The Wolf, The Lion and The Dragon - (Vol.7)

Ch.4 Pomp and Circumstances

3rd Pov

Team RWBY, Team JNR, Team LADR, Team BARK, Qrow Branwen and the Ace Operatives walk out of the mine as the military arrived with Amity Colosseum. Ruby, Jaune, Cyra, Razor and Nora come together to gaze in dramatic admiration at the Ace Ops, while Ren, Blake, Brisa, Josh, Raiden, Owen, Grace, Kazey, Weiss, and Yang watch the four with wide eyes.

Nora: (high pitched) "Aaaah!"

Jaune rushes over to Clover's side.

Jaune: "You guys were incredible!"

He switches to being in front of Clover and begins energetically gesturing as he talks,

Jaune: "Oh, the way you took down that Geist without needing to plan your tactics out, you just knew exactly what to do!"

Clover: "Well, Ace-Ops are hand-picked to perfectly complement one another. So we can focus on our assets and leave our liabilities behind."

Marrow walks over with a confident smile.

Marrow: "Some of us are all assets, zero liability."

He poses with a salute and a grin, looking at Jaune. Elm scoffs, catching Marrow's attention. He moves over to her, leaning in to confront her.

Marrow: "Wha-Yeah? Think I've got some liabilities, Elm?"

Elm: "Your brains, for one."

Clover, Elm and Harriet Bree laugh, and Marrow groans and pouts. The former three walk away.

Vine: "You did ask."

Vine walks away, and Nora approaches Elm with wide eyes and a smile. Elm looks at her.

Nora: "Hi. Do you need a new best friend? Our pair name can be.."

Nora's eyes spark with pink electricity, and she lifts her hammer into the air with both hands.

Nora: (voice echoing dramatically) "THUNDER THIGHS!!!"

Harriet watches this with a sigh, and Ruby runs over to her.

Ruby: "Perfect complementary teamwork. Oh, yeah, I want to have my friends' backs just like that."

Harriet: "Friends?"

Elm: (laughs) "This isn't the schoolyard, kid."

Yang: "But, I mean, when you go through so much with someone, it kind of changes things, doesn't it?"

Harriet: "We get along well enough, sure. I count on them to keep me alive. They do the same. But that's the job. We don't confuse the two."

She turns and walks away, leaving Team RWBY, LADR and BARK to look on sadly.

Clover: "Speaking of the job..."

Further down the way, Ironwood is talking on a communicator. He gives a brief order to a soldier, who walks away.

Clover: "Duty ever beckons. You all hang back a second." (Gesturing to Jaune and Qrow)

The Ace-Ops walk over to Ironwood. Ruby watches with a sad sigh, then looks away, thinking. She then gets an idea, smiles and hurries over to her teammates.

Ruby: "What do you guys want to do when we get back to Atlas? Sightseeing? (gasp) Oh, what should we visit first?"

Blake: (yawns) "How about our beds?"

Blake walks away, causing Brisa to laugh slightly.

Brisa: "I second that."

Ruby: "Oh, come on, guys! This is a great time to go exploring! We haven't done that in so long!"