AN: Thank you for the positive response. It's been a while since I've seen some post-apoc stories in the RWBY category. Please, suggest some if you have them. I had a few I really like, but I think are all done or discontinued. I'm really excited to see the horror games 2019 is supposed to be getting! Anyway, enjoy!

UPDATE 12/21/2018 3:30AM EST:

I have added a time transition to help with understanding where things fall into place. This chapter takes place before and during the Prologue

Updates have been made to the Prologue. Information has been added.

ooOOoo

An hour earlier….

"Weiss…" There was a nudging at her arm. "Weiss, seriously, wake up." A blurred image greeted her tired eyes as they tried to focus. The blob of colors began to shape themselves, molding into a person with dark hair and a slender physique. Amber colored irises looked over her with concern and the feline-like pair of ears that sat atop their head flattened. Recognition hit her and Weiss jolted up. Blake Belladonna: Squad 9's second-in-command. "You were having nightmares again… We've almost reached our destination."

Wiping away the remnants of sleep, she rubbed at her eyes. After a moment, she felt the concerned eyes of the rest of her team. Rest hadn't come easily to her the last five years, especially around this time of year. She took a look around her, still feeling the absence of their once energetic as she delivered the most enigmatic speeches before every mission… but she supposed that was her job now. Dreading the vigor she needed to match, she stood up and took her position at the exit.

"Alright, everyone. Reports say that there is a group of survivors holing up in an abandoned home on the outskirts of the Wasteland. Recon says there are two floors and a single-room basement with as many as seven possible survivors. We are to clear the building and process them before we bring them in. Orders are to put down anyone who shows signs of muta- yes, Nora?" An energetic strawberry-blonde waved her right arm excitedly, drawing her leader's attention.

"Weiss, I have a question!" The platinum-haired woman gave her encouraging look. "You suck at this."

"That wasn't a question, Nora."

"Well, this isn't a pep talk..." Nora fired back, earning a glare. "You gotta' be all like, 'Alright team! We're gonna' go out there, kick some serious butt, break some legs, and save some people… Emphasis on the leg breaking! GO TEAM!'"

"… Nora," Weiss rubbed the bridge of her nose in agitation. "Breaking their legs would be counterproductive."

"But that's the most important part," she pouted and then whispered loudly. "And it'll be fun!"

"Only you would find entertainment in something so dark," Weiss rolled her eyes. "Alright team, let's," she sighed and unenergetically put a fist into the air. "… break some legs?"

"Booooooo!" It was the voice of the other troublemaker on the team. Yang Xiao Long, their late-captain's blonde bombshell of an older sister, swung herself to the cargo door and grabbed onto the latch. For the life of her, Weiss couldn't figure out what had possessed Ruby to place both of these women on the same team together. Energetic on their own, they were damn near uncontrollable when put together. Nevertheless, Weiss had left the team exactly the same since Ruby's death. "Squad 9, what are we doing out here?" It was the other resident blonde, Jaune, that answered from the front passenger seat.

"Saving peo-"

"Wrong!" As the vehicle drew to a stop, she pulled the latch and the door slammed hard into ground, forming a ramp. "We're kicking ass and taking names! At least, that's what I'm doing! Nora can have all the legs!" A loud 'Yessss' came from the strawberry blonde. "Xiao Long, out!" The energetic woman swung out of the vehicle, pulling herself to its roof to survey the area.

Still inside, Weiss grimaced at the blonde's spirited display and prayed to herself that it wouldn't be too much to ask for Yang to be quiet enough as to not draw attention. Nora barreled past the squad leader in her haste to attach herself to their driver's side, spinning Weiss around and knocking her off balance. Thankfully, Blake caught her and helped her regain her footing.

"They're just excited to be outside the walls again, Weiss. It's the adrenaline," she offered as she walked Weiss out of the vehicle. Taking in their surroundings, the familiar sense of dread she experienced outside of the walls came over Weiss. Dilapidated single-family homes and the dusty remains of others that had burnt away decades ago stood testament to a time where things had not been so bad. Unfortunately, it also painted the dreadful of just how low the numbers of humanity had dwindled to.

To their side and loud creak croaked from a wind-weathered children's park. Sadly, all that remained was the grater-like skeleton of a slide and rust-eaten that collapsed in on itself from decades of oxidation. In its center, a broken swing creaked back and forth, only held up by a single chain that dragged its twin across the shattered concrete.

As eerie as it was, it was still unmatched by the rotting wood, partially boarded windows, and overgrowth that covered the dwelling they were to be investigating. As her eyes swept over the roof, she noticed half had caved in on itself. Definitely not at the top of her list of places she wanted to be holed up during an overrun.

"It's not exciting being out here, Blake. It's dangerous. We all know how dangerous the Affected are." Sadness flashed through the feline's eyes and her ears flattened again. Weiss was still so haunted by Ruby's death and it ate away at everything. It was almost as if she had lost the ability to enjoy even the smallest things in life and the team was suffering for it. Some of them wanted Blake to take over, but she truly hoped that if given enough support, Weiss would find it her heart to forgive herself and move forward. It wasn't Weiss' fault… "And we still have to keep an eye out for the Mutated." The squad leader looked over the four other members of the team and divided them into partners. "Alright, Nora, you're with Ren, as always… Jaune with Yang… and Blake," the feline's ears popped up excitedly at the sound of her name. "With m-."

"Nuh-uh! Not today, Ice Queen!" The feline tried to resist the blonde's grip, reaching out to Weiss and pouting as she was dragged away. "I think we should change things up a bit!" Jaune's blue-eyes lit up and he became ecstatic at the prospect of working with Weiss.

"Hey, Snow Angel," he came off confidently. "Everything is gonna' be a-okay with me arou- hey!" with a roll of her eyes, the alabaster woman brushed him off and moved to the front of the house.

"Makes no difference to me, Yang." Blake deflated at Weiss' words as Weiss paused in thought. Noting the open entrance to herself, something didn't quite sit right. "Alright, Jaune and I will take the top floor. Ren and Nora on the first. Blake and Yang in the basement."

"Aw, man! Why the basement! There's, like, no windows down there!" Yang whined. "No lights!"

"Well, you wanted to work with Blake," Weiss grinned smugly. "The cat Faunus that can see in the dark."

"Wait… Did I just get tricked?!" Damn, Weiss had played her. She should have thought this one through! She was starting to get predictable. "Well played, Ice Queen. Well played."

"Alright, let's get a move on. I'd like to get back home before nightfall."

Entering the home and spreading out, the state of the first floor begged for the team to do an initial sweep together. Bits of flesh were embedded into long gashes that spanned across the blood spattered walls. Limbs were strewn about the home and any furnishings that had been left behind were overturned. Blake covered her nose, trying to block out the overwhelming scent of blood.

"Ugh, this blood is fresh. Something's wrong here, Weiss."

"I noticed," the squad leader said absently. Blake was right. None of this looked right. "We need to find out what did this."

"Weiss, found your answer!" Nora called, waving at them to come to the kitchen. In the kitchen, was the rotting carcass of a freshly mutilated Beowolf. With its throat slashed and its appendages removed, something had made short work of it. While it wasn't uncommon for Alphas to fight each other, whatever did this was intelligent. The cuts were too neat and deliberate.

Upon closer inspection, Weiss noticed something that stood out among the five digit slashes and punctures iconic to the claws of a Beowolf. It was a lone slash or puncture that appeared among them, and in some cases, the slain humans looked like they had been torn to pieces. In other cases, only precision cuts were present.

"Maybe the people fought back?" Ren offered. "But who tries to fight one of these with a blade?"

"Someone who doesn't have another option?" Yang offered. "I know I would if I was desperate."

"Still though," Blake was knelt to the ground, looking over the tracks in the dusty floors. "These people don't look like the Affected, nor do these footprints match what they would leave behind." She pointed her finger at a particular print and followed the trail. "This person is small and their movements are very deliberate." Blake stopped where the tracks met with the Beowolf's and she pressed her back to the wall with her arms spread out – her hand lining up with a dent in the wall. "The Beowolf pinned them here and the impact knocked their weapon from their hand. It landed right there." She pointed at a puncture in the floor. "But they must have carried more than one weapon. From here, everything matches with the Beowolf's present state… They attacked both humans and Mutated. Why save these people just to kill them after?… A wastelander, maybe?"

"True, not all wastelanders are friendly survivors. Survival out here is strictly opportunistic, so it isn't uncommon for them to turn on one another." For untrained people, a single individual may have been a problem, but with their training, the squad should be fine. "Alright, let's spread out and see what we can find." The uneasiness in Weiss' voice was apparent. No one liked the look in her eyes. It meant she would most likely become reckless. "Nora and Ren, see what you can find. The rest of us will search the other floors. Use your radios if you find anything."

"Aye, aye, Captain!" Nora saluted before searching cabinets.

"Nora," Ren sighed. "I don't think anyone is that small."

"But what if I find a baby Beowolf? Oooh! Renny, can I keep it? I'll even train it not to eat people!"

"Weiss," Blake's voice was serious. "If something happens, radio us. Please. We don't want you getting hurt." Weiss stared back at her for a moment and nodded, mumbling an 'Alright'.

"Well, then… Good luck with that! Anywho, found the basement! Blakey and I are gonna' go do our thing! Buh-bye!" With that, Yang disappeared down through a door in the kitchen, dragging Blake with her and leaving Weiss to deal with the craziness of the first two floors.

ooOOoo

"Blake…. Blakey… Blaaaaaaake!"

"What!" Blake hissed. The more she ignored the blonde, the louder she got. Didn't she understand what it meant to be quiet and listen? She was a normal human! She should be more paranoid about the dark than she was acting. At least, Weiss understood that.

"Look, I know you're mad at me about separating you from Weiss and all," she began.

"No, Yang. I'm fine. I just want you to be quiet!"

"Well, it's just that you can't keep following Weiss like that." The raven-haired woman stopped in her tracks and Yang gulped, knowing she had struck nerve. "You're chasing someone who doesn't have any room for you in their heart. You're trying to keep her afloat and she's just going to bring you down with her. If she's drowning, she needs to do it without you."

"Yang, what business of yours is it whether she brings me down with her or not? What if I already know that?" Blake turned around and jumped in Yang's face. "Give me a reason I shouldn't support her!"

"Because the only thing in her heart is a ghost," Yang's eyes turned angry at the challenging look Blake gave her. "Look, Rubes was my baby sister! If anyone here has anything to be sad about, it's me! She was my family, but I've learned to cope. I'm not saying she needs to forget, nor am I saying that Weiss should be removed from the team. I just don't think she's fit to lead. It should be y-"

"Shh."

"No, Blake. This needs to be said and dammit, I'm gonn spea-," Yang was cut off by a finger to her lips. Oh, hell no! She did not just do that! The blonde opened her mouth to say something, but Blake motioned behind her.

"What's that?" Yang turned around to get a better look. A small red light blinked in the darkness. Aiming the torchlight on her rifle, they got close enough to inspect it. While the room was devoid of any life or anything aside from a few rusted cans and sleeping bags, there was a giant machine sitting in the middle of the room. While they couldn't make out its function, its general appearance was that of a generator. Then again, generators normally had things plugged into them and provided power. This had nothing of the sort. There was no brand, but there was an emblem painted in gold onto its side, just like Vale's.

"We should probably report this to Weiss."

ooOOoo

"Soooo, I'll take this room and you take that one?" Jaune left it an open question.

"Sure, just be careful. Wouldn't want Yang to have something else to harp about," Weiss said with annoyance. Jaune rolled his eyes and slammed the door open for the room he had chosen. Waiting an extra moment to see if he needed assistance, Weiss decided to do the same, choosing the room directly across from him. At least, this way, it would be quicker and they'd be right across from each other if the other needed help.

She barreled into the room, finding it mostly empty, aside from a stained, naked mattress on a rusted metal frame. On the wall, she could make out tally marks carved into the wallpaper and the words 'Days Alive' scrawled across it. Across the room, a putrid smell emitted from a door painted with a red 'X' that dribbled down its length. In ancient times, it had been a common practice to mark homes inhabited by persons who had contracted the plague with similar symbols. Recalling this, Weiss called to Jaune for assistance. The blonde had come immediately, showing concern for her.

"Everything alright, Weiss?"

"Yeah, I just want to check this closet. Would you mind opening the door? I'll take point." She motioned her rifle at the door and he nodded. Pressing his back to the wall on the hinge-side of the door, he leaned across to grab the handle. Looking back to verify she was ready, she nodded and trained her rifle on the doorway. Tension rising, Jaune twisted the knob and pulled it toward himself, letting it slam against the wall and readying his rifle.

Instead of a shambling mess of cold fingers jabbing at him, they were assaulted by a smell that caused his stomach to lurch and he vomited. Inspecting the closet, Weiss found the soupy remains of a decaying mass. Whoever it had been had been in here long enough that it was no longer a threat. Covering her nose, Weiss nudged its head with the barrel of her rifle. The soft tissue gave no resistance and the metal pressed straight through. This definitely wasn't the work of that Beowolf, let alone anyone recently.

"Jaune?..." Jaune gasped to himself for a moment, raising his hand to ask for a moment.

"I'm fine, Weiss," his voice was strained. "It was just a little overwhelming. I'm good to go." He stood up and flashed her a smile.

"You might want to wipe yourself," she grinned. "Y'know, before we run into Yang again." He went pale and looked at himself.

"Ah, dammit! She'll never let me live this down!"

"Here," she grabbed a random article of clothing that had been left in the closet.

"Thanks," he took it, wiping his mouth on his sleeve, careful to avoid using it on his face. He then used the garment to wipe the remains from his body armor. God, he had to get rid of the evidence before that smartass blonde downstairs could have at him. First, it would be her, then Nora would join in and his life would be over! "It's been pretty clear up here, though. I mean, two more rooms, but the upstairs is awfully clean and we haven't seen a single survivor… Doesn't that strike you as odd?"

"Not if whoever was here killed everyone." The unsettling in her stomach grew. "I've been wondering about that. Something's off."Ksssh.

"Fire Dragon to Ice Queen! Come in, Ice Queen! Over!"

"God dammit, Yang!" Weiss pressed the switch of her earpiece. "Can you talk like a normal person?"

"Sorry, Ice Queen! Couldn't make that out. Can you repeat that?" Weiss could practically feel the grin through the blonde's words. "Over!"

"It really isn't necessary for you to say 'Over'. Just tell me what you need to." Nothing but silence. "…Over!"

"I hear you loud and clear, Ice Queen, but no can do!" Weiss internally screamed at the infernal woman. "Ninja Kitty and I are heading back up. Found some weird ass device down here. No people. Still might wanna' report it though…"

"Yang, maybe you could try being nice to Weiss…"

"No can do, Ninja Kitty! Stay frosty, Ice Queen! Team Bumblebee out! …Over!" And with that, the channel closed.

"Uh, Weiss, I'm gonna' go… check this room over here… yeah!" Taking note of her seething expression, he inched out of the room. It was probably for the best. Fuming to herself, she watched Jaune walk into the next room. He'd taken the room with the missing roof and didn't seem to run into anything immediately, so she made her way to the last room at the other end of the hall.

Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself before proceeding. She cracked the door and was met with a surprise. A figure cloaked in a bright red cowl stood just past the bed. She caught a few sobs coming from the room and briefly recalled the sounds of the Weeping that had attacked her leader years ago. Cracking the door just a bit more, she found a terrified woman huddled into a corner in front of the figure. Whoever this was, they had her terrified. They had to be the one responsible for the grueling condition of the first floor. They lifted an arm, revealing a knife and she knew had to stop this. Who the hell went through the Wasteland with a knife?!

"Freeze!" She kicked in the door and aimed the rifle at the person. Obeying her command, the wastelander slowly brought their arm down. "Turn around! Arms up! Reveal yourself!" Ignoring most of her request, the figure remained still for a moment, facing the woman who huddled into herself further. "Wastelander, that's an order!" The wastelander's shoulder bounced lightly as if they were coughing or laughing. Weiss couldn't tell, but they obviously didn't take her seriously. The wastelander slowly turned to her, pulling up a cloth to cover their mouth, with the hood darkening the rest of their features and… What the hell?! "Don't move!" Fear ran through her body as it completed its turn in an act of defiance, training its piercing eyes on her.

An Alpha Beowolf… That's what its eyes reminded her of. This was no wastelander. This was undoubtedly one of the Affected, but this was unseen. It wasn't a surprise that the Mutated came in a large variety, but to this date, the only known humanoids were the freshly infected Tweakers that still had motor control, the Shamblers they turned into as they withered away, and the Weeping. Outside of that, no one had run into something intelligent enough to mimic human mannerisms. This was the first sighting of an Affected that heeded warning and it screamed danger. It stepped forward and Weiss fired the first bullet of the day.

"Weiss, is everything alright?!" Jaune came barreling down the hall and saw the figure Weiss had her sights trained on. The figure had bent over, clutching its side. It looked back at Weiss, revealing… the absence of glowing eyes? What the hell was going on? There was no way her eyes tricked her.

In the distance, a strange rumbling began and the strange wastelander turned their attention toward the window across from her. They jolted in shock as if they were surprised, and without hesitation, dove through the window closest to them. Running after them, Weiss leaned out the window and found no traces of them. Just what the hell was going on?

"Uhhhh, Weiss, we need to get a move on and get out of here, now!" From the window on the other side of the room, Jaune watched a black mass grow in the distance.

"Shit!" Weiss flashed a look at the woman she had saved and pulled her up. "You're safe now. We'll get you to a safe place!" Jaune bolted out of the room and ran down the stairs, with Weiss close behind.

"Weiss, did you see-"

"We need to get out of here!" She cut Blake off. "Get a move on it!"

"What about the basem-"

"We don't have time for that, Yang. Living is our priority. Go!" The team bolted out of the house; Jaune jumping into the driver's seat and the rest piled into the back, with Yang remaining by the door. Without waiting for the hatch to be pulled closed, Jaune took off in time to avoid the first of the Beowolves.

Clambering over each other, the mass remained in hot pursuit of the vehicle. Knowing they would be safer, Yang made a break for the cargo door. She grabbed onto a rail and reached for the latch, but one brave Beowolf hoisted itself over the shoulders of another and landed on the ramp.

With a loud roar, it swiped at her and she quickly retracted her hand. This was definitely a one-on-one she didn't want to get into. She fell back and her team came to her rescue with suppressing fire. The bullets sank deeply into it, sending it tumbling into the stampede and offered a slight increase in distance.

Unfortunately, Beowolves had a pack mentality and adapted quickly. Learning from their fallen brother, a few others made use of its tactics and leapt at the vehicle from the backs of their kin. While many missed their mark and were trampled by the rest, some were successful in landing atop the vehicle. A claw reached from the roof and a wolf peered down from above. It reached out and swiped at the busty blonde, nicking the armor that guarded her chest and cutting the strap of her rifle. Nora grabbed Yang by her arm and pulled her out of reach. Dissatisfied with the loss of its prey, the Beowolf wrapped its claws around a railing and hoisted itself onto the ramp, pulling itself into the vehicle and crushing Yang's abandoned rifle with its weight.

Why?! Why did they design the damn door to double as a ramp?! Why couldn't this be modeled after suicide doors?! They just had to have a ramp! This was probably some design flaw that some lazy asshole created to save a few bucks. Yeah! Let's just make it have double functionality and maybe GET OUR RESCUE SQUADS KILLED! Real intelligent! Yang silently fumed to herself. She lost her god damn gun!

Digging its claws into the metal of the floor and grounding itself, the Beowolf roared once more. It swiped at the humans in front of it and they hit the ground, in an effort to dodge. It roared once more and prepared to digs its claw into a target. It didn't matter which one, as long as it got one, but the car swerved as Jaune tried to shake a wolf from the windshield. Knocked off balance, the wolf fell backwards, holding on only by the claw implanted into the floor.

At that moment, an arrow with a red light pierced through its head. With a repetitive beep that quickened like a countdown device, it fell limply into the stampede, thinning the herd with an explosion. A bulky red motorcycle, driven by a person with a red cape that billowed violently as the wind resisted it, drifted into view behind them. The rider shouldered their compact bow and took aim at what looked to be something inside the vehicle.

"Ah, shit!" Jaune called back. "Weiss, it's the wasteland- Weiss!"

"Uraaaaaaaah!" The woman they had rescued began to flail around, righting herself in a contorted position. She locked onto Weiss and lunged at her, meeting a fatal blow from a non-explosive arrow instead. The woman collapsed over Weiss, who shoved her off and scrambled away.

"You didn't check her?!"

"I dunno' if you were paying attention, Yang," Weiss spat. "But we kind of had other things going on!"

"Whoa, that doesn't look good," Yang had already written her off and was more concerned with the wastelander. The way they were swerving wasn't purposeful. It actually seemed like they were trying keep themself conscious.

"I mean, Weiss did shoot them…" Weiss had Jaune to thank for throwing her to the wolves… metaphorically speaking. With another hard swerve, the wastelander fell from their bike.

"You did what?!" Yang looked at her in anger. There was no reason to shoot survivors! "Jaune, we need to help that wastelander! If we're quick enough we'll be fine! Whoa!" Yang braced herself as Jaune swerved the truck around. A few of the wolves had surrounded the fallen wastelander and Jaune opted to swerve into the beasts, knocking a number of them away. "Cover me!" Grabbing them by their rider, Yang pulled the wastelander into the truck. "Go!"

There was so much blood everywhere. It was amazing to think they were still alive. To think of the sheer amount of will power it had taken to drive into a horde of mutated anything. From the looks of it, Yang would say this wastelander was very adamant about finishing what they had started and the squad should have been thankful for it, considering what had just happened. It was very plausible that those people were all Affected recently and hadn't shown evidence of the mutation.

"I've got this, Yang," Ren said calmly. He had more experience than the rest of them when it came to things like this. "Wastelander, stay with me. What's your name?" The wastelander gave a pained moan and their eyes fluttered open, fighting with the darkness that was undoubtedly trying to take hold of them. "Wastelander, talk to me."

Strangely, the wastelander's eyes were what struck him. For a moment, they briefly centered on Yang before they fluttered off again. That was when Yang's trembling hand hovered over their hood. She hesitated, staring at the strange person for a moment. With a gulp, she summoned her courage and pulled the hood and face mask back.

"Ruby…" Weiss and Yang's eyes were wide with disbelief, staring at the barely conscious spitting image of their late-captain. Breaking their trance, the girl coughed loudly and spattered blood everywhere.

"What the fuck did you do?!" Fire heated the back of Yang's throat. Had Weiss hadn't even hesitated to shoot her?

"I-I… How is she- I didn't mean to!" Weiss mind struggled to comprehend what was happening. Ruby died in front of her. She was mere feet away when the command had been given to blow a hole straight through Ruby's chest. She was the only one of their squad to witness it firsthand, yet here they were, looking at her carbon copy.

"Weiss!" Yang was beyond livid. This was her baby sister. It definitely was and Weiss supposedly loved her. "How the fuck could you shoot her?!"

"I didn't know it was her!" Weiss screamed back. "How can it be her?!" The ivory and blonde duo glared at each other as the vehicle jerked around on the terrain. The Ruby look-alike tried to sit herself up but collapsed hard, unable to reorient herself, and Yang tried to cushion her on the way down. She had lost way too much blood.

"BE QUIET!" Ren yelled. "I can't concentrate and it isn't helping this girl! Instead of arguing, you two could be helping!"

"What do you need?" Yang attempted to calm herself. If this was Ruby, it wouldn't be her fault they lost her a second time.

"Keep your hands here and apply pressure," Ren yelled over the sound of gunfire as Blake and Nora tried to fend off more of the wolves. The terrain became especially rocky and the two gunners tried to keep their footing as they rocked back and forth. A large bump jolted everyone into the air, slamming them into the benches that lined the interior and everything went black.

ooOOoo

AN: Alright guys! So that introduces Squad 9 (WBYJNR) and how they found themselves in that predicament. I think I really do like how things are going this time around. Seems more fluid. I won't say that Ruby will be "nice", but she won't be anywhere near as mean. She'll be more of the "you shouldn't get close to me" type. As I mentioned before, some chapters will seem familiar, just more fleshed out. I think it's about halfway through chapter 3 where the storyline deviates from the original. It'll happen pretty quick actually. Next chapter tells the story of Ruby's death, introduces Pyrrha, and has Weiss/Yang/the Wastelander's first real interactions.

Reviewer Response:

Guest: Yeah, the bold thing is a habit of mine that I've always done. It's more because I'm not fond of italics lol. I did put it into practice in this chapter. I sometimes find it difficult to tell the difference with italics. I lost my glass about half a year ago and haven't replaced them

TheLatiKing: Originally, she was supposed to be mean and then soften up over time. The violence she exhibited was supposed to be her being pissed off about being shot and then calming down over a couple chapters. She'll be bit more chillax this time around. Disappointed in Weiss all the same, but nowhere near as bad. She has bigger fish to fry.