A noodle bar on the Vytal Festival grounds hummed with excitement. The place was a bar after all, with all the food, music, and drink that people could want. And with the next round of the tournament singles on that night, the place was packed with people who wanted to see which of the next generation of huntsmen would reign supreme.
No one cared about the Beacon girl who barely made it out of the last fight.
No one except for a lithe girl with a black bow sitting in a shadowy booth in the corner, a large bowl of fish and a glass of milk in front of her.
Blake Belladonna was confused and angry. The last time that had been her emotional state, she had bailed on her team and run off to fight terrorists.
She shoved a piece of tuna in her mouth and chewed furiously.
Weiss came up next to her. The heiress raised an eyebrow at the dish. "If that's not a cry for help, I don't know what is."
Blake swallowed and looked up at her teammate, clearly unamused.
Nevertheless, Weiss had promised her partner she'd help. "Mind if I join you?"
Blake gestured to the seat across from her. Weiss sat down. The heiress observed her friend with a sad smile.
Huh. If people knew that Weiss Schnee called a faunus one of her closest friends, they'd probably claim it was a sign of the apocalypse. Even more if they knew said faunus was a former member of the White Fang. Especially one trained by him.
Weiss had never left Atlas before coming to Beacon, but even she knew of Adam Taurus. Of all the new leaders that emerged within the organization after Sienna Khan took over, the Blood-Soaked Bull was perhaps the most infamous. When news reports started fretting about anti-faunus restaurants going up in flames, he was the one waving their new crimson colored flag for the cameras. He'd been young then, no one thought he was anything but a recruiting tool, 'look at the strapping young bull faunus standing up for his people' and all that. She had caught her father watching footage of him once, mumbling that this animal wouldn't be a problem.
But then he got older. The strapping boy waving a flag disappeared. He started leading raids on dust mines, blowing them to smithereens. He kidnapped SDC board members and sent her father videos of their peril, ordering him to make compensations to faunus workers if he wanted them returned safely.
Her father never gave in. And the executives never came back. After a while, the ransom demands stopped coming.
But people didn't stop disappearing.
One day, Winter told her that they would be safe. She said that Atlas Intelligence had tracked Adam to Vale. They would never see the monster again.
Of course, then she'd gotten said monster's apprentice as a teammate. Life was strange that way.
Briefly, she wondered if Blake had been involved in any of those kidnappings. Then she dismissed it as absurd. Blake cut ties with the White Fang over their increasingly violent methods. If she had known about those kinds of executions, she never would have stayed.
No, Blake needed her help, and she was going to get it whether she liked it or not.
"Yang's going to be fine you know. Both physically and morally." Weiss assured her.
Blake raised an eyebrow. "Morally?"
"What?" the Schnee squealed indignantly. "My grammar was flawless! That is the appropriate description of what your worried about!"
Blake giggled at Weiss' brattishness. The heiress smiled. Exactly as planned.
"I know in my heart that Yang's not Adam" Blake declared, a bit happier. "This was all just, a bit too familiar for my tastes. I overreacted."
"Your partner is in a coma, Blake. There's no such thing as overreaction."
"I guess." She took a drink from her milk. "I just… Remember back at Mountain Glenn? What I told you guys around the fire?"
"You were worried that you'd fail at being a huntress" Weiss recalled. "That you'd run away when things got hard."
Blake nodded. "When what happened with Yang… happened, I didn't know what to think. Everything lined up so clearly in my head with Adam but, she was hurt. She was helpless. I wanted to run before everything came crumbling down, but I couldn't just leave her. So, I got angry. At Yang, at Kirei…"
"At yourself?"
Blake's head fell into her hands. "I was so ashamed that I had thought Yang was like Adam that I made Kirei into some diabolical mastermind."
"Yeah" Weiss responded. "I can't see him with as a sinister puppet master. Maybe a corporate enforcer, but definitely not a mastermind. He likes getting physical too much."
Both girls laughed, the solemn air finally broken. Blake looked at Weiss gratefully.
The heiress smiled at her teammate. "Yang is going to be fine, Blake. It was an accident. We just have to wait until the General finds Kirei, gets the full story, and then we can put this all behind us."
Suddenly, the entire bar gasped. Weiss and Blake looked around as everyone stared at the televisions. The talking had stopped.
The two girls saw what was on the screens. Ruby's friend Penny, torn to pieces. Pieces of Metal?
A moment later the screen flashed red and the image of a black queen chess piece appeared.
As Cinder's voice echoed throughout the fairgrounds, both members of Team RWBY realized that everything was far from over.
It had yet to even begin.
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Kirei dragged Ruby's unconscious form into the stands. Cinder was prattling on about huntsmen being untrustworthy but that didn't really concern him. The crowd's attention to the speech was useful however, as he suspected lugging around the body of a fifteen-year-old girl would probably earn him unwanted attention.
He unceremoniously plopped Ruby in an empty seat and then slammed his palm into her gut. A moment later, it began to glow as his spiritual healing magic took effect. The girl's aura flashed back to life a moment later.
Kirei smiled and walked out of the main arena. With her aura restored, Ruby should wake soon enough. After all, she couldn't be a hero if she slept through the crisis.
He made his way to the coliseum landing pad by the time the sirens started blaring. A massive flock of aerial Grimm flew past him through the skies. He noted one particularly large Nevermore flying up to attack the stadium's upper shield.
None of that mattered however. Kirei made his way over to the Atlas shuttles and, after disposing of the regular pilots, began the flight to Beacon.
Along the way, he received an escort of Griffons. The dark creatures flew about his ship in a peaceful haze. It was strange really.
According to the studies of Remnant, as well as his own experiences, Kirei knew that the Grimm would kill any human or faunus without restraint. How Cinder commanded them to leave her team alone he did not know, but for some reason, the beasts that resembled mythological creatures from his own world largely left Kirei in peace.
They would defend themselves if he attacked first, but for thirty years they had never sought him out for death like they did all others. Perhaps, they found his joy to be similar to their own. Or maybe they saw no need to kill him again since he had already tasted death once.
The memory of the conclusion of his duel with Kiritsugu caused his heart to ache and long. The mage killer was truly a man to be missed. He had made Kirei's life so much brighter with the conflict they shared.
Though perhaps the coming war would reveal a new adversary of his caliber.
Kirei could only pray.
At last, he arrived at the Beacon docks. Various White Fang bullheads were moored at the site, a multitude of Grimm and grunts swarming into the school. It truly spoke well of Adam's capabilities that he could successfully coral the two together.
Kirei landed his shuttle and made his way to the other craft. He spotted his target's red hair near the center of the site.
A grunt saw him approaching and raised his rifle. "Die human!"
Kirei raised an eyebrow at the fool and causally summoned a Black Key to deflect the barrage. A moment later, he could see the grunt's jaw drop in shock.
Fortunately for him, the noise attracted Kirei's contact and Adam got between the two before the grunt could pay for his error. "Enough, enough. This one's with us. You want to shoot something, go search for some Atlesian scum."
That apparently motivated the grunt, as he saluted his leader before rushing off into the school.
Adam turned to Kirei. "Apologies. To the men, one human face looks just like another."
Kirei slid his Black Key back into his sleeve. "No apologies necessary."
The priest pulled out his scroll. Attaching a pre-made file, he sent out a message. A few moments later, Adam's scroll buzzed.
The bull faunus took out his device and gave the message a cursory glance. "This contains everything I'll need?"
Kirei nodded. "Even more. I included a few psalms that will allow you to grow stronger after you kill the others. As well as Ms. Belladonna's most likely location for tonight and advice on how to use the situation you will likely find to your advantage."
Adam glared from behind the mask. "I don't need you to hold my hand, human."
Kirei smirked at the boy's indigence. "Considering she left you, I find that hard to believe."
Adam's hands tightened into fists, but they knew better than to reach for his sword.
"Have no fear, Adam Taurus" Kirei comforted. "Soon, you shall have a chance to get everything you've ever wanted."
He turned away from Adam and began trekking towards the tower.
"Priest!" Adam shouted. Kirei stopped, but did not face him. "After it begins, we are enemies. If I see you again, I will kill you."
Kirei smirked. "I would expect nothing less. Do try to make it entertaining, won't you?"
He didn't need to turn around to know the boy was seething. He walked forward into the dark confines of the school.
There was work to be done.
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Arturia steadied herself.
The black queen had just disappeared from Ozpin's screen when the first sirens went off. The Grimm were invading.
Her old mentor pulled out his scroll and called someone. A moment after they picked up, Ozpin hissed, "You brought your army to my kingdom James. Use it!"
He hung up and snatched his cane. Glynda ran into the room. "Ozpin, did you see—"
"I know! You, Qrow, and Arthur, get to the city."
"What?" Arturia exclaimed.
"Oz, don't you think—"
"Now!" Ozpin roared.
Qrow and Glynda nodded and ran down the elevator.
Arturia scowled at the headmaster. "Merlin, I'm going to find my son."
"Jaune can handle himself, and if not, his team will protect him." Ozpin insisted. "The people of Vale cannot do the same."
"I am not their mother" Arturia declared. "And I am not—"
"You are not a hero anymore. Yes, I understand that." Ozpin turned on more monitors around his desk. Each one showed innocent people fleeing the Grimm in terror.
Arturia looked upon each one in horror. She had seen suffering before. She had fought in multiple wars and faced monsters most would shirk from.
But she would be never be nonplussed by the slaughter of the innocent. To not care was to be inhuman. Something she would never be again.
Ozpin did not smile, but he knew she understood his meaning. "They will die without someone to protect them. You say you are no longer a hero. Are you still a knight?"
He observed her carefully. To anyone else, she would seem as unreadable as an iron wall. To him, she was an open book. He saw her heart war with her mind. One was sick fighting for others, and wanted only to protect her child.
The other was still that of a king, and knew she could not let others cry.
Ozpin knew which one would prevail. He had played her again, and it infuriated her that she could not truly fault him.
Arturia glared at her old teacher. "If my son dies, we are through."
Ozpin nodded.
Arturia strode to the elevator and zipped down the tower. Battle awaited.
Ozpin sighed in relief and then looked to his monitors to see where his huntsmen were needed most. It fell to him to direct the defenders to where the innocent needed them. Unfortunately, with such a huge invasion, that seemed to be everywhere.
A mystical quake suddenly rippled through the headmaster's body. His eyes went wide. The bounded field had sent him a signal. Someone with power to rival a Heroic Spirit had entered the city.
Gilgamesh would never do so without the Gate of Babylon. Salem would give him much more warning than just the field. Which only left…
Hazel.
Ozpin snatched up his cane and headed to the elevator. Ms. Nikos needed to make her choice now.
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Ruby awakened to screaming.
She was slumped in one of the stands, her head pounding like a war drum. Crescent Rose was by her side. Everything around her was in chaos.
All around her people were stampeding to get out of the stands. They shouted in fear and it was clear the panic was out of control.
To make matters worse, a massive Nevermore was pounding on the arena's protective barrier. At the rate it was going, the shield would break soon enough.
Ruby couldn't bring herself to care. She didn't know how her aura was back, but she still felt exhausted from her duel with Kirei. Physically and Emotionally.
She was an idiot! How many times did Yang warn her that Kirei was trouble and how many times did she brush her off? She was so sure he was like her, socially awkward but with a pair of good old normal knees. He just kept smiling so everybody else would too.
Now Yang was in a coma, Penny was dead…
And Kirei was still smiling!
Ruby's hands clenched into fists. He had hurt her friends, her family. He had fought her mom for gods' sake, however the heck that was possible!
But, what if he was right?
She wanted to be like the heroes in the books, she always had. She wanted to go out and fight the monsters and save everybody.
But the monsters had to be there for people to need a hero. They had to hurt them enough for them to call for help.
So, did that make her selfish? To wish that people were in danger just so she could save them from it?
Her eyes found Penny's remains on the arena floor and fresh tears flooded her sight.
Did she wish for her friend's death?
"Pyrrha, you've got to move!"
Ruby's gaze strayed from Penny to the other side of the stage, where Pyrrha was. The champion was kneeling on the ground, her eyes glassed over. Ruby doubted she even heard Jaune's shout.
The Nevermore above them unleashed one final strike and the coliseum shield shattered. The Grimm soared into the arena and swooped down towards Pyrrha.
Pyrrha didn't move. Jaune jumped down from the stands. He would never make it in time.
Ruby could.
Ruby would.
In a flash of rose petals, she flew across the stadium and warded the Nevermore off with a strike of Crescent Rose.
She landed on the stage and glared at the beast. Her tear blurred vision gained a silver tinge.
"Ruby?" she heard Pyrrha whisper from behind her. Scared.
Pyrrha was never scared. She was brave. She was strong. She helped all of them when they were sad or lonely! When they needed it most!
And now she needed help. Now everyone needed help
She would help them.
No one else was going to die.
She'd save everyone.
"LEAVE HER ALONE!" she roared. She leapt toward the Grimm and slashed Crescent Rose at its head.
She didn't understand what happened next, but a flash of silver light filled her vision for a moment. When she could see again, she could only blink in shock.
The entire section of the stands in front of her had been reduced to rubble. The giant Nevermore laid face down in the ruins, seemingly frozen white. A few seconds later, the mighty beast disintegrated into dust.
Ruby blinked in surprise and turned to her friends. Jaune had reached Pyrrha and was helping her to her feet. Both looked at her in awe.
"Ruby" Jaune stammered. "How did you do that?"
Ruby glanced back at the destruction she'd caused. "I don't know. But that's not important right now."
Pyrrha cautiously took a step towards her. "Ruby, I'm so sorry."
"It's not your fault" Ruby assured her immediately.
"She's right" Jaune agreed. "The person on the microphone. They're the one responsible for all this."
"Cinder" Ruby informed them. Both their eyes widened in shock. "Cinder, Emerald, Mercury, and Kirei. They did this. I don't know why, but I think they've been planning it since before they got here."
Jaune's hands closed into fists. "Why? What do they get out of this?"
Ruby shrugged. She didn't know. Kirei had mentioned Cinder wanting to discredit the Huntsmen Academies and some kind of master, but after everything that had happened, she didn't trust a word he said.
Suddenly, dozens of rocket propelled lockers landed on the stage. Ren, Nora, Team CFVY, Team SSSN, and everyone Ruby could remember from the tournament flooded into the arena and retrieved their weapons.
The mega team strode up to her and Jaune, cocking their guns and swinging their swords.
It looked really awesome.
Ruby grinned and they all ran down to the coliseum docks. They caught the tail end of General Ironwood butchering a Beowolf Alpha when they arrived. The students went up to the General as he bordered a shuttle.
"What's going on?" Ruby asked.
The Atlas man turned to her and her friends. "Grimm are crawling all over the city. The White Fang has invaded Beacon. And to make matters worse some vagabond has seized control of one of my ships."
The General fired off a shot at something behind the students. A Beowolf that had been stalking towards them dropped dead.
He continued. "Until we regain command, the skies are out of our control. So I'm going to take it back."
"What should we do?" Jaune inquired.
Ironwood's posture straightened. His hands folded behind his back. Ruby thought she finally understood why this man was General.
"You have two choices" he told them. "Protect your kingdom and your school. Or save yourselves."
The students looked amongst themselves.
Ironwood's expression softened. His eyes grew kinder. Ruby could even see some of Professor Ozpin in them. "No one will fault you if you leave" he assured them.
He turned and set off in his shuttle.
All the gathered teenagers just stood there for a moment. Then, a monkey faunus broke the silence.
"I mean, come on" Sun remarked. The general didn't know huntsmen in training as well as he thought he did if he thought they would run.
"We can take a ship to Beacon. This way!" Jaune directed, leading their allies to another shuttle.
Ruby stayed behind a moment longer, her eyes locked on Ironwood's ship. When it approached the Atlesian cruiser that was attacking the others, it suddenly caught fire and plummeted towards the city below.
Her eyes widened in shock, and then hardened with resolve. The red hooded girl raced back into the arena and programed coordinates into one of her friend's lockers. She latched onto it with Crescent Rose and blasted into the sky.
As the wind rushed through her hair, Ruby thought of what she was up against. On the cruiser, she had little doubt that the vagabond General Ironwood was referring to was Roman Torchwick. Only he could be so evil as to set a warship on innocents when there was a Grimm invasion going on. After that, she'd have to deal with Kirei, Cinder, and the others. And she would.
She'd save everyone.
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Blake and Weiss dashed into the Beacon courtyard with weapons drawn.
In front of them, a pack of Ursa were being finished off by a squadron of Atlesian Knights. When the last beast went down, the machines turned to face the huntresses, probably seeking new orders.
That thought still amazed Blake. During her years with the White Fang, she'd come to associate the robots as the face of the enemy. A mindless hoard no different than the Grimm, except the monsters of darkness were not selective in their slaughter. Now, she was fighting side by side with them against real darkness. It was a good feeling.
The robots' visors glowed red.
The feeling disappeared.
"Down!" Blake shouted, grabbing Weiss and diving to the ground. A moment later, the knights opened fire on where they'd been standing.
Blake looked to her teammate. The heiress nodded at her and waved her hand at the robots. A line of glyphs flared to life between the huntresses and the droids.
Blake drew Gambol Shroud and dashed across the courtyard, the glyphs accelerating her to blinding speed. Maybe even as fast as Mrs. Arc. Even if she wasn't, the knights were scrap metal seconds later.
Weiss stood up and the two observed their school.
All around, buildings burned. Students who had stayed in front the tournament fought for their lives against Grimm, White Fang, and the newly traitorous Atlesian robots.
It was hell on Remnant.
Weiss' scroll went off. The heiress looked at the message. She smiled. "It's Jaune. He says he's on his way with reinforcements."
"Good" Blake commented. "We're going to need them."
"We should meet up with them at the docks" Weiss suggested. "We can't fight everything on our own, but if we join up with the others, we can come back here and fight in force."
"You go" Blake told her. Weiss' raised an eyebrow in confusion. "If the Atlesian Knights are against us, then there's no one guarding the infirmary."
"Yang" Weiss muttered in realization. The Schnee's eyes hardened. "We'll go together."
"No, someone has to warn Jaune and the others about the robots' betrayal."
"I think they'll figure it out."
"Before or after someone gets shot because they hadn't" Blake challenged.
Weiss opened her mouth to argue, but closed it just as quickly. "Good hunting."
Blake nodded and took off for the infirmary. She wouldn't lose another partner.
She was so focused, she didn't hear the gargantuan roar that split the air.
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Cinder smiled as the Dragon of Mountain Glenn took to the skies.
Emerald nearly dropped the scroll she had using to record the carnage below. "What? What is that?"
"One of my mistress' more potent weapons" Cinder informed her. "Buried under Mountain Glenn by a desperate Spring Maiden when the settlement fell. The foolish girl gave her life and in the end her efforts were for nothing."
She sneered. "It really is quite pathetic."
Emerald stalked back from Cinder. She cared for her mistress, she did. The woman had taken her under her wing and raised her up from nothing. She had shown her affection for the first time in her life.
False affection, she knew, she wasn't an idiot, but something was better than nothing.
But when Cinder was going on about her own mistress? Emerald would be the first to admit that she was terrifying.
Cinder tore herself away from the flying behemoth and stared off at the foot of Beacon Tower. Her grin widened. "There you are, old man."
Emerald turned to where she was looking and saw Professor Ozpin racing out of the tower. They followed him until he met up with a large group of students who had arrived to help fight off the invaders. The headmaster grabbed Pyrrha Nikos and raced back to where he'd come from, Jaune Arc following behind them.
Cinder smirked. "Interesting."
She turned to Emerald. "Film everything you can. Focus on the Atlesian Knights. Then, meet up with Mercury at the rendezvous point."
Emerald nodded, already dreading Mercury's aggravating snark. After finishing his mission, there was no way he wouldn't be in a good mood. Which meant she would soon be in a bad one.
Cinder began walking away when something occurred to Emerald.
"Mercury said Kirei isn't laying low. What do you want me to do if he shows up at the rendezvous point?"
Emerald really hoped it wasn't fight. She'd seen what the guy could do and though she was confident in her illusions, she didn't want to risk it with him.
Cinder stopped for a moment, seemingly considering the question.
"Keep him with you" she eventually declared. "When I return, I'll show him what it truly means to disobey a maiden."
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The walk to Vale had not been tiresome. It was a beautiful day.
He had always enjoyed a beautiful day.
There'd been a farmer on the side of the road. His truck was broken down, a tire burst from some misfortune. A little girl had jumped out of the cabin and made a show about helping the farmer lift the vehicle.
The farmer had patted her on the head and resumed his struggle.
He could sympathize with that.
But he could not stop to help. His mistress had commanded him not to stop until he reached Vale.
He would not betray his mistress. He had promised that.
Farther down the road, he encountered a pack of Beowolves. They were no threat to him. They would not have been even if they were enemies.
The alpha sniffed the direction he'd come from. He probably scented the farmer's despair.
He waved off the Grimm. The farmer was facing his own obstacles admirably. There was no reason to give him more.
No one needed to die today.
It was nightfall when he reached the walls of Vale. Hordes of Grimm were baring down on the city. Some joined with their airborne brethren to surmount the defenses. Others clawed madly at the cold steel.
He sighed.
A line of Goliaths lumbered behind him. They were old. They were strong. They would probably breach the walls given time.
But the Queen had ordered him to check up on Cinder. So, he would check up on the foolish girl.
A wall was hardly the greatest obstacle Hazel Rainart had faced.
He willed his semblance to life. All around him, in a short radius, the ground crumbled inward. Always towards him, but never touching.
A reckless Griffon got too close, for some reason forsaking the flight it was capable of. The poor beast slammed into the ground and then was compressed into the nothingness.
Hazel sighed. That was unnecessary.
He strode onward. When he reached the wall, the structure bent towards him. Whatever supports within it failed as the lower half was drawn to him and caught in his relentless orbit.
In time, the wall fell down. A towering mess of steel and concrete crumpled and compressed into a thousand-ton chunk of scrap. There wasn't even rumble left behind.
Hazel Rainart walked into Vale.
A column of Goliaths were not far behind.
And things have begun! Don't forget to vote in the poll on whether to split this story into two! Because if the end result is yes, this thing is only going to have two or three more chapters in it!
Now then, something I'm sure is going to be brought up: Ruby's silver eyes activating early. When partially activating, some of the power just kind of leaked through. I thought that with Kirei's additional emotional breakdown she might be a bit more vulnerable to that, especially since it has egged her into a mindset that should be very familiar for Fate fans.
Also, I know the silver eyes only hurt Grimm, and Maidens, and the like, but there is a reason she obliterated the stands. It's just that it is not going to be revealed for a bit, though some of you may figure it out sooner than that.
Also, since Hazel's backstory and powers are currently unknown in canon, I'm taking the opportunity to do a take on him based on what we've seen so far in the first six episodes of Volume 5. I fully expect to be contradicted by canon within the season.
Once more, please tell me all your theories and the like for this story! Conversing with you folks is half the fun!
Have a lovely day!