Mini-circles are raised circular islands constructed in the center of residential street intersections. They reduce vehicle speeds by forcing motorists to maneuver around them and are sometimes used instead ofstop signs. Mini-circles have been found to reduce motor vehicle crashes up to 93% in some locations, such as Seattle, WA. Drivers making left turns are directed to go on the far side of the circle (see diagram at right) prior to making the turn. Signs may be installed within the circle to direct motorists to proceed around the right side of the circle before passing through or making a left turn. Mini-circles are commonly landscaped (bushes, flowers, or grass), most often at locations where the neighborhood has agreed to maintain the plants. In locations where landscaping is not feasible, traffic circles can be enhanced through pavement materials.
27. Traffic Mini-Circles
Version 1.2 Version 1.1 of this manual was put out for consultation in November 2016 and as a result of suggestions made in response to this, some revisions have been made and a few new exercises added. It is intended that this version 1.2 published in May 2017 will remain until reviewed in October 2018. Fastest Path Speed Evaluations; Design vs. Actual Multilane Roundabouts J. Tom Knostman, P.E.: City of Loveland May 12, 2008 I. Introduction This paper contrasts the results of estimated fastest path speeds proposed under the modified UK methods detailed in NCHRP Report 572 (Maximum R1, R2 and R3 speeds). Calming stickers featuring millions of original designs created by independent artists. Decorate your laptops, water bottles, notebooks and windows. White or transparent. 4 sizes available. 2.5' Circle Microsoft Word Template. FREE template download! Use this template to print on our 2 1/2' blank white circle labels. Find the labels here.; Make sure you checkout using your personal account. 1 – traffic calming measure is likely inappropriate. Note: Refer to individual traffic calming measure section for a complete description of the appropriate application of each measure. 3.2 Cost of Individual Traffic Calming Measures. Table 3.2 presents a range of cost estimates for each individual traffic calming measure.
Mini-circles are an intersection improvement as well as a traffic calming device and can take the place of a signal or four-way stop (many un-warranted signals are installed because of the demand for action by the community).
Mini-circles must be properly designed to benefit pedestrians and cyclists. Right-turning vehicles are not controlled at an intersection with a mini-circle, potentially putting pedestrians and cyclists at risk. Curb radii should not be reduced to what would be otherwise desirable. Traffic circles with splitter islands make crossing easier for pedestrians (especially the disabled) and control vehicle movements entering the inter-section, but require more space. The occasional larger vehicle going through an intersection with a traffic circle (e.g., a fire truck or moving van) can be accommodated by created a mountable curb in the outer portion of the circle.
Volume Four, Chapter Two: Ghosts
re:Bound
Allison Illuminated
Chapter Publish Date: 12/2/18
Ruby knew something was wrong from the moment she opened her eyes.
My eye. What happened to my eye?
The right side of her was stiff, unmoving. Her hand shot to her face, and she froze when she felt the cool metallic surface of her skin and felt nothingfrom her face, from the frozen orb where her eye should have been to the burning edges where her pale skin turned to steel. A breathless whimper escaped her lips, disbelief catching in her chest.
Half of her vision was gone.
No.
The burning. Her eye had burned when her silver eye power had been activated, and not before. Ruby's breath came faster as she desperately thought back to when she had first used her powers; she had felt the burning then too, but not so intense, so concentrated. What changed? There were more Grimm, sure, but- How-
Ruby! Ruby, you have to calm down, you're having a panic attack!
Bella pulled Ruby tight to her chest as she started hyperventilating, rubbing calming circles on her back. Ruby's single eye darted back and forth around the dark walls of the spare bedroom, as if that would somehow restore her vision.It's gone! I can't- I can't- Bella, I can't see!
Ruby's back stiffened when a wall of calm forcibly flooded her system, coated with the familiar touch of Bella's aura. Her panic slowly melted away, her breathing calming, but it hurt to be injected with so much aura after an aura coma, even through their bond. She began crying, her other emotions spiraling when tears only fell from one eye.
Bella held her tighter, hanging her head on Ruby's shoulder. Gods, Rose, I had no idea. I knew we were in a coma, but…
It's just gone. I can't feel it, I can't move it, it's like my face is frozen. Ruby's tone was unnaturally even, the alien calming emotions fighting the rest of her body.
I'm sorry. Bella's aura melded into her own, letting their emotions wash together. I felt just like this when I lost my tongue, she whispered, sending Ruby flashes of waking up thrashing in a hospital bed. I'm here. We're alive. We beat Harkan.
My eyes did this. My own eyes hurt me.
I know.
Fierce anger burned in her veins, and even the artificial calm wasn't enough to suppress it. My own eyes can hurt me and nobody fucking told me! she raged mentally, trying to break free of Bella's embrace.
Bella held Ruby tight. I know.
A high-pitched scream ripped itself from Ruby's throat. Ruby tore herself from Bella and scrambled back on the bed, pressing herself against the oak headboard. Her hands clawed at her metallic skin, digging into the skin at its edges and the gaps around the orb, trying to rip the silver away and find her unblemished skin underneath. GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!
A fingernail drew blood. Bella launched herself at Ruby and ripped her hands away from her face. Stop! They crashed into the headboard when Ruby tried to throw her off, Bella's head colliding painfully with the wood. Determined, Bella shook it off and pinned Ruby to the bed, holding her wrists against the mattress.
'Let me go!' Ruby shrieked, kicking and whipping her head back and forth. Blood spattered on the white sheets.
The door slammed open, and somebody rushed in. Green light enveloped Neo's body, and her entire torso seized as she closed her eyes. No! I won't let you hurt yourself. Sharp pain ripped through Bella's mind, and a guttural scream escaped her as she resisted the command with all her might.
Bella's pain shocked Ruby out of her craze for a moment, and Ruby's mouth went wide as Bella's eyes rolled back in her head and she toppled sideways off the bed, collapsing into a seizure on the ground. She froze, then scrambled to the edge of the bed. 'No. No no no no no. Bella!'
'Ruby, get back!'
Rough arms wrapped around her chest and pulled her away from the bed as Qrow rushed around and pushed the bed away from Bella's head. Tai held her fast in his grip – she tried to escape, but she was weakened from her coma and couldn't pull away, couldn't go to Bella's side, couldn't stop the seizure that she had caused- oh gods, this is my fault! 'Let me go!' she screamed. 'I can stop it, I can help her, let me go!'
Bella jerked around violently on the floor, Qrow holding the curtains up to stop her from getting tangled and pushing the bed away with his foot. 'No, she's having a seizure. Touching her will only make this worse,' Tai said fiercely.
Sure enough, thirty long seconds later the worst of the spasms ceased and Bella went limp on the floor. Ruby, who had been screaming and struggling the whole time, fell silent. Qrow immediately went to her side and took her pulse. 'She's breathing,' he announced, backing away. 'Somebody get me a pillow and bring water.'
Weiss rushed over from the doorway and grabbed a pillow from the bed. She handed it to Qrow, who gently lifted Bella's head up and slipped it under. Feet pounded on the stairwell, and Nora burst in with a glass of water, closely followed by Pyrrha, who asked, 'What's happening?'
Before anyone could answer, Bella's eyes fluttered open, and a deep confusion filled Ruby's breast. What… what happened?
Qrow knelt down to catch her attention, and she flinched away. Chaotic images of Qrow and Raven and Starling spun in their shared mindspace as Qrow calmly said, 'Hey, kiddo. You had a seizure and took a little fall. Are you okay?'
She weakly nodded her head, then turned to look at Ruby. It took Ruby a moment to register the look in her eyes.
Bella was concerned. For her.
In that moment, Ruby couldn't take the waking world anymore. Talk through me, she said, then let herself fall back into her own mind.
After the attack on Beacon and sharing one body with Bella, letting her partner's aura flow through her and overtake her was easy. Just as easily, Ruby let herself flow into Bella's body and let her eyes fall shut again.
'What are you doi- Ruby? Ruby, what did you do?'
Hearing her own body talk was… disorienting, to say the least. Being in Bella's was even stranger. Ruby had two eyes again, but everything was, well, shorter and more compact. Old scars ached on her back; the missing tongue was odd, but nowhere near as gut-wrenchingly awful as losing an eye. She looked at herself and caught Bella's expression once more: the concern was gone, replaced with shock.
I think we just switched bodies, Ruby whispered mentally.
Wha-
Before Bella got a chance to respond, Tai was asking, 'Rubes? Bella? What happened?'
Bella seemed to short-circuit for a long moment, unsure whether to feel betrayed or horrified or concerned. Ruby cringed at her uncertainty but retreated further into Bella's body, deep guilt racking her at what she had just done. 'I'm not Ruby, I'm- I'm Bella,' Bella said, stumbling over her name.
Everyone else in the room but Pyrrha reacted with shock, backing away from Bella. Tai abruptly let go of her and backed away, looking from Bella to Ruby in shock. Pyrrha, on the other hand, uncertainly stepped towards her and asked, 'What's going on?'
'Rose, she- she had a panic attack because of her eye. She was hurting herself, so I stopped her.' Bella's tone grew fierce as she spoke, clenching her fists. 'She ordered me to get off. I refused, so the bond tried to make me. I haven't had a seizure from resisting the bond since I was a little kid.'
I'm sorry. Closing her eyes – her eyes – Ruby curled up into a ball, burying her head against her legs.
Somebody crouched at her side. 'Rubes?' Tai asked quietly, and she quivered when he put a gentle hand on her shoulder.
'Don't.' Bella pulled Tai away from Ruby, who let her in dazed confusion. 'Please, I'm fine. She's not going to hurt herself, not while she's in my body. Just… let her be.'
'But-'
'Tai.'
'Did you do this to her?' Qrow snarled, stepping towards Bella. 'Is this your fault?'
Dead silence filled the room. Ruby whimpered at the cold fury that washed over Bella. 'My fault? You think this is my fault, Uncle?' she hissed. 'You were there when we used our eyes, and you think this is my fault?'
'Your eyes? Like hell those are your e-'
Bella stalked forwards and slugged Qrow straight across the jaw. 'You don't know shit about us! About me! You've hated me my entire life!' Bella yelled as he staggered backwards. 'I'm your niece, asshole, why don-'
'Woah, woah, everybody stop!' Tai stepped in between the two Branwens, holding out his hands and taking a deep breath. Qrow looked ready to jump his former teammate, pressing his hand to his jaw, but looked away with a dark scowl and took a long drink from his flask instead.
Glaring at Qrow for a moment longer, Bella glanced at Tai and her frightened classmates. 'Look, if any of you can't deal with us right now, then go. We'll talk later, okay?'
Qrow and, to her surprise, Nora immediately left the room, followed by Pyrrha who cast her a hesitant and apologetic glance. Tai knelt by Ruby and murmured, 'Hey, Rubes, I'm going to put you back in the bed, okay?' Ruby gave a weak nod, and her dad gently picked her up and deposited her on the bed. Thank you. Bella relayed her message, and Tai nodded. He looked up at Bella with a serious glance. 'I'm trusting you to talk her through this,' he murmured. 'Please, if there's anything I can do..'
'She'll be okay. I promise.'
Tai cast one last glance between them, then nodded quietly left the room.
'Violet?'
Weiss stood awkwardly in the center of the room, not meeting her glance. 'Hi, Weiss,' Bella said, suddenly awkward as her anger deflated. 'I, um..'
'Do you guys mind if I stay?' Weiss asked, clasping her hand anxiously. Bella seemed to hesitate for a moment, and Weiss added, 'I just… I don't want to leave you two alone. Not now.'
'..Fine. You're our partner. The others, though..' Bella collapsed in a chair and leaned back, kicking her feet up on the bed like Ruby had seen her do so many times before. Seeing Bella do it in her own body was strange. Ruby's head felt hazy, the after-effects of the seizure still lingering in her vision. Bella caught her staring and gave her a weak smile. Rose…
I'm sorry, Ruby whispered. I ordered you and I didn't even realize it. I took your body without your permission. I'm the worst best friend ever.
Not your fault. We didn't know about this. Two fingers pressed against silvery skin. I will never let you harm yourself, Ruby Rose.
Even if it means hurting you?
Even then.
'You guys are talking, aren't you?'
Neither of them had noticed Weiss sit down in the chair next to Bella, legs crossed. Bella broke eye contact with Ruby guiltily. 'Yeah,' she admitted.
Weiss smiled faintly. 'You know, I knew your semblance was illusions but it never even occurred to me that you might be one, too. Violet doesn't really exist, does she?'
'Not really.' Bella shrugged. 'It was a good illusion. Ozpin magicked it so it couldn't break, and Blake helped us hide it well. Where is Blake?'
'This is the first time we've really talked, isn't it?' Weiss asked, ignoring the question.
'Ruby said things for me, sometimes, but I guess so.'
'I'm sorry. To both of you.' Weiss' knuckles whitened when she clenched her hands. 'I'm sorry I never trusted you when we were ambushed. I'm sorry I couldn't make you a real part of our team. I'm sorry I let my stupid isolation problems get in the way of being a good partner. I should have noticed everything. I should have been able to help you. Blake shouldn't have had to carry that burden. I'm so sorry.'
'Weiss..' Bella crossed her arms, looking over her shoulder at Weiss. 'You don't have to apologize. We hid this from you. You did the best you could.'
Weiss laughed shakily. 'I know, I just… I've been sitting in this stupid room for a week, waiting for you to wake up and thinking about how I could have failed so badly as a leader, and… I don't know.'
Ruby's heart broke as she watched Weiss bite her lip, visibly trying not to cry. Bella hung her head, squeezing Ruby's eye shut. 'I-'
'Please don't.' Weiss shuddered, a loose strand of hair falling into her face. 'Please,' she whispered. 'If you say- I- I… Can we just pretend, pretend that we're partners, just for a little bit? If- I don't know-'
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'Yeah,' Bella whispered back. 'Just for a little bit.'
Nobody said a word when Weiss rested her head on Bella's shoulder, tears silently dripping down her face. Shadows turned in the silence.
Ruby saw the world in a red haze, glass disintegrating around her with every step. She walked in lockstep, knights with dark visors lining her path. Breath catching, she shrieked, trying to fight her way free, but her body was paralyzed, useless, weak. Manacles bound her hands and feet. The green light was a distant murky brown through the film of blood. Aura carried her, became her, consumed her.
'You're mine now,' Harkan hissed in her ear, rancid breath cloying her senses as he led her down the aisle.
A scream was lost to the still.
The stage before the city hall loomed above Ruby. Two figures stood together, waiting for her.
Roman gave her a mangled half-smile, the gash running down his face and torso bleeding freely. 'Look who's seeing Red now,' he said maniacally, and Ruby fought to tell herself that it wasn't real, it wasn't real, it wasn't real, it-
Besides Roman, Ruby stood, umbrella in hand and a cruel smirk twisting her face. 'How does it feel, Neo?'
'Her name is Bella!' Ruby screamed, only she had no tongue and her back was bleeding and Ruby's eye was bleeding molten silver and Harkan was laughing and Roman was laughing and the knights turned away and began to fire on the crowds that had materialized around them.
Ruby on the stage drew Crescent Rose. 'Then who are you?'
And for the worst moment when Ruby shot up in bed screaming, clawing at her face with Bella's hands, blood dripping down her fingers from the gouges she had raked in Bella's unblemished face, she didn't know.
'I don't know.'
'Then die,' Ruby said. When Crescent Rose ripped through Bella's body, Ruby shattered like glass, blood on the shards, laughter echoing over the gunshots.
'Mom!'
Bella launched herself into Raven's arms the moment the Nevermore Queen stepped into the Xiao Long living room. Raven staggered back, her eyes widening in surprise. 'Ruby? Wha-'
Bella shook her head, a desperate smile crossing her face when she met Raven's gaze. 'Not Ruby, Mom. Bella.'
Raven's breath caught in her throat. 'B-Bella? Not Neo?'
'Bella.'
Mother and daughter locked eyes for a moment, then Raven laughed in bewildered joy and hugged Bella beck as tightly as possible. 'For good?' Bella nodded, and Raven's eyes squeezed shut in victorious satisfaction. 'I swear to the gods, I am never using that stupid fucking nickname again.'
They broke apart, and Bella looked up at Raven in barely contained awe. 'I can talk to you again!' she exclaimed.
Raven's expression was both overjoyed and confounded. 'You're in Ruby's body? How? Where is Ruby?'
Instantly, Bella's face fell, and she glanced back over her shoulder at the living room.
Pyrrha, Weiss, and Tai were squeezed together on the couch, watching with varied levels of interest. Nora, who was leaning against the stairwell, was scowling at the ground. Qrow was outright glaring at his sister and Bella. Ruby was curled up into a little ball in the armchair, knees drawn against her chest. Bella's hair was messy and disheveled, spilling into her face.
'She had a panic attack when we woke up,' Bella murmured to Raven. 'She tried to claw the silver off. I had a bond seizure because of her, and afterwards she just… pushed me into her body. She isn't ready to switch back yet. I'm the only one who can help her – Qrow's being awful, Tai doesn't know what to do, and nobody else..'
'Nobody?'
Bella let Blake pull her into a tight hug, smiling weakly at the faunus. 'Blake. No, it's been two days, I… I don't know what to do.'
'Can I talk to her?' Blake whispered.
'She can't say anything back, we haven't figured out how to use each other's semblances yet, but yeah.'
Nodding, Blake let go of Bella and walked over to Ruby's side. Raven and Bella moved closer together, Raven laying a comforting hand on her shoulder. Yang slipped past both of them, silent and brooding, then sat down under the holoscreen, her empty sleeve dangling uselessly from her right shoulder. When Tai tried to make a move to comfort her, Yang shot him a glance. 'Don't.'
Ruby glanced up when Blake approached her, and her face lit up. One brown eye turned white – apparently, Bella had discovered, her body's heterochromia worked regardless of who was in her body. Blake…
Blake knelt at Ruby's side and started whispering in her ear, and Bella did her best to tune them out so as not to eavesdrop. Instead, she led Raven into the kitchen to grab chairs from the dining room table. 'How long are you staying?'
'For the rest of the morning. I would have come sooner, but things have been… chaotic, really. The Grimm are frenzied, and we had to move camp, so we lost some good men,' Raven said quietly.
'And you and Tai are…?'
'For now, yeah.'
'Mom, that's awesome,' Bella said, lifting a chair and dragging it towards the living room. 'I'm happy for you.'
Raven gave her a rare smile, and she grinned back. 'And I'm just happy that you and Yang are both okay.'
Reentering the living room, Bella pulled her chair up next to Ruby, who was hugging Blake. When Blake let go and went to get a chair, Bella gave Ruby a sidelong glance. Are you okay?
Better, now. I missed Blake.
Me too.
I want answers, though.
I think we all do. Bella looked from Pyrrha to Nora, frowning.
I still can't believe that Jaune and Ren are just… dead. Gone. Just like that.
Me neither.
When Blake finally re-emerged from the kitchen, two chairs in tow, she pulled them up to Yang and they both sat down. 'So, this is all of us?'
Nora clenched her fists, looking away from the gathering. Pyrrha made herself smaller against the side of the couch, shaking Weiss' hand off her shoulder when the heiress tried to comfort her. 'I guess so,' Qrow muttered, taking a long drink from his flask.
Bella glared at her uncle, taking Ruby's hand and squeezing. 'I have some questions.'
'I think we all have some questions,' Yang said.
'Yeah, I have a question,' Nora growled, and the entire room turned towards her. 'You're telling me that there's an evil Grimm cult after people with actual magic, they orchestrated the entire attack on Vale just to get at one of those people, killing thousands, and everybody in this room knew about it except me?!'
Silence.
'Yeah, that's a pretty good summary,' Blake squeaked.
Holding her stump, Yang muttered, 'It's not like Weiss and I knew about it until the night before, so I'm not sure it make much of a difference.'
Nora laughed, a hysterical edge to her tone. 'Not sure it makes a difference? You know who knew? Team WBYR, and look who's sitting here right now. You know who didn't know? Me, Jaune and Ren. Where are Jaune and Ren? They're dead!'
'Ozpin-'
'Yeah, well Ozpin's dead too.' Nora cut Weiss off. 'Do you think I care what Ozpin says?'
'Look, Nora, I get that you're upset,' Bella said calmly, meeting her eyes. 'But having an aura bond is a crime punishable by death, and Blake would have been arrested for being in the White Fang if she had tried to leave the academy!'
'It was blackmail,' Blake added. 'I never would have kept it from Yang otherwise.'
'I don't care! You never let us in! Never!' Nora pushed off of the wall, her eyes blazing. 'Every time you guys got into fights, every time, we were there and you never let us in. We would have trained with you, we would have dropped the tournament and helped you protect the protest if you had just told us! Did you ever care about our team? Did none of you even consider that maybe your friends would want to help you instead of turning you in to Ozpin?'
'Stop.' Raven rose from her chair, and Nora faced her angrily. 'Nora Valkyrie. I understand that your partner is dead, but faulting your own teammates is despicable,' she said harshly, and Tai and Qrow shared a long look. Nora's eyes widened, then she threw a wild punch at Raven, who simply caught it in her palm. Red spiked fingers tightened around her white knuckles. 'You are a hunter. You knew the risk when you signed up, and you accepted it when you followed Pyrrha to Beacon during the attack. If you hadn't followed her, Salem would have the maiden and Pyrrha would be dead too.'
'But-'
'Four eighteen-year-olds against two professional assassins and a maiden. Frankly, it's a miracle you managed to kill Black and escape with half of the maiden's powers, kid.' Qrow shook his head. 'You saved a lot of lives back there, and so did Ren and Jaune.'
'But I couldn't save him!' Nora shouted.
'Please don't shout right now,' Weiss groaned. 'I already have a headache from this whole mess..'
'So you don't ca-'
'Don't say I don't care.' Standing up, Weiss stalked towards Nora, her eyes flashing dangerously. 'I do care. If I didn't care about all of this, why would I have led the defense of a protest with the White Fang, who have been killing my family for years? This is bigger than you or me or Ren, Nora, and it always has been. So, why don't you stop saying the same angry things you've been saying for the past week and wake. up.'
Nora's eyes widened and she took a step back, but Weiss wasn't done.
'All of us are dealing with the attack, okay?' Weiss gestured at the assorted hunters behind her. 'Did you forget that Jaune is dead too? Yang lost an arm! Ruby lost an eye! You're not alone, Nora, so maybe if you just let us be here for you, we can help you and figure this all out together!'
Casting her gaze around the room, Nora found nothing but solemn faces. 'Please,' Pyrrha said quietly, meeting her eyes. Scowling and crossing her arms, Nora sank down the wall and didn't respond.
Weiss sighed, then turned to the rest of the group. 'We can't afford to be divided right now,' she said, easily slipping into her 'Ruby Rose, I swear to the gods' voice. 'We've been sitting around this damn house for a week doing nothing while Vale is a pile of rubble. If anyone else feels like sitting around and wallowing in their self-pity, I am quite honestly sick of it. I'm going into the city after this – they've been asking for huntsmen to help dismantle the airship skeletons. If anyone on my team – and that's all of you, Nora and Pyrrha – wants to go with me, then maybe we can actually do something about this mess.'
'I'll come,' Pyrrha immediately offered. Extending her arm, a flame burst to life and she gave Weiss a half-smile. 'I've been meaning to properly test this anyways.'
Bella nodded, then looked to Ruby. Hey, Rose, will you be okay without me for a few hours?
Yeah, Ruby whispered back. I'll be fine. Will you be able to help in my body?
I'll manage. 'Yeah, I'll come too.'
Weiss shot a surprised look at Ruby. 'You will?'
Bella narrowed her eyes. 'I said I'm coming, Weiss. Ruby will be fine here for a while.' A look of guilty surprise flashed across Weiss' face, and Bella relished the twist of cruel vindication she felt with her. I'm here, and you're not going to forget it, Ice Queen.
'Fine,' Nora growled. 'At least I'll get to destroy things.'
Everyone looked at Blake and Yang, and Yang looked away. 'I'll pass.'
'Yang..' Weiss murmured.
'Why would you even want me there?' Yang asked, lifting her maimed shoulder. 'I'm a brawler. I can't fight with one arm. I'm just going to go back with Raven.'
Tai's eyes widened. 'You're not staying here?'
Yang narrowed her eyes at her dad. 'Y'know, after hearing the promise you made Raven make to stay away, I'm not so sure I want to.'
Tai looked deeply hurt, and got to his feet and walked out of the living room. Qrow gave Yang an apologetic glance before running after him, and Raven watched them go with wide eyes. Bella and Ruby both gaped at Yang, a shared consensus running between them that we have to say something. 'But you have to come home, you-' Bella said, letting Ruby feed her the words.
Instantly, Yang's head shot up with blood red eyes. 'You're not my sister. You're not Ruby. You have no right to talk to me.'
Ruby shrunk down in her chair and Bella flinched back, but it was Raven who spoke first. 'No.'
'No?'
'Bella is just as much my daughter as you are,' Raven said in a cool voice that seemed to visibly pain Yang. 'Staying at my camp is a privilege. If you refuse to act like you deserve to stay with me, then I will leave you here with Tai.'
Calming Circles 2 V1 1
Bella and Yang stared off for a long moment, Ruby looking frantically between them. 'So what, I have to earn my place as your daughter? Leaving me for fifteen years wasn't enough?' Yang asked incredulously.
'No. Both of you will always be my daughters, but a bandit camp is no place for a girl who can't even get herself out of bed!'
Deep betrayal burned in Yang's eyes, but she scowled and looked at Bella. 'Sorry,' she muttered.
Bella stared back with a cocked head. 'That wasn't even me talking,' she said. 'Those were Ruby's words.'
Yang looked from Bella to Ruby, turned bright red, then looked away.
'I should probably go back with her,' Blake told Weiss apologetically. Weiss shook her head and waved it off.
An uncomfortable silence fell over the living room. Raven gave Yang one last disappointed look, then went into the kitchen where Qrow and Tai were talking quietly, leaving only the kids behind.
'I'm going.' Nora got to her feet and grabbed Magnhild from the entryway. 'Who's going to go smash shit with me?'
Pyrrha stood up and lazily stuck her hand out. Milo and Akouo came clattering down the stairs and shot into her grasp. 'Weiss is right,' she said. 'There will be other times to grieve. Right now, we need to do something. Jaune-' Her voice broke. 'Jaune wouldn't have wanted us to fight each other like this.'
'I guess the gathering is over,' Bella said. Walking to the door, she grabbed Rising Thorn, currently in machine gun mode, and waved it at Ruby. 'Hey, Rose, mind if I give Thorn a go?'
Ruby gave her a weak thumbs-up.
'Good luck!' Blake called, waving as Yang scowled and slouched in her chair.
The group said their goodbyes and departed. Bella and Ruby talked until their connection start to fade, the sunny summer forest glistening around her. Finally, Ruby's presence flickered out of her mind, leaving Bella on her own to truly contemplate the strangeness of being in Ruby's body without Ruby's presence. She had to fight to keep herself from laughing; the cloak, Rising Thorn, actually being able to speak, it was a lot.
I want Ruby to feel comfortable in her own body, obviously! She can't use this as a crutch. Still, though, if we had to switch on a mission or something, I wouldn't mind it much, I think.
In any case, being away from the Xiao-Long house was a relief, even if only for a bit.
The burly hunter manning the relief center raised an eyebrow as Weiss led the group in. 'Aren't you four a little young for this?' he asked.
Weiss strode up to him and crossed his arms. 'You don't know who we are, do you?'
The man shrugged. 'I've been on a long term mission to the southwest. Just got recalled to help with this mess.'
'I'm Weiss Schnee, and that-' Weiss jerked her thumb at Pyrrha. 'Is Pyrrha Nikos. We're here to help with the search and reconstruction effort.'
'Hello!' Pyrrha said cheerfully.
A grunt was Weiss' only response. Bella felt a wave of respect wash over her; it was rare for somebody to keep their cool when meeting two of the most famous people at Beacon. 'Semblances?'
'Summons and glyphs, a strength variant, polarity and fire, and..' Weiss looked at Bella questioningly.
Bella stepped forwards. 'None, but I've got this,' she said, unleashing Rising Thorn's naginata and smirking when the man did a double take.
'You four will be on Demolition, then. Search and Salvage is done with some of the bigger ships, we need help moving them from commercial to the docks. You'll probably have to break it down a bit-'
'Actually, if I cast a gravity glyph and Pyrrha uses her semblance, we can probably move the whole thing,' Weiss offered, and the man shook his head.
'Whatever you say, kid.' He looked down at his scroll and tapped a few buttons. 'Names and leader?'
'Leader is Weiss Schnee, with Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie, and- and Ruby Rose.'
Another grunt. 'Your scrolls should have the location. Don't get yourselves killed.'
'We won't,' Pyrrha called over her shoulder.
Stepping out of the tent, Bella blinked to readjust to the bright morning light. Vale looked like a war zone around them. Scorch marks covered the nearby buildings, and many were caved in entirely. Before them, the looming wrecks of downed airships towered over the city. Atlesian airships were true monstrosities, nearly as tall as some of Vale's shorter skyscrapers. Luckily, the skyscraper hub, nestled between the upper-class district and the industrial district, was primarily west of the damage, but the damage had been so extensive that buildings had been damaged even there.
'It's horrifying,' Weiss said, and everyone nodded in agreement.
'Never again.' Nora's fists trembled as they walked into the disaster zone. 'I don't care what happens, I'm never going to let anything like this happen again if I can do anything about it.'
Pyrrha shuddered. 'And all of this is caused by one person?'
'Harkan,' Bella spat. 'He was after me, and he took an entire city down trying to kill Ruby.'
'I'll kill him,' Nora growled. 'Right after I bash Emmy's head to pulp.'
'You can't kill him,' Weiss retorted. 'We all heard what happens if somebody does. They'll get the aura bond he has to… something awful, and that's worse than death.'
Nora scowled, and Pyrrha put a hand on her shoulder. 'We'll figure something out,' she said firmly. 'Let's just focus on this right now.'
'Alright,' Weiss said, coming to a stop before a hull that rose nearly five stories into the air. 'This is our assignment. We have to get this to the industrial district.'
Pyrrha, Nora and Bella gaped at the twisted wreckage, which had been blackened during the crash and was easily one of the largest structures Bella had even seen. 'That's a Mark Three Atlesian Warhawk!' she gasped.
Everyone else stared at her. 'How do you know that?' Pyrrha asked.
Bella blushed and ducked her head. 'Ruby's a little bit of a weapons geek. She fangirled about this fleet every time we got into an airship.'
Pyrrha and Nora ogled Bella as if they had never realized she was a real person before – which they probably hadn't, she realized. Weiss just snorted. 'C'mon, let's not waste anymore time.'
'Weiss? Pyrrha? Ruby? Nora?' The group spun around to see Velvet Scarlatina standing behind them, her face lighting up. 'Oh, wow, it is you! Are you assigned to Demolition too?'
Weiss nodded, smiling when she caught sight of Coco Adel and Yatsuhashi Daichi walking up behind Velvet. 'Yeah, we decided it was time to start helping. How's Team CVFY? Where's Fox?'
Velvet's face immediately fell, her ears drooping into her face. 'Fox… didn't make it. We got caught on one of the transports out of the stadium when the EMP hit and crashed in Industrial. All of the civilians died and… he was trying to search the wreckage for survivors when it blew up. They told us the engine got further damaged in the crash.'
Coco and Yatsu had caught up by then, and took one look at everyone's expression and sighed. 'Fox?' Coco asked.
'Yeah,' Velvet responded with a tired sigh. 'How are you guys? Where's the rest of WBYR and JNPR?'
Nora and Pyrrha looked at the ground, and Weiss just sighed. 'I can't explain again,' she said exhaustedly.
Bella stepped forward, giving Team CVFY a tired frown. 'You guys know we were in charge of defense, right?' They nodded. 'Adam Taurus was conspiring with the ringleaders to make the massacre happen. There were two others besides him – Cinder Fall and Harkan. Team JNPR went after Cinder, Blake and Yang went after Adam, and R- Violet and I went after Harkan.'
Yatsu's eyes widened. 'You guys are first years.'
Bella nodded. 'Yeah. Trust us, we know.' She pointed at her face, and Velvet and Coco both flinched. 'I lost an eye, but Violet and I managed to capture Harkan. He's in custody, somewhere. Adam cut off Yang's arm and got away, but they're both still alive. And..'
'Jaune and Ren are both dead,' Nora said bluntly, crossing her arms. 'Merc and Emmy faked their deaths, they were both working for Cinder. We killed Merc and stopped Cinder from getting her primary objective, though.'
'She was trying to destroy Beacon and the CCT,' Pyrrha added. 'Instead, they just had to debug it.'
'Blake and Yang are with Yang's mom in Anima right now, and Violet is having problems recovering, so here we are,' Weiss said, gesturing at their fractured teams.
Velvet bowed her head. 'We're sorry for your loss.'
'C'mon,' Yatsu said, stepping forward to rest a hand on his teammate's shoulder. 'Let's figure out how to move this thing.'
The seven hunters turned to stared at the massive collapsed battleship. 'Any ideas?'
Pyrrha and Weiss looked at each other. 'Well..'
'Pyrrha, you aren't going to..' Bella made a vague hand gesture, and Pyrrha frowned.
'What's the point in hiding it? Cinder and all of her… people know who I am, and Ozpin is dead anyways… If it can help people, I don't want to hide it.'
Coco narrowed her eyes. 'Hide what? If you're talking about your polarity, then we already know, trust us.'
Weiss thought hard about it for a long moment, then nodded. 'Do it.'
Pyrrha nodded. Stepping forward, a hazy red aura began to form around her body. Team CVFY gasped and stepped back when fire snapped to life around Pyrrha's eyes, and Pyrrha began to slowly levitate into the air. 'I'm going to get a better look at it!' she yelled down, then shot into the air in a blaze of flames.
Coco gaped at the maiden. 'Okay, first of all, what the hell? Second of all, that was cool and I need to be able to do that now.'
'Trust me,' Bella drawled, 'It's a looong story.'
Moments later, Pyrrha descended. 'She's like an actual goddess,' Velvet stage-whispered to Coco in awe.
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'Vel, I hate to burst your bubble, but she's, like, the straightest girl in existence,' Coco whispered back. 'I mean, have you seen what her and Jaune are- were like?'
'Darn it.'
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Pyrrha, entirely oblivious to the awed conversation happening below, called, 'It's split into two parts! I think we can take it, Weiss!'
'Glyphs?'
'Glyphs!'
Weiss drew her sword and strode forwards. Sticking the tip into the concrete, a massive black gravity glyph appeared beneath the hull. 'Now!'
Spreading her arms wide, Pyrrha's aura turned to visible fire as she channeled the maiden's powers through her arms and into her semblance. With an earsplitting groan, the entire hull glowed black then slowly began to lift into the air. Dust and rubble fell back into the impact zone, a flattened crater shadowed by the hulking wreck levitating above it.
Bella watched in awe at seeing the maiden's powers used for something other than destruction for the first time. 'Maybe we didn't need to come,' she murmured to Nora, who nodded slowly.
Suddenly and without warning, the entire structure collapsed back to earth with a ground-shaking boom. Bella covered her face and coughed when the dust cloud enveloped them. When it cleared, Pyrrha descended from above, eyes and body blazing with iridescent flames. 'I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to get it all the way to Industrial, guys,' she said, completely oblivious to the chaos she had caused on the ground. '
'Don't do that again!' Weiss roared. 'At least warn me when you're going to drop an ATLESIAN BATTLESHIP on us! Do you have any idea how much it costs to wash this dress?'
'MY NEW SHOES!' Coco screamed.
Pyrrha noticed that her friends were in inexplicably dusty, and landed with a sheepish grin. 'I'm sorry?'
Bella facepalmed when the two team leaders started chasing after the maiden. 'On second thought, it might be a good idea to break it up first,' she muttered.
Velvet and Nora both nodded vigorously, and Yatsu said, 'Yes, I think that would be for the best.'
It was nearly ten when Bella finally slipped into the guest room, utterly exhausted but with a broad grin across her face. 'That was terrible!' she exclaimed triumphantly, collapsing into bed next to Ruby. 'Why did I agree to help again?'
Cause you're a good person? Ruby offered.
'Nah, that doesn't make any sense,' Bella said, thinking hard. 'Oh, right, just for the looks on Velvet and Coco's face when Nora, Pyrrha, and Weiss single-handedly dismantled the entire thing in twenty minutes. Well, really just Nora?'
Neo smirked evilly. 'We found a coffee shop and a downed power line.'
Ruby shuddered at the thought of a caffeinated, powered up Nora. And she was angry too…
It was good, Bella said, switching to speaking mentally. We did good.
Sucks about Fox, though…
Yeah.
I'm glad you had fun.
Neo nodded, looking Ruby over. You seem better.
I do feel better, a little bit. Ruby sighed, lying back on the bed. Raven and I talked – I mean, she talked, I typed – for a long time after you guys left, cause Tai and Qrow left to track down Jaune's family and Yang and Blake went upstairs to grab some of Yang's stuff. She snuggled into the covers, pulling Bella closer to her. It's nice, having a mom again kinda.
You think of her like that? I thought she was just your aunt.
Ruby shrugged. Yeah, but I don't really like Qrow anymore, and she's like that for you and Yang and, I don't know. I don't think she meant it, but she kept giving me these super happy glances. I think it's cause I'm in your body, but… It made me think of my mom mom, y'know?
Summer?
Yeah…
They sat in the quiet together, listening to the soft conversation in the other bedroom where Pyrrha, Nora, and Weiss slept. Cicadas buzzed outside, and the moon peered through the gap between the curtains and the wall.
Thank you.
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You don't need to thank me for anything, Rose, Bella said, tucking her head under Ruby's chin like she always did – which was awkward yet familiar when their bodies were switched.
I know, you always say that, but… I ordered you around again and I hurt you and you still let me use your body for two days. I- I don't know whether I would've been able to handle it if I had been stuck in my own body.
I don't mind. If anything, it's a gift. I haven't been able to have real conversations with anyone but you or Roman in a decade. I missed it.
Yeah. I'd still take no tongue over no eyes, though. Ruby tapped her body's metallic skin with a resigned frown, and Neo sighed.
Yeah.
Can we try… switching back? Ruby asked hesitantly.
Bella nodded. Whatever makes you comfortable, Rose.
The second time they switched bodies was more fluid than the first. Their auras simply melded together for a brief, disorienting moment, then Bella found herself back in the familiar comfort of her own body. Ruby stiffened when she returned to herself, but she fought the impulse to claw at her eye and gave Bella a shaky smile. See? I- I think I can do this, now. My eye isn't going to come back, so… I just have to get used to this. This is normal, now.
I believe in you, Bella drawled, earning herself a smack from Ruby that turned her smirk into a genuine smile. And we should probably figure out how the hell we just did that, cause I've never swapped bodies with one of them.
Training, too.
Tomorrow?
Tomorrow.
Ruby relaxed into Bella's embrace, and they slowly drifted off to sleep.
[A/N] CVFY! I never really had time to work them into the first few volumes kinda like Penny, so they get a bit of a spotlight here. The Coco/Velvet dynamic is excellent and I like the blunt, dry way I wrote Yatsu.
Seriously, though, I put a lot of research both into Ruby's panic attack and Bella's seizure. I've seen both epileptic and heat-induced seizures first hand, and they're one of the most terrifying things the human body can do. I've always had the body swap thing as a possibility of the bond – more on that in later chapters tho.
Pyrrha and Weiss are a power duo and nobody can tell me otherwise.
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Thank you for 600 follows and 300 reviews, loves! Your support blows me away every week~
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Signing out, Allie
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Estimated Update Day: 12/8/18
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