Nora
KILLKILLKILLSLAUGHTERMAIMDEVOUR! Nora shoveled pancakes into her mouth with no time for air. Ren had made them special for her, as always. They'd discovered her affinity for marmalade pancakes a few years back when they became wards of the Vacuan government. Ren ended up cooking for all of the orphans. Until Nora showed off the first prototype of Magnhild to everyone and accidentally blew a hole into the back of the orphanage. She was kicked out for that and Ren left with her. They spent the next year refining their weapons.
NOTIMEFORTHINKINGMUSTEATMORE. WASTHATARASPBERRY? OH MY OUM ITWASDELICIOUS. REN IS SO AMAZING.
"We have until tomorrow to choose our mission." Jaune sat across the table from Nora. She slurped up another pancake.
"What are we gonna do, Jaune?" She asked.
"I don't know. Maybe something low-key? Sun and Neptune have already snagged junior detective duty down in the city, those lucky guys."
"What about their teammates?"
"I don't know. I guess they're sick or something."
"I have a suggestion." Ren said quietly. Jaune raised his eyebrows.
"What is it?"
"There's a village that wants a few trainees to clear out some Grimm. It's on the western edge of Vacuo." Ren explained. Nora set her fork down, and looked at her friend. He nodded at her. She nodded back.
"You cool with this, Nora?"
"Sounds like a great mission, Jaune! We get to kill some Grimm and get some sun!"
"Great! I gotta tell Pyrrha." Jaune opened his scroll and went to the phone app to call Pyrrha. "She isn't picking up."
"I believe she's in the training arena, practicing on some dummies." Ren said.
"Oh yeah, she mentioned that! I'd better grab Crocea Mors. I could use a little practice myself. Thanks for picking the mission, Ren!" Jaune got off the bench and ran out of the cafeteria.
"Is it the same village?" Nora asked quietly.
"They built on the ruins. I thought it might be good for us." Ren held her hand and squeezed it gently. She leaned into him.
"It's been three years. Do you think we can handle it?"
"We'll see tons of villages just like it when we're professionals. We might as well face our demons while we have the opportunity."
"You're right. Maybe we can say hello to everyone."
"There wasn't much left, Nora."
"I know. It's a nice thought to have, though."
"It is."
"Ren?"
"Hmm?"
"I'm glad you're here."
"As am I, Nora. As am I."
Jaune
He could hear the crashes far before he'd laid eyes on the training arena. Pyrrha must have been beating the tar out of those dummies. He opened the door and jumped back as a decapitated torso came flying at him.
"Watch out!" He yelled.
"Sorry!" Pyrrha yelled back. She smiled at him as he entered the arena, Crocea Mors already strapped to his arm. He shook his wrist and the shield expanded to its full form, the sword jettisoning out the backside into his other hand.
"Hey. Figured I'd train a little with you. Ren's got an idea for the mission."
"Oh, that's wonderful! What does he have in mind?" Pyrrha summoned a few more dummies with her Semblance.
"Basically a patrol around a small Vacuan village." Jaune misjudged a slash and stumbled, shouldering a dummy in the face. Pyrrha faltered as well.
"Where in Vacuo?"
"On the east side, I think?"
"Oh, that's good." Pyrrha visibly relaxed.
"No, my bad, it was the west side."
Pyrrha stiffened.
"What's wrong, Pyrrha?"
"Nothing. My leg is cramping up. I need to take a break." Pyrrha said. She limped over to the bleachers and took a seat. Jaune collapsed Crocea Mors, and sat beside Pyrrha.
"Nora turned serious when Ren mentioned Vacuo. Nora's never serious."
"I know."
"And you looked like you'd seen a ghost when I told you. What's the deal with Vacuo?"
"It's not my place to tell you. Just trust that if Ren and Nora both want to go, we should go."
"Oh. Is your leg actually cramping or was that just an excuse?" Jaune asked. Pyrrha glared at him.
"Just an excuse."
"Oh… While I'm so perceptive, I should make another wild guess. I was being a total ass at the dance, wasn't I?"
"The week before it too." Pyrrha said loftily. Jaune hung his head. He felt Pyrrha's hand on his back. "It's alright, you know. I just wish that…"
"Wish what?" Jaune looked back at Pyrrha. She was biting her lip, a clear sign that something was bothering her.
"I wish that you'd be just a little bit more perceptive, and get the hint."
"What hint?"
"Remember how I said I wished that I could be at the dance with a guy like you?"
"Yeah."
"Well, I don't want to be with a guy like you."
"Oh. Thanks for the vote of confidence, Pyrrha."
"No, not like that!'" Pyrrha sighed. "Screw it. I like you, Jaune. And I swear, if I have to explain exactly what I mean by that…" Pyrrha let the threat hang.
"As in like a friend, or a brother? Because I already have way too many sister-" Jaune was cut off when Pyrrha leaned in and kissed him.
"That's what I mean, Jaune."
"Oh."
Yang
It hurt like hell when the Nevermores smashed Yang into the ground. It hurt even more when Blake accidentally tripped over her and smashed her head back in the ground. Yang knew her Aura was almost fully depleted after the long day of fighting, and getting her ass whupped by that girl on the train, but she had to keep fighting. This was for real, and innocent people were depending on her. She stood up, feeling her bones shift back into place. Just enough Aura left for some healing, but Oum, was she ever gonna feel it in the morning.
"You okay?" She offered a hand to Blake. The woman took it and hoisted herself up. Her bow had fallen off at some point, and her ears were exposed for all to see. But Blake plainly didn't care. Yang felt a little unnerved by the ferocity of Blake's grin.
"Let's get them, Xiao Long." Blake charged at a pack of Beowulves and disappeared into the fray. Yang sighed and cocked Ember Celica. With a quick blast from each gauntlet, she'd launched herself into the air and was surveying the scene. Ruby and Weiss were fighting back to back against three Ursas, JNPR was destroying a Deathstalker (seriously, those guys have a penchant for wrecking those overgrown scorpions, Yang thought), and CFVY was ganging up on a pair of King Taijitu. Yang fired Ember Celica up in the air, and slightly backwards, to launch herself at the pack that Blake was dealing death to.
"Need some help, Kitty?" Yang asked.
"Not especially, but it's appreciated." Blake retorted. She stabbed a Beowulf in the eye with the blade of Gambol. A Beowulf chomped down on Yang's right arm. Unfortunately for the Grimm, Ember Celica was aimed right down its throat. Yang pressed the trigger with her middle finger, and the Beowulf exploded, raining black gunk over her.
"Hey, we match now!" Yang said to Blake. Her partner rolled her eyes, and emptied a clip into the bellies of Beowulves she'd knocked over. Yang spotted a Boarbatusk sneaking up behind Blake.
"Look out!" She yelled before she was flattened by a new pack of Beowulves.
"Yang!" Blake yelled and hacked at the mass of flesh, more and more blood and gore splattering onto Yang's hair.
"Look out!" She wheezed. She felt claws digging into her back, nicking her lungs. Blake punted a Beowulf, and Yang felt the claws tear open more of her back, cracking a rib. Blood poured out of her wounds.
"Yang! Oh my god!" The Boarbatusk began to spin, aiming at Blake. Yang gasped in fear. A sniper shot rang out, and the Boarbatusk's dead body crashed into Blake's legs.
"Thanks Ruby!" Blake yelled across the battlefield.
"You got it, Blake!" Ruby responded.
"Shit, Yang, don't you dare die on me." Blake ripped the bottom hem of her shirt off, exposing her midriff, and placed the makeshift bandage on Yang's back, tying it down with Gambol Shroud's ribbons.
"Here, I'm gonna give you some of my Aura." Blake pressed her hands against Yang's cheeks. "We gotta get you back to Beacon."
"No time." Yang gasped in pain as Blake hoisted her to her feet. The blood puddle she'd left behind was quite impressive.
"The hell there isn't. We'll take Oobleck's airship. It's the least that bastard can give us after Mountain Glenn." Blake muttered. Yang hacked out a wet laugh. "Yang, you are not fucking dying on me, you hear me?" Blake roared in Yang's ear.
"You swore for me, Blakey! That's kinda adorable." And then the world turned black for Yang.
Ruby
"She gonna be okay?" The girl asked. She held her sister's hand while she slept.
"She will be alright with proper rest, Ms. Rose. Something I advise you and your team to get. You did excellent work today and you saved lives. You can rest easy, knowing that as of now, you are heroes." Ozpin left Yang's infirmary room. Weiss and Blake slumped over the chairs, not caring how much dirt and blood they left on them. Weiss was positively filthy, by her standards, with her white petticoat not so white anymore. Blake was somehow spotless. Maybe she'd cleaned herself up really quickly, because Ruby seemed to remember seeing Yang's blood on her shirt. Yang. Ruby knew that her sister would be alright, but that knowledge didn't stop her from worrying. Yang was her big sister, her hero. Ruby wouldn't be able to cope if Yang died. She'd already lost too many loved ones. She felt a hand on her shoulder.
"We're gonna head back to the dorm to get some rest. You probably should too." Weiss said, and gently squeezed Ruby's shoulder. She and Blake left, shutting the door behind them. Ruby didn't budge. She just kept looking at Yang's face, normally so alive, but now just still. Peaceful was not a good look on her. Ruby laid her head down next to Yang's hand, and before she knew it, she was asleep. When she woke up, she felt someone brushing her hair.
"Who's that?" She asked.
"It's me." Weiss said, tugging on a knot.
"Ow!"
"Sorry!"
Ruby sat up, the brush caught in her hair and banging her scalp. Weiss tried to free it.
"Your hair is too tangled!" Weiss grumbled.
"What time is it?"
"07:00." Weiss answered promptly.
"Uhhh?"
"Seven in the morning." Weiss simplified her answer.
"Wow, I was asleep for a while."
"Pff, Blake's still asleep as far as I know. Then again, she was up for much longer than I was, worrying about Yang. She woke up a couple of hours ago, you know."
"What?!" Ruby almost yelled. Weiss made shushing noises.
"She's fine! Her Aura just needed to recharge. I told her not to wake you up."
"Oh. Then why is she asleep now?"
"Her Aura's only at about fifty percent." Weiss looked over Ruby's shoulder at something. Ruby turned around to see Yang's vital signs. At the top of the screen, she saw a bar representing Yang's Aura.
"Oh. She must have been really hurt to need this long to heal. She's really fast."
"She had no Aura left to defend herself with. Those claws were not hindered in any way."
"She had no Aura, yet she continued to fight?"
"Someone she cared about was in danger."
"What, Blake? Oh, you're not starting this up again, Weiss. I'm telling you, Blake doesn't like Yang back." Ruby groaned, but smiled a little.
"What do you mean, 'back'?" Blake said from the doorway. Ruby and Weiss panicked.
"Uhhh, you weren't supposed to hear that." Weiss stammered.
Scarlet
Scarlet couldn't concentrate over the sounds of Sage's groans. The fever that had incapacitated them both had just run its course through Scarlet's system and he wanted to catch up on homework. It was bad enough that they'd been absent from an invasion of the city, but they'd also missed a dance where, reportedly, same-sex couples were welcomed. It could've been their chance to tell the world outside of Sun and Neptune about them.
"Dude, could you get me some water?" Sage asked. Scarlet snapped a pencil in frustration, but gave in. He leaned over to the team mini-fridge and pulled out a frigid bottle of water. He tossed it at Sage without looking, and turned back to his work. Unfortunately, he'd broken his last writing instrument. Remnants of shattered pencils littered the desktop.
"I can't open it." Sage said weakly. Scarlet turned around. His boyfriend was sweating profusely under his five blankets. Scarlet put his hand on Sage's forehead.
"Yeah, you're burning up." Scarlet twisted the lid on the water bottle and handed it back to Sage. He then went over to Sun and Neptune's beds to strip them of their blankets. Sage needed them more, he reasoned. He gently layered them on top of Sage, one at a time. The green-haired man was sipping at his water very slowly.
"You're gonna need to drink more, you know."
"Yeah. Thanks, Scar." Sage held Scarlet's hand to his chest. Scarlet felt Sage's sweat coating his skin, and fought the desire to shudder and recoil. "Did anyone get hurt bad yesterday?"
"Last I heard, the worst out of all of them was Yang Xiao Long. Her back was ripped up, and she lost a lot of blood. Everybody else has bruises and exhaustion, but that's it."
"Xiao Long? As in Taiyang Xiao Long? Shit, I didn't know he had kids, let alone that they went to Beacon. This school rocks now." Sage covered his mouth as a coughing fit took hold of his body.
"Just rest up, love." Scarlet pressed a kiss to Sage's forehead and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Sometimes he regretted having an outfit that lacked sleeves. Perhaps he'd have to assemble an alternate outfit.
AN
Holy shit, I think I outdid myself with this chapter. I didn't intend for it to become so inundated with shipping, but these things happen, you know. So Renora/Pink Lotus or whatever you wanna call it, will definitely become a thing in the next few chapters. Arkos, on the other hand, not so much. You know how in Volume 3, Episode 2 "New Challengers" that when JNPR was talking about the team formations Pyrrha said something like "What are we?" "Pyrrha!" "Sorry! I just want it to be clearly defined!". Or something like that. To me that sounds like she's pissed that she and Jaune had a moment at the dance, and he hadn't done anything about it. I feel like that's actually canon. Bumblebee may also take some time to form, depends on how I write the next few chapters. Sage/Scarlet is totally a headcanon because we haven't seen them interact, like, ever. Sadface. Just for shits and giggles, I wanna talk ahead of time about the sexualities of RWBY. This is also totally my headcanon, but I believe it to be true in canon as well. Ruby is asexual, or at the very least, questioning. She rarely ever mentions attraction or relationships of any sort, mostly because she's too busy killing Grimm or fawning over Crescent Rose. She has shown some slight affection for Weiss, which I freaking love as a White Rose shipper, but it could totally be platonic. Weiss is bisexual, or perhaps she's gay and she's just covering. I dunno. I feel like there is some chemistry between her and Neptune, but she sees him mostly as a friend, or a peer. Someone to admire, but I don't think there's actually any attraction. Blake is definitely bisexual. I'm not sure if she said that she and Adam had been in a relationship, but I just know that they were and that he was abusive. It would fit with so many things in her behaviour. She's definitely attracted to Sun, as evidenced by her cute as fuck blushing when he did his little victory dance after Neptune totally murdered Team NDGO. I feel as if she's got a tiny little crush on Yang as well. Yang is pansexual, and gives no fucks. She was toooootally flirting with Blake in Volume 2, and maybe a little in Volume 1. She was also flirting just a tiny bit with Neptune, and I know I may get flak for this, but maybe Melanie and Miltia as well? This is all just headcanon anyways.
I wrote Nora's thinking process as chaotic and jumbled because thoughts are always so much faster than spoken words, and we've seen how fast she speaks. I chose to make Nora and Ren's hometown in Vacuo, because in my mind, it's a desert wasteland with mountains and forest here and there. Their hometown was on the fringes of a forest, and it was destroyed by Grimm when they were fourteen. We know that they're orphans because of Nora's rant in the Volume 3 opener (which broke my goddamn heart).
I totally outdid myself with this AN too. Welp. I may have just doubled the word count for this chapter. Sorry. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!