RWBY Through Worlds (End)

224: Nothing Feels Quite The Same

"The moon changing seems like a good sign," Libby said. "But I'm not much for signs."

She coughed. Her cough was getting worse the longer she was back in Vacuo.

"I suppose we won't know till there's been enough time for them to return," Whitley said nervously.

"Tea?" Klein had one solution for everything.

But they had nothing else to do, so even Robyn sat down for it, after trying to explain to her Huntresses and the Ace Ops and everyone else that they didn't know anything and would have to wait either hours or days.

Tai said that Raven, if she had survived, could bring them all in seconds... so he was pretty sure she hadn't.

But Robyn wasn't quite so skeptical.

The hours seemed to drag on while they waited, but finally someone outside reported a plane had flown in from the North.

"Well, it has to be them," Robyn said. Her hands were shaking despite her voice sounding calm. "Let's go--and try to look hopeful whatever they tell us."

"Cheerful," Whitley muttered.

But then his scroll rang.

"Hello?" he answered it.

"Finally!" Weiss's voice said. "We only just got our scrolls charged enough to work again. We totally forgot about it for the first half of the flight, would you believe it? And the sun was back too. But we were so used to them being drained--"

"Weiss, stop babbling. What happened?" Whitley said.

"Oh, ask her if they all lived." Libby tapped him.

"We're fine. Look, we'll explain later. We literally were just touching down," Weiss said. "Just... uh... look there may be some unexpected passengers with us... so... can you guys maybe keep the crowds from getting too close?"

"That's asking a lot. They've been on pins and needles for nearly two weeks, which was much longer than we looked for," Whitley said.

"Sorry, we kept getting detoured. At least we're back!" Weiss said. "Just... can you do it?"

"I suppose I could ask." Whitley made a big show of sounding bothered by it. But then he repeated it.

"Well, I can try. Maybe Mai and Fiona can help with that," Robyn said. "But who would they need to hide?"

"You know, I think something feels different than before," Libby remarked suddenly. "Ever since I saw those lights blast off, I got the strangest feeling that something was missing--but I can't say that it was anything I'd really miss. That is contrary, isn't it?"

"I feel just the same, Miss," Klein said. It all tickled Libby to be called Miss.

"Yes, now that you mention it, it did feel strange to watch," Willow said. 

"Huh, well, that makes you wonder, doesn't it?" Robyn was tapping out a message on her scroll. "Let's go bring the welcome wagon, people."

They rushed to the landing pad at the edge of Vacuo. The one near Shade rarely got used, and Cinder had no wish to use it and make a bigger show. She knew she'd be recognized here, especially if some people hadn't known she'd left with the team. They would notice if she came off the plane with them.

The Happy Huntresses managed to keep the crowd at least a few hundred yards back from the landing pad so they couldn't get that good of look, except for the huntsmen students who climbed into trees or on roofs with binoculars, but it was doubtful they would recognize most of the criminals on sight.