4,691Chapter 100: New Arrivals
Beacon First-Year Dorms
These people are insane.
That's all Whitley could think as he tried to sneak his way through the halls of Beacon Academy.
Emphasis on tried.
This was a school. A place of learning and discipline. Every student had classes early the next morning. There was an established curfew which was rapidly approaching. There were numerous signs scattered throughout the halls explicitly stating so.
So why was no one asleep!?
His hopes of sneaking through deserted halls had been dashed almost instantly. The first corner he'd rounded, he'd collided with a large student clad in grey armor, who'd immediately shoved him aside with a snarled, "Watch it, pipsqueak!", which his three similarly dressed companions found bafflingly hilarious. That encounter seemed to set the tone for the evening, as everywhere Whitley turned on his way through the first-floor common areas there were groups of students either traveling elsewhere or standing around gossiping.
His hopes for stealth dashed, the boy fell back on practiced habits: he walked through the public spaces with purpose, back straight, head held high, eyes focused forward. He inwardly preened as he finally found the elevators undisturbed, most of Beacon's inhabitants paying him no mind. The few that did merely gave him a curious look before continuing on their way.
Whitley let out a discrete breath as he entered the empty elevator, letting his posture slump slightly. He double-checked his scroll, before selecting the proper floor. He leaned against the elevator wall, some of the tension leaving his shoulders as the door started to slide shut.
"Whoa, hold the door!"
Whitley jumped as a hand slammed between the doors, forcing them back open. A boy with orange sunglasses nestled in his messy blue hair stood in the doorway. He flashed Whitley a grin as he selected his floor. "Thanks."
Whitley fought to keep the irritation off his face. "No problem," he droned with a tight smile.
The boy didn't notice, already looking over his shoulder in exasperation. "Sun, come on! I can't stand here all night!"
"...no, Sage, I'm not joking." A second boy walked into the elevator, his focus on his scroll call. "A Nevermore. A giant, supersized, superspeedy, red Nevermore!… yeah, anytime she wants… No, I don't know how to counter that. That's why I'm calling you!" The doors slid closed as the boy turned to face them, Whitley noting that the boy's blonde hair was the same color as his-
…
…tail.
Whitley inhaled sharply.
"Look, we have a whole extra week now to practice, so we can brainstorm once you and Scarlet get here. I've already thought of a couple of things we could… yes, I can think! You ain't clever, mosshead!"
Whitley only half-heard the Faunus's frustrated conversation. His focus was absorbed by the alien limb swaying back and forth in agitation. His breath grew shallow as it drifted his way, and he flinched when it suddenly whipped to the side as the Faunus let out a frustrated groan.
"Sage, just… just wait 'till you get here and see this crazy crap for yourself. Then you can tell me if I'm underestimating your abilities… what? Where… where did you hear that?... Well, Neptune is a dirty liar!"
The blue-haired boy snorted, rolling his eyes. In doing so, he caught sight of Whitley's strained expression. He rose a brow, frowning lightly. "Hey, kid. You okay?"
Whitley barely heard him. His eyes flicked to the display above the elevator door, seeing the floor counter tick from two to three. He quickly jabbed the button for the third floor, the doors sliding open just a moment later. "I'm fine, thank you," he replied in a clipped tone, striding out into the hallway before the blue-haired boy could respond. He walked hurriedly down the hall until he heard the monkey Faunus's voice be cut off by the closing elevator doors.
Whitley let out a sigh of relief, then took in his surroundings. There were far fewer students lingering in these hallways, but enough were glancing his way curiously to make him not want to linger. Not wanting to risk the elevators again, he instead looked around until he found the door marked for the stairs.
Not ideal, but manageable, he thought to himself, pushing through the door and starting to climb. And it lessens the chance of being cornered by… one of them again. Whitley took a shaky breath, holding his head a little higher. After all, who takes the stairs in this day and age?
He got his answer after climbing the first flight, and a voice drifted down from the flight above.
"I swear, we need to figure something out soon, 'cause at this rate I'm gonna lose it!"
Whitley fought down a groan. He was only one story away from his destination, and as much as he didn't want to risk another interaction…
Drawing himself up, Whitley continued.
He found the owner of the voice on the landing between floors. Two girls stood in the intermediate space… well, one was standing, a girl with brown and pink hair leaning against the wall with her arms crossed and a smirk on her lips. The other girl, with bright orange hair and pink attire, was pacing the narrow space rapidly, gesturing wildly as she stomped around, venting.
"I mean, it was so easy! It was an action/romance movie, one I knew they'd both like! I made sure they were sitting right next to each other. There were couples all over the place, they understood the assignment! But Jaune and Pyrrha? Nothing! They wanted to! I know they wanted to! They kept glancing at each other through the whole movie, those 'Are you going to?-Are you going to?' kind of glances. And that's all they did, for two hours. Do you know what it feels like to watch two people obviously in love just… sit there and not love each other for two hours? I felt like I was losing my mind!"
Whitley walked quickly past the two girls, the one throwing the tirade so focused on her venting she thankfully didn't register him. The multi-colored-haired girl rose a brow as he passed, but luckily didn't say anything as he started up the last few stairs. He felt her eyes on him as he slipped through the door on the next landing, the other girl's voice following him just before it closed.
"Neo, I swear, I don't care what Ruby says. If we can't solve this by Friday, I say we lock them both in a closet 'till they figure this out themselves…"
Whitley shuddered slightly, fearing for whatever poor souls that had drawn the girl's ire. He pushed those thoughts from his mind, marching down the hallway and scanning the name plates beside each door until he found the one he was looking for:
R.W.B.Y.
Whitley paused in front of the door. He took a deep breath. This was it. He smoothed down the front of his shirt, checking that he was presentable, and politely knocked.
He waited.
And waited.
…after twenty seconds of waiting, Whitley frowned. He knocked again, harder.
Nothing.
"Weiss?" He called out, growing agitated at the lack of response. He knocked again. "Weiss, it's Whitley. Your brother? I know this is a surprise and rather late, but could you answer the door?"
Still nothing.
A bolt of dread shot through Whitley. Oh, don't tell me-
"Uh… can I help you?"
Whitley startled at a voice behind him. He whipped around, finding a shirtless blond boy peeking out from the opposite door in confusion.
Whitley's cheeks pinked at the boy's state of undress, clearing his throat awkwardly. "Oh, um… my apologies. I didn't mean to disturb anyone."
The boy frowned at him. "Umm… it's okay, but, uh… why are you beating on Team RWBY's door this late?"
Whitley breathed sharply through his nose, his nerves turning into agitation. "I was planning to visit my sister, but she's refusing to open the door."
The boy blinked. He looked Whitley up and down, recognition flashing in his eyes. "I'm gonna guess… Weiss?"
Whitley grit his teeth behind a tight-lipped smile. "I would hope it would be obvious."
The boy leaned against the doorframe, ducking his head sheepishly. "Honestly, you never know around here. Well, I'm sorry, but Weiss isn't in there. I'm pretty sure she and her team are having a date night tonight."
Whitley blinked. "A… date night?"
The boy nodded. "Yeah, they… oh crap." He suddenly looked panicked. "Did you not know Weiss was in a relationship? Oh, they're gonna kill me!"
Whitley's face burned brighter. "No, I… am aware. I just assumed, with the late hour, she would be getting ready to turn in now."
The boy practically collapsed in relief. "Oh, thank the gods. Well, uh… yeah, curfew's coming up, but everyone treats it kind of loosely. As long as everyone's inside before eleven, no one gets in trouble. The RWBYs usually get back before then, around ten."
"Ten!?" Whitley checked his scroll. He groaned under his breath. "So, I have to just wait out here. Perfect."
The blonde snorted, as if Whitley's annoyance was amusing. He glanced at the RWBY's door, looking over his shoulder into his own dorm. "Well… if you like, I could let you into their room so you could wait there."
Whitley looked up in surprise. "You have a key to their room?" He asked skeptically.
"Oh, yeah." The boy stepped out of his dorm fully, a scroll in hand. "Ruby and Yang's dog kinda just roams the school. Sometimes he comes back while they're out, so Ruby gave us access so we could let him into their dorm."
"A… dog," If anything, Weiss having a pet by proxy on school grounds seemed even more unbelievable.
"Yeah, a little corgi named Zwei. Cute little guy." The blonde waved his scroll in front of the ID scanner, and the door clicked. He tried the door handle, and it popped open. The boy then turned to Whitley, an odd look on his face. "Weiss does know you're coming, right?"
Whitley shook off his surprise, standing up straighter. "Yes, of course. Why do you ask?"
The boy stared for a moment, then shrugged with a grin. "Just checking. They should be back soon."
Whitley nodded. "Alright. Thank you for your assistance, mister…?"
"Oh, Arc." The boy held out a hand. "Jaune Arc."
Whitley froze mid-hand shake. "Jaune?"
Jaune frowned at his change in tone. "Yes… why?"
Whitley jolted back to his senses. "Nothing!" He stepped around Jaune to stand in the RWBY dorm's door, giving the boy a polite grin. "Thank you again for your help. And, um… good luck."
Jaune blinked. "Good luck with wh-"
Whitley shut the door before Jaune could finish, pressing his back against it. He let out a long breath, feeling like he'd just run a marathon. Finally, he was at his destination. He didn't like that he'd have to wait to speak with Weiss and her team, but at least now he was guaranteed a chance to-
Whitley's mind ground to a halt as he took in the room before him; girl's clothing laying discarded in various corners of the room. Tools and school papers lay scattered on the desks and shelves. Two beds were stacked haphazardly on one side of the room, using books of all things as extensions, while on the other…
… why was there only one other bed?
And why was it massive?
And why…
…why were there two bright beady eyes shining from underneath it?
"ARF!"
"AAAHH!"
Beacon Academy Airfield
The moment Yang stepped out of the portal, she was met with chaos.
Men and women sporting the Branwen colors were darting all over what she quickly recognized as Beacon's airfield. Some were taking positions at each corner of the field, others were taking orders from the ever-collected Professor Goodwich, helping her clear any clutter around the airfield (trash cans, benches, etc.) that may get in the way of a possible engagement. There was even one man scrambling up a tree at the far side of the field, a rifle hanging off his back.
Raven stepped out next to her, her face already a mask of cool concentration. She took in the surrounding chaos, the portal behind her snapping closed with a wave.
"Oh. You're finally here. Cool."
Raven and Yang whipped around. Right behind where the portal had been stood Roman, leaning nonchalantly on his cane as he thumbed through his scroll.
"Roman," Raven greeted tonelessly. "What's the situation?"
"Not a clue." Roman snapped his scroll shut, giving Raven an annoyed look. "I was winding down for the day when Ozpin yanked me out of bed to come give you an anchor. Most I know is there's a Bullhead headed this way that's got King and Queen Cat wringing their hands. But since you're here, I figured you already knew that."
Raven let out an annoyed hum. "You thought right." She scanned around the controlled chaos, quickly zeroing in on one man in particular, rushing across the field back towards Goodwitch. "Shay!"
The scruffy blonde stumbled mid-step, changing direction in an instant. "Boss!" The man ran over, somehow looking both intimidated and relieved. "Good, you're here. Listen-" he cut off when he noticed Yang, the brawler looking him up and down. Shay looked between the two rapidly, appearing more confused by the second. "Uh… when did you go and clone yourself, Boss?"
Yang's eyes narrowed, Raven's twitching briefly. "Yang," Raven started, her voice tight. "This is Shay, The Branwen clan's chief survival expert." Shay preened at the praise… at least until Raven kept talking. "Shay, this is my eldest daughter Yang. She has my permission to break your legs if you piss her off."
Shay's eyes bugged out at the familial admission, then doubly so at the blatant threat and Yang's surprised yet humorous grin. "Boss, I didn't say anything!"
"You will," Raven droned assuredly. Before Shay could say more, she asked. "What's the situation?"
Shay opened his mouth, a retort at the ready, but the twin intimidating looks aimed at him made him think better of it. He released a defeated sigh before shifting to all business. "From what Goodwitch filled us in on, two hours ago an aircraft popped up on Vale's radar. Signal registered as White Fang—the good one, not the one that was shooting at us a couple of weeks back. Traffic control tries to talk to them, but all they get is radio silence as it makes a beeline for the city. Ironwood's boys send over a drone to intercept and confirm that it's White Fang… but they can't see into the cockpit."
"The ship is running dark?"
"No, the lights are on. The windows are obstructed."
Raven's brow furrowed. "By what?"
"Blood splatters."
"... shit."
Shay gave a morose nod. "Yep. Drone follows the ship for another twenty minutes as everyone hems and haws over what to do, trying to make contact and getting nothing until a single message comes through, text only: 'Landing at Beacon Academy, will talk only to Chief Ghira, No SDC/Atlas', along with a time. Haven't heard a peep since."
"So Ironwood calls Oz, Oz calls the Chief, and they call us for backup," Raven surmised, crossing her arms.
Shay nodded. "Everyone's trying to cover all their bases. Beacon's medical staff are waiting in the wings if whoever's on board's hurt, and we brought Chase and Cammy in case they need more medics. The rest of us are here in case something nasty spills out of that ship that needs to be filled full of holes." He hefted his rifle with a smirk for emphasis.
Raven smirked in turn, looking slightly intrigued. "Sounds solid. So where's Oz and the Belladonna's?"
Shay jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "Landing pad at the end of the field. Can't miss them." He reached into his front pocket, handing over an earpiece.
Raven nodded sharply, equipping it to her left ear. "Good." She gave Shay a hard pat on the shoulder, stepping around him. "Keep keeping everyone in line."
"You got it, Boss." Shay spared Yang a last nervous look before sprinting off, yelling out an order to two clan members in the middle of moving a bench. Yang watched him go, caught between confused and bemused.
Roman just rolled his eyes. "Any chance I can bail on this craziness and go back to bed?" Even as he complained, he fell into step with Raven and Yang towards the furthest landing pad.
Raven clicked her tongue. "Depends. Do you want to miss out on your part of the payday Oz is shelling out for this?"
After a moment, Roman let out an exaggerated groan. "Ugh, money. My one weakness." He grumbled a bit under his breath, but continued on with them regardless.
Ozpin and the Belladonna's were hard to miss, standing by themselves at the edge of the landing pad. A stone wall bordered the edge of the airfield, leaving only one side marked for passengers to depart. The Headmaster and Faunus Chief were in deep discussion, speaking in low tones with their heads bowed towards each other. Kali, listening to the two with a worried frown, caught sight of the approaching trio out of the corner of her eye. Her face brightened immediately. "Oh! Raven, Yang!"
Ghira and Ozpin looked over at her call, the two sparing them greeting nods before returning to their talk. Kali stepped away to meet them partway. She smiled warmly at them. "Raven, thank you for coming on such short notice. I- oh my!" Kali's eyes shot wide, both hands coming up to her mouth when she got a proper look at Yang. "Yang, are you okay?"
Yang blinked back, confused. "Uh… yeah? Why wouldn't I be?"
"Dear, you're bleeding! Oh, both of you are!"
Yang stilled, Raven doing the same. Their eyes went down to Yang's jacket which, sure enough, was drenched a deep red on her left side, all the way to her midsection. Raven's clothes were in an even worse state. Yang felt her face heat at having forgotten. "Oh! Oh, no, don't worry!" she said hurriedly, quickly shrugging out of the ruined jacket. "It's… not mine?"
She winced as Kali just seemed more perturbed. "O-Oh…"
"It was a sparring session that went a bit too far," Raven butt in, plowing straight ahead as she removed her bloodied coat and tossed it haphazardly through a portal at her feet. "Everything's been settled. Now, Shay gave me the short version, but is there anything else you think we should know?"
Kali hesitated, her eyes lingering on the bloodied jacket folded across Yang's arm, but seeing that the mother and daughter weren't going to elaborate further, she hesitantly answered, "W-Well, Ghira and I are fairly certain that its Sienna in the airship, but… she shouldn't be here so soon."
Raven folded her arms. "Why's that?"
"She contacted us earlier today saying that she was on her way, but that she would be arriving tomorrow morning. She's hours early. And with the condition of the craft…"
Raven just nodded as Kali trailed off. "I understand. If this is Sienna Khan, is there anything you think we should know about her? Anything we should expect her to say or do?"
Kali pursed her lips, thinking. "Sienna is… passionate, arguably to a fault. She places her people above all else, and will do just about anything to put Faunas ahead." She let out a small sigh. "Morals be damned."
Raven hummed, frowning. "You think this is going to be Taurus all over again?"
Kali's eyes widened slightly, her brow furrowing as she shook her head. "No, I very much doubt so. Sienna has a temper, but she doesn't let it rule her. She…" Kali paused, then sighed again, her cat ears wilting as she glanced towards her husband. "Truthfully, she and Ghira are very similar. They're both proud, charismatic, and willing to sit down and talk first to try and achieve their goals."
Yang blinked. "That's… not how Blake made her sound."
Kali gave her a sardonic grin. "Likely because Blake's only heard Sienna when she doesn't get her way. That's where she and Ghira differ. If the opposition digs their heels in, Ghira will go back to the drawing board to try and figure out a compromise. Sienna will leave and start digging into the opposition's history. Their family, their friends, their job, their financials; what they're offering versus what they actually have…" Kali gave a tired shrug. "Anything and everything she can use to give the opposition a finely crafted ultimatum, which often boils down to 'give me what I want or else.'"
Roman let out an impressed hum. "A girl after my own heart."
Raven shot him an unimpressed look. "Something tells me you're not her type, Roman."
Surprisingly, Kali let out a light laugh. "I'm afraid not."
Roman made a sound of mock offense, holding a hand to his chest. Raven, meanwhile, sent Kali a curious look. "You know Sienna well." It was said pointedly as a statement.
Kali's slight grin lessened. "Yes," she said, her voice low, almost wistful. "I'd like to think we do."
Yang stared at her, trying to keep her eyes in her skull because… there was no way Kali meant for that to sound the way she'd heard it.
…right?
Raven just let out an interested hum, plowing onwards. "Then, much as I hope it doesn't come to it, what can we expect if Sienna comes flying out of that airship claws first?"
Kali recoiled at the thought but answered. "Well… she wields a weapon she's named Cerberus Whip, due to the three blades at the end of the whip. In combat… Sienna's an opportunist. If she sees an opening in a fight, she'll exploit it. And she's not above fighting dirty."
Raven nodded. "What about her-" She was cut off by the incoming drone of an engine overhead.
Everyone on the airfield looked up as a Bullhead made a lazy approach to a distant landing pad. Most went back to their business when they saw the academy markings painted on its side, a critical few not relaxing until the door slid open to let Ruby, Weiss, and Blake hurry across the field. As soon as the girls were off, the doors of the craft slid shut as it took back to the air, flying off to join the rest of the academy fleet temporarily stored elsewhere.
Some of Yang's tension released at the sight of her team, her Relief easing theirs. But when her eyes fell on Ruby, she felt her heart twist painfully. Her feet started moving forward to meet them halfway.
"Yang!" Ruby smiled as she saw her sister in person, only to frown as she took in her torn and dirty clothing. "Oh, wow, you're a mess. How hard did you and Raven-"
She broke off when Yang, without breaking stride, wrapped her in a desperate hug. "Y-Yang? What-"
"I'm sorry."
Ruby's breath caught at Yang's thick and weary voice. She was confused for a moment… but quickly pieced together the meaning of Yang's Shame, Sorrow, Self-loathing. She let out a deep sigh, tired and sad, leaning into the hug. "Yang, it was years ago."
"I know," Yang murmured into Ruby's shoulder. "Still doesn't make it right, though."
Ruby just let out another sigh, bringing her arms up around Yang's back.
They stayed there for a moment, then Yang jumped when she felt additional hands on her shoulders. She looked up, meeting Blake and Weiss's concerned gazes. At her confused look, Blake gently explained. "Ruby told us about the fight with your dad."
Yang stiffened in surprise, then slumped defeatedly into Ruby's hold, looking down. "Oh…"
Weiss's concerned expression morphed into sternness. She put a hand on Yang's cheek, gently turning her face so their eyes met. "You're sleeping in the middle tonight."
Yang blinked, briefly overwhelmed by Weiss's Concern, Exasperation, Comfort. "I-" Any response she could have given was silenced when Ruby pulled her head back, giving Yang a fiercely defiant glare. Yang held the stare for a moment, glancing to see Blake and Weiss mirroring it. She hung her head, giving Ruby a defeated smirk. "Leader's orders?"
"Sister's orders," Ruby corrected, brow furrowed.
Yang chuckled, redoubling her hug on Ruby, which was swiftly reciprocated.
Raven watched the interaction with a small sad smile. Kali saw this, her cat ears tilting back in concern. "Is everything alright?"
Raven turned away from her daughters, rolling her shoulders a little as she fidgeted. "Yes, it…" she trailed off as she met Kali's warm eyes. She let out a soft breath, some of her tiredness slipping onto her face. "I'm trying to reconnect with Yang and Ruby. It's…" She trailed off, struggling for words.
Kali winced in sympathy. "Is it… not going well?"
"It's…" Raven hesitated, looking back to her daughters. The hug had ended, and Ruby now seemed to be giving Yang a play-by-play of the movie she and their girlfriends had seen. Yang had a small but genuine smile on her face as Ruby pantomimed, slinging an arm over Weiss's shoulders and holding the pink-faced Schnee close as Ruby used a bemused-but-grinning Blake as an impromptu extra in her retelling, throwing herself back into the Faunus's arms. Raven found herself chuckling at the display, finding Kali grinning as well when she turned back.
"It's slow going," she admitted. "But… I think it is going."
Kali's grin grew, relief clear in her eyes. "That's good to hear. Still, if you ever need someone to lend an ear-" One of her cat ears flicked in jest. "Ghira and I are always here, Sister."
Raven quirked a brow at the title but nodded all the same. "I'll keep that in mind, Kali. Thank-"
"Two-minute warning, people!"
All movement stilled at Goodwitch's call, the professor staring down at her tablet with complete focus. Raven searched the crowd for Shay, the man giving her a firm nod. Raven nodded back, then flashed Kali a look. "Showtime." She squared her shoulders, then raised her voice.
"Alright, people!" All eyes turned towards the Clan Head, her people listening intently. "You all know your places! Get in position, keep your eyes open and weapons ready. Got it? Good! Now move it!"
Their conversation cut short, Ghira and Ozpin turned to Raven. Raven gave Ozpin a tense nod, then looked between Ghira and Kali. "It sounds like whatever happened on that ship wasn't pretty. Do you want to be here when it lands or hang back until we know it's secured?"
Ghira and Kali shared a troubled look, which ended with agreeing nods. "If it's Sienna, I want the first thing she sees to be a friendly face. I'll stay up front with you. Kali will hang back with the girls until it's safe."
Raven nodded. "Your call." She rose a brow at Roman. "You willing to play bodyguard, Ro?"
Roman gave her the stink eye, then let out a dramatic sigh, hooking Melodic Cudgel to his belt. "Well, I'm already here," he droned as Black Valentine unfolded in his hands. "Might as well." He waved an arm back at the now tense RWBYs, his usual smarmy smile in place. "After you, M'Lady."
Kali gave him a warm-if-tight smile, the two making their way to the girls, Kali quickly filling them in on the plan. Raven watched them for a moment, then started scanning the area, double-checking her men's movements. She quickly became aware of another presence at her side. "You're sticking around then, Oz?"
In the corner of her eye, she saw the Headmaster give her a serene smile. "It is my school, Miss Branwen."
Raven snorted. Then, as the seconds ticked past, she let out a beleaguered sigh. "When this is over, we need to talk."
Ozpin looked at her, his eyes wary. "About what in particular?"
"Earlier tonight… I spoke with the Spring Maiden."
Ozpin's eyes widened, Ghira and an approaching Goodwitch looking over in surprise, the latter's mouth parting slightly.
"Something she said, it… it doesn't make sense, but it might, might, explain how…" She huffed in frustration as she fumbled her words. "I think you're right."
Ozpin's face went slack. "What-"
"Don't make me say it again." Raven bit out. Her head shot up as a familiar whine approached on the edge of her hearing. "Besides, we're out of time. Later."
For once, Ozpin looked ready to argue, right there, right then. But then he too heard the approaching craft, letting out his own irritated sight. "Very well. Later then."
Raven allowed a brief smirk at the Headmaster's audible frustration but quickly wiped it away as she gave her group one last look over. She felt a twinge of pride seeing them all get into position: seven scattered around her and the VIPs, six at the rear of the landing pad, and the remainders at range in the trees covering all remaining angles and blindsights. They were as ready as possible.
Which was good, as the craft in question had just crested the treeline.
All eyes traced the craft's path as it slowly maneuvered over the airfield. More than one of Raven's men already had their guns trained on it, and Raven couldn't blame them. Even from where she stood, the blood splatter on the windows was obvious. The craft itself looked to be an older generation Bullhead, with more bulk and fewer curves, the original White Fang emblem on its side standing out starkly against the faded paint job.
Raven placed a hand on Omen's hilt as the craft touched down. She glanced at Ghira, noting his clenched fists and the steely determination on his face. Seconds after landing, the craft's engines started powering down, the constant whine lowering in pitch until the airfield was let in empty, overwhelming silence.
For a few moments, nothing happened. Then Raven's earpiece crackled. "Boss, I've got movement." Raven recognized the voice of one of her snipers hidden in the trees. "The pilot just left the cockpit."
Raven put a finger against her earpiece. "Is it Sienna Khan?"
"Can't tell." She grumbled in annoyance. "Too much blood splatter on the front windows. Geez, how the hell'd they even fly like that?"
"Good question." Raven tabled the speculation for the moment, motioning to her men. Shay and three others moved up to flank the bay door, rifles at the ready. Raven looked at Ozpin, getting a slight nod from him. She was about to call out to the craft's occupants, order them to open up, when the door started sliding open on its own.
Everyone tensed, every weapon raising, aimed for the door as it opened… and a large figure was shoved out, crashing to the dirt.
Raven blinked.
The man before her was a contradiction of size. His limbs were long and lanky, almost abnormally so. His olive skin tone was pale to the point of looking sickly, his greasy, falling-apart ponytail not helping the image. His yellow eyes burned as he glared hatefully at everyone around him, wild and murderous.
Though, that might have had something to do with the ragged black cloth binding his hands and ankles, same as the gag muffling his enraged screaming. That, or the black eye and scratch marks clawed across his face, blood trailing down his face to join the red patches soaked throughout his stark white attire.
Most of his bulk, however, came from the long flailing appendage protruding from his lower back. Twice as long as he was tall, a tail of brown chitin snapped and struck in vain at those surrounding him. Shay had to step back as the tail came within a hair's breadth of striking him.
And instead splattered his chest with a streak of blood, flying from the end of its ragged, torn stump.
The missing end of the tail quickly made itself known as it was unceremoniously kicked from the floor of the aircraft. A horrified gasp sounded behind Raven, from Kali or one of the girls she couldn't tell, as it landed a mere foot from the bound Faunus's head. Most everyone flinched back at the sight of the bisected scorpion tail, blood staining both its torn end and poisonous barb. Seeing his dismembered limb, the Faunus's thrashing redoubled, his muffled raging reaching a new pitch.
Movement tore Raven's attention away from the grisly sight. In the aircraft's doorway stood a woman, her dark skin broken up by what looked like tiger stripes running across her arms, legs, and thighs, visible due to the shredded state of the once opulent black battle dress and red cape barely preserving her modesty. Feline ears were folded back against her wild black hair, a red gem sitting at the center of her forehead. Her skin was a canvas of growing bruises and oozing cuts, claws extended from blood-drenched hands. One she kept pressed firm against her ribs, the other gnarled dangerously at the ready.
In short, she looked like a woman who'd been through hell.
And despite the visible exhaustion on her face, the threatening rumble at the back of her throat as her slitted golden eyes darted to each gun pointed her way made it clear she was willing to unleash it again herself.
"Sienna?"
Raven bit back a curse as Ghira took a step towards the wild woman, naked concern on his face. Worrying for his friend was all well and good, but she'd thought the leader of a sovereign nation would have the sense to stay away from a visible massacre until after they knew what the hell was going on. It didn't help that Raven could see that on the ground behind the woman was not just blood, but what she was ninety percent sure was a body.
Thankfully, the moment the woman's eyes locked with Ghira's, her demeanor changed. Her warning growl cut off abruptly, her pupils going round as her face relaxed. "Ghira…" she breathed with little voice, her relief palpable. She took a deep breath, tension falling with her shoulders as she mustered a tired half-smile.
"You would not believe the day I've had."
Betaed by Covert Weapon.
A/n: Huh… how do I introduce Sienna Khan, a character I feel was woefully underutilized in the original show?
…I know! I'll have her beat the crap out of Tyrian. Because… well, fuck that guy.
In all seriousness, I hope this was worth the wait. I loved seeing everyone debate on what they thought happened to Sienna, and while you may have to wait a bit to find out the details, I hope this satiates you all for just a little bit.
And I do mean just a little bit (hopefully). This is another case of me making one chapter that just ballooned to the point I needed to split it to make two. Thankfully there was the perfect (i.e., most evil) place to make a cliffhanger. Most of the next one's already done, so hopefully I can get it out before the end of this month.
Hopefully. Maybe.
…Keep your fingers crossed, people. I made it to 100 chapters as of this one (holy crap, 100 chapters, what the hell…) so if nothing else, you know I'm committed. It's not a matter of if I finish this damn thing - it's when.
I hope you're all doing great, and I'll see ya in the next one!