume 4 first. I swear, I almost had an epileptic seizure when Cinder was throwing around her fire at the start of episode 11. But anyway, each episode was followed by commentary from Miles and Kerry, and occasionally Gray. I don't recall anything specific they said except for the fact that Miles confirmed that Blake did regress from Vol. 3 to Vol. 4. The whole time I was shaking my head, thinking, "Boy, if he only knew how much that pissed off the audience and how much they really don't like Blake." Following that, we eased on in to Weiss and Blake's character shorts which sort of confused and troubled me. It troubled me because I hadn't learned any new secrets like I was hoping to, and it confused me because you don't usually see trailers for the show you're about to watch when you're at the theatre ready to see it. Looking back, I also find it strange that we weren't show Yang's character short or at the least teased with its existence. I didn't know about her character short until Sunday following. I would've thought that that was something they would've told us about, or maybe even showed to the people who had paid $14 to see Vol. 5 premiere in the theatre. Anyway...

At long last, we got to see Volume 5 Chapter 1. So, what did I think about it? Well, let's take a look at it.

What I Liked

1. Mistral

Originally, I was quite pleased with the fact we got to see Mistral, and then I remembered that we do get to see Vale. But then I remembered that most of the shots we have of Vale are from street level. We never get that overarcing view of Vale, but we do with Mistral and it is gorgeous. I don't know how realistic is that humans built their homes and city into the cliff faces themselves, but it did look nice.

2. All Four Girls

So, unlike Vol. 4 Chapter 1 where we only got to see Ruby and Weiss, this time around we get to see all four girls in one episode. True, three of them are all on the same continent, but they're likely to be separated by hundreds of miles. Vol. 5 Ch. 1 proves you don't need to only show two girls per episode in order to keep their stories straight. In fact, it would probably be better to show more than just two per episode, as much as possible, so we don't go several episodes at a time without checking in on a character which does sort of make the story feel more disjointed than it actually is. So, Ch. 1 does prove there is a graceful way of showing all four girls in one episode despite the fact they're in different places.

3. Blake's Story

So, when I saw the scene with Blake and Illia, and Blake said that Illia would have to force her to leave Menagerie, I thought, "Oh, good. Blake's story might actually go somewhere this volume rather than no where at all. And it'll be relevant to the whole story rather than just Blake herself." So, here's to hoping Blake's story does go somewhere, but I will be honest, the scene shown in the new intro of Sun and Blake looking bored in the middle of Menagerie doesn't fill me with a lot of hope.

4. The Connection between the Relics and Maidens

Now, I believe in an earlier post, I speculated as to what the connection is between the relics and the Maidens. At the time, I thought why would the Maidens exist when the relics exist and they seem to be so much more important. Well, thanks to Qrow we now know that each relic can only be accessed, and presumably activated, by a certain Maiden and this whole "scheme" does add a whole new layer of complexity to Salem's plan because if she wants control of all four relics, she needs to find four girls, all loyal to her, and willing to become Maidens. But, I still wonder, why does the connection between the relics and Maidens exist? From a writing perspective it makes sense, but what about from a story perspective? How did the Maidens and relics become so intertwined and why would anyone design the "system" to work like that?

5. Jaune's Aggravation

It's no secret I'm a bit of an Arkos shipper. Well, I don't consider myself a shipper because as soon as that kiss happened I was like, "BOOM! Canon!" I had the same reaction after Sun and Blake went to prom together, and now with approval from Bellamomma, they might as well just get married. But anyway, I still feel like Jaune hasn't been give the closure to Pyrrha's death that he's due. And I don't feel like there's been a lot of closure for the audience either. Yes, he's upset and aggravated when Prof. Lionheart tells him that Cinder's files were forgeries and lies which does show that Jaune is still thinking about Pyrrha, but we still don't know all of Jaune's feelings on the matter and about Pyrrha herself.

Another thought I had after it was revealed that Lionheart is a traitor is that he could be lying to Qrow and RNJR about Cinder's file being a forgery. Now, he probably isn't lying about Mercury and Emerald since they were both street rats, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's later revealed that he lied about Cinder. While not everyone receives training from the academies, Cinder had to learn her skills somewhere and I recently read on the RWBY Wiki that Cinder is supposed to be Asian because she's actually from Anima. (To be honest, she doesn't look that Asian to me.)

6. After Credits Scene

So let's talk about the after credits scenes in RWBY. In Vol. 1, the scene showed us Cinder, Mercury, and Emerald approaching Torchwick which was a preview of coming attractions. But, it's almost certain that the Vol. 2 one where Yang meets Raven isn't canon, and Vol. 3's isn't really important enough to mention other to hint at the fact that Qrow could turn into a crow. But the Vol. 4 scene hinted at the meeting of Oscar and Qrow, and the reuniting of Ozpin with Qrow. To be honest, I thought the after credits scene of Vol. 4 already happened when V5C1 started so you can imagine my confusion at not seeing Oscar anywhere. But, I'm glad to see it was incorporated in there and I hope this is something the CRWBY does from here on out in RWBY. I want to see more relevant or trailer-like after credits scenes.

7. Getting to the Plot

So, is it just me, or does it feel like we're getting to the plot a lot faster? The speed of the plot of Vol. 4 could be described as glacial, and even when it did happen, there wasn't much to see. But now in Vol. 5, it seems like things are happening fast. I didn't expect Qrow and RNJR to meet with Lionheart in the first episode and drop the information that he knew where Raven and the Spring Maiden were; I didn't expect to see Yang, and I am glad she didn't get herself into trouble, but I didn't expect her to already be in an area of Anima where her Raven could; and I just didn't expect to see all four girls in one episode. And having Oscar meet RNJR right away along with telling Ruby about her silver eyes further helps to speed up the plot by bringing back a very important element to the front of the story when it was ignored for an entire season. Overall, I'm glad to see that the plot is moving faster.

7. New Intro

Holy crap. The new intro. It's no understatement to say it's excellent. It's got an aggressive, hard rock song where Casey is singing in a deeper, more sultry octave than what we've heard from her before and it all suggests a more aggressive and more mature storyline in this volume which I'm looking forward to. The new intro also seems to hint at whom our Spring Maiden is what with the one scene with the unknown girl and Cinder glaring at each other, and there is contention suggested at between Yang and Raven which will be really satisfying for the audience. We've been waiting since Vol. 2 to get answers from Raven, and now it seems like we'll finally get them. Hopefully, Yang will beat Raven's ass to the ground if she doesn't like them. That'd be pretty cool. And lastly, the new intro does hint at a reunion for our girls as well as a more direct confrontation with Salem and her faction. So, it doesn't look like Miles and Kerry will be following the 3-volume pattern I've suggested in some of my earlier blogs, and that's a good thing.

What Could've Been Better/Confused Me

1. Too Many Jokes

The first thing that sort of bothered me in this first chapter is that there seemed to be too many jokes, or that the jokes were inappropriate. Just like how Ruby laughed at Jaune for his hoodie, I found most of Nora's comments unnecessary and more cringy than actually amusing. And then the scene with Qrow and Lionheart scaring each other was a little over the top, and I don't think it was all that appropriate for Qrow to get drunk when he's the best huntsman in a town that is already lacking protectors and he's supposed to be supervising his niece and her team. They seemed forced and out of place as if Miles and Kerry are trying to keep the humor in RWBY, but I don't think it's working.

2. Time Zone Discrepancies

This is a small bitch, but it does seem to me like the sun on Remnant doesn't know what it's doing. Assuming that the same amount of time has passed for all girls, I would like to know why it's dark on Menagerie when it's bright as d*cks in Mistral. Looking at a map of Remnant, they should be in the same time zone. So, when it's day in Mistral, it should be day on Menagerie. Or am I just crazy for noticing?

3. We've Already Seen Most of the Trailer

So, when the Vol. 5 trailer came out, we got quite a few scenes and sound bites. I had assumed those would've been spread throughout Vol. 5, but they weren't. Instead, most of them were in the first episode which begs a couple of questions: 1. Is chapter 1 the only chapter with any real story to it, 2. Will RT be releasing periodic trailers for a couple of episodes at a time like they did with Vol. 3, or 3. Could they really not give us anything from the later chapters for fear of ruining the story for us? Regardless of what the reason is, I think it disappointing because now we won't be looking and waiting for those scenes during the volume. On the other hand though, we won't know what to expect.

4. Familiarity with Raven

Now, this is something that confuses me a little, and that's that RNJR knows that Raven is Yang's mother. It makes sense for Ruby to know, but why would Jaune, and presumably Ren and Nora, know? And, just because Qrow says that the Spring Maiden is being held captive by the Branwen clan of bandits, that doesn't necessarily mean they're led by Raven or even that there's a single Raven Branwen on all of Remnant--there could be two, we don't know. It would've made sense for Ruby to ask a question to clarify Qrow's statement rather than having Qrow and Lionheart carry on talking about Raven and assuming RNJR knows who she is without addressing it. True, Jaune did ask the clarifying question to demonstrate that, but it would've made more sense for Ruby to ask that question since she's almost related to Raven.

5. Gas Station/Bar Scene

There are a few things that bother me about the gas station/bar scene. For one, it's a gas station/diner/convenient store/bar, and by the owner's own admission, it's out in the middle of nowhere. I can understand a gas station being out there, but not a bar or diner. That's ridiculous because who the hell are your customers going to be, especially in a spit of land that's close to a bandit clan and susceptible to Grimm attacks? The other thing that really bothered me is that they're on Anima, probably somewhere near Mistral, and it has already been established that Anima is supposed to be Asia, so why do the bartender and scuzzy guy have Western American accents? Shouldn't they be Asian? And while I'm glad Yang didn't get into trouble for punching the drunk, the way the CRWBY added humor into the scene with the guy bouncing off the walls and ceiling was pretty absurd, unless that's his Semblance. But, I did like Yang's hand shaking to show that she's not totally over her problems and getting into a real fight does bother her a little. Not sure what I think about Goldilocks joke or the fact that Yang punched the drunk guy before he even managed to touch her hair--that's kind of overkill.

6. Suspicions of Oscar

My last problem with the first episode was how Jaune, Ren, and Nora were all suspicious of Oscar when he asked about Ruby. Why would they automatically assume he's up to no good? He's dressed like a country bumpkin, he's a few years younger than them, and he's acting quite sheepishly. I can understand them being suspicious, but with the way they almost turned aggressive when Oscar asked was too much. I mean, Oscar didn't even ask if Ruby could come out to play in a creepy manner, but they were ready to jump all over him. It's like, come on, what's he going to do?

Conclusion

So, what's the conclusion? Overall I liked the first chapter and it certainly gives me hope for the future of RWBY, but going to the movies to see it is really unnecessary. I don't think I'll be attending future premiere events because there's no enough reason to go. It costs money, quite a bit of time, and there's nothing that useful to be gleaned from the experience. Watching RWBY from the comfort of my own home is the only way to do it.

So, for next week I'll be critiquing and reviewing Chapter 2. I may mix up the way I do the review so that I look at it scene by scene and pick out those things which I liked and could've been better along with two new sections called "questions" and "insights." So, be on the look out for that, until then...

Keep writing, my friends.

More About Bryan C. Laesch:
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MBTI: Primary and Secondary Personalities Theory

Hey, everyone.

This blog entry is brought to you by my new novels: Remnants of Chaos: Chaotic Omens and Heroes of Majestia: The Company of Flight. You can buy ROCCO here and HOMCOF here. HOMCOF is also available for free download until Sunday.

So as promised, this week I'm going to go over a personal theory of my own. Basically, the theory is that while everyone in the world does have an identifiable personality, this personality is their first or primary personality. But there do come times when a person cannot rely on their primary personality, such as in cases of survival, and it becomes necessary for them to adapt and to adopt a secondary or even lower personality.

What's my proof? Well, until I came across 16Personalities and their absolutely superb personality quiz, I was already slightly acquainted with MBTI, but not well. I had taken a few quizzes elsewhere, such as Facebook, and one time I got ISTJ. Another time, I was taking a different a MBTI test online and again, I was typed as ISTJ. How could this be? Well, besides the fact that those tests were no where near as thorough or as sophisticated as the test on 16Personalities, there are a couple of other possibilities: 1. I wasn't being completely honest or I answered a question wrongly, 2. 16Personalities is wrong, 3. At those times, I was an ISTJ and I developed into an INTJ, or 4. I have a secondary personality and for whatever reason, those tests drew it out better. But, how is it possible that we may have more than one personality?

Well, to some extent, I believe our personalities are changeable. Like I said earlier, I don't think I've always been an INTJ. I'm pretty sure I was an ISTJ as a kid, but it's rather difficult to know for sure as at one time I was quite boisterous and obnoxious. But, I took pride in following the system and being told I was a good or smart boy. I never questioned or bucked the system, and I shunned those who did. I was also quite emotional. At one point, I am embarrassed to say, I was what you would call a "cry baby," and I wasn't an infant at the time. What happened? Well, more of my parents and siblings imprinted on me, I tried not to be annoying when people told me I was being so, I reined in my emotions, and whilst playing video games, I found the silent, mysterious, and stoic characters the coolest--so I became them. At some point during my high school years, I was an ISTJ like Spock, but it was only a matter of time before I became an INTJ as I found myself working the hell out of my imagination and asking questions about everything. Though I will admit that I didn't do it on my own. But anyway, the point is that I believe I was once an ISTJ, and like I said, when put into an unfamiliar situation, I turn to my ISTJ side for survival.

Some of you may think this nutty and you may think that what I'm actually doing in survival situations is turning to my lesser used functions such as introverted feeling and extraverted sensing. Well, there may be some proof for either side of the argument. MBTI commentator Heidi Priebe, who writes all the MBTI articles for Thought Catalog, wrote an interesting one on mistyping the personalities (read it here). Two of the types she says INTJs can be mistyped as are INFJs, because of our strong desire for self-improvement hence we don't leave anything as underdeveloped such as our introverted feeling, and ENTJs because of our strong desire to maintain order in the external world. She does also mention INTJs being mistyped as ISTJs, but she doesn't say why. I think it has something to do with our nature to learn things in a straightforward and simple manner, and catalogue our experiences so we can use that information for later. But getting back to the point, while we all may be turning to our lesser developed functions to help us deal with unfamiliar or uncomfortable situations, I think we can also say that our personalities change in those moments.

Now, I may be completely off base. I'm not an MBTI expert, and I barely pass for an INTJ expert. I may buy into the mystique harder than others, but I'm not sure I could explain what an INTJ is to a person who doesn't already know which is strange because at some point someone explained it to me. But anyway, in the case I am off base, I'm not particularly concerned about it--I just wanted to help expand MBTI theory. And because I'm running out of INTJ ideas to write about. I've got two more before I need to start grabbing at straws. Anyway...

That'll be it for now. I know this was a short one, but I did expect it to take longer. And I apologize for it being released late. I've had a trying couple of days again. So, for next week, I think I will be covering celebrities/famous people that are considered INTJs that I can't consider as INTJs. Don't miss it. And also please consider buying my books.

Keep writing, my friends.

More About Bryan C. Laesch:
Amazon: My Author Page, My Influencer Page
Facebook: Bryan C. Laesch, Bawdy Scholar
Patreon: Bryan C. Laesch
Twitter: BryanofallTrade
Youtube: Bryan C. Laesch, Bawdy Scholar

Heroes of Majestia: The Company of Flight Excerpt: Looming Shadow

Chapter I: Looming Shadow

On the world of Majestia in western Meadhan, there was a mountain range called the High Fells due to its barren and desolate landscape in its higher altitudes. Few creatures lived in the crags and peaks of the range. But within the mountain, there was a mercenary corps entirely composed of archers known as the Company of Flight.

For almost seven centuries since being formed in the Third Era 68 in the far east, the Company had served others in times of war. Its reputation was well known thanks in part to its four smaller contingents, called flights that specialized in its own duties, tactics, bows, and chains of command.

First of the flights was Raven, the Company’s spies, scouts, and assassins. They used recurve bows meaning their bow tips curved away from the archer. This allowed a recurve bow to be shorter and pack just as much or more of a punch than the longer, simpler longbow. Their short size also allowed them to fit into tight spaces, and every bow had strips of leather with fur glued to them tied around their bowstrings helping to reduce vibration after a shot.

But Raven’s bows weren’t the only things that gave it so much success in espionage and assassination; it was also that most of the flight’s ranks were women. Their smaller statures and lithe bodies enabled them to squeeze into tight spaces, and should they get caught, they could use their sexuality to their advantage.

Owl was for the archers that served as the Company’s tacticians, artisans, and engineers making them responsible for creating the Company’s war machines and siege weapons. Owl members commonly used crossbows giving them maximum accuracy for the least amount of effort. In order to join Owl, an archer had to be able to service a war machine and drive nails from fifty feet away with a single crossbow bolt.

 The strongest archers were found in flight Eagle and were the finest combat archers on Majestia. Their warbows, longbows as tall as a man and requiring the same amount of strength to draw as to lift an average-sized woman, could puncture plate armor and fire an arrow farther than three hundred and fifty yards. Due to the strength required to draw and fire these bows continuously for five hours, every member of Eagle was a tall and burly man with arm muscles the size of a barbarian’s leg. Eagle was also the largest flight boasting close to one thousand men.

The last flight was Dragon. These were the specialists of the Company often sent out on missions requiring a combination of brains, stealth, and strength. These archers used a truly unique bow known as Ceithir bows, named for the Company man who invented them. They were shaped like regular recurves except they had two more limbs. Called pony limbs, they arced like a waxing crescent moon away from the bow and were strung to one of the other bow limbs. This design gave Dragon a bow of incredible power and speed, but the extra limbs created more noise. The solution was to add string silencers to the two extra strings and gave them back their stealth.

But the pony limbs were not the only advancement in the design of Dragon’s bows—they also had arrow rests and a sight window cut into the center of their bow staves just above the rest. The arrow rest gave an archer a reliable perch from which to shoot his arrow instead of off his hand giving him greater consistency. The sight window served two purposes: it was easier to aim around, and by reducing the thickness of the bow stave, it helped to reduce the effects of archer’s paradox, a phenomenon caused by the string shooting forward meaning the arrow had to bend and flex around the bow stave when released. In order for the arrow to remain as accurate as possible, the arrow shaft had to have the correct spine, or stiffness, equal to the bow’s power to offset the paradox. If the arrow was too stiff or not stiff enough, it would not fly straight. However, the presence of the sight window helped to diminish the effects of the archer’s paradox and made the bow’s accuracy more forgiving.

Living in the High Fells offered the Company diverse training environments. The hills had deceptive dips and rises forcing archers to learn how to range their shots. The caves within allowed them to train without interference from the weather and in close quarters which simulated fighting in cities. The caves also gave them the opportunity to train on live targets should anything that lived within the dark and treacherous recesses of the mountain decide to attack.

Due to all their combat experience and advanced technology, the services of the Company were highly sought after by nations and nobles. Lo and behold, another war was coming.

Farther down the mountain, a well-travelled path was being watched over by a small contingent of flight Raven when a small troop began to approach. In it were a dozen mounted knights in full plate armor bearing swords, shields, and lances. Behind them was a drawn carriage with four white horses in front. The carriage was about the size of a large room with violet silk curtains billowing out its windows.

The carriage bore the crest of the king of Talian: a red lion outlined with gold filigree emblazoned on a white shield. The same crest was on the pennon carried by the standardbearer. But most interesting was the man behind him who looked like a sorcerer in a long, blue robe atop a black horse.

As the royal troop neared Raven’s position, a woman of average height in leather armor with a hood and cape stepped out from behind a boulder. “Halt!”

The troop stopped.

“Gentlemen, I must warn you that beyond this border, you’ll be crossing into the lands controlled by the Company of Flight. Anyone wishing to pass through must pay a toll or you will be shot.”

The sorcerer felt the presence of at least six archers all drawing their bows from different hiding places. But he was not worried; instead he prodded his horse beyond the standardbearer and stopped. “My name is Alezar. I am the court mage of the Kingdom of Talian and advisor to his royal majesty, King Talianus.”

“Good afternoon, Alezar. I’m Sergeant Alena of flight Raven. What business do you have in the High Fells?”

“King Talianus wishes to hire the Company of Flight for an upcoming conflict.”

“Is that so?” said Alena, folding her arms. “Well, I’m sure Captain Gawain would be interested in hearing your proposal, but I cannot allow you into our borders so heavily armed. And we will need a good faith payment before we take you into the mountain.”

“What are your terms, sergeant?”

“You and six of your knights can come with us so long as they agree to be disarmed. The rest of your men will stay here. Your good faith payment will need to be a handsome prize or something of equal value. And we will need to inspect the carriage.”

“General Cazzo,” called Alezar to the only knight not wearing a helmet. “Will you please call out the princess? And bring forth the chest.”

“Hey!” said Cazzo to his men. “Get the princess and the gold.”

As three of the knights entered the carriage, Alezar kept speaking. “The carriage contains only two things of value, sergeant. One is your prize and the other is Princess Asina, eldest daughter of King Talianus.”

Two knights came out of the carriage laboring to carry a wooden chest as tall as a man’s knees and as long as his legs. They set it down in front of Alena and opened it; her eyes widened. She had never seen so much gold. Then from out of the carriage stepped Princess Asina. She looked to be in her mid-twenties with long black hair and a pointed nose which she kept in the air. Her simple yet elegant lilac dress shimmered in the sun.

“Is this the Company of Flight?” she bit.

“It is one of their officers,” replied Alezar.

“Why would a woman ever be a warrior? Damn waste.”

Alena’s eyes narrowed.

“Sergeant Alena,” said Alezar, “do we have an accord?”

“We do, but your princess will also have to accompany us into the mountain. As a sign of trust.”

“Very well.”

“No! I won’t do it. I’m not going into a dirty cave!”

“Your highness, it was your father’s wish that you follow all orders given by the Company.”

“Well he isn’t here, is he?!”

“You are coming with us, like it or not,” said Alena.

Two dozen archers materialized, eight of them with bows drawn.

“Lord Alezar, choose the men who will accompany you into the mountain. Two of you, take this chest away.”

Two archers stepped up to the chest, but had trouble lifting it. It ended up requiring two more to help.

Alezar turned to Cazzo and let him choose five of his men. After doing so, they were disarmed. The whole time, Cazzo had a crooked smile on his face. “I didn’t know the Company of Flight was made up entirely of women.”

“It isn’t,” said Alena. “Just most of flight Raven.”

“Most?”

“The rest are young or exceptionally flexible men. And now, Princess Asina, you will either join us in the mountain or you will die. Which do you choose?”

“You dare threaten me?! A princess of Talian?! I’m not going in there and you can’t make me!”

“Bind her hands and gag her.”

Four archers stepped forward.

“You filthy whores set a hand on me and our magician will turn you all into newts!”

“Forget the gag—cut out her tongue.”

“Don’t you dare!” ordered Asina, stepping back. “Alezar! I command you to use your magic!”

“I’m sorry, your highness. I am under strict orders not to do anything to upset the Company. You will go with us on their terms or I’ll bind you myself.”

Asina hemmed and hawed. “This is outrageous!” She stood stock still and screeched at the top of her lungs. “I hate you all!”

“Alright,” said Alena satisfied. “Let’s go.”

She led Alezar, Cazzo, Asina, and the five knights past the boulder off the path into a nearby forest. Escorting them from behind were a dozen members of Raven while the rest stayed behind to watch the other knights.

 Alena walked up to an enormous tor that rose out of the slope of the mountain. She picked up a large rock and beat it against a flat rock wall in a specific rhythm.

Alezar noticed the wall did not appear to be made of rock from the sound made by the knocks. His suspicions were confirmed when a small slot in the wall slid open and Alena pulled her hood down to show her face. The slot slid closed and a door swung inside.

Alena led them into a dark and narrow tunnel that was dimly lit by a series of torches. Just to the side of the door were three archers sitting at a table playing a game of four kings.

The tunnel went on for a ways. Asina asked, “How much farther?!”

“Patience, your highness,” replied Alena. “And prepare your eyes for wonder.”

The tunnel ended and opened into an expansive subterranean cavern. All around them, they heard the sounds of people. People living, working, and training. They walked by carrying bows, swords, and light armors. Laughing, talking, children crying, and dogs barking echoed in the large stone hall. Bowstrings snapped, fletchings rustled against the air, and arrows thudded into targets over and over. A faint smell of sweat was mixed with one of moist earth. Most of the Company lived in smaller alcoves cut into the cavern walls, but there were tents and wooden shacks feathered throughout. The entire assembly was lit by torches, sconces, and braziers.

As they came out of the tunnel, a tall man walked up to Alena. “What’s this all about?”

“Emissaries from Talian, Hathus. They would like to see Gawain and negotiate for our services.”

“Wait here.” Hathus walked down a sloping path deeper into the cavern.

“My lady and gentlemen,” said Alena, turning to Alezar and the others. “If the Captain isn’t busy at the moment, he’ll see you immediately. If he is, then we’ll see to it that you are made comfortable.”

“How comfortable could anyone be in this place?” spat Asina.

“How comfortable would you be with my boot in your ass?” replied Alena.

Asina growled. “Disrespectful hussy!”

Hathus’ head appeared from the path below. “Alena! The Captain will see them.”

“Please,” said Alena to Alezar, “follow Sergeant Hathus from here. I need to return to my post.”

Alena left but her comrades remained escorting Alezar and the others after Hathus deeper into the cavern. As they went, Alezar noticed every archer in the Company had an arrowhead hanging from his neck. Each one was different from the last but most of the men seemed to have wide broadheads while the women had more acute bodkin points. Alezar had heard of this tradition, but didn’t know the significance.

They came to a wooden structure carved into two cavern walls about the size of a small house. In the center of the structure was a large table and four men sat around it with several papers strewn between them. Also in attendance were four others who stood next to the four seated, three men and one woman.

As Hathus approached with the Talians, the four seated men stood up. The one across the table wearing eyeglasses spoke. “Welcome. I am Captain Gawain of the Company of Flight.”

“Good afternoon, Captain,” said Alezar. “I am the court mage of Talian and the royal advisor. My name is Alezar. This distinguished gentleman to my left…”

Cazzo stifled a laugh.

“…is General Cazzo. And this young lady is Princess Asina.”

“Good afternoon,” said Gawain. “I was just having a logistics meeting with my other captains and their lieutenants. Please sit down. Lieutenant Aeron, please bring us some water.”

“Yes, Captain,” said Aeron as he left.

The other captains surrendered their seats for Alezar, Cazzo, and Asina.

Gawain asked, “How are things in Talian?”

“Up until recently, they had been pleasant,” replied Alezar.

“Yeah. That damn child sorcerer is making a right mess,” added Cazzo.

“Child sorcerer?”

Alezar explained, “The general is referring to King Jeremy the Wicked.”

“I haven’t heard of him.”

“Indeed, for he has only recently started his reign of terror. Small patrols of his army have been terrorizing, burning, and attacking lone towns and disrupting trade routes. It’s very costly for us and the neighboring kingdoms of Ruthenia and Silesia. Though, all of western Meadhan seems to be suffering.”

“I see.”

Aeron returned with four mugs and a pitcher of water. Gawain served the water offering it to Asina first, then Alezar and Cazzo. Alezar took a courteous sip while Cazzo chugged it. Asina however did not even acknowledge the mug before her.

“So then,” started Gawain, “let’s get down to business.”

As Alezar launched into negotiations, a crowd began to form around the meeting. Some were far too close for Asina’s comfort as they stood within the foundation of the structure. She noticed two men standing quite near her around a load-bearing pole. One was in his early thirties while the other was in his late twenties. The younger one had long black hair and brown eyes. He was taller than the older one, and the broadhead around his neck was made from a strange black glass resembling a dragon’s head. They were both barrel-chested and carried Ceithir bows.

“What’s going on, Lennox?” said the younger.

“New clients.”

“Where are they from?”

“Talian.”

“That’s a fairly new kingdom. Not even thirty years old.”

“Yeah. It once belonged to that tyrant Verdugo.”

Suddenly, the younger archer felt a small pinch in his neck. He quickly pulled his head away and smacked it into the wooden post next to him. Several people snickered while Asina rolled her eyes and turned her attention to Alezar.

The young archer looked over his shoulder and saw a middle-aged woman with long, dark hair. “Hey, Morgana.”

Morgana scrunched up her face and dug her thumb into his side. “That’s Lieutenant Morgana, Daven!”

“Ah-hah,” responded Daven, trying not to disturb the meeting.

“I’d even settle for Aunt Morgana,” she added, digging her thumb in deeper.

“Ah-ah! Okay, okay,” he said, turning to face her. “What do you want, Aunt—uh, Lieutenant Morgana?”

“Nothing,” she said with a smile. “Just wanted to annoy my beloved nephew.”

“Isn’t that sweet?”

“Shut up, Lennox,” replied Daven.

“That’s Sergeant Lennox,” he corrected.

“I thought it was Perverted Lennox.”

“Or Daft Lennox,” added Morgana.

“I will demote you, Daven.”

“To what? I can’t get any lower than what I am.”

“Then I’ll make you scrub my balls.”

“Watch it!” said Morgana, hitting Lennox in the back of the head. “You have royalty present.”

At last, Gawain said, “Then it’s settled.”

“We have a deal,” agreed Alezar.

“When will you need us to move out?”

“The sooner the better, Captain. We have no clear idea when King Jeremy will attack. And we’ve heard terrible rumors that with his magic he can simply open a portal from Dunragit right next to the Ebony Tower and be right at our front gates!”

Gawain went white. “That is bad.”

“And the king is eager for us to return as soon as possible.”

“Well, in that case, I will begin to mobilize my men as humanly possible. But, I can send a vanguard with you as you take Shortcutter Pass back to Talian.”

“Poor bastards,” whispered Lennox. “I don’t envy the saps who get stuck with that mission.”

“I’ll assign some of our best soldiers to the vanguard. In fact, let me introduce some of them to you.” Gawain indicated two men on his right. “This is Captain Flint and Lieutenant Crag of Dragon flight.”

“What?!” said Lennox, his eyes growing wide.

“And on your right are Sergeant Lennox and one of the finest non-ranking members of Dragon, Daven.”

“Gods damn it!” hissed Lennox.

Daven put his hand on his forehead. “You jinxed us.”

“You can leave tomorrow,” said Gawain. “The pass is treacherous, especially at night.”

“I want to leave now!” said Asina.

“Well…” said Gawain, “that’s not too much of a problem.”

     “You bitch!” Lennox stomped off.

***

 

On the magical world of Majestia, the child sorcerer King Jeremy the Wicked threatens to sacrifice the kingdom of Talian to the ominous Black Moon as his prelude to universal conquest. Talia, the princess of Talian, learns through divination that King Jeremy is not all he seems and sets out to discover the secrets behind his evil. To aide her, she enlists the help of the mercenary Daven, a member of the archery corps known as the Company of Flight.

Along the way, they encounter twisted monsters, mad mages, a draconic demigod, and a wacky sorceress. Stumbling their way through adventure, romance, and evil, Daven and Talia forge their legend as they become the first in a new crop of Heroes of Majestia.

Inspired by the works of JRR Tolkien, Terry Pratchett, Glen Cook, and HP Lovecraft, Bryan C. Laesch has created a unique and entertaining fantasy series. A new legend has begun.

 

***

If you enjoyed this excerpt from Heroes of Majestia: The Company of Flight, you can purchase it here on Amazon. Available in both Kindle and paperback editions.

More About the Author:
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Remnants of Chaos: Chaotic Omens Excerpt: The Great Oppression

Chapter II: The Great Oppression

 

“What do you mean, Mr. Chaos?” asked Nissa. “And please, call me ‘Nissa.’”

Azrael gave her a hard look while she returned a bright smile. But before Azrael could get out his next question, they were interrupted.

“Holy shit!” exclaimed a voice from the stairwell. “Mephisto was a demon?!”

“‘Mephisto’ is a demonic name,” said Azrael matter-of-factly. He turned to the shocked man in the doorway.

“Always knew there was something fishy about him,” said the man, fidgeting with his nose and lip rings.

“Who’re you?”

“I’m the Assistant Manager, Cromwell,” he said with a sweeping bow.

“Please, please. We don’t deserve that.”

“Like hell you don’t! It’s a bloodbath downstairs. Demon bodies, human bodies, blood here, blood there, that thing!” He indicated Mephisto with his finger. “Dead and headless, and my boss slaughtered. I am very grateful!”

“Fine, great, good; I’m glad,” said Azrael. “Does that appreciation have a monetary value?”

“Monetary? Well, I will see to it that you are compensated, but it may not be much. Aphrodite’s Heaven will never live down this controversy. It’ll be closed for good!”

“Well,” began Azrael, “as a start for that compensation, how about a free meal and drink?”

“Oh! Of course! As long as you don’t mind the gore.”

“There are worse things than having a drink in a demon corpse infested room. I’ll give you the name of a reputable exorcist to prevent possession later. C’mon, Nissa.”

Azrael and Nissa pushed past Cromwell and headed downstairs to where the bar brawl took place. It required stepping over a few horrendous sights, but once they were at the bar, things started looking up, except for maybe the smell. Azrael leaned as close as he could to either his food or Nissa so as not to smell the pungent scent of rotting demon. Demons’ physical bodies decomposed rather quickly since they weren’t of the physical world. As a result, Nissa couldn’t eat; the smell was too much for her. She had turned a pale green.

Azrael tried to lighten the mood. “So, how long have you been with your troupe?”

“What? Oh, um, I don’t dance with them,” she replied. “I only stood in for the job. I had never met them before tonight.”

“Hmm, that might explain why you were smiling and they weren’t. Plus, I thought you were better than them. You had sharper movements.”

“Thanks! But I was actually smiling because I was excited to meet you.”

“Meet me? What’s so special about me?”

“You said so yourself, you’re one of the best. And I am something of a fan.”

“I didn’t know demon slayers could have fans.”

“What about that Dante guy who is always on TV?” asked Nissa.

“He’s a fraud. He can’t really hold his own in a fight.”

“Have you met him?”

“No. I can tell just by looking at him. If he isn’t a fraud, then I have a theory he’s actually a demon himself.”

“Oh, okay.” Some of Nissa’s fairness returned as she got her mind off the smell. After a while, she spoke again, “Um, Azrael? I have a ticklish question for you,” she said a bit nervously. “Um, I don’t have anywhere to stay tonight, so could I… maybe, possibly… spend the night with you?”

Azrael put down his fork and cocked an eyebrow at her.

“I don’t mean it that way.”

“Oh. You want to bum a room,” said Azrael, finishing his meal.

“Um, yeah.”

“I’m fine with it so long as you know I only have one bed.”

“Meaning, I’m on the couch?”

“No, you can take the bed. I’ll take the couch.”

“You don’t have to do that!” said Nissa hurriedly. “I’m the one bumming a place to stay.”

“Well, I’m not taking the bed.”

“Then I guess it looks like we’ll be cuddling on the couch,” Nissa concluded.

“I have more than one couch,” said Azrael flatly.

“Oh,” said Nissa slightly embarrassed. “Pity,” she added jokingly. “I love it when a strong man holds me close to his heart.”

“And how often does that happen?” asked Azrael, draining his tankard.

“Um… well…” Nissa stalled.  She scratched her head looking up and away.

“I’ll take it that it doesn’t happen often… if at all.”

“Yeah… if at all…”

“Well, what do you do that doesn’t offer much time to canoodle?” asked Azrael.

“I’m a demon slayer.”

“You?! You’re like seventeen and there’s no place to carry any weapons on those clothes.” Then Azrael quickly mumbled to himself, “Not that that’s stopped some slayers. Cana always fights nude when she can get away with it, and she fights with fisticuffs. Crazy bitch.”

“What was all that?” Nissa had caught all of it except for whom Azrael had called “crazy bitch.”

“Huh? Nothing! Never mind! You said you were a demon slayer?”

“Yes, I did,” said Nissa. She sat up straight and put her hands on her hips.

“How?” asked Azrael stupefied. “What’s so special about you?”

“I am Nissa Omen.”

“… So?”

“Are you not familiar with the Omens?” asked Nissa a bit crestfallen.

“Obviously not.” Azrael got up and led the way out.

“I’ve heard of the Chaos’s,” retorted Nissa.

“Anyone who has studied demon slaying knows about the Chaos family. We’re the oldest family in the business. We were the first and we’re purported to be the strongest.”

“Well, the Omens are old and strong, too. Wanna hear about them?”

“Sure.” Azrael wasn’t actually all that interested. He was just being polite and decided that he would humor her.

“Well, the Omen family originates back to the year 2427 AD. One day in a small village in a place that struggles to exist, the first Omen was born. She was born with the power to bewitch people. To manipulate and control others to do what she wanted them to.”

“Really? That’s interesting.”

Nissa turned. “Why?”

“Well, these days most demon slayers are created via baptism or some kind of spiritual and religious initiation. In the early days however, it was common for people to be chosen because there weren’t any demon slayers. Or at least, not that many. So, the fact that a person was chosen to be a demon slayer four hundred years later when such a method wasn’t in vogue, so to speak, is unusual.

“And, that’s a very unique power. Hyperion doesn’t interfere with free will, so why would He have blessed a demon slayer with that particular charism. What was so special about the first Omen? Why would Hyperion grant that kind of power to man? Or rather, woman. Wait, woman? Did you say ‘she?’” asked Azrael.

“That’s right. The Omen family has always been particularly feminine.”

“The Chaos family has always been particularly masculine. Doesn’t mean that there aren’t daughters of Chaos, but they’re uncommon.”

“Ditto for the Omen’s, except with males. Anyway,” continued Nissa, “she was labeled a witch and any time people walked around like mindless zombies, they considered it a bad omen. The village eventually hunted her down and drove her out. But after she made it to the neighboring village, she led a rebellion against the lord of the land using her powers against the lord’s men. Eventually, she became the new lord and established a more just rule.”

“And let me guess the next part,” interrupted Azrael, looking back at her in the lamp light. “She fell in love, got married, and mothered a family? Not necessarily in that order… of course.”

“Right! Well, kind of…” Azrael’s last remark confused her a little.

“So why are you called ‘Omen’ then? Omens are typically bad signs.”

“Well, she didn’t use her powers much after that, but her children used them often. Again, what happened in the first village happened in the second. She and her family were driven out. Soon, throughout the entire land, word had circulated about these witches who could control people and they were told about what signs, or omens, to watch out for. Pretty soon, anyone who could manipulate people into doing their will, even if done by just talking them into it, was considered one of those witches because that was one of those omens. Soon, people just started calling them Omens instead of witches.”

“Okay. But that doesn’t explain how a small obscure family with a mysterious power lasted five centuries.”

“Well, the first Omens went into hiding, and their children took spouses and had children. They lived by themselves in almost perfect isolation for two centuries mastering their new power. Around 2672 AD, a new terror gripped the land.”

“Demons?” asked Azrael.

“Demons,” confirmed Nissa. “Almost instantly, the Omens launched themselves into the conflict using their powers to aid the descendants of those who hated them killing the demons. The old stories about bad omens and witches slipped into legend and were eventually forgotten. The new Omens had won the people’s adoration and the family flourished.

“And! The really cool thing about my family is that each Omen uses their powers in whatever way they choose.”

“Hm. Interesting.”

 “Yeah. So, how did the Chaos’s come to be?”

“Well…” began Azrael; he was so tired of this story. “Have you ever heard of the Great Oppression of Hell?”

“I thought that was just a fairytale.”

“If it was, there wouldn’t be any demons, and you and I would be out of a job. Anyway, twenty-first of December, 2012,” began Azrael, “there was a great deal of buzz about some ancient prophecy about the end of the world and that it would take place that day. Something about some ancient calendar ending on that day or something… I don’t remember entirely. It was pretty stupid.  But, people being the imbeciles they always are, they started preparing for the end of the world. For some, this included living the dreams that were unlived, while for others, it was a reason to indulge in some perverse fantasies. And for religious nuts everywhere, it involved the repentance of sin, or lack thereof if you were on the other side.

“One of these moronic cults got the bright idea to summon demons into the physical world using a book supposedly written by King Solomon on how to control the nasty little beasts. Well, they do and as it turns out, the planet, for some strange reason, is perfectly aligned with the rest of the universe for some freaky stuff to happen. That opens a gateway from this side of existence into the next, and then all Hell broke loose. Literally!

“The planet became overrun with demons and they started to open more and more gateways allowing their buddies to flow into this world. Well, as fate would have it, a mysterious bunch of wise men that had gone into the Alps to be away from the evil of this world found favor with Hyperion.”

“Hyperion?” asked Nissa.

“God. Y’know, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Yahweh, the God ‘I Am,’ the God of Abraham and Isaac, Allah; all the same deity. I don’t know why they called Him ‘Hyperion,’ but they did.

“Anyway, they had found favor with the Lord, and he sent his messenger, y’know, ‘angel,’ to them and told them that the one above would give them the power and ability to train others to cleanse the world of the physical Hell that had just taken over. And that He would deliver unto them a man with no past who would become their first student. It’s all in the Neo-Testament, or the demon slayer handbook, if you prefer. Anyway, Hyperion blessed them and turned them into the Maleiorcum. We don’t know much about this very unique blessing though since the Maleiorcum keep it a secret.

“So, they pick this bum out of the snow after a storm one day and they start training him. This was my great patriarch, Drusus Chaos, but he wasn’t known as ‘Chaos’ just yet. First, he went off into the world with the Maleiorcum backing him up and started freeing the people from the demons. But anywhere he went, chaos would soon follow because demons would get word of a town that had been liberated and would crush those people in that town harder and harsher than ever before. Drusus would return and get rid of the chaos, but it would always return.

“Eventually he won the heart of my great matriarch, Ophelia, who would nurse him back to health whenever he got injured or was fatigued. They fell in love, got married, and started a family that would last for almost a thousand years. And they took the name ‘Chaos’ because that’s what they were known for.

“Luckily, more slayer families started popping up and looked for the Maleiorcum so as to be trained by God’s special demon slaying forces. The second and third families were the Grims and Diorazzos. The Grims are known as death lords due to their close association with the personification of Death, and the Diorazzo family can control the hottest fire in all of existence, Hyperion’s fire; something that was only thought to be controlled by the Seraphim and Cherubim.

“And eventually, the Order of the Maleiorcum absorbed and took control of the Catholic Church turning it into the Neo-Catholic Church. That’s it. More or less.”

“So, what happened to the Chaos family then?” asked Nissa. “Or rather, what will happen to them?”

“What do you mean?”

“You said that they would only last for a thousand years. It’s 2980. So, what will happen to you and your family?”

“Oh! I said it that way for this reason.” He grabbed onto Nissa’s shoulders, bent down, looked into her eyes and said, “I am the last Chaos.”

“What?”

“I’m the last Chaos on Earth. If I don’t find a wife, that’s it. It’s over for my family.”

“Oh. How’d that happen?”

“Demons.”

“Huh. Wanna know something weird?”

“Always.” Azrael walked up the porch to his shop which was also his hom

“I’m the last Omen,” said Nissa. “And for the same reason. We’re the same,” she said with a coy smile.

“Yeah, pity that,” he replied without any pity.

Nissa rolled her eyes. And under her breath, “Take a hint.”

 

***

 

“It was dark—it had always been dark.”

 

Azrael Chaos is a demon slayer for the Order of the Maleiorcum. While on a job, he meets the beautiful Nissa Omen who can control the minds of others with her dancing. After discovering a plot enacted by the forces of Hell that centers on Nissa, Azrael takes her to the monastery where he completed his training to protect her. But things become more complicated when Azrael’s old rival and suspected demon general, Mammon Zebulun, takes an interest in her.

 

Before the forces of darkness can execute their dastardly plan for world domination and turn the tide against God’s holy warriors, Azrael must face the faults in his faith and find the strength necessary to save Nissa.

 

Let the Gothic Epic begin.

 

***

If you enjoyed this excerpt for Remnants of Chaos: Chaotic Omens, you can purchase it here on Amazon. Available in both Kindle and paperback editions.

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RWBY: The Novelization: Black and White

Hey, everyone.

This chapter of RWBY: The Novelization is brought to you by my new book Remnants of Chaos: Chaotic Omens, available on Amazon now. The Kindle edition is free until tomorrow, and the paperback is only $9.99. Read a free excerpt here, and then buy it here.


RWBY: The Novelization is not endorsed by Rooster Teeth in any way. Views, opinions, and thoughts are all my own. Rooster Teeth and RWBY are trade names or registered trademarks of Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC. © Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC.

At Sun’s confusing suggestion, Blake found herself at Vale’s dockyard watching over a Schnee Dust Company shipment that had just come in. She kept a low profile lying prone on top of a warehouse roof overlooking the shipping yard. Night had fallen and she scanned all the hiding places, shadows, and edges of the Schnee shipping containers, but there was no movement.

“Did I miss anything?” Sun plopped down next to her, clutching a bushel of apples to his chest.

“Not really. They’ve offloaded all the crates from the boat. Now they’re just sitting there.”

“Cool. I stole you some food,” Sun said, casually offering her a granny smith.

“Do you always break the law without a second thought?”

“Hey, weren’t you in a cult or something?”

She gave him a smoldering glare.

Sun crumbled. “Okay. Too soon.”

Suddenly, a strong wind kicked up around them as an whirring engine roared. An airship was above. Tensions slightly rose as they watched it drop into the yard. The boarding ramp shot down and Blake felt sick.

“Is that them?” Sun spied a man with a white coat that had a red tiger’s face and claw marks on the back. He wore a white mask that vaguely resembled a Grimm.

“Yes. It’s them.”

Several more disembarked from the airship, one carrying a gun. He ordered, “Grab the tow cables. Let’s get the Dust and get out of here.”

Sun said, “You really didn’t think they were behind it, did you?”

“No. I think deep down I knew. I just didn’t want to be right.”

Just then, there was a new voice coming from the airship. “Hey! What’s the hold up? We’re not exactly the most inconspicuous bunch of thieves at the moment,” said Roman Torchwick. “So, why don’t you animals try to pick up the pace.”

“This isn’t right,” said Blake. “The White Fang would never work with a human. Especially not one like that.” She jumped off the warehouse ignoring Sun’s protests and charged into the shipping yard.

Blake peered around a shipping container and saw Torchwick scolding a White Fang member holding a steel cable. “No, you idiot. This isn’t a leash.”

Blake leapt forward and put the back of her blade across Torchwick’s throat.

“What the—? Oh, for f—”

“Nobody move!” demanded Blake. Several of the White Fang drew weapons on her.

“Whoa, hey!” said Torchwick. “Take it easy there, little lady.”

As more White Fang surrounded her, Blake undid her bow. “Brothers of the White Fang, why are you aiding this scum?!”

Some of the White Fang seemed ashamed and lowered their weapons.

Torchwick laughed. “Oh, kid. Didn’t you get the memo?”

“What are you talking about?”

“The White Fang and I are going in on a joint business venture together.”

“Tell me what it is, or I’ll put an end to your little operation.” Suddenly, there were two more airships kicking up fierce gusts at their arrival.

“I wouldn’t exactly call it a ‘little’ operation.”

Blake looked up at the airships and was distracted momentarily. Torchwick pointed the end of his cane at her feet and fired. The resulting explosion sent her flying back.

Elsewhere in Vale, the explosion caught the attention of Ruby and Penny. Ruby groaned. “Oh, no.”

Torchwick continued to bombard Blake with his cane. She dodged the shots expertly, but found it necessary to take cover, dodging behind a shipping container.

“Here, kitty, kitty,” taunted Torchwick. But then, something floppy fell on his hat. He cleared it off and found it to be a banana peel. He looked up to see where it came from just as two feet landed on top of his head and knocked him to the ground with force.

Sun rolled and jumped back up to his feet. “Leave her alone,” he threatened.

Seven more White Fang members jumped down from the two airships still circulating the yard. They surrounded Sun.

“You are not the brightest banana in the bunch, are ya kid?” said Torchwick.

The White Fang charged Sun. He took them on using only fisticuffs proving to be a capable fighter not even taking a single hit and using his tail as an extra appendage. Eventually though, he pulled out a rod that extended into a bo staff. With each hit, there was a small fiery explosion suggesting that there was Dust embedded into the staff. He knocked back several of the White Fang before slamming it on the ground creating a shockwave that felled the nearest three.

Torchwick, exhausted with his inept crew, took things into his own hands and fired. Sun however managed to block it and dissipate the shot by spinning his staff.

Suddenly, Blake jumped out from behind Sun. “He’s mine!” She charged Torchwick and dueled him fiercely. She used both her sword and sheath as well as her Semblance to dodge attacks and burst forward. Torchwick however proved to be more than a capable opponent with his cane. He parried every hit and dished out some of his own despite his undisciplined fighting style.

Torchwick managed to catch Blake off guard by whacking her with the crook of the cane. He followed that up with three more attacks that eventually knocked Blake to the ground. He laughed, but then Sun was on him.

Sun broke apart his staff into two sets of nunchucks and went at Torchwick flipping and spinning them. Sun fired one of them revealing that they were actually shot-chucks possessing a lever and handle at each end of the chuk and a gun barrel on the other.

Torchwick was surprised, but he held his ground. He managed to deflect or block each shot so well, he didn’t take the fight seriously even managing a laugh until Blake charged and slashed across his chest with Gambol Shroud. He was knocked back several feet, but as he got up, he saw a shipping container suspended by a crane. He shot the cable holding it hoping to flatten Sun and Blake. They dodged it, but Sun went forward as Blake went back. Sun hadn’t stuck the landing and as he was getting up, he found the business end of Torchwick’s cane pointed at him.

Suddenly, there was a “Hey!” from atop the far warehouse and Ruby appeared, flourishing her scythe.

“Oh, hello, Red!” said Torchwick. “Isn’t it past your bedtime?”

“Ruby,” said Penny, “are these people your friends?”

“Penny, get back.”

Torchwick took the opening and fired at Ruby. The shot hit her and she went flying, losing her scythe in the blast. Torchwick laughed evilly. Penny’s eyes narrowed and she stepped up to the end of the roof.

“Penny, wait! Stop!”

“Don’t worry, Ruby,” she replied. “I’m combat ready!” A panel in Penny’s back opened and out sprung a long object. It paused in mid air, extended into a sword, and then multiplied into ten swords.

Penny ran and jumped off the warehouse. She landed amongst several White Fang and with the slightest stretch of her arms, the ten swords danced through the air knocking them back. More joined the fray, but Penny sent her swords flying forward and they sent the charging White Fang flying back en masse.

Three airships targeted Penny and started firing their 20 mm Dust cannons. Penny merely spun her swords creating a shield deflecting the projectiles while two more swords shot directly out of her back. They embedded themselves in the warehouse wall and the almost invisible wires that attached the swords to Penny became taut pulling her all the way back to the warehouse.

She formed the ten blades again into a spinning circle, but their shape slightly altered so they looked like guns, their ends pointed at the airships. As they spun, a ball of green energy began to grow in the center of them. Penny waited a second, then pushed both of her fists forward. The ball of energy turned into a beam and split into several smaller beams slicing two of the airships in half. Their crews fell into the yard and the airship halves wrecked in the bay.

The other airship was beginning to cart away a Schnee container, but Penny aimed six of her swords at it. They flew upward and dug into the ship’s steel hull, the wires became taut again, and Penny began to back up, pulling the airship with her.

Ruby was in awe. “How is she doing that?”

Penny had a brief tug of war with the airship before pulling down with all her might making it crash into the yard.

Torchwick, amid all the chaos, made good his escape on the first ship. Before closing the hatch, he commented, “These kids just keep getting weirder.”

***

Sometime later, the Vale police showed up and started casing the scene. They took statements from Ruby, Penny, Sun, and Blake, and got to business investigating the rest of the yard.

The four sat off to the side by themselves. No one spoke. Ruby had called Yang and Weiss on her scroll, and they waited for them in silence. Both Ruby and Blake were anxious to hear what Weiss would have to say. Finally, they appeared.

Ruby was first to approach Weiss. “Look, Weiss. It’s not what you think. She explained the whole thing. See, she doesn’t actually wear a bow. She actually has kitty ears, and they’re actually kind of cute…” But Ruby’s plea fell on deaf ears as Weiss strode up to Blake.

The two stared at each other for a while. Blake broke the silence first. “Weiss. I want you to know that I’m no longer associated with the White Fang. Back when I was—”

“Stop. Do you have any idea how long we’ve been searching for you?”

Blake went blank.

“Twelve hours. And, you’ve been missing for two days. Meaning, I’ve had a lot of time to think about this. And in that whole time I’ve decided… I don’t care.”

Everyone seemed dumbfounded.

“You don’t care?”

“You said you’re not one of them anymore, right?”

“No. I haven’t been since I was younger—”

Weiss quickly hushed her. “I don’t want to hear it. All I want to know is that the next time something this big comes up, you’ll come to your teammates and not some…” glances were shot at Sun, “and not someone else.”

Blake wasn’t really sure what to make of Weiss’ request. But considering everything that Blake knew about her, this was as personable as Weiss was going to get. If Blake read between her words, she discovered that Weiss was actually saying a lot more. She did feel a little touched as betrayed by her necessity to wipe away a small tear that had developed in the corner of her eye. “Of course.”

Weiss nodded and smiled.

Ruby blurted out, “Yeah! Team RWBY is back together!”

But then Weiss turned to Sun. “I’m still not quite sure how I feel about you.”

He laughed nervously.

Ruby and Yang joined their teammates, but Ruby noticed something was wrong. “Hey, wait a minute. Where’s Penny?”

Some distance away in a Forge Model V, Penny looked out its tinted windows, longing to be back with her friends.

“You should know better than to go running around in a strange city,” said an old, raspy voice, sitting right next to her.

Penny looked at the car’s floor. “I know, sir.”

“Penny… your time will come.”

*** 

    Back at Beacon tower, Ozpin had been contacted by Vale police that his students were involved in an incident at the docks. He was watching the security footage with his scroll, trying to piece together what was going through Ruby’s mind at the time, when suddenly he received a message. The message was from Qrow and it read “Queen has pawns.” Ozpin grunted in interest.

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