UPDATE 04/26/2018: Next chapter is complete. It's going up in two days, Saturday 04/28/2018.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own RWBY. Rooster Teeth does.


Chapter 6: Shall We Not Revenge

"If you prick us do we not bleed?
If you tickle us do we not laugh?
If you poison us do we not die?
And if you wrong us shall we not revenge?"
-William Shakespeare

Yang sat, eyes closed, as the shuttle carried her to the arena. She was preparing herself, organizing her thoughts, preparing to do what needed to be done. She felt a hand encircle around her own. Opening her eyes, Yang glanced to her left. Her partner, Blake, was staring at her in concern.

"We don't have to do this."

Yang grimaced. "No. We do." Her voice was calm yet it stung like ice, and the menace that ran through it sent shivers down the faunus' spine. All Blake could do was nod.

Yang began to shift her gaze around the rest of the crowded shuttle. Most of it was filled with regular students and civilians. Ordinary people living ordinary lives. She envied them, in a way. To them, this was a day to celebrate, to partake in friendly competition. They took for granted the world that now threatened not only Yang, but her family. Her eyes turned red like fire, and she smiled with rage.

The world was trying to break her. To bend her down and make her call defeat, and it almost succeeded. The day before had been one of the hardest she had in a long time. But Blake had pulled her from the depths of misery. She had relit the fire. It was small still, and she had plenty of darkness within still fighting for control, but now the dragon was back, and rage burned away the despair in her heart. She wasn't going to let the world take what little family she had left.

"Yang," Blake whispered harshly. The blonde returned to her senses and looked down. Her hand was grasped tightly around Blake's, a little too tightly in fact. She let go, her eyes turning lilac once again.

The faunus smiled as she rubbed her now aching hand. Overnight, the blonde had turned her sadness into anger. It wasn't the best way of dealing with the situation, but Blake preferred it far better to the empty shell from the previous night.

The blonde smirked, rubbing the back of her head. "Sorry 'bout that kitty cat. I just got a little lost in thought." Her smile disappeared as quickly as it had come. "We have to win this Blake. For her."

Yang didn't need to say that she meant Ruby. It was obvious. Her partner nodded her head. "We will, Yang. We will."

They sat there in silence. It wasn't long until the they heard the clunk of the docking mechanisms.

Blake stood up and began to head towards the exit when she noticed Yang hadn't followed. Turning around, she found the blonde still sitting, staring at the floor. "Yang."

"I'm coming. I just…" Her voice was weak, and when Blake met her gaze, she was shocked by the pain. It wavered for the briefest seconds. The brawler closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, allowing the cleansing breath to clear her mind. In…and out. She stood. "Let's win." With a nod from Blake, the two set out for the armory to prepare.

They walked down the curved, white halls that made up the interior of the Amity Colosseum. They passed several students, but none paid them any attention, not like last night. They were equals here. There would be no pity from them.

"I bet it was one of those Faunus pests from Vacuo."

Blake stopped dead in her tracks as her ears flicked beneath her bow. Faunus pests? Those words alone were enough to send the outwardly calm girl's blood boiling. Her eyes flicked around to the other students in sight before falling on a tall boy in sterling silver combat gear. Six-two, military cropped platinum hair, and a large scar going across one eye and down his left cheek. All of this, combined with the look of arrogance and self importance, marked the kid as Atlesian. But there was something wrong. Her eyes narrowed. She swore she had seen his face before, yet she didn't know where.

"Why would they go through the trouble of opening your locker just to not take anything?" The boys friend, wearing lighter, less flashy armor and a mask covering the bottom half of his face, spoke softly. By his tone, it was obvious he was the more reasonable of the two.

"Blake?" The faunus ignored her partner's question.

The older boy scoffed. "I don't know. I told you, it was probably some Faunus scum who was too scared to actually finish what they started."

Blake took a step forward, hands curled into fists. She felt someone grab her shoulder, and her vision snapped to Yang. The blonde gave her a pointed look, mouthing "ignore them." Blake nodded. Her partner was right, she needed to focus. She could deal with these ignorant fools later. With one final glance, she moved forward, determined to take the high road. Of course, taking the high road didn't stop Yang from "accidentally" bumping into him as they past.

The boy stumbled before yelling to the back of Yang's head. "Watch it blondy." Ignoring the remark, the pair continued down the path towards the goal.

As the boys disappeared around the bend of the hallway, Blake came to halt. "Yang…" she said softly grabbing the blonde's arm. "Thank you. It's hard… when I hear things like that."

Yang smiled. "If anyone knows what getting mad feels like, it's me. Those guys are just idiots. Now come on."

Yang was right. She needed to focus on the here and now, but there was something still bothering her. That boy, the one with the platinum hair, Blake had seen his face before, and for some reason, the sight of it sent cold shivers of dread down her spine.

"Yang," Blake began, unsure of her words."That boy…I…" No. That boy didn't matter. What mattered was Ruby and Weiss. What mattered was winning this for them, for their team.

"We should steer clear of him. Okay."

Yang looked at her oddly. "Um, sure. Now let's go." And once again they were off. But as they walked, Blake couldn't shake the feeling of dread gripping her heart.

Eventually, they reached the armory. It was a rather spacious room, lined with the lockers of anyone still competing. Making their way towards their designated section, Blake couldn't help but notice they were some of the few students left in there.

"We better hurry." she said to Yang. Her nerves were on edge, as they always were before a fight. She crossed to the metal container and began putting in the code to open it. As soon she did, she grabbed the ever familiar handle of Gambol Shroud. The metal was cold. It helped steady Blake's beating heart and narrow her senses.

"Hey Blake."

The faunus spun around, Gambol Shroud switching immediately to pistol mode.

The large man before her through his hands into the air. "Don't shoot, please don't shoot." Five foot nine, beat up grey armor, a symbol of an anvil on his shoulder. She sighed, lowering her weapon as Yang broke out laughing beside her.

Putting his hands down, the boy rubbed his arm nervously. "What do you want?" Blake snapped rather harshly. To be fair, she was preparing to go into battle. In fact, they all were preparing for battle. But by the way the boy was acting, he didn't get the memo.

"I just wanted to apologize…again…for yesterday."

Yesterday? What had he done yesterday that… then it clicked. "You're the kid that bumped into me."

He chuckled nervously as Blake turned back to her locker to retrieve the rest of her gear. "Yeah. That was me." Silence. For a second, the faunus thought he had left, but when Blake turned back around, he was still standing there.

"Can I help you?"

He stumbled on his words once again before taking a deep breath. "Look, I know our teams aren't terribly close, not like you and JNPR, but I wanna let you know, my teammates and I, we're here for you. When that…thing attacked you guys, it didn't just mess with Team RWBY. It messed with all of Beacon. And Team OPAL," he said with a casual smile and growing confidence, "we look out for our own." Blake was surprised. The clumsy, awkward look he had when he first arrived had disappeared, replaced by determination and loyalty. He was serious, and that alone meant more to Blake than the boy could ever know.

"Logan." A voice called from the entrance.

The boy, or Logan, as Blake just learned, shouted a quick "coming," before turning back to the pair. "That's Olive, my team leader. Best of luck out there. Show 'em what Beacon's made of." And with that, he was gone.

That was… not what Blake was expecting.

"OPAL." Yang said as she finished putting on her gauntlets. "Don't you know the faunus on their team?"

Blake nodded. "Yeah, Alizarin." She sheathed Gambol Shroud and placed it on her back. The feeling of dread hadn't disappeared, but it wasn't nearly as strong. "They're good people, all of them."

"Kinda weird though."

Blake laughed. "You're one to talk." Normalcy had been restored. A tension both Blake and Yang had been holding within had began to disappear. They were ready at last.

"He was right about one thing though."

Closing her locker, Blake turned to her partner. "And what's that?"

Yang smiled. "We're gonna teach them just what happens when you decide to mess with Beacon Academy."


Professor Ozpin stood at the edge of the waiting room, watching roughly thirty students mill about. Some sat quietly, eyes closed as they readied themselves in silence. Others talked with their neighbours, seeking a distraction from the inevitable nervousness building within them. No matter how they did it, all prepared for the coming battles in their own, unique ways. Normally, he'd watch the tournament from the comfort of his office, but today was an exception. He was there to personally see the remainder of Team RWBY off. That, and he wanted to keep a close eye on a certain team from Haven. After discovering the virus, the professor had it in his complete power to rerandomize the tournament. However, after much deliberation, he decided not to tip his hand just yet.

His eyes fell on Emerald, one of Cinder Fall's lackies. He smiled. Making students sweat was one of the best parts of the job, and this was no exception. The dark skinned girl kept glancing at him, a little too nervous by his presence. The door swung open, attracting both Ozpin's and Emerald's attention. Team RWBY had just arrived.

The entire room went silent, and both Emerald and her partner Mercury looked like they were about to have heart attacks. Of course, while he didn't want to tip his hand to the enemy just yet, that didn't mean he wasn't going to leave them a few surprises.

"Yang!" A voice screamed from the middle of the room. Students of all kinds were either pushed aside or run down as Nora Valkyrie charged towards the blonde. The red haired force of nature tackled the brawler in a bear hug, and Ozpin couldn't help but chuckle as he began his approach.

Yang pushed Nora off of her and stood up. The red head was bouncing up and down, bursting with excitement.

"Yang, Blake, I'm glad you could make it after all." Pyrrha said as she approached.

Blake look confused. "What do you mean after all?"

"Well…" the invincible girl stumbled on her words.

"We'd been told that you guys weren't competing." Nora finished.

Yang frowned. "By who?"

"By me, I'm afraid." Four pairs of eyes turned towards the newcomer. Blake was the first to speak.

"Professor Ozpin. What are you doing here?"

The older man smiled. "I thought I'd come see you off. Besides, I hear the games are all the more stunning in person, and thought I would come see it for myself."

"What's this about us not competing." Yang said, somewhat accusingly. It had been Ozpin that they'd gone to in the morning to confirm they were still going to participate. If they weren't on the roster, then…

"Not to worry, Ms. Xiao Long. Yesterday, I simply took the precaution of alerting all teams of your withdrawal so they may prepare themselves, in case that was the path you wished to take. I can assure you, as soon as you saw me this morning, I put your name back on the roster." Of course, his goal in doing this wasn't simply to inform the students. The sudden reentry of team RWBY was meant to cause panic for the enemy, and so far, he thought it had done a pretty good job.

At Ozpin's words, Yang relaxed.

"Now, I wish you the best of luck, Team RWBY. You have come far already, overcoming the trials of yesterday, but you mustn't stop their. You have a chance to win this, to prove to Remnant the strength of your will, but even if you fail, you tried, and that is what's important. Remember that, and learn from the defeat. If you do this, then nothing, neither Grimm nor Man, will have the power to break you." After two semesters with Ozpin, both girl's had gotten used to his speeches. It was normal, and normal was exactly what the they needed. Pity, compassion, and sympathy all had their places, but what the remainder of Team RWBY needed was drive.

"We're not gonna fail professor, I can promise you that." Yang said, and Ozpin couldn't help but smile. What he saw in her eyes pleased him. The dragon was back, and it was hungry for revenge.

"Well, I best be going." And with that, he was off.

Blake watched him as he left. "I get the strangest feeling sometimes…"

"Almost like he knows something he's not telling us?" Pyrrha said with a smile.

Blake laughed. "Yeah, something like that."

"Welcome, everyone, to the 2v2 rounds of the 40th Vytal Festival Tournament." The whole waiting room went silent as they heard Professor Port's voice over the loudspeaker.

"Shall we begin the randomization process." Oobleck continued. Thirty-two pairs of eyes found their way to the various monitors placed on the walls of the waiting room as images blurred like a slot machine. No one knew who would be chosen, not even Emerald and Mercury, much to their chagrin. The first two portraits stopped.

"Team RWBY of Beacon verses…" In that moment, the briefest of seconds between their image and the next, Blake's heart filled once again with dread. Then the final two images stopped. "Team GLCR of Atlas." And there upon the board were the two boys they encountered in the hallway, only now, she recognized the face of the silver haired one, and just the thought of it made her blood curdle in rage.

His name was Grayson Eis.


Blake sped down the hallway to their start point, her mind racing a mile a minute. Why? Why here, why now? What was with her past and its refusal to stay where it belonged.

"Blake." Yang yelled, calling after her partner. Though the faunus was walking, Yang practically had to jog to keep up. "Blake," She reached out and grabbed her partners arm.

Blake spun around and attempted to wrench her limb free. It didn't work.

"Look at me"

Blake struggled. "Let me go."

"I said look at me." Blake finally stopped and stared her partner in the eyes "What was that, huh? They decided the match up and you just charged out. No explanation, no nothing." There was a pause. "You recognized him, didn't you?"

Blake scoffed. They didn't have time for this. "Yes, you could say that-"

"Enough of that… Your the one who wanted me to compete today, right? Well, if we're going to win this thing for Ruby, then we have to do it together. I can't have you going in for revenge alone, I need to know you have my back." Blake frowned and took a deep breath. "You good now?"

"No." She said truthfully. "But I'm better."

"At least that's something." Yang settled. "Now what was with your reaction? I haven't seen you this way since Torchwick, and I don't like it. You look like your going out there to kill someone."

Well, that was probably because she was. "Look, this is between me and him. I'm not dragging you into this."

The blonde laughed. "Dragging me into this. Your kidding, right? We're a team. More than that, we're partners. I've already been dragged in." Blake looked away. She placed her hands on Blake's shoulders. "That's not what's important. We're not in this for us, remember. That was the deal. I'm not fighting for me, and you're not fighting for you. We're doing it for Ruby."

An image flashed through Blakes mind, a memory not of Ruby, but of Weiss. It was at the docks, when confronted Torchwick. It was there that Weiss cemented their friendship with three simple words. "I don't care." In her time with Adam in the White Fang, Blake had helped wage a war, and no small part of that battle was against the Schnee Dust Company. To this, to her entire past, Weiss had said those words. "I don't care." The heiress had pushed aside the many dark things the White Fang had done to her family, and there were many.

Now faced with Grayson, faced with her own past, after all these years…could she do the same?

Yang's voice pierced the thick fog her thoughts had created. "You don't have to tell me what happened. I don't care. Just remember what you promised. Please. I...I can't do this alone."

I don't care. There they were again, those three words that meant so much. "Yang, I…" Blake's face grew resolute. "Don't worry. I'll do this…" She paused and took a deep breath, finally gaining control of the anger that had consumed her. "We'll do this, for Ruby." She patted Yang on the shoulder. "Now come on. I think we've kept them waiting long enough." After a brief embrace, Yang was always a hugger, they made their way quickly to their goal.

Once they reached it, a simple Metal door on the wall at the end of the passage, they noticed one something peculiar. Silence. No roar of the crowd, no annoying announcer, nothing.

"Well," Yang said matter-of-factly. "No turning back now." They shared a brief nod, before opening the door and walking through.

At first, it was silent. That quickly changed when the entire stadium exploded into sound.

"And there they are." Screamed Port over the loudspeaker. The crowd grew louder

"A team that had every right to call it quits." Oobleck continued. "Just yesterday, they were attacked and brutally defeated by an unknown assailant. There leader was gravely injured, and her partner, the supposed target of the attack, is now stuck on an Atlesian Flagship with her. These girls had every right to throw in the towel, to retreat and nurse their wounds, yet here they are, the remaining two members of Beacon's very own Team RWBY." If possible, the cheers grew even more. "The very fact they came here today to continue the fight for their fallen comrades is a true testament to their strength and their team's loyalty to each other. Wouldn't you agree Peter."

"That I would Barty. No doubt in my mind, these girls have the blood of true huntresses running through them."

They both smiled. They had not been expecting this and the audiences support only proved to them that they were on the right path. As they reached the center of the arena, they heard a loud scoff from one of their opponents. No surprise to Blake, it was Grayson Eis. "I hardly see what the big deal is."

The pair of boy's outfits hadn't changed much since the hall. Grayson's teammate still wore the light combat armor, a hood, and a mask, except now, in either hand he held a katar, or punching dagger. They looked simple enough, not having any blatant dust cartridges, but these guys were from Atlas. No doubt the two weapons had some sort of alternate functionality.

Grayson, still wearing the heavy duty atlas combat armor with the addition of two large gauntlets, now held what could only be described as an oversized artillery cannon. Compared to the simplicity of punching daggers, it was an intimidating weapon, to say the least. The visible, circular barrel was short and wide, placed on the very end of the large rectangular rifle. The main body of the gun, about ten inches tall and five inches wide, extended backward four feet before the clip of the rifle, oversized and boxy, was attached underneath. Behind that, Blake could see a three jointed, metal support arm, extending from the bottom of the gun to the side of a large metal backpack the boy wore. Another foot past where the arm was mounted, the gun ended in the grip and trigger, held tightly by Grayson's right hand, while his left found itself on the bolt handle situated on the side near the magazine.

Once again, Blake's rage flared. When Blake got angry, it wasn't a blazing fire like Yang, or the snap of a whip like Weiss. No, Blake's anger was cold and slow. It froze everything it touched, until nothing was left but ice. This time, however, Blake held it back. "Grayson's mine." She said under her voice.

Yang stared at her quizzically before taking another look at the gun in his hand. "You sure?" She asked tentatively. When no response came, she simple shrugged. "Okay. I trust you. "I'll handle short stuff over there."

Either side prepared silently as the system selected the biomes to use. One by one, they rose as Port began the countdown. Lava and Mountain. "3" Desert and Savanna. "2" Blake smiled. "1" She was going to enjoy this. "FIGHT!"

Blake was the first to act, dashing directly for her target. She ignored Yang's call to wait, focusing solely on the gunner before her.

Grayson let out a psychotic laugh. "Wrong move idiot." For a second nothing happened. Blake grinned. Then… BOOM…BOOM… BOOM…BOOM… The gun wasn't fast, however with each shot, the ground shook.

Using her semblance, Blake easily dodged the first few rounds. The fourth hit her shoulder, and though her aura should have been able to shrug it off, she was sent tumbling. She quickly landed on her feet.

Blake charging the enemy was the last thing Yang had expected. She had just enough time to see her partner get sent to the ground before she had her own problems to deal with. Grayson's buddy charged her. Yang smiled. Hand-to-hand combat. That's something she could deal with.

Blake switched Gambol shroud to pistol mode and fire several shot at Grayson. He took them easily, his heavy combat armor absorbing the brunt of the damage. As the gunner took aim, Blake shot off to her left, straight into the grass of the savannah biome. "Ha." He laughed. "Your seriously that scared that you gonna hide?"

She crouched down. That gun was gonna be a problem, she knew. She needed an advantage, and fast.

Yang dodged her enemies first two jabs at her head. The attack left him wide open. She sent a right jab of her own, right at his face, but instead of an impact, her fist sailed right through. Her eyes widened and her instincts kicked in. She ducked, backing away just in time for a blade to swing right over her head. The enemy responded with another thrust towards her head. This time, when she blocked with one hand and jabbed with the other, the hit connected. The enemy stumbled back before throwing himself once again into an attack.

Blake ran through the grass towards the mountain biome. Bullets sailed around her as Grayson fired wherever he saw the long stalks move. Breaking out of the biome she took a hard right, once again charging headlong at the gunner. As she did so, she fired bullet after bullet from Gambol Shroud. As before, the volley left Grayson unfazed, and Blake was left open to another hail of the high caliber rounds that once again sent her flying. She was sent rocketing back towards the mountain biome. As she regained her composure, she quickly took shelter behind a rock.

Right before her opponent reacher her, Yang's head was hit by a sharp pain. It faded a brief second later. She quickly side stepped her opponents lunging attack, moving behind him. The boy turned around, arms prepared to strike. He moved, charging. Once again, Yang went to strike the boy, his attack lacking any defense whatsoever. And again, Yang stood there shocked, as her hand merely passing through thin air as her opponent's body faded away. This time, she wasn't fast enough to dodge the blade as it collided with her shoulder. She backed away slightly before taking a roundhouse kick to her head. Regaining her composure, she spun around and brought her hands up to block the next two thrusts.

Chunks of rock flew all around her as Grayson was tearing her cover apart with the fire from his gun. She glanced over at Yang, now fighting in the lava biome. She needed to focus. The volley suddenly stopped. Instinct told Blake now, and she listened. She rounded the side of her cover just in time to see Grayson pull back the bolt handle on his gun. The large box clip fell to the ground with a dull thud. As her target reached behind to grab another one from the dispenser on his back, Blake charged. He was just placing it in the rifle when the faunus slashed with both of her blades. He ducked under the first, the second hitting him in the side of his shoulder. With a yank of his right arm, he swung the gun towards Blake, the action amplified by the mechanical support attached to the backpack. Blake leaped back as the gun passed harmlessly through a shadow clone. Grayson slid forward the hammer bolt. The gun let out a low hum, as it charged, and he took aim once again.

It must of been his semblance. Every so often, the guy would jump back. Yang would get hit by the sharp pain, and next time she went to strike, he'd simply vanish, reappearing a foot away just in time to exploit her drop in defense. Suffice to say, it was getting annoying. "Will you just hold still," she screamed, her eyes turning blood red as the sharp pain hit her again. He stood unmoving as she charged, fist aimed at his face. Before she hit he drove his blade forward. She had plenty to space to block and still hit him, bringing up her left hand to- she stumbled, her aura absorbing the damage. She stared at him, stunned. With the range of his blades, he shouldn't have been able to strike her, and yet here he was, smirking under his mask, like he knew something she didn't. Which, in this case, was kind of accurate.

"And here we see Lupin Oleander making great use of his semblance."

A look of panic crosses "Lupin's" eyes.

"Right you are Port. And what a fascinating semblance it is. Displacement allows Lupin to appear as if he was standing several feet away from his actual location, giving him the advantage in most hand-to-hand encounters."

Yang smiled. It never reached her eyes.

Blake ran, circling around Grayson as he chased her path with a stream of bullets. She ducked and rolled, the stream passing over her head as she came up in a crouch and threw Gambol Shroud at the leg of her target. The gun wrapped itself around the appendage. Blake pulled the ribbon, firing off a shot and causing Gambol Shroud to fly back to her hand as her target fell to the ground.

"Lupin. Cover." Grayson screamed.

Lupin responded quickly, ducking under Yang's left hook and running straight for his teammate. With a click of a button, Blake watched his katars split down the center and open to either side, revealing short barrels attached to the middle of either handle. She stopped her headlong pursuit, and ran for cover just in time to hear the familiar chatter of machine guns.

"No you don't." Yang yelled, as she overcame the another sharp pain in her head. She fire a rapid from both her gauntlets. The first couple passed through the mirage easily, the third hitting Lupin in the back. The blast sent him flying.

"Enough of this" Grayson shouted, standing once more. He aimed the gun at Yang. The blonde was completely in the open, no hope to dodge. He pulled the trigger. Nothing. "What the he-" He was cut off by a sudden, all consuming flash of white light from his gun. The entire stadium, blinded, was left in silence. A moment passed, then… BOOM! The blast echoed all around them, sending all four students flying. The sound of a buzzer went off. Everyone, even the announcers, were too shocked to say anything. Grayson himself was sent flying, but where he had once stood, there was nothing but a large crater. Yang checked the score board. Grayson was out.

Lupin stood and brushed himself off. "That's not supposed to happen." he said matter-of-factly, ducking just in time to dodge Gambol Shroud flying over his head. With either katar, he shot a volley of bullets at both his enemies as he ran for the Savannah biome.

Blake felt the pain in her head. She took aim at Lupin and fired. The bullets passed through, causing Lupin's real form to appear a foot to the left. Yang took aim and fire shot after shot. The air exploded all around their target. A buzzer. Silence filled the stadium. Had they done it? Had they really won?

"Team RWBY wins the match."

The entire colosseum exploded into cheers. Blake grimaced. It wasn't over yet. As the audience continued to celebrate, the fuanus walked over to the unmoving body Grayson Eis and stood above him. He stared up at her in fear, barely conscious. She leaned down as if to check if he was alright, instead bringing his head close and whispering into his ear a name. "Fawn Kelly."

Having been badly injured by his own weapons malfunction, all Grayson could do was gasp and mumble. "No…no…no." She let his head drop and back away to allow the medics to get him.

"Fawn Kelly?" Yang asked as they headed towards the edge of the arena.

"About three years ago, I was working with the new White Fang in Atlas, waging a small guerilla war against the SDC. At the time, I was a messenger. Important documents, dust, weapons, people. I delivered it all." They passed into the hall and began to head back to the waiting area. Blake frowned at the memory. "I was fourteen at the time. An order went out to all members of the White Fang. If ever we were to find the son of a massive arms manufacturer vulnerable, we were to take the chance and end his life. That target was Grayson, and while delivering some intelligence, I stumbled across him in an alleyway. He was there, alone, waiting. I saw him, I almost shot him, but I couldn't. Then out of a nearby building, there came a deer faunus, Fawn Kelly. She…" Blake stopped walking, consumed by her memory. "She met up with Grayson and left. I thought it would end there, but…"

"You don't have to tell me this, Blake." Yang tried to say.

"I do. In the morning, they found Fawn Kelly dead in the same alley way. It was my fault she died. It was also that day that I swore if I had to kill to protect the faunus, I would. Those two decisions, to let him live and to allow myself to kill, they are my biggest regrets Yang."

Blake felt a hand on her shoulder. "If you had killed him, then nothing would have changed. If anything, it would probably have made things worse for faunus in Atlas. You have to remember that." Yang smiled, and Blake couldn't help but do the same. "We won Blake. We actually won."

They hugged. "It's not gonna stop there." Yang spoke to the ceiling, "I promise you that sis, we gonna win this for you."


Ironwood walked down the halls of the Amity Colosseum, having just finished all the matches for the day. They'd been interesting, to say the least, but none stuck in his mind like the very first. Team RWBY vs Team GLCR. The fact that Grayson's gun exploded like that, it couldn't be an accident. The construction, the safety mechanisms… The only explanation was sabatoge.

Then there was team RWBY. The entire team, not just the two who'd competed today, held such strength, it honestly amazed him. If all huntsman and huntresses had there bond with each other, their love, their integrity…but no.

In the 80 years since the great war, the world had grown far darker than many realized. Ironwood's nightmares proved that much. He stopped, taking a look at the time, and sighed. He needed to go see Ozpin, even if he didn't want too. As he came out onto the landing platform in front of his personal ship, he took a look towards the Kalypso in the distance. The vessel was sign to him of Atlas's strength and innovation. But they needed to keep advancing, keep creating new, stronger weapons. For if the darkness that was coming was anything like his nightmares, then they were going need every bit of strength they could muster.

But even then, the old general could only pray it would be enough.


A/N: Boom. Two weeks. I am very proud of myself. Enjoy. Please review, it really helps me want to continue writing. Hopefully the next chapter will be out in two weeks as well, and we can finally get back to Ruby and Weiss.

Also, just to clear things up, this takes place before Pyrrha is talk to by Ozpin.