Nanosuit and Soul Magic: A Crysis/RWBY crossover

chapter 32

So, the gaudy-ass flag ship (hah) that just landed on the busy air pads is carrying Weiss’s sister. As she marches down the exit ramp with her arms folded behind her back and flanked by two lines of those porcelain-looking killbots, I feel tempted to hum the Imperial March.

I don’t, though, since I’m currently invisible and making noise would spoil the whole surprise. See, I kinda want to scope out the situation before making my presence known.

…And yeah, I do enjoy just popping up out of nowhere. I wanna know if I can make Darth Schnee flinch. Petty? Yes. Yes I am.

Weiss and Ruby haven’t noticed my little disappearing act yet. Weiss is way too busy fangirling, actually.

“Winter! I’m so happy to see you- Uh, I mean…” She abruptly drops into an elegant curtsey. “Your presence here honors us.”

Wow. Wasn’t expecting that. This is her sister, right? Not her feudal overlord?

Winter walks right up to Weiss, then turns to face her escort. “As of this moment, I am taking a temporary leave of duty, until the time that I am scheduled to meet with Headmaster Ozpin and General Ironwood. Note this in the official report.” She turns back around, and pulls her sister into a hug.

It’s not very smooth. Actually, it looks more like a sudden impulse that got the better of her self-control. Almost as soon as they make contact Winter nearly pushes Weiss back to an arms length away, but Weiss still looks like she’s almost moved to tears. Neither of them say anything for a second or two, until Winter quietly says “I’m glad you’re safe.”

I decloak, feeling awkwardly like I’m spying on an intimate moment. Winter’s head snaps up, and she immediately steps back into a professional stance. “Alcatraz, I presume? I wish to commend you for the actions you’ve taken in regards to safeguarding my sister. Though you are not without your flaws, I understand that without you, she would have been killed.”

“Uh, yeah, don’t mention it.”

She gives me a look. It’s not a glare, but it’s not exactly happy, either. “Later, I will conduct an inspection of your weapons and abilities to ensure that you will be consistently up to the task.” This was very clearly not a request. “For now, though…” She turns back to Weiss. “Why don’t you show me to your quarters?”

Poor Weiss was already looking overwhelmed, but I could see her fighting to keep a delirious smile off of her face. The almost-smile drops, though, and she quickly looks back and forth in between me and Ruby. “Uh…”

I take pity and step in. “The campus is as secure as it can get, so you should be safe with some basic precautions. Plus, there’s something I’ve been meaning to work on with Ruby anyway.”

“Then we will take our leave.”

Winter and Weiss walk off. Despite the whole ‘no longer on duty’ affair, they’re still surrounded by a column of mechs. Guess that’s just a perk of the job. I notice that despite all the effort Atlas has spent on their public image, all the people wandering around still give them a wide berth.

Well, whatever, that’s over with. “Hey, Ruby, why don’t you find out what Blake and Yang are up to? If they’re not planning on going out into the city or anything, me and you can try working on that restraining foam idea I mentioned back in Patch.”

Ruby’s eyes light up, and she immediately fishes her scroll out of a pocket and starts dialing.

While she’s busy with that, though, something catches my eye. The Schnee Parade is a few hundred feet away by now, but there’s a guy staggering towards them from behind. I tap Ruby’s shoulder to get her attention. “Hey, I’ll meet you in the chemistry lab.” She nods, but doesn’t look up.