Of Maidens and Mecha - Two

XxX----XxX----XxX

Official Supporters:

Compulsive Reader, The Impossible Muffin

Adeptus Militaris, Wilger

Commissioner, Gib, Death Daddy, Le Spork

If you want to be on the Supporter list, PM me for details or join our private server for details. Hope you enjoy reading my stories, please leave me a comment to let me know if you did, or where I can improve. Link here, where able to be seen : https://discord.gg/2UZncAm

Second link here, remove ( and ) and it SHOULD work : D(i)scord(.)gg(slash)kfhkfUb

I have a kofi account now, too, under this name for those interested.

Beta(s) :

XxX----XxX----XxX

"Locker forty two… C'mon, locker forty two…" Jaune murmured as he made his way through the locker room, just barely ducking out of the way of arms, legs and weapons as he looked around frantically for his locker. "C'mon, where is- Ah!"

He only looked down for a second - a second! - to check the number on his card when a pair of shorts found its way under his foot and he slipped, stumbling over a bench. He bounced off one guy's back and slid off him towards the ground. With Crocea Mors under one arm and his bag under the other, he couldn't catch himself, and watched the ground screaming towards his face-

Until it stopped.

Or, well, he did.

"Are you alright?" He heard someone, a girl, say as he was lifted up by hands on his hips and shoulders. Four of them, not two - one to each side of his shoulders and hips - lifted him up, righted him, and set him on his feet.

"I-I'm fine." He chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head and turning around.

The woman who'd caught him was tall, with long red hair that hung loose around her shoulders. As she stepped back the arms, two for each of her arms affixed with ball-sockets on an armored collar that ringed her collar bone, retracted and folded in on themselves, then socketed together like puzzle pieces, forming rectangular plates of bronze that hung beside her biceps like small shields. Her armor was light leather, and very Mistralian, reinforced by a thick, curved bronze breastplate that covered everything above her stomach, while a pair of bracers sat on top of gloves that ran up to her biceps.

But the most interesting part was her legs…

She wore a short black skirt that hugged her hips tightly, protected by layers of plated bronze, but below that she didn't need armor. Her soft thighs ended suddenly in bracketed, bronzed sockets, with burn-like scars trailing just outside it. Heavy, blocky prosthetics ran down from there, smoothed at the fronts into more artful curves embossed with swirling red patterns that stood out nicely on the bronzed material. But even so, the legs were heavy, sturdy looking things, with wide, armored feet that chafed and chinked as she adjusted her position.

"Wow…" He murmured quietly.

"Satisfied?"

"I'm sorry?" He blinked, looking up to meet the woman's hard, green eyes. "O-Oh, I'm sorry, I just…"

"Wanted to stare at the gearbox?"

"What?" He blinked, "No!"

"Then what, Valean?"

"I…" He grimaced, flicked a look to either side, and then stepped closer to explain quietly. "My, uh, dad lost his leg. He got prosthetics, but… Well, yours have Insecticon tech, right?"

"Cybertronian." She corrected quietly, and then blinked and sighed. "And yes, to an extent. Cybernetics in Mistral have come far, since the unification. Enough that these," she reached down to tap a finger against a metal thigh, "feel and work as well as my own ever did. Sadly, not enough to make them more… Subtle."

"Yeah." He shrugged, turning and looking for his locker as he went on. "But, I mean, I think they work for you."

"W-What?"

"They look good, I mean." He turned back to her, smiling, and shrugged as she blinked and flushed. "S-Sorry if that's mean to say. I-I'm just trying to say that-"

"Thank you." She cut him off, smiling warmly again, and this time in a way that seemed more… Real, somehow.

It was lopsided, a bit, and her eyes crinkled with it. Small things, sure. But with so many sisters growing up, he'd learned pretty quick to pick up on subtle signs of when a woman was or wasn't about to hit him. He still wasn't good at figuring out the 'why' of that stuff, usually, but…

Not getting hit was good enough for him.

"No problem!" He beamed, looking past her and reading off more numbers as he talked. "My mom always said I should be polite, but always compliment a pretty girl when she looks sad."

"A-A pretty-"

"Forty two!" He crowed excitedly, grinning and turning back to her. "Sorry, we can talk later, but I gotta get my stuff stowed and changed before, you know, Initiation."

"O-Oh." She blinked, stepping to the side and smiling, "Then, uh, we shall talk later!"

"Yep." He nodded, "See ya then, Pyr."

"I-Indeed!"

XxX----XxX----XxX

"I dislike this, Ozpin." Razorwing rumbled lowly as he watched the last child go screaming, literally and otherwise, away from the cliff-side launchers.

"We've already compromised our ways with yours, Professor." Ozpin said loudly, trying to make his voice carry more over the height difference. And the wind. "Two person teams are a novelty. Only made into something I could coerce the Council into by a decade of success."

"And the Cybertronian technology my people offered yours in exchange." He pointed out, "Technology you are already disseminating throughout your Kingdom."

"Communications technology-"

"Among others, and more." He chuckled, "You already had it, after all. Now, our artisans are teaching you how to create it and maintain it. Quite a tactical advantage, that."

"Perhaps." Ozpin admitted, pulling his Scroll out and flicking it open. Cybertonian holo-matter transmissions were fast and precise, but Energon was expensive to import. And so, even now, the little devices were important for more short-range matters. "But whatever advantage it offers will be needed. The upheaval that will come from our shift in tactics…"

"It's well-documented in Mistral."

"Perhaps, but we don't have… Well, you, to fill in the blanks." Ozpin pointed out, "Without that sort of fall-back, the Council are taking a very real risk here. If these teams begin to falter in the coming years, the fault will fall on them. And myself, of course. Which could very well shift the balance of political power in such a way that those who hate your kind would very much enjoy."

"Bah." Razorwing snapped as an old, echoing, visceral growl that even his self-modding hadn't removed from his Insecticon roots rumbled out. "Petty politics…"

"You sound like one with more than just no taste for it."

"I despise it." He nodded, "You've read my dissertation on the Fall of Cybetron, I trust?"

"Mhm." He nodded, "The functionists, wasn't it?"

"Among a hateful others, but primarily in scope, if not detail, yes." Razorwing nodded solemnly. "Those who try to dictate the who by the what are ever-present. And if not the what, then the where. And tragedy is begot by all regardless."

"As I said." Ozpin hummed, "You have more than merely a distaste for politics like what is at play here. Even so…"

"Even so we must contend with it." He sighed, "Politics. It's incredibly stupid, but even more incredibly important."

"Mhm." Ozpin nodded, "Now, do stand by. In case they need either of us out there."

"Oh fear not." He rumbled, reaching under his coat of layered metal feathers to draw his old Pulse Rifle out. It was a somewhat newer invention, dating to shortly after the end of the War, modeled off the Insecticon slug rifles, which fired the infamous heavy rounds in short, twin bursts. "I came well-prepared, as you can see."

"Your personal weapon?"

"Indeed."

"Does it have a name?"

"No." He hummed, "Thought not out of a lack of desire. I simply haven't found a proper referral for it."

"Ah." Ozpin smiled, "Well, I suppose you have more than enough time. Cybertronians do live such long, long lives, after all."

"Indeed." Though Razorwing sometimes suspected that would come to be more curse than boon… The Archive detailed more than one old 'Bot who had, over the eons, attested to that. And the war itself was only further proof. If Megatron or Optimus had simply died of old age, then…

He shook the musings off - he had better things to do than wonder 'what if?' right now.

XxX----XxX----XxX

Weiss ducked back at her waist and turned, putting the momentum of the action onto a thrust in the same moment she stepped to the side. The Beowolf's charged brought its momentum down on Myrtenaster's razor point and carried it by, ripping it open from nevel through and around to the back of its hip. As it fell away she turned, coiling her arm like a spring, and thrust forward as another Grimm lurched up from its crouch, maw open.

It tasted steel instead of her blood - or Aura - though, and then fire as she fingered the trigger and ignited a stream of Red Dust into its gullet.

"Weiss, duck!"

"Wha-" She squawked as she turned and saw red surging towards her, throwing herself down as

Ruby materialized above her in a shower of rose petals, hanging horizontally in the air and bringing her scythe around as she spun. Its blade whistled through the air as it came around, carving through the falling Beringel's throat and knocking it to the side, and away from Weiss as she scrambled away. Ruby landed on her back but rolled with practiced, skilled ease to come up on a knee, her scythe spinning at her side, blade coming down to plant into the soil as its rifle-barrel cracked and tore through the hind leg of the Alpha charging them.

It snarled as it tumbled, end over end, into the spikes of hardened Ice Weiss sent curling up with a flick as she rose.

"Ruby, I had…" Weiss sucked in a breath and turned as the girl rose beside her and flicked her an anxious look.

"S-Sorry." She murmured, throwing her gaze down as Weiss turned to her. "I got in the way again… Didn't I?"

"Yes." She said gently, biting down her temper as it tried to rise. 'Rage and pride gave way to rubble', as her tutors had taught her, after all. "But you also saved me a few bruises. If that Beringel had gotten its hands on me, pinned me down…"

"Y-Yeah." Ruby smiled, wide and toothy, as she looked up and met Weiss' eyes finally. "I mean, I'm sure you'd have won, but… Why risk it, right?"

"Indeed." Weiss nodded, turning and looking up towards the sun, using her hand to block the worst of it out. "Now, the sun is rising from there, towards noon, so…" She turned and pointed, "We should head this way."

"Okie dokie!" The younger Huntress-hopeful beamed, falling in beside her. "Let's get 'er done, then!"

"Q-Quite…" And hopefully, she'd adjust to the… Less than proper mode of speech the girl employed.

XxX----XxX----XxX

Yang's feet hit the ground and she spun on her heels, throwing herself to the side and bracing herself up with a hand while her heel came around and caught the Ursa's jaw. It shattered and the beast staggered to the side, snarling wetly around its ruined maw, as Yang pushed off the ground and kept her spin moving, propelled by a blast of Ember Celica. The next blow was with her fist, and slammed into the spot where its throat came into its jaw with enough force that her Aura ripped through it.

As it fell, headless, she felt the second slam into her back and bear her down into the ground by its sheer weight. Its jaws closed around her shoulder and it turned, trying to rip her arm away. She grit her teeth through the grin she felt split her face and threw her fists over her shoulders, blasting bukshot into its face and searing it painfully. It staggered back and Yang threw her arms down and back along the ground, firing another pair of heavy shots that sent her rolling across the rocky ground, Aura sparking as she went.

She slammed her fist down a foot away and used it to yank her momentum around, rolling over onto her back and throwing her hands up to block the Ursa as it came down on her again.

She caught its paws in her hands and smiled, Aura burning through her as the air began to smolder around her. The Grimm snarled as its paws smoked and bubbled, boiling under her heat, but when it tried to pull away she only laughed.

"Nah, big boy." She chuckled, "You done fucked up."

Aura and Semblance scorching across her skin, she brought her knees up into its sternum with bone-breaking force. It roared wetly, ichorous blood flowing up out from its throat, pushed out by ruined lungs. As it weakened she pressed her feet up into its stomach, pushing it up and flipping it over her head onto its back. But she held its hands fast, and its weight yanked her up, over it.

Finally, at the high point of the flip, she let go and brought one fist up and one down.

"Game over!" The high gauntlet cracked and drove her down at high speed, and she felt the ground give way as her knees came down beside the Grimm. Her fist, though, came down in the center of its chest.

"Heh…" She chuckled, yanking her ichor-stained arm free and flicking bits and giblets of its heart away. "High score's still mine, honey."

Even as excited as she was, Yang heard another pair of roars and turned, raising her fists and bouncing to the side as the blood, bone and meat on her armored forearm faded away, trailing smoky vapor as she moved. Twin Beringels pushed through the shrubbery and she backed away, lowering her hips and her center of mass as she sucked in a breath, flaring her Aura across her knees to wash away the ache there before it could slow her down.

"Beringels… Because of course it's Beringels and Ursa. Because fuck me." She murmured, thinking quickly as they lumbered forward, maws dripping in anticipation. They were strong, almost as strong as she was, and their hides were thick - too thick for her buckshot.

She had slugs on her belt, a whole run of them, but they would charge if she reloaded now…

She flicked a look to either side, looking for anything - an out, help, or something she could use - and her eyes fell on the cliff.

"That'll do…"

She backed up a few steps and flicked a gauntlet open to reload it, and the Beringels saw their chance. They charged, rushing towards her as she ejected the half-spent run of Dust rounds. She caught the belt in a fist and threw them up into the air between them where the vials shattered on the stone.

Then, a single crack set it all off.

The two Beringels were buried by the mountain of rocks that suddenly showered them, an entire length of old, dry stone shattered under the explosive blow. Even Yang had to back up more, raising an arm and curling it beside her head like a shield as rocks peppered her.

"That ought to-"

Her eyes widened as one of the Beringels, bloodied, broken and with stone embedded in its flesh, lurched out of the dust and debris, bellowing a bestial challenge. It was too close to dodge, barely a foot away and jumping, and she'd emptied her left hand to throw its vials at the wall - if she used the right to strafe to the side, she'd just hit the wall. Her right came up and in, peppering buckshot into its face, but the armor held.

"Shit!" She ducked under a fist as it came down and then she stepped in, slamming a pair of punches into its side. It roared and swung its arm around, catching her on her side and knocking her to the side, towards the trees.

Then its other hand closed around her leg and she hissed as it yanked her feet out from under her, turning and hurling her into the wall with enough force her Aura scorched across her back to protect her. And then it sang across her front as she fell and the Grimm came in, catching her on its shoulder and slamming her into the wall.

It let her fall and she landed on her side, Aura flickering and a cut on her forehead bleeding where it had already failed to stop everything.

The Beringel bellowed, arms thrown out to either side, as she pushed herself up onto a knee and brought her fists up. It swung once and she ducked, pummeling a quick one, two, three into its armored side as she tired to get out and away. But its arm came down in her path and swept in, knocking her back into the wall before another came in and punched her into the stone, cracking it through her.

And cracking a couple other things, too…

"Heh… Tough customer." She grunted as it leaned down to meet her eyes. Her hand snapped out, burying her fingers in its glowing eye, and the monster bellowed as it staggered away, arms swinging wildly. She ducked them and dodged to the side and out from between it and the wall, making space and yanking out her slug-belt.

But then, the Beringel whimpered and snarled, clutching at its head and tossing it back and forth.

"What…" She murmured, watching it slam its head into the wall again and again.

Finally, a long lance of metal slammed into its side, punching through and embedding in the wall. It roared in pain, fury and something like… Fear, almost. Then another lance of metal, as long as her forearm, slammed into its throat and nearly decapitated it, leaving it to hang, smoldering, against the cliff as Yang turned.

The man was simply dressed, in dark jeans and a dark hoodie with heavy, metal-capped combat boots. But his skin was deathly pale, like he'd never seen the sun, and his hair was long, falling around his shoulders and trailing loosely across his chest and back. He met her gaze, but she couldn't read his through the dark sun-glasses he wore, wide-rimmed and pressed close against his face.

And his rifle…

It was almost as long as he was tall, but thin, with a simple barrel that he slid a long, pointed length of metal into as he turned to survey the woods. He had more in a bundles hanging at an angle off his waist, like an archer.

Quietly, he said, "You can fight."

"Heh." She smirked, reloading her left gauntlet and shrugging. "Heck yeah. Was kinda tough, but I managed to Yang in there."

"I see…"

"Get it?" She smiled, "It's funny, cuz my name is Yang."

"I understood it." He sighed, "It just wasn't funny."

"Oh haha, partner." She waved him off, moving towards him with a smile. "And what's your name?"

"Echo." He answered quietly, trailing along beside her. "Echo Frost."

XxX----XxX----XxX

the peruanoide :

It's neither's plan. Megatron isn't even present, and he's an Autobot now besides. Its just natural politics, emerging, as described, from various needs and negotiations between Menagerie-Mistral and Vale.

Fourtyfourb :

Details will come later, but for now-

They can multiply, but slowly for various reasons. Mostly, they are busy evolving rn.

As for what Razorwing will teach… Well, hopefully I hinted some at what he knows, what he believes, and thus, the sorts of things he'll teach.