Shadows of War (RWBY X TITANFALL) Act 2: A Phantom Adversary

Chapter XI: Behind The Eyes

Reyes POV - Ten Days Before the Dance

The elevator dinged as I grabbed my bag and entered the hangar, greeted with the damaged Brute and a Northstar. I had just gotten back to Beacon from the hospital visiting the team. The doctor did say that they would be released from the hospital tomorrow, so all's going well, as well as it's going to get. The state that the team was in earlier was... something else. They were shot up and wrapped up to cover the wounds. Nathan said they had jumped when they got to the mission location. Whether Ozpin's scout had dropped the ball regarding the number of people there or we weren't paying attention to the report, they're currently in this position.

I dropped my bag at my operations center and activated a music streamer playing electronic music and synthwave.

Me: *placing my hair into a tight bun* "Bane, TK, Sierra, Athena, is your hologram/optics functional?"

The four materialize around the briefing table. Sierra's form glitched a bit before emerging.

Bane: "Yes, Ma'am."

Athena: "Optics are functional."

TK: "Affirmative."

Sierra: "I believe my optics got hit."

Me: "Okay, who's the ablest body now?"

TK: "That would be me."

Me: "I would appreciate your help repairing the rest of them, mainly dismantling the Brute and the Northstar and keeping the armor in place so I can weld it on."

TK: "Okay."

*time skip - 45 minutes*

With TK's help, we repaired the Ions chassis, and I started to fix her optics while TK was dismantling the Brute and the Northstar for parts. The circuits were knocked out of place and missing a few key components from the scuffle. I detached the optic, started dismantling it, replacing a few busted chips, and reassembling the thing back together. Before I put the optic back in, I grabbed my laptop from my desk and plugged a cord into both. The screen then goes to the camera feed and starts moving on my command to ensure the chips didn't malfunction during the repair. Once that was done, I unplugged the cord from the optic and walked to the Ion, plugging the optic back in. After a few moments, Sierra appeared in her holograph form with no problems.

Sierra: "Thanks again, Reyes."

Me: "Don't mention it, Sierra. Practically, the only thing I can do to help the team."

Sierra: "Sounds like you have some resentment in that statement..."

Me: "In some way, but I refuse to fight like the rest."

Sierra: "Why? The amount of skill you possess rivals Nathans on occasion. So why choose to hide behind a screen?"

Me: "Because the team doesn't know technology as I do. They need me here. Remember when Matt tried to repair Bane when I was decrypting files?"

Bane: (still at the briefing table) "That was something."

Me: "Come on, Bane, he did a pretty decent job at your repairs."

TK: "But they don't have the tender touch as you do."

Me: "Shut up, TK, you're going to make me blush."

TK: "Not my fault you're easily flustered."

I said nothing, knowing this wouldn't get anywhere productive. Then the holoscreen lights up and shows an incoming call. It wasn't one of the teams, so it only left the intercom outside the door. I pressed the answer call button, and a live feed of Petro came alive.

Me: "Oh, hello, Petro. Could you give me a second to open the door?"

I walked to the door and opened it via the keypad. I say: "So what brings you here?"

Petro: "I heard about your team. How are you holding up?"

Me: "I'm holding up fine. I have found the team in that state before. They always bounce back from something like this all the time. But what brings you here?"

Petro: "I wanted to check up on you. You weren't at your dorm, so I figured you were here. CRDL decided to go all out since WOLF isn't currently around. You could be a possible target due to your reclusive nature."

Me: "They have yet to try. Probably cause they know that "Sentinel's" my brother and know what he's capable of."

Petro: "Has he always been protective of everyone?"

Me: "He's protective of those he sees as family. But that expanded over time. I feel you're not just here to talk about my brother. So, let's get to why you're here."

Petro: "Wow... no small talk. Just straight to the point."

Me: "Small talk is Athena's gig. Most of us are blunt and to the point. So let's stop wasting time, yeah?"

Petro: "Fair enough. Would you like to go to the dance?"

Me: "You know that the Resistance is doing a gig that night, and I'm a part of the band, right?"

Petro: "I do, and I asked Nathan what the game plan would be when it came to the music you'll be playing. Three hours electronic and three hours lyrical. So... I'd like to ask if you want to go to the dance for three hours. Not as a date, just as two friends hanging out. What do you say?"

Me: *sighs and thinks briefly* "I can't promise anything but sure. I want to go."

Petro: "Great. I'll see you at the dance then."

Me: "Yeah, I'm looking forward to it."