Beta: Skarlashka


Chapter 4: Reunion

Weiss did have a lot of things to think about, but what she needed most of all was steady ground. Ever since their ship had been caught up in a fight with a group of griffons just outside Vale, she'd been close to earning herself the female equivalent of Jaune's old nickname. While the would-be birth of Vomit Girl was precariously avoided and the griffons defeated, arriving at Patch's only landing docks didn't make her stomach feel any less upset.

Here she was, back in Vale, however surreal that was.

Even though she'd dreaded going back to Atlas, the last few months had seemed to fly by. At least she knew what to expect there, and had enough work cut out for her to avoid thinking too much. But here, back in Vale for the first time in years, a lot of memories lined up. Not all of them were pleasant.

Her only companions on the airship had been the crew, whom were already at work tending to the aircraft and unloading the precious cargo by the time Weiss strode off, suitcase in hand. In the other hand she carried her scroll, thumbing through a myriad of notes she'd taken while attending countless SDC board meetings and meetings with the Atlas council.

A sigh left her lips. Thoughts for another day. Now, focus!

"Can I trust you to take care of the cargo?" She asked the officer of the crew she'd travelled with. He stood straight and saluted.

"Yes ma'am! Please rest up, you fought brilliantly in our defense, and we'll take care of the rest here."

Sometimes, she really appreciated the strict training Ironwood put his men through. Now if only they could have delivered the transmitter and be done with it, that would be wonderful. Sadly, her presence was required to assist with the actual setup of the thing, simply in the form of monster extermination. They could not risk losing it now, it wasn't like Atlas had an abundance of resources to build a new one these days.

Patch was tiny compared to Vale or Atlas, but still a city nonetheless. Weiss' first point on the agenda was finding a hotel and booking herself a room. Sleeping one more night on the aircraft was out of the question. From Ruby's letter she'd learned that there would be a bed – or sleeping spot, at the very least – for her at Signal, but sleeping on the floor with a bunch of strangers like they were back to Beacon initiation day didn't really sound tempting either. Besides, given the number of refugees, they probably needed all the space they could get.

Sadly, someone else had a similar idea.

"Every single room?" Weiss still couldn't believe it. "Even the suites?"

"I'm sorry ma'am." The hotel clerk looked like she'd already gotten a mouthful or two from other rejected customers. "Government has rented most of the rooms, and the rest is boarded by Vale citizens."

"What the – why would anyone go to Patch for vacation?"

The clerk was reddening under Weiss' fierceness. "Um, there's an evacuation zone within the breached northern defences in Vale, but some families just within the safe zone preferred to move out until things are back under control."

Well. Frustrating as it was, she couldn't very well demand people to go back to their houses if they felt unsafe. It was just an unplanned setback. Without the CCT, there was no way to call ahead and check for availability.

"Are there any other hotels in this town?"

"Two, ma'am, but I believe they're in the same situation."

"Well, great." Weiss sighed.

"I'm so sorry…" The girl was actually cowering, trying to avoid Weiss' eyes without seeming rude. Maybe she was being a bit pointy with the girl, this was hardly her fault.

"It's fine." Weiss picked up her suitcase and forced a smile onto her face. "Thank you for your help."

She left the building and hailed a cab just outside. There really was no more reason to linger about.

"Signal Academy, please."

XXX

A tremor ran through the tower.

"What was that?"

Ruby, Blake and Oobleck all stopped as Yang spoke up.

Oobleck had just been poking the dragon's ear with a pick, trying to force his way into the ear.

Ruby cocked her head. "Grimm?"

Craaaaaaak!

"It sounds like… splintering stone," Blake said, causing everyone to spin to the frozen monster. Ruby's eyes went wide, Yang raised her fists, and Oobleck put a hand on his hat.

"By the gods…"

XXX

The cab swung into a courtyard booming with people and goods. Several White Fang members were carrying crates inside what Weiss assumed to be a storage. So Blake had already arrived.

Feeling a bit better upon thinking about her friends, Weiss set off with her suitcase in hand to find some familiar faces. Wandering across Signal's courtyard sent an uneasy tingle through her body, it was too similar to Beacont. Fortunately, she didn't have to wander for long.

"Oh, Miss Schnee!" The receptionist behind the large desk in the entrance hall looked relieved to see her. "It's an honor to have you here!"

"I'm sure," Weiss sighed. "I don't suppose you know where my teammates are at?"

Before the receptionist could answer, another voice cut in. "They're visiting Beacon tower with doctor Oobleck." Heels clicking ominously, Glynda looked as strict as ever. But tired, Weiss noted, like so many others she'd spent years fighting for freedom.

Weiss bowed her head. "Professor Goodwitch. It's a pleasure to see you again."

"Likewise, miss Schnee."

"Please, it's just Weiss."

Glynda folded her arms, riding crop tapping against her arm. "I assume you're tired after your trip, but would you care to join us for a short while?"

Actually, she was dead on her feet, but with no bed to collapse onto there wasn't much she could do.

"Of course."

XXX

Nobody wanted to believe it, or rather, nobody understood how it had happened. Maybe the fact that it had begun spawning should have been hint enough. Perhaps the presence of its captor had finally roused it. Or the fact that in the span of very little time, the dragon had received more stimuli than it had during the last three years, actually paid off.

In any case, it was really happening.

The dragon was waking up.

"Yang!" Ruby yelled as a massive claw struck her sister, throwing her off the side of the tower. The dragon shook its body free of the remaining pieces of solidified shell and shrieked ear-deafeningly. Blake grimaced as her ears rang like a siren, clenching an eye shut at the pain. Not far from her, Ruby cringed and slapped a hand to her ear, the other holding Crescent Rose.

Doctor Oobleck advanced before any of them could. His blasts of fire engulfed the monster, causing it to shriek again and snap its enormous wings out.

"Ruby!" He yelled at the youngest fighter, and Ruby grabbed her weapon with both hands. Swinging her scythe around, she faced the dragon - and froze up. Her eyes wide, breaths inhaled and expelled rapidly, the grip on Crescent Rose tightened till her fingers stung.

This is it.

It was really here, they were really here, but it was so quick and unexpected, she hadn't had time to prepare herself mentally, there was no time and dammit, get a grip! And yet, she couldn't move.

In a burst of fire and wind, Yang shot up above the dragon, whooping cheerfully. She twisted in mid-air above the beast, eyes bursting into flames. With the force of a meteor, her fist connected with the dragon's head, sending it smashing into the floor with a dull blast. The shockwave washed over them like a hot summer wind and the entire tower shook.

The dragon shrieked and flapped its wings, pulling its head back up. Massive back leg claws began to let go of the structure they had been embedded into for the past three years.

"We can't let it escape!" Oobleck shouted, jumping over the massive tail as it swept towards them across the tower. Blake jumped back just in time to leave a icy frozen afterimage in her stead. The dragon's tail smashed it to pieces. There was no help freezing it in place with mere ice.

"Hyaaa!" Yang crashed onto the beast's back and struck her fists together, creating a burst of lightning in her hands. With a roar the blonde raised her hands, and the lightning grew to surround her in an impromptu thunderstorm. Flash after flash struck the beast leaving singe marks on its skin, but it didn't seem phased by the attack. The dragon snapped at Yang with its jaws, but the brawler punched back, shattering one of its massive teeth and snapping its head away.

"Yeaaaah!"

The dragon gathered its breath and spewed black fire in Yang's direction. She jumped back, latching onto one of the spikes on its back for cover, and began bombarding one of its wing joints with aggressive bursts of fire and lightning. The dragon flapped its massive wings again, knocking the three on the ground over with the blast of air, and finally rose into the air.

"No!" Blake fired Gambol Shroud into the air, wrapping the ribbon around the nearest wing joint like a grounding anchor. Several shadow images materialized and helped pull the beast down, momentarily pulling it off balance.

"It's too strong!" Blake yelled.

Yang's assault on the beast's wing joint finally paid off, causing the beast to lurch to one side. Then the massive tail crashed into her from above and forced her off its back. It was nowhere near defeated - they could only chip away at the beast's strength, and beneath their feet, the tower trembled.

"Ruby!" Yang called.

Get a grip, get a grip, get a grip! This is for everyone's future! Ruby clenched her teeth and took a deep steadying breath, blocking out everything else as she focused on the Grimm in front of her. The last of Salem's spawners, the last obstacle stopping Vale and everyone from going back to their old lives and move forward. Ruby swung Crescent Rose around and poised it behind her.

"I. Hate yoooooou!"

In a blur of red Ruby exploded forward. She crashed into the dragon's chest and Crescent Rose embedded itself beneath the bony chest plates. Ruby pulled the trigger and the chest of the Grimm tore open in a burst of splintering bone!

"Yeaaaah!" Yang used her powers to blast herself away from the immediate area, landing beside Blake before the two of them opened fire at the dragon from a distance, joined by Oobleck shortly after. The beast screamed and roared, snapping at the cloaked assailant that had just torn its chest open. On such a massive beast it only seemed like a scratch, and nowhere near enough to kill it.

Ruby kicked off from the beast's chest and landed on the tower, skidding back. Her head rang and her eyes saw nothing but the fight, completely focused on what she had to do. The current magazine clattered to the floor and a new one reloaded, this one with gravity rounds. She'd done the same move hundreds of times, the motion was as natural as breathing at this point.

Swinging Crescent Rose back again, she tilted the blade into its war scythe mode. She gathered every ounce of strength into her legs and, with the pull of the trigger, burst forward in a flurry of rose petals, leaving a sonic boom in her wake. The gravity rounds sent her into a violent spin with Crescent Rose's blade like the tip of a massive drill. She slammed into the dragon's open chest wound, instantly skewering it with Crescent Rose and penetrating deep into the Grimm's body. The beast thrashed and crashed into the tower as it tried to reach the nasty itch, but it was too late.

An explosion of light ripped through the dragon's body from within, massive silver wings spinning out of control and engulfing the entire monster.

XXX

The atmosphere inside the headmaster's office was stifling. Weiss had tried to prepare herself based on Glynda's warning, but seeing and hearing the glumness among the participants was still unexpected.

It didn't feel like a meeting between someone expecting victory.

"We need. To defend. The southern farms." A tall, lanky man was projected onto the middle of the table and he was speaking with the tone of someone whose patience had already worn out.

"And you need to listen." Qrow, with just a few more grey hairs since the last time she saw him, raised a finger and glared at the hologram. "We do not have enough people for that. We've already fortified the south several times, and that's not even where the majority of the Grimm attacks are occurring. We're choking up north with trying to protect the citizens, so unless you can have them evacuated at a greater rate, there's nothing we can do for your precious farms."

The man in the hologram did not look pleased. Weiss recognized him from a few news reports and public announcements during her time in Vale. He was one of Vale's council members, Aspen Ash. Glynda, who took position by the wall with a glare on her face, did not seem to care much for the topic at hand either. Behind Qrow stood a somewhat meek Oscar.

The last one in the room, a huge man in decorated armor, spoke with the voice of a boulder. "And what of your little side quest, Qrow? Your nieces are formidable fighters, can't they assist in this?"

Qrow's shoulder slumped. "That side quest is the main reason we're here. And as I told you, they are looking at it as we speak."

"Well," Aspen Ash's flickering form scanned the room with his eyes, lingering on Weiss for a moment. "Seems like you've just received reinforcements."

"And we will put them to good use."

"Very well. I expect a new report by dinner. Miss Schnee." He bowed in her direction, before the hologram flickered and vanished.

Qrow immediately groaned. "Why is he our main contact?"

"He's the only one who can handle your drunken rave," Glynda stated dryly, to which Qrow threw his hands up.

"He's a fool. And hey, I never applied for a commanding rank here. You unhappy with how I do it, take the word yourself."

"No thanks." Glynda's eyes narrowed.

The headmaster of Signal rumbled, obviously displeased about something. The large man turned to Oscar.

"Ozpin, I'd like to discuss the distribution of your hunters once more."

"Hey, it's Oscar now," Qrow interrupted, "besides, I'm the unofficial head mofo here for the time being."

The headmaster frowned. "Remind me why I hired you as a teacher again."

"Because I'm charming as hell. Besides, it's not like any of this matters. When the dragon's gone, all we need to do is wipe out the remaining Grimm and voila, Remnant's a free world."

"A fairy tale." The headmaster glanced at Oscar, who cowered under his gaze. "If it were that easy, how come we've spent thousands of years battling these things? Are we sure that the dragon can even be killed?"

"I…" Oscar started, but trailed off. He glanced at the floor, and shook his head as if disagreeing with himself. "I have no doubt she'll pull through."

"Hey, we know plenty of fairy tales that turned out to be true so far," Qrow quipped.

The headmaster remained stoic. "Still, to put this much faith into a single girl seems irresponsible to the citizens of Vale. Our trustworthiness is being questioned right and left. I trust you know what you're doing, Ozpin."

With that, the headmaster clasped his hands at his back and turned away. With a slow nod in Weiss' direction, the massive man shuffled out of the room.

"What was that about?" Weiss asked once only she, Glynda, Qrow and Oscar remained in the room.

Qrow sighed. "Don't hate on ol' Kong. He's a worrywart. Fears his school is going to be shut down unless we can rebuild Vale to its former glory. Which would mean I'd be out of a job too, heh." He stared into the holographic map of Vale on the table before them.

Weiss looked over at Oscar with a frown. "I take it he doesn't know? About Ozpin?"

Oscar shrank in on himself, shuffling uncomfortably. "We… decided not to say anything."

"The less people know about what happened in that hellish place, the better," Qrow said with a chill in his voice. "At least until it's all over. Plus, the added authority coming from flaunting his name has done us a lot of good so far. I'm sure you agree, Ice Queen."

"I… I didn't mean to imply otherwise." Ozpin's fate was only one result of the war. Countless memories, so many broken and exhausted friends and allies, even ones she'd never expected to see faltering, sent a chill down her spine. Weiss shook her head and steeled herself, returning to the present.

A hand touched her shoulder. It was Glynda, who gave her a gentle squeeze.

"Enough about that. Once this situation is handled, we'll have plenty of time coming up with stories for the world to believe. Most still don't know about Salem or any of what's happened the past few years, save for the Grimm wars. It will be our job to pick up the pieces and assure people that the danger truly is over. Besides, even with the Grimm gone, there are still matters to attend to."

"Like rebuilding Beacon," Oscar said quietly.

"Before that, Vale needs to get back on its own feet," Qrow said. "Resources are still dwindling and that won't be fixed overnight."

"Not to mention the current rebellious state of the city as a whole," Glynda added. "If we're not careful with our tactics, we'll be overrun by other parties looking for a chance to control Vale. I'm sure the council members realize this too, thickheaded or not."

"That's why they want us on their side," Qrow drawled, pulling them into an agreeable silence while their thoughts settled.

Then Qrow looked at Weiss, and upon meeting his gaze she realized how utterly exhausted he looked. She wondered if his leg still hurt, but knew better than to expect an honest answer.

"So?"

She blinked. "So what?"

"Atlas. How's the situation? Can we expect any help beyond hi-tech transmitters and lovely ice ladies?"

Right. Weiss pulled a deep breath. "It is… unfavourable. While the Grimm has been on a drastic decline, the repercussions of war are not as easily diminished."

"And here I thought old metalhead had everything under control."

She sighed. "It's true the army is doing an excellent job regarding the Grimm and to control the public in general, but they can't shoot a hole in disease and famine. With resources from Mistral on a steady decline and the main power generator still under repair, the situation is pressing. Many are getting sick from lack of proper heating and availability to clean water. My brother…" she trailed off, shook her head, and met Qrow's gaze steadily. "If you don't mind, I… have had a long trip and I'm soon falling asleep where I stand. I'd like to see my teammates before long."

"Well, you'd have to fly then, princess. They're at Beacon trying to breathe life into that big lizard."

Weiss' gaze narrowed, wondering if she could make the captain of her ship take one more trip today, until Glynda spoke up. "I believe a bullhead will be on its way to pick them up very soon. If you want, you can more than likely join as a passenger."

"Thank you. I think I'll do that." Weiss curtly turned on her heel and strode for the door, but paused upon gripping the handle. Then she looked at Qrow and Oscar again. "We'll make sure this is solved to satisfaction."

Qrow's smirk only nearly annoyed her this time. "Never had a doubt, kiddo."

XXX

"Shit…" Yang's heavy breathing was punctuated by that one word.

Blake could only agree. Their situation had turned around in an instant. A cloud of black dust was the only thing that remained of the dragon, and as soon as Ruby crashed back onto the tower, the tower shook beneath their feet.

"Oh dear." Oobleck stated. Peering over the edge of the tower revealed a group of goliath Grimm ramming the base of it over and over again. A sea of smaller Grimm pooled around them, moving like a chaotic wave towards the forest of Forever Fall, as if triggered by a dog whistle. Blake wavered on her feet as the tower shook again.

"Ruby!" Yang caught Ruby as her sister collapsed. Blood gushed from Ruby's nose and down her chin. She grasped weakly at Yang's jacket.

"We – gotta…uh..." She muttered incoherently, only held up by Yang's arms around her torso.

"Ruby!" Panic laced Yang's voice, drowned by a shrill shriek. A griffon had decided to come visit. Apparently, their invisible bubble had broken.

"We can't stay!" Oobleck yelled while engulfing the monster in flames. "Yang, Blake, get your leader out of here!"

Blake nodded once, then ran over to the sisters, putting her hands on Yang's. The blonde looked up at her with terrified eyes.

"I'll take her," Blake said. "You keep the Grimm out of our way, okay? We need to get to the docks."

Yang looked like she wanted to protest, but then her gaze hardened and she nodded.

"Right." She stood and reloaded Ember Celica, while Blake hefted Ruby up into her arms. The smaller girl – frankly, not as small as she once were – was hardly conscious, head rolling to a rest against Blake's shoulder. She looked even paler than usual, and the blood smearing her face didn't help any.

"Sooo soft…" she mumbled tiredly.

"Please don't smear that all over my clothes."

Blake approached the edge of the tower again, peering at the ocean of Grimm moving in a frenzy down below. The tower shook again, nearly stealing her balance as it swayed ominously.

"Well, this'll be suicide," Yang stated as she and Oobleck came up beside them, looking down as well. "I guess it's time to go all out." Her eyes lit up, but Blake grabbed her arm before she could rush off.

"Yang, look!"

"Skreeeeee!" Another nevermore soared their way, talons outstretched. Yang readied herself, when a rain of ice shards cut into the beast and sent it careening into the side of the tower.

A bullhead was approaching them at full speed. Several glyphs swirled in the air around it, fending of lesser Grimm.

"It's Weiss!" Blake breathed in relief.

"Hell yeah, that's timing!" Yang cheered, and began waving her arms. "Over here~!"

Their white-haired teammate provided much needed support for the bullhead as it approached the tower, aided by Yang firing at any Grimm coming too close as well. Ice and fire and lightning struck the monsters down, and allowed the bullhead to swing close to the tower.

"Get on!" Weiss yelled through the roar of the engine, leaning on the edge of the open door with her hair blowing everywhere. A range of glyphs appeared, creating a bridge for them to reach the aircraft. Blake sprinted forward and jumped, using her semblance to boost herself and her precious cargo onto the glyphs and into the bullhead. Oobleck followed after, using his flamethrower as propellant, and Yang still bombarded the skyborne Grimm around them with lightning strikes.

"Yang!" Weiss yelled at her as the bullhead started pulling away from the tower. The blonde blew a hole in the tower floor upon launching herself up and into the cargo hold.

Weiss snorted. "Showoff."

"Awwww, I'm glad to see you too!" Yang caught her in a bone-crushing hug, but immediately released her to fire at another griffon. There was a crash and the aircraft shook. Oobleck planted a hand on his hat and Blake swayed even kneeling on the floor, gripping Ruby tightly.

"Dammit, leave us alone already!" Yang snarled. "Weiss?"

Wordlessly, Weiss summoned a glyph right outside the opening, which Yang jumped onto. With a flick of her wrist, the glyph changed properties and propelled the blonde into the air to reach the aircraft's roof. Sounds of a scuffle broke out, screeching Grimm mixing with Yang's cries of battle. The cargo door closed, subduing the sounds and cutting off the violent winds.

"Just as long as she doesn't tear the bullhead apart," Weiss dryly noted. Then she looked down at her redheaded team leader who lay unmoving on the floor. "Is she…?"

"Passed out," Blake stated calmly, holding Ruby steady with a hand on her shoulder.

"I suppose that explains the Grimm problem."

"That was a tremendous display from young miss Rose," Oobleck said. "I'm surprised if she didn't completely deplete her aura back there."

Weiss' looked back at the rapidly shrinking tower. Indeed, the massive statue that had last adorned it was gone. Instead, a cloud of black dust slowly twirled upwards, like the ashes of a massive bonfire. She had seen the blast of light from afar, but was dissatisfied with being just minutes too late to aid in the fight. Weiss Schnee was never late, so she'd have to make up for it later.

"There's no time to rest yet however. All those Grimm down there have just begun moving. Most likely, they'll be drawn to the very last source of negative energy they can feel in the proximity. That means Vale is in great danger." Oobleck looked deadly serious. "We were not prepared for the consequences of taking out the dragon at this time."

Looking at the black dust slowly trailing into the sky, Weiss' stomach coiled. A violent cough pulled her attention back, and she was on her knees beside Ruby and Blake a second later. Ruby had turned to her side, coughing blood and saliva on the floor.

"Ruby!"

"Uuuuuuh… I don't feel so good…" Ruby groaned, trying to put her arms under herself for support.

"Just lay still! Don't move around, you dunce!" Weiss pushed her back down. "You'll get blood everywhere!"

"Weissssss~" Ruby's arms circled around Weiss' neck and unceremoniously pulled her down on top of her. "How was Atlas, I wanna hear everything…"

"Not now, you dolt! Ugh, you're a mess!" She struggled to pull out of the hug, only to sit back up with a red blotch smeared across her white jacket. "Look what you did!"

"That's what you get for wearing white on the battlefield," Blake said, to Oobleck's agreeable nodding.

Weiss' shoulders sagged. "Of course. Why don't we just discuss our fashion sense while we're at it?"

"I think you're pretty, Weiss~"

"So I have approval from our resident tomboy and weapon brainiac, how reassuring."

"Hey, I wear a skirt too..." Ruby's chipper voice trailed off as her eyes slid closed, more blood trailing from her nose. Blake, having made herself useful, pressed a gauze from the ship's first aid kit against her face.

Outside, Yang reloaded Ember Celica as the last wave of nevermores fell to the ground. Their bodies disintegrated into black dust which slowly swept away through the air. Her eyes flicked around in search of more targets, when she caught sight of the black dust twirling above the tower. A gleam of white lightning erupted within the darkness, which grew denser and denser by the second.

"Wow, Rubes, I'm not sure what you did, but that sure looks shady."


And that's when things went to shit.

Given some of the feedback I've got, I wanted to add a few words here about the nature of this story.

While it is mainly supposed to follow canon, that is of course impossible in the long run. We hardly know anything about the nature of Ruby's silver eyes, or the relics (which I've conveniently completely ignored) or a lot of other topics. If ANY of the things I'm playing with in this story actually happens, I'll be extremely surprised. Mainly, I wrote this because I wanted to explore a certain topic. I will not be exploring every single little thing that lead up to this point, because that is simply not part of this story and would turn this into a gargantuan beast that I am not willing to handle right now. Some topics will come up, but don't expect this to turn into an epic story covering everyone's stories throughout the series. A lot is left to your imagination, and that is on purpose.

In any case, for the best setting to explore the topic the story is inspired by, I ended up using a presumed ending to the series as the starting point. When volume 5 airs, I'm expecting a lot of "facts" in this story to be completely obsolete, and that's fine, this is a fanfiction after all.

These first chapters have been used to establish the setting and set up the initial atmosphere which surrounds our characters, but they've also shown some important events and hints that will explain what happen onwards.

That said, I'm not too happy about the pacing in this chapter, with the switching between Weiss and the rest of the gang feeling a bit off. In any case, that's how it is now, I'll get better next time.

Tell me what you think, it's the only way I can improve!