They were heroes. Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long. They trained and they fought and what's more, they won. They fought the armies of Grimm and held them back. They battled the White Fang and brought them down. And they fought Cinder and her allies and prevailed. They were not the only ones. They had many allies who aided them, and some who sacrificed for them. But in the end, they were the heroes. In the end, they led the charge and showed that their power surpassed that of their foes. They started as very flawed Huntresses. Ruby was immature and reckless. Weiss was entitled and struggled with her inner demons. Blake hid in shadows, her secrets and her mistakes haunting her. And Yang tried to be the one to keep everything together, not knowing what it would do to her. But they grew. They became strong, stronger than anyone thought possible. They truly were the classic heroes. They possessed power few could even dream of, overcame their personal struggles, and fought battles many would run from or outright lose. But unlike the classic stories, they didn't get their happy ending. They thought that they had. They were famous. They were loved and admired, and they were closer to each other than ever before. But it all fell apart. Fame brought them suffering, in the end. If they did a single thing wrong, made a single step out of line, they would pay for it. And they did.

Weiss held out the longest. She knew how to tread on thin ice. She knew how to appease people, to act like she was perfect. She knew what people wanted from her, and to get what she wanted from them, she would gladly put on her act. But it all came tumbling down, just as it had for the others. And it was all because she had defied orders. She had taken her one step out of line.

The cliffs were barren and rocky. Gray was the only thing in sight. Gray rock, gray sky, gray fog. It was known as the Pass of Grimm, and Weiss and her team of elite Hunters and Huntresses had been assigned to defend it. There were Grimm on the other side. They walked towards the frightened warriors, who stood with admirable courage, knowing that their mission was one of suicide. Weiss stood at the head of the group. Above her was a sky that seemed empty. Below her was an abyss that seemed hidden, fog swirling around it as if beckoning to stare into it, eager to stare back out. And across from her was a slim bridge of gray rock. It started wide, curved inward in the middle, and when it reached the other side of the abyss, it was wide again. The Grimm grew closer to it, ready to charge. Weiss knew that if they did, there would be no stopping them. Among them were no weaklings. The weakest Grimm there were the Death Stalkers, and even they were difficult to kill. Weiss figured she could solo five without trouble, ten or eleven before she was slain. Of course, her fellow soldiers, while very skilled, were weaker than the former heiress. She had fought the darkest of Grimm and the strongest of foes. And even then, there were limits to her power. There were enemies she could hardly take on by herself, but she brimmed with pride knowing that in a one on one fight, even the strongest of the Grimm there would fall to her. Knowing that meant nothing, she shook off her pride and began to focus.

"Weiss...we can't beat them. There's no way. There's practically an army there!" A blonde man with strong yet smooth features said with more than a little fear in his voice. He had a weathered shield, a scratched sword, and dirty armor. Jaune Arc had come a long way since Beacon. He wasn't in Weiss' league by a long shot, but he had been trained by Pyrrha Nikos herself, and so knew many things about battle. His skills were quite famous, and his Aura was among the strongest Weiss had seen, certainly stronger than hers.

"I know."

"They're gonna kill us and move on to the city."

"I know!"

"...Sorry," he said sheepishly. His and Weiss' teammates remained silent. Even the orange-haired Nora had nothing to say, considerably maturing in her older years. Of course, considerably, for Nora, meant far less than it did for others. She bounced on the balls of her feet, twirling Magnhild like a baton, ready to fight. She flexed her muscles and blew at a tuft of hair in front of her face. In her less distracted moments, Weiss couldn't help but be impressed at how prominent her muscles were. She was more bulky than Yang, and she had more muscle than even some strong men. She grew more jittery as the Grimm neared while Weiss thought furiously. The numerous worry lines on her face curved inward as she frowned, her eyes narrowing at the Grimm who approached.

"This was a suicide mission and the damned bastard knew it," Weiss snarled to herself as she thought.

"Uh, Weiss?"

"What is it, Jaune?" The white-haired woman said testily, turning to her meek blonde friend.

"Uh...need any help?"

"If you have any ideas, or anything constructive to say at all, I'd love for you to grace us with your words. However, if you are simply going to waste my time, kindly hold your damn tongue," Weiss spat, not caring for manners or politeness. She was too deep in thought. Jaune shirked back and sighed. He knew he was pushing her buttons, but he wanted to help her. Even with all of his strategic skill, he found it pathetic that he couldn't find a way out of this. He knew that the bridge couldn't be destroyed. The rock here was strong, too strong to break, and it didn't help that the bridge had multiple foundations that were scattered below it. As he thought, Nora took a few steps forward, as did some of the more headstrong members of the group. Weiss turned at them, her gaze deadly. They stopped.

"You are not dying here. Don't even think of going out on that bridge!" She snapped, clutching her rapier so hard her knuckles grew white. Her Aura flared up just a little bit, and she raised Myrtenaster above her right shoulder.

"We are not dying here. Not for this. Everyone, go. See if you can help the other units. I think I can seal off the bridge."

"Are you sure?" A black-haired man asked. His frame was stocky but powerful, and he held a round, cannon-like weapon with both hands.

"Very. Now go. I will not let any of you die for this stupid mission," Weiss said forcefully but kindly, the barrel of Myrtenaster spinning to what looked to be light blue. The warriors under her command quickly ran away.

"Good luck, fearless leader!" Nora shouted cheerfully. Weiss narrowed her eyes, ignoring her. She had to concentrate on the task at hand.

Weiss knew that using ice to block the bridge would deplete her light blue Dust cartridge. She had to make her ice thick, thicker than she ever had. And that would be the easy part. She also planned to use her glyphs to reinforce it, and that would be truly difficult. Weiss knew that one big glyph wouldn't work, as it wouldn't reinforce the ice barrier equally at all parts. She had to put many medium-sized glyphs along the ice, distributing the reinforcement equally across it. She hadn't usually had to create multiple glyphs at once, and was both eager and scared to try it. The possibility of failure crossed her many many times, but she kept banishing it with her trademark fierce confidence.

"I can do this. I will do this. I will," she muttered to herself. The Grimm were on the bridge now, and Weiss knew she had to act fast. Blue energy rose from the ground as she swung her blade downwards. It swirled to the bridge, spiking up with random bursts. Eventually, it all conglomerated into one massive square and shimmered before becoming a massive ice block, spanning the whole width of the center of the bridge and reaching back to a point that almost touched Weiss herself. She then wiped her sword aside and held out two fingers in her free hand. She moved her hand slightly upwards, and black glyphs with ornate snowflake symbols and pulsing blue energy shimmered around the ice, covering the entire back of it. The symbol of her glyph changed with her strength, and was now far more intricate and detailed. She grimaced with the strain of using so many glyphs and upholding them, and her grimace gave way to a scream as one of the Grimm slammed into her ice wall. She could practically feel the shock in her body, cursing her Semblance for being so connected to her physical strength. Another cry was elicited from her lips as more Grimm slammed into the wall. Her glyphs shuddered, and seeing them blink made Weiss even more determined. They shone brighter than they had before for a split second. However, another bout of pain racked her body and they went back to normal.

"Dammit!" Weiss kept her hand raised, but her sword hand was drooping, she herself was slouching, and her knees were buckling. Sweat poured from her face and fell onto her light blue combat skirt. She looked up as more Grimm slammed into the wall and she bit back a scream, drawing blood from her lip. She licked it away and swallowed it, disgusted with the idea of spitting it out. She almost grinned at how stupid it was to worry about such a thing during such an intense moment when her mind went blank as more pain erupted within her, rippling throughout her body. She shook with pain, but kept up her glyphs.

"Remember what Ms. Goodwitch said...focus on the glyphs. Channel your energy to them, keep your eyes away from-gah!" Weiss was interrupted as the wall was hit again by the rampaging Grimm. She was unable to repress her scream this time, and cursed herself for her weakness. Her free arm trembled and fell a few inches, but Weiss brought it up again. She knew that this was going to be a long, long night.

Weiss had walked back to the camp on shaky legs. Her breath was ragged, and she had even started bleeding due to the physical stress placed on her by using her glyphs. She had been standing at the bridge for an hour, enduring jolt of pain after jolt of pain. Even numbed, Weiss still felt as if she was being hit by a Death Stalker. Eventually, however, the Grimm left. She knew that they didn't waste too much time doing one thing; most Grimm liked to move around a lot. She was thankful that they left, even crying out in joy, but quickly composed herself and walked to the largest tent. Around her, the smaller tents were brown and plain, set up through Dust machines and were filled with modern conveniences powered by Dust. Weiss could have sworn she had heard a television at one point, and felt a pang of annoyance because of it.

Finally, Weiss found her tent; it was white and silky. She was quite happy with it. She may have been going out in the wild, but she saw no reason for her not to uphold her high standard of living. She had neatly arranged books and papers, but had few conveniences. Weiss had a refrigerator, a freezer, a bathroom. a washer and dryer and a Scroll, but nothing else that was powered by Dust. However, she spared no expense for her bed. It was large and had light blue covers with white silk designs on the edges. Her pillow was made of the finest satin and had, at Weiss' demand, the design of the snowflake in her glyphs. The sheets were similar to the covers but lighter, and the bed itself was made of polished oak wood with carved depictions of falling snow. Her bed also had a canopy which was a calming blue color, making her think of a clear sky. She shut her tent flap and went about changing into her nightgown, grunting with the pain it took to do so. She sanitized her wounds, bandaged them up, and fell into her bed, too tired to even put on the covers. Still, she was impressed that she had the strength to clean up and get into her nightwear. That was the last thought in her mind before she fell asleep.

Weiss was back in Vale, facing a thin old man with a graying mustache, a fully gray beard, and bushy eyebrows. He wore a black tuxedo with a white bow tie, and he had silky white gloves. After being congratulated and fussed over by her teammates, worried she had pushed herself too far (Nora had patted her on the back painfully at that point and she crumpled to the floor in pain, giving the orange-haired woman a fierce scolding), she had her group pack up their things and go back to the city. She hadn't been looking forward to it, and she was right not to. The man stared at her angrily for a few seconds before speaking.

"Weiss Schnee. I heard that you were a model student. Glynda Goodwitch had only good things to say about you. Professor Ozpin himself even gave you his recommendation. I thought that you would follow orders. I thought that you would be a model Huntress. I thought that, as one of the four heroes of Remnant, you would do your damned job!" The old man shouted, his wrinkles bending with his snarl.

"I decided that I was done blindly following orders a long time ago," Weiss responded.

"I wanted those Grimm dead! I asked you and your unit to kill every single one of them, and they still live!"

"You sent me and my unit on a suicide mission. I was not going to die for your revenge, and neither was anyone else."

"I don't care! I want those Grimm who lie beyond the Pass dead at my feet! I want their heads on my wall! I want the bastards that killed my wife, son, daughter, mother and father to be skewered so that I can look on their faces and be reminded that my family was avenged! That is the sole reason you were promoted, Weiss Schnee! I thought you were strong enough to get the job done. I thought you wouldn't defy me. But I was wrong, and Ozpin was right. You are defiant, and that defiance is damn troublesome," the old man spat, clutching his cane with such force that it shattered; his Aura had flared up. It was a light green color that seemed far too calming to belong to him. He had the quiet, frightened woman behind him hand him a new cane, and she immediately withdrew back to her position near the door of his office.

"So I've decided that you will be punished for your actions. I will have you ruined, Schnee. I don't give a damn that you're a hero. I don't give a damn that you're wealthy beyond my wildest dreams. You lost your power with the ruination of your company. Here, I have all the power, and I will use it to its fullest to see that I get closure and you get punished. You will work in the Trenches. You will be their leader. You will have the worst job in the entire Eastern Vale Hunting Branch, and you will never defy me again. And if you think you can change my mind, I'll have your optimism put to rest: My mercy died with my family." Weiss listened to the man's words, her eyes widening with rage and her mouth contorting into a terrifying scowl. She knew that Sylvester Bard was an unkind and ill-tempered man. She knew that he would hate her for robbing him of his vengeance. She knew that he was so blind and angry that he wouldn't see that she had made the right decision, and she knew that he would punish her. But she had never expected this. She hadn't even thought that she, Weiss Schnee, would be put in the Trenches. Because she was so shocked and angry, her judgment was clouded when she audaciously slammed her hand on Sylvester's desk, crushing it as her Aura flared. Half of it splintered and cracked.

"The Trenches? You're putting me in the Trenches? I know full well what they are. They're not just the lowest rung of the Hunting ladder, but they're also filled with criminals. Yes, criminals. The understaffed Hunting branches have taken to recruiting criminals who have been model prisoners. The Trenches is filled with murderers, thieves, and rapists, and you would put me in charge of them? You are a blind, stupid shit, and I would absolutely love for your heart to fail on your way to your lavish house you don't deserve, to the servants you don't deserve, to sleep in the no doubt comfortable and fashionable bed you don't deserve. I would squeal like a schoolgirl if you were to drop dead on the cold hard ground, and, right now, I would have no greater pleasure than to watch it all happen!" Weiss shouted, her voice resounding throughout the dark, wooden room and terrifying the meek woman by the door. She slumped against the wall, nearly fainting from fright. Weiss turned around, her skirt swaying as she walked haughtily away from Sylvester and pushed the door open. Sylvester himself glared after her, not shocked by her insults, but certainly angered by them.

"Schnee? You know, I can always take my own creative liberties as to why you're being so suddenly demoted. I said that I would ruin you, and I will." Weiss heard him, but didn't care. She was angry, too angry to worry about her career. Sylvester had wanted her to willingly march to her death with her friends behind her. He was blinded by revenge and hatred. He reminded her of her father, with his unrealistic expectations and rage, rage he took out on his daughter. His shallow wife cared little for her daughter's pain, and her father cared far too much. And there was no one Weiss hated more than her miserable father, who she had wasted her entire childhood and teenage years trying to please. She had decided she was done with him and her family years ago. Seeing Sylvester had always stirred up those memories, but on this particular day, they came to her full force, and they made her angrier than she had been for a long time. She had broken free of the chains of her childhood trauma, but the fact that those chains had existed in the first place angered her to no end.

"It has recently come to light that Weiss Schnee, one of the four heroes of Remnant and leader of the First Division of the Eastern Vale Hunting Branch, is being relocated to the Trenches. Commander Sylvester Bard told reporters that she had fled from a very important mission, leaving her unit to fight for themselves. Because of her dishonorable actions, her relocation was put into place immediately, and her actions have caused her to be considered a criminal by the law. Rumors have surfaced that she now lives in..." In Ruby's mind, the reporter trailed off. The large, dirty, Dust-powered television blared, but Ruby heard no words.

"Weiss...she wouldn't do that! There's no way!" She said angrily. Ruby looked down, her red hair falling into her face. Next to her, Yang brushed her hair aside and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Of course not," she said. Her mind took her back, way back, to when Weiss had saved Ruby in the Emerald Forest during initiation. She didn't know why such a memory came up, but it did, and that memory told her all she needed to know. Weiss had saved a girl she hated that day; she would do the same for her friends without a second thought. She wouldn't abandon them.

"But then...why is it on the news? And why is she being relocated to the Trenches? Did she make her boss angry? I can see her doing that," Ruby sighed.

"Probably. You know Weiss."

"But the Trenches? Why the Trenches? This isn't fair at all. We need to say something to this Sylvester guy! Whatever Weiss really did, there's no way she should be put there for it!"

"Like you said, she probably pissed off the wrong people. For a natural suck-up, she's got a short temper," Yang sighed.

"But..."

"Jeez, you need to grow up! Sometimes life can be a bitch," Yang said jovially, trying to cheer up her sister.

"Hey, I started watching the news, didn't I? That's pretty grown-up!"

"You did...last week," Yang said slyly.

"Well...the news is depressing!" Ruby said grumpily. Yang couldn't disagree.

"Life's depressing sometimes, sis. You've gotta bear with it."

"I'd rather play video games..."

"I thought you'd rather find a job," Yang said brashly, instantly regretting her words. Ruby looked forlorn, her eyes wandering to the floor.

"I had one," she said sadly, her head drooping down again, her hair hiding her face. Yang bit her lip, cursing herself for being so tactless.

"I'm sorry, I didn't-" Ruby interrupted the apologetic Yang with a finger to her lips.

"It's fine, Yang. Really. I do want to find a job. Time to get going on that. I'm not gonna be dead weight anymore! Maybe we can buy a better apartment if I get really lucky!" She said, beaming. Yang smiled weakly.

"Yeah. Maybe." She grabbed her sister by the shoulders and pulled her towards her, embracing the younger woman. Ruby buried her face in Yang's shoulder, sandwiched between it and her long golden hair. She let her sister's hair fall over her like a veil, feeling peaceful and protected by her powerful older sister. Yang then let go, smiling widely.

"Hey, Ruby? Is it alright if I go out? With this whole Weiss thing, I feel like I need to do something to lighten up. Maybe take a run or something!" Ruby sighed as Yang asked the question. She did this often, and it was unnerving and more than a little suspicious. Some days, she didn't even come back from her 'runs' until the morning, and she promptly went to sleep. Ruby constantly wondered what her sister was really doing, but didn't do any further investigating. She, like Yang, enjoyed having some alone time sometimes, and her sister's outings allowed her to have just that.

"Fine. But can you please come back before the morning this time?" Ruby pleaded, her eyes catching her sister's. Ruby may have grown into a woman, but she still had the eyes of the adorable fifteen year old she used to be, and Yang just couldn't resist.

"Okay, okay. I will. See you!" Yang ran out of the shoddy apartment, with its creaking floors, ugly furniture, and small rooms. Ruby grinned for a few seconds before looking across the room. She saw Crescent Rose by the window, looking clean and deadly as always in its gun form. She tried to smile, but found herself silently crying as she pressed a button on her red wheelchair and steered herself over to her beloved weapon, her legs dangling uselessly above the wheelchair's footrest. She thought about Weiss again, her mind drifting back to the reporter. As she picked up Crescent Rose, she cried even more, letting out a small sob. Weiss didn't deserve to be in the Trenches. Recently, Yang had been going on her outings more often, and Blake was in prison, leaving only the kind white-haired woman to truly care for Ruby. Yang may be her roommate and be the only person on their lease, but in her darkest hours, it was Weiss who she felt was truly by her side. She decided to call her white-haired friend in a few hours if Yang didn't come back. She'd clear everything up, and maybe help Ruby find a job.

Yang walked through the crowded, glittering streets of Vale. During the day, everything seemed plain, but during the night, the city lit up like a lightning bug, illuminating the lives of the people who lived in it. But for Yang, there was no illumination. Not anymore. Her fire had gone out; her light had dimmed. Ruby had lost the use of her legs, Blake had been arrested for murder, and now Weiss' career was in shambles as well. Yang was sick of it. Team RWBY had been heroes, once. People had respected and revered them. But now, they were at the mercy of society. It was the fame of heroism that had put them in that position in the first place. She grew angry at the sheer cruelty of it all. They had saved not just Vytal, but all of Remnant from the greatest threat that it had ever faced, and in the end, not even that could save them. The world was a cruel place. Blake knew it well. She had always known and accepted it. Weiss did as well, although she had a harder time doing so. She was too stubborn. Even Ruby was growing more realistic. She no longer idolized Hunters and Huntresses. She no longer felt that life was 'unfair.' Even headstrong, idealistic Ruby Rose was growing accustomed with the world and how it could turn on its denizens at any second. As for Yang, she had realized that when Ruby was crippled. But she also realized that she could make herself forget. She could make her pain and suffering go away. She hated herself for it, and yet she did it anyway. Walking into the club, she heard the bartender groan.

"Not you again, blondie. First you wreck my place, then you wrack up a tab...if you-" Yang interrupted the man, grabbing him by the chin as the white and black club was filled with increasingly loud music.

"You want me to wreck your place again? No? Then give me the usual. And guess what? I can actually pay! Suck it, Junior," she said, handing the man some Lien. He massaged his chin and looked at the blonde with fear and hatred, but motioned for a lackey behind him to get her a drink.

"You really suck."

"Yeah yeah yeah." She looked eagerly at the black shelves full of booze, wondering how she would get herself drunk stupid tonight.

Hello! This is my first story with this profile. I know that this chapter is pretty long, but I'm still hoping that someone will read it the whole way through. Aside from me, that is. Anyway, I really drew some inspiration from some of the very dark and awesome RWBY fics out there (I personally think that the darker RWBY fics get, the cooler they are) in this story. Basically, it's about the RWBY girls as adults after graduating from Beacon and fighting Cinder and her villainous squad. I wanted to go for the 'harsh world' vibe; team RWBY's members were all heroes, and yet they didn't get their happily ever after. For them, the world is a cruel and unforgiving place, and fame is a double-edged sword. I still don't fully know where I want to take this beyond that, though, although I do know what I want the heroines backstories to be.

Of course, I would absolutely love constructive criticism and advice. I have mixed feelings about this first chapter in general, so I'd appreciate feedback on the writing, setting, whether or not I'm keeping the four heroines in character, and anything else that anyone who reads this chapter feels could be better.

I don't know how often I'll update this, since this chapter took more than four hours to write, but I want to focus more on Yang for chapter 2. As for Ruby and Blake, I want to get to explain their predicaments soon as well, but since Blake's so mysterious, I'll probably take my time explaining what's going on with her.

Poor Ruby, though. I really screwed her over in this story. I feel like a dick.