Stealing from the Elderly

Argus...

It is daytime in the city. At the Atlesian Military Base, various soldiers and guards work on their jobs. Weiss Schnee is walking with Caroline Cordovin and Saphron Cotta-Arc, who is holding her son Adrian in her arms. They are also escorted by the two Nubuck Guards. Weiss drags a large luggage case behind her.

"Ah, I was relieved to hear that you came to your senses, Miss Schnee. Many of us were devastated when we heard you would be attending…" Cordovin said, with disdain. "Beacon Academy. Knowing that you'll be returning to Atlas just warms my old heart."

"It was…" Weiss said, pretending to leave. "...time to get my act together and go back to my roots."

"Oh, I can't wait to see you follow in your sister's footsteps."

"Absolutely…" Weiss said, with an unenthusiastic smile.

"I'm sending two of my best guards to personally escort you. Make sure General Ironwood hears that part." Cordovin said, winking and she walks away.

"Allow me to assist you with your bag." Nubuck Guard 1 said, while he jumps over to pick up Weiss' luggage. "My, what a heavy bag!"

"That's alright!" Weiss said, keeping her grip on her luggage.

"Nonsense!"

"Allow me to assist as well!" Nubuck Guard 2 said.

"I can take care of it by myself!" Weiss said, angrily.

As Cordovin walks away, she overhears Weiss and the Nubuck Guards conversation. She stops in her tracks and gains a suspicious look on her face. Saphron notices this.

"Just like we practiced." Saphron said, whispering to Adrian.

Adrian nods at his mother. The baby then lets out a loud wail that can be heard throughout the base. Adrian 'cries' as he fusses in his mother's arms.

"Oh no! Look at that, he's just going to miss you so much! You should hurry on out of here!" Saphron said, pretending to be upset over her baby.

"A crying child?" Nubuck Guard 1 asked.

"We must console it!" Nubuck Guard 2 said.

The two guards hup over to Adrian as they perform weird poses to amuse him. Cordovin continues walking with an unamused look on her face. While they are distracted, Weiss quickly gets onto the airship with the luggage behind her.

"That was close." Weiss said.

"Is everything okay?" Ruby asked, over the earpiece.

"Call me heavy…" Maria said, from inside Weiss' luggage. "It's all muscle! I'll show them a thing or two about heavy!"

"We're on board." Weiss said.

Elsewhere, Ruby Rose, Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren, Oscar Pine, and Qrow Branwen wait along the cliffside between the forest and the ocean.

"Alright, we'll all watch our scrolls. The second Weiss is out of range of the comm tower, that'll mean she's out of range of the radar too." Ruby said.

"And that's when Blake steps in. We're almost at the drop off." Yang said, over the radio.

In another area, Yang Xiao Long is driving Bumblebee with Blake Belladonna sitting behind her. Jared is riding on his hoverboard he got from the time he hung out with Doc Brown and Marty McFly. Blake has her Scroll out receiving instructions from Terra Cotta-Arc.

"Okay, remember: one, the radar box is seperate from the rest of the communications equipment. So if you disconnect it properly, it won't take out comms for the rest of the city. Two, this conversation never happened." Terra said.

"Don't worry, this isn't the first time I've disabled Atlas security." Blake said.

Terra stares back with an unamused look, "Never. Happened."

Yang arrives at the drop off point. Blake steps off the bike and proceeds forward.

"You sure we shouldn't come with?" Yang asked.

"More intruders means we're more likely to be seen. Besides, stealth isn't exactly both of your, um…" Blake said.

Yang and Jared stare back at Blake with both of their arms crossed.

"Seriously. My Semblance is as stealthy as yours." Jared said, looking at Blake.

"Jared, your weapons are explosive. Not really stealthy. I mean, you two are great! And I'll hurry back." Blake said.

"Go." Yang said, softening her expression.

"Be careful, Kitty Cat." Jared said, smiling. "Don't keep us waiting."

Blake smiles back at Yang and Jared before heading off.

"Heading in on foot. Won't be long." Blake said, over the comms.

"Yes! It's all going to plan!" Jaune said, happily.

Jaune then looks to Ren and Nora, who just stare at him with neutral looks.

"I mean, uh...roger." Jaune said, clearing his throat.

Ren and Nora exchange a brief glance while rolling their eyes at their leader.

River Song appeared in a flash of blue light, "Hello everyone."

"River?" Ruby asked. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought I could help." River said, smirking. "Thought you could use a bad girl like me in your plan."

"Okay. You can help. When are you in your timeline?"

"My birthday happened."

"Ice skating?" Ruby asked, fixated on Qrow.

"Yeah. This plan is rather reckless, Ruby, Jaune."

Oscar notices Ruby looking over with concern to Qrow, who is leaning against a tree with an uneasy look on his face.

"Hey, this is gonna work." Oscar said, walking over to Ruby.

"Yeah." Ruby said.

The airship…

Weiss sits in a passenger seat. She looks down at her scroll and notices her friends' signals slowly going out of range. Upon seeing this, Weiss makes her move. She gets up and heads toward the cockpit.

"Miss Schnee! For your own safety, we must request…" Nubuck Guard 1 said.

"What?!" Nubuck Guard 2 exclaimed.

Weiss is activating a glyph.

"Traitor!" Nubuck Guard 1 said, angrily.

The guards are grunting. The airship is flying by as the two guards are tied together by a black Schnee glyph as a parachute slows their descent.

"This parachute won't excuse you of your treachery!" Nubuck Guard 2 said.

The glyph deactivates, causing one of the guards to hang onto the other guard for dear life. Weiss walks over to the controls of the airship with Maria taking the pilot's seat.

"And you're sure you can fly this?" Weiss asked.

"Missy, I was the Grimm Reaper! What part of 'best Huntress of her generation' don't you understand?" Maria asked.

"Right, but your eyes."

Maria chuckles as she notices a small device plugged in the controls. She takes out the device and plugs it into her goggles. Text on one of the screens read 'TRANSMITTING SENSOR ARRAY DATA' as Maria's prosthetic eyes grow more wide.

"You were saying?" Maria asked.

"That you said your eyes were in desperate need of repair!" Weiss said, worried.

"Bup bup bup." Maria said, holding a finger out at Weiss.

"But…"

"Bup!"

Weiss ultimately relents. She puts on her seatbelt as Maria starts to fly around.

Argus…

Ruby watches her scroll as Weiss' signal disappears.

"Alright guys, this is it." Ruby said, placing her fingers on her ear. "Blake, you're up." No response. "Blake?"

Ruby looks back to her friends in worry.

"Blake was the stealth of this mission, right?" River asked. "What do you think could have happened, Ruby?"

Yang sits on the ground next to Bumblebee. With Jared standing still on his hoverboard.

"Yang, Jared, what's going on?" Ruby asked, over the comms.

Yang gets up and she and Jared look over to the relay tower.

"I don't know…" Yang said.

Yang looks to her scroll and sees Weiss' signal coming back on.

"This wasn't part of the plan." Jared said, looking down at the pink Mattel hoverboard. "Where is she?"

Atlesian Military Base…

Cordovin watches her men working the terminals. Something is beeping.

"Ma'am, we've got something on radar." A terminal soldier said.

"And who would be foolish enough to enter our airspace unannounced?" Cordovin asked.

"Apparently...us, ma'am."

Back on the airship with Weiss and Maria...

"Manta 5-1, this is Argus Base. We see you circled back. What's your status, over." The terminal soldier said, over the speaker.

"Why can they see us?" Weiss asked.

"Somebody dropped the ball. Don't worry, I've worked with Atlas forces before. I know their jargon." Maria said, picking up the radio.

"Argus Base, this is Manta 5-1. Feel free to gaff off. Thought we were going to scrub due to FOD, but we're back up and green across the board, over." Maria said, clearing her throat.

Static.

"Manta 5-1, return to base immediately, or you will be treated as hostile, over." The terminal soldier said, over the speaker.

"I thought you said you knew their jargon!" Weiss said, angrily.

"Jargon was fine, but our pilots aren't elderly women."

"Huh, well they got me there! Ooh, my mind really is going! Why would you kids let me fly this thing?" Maria asked, looking at Weiss.

"Calavera! You and those insolent children are up to something, aren't you?!" Cordovin exclaimed, over the radio.

Atlesian Military Base…

"You thought you could undermine my authority? If you don't return my ship this INSTANT, I will make an example out of you. I will show you the true might of Atlas!" Cordovin said, angrily.

Over the radio, a crunching sound is heard.

"You hear that, Cordo?" Maria asked, over the speaker.

Cordovin's expression slowly turns enraged.

Atlesian airship…

Maria munches on cashews with her mouth open, "That's the sound of me not caring!"

Maria is manically laughing.

"Ruby, Jared, we're in trouble. Cordo's onto us, and Maria isn't helping!" Weiss said, putting her fingers to her ear.

Argus...

"Why is the radar still up?!" Weiss exclaimed, over the earpiece.

"We don't know, Blake isn't responding." Ruby said.

"What do we do?!" Oscar exclaimed.

"Keep the ship in one piece." Yang said, over the comms.

"We're gonna check up on Kitty Cat. Melody, keep Little Red safe for me, okay?" Jared asked, over the comms.

Yang is revving her motorcycle. And Jared is kicking his foot off the ground with his hoverboard. They quickly zoom over to the radar tower.

"Maybe we should fly over to help Yang, Blake, and Jared first?" Nora asked.

"That's a bit risky, Nora." River said, frowning. "That ship is already on radar."

"Damn it! Cordo's gonna scramble her fighters. We've got maybe ninety seconds before they're in the air, and all over Weiss and Maria. This is all my fault…" Qrow said, angrily.

"What are you talking about? Your Semblance?" Jaune asked.

"Every choice I've ever made has led me here, and I've dragged you along with me. Oz, myself, the others...we're responsible for the mess the world's in now. I shouldn't have come, shouldn't have let any of you come...what was I thinking?!"

Silence.

Ruby: "We're all in this together, and we're all going to do the best we can. That's all anyone can do. And I know it's what you've always aimed for. We would've come whether or not you'd let us, so stop talking like we're your responsibility! We're not! But we could still use Qrow Branwen on our side." Ruby said, looking at Qrow.

"Wow, now I see why you rubbed off on my darling." River said, looking at Ruby. "You come up with excellent speeches."

"Thank you. Are they as good as the Doctor's?"

"My darling is in third place. My sweetie, the Doctor, is in first place. And you, dear, are in second place."

Qrow ponders his niece's words, "Hm...how did you grow up so fast?"

"I had good role models." Ruby said.

The two share a smile.

"Guys? She's not sending fighters…" Weiss said, over comms.

The group looks over to the Argus base. Suddenly, the mountain at the base retracts, revealing a colossal mech that overlooks the city of Argus.

"So, that's what you meant by giant mech." Ruby said, looking at River.

"That does look a bit impressive." River said, looking at the mech.

"You guys are up against a giant mech?!" Jared exclaimed, over the comms.

"Yeah. Right, I forgot you didn't know. It's no longer spoilers." Ruby said, sadly.

"You and River talked about it. It's in your future. Our past. Rory changed the topic." Weiss said, over the comms.

"Clearly the people have forgotten that they live in peace thanks to the awesome might of Atlas!" Cordovin said, through the mech.

"Is Cordovin...piloting that?" Weiss asked, over the comms.

"Consider this a reminder!" Cordovin said, charging up the mech's arm cannon, which lets out an electric burst that fires at the ship Weiss and Maria are piloting.

Atlesian airship...

The controls go critical as Maria's eyes spin.

"Are you okay?" Weiss asked.

"I am, but she's clearly lost her mind!" Maria said.

Argus..

"And that was merely a warning shot! All Atlas personnel standby, and watch how your leader maintains order!" Cordovin said, through the mech.

Ruby and her group look over to see Weiss and Maria fly in, with Cordovin in her mech following close behind.

"It's time you asked yourselves, children...do you truly wish to defy me?" Cordovin asked, through the mech.

"Hurry back, Weiss. I need you on the ground if we're gonna take this thing down." Ruby said.

The comms tower…

Blake's scroll is on the ground.

"Why is the radar…" Weiss said, her voice is staticy. "...up?"

"We don't…" Ruby said, her voice is staticy. "...know! Blake's isn't…" Her voice is still staticy. "...responding!"

Someone steps on the scroll as they run. Blake is running behind cover. She looks next to her, only to discover a motionless body of an Atlas guard. Blake reels back in horror. Blake is forced to take cover again when a gunshot is heard. She looks to the floor below her, with Adam Taurus sheathing Wilt into Blush. He has discarded his Grimm mask and now wears a black blindfold to cover his eyes.

"It's nice to finally have time to ourselves. Don't you think?" Adam asked.

"Leave me alone!" Blake asked, firing at Adam, but he blocked and absorbed the bullets with his sword.

"But I've waited so long, for you to be away from them." Adam said.

Blake runs over and uses a cable to zipwire herself down, but Adam cuts the cable with his Semblance, causing Blake to land on the same platform he's on. The two proceed to clash blades, until Blake kicks him back a distance.

"Why did you have to come into my life and ruin everything?!" Adam exclaimed.

"You stalked me across Anima! I don't want anything to do with your life!" Blake said, angrily.

Adam proceeds forward and clashes swords with Blake again. Blake leaps up and uses her Semblance to land on the platform above. She looks over the rail and points her pistol down. Suddenly she looks behind and gets hit with hilt of Wilt. Blake swings around and clashes with Adam again. Blake lands on the rail and dodges out of the way of Adam's Semblance, landing on the platform above. Suddenly, Adam reappears and grabs Blake by the throat. He pushes Blake to the edge of the railing, but Blake stomps on his foot and both of them fall over the rail. The two crash through multiple tree branches, breaking their fall back to the ground. The two slowly get back up.

"Let go of the past, Adam. Do it for yourself." Blake said, looking at Adam.

"Just forget it all? Is that what you did to me?! You just threw our memories away?!" Adam exclaimed.

"Adam!"

"I let you go once already, Blake. I'm never making that mistake again…"

The two former partners take defensive stances, and prepare for battle against each other...