WARNING: I do not own RWBY or anything that has to do with it
CHAPTER ONE: Ruby
Hunters were declining in use as the Grimm incursion was driven away and Grimm driven to near extinction. With the rise of Atlesian law enforcement and the fall of the Grimm hunters and huntresses became near obsolete. So most hunters had been reduced to hunting not for Grimm but for work. Jobs were in as short supply as Nicholas Cage's acting ability. Despite public outcry Beacon and Signal were being closed it was the end of the hunters age. Most every hunter and huntress were driven to the streets even the popular team RWBY. Ruby herself was as of currently sitting on a park bench reading through the classifieds in a day old newspaper.
"Damn" she swore under her breath, she needed a job because she was going to run out of the money Ozpin had given her at Signals closing. She looked around feeling lonely, not for the first time. The team had only stayed together for about a week after the collapse before they had fallen apart in search of profession. Ruby looked up letting the paper blow away thinking of the cold white haired girl with all the money Weiss Schnee. She remembered happy years free booting off of her during and after Signal. Her sister Yang had gone god knows where and she could only guess at where Blake had gone. All her friend even those on team JNPR who she barley ever saw. Ruby stood and began walking away from the empty park and the now empty bench a heavy heart and near empty wallet.
Across the city someone looked into the very same bleak and hopeless sky and sighed. Pyrrha was at the local grocery store looking for anything to bring back for Jaune the only family she had left. She and Jaune had gotten married before everything went downhill. Their team had taken a massive blow in the final Grimm wars when the hunters and the Atlesians were making the final push towards near Grimm obliteration. In the final weeks of the war when they had been pushing into heavy Grimm resistance. Nora had been killed and Ren injured, he still walked with a heavy limp. With the shortage of jobs there was a displacement of money. Only those who were extremely well off before or were war heroes really had money. Otherwise you were kind of hard off. This is why Pyrrha was having trouble at the super market she and Jaune were entitled to a pension each. A small pension but better than nothing. Ren gave them half of his more considerable wounded hero pension. The stores were well stocked and prices weren't that bad but not many people had a lot of money. So not a lot of the food was purchased due to the shortage of money amongst the people. Pyrrha was one of the lucky ones she could afford all most all of the essentials and none of the luxuries, this was how it always was.
Much farther out in this war torn world that thinks it's at peace Yang was being bounced around in an old pickup truck going 40 off road. Another jolt in the road knocked the cigarette out of her hand.
"God damn it Jones, what the hell that was my last one" Yang picked up two habits during the Grimm wars smoking, and swearing.
"Yang shut up I got to concentrate on driving" cried Jones over the thrashing of trees and the roar of the engine.
"Well I don't care about your driving I care about my last cigarette you just ruined asshole" cursed Yang violently.
"Here have one of mine" yelled Stallone over the engine, every member of this group of mercenaries carried a pack, Yang just blew through hers quicker.
"Tanks" mumbled Yang through a mouth full of cigarette.
"You're welcome" said Stallone, always the polite member of the crew handing her a lighter. As Yang light up she thought about how she had got here. About a week and a half after the hunter collapse she had, as he thrill seeking usual self gone looking for an exciting job and had found Jones. Jones had been a leader of a small band of men who were more like bandits than "fighters for the people" as he put it. She had been in this job for about 3 months now and had come to see it more as a group of rebels. Her people fought who ever for however much they could afford. As of currently they were running through the wild woods to one of the human settlements. After the Grimm were defeated the humans spread into the lands that used to be too Grimm infested for a long life. They were looking for two things a job, and a fight, the latter of which was the most hankered after by Jones.
"Jones when we get where ever we're going can you promise me you won't kill anyone" Yang tried this plead every time they showed up somewhere they had never been before, it never worked. Jones was messed up from the Grimm wars, they all were but he had been a civilian volunteer. That meant he hadn't been fully provided for food wise, he had gotten the job of food provider to his group. So when times get rough he had killed and fought for food, the food to feed his people. Everyone in the truck, all 8 of them had fought in the Grimm wars, civilian volunteer, huntress, and even a surgeon.
"Can't make any promises baby girl" Jones shot back. Yang grimaced, Jones was always calling her that. She couldn't tell if he was hitting on her or if he was just calling her that because she newest member of the group.
The cold white haired girl who was on Ruby's mind was at this moment staring out her window. Weiss Schnee saw the same dismal scene every day, the lobbyists, lone seekers, and god knows what else. She looked back to her untouched meal, ever since her final argument and then break up with Ruby everything had lost its taste to her. When most people thought about their break up they probably thought about their friendship eroding away to nothing. But it really was a break up during the end of the Grimm wars she and Ruby had gotten together, not just as friends mind you.
This is how it had been for at least 4 months, she had sat in her mansion eaves dropping in on her father's conversation hearing about her families declining wealth…among other things. Now she thought day and night about two things only, Ruby, and the wars to come. The humans had harnessed dust to fight the Grimm. Now with no Grimm threat they turned dust and the weapons they had created on each other. Schnee corp. was being pulled in every different direction be weapons producers. Though no one had yet to start one of these wars to come they were an in escapable part of the future. Oh god how she missed the days during the Grimm wars, yeah they had been scary, and yeah they had lost friends. But during the war they had been carrying a purpose, now she was just drifting along the flow, trying to stay afloat, and trying to stay on top of the pile. Still thinking thoughts of her past Weiss walked to the kitchen with her untouched meal. As she dumped the food down the garbage disposal she clutched the edges of the sink, letting the plate fall into the sink. She started crying right there all alone, in the last days of the team she had refused the others sanctuary and money. They had called her a selfish bitch and she knew they were all right. She knew that she had no chance of making right they had all disintegrated after that week. Plus her father would never let her leave the house out of fear for her life among the murders and thieves. As she trudged towards her room tears streaming down her face she went to thinking, where was her team right now?
Far away on a peninsula of land Blake stares down at a map. While she looks over the placement of her people she reminisces about how she got here in the first place. After team RWBY had fallen apart she had gone to her rots in White Fang. White fang was now much larger supplemented be human and faunas freedom fighters. The peninsula she was now on was the tiny new country of the Faunas People's Republic. Most of the other countries had rejected this change especially the country they had borrowed the land from. The other lands had been preparing to make a violent response, so she was preparing for one. After the rise of her people she had been elected as president because of her faithful service during the corruption caused by Cinder's people. She had a large force at her disposal, but most of the force were unequipped volunteers or freedom fighters. She knew that this battle could be the first and last battle in her countries history. Adam stalked in, he had been on edge since Atlas had threatened an attack on them.
"Calm down Adam the attack might just be a bluff, plus they gave us until next week to surrender so that s when the attack should come" Blake said only mildly distracted.
"I have one word for you Miss President, Assassins" said Adam dramatically.
"Oh wonderful now we're talking about every possible possibility, Adam we're small they expect us to surrender".
"Miss President there is one thing you should have learned during the war" muttered Adam.
"What's that Adam" said Blake sardonically.
Adam looked her directly in the eye something dark lurked there but flashed away in an instant.
"Always expect the worst"