The school's border with the Emerald Forest was quiet that night. The most exciting event was the sight of a few Ursa stepping outside the woods, but they hadn't ventured out any further than a couple of meters.
To most of the residents of Beacon, that meant they could have a peaceful night of sleep. A select few, however, abhorred this monotonous state of affairs.
"Reeeen!"
The Aura adept jumped in surprise, almost dropping his weapons. He looked to his side and met eyes with the ever-impatient Nora Valkyrie.
"What is it, Nora?" He sighed.
"This is boring!" She complained, clutching her hammer forcefully.
"I know." Ren conceded "But we need people on guard duty at all times. Another sneak attack would be nothing short of a disaster."
Nora pouted, understanding his reasoning but not willing to give up so easily.
"Guard duty doesn't have to be boring." She decided "Can't we have some fun, Ren? It's not like there's any Grimm around."
"Okay." He agreed, knowing his partner wouldn't stop trying to convince him until he did "But what kind of fun can we have on guard duty? It's the middle of the night, Nora. We can't wake anyone up with your usual explosions."
The orange-haired girl averted her gaze coyly and blushed.
"Well…" She whispered "Everyone is getting together now… Like Jaune and Pyrrha, and Weiss and Blake…" She looked at him again and smiled "Why don't we get together-together?"
"Oh." Ren said, at a loss for words. He certainly wasn't ignorant of how she felt about him, and he felt the same way about her, but he hadn't been expecting something like this to happen anytime soon "I mean… If you want to…"
Nora dropped her hammer and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, and then caught his lips with hers. After a few seconds, she backed away and looked at him expectantly.
"Did you like that?" She asked.
"Yes." He admitted "It was unexpected, but nice."
"Do you want even more unexpected things?"
Ren's eyes widened. He was once again surprised by his partner's actions. Thinking about it now, however, it was curious Nora hadn't tried anything like this sooner, considering her electric personality.
Before he could answer, he felt a buzz in the back of his mind. Ren blinked, not being able to identify the problem in the middle of this unusual situation.
"Ren?" Nora called, frowning "Did I scare you?"
"Something's wrong." He answered briefly.
The orange-haired girl was about to shout indignantly at him, but a figure suddenly smashed into her, knocking her to the ground. She yelled in panic, having dropped her weapon moments before.
Nora looked up and met face-to-face with a primal Grimm. Its form was masculine, with a bulky physic that made it unable for her to lift him away from her. The monster roared and lifted a hand, prepared to claw at her neck.
Its plan was halted by Ren, who moved quickly to it and slashed its claw off with a clean slice with Storm Flower. The beast got up and tackled him, sending him flying away.
Ren rolled on the ground and saw as the beast ran toward him. He held his stance, prepared to catch his opponent in a weak spot when it got near him. However, the Grimm suddenly stopped and stomped on the ground, sending a wave of rocks that hit him, not causing much damage, but stunning him.
Before the monster started running again, it was hit in the back with an explosion.
"Come on, you ugly ape!" Nora called angrily "Dance for the queen!"
She shot again with her grenade launcher, hitting the beast directly. It was involved in a smokescreen, and the girl smiled victoriously, assuming it had died under the second attack. However, it ran out of the smoke and clawed her stomach.
Nora gasped, feeling her Aura drop quickly at the strength of the attack. Thinking quickly, she changed Magnhild back to its hammer form and swung at the Grimm, but it lifted an arm, and with it a wall of stone rose from the ground, blocking the strike just in time.
The beast jumped toward her and bit her in the shoulder, setting its teeth deep in her flesh. She screamed painfully and dropped her weapon, her vision gradually turning black.
Ren rejoined the fight and buried his blades on the Grimm's back. The monster shouted, releasing the girl from its mouth, and she fell to the ground with no strength left in her. Then it turned and hit the boy in the face, making him drop immediately too.
It roared and lifted an arm, prepared to finish off his prey. Fortunately, a blade suddenly flew to it and buried itself in its chest. Eleven more followed, pinning him in different parts of its body, paralyzing it.
"You are not hurting these people!" Penny appeared, stepping heavily towards the Grimm "You are an evil monster, so you don't get to apologize."
She flexed her arms, and the blades flew back to her. The Grimm whined and began to run away limping, but Penny extended a palm toward it, hitting it with a green laser beam that cut a hole through its torso. The monster screamed once more before turning into smoke.
The robot girl knelt down beside Nora and frowned.
"I was too late." She realized sadly "But you'll be okay. I'm not a doctor, but I'll get you to one in no time!"
-x-
"This is the mountain we'll have to climb?!"
Weiss threw her arms up in defeat and shook her head.
"How do you expect us to do such a thing?" She asked "This has to be impractical in all ways."
"Come on, Weiss. We already explained why we are doing things this way." Yang sighed "The only other route to the city on Mountain Glenn is by plane or helicopter, both of which would make our presence known to the White Fang."
"So what?" The once-heiress exclaimed indignantly "We'll just fight them if they bother us first!"
"I'm afraid it doesn't work that way." Cinder joined in "We don't stand a chance against so many. The only way we can succeed is by using the element of surprise."
Weiss opened her mouth to complain again.
"Stop whining, Weiss." Ruby interrupted coldly.
The white-haired girl lowered her shoulders in defeat. If even their leader was tired of her attitude, there was no way she could get her way. Blake kissed her in the cheek and smiled consolingly.
"It's not that long of a walk." The faunus encouraged "I'll carry you a third of the way. Deal?"
"No deal. You can't carry anyone with only one arm." Weiss accused "Also, you can't fly."
"She sure can make you fly, though." Yang shouted gleefully.
"Shut up, Xiao Long!" The once-heiress shot back angrily "Get over us, or I'll start thinking you're jealous!"
"Maybe you want me to be jealous." The blonde suggested, raising her eyebrows suggestively.
Ruby groaned and parted from her team until she was walking beside Cinder. The older warrior smiled amusedly when she saw the redhead's disturbed expression.
"That's quite the team you've got there." She commented.
"They are the best." Ruby agreed "I sure could use less of that type of joking, though."
"Do you care that much?" Cinder asked curiously "I think a girl of your age shouldn't be ashamed of these topics."
"I'm not ashamed. I just don't think it's the most important thing in the world." The redhead answered "Do you care, Cinder?"
The brunette smirked.
"Not really. I haven't had time for relationships, or even anything lesser than that." She admitted.
"Wow, really? You haven't had any relationships?!" Ruby exclaimed, surprised by that claim "But you're so awesome and- Never mind." The leader blushed "Forget my last phrases, okay? And don't tell-"
"I knew you were interested in her!" Yang yelled excitedly.
The younger sister's face reddened even more and she ran several meters forward, parting from the whole group. She put on her hood and crossed her arms, just wanting to disappear for a while.
Yang smiled and stepped near Cinder.
"You didn't break her heart, right?" She joked.
"No. Even if I was going to do that, you have already stopped me." The brunette smiled "You're interesting to me. So cheerful and carefree. I've never met someone like you before…"
"Of course you haven't. I am a ray of sunlight, the most beautiful of all." The blonde said playfully, but then she frowned "Wait… Did you just try to seduce me or something?"
"I would never do such a thing!" Cinder answered hurriedly, but after a few seconds, she spoke again teasingly "If I was trying, however, would it have worked?"
Yang smiled widely.
"I think you and I are going to get along fantastically."
-x-
Jaune stood in front of the infirmary's door, afraid of what he might find inside. Seeing Blake missing one arm had been frightening, but at least it hadn't been too savage: her injury had been clean and neat, at least. But Nora was actually bitten, and he had no idea what state she would be in.
Pyrrha was at his side, and she noticed his hesitation immediately. She smiled faintly to him and pushed the door open. What they found was surprising: Nora was sitting in her bed in a gown, with bandages covering her right shoulder, and Ren was in a chair beside her. They were both smiling happily, as if nothing was wrong.
"Well… That's a relief?" Jaune muttered confusedly.
"Jaune, Pyrrha! You came to see me!" The orange-haired girl yelled delightfully "Come here, I wanna hug you two!"
"Can we do that?" Pyrrha asked worriedly "Isn't your arm all sensitive right now?"
"I'm doing all right. Luckily the Grimm didn't get to the shaking viciously part of biting…" The injured assured "I want hugs!"
"Don't listen to her." Ren warned "The doctor was very clear: no fighting, no running, and no hugging."
"Aw." Nora pouted, and then she looked at her partner expectantly "But kissing is allowed, right?"
"Maybe later." The Aura adept shook his head amusedly.
Pyrrha crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow curiously.
"So you guys are officially together-together now?" She asked.
"Yes!" Nora answered immediately, and then stuck her tongue out to Jaune "And we're not afraid to say it, unlike you lovebirds!"
"Huh. We're not afraid." Jaune refuted, frowning "Maybe we just don't need to announce our together-togetherness."
"That's not right." Ren said, and then he smirked "Or in usual teenager talk, that's bullshit."
"Teenager talk doesn't suit you." The blonde deflected "I'm gonna get lunch now."
He left the room, not making any eye contact with his partner. Pyrrha frowned, clearly unnerved by his attitude.
"Haven't you guys talked, or anything?" Nora asked in a disturbingly even tone of voice.
"No…" The redhead admitted "I thought everything was pretty clear to both of us." She sighed "Well, I hope you get better soon, Nora. I'll go eat something too."
Pyrrha smiled faintly and left the room too. Nora looked at Ren and rolled her eyes.
"Teenagers."
-x-
The way to their destination was a tricky one: the city had been built on top of Mountain Glenn, to the southeast of the kingdom, to expand the capital's borders. However, the remoteness of the location had been its downfall: it was too distant and hard to approach, and when the Grimm overran it, help came too late. That incident had stopped all further attempts at expansion from Vale.
Occasionally, groups of Hunters were sent to make sure the Grimm population in Mountain Glenn wouldn't become a major threat to the rest of the kingdom, but they were always flown in by helicopters or planes. Since that was not an option for RWBY, they had to take the long, arduous trail up the mountain.
They had covered at least a third of the road by the middle of the first day, but they soon realized that had been the easy part of the expedition. The trail grew gradually rougher and harder to identify, so much that the girls now wished they had agreed with Weiss before they started the journey.
But the white-haired girl was now determined to not show weakness: she hadn't complained at all since they began, holding her chin high and keeping her eyes on the road. After a while, Blake noticed how her girlfriend's pace was slowing, and sighed loudly.
"Blake?" Weiss called, frowning worriedly "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm just tired." The faunus answered evenly, but then her steps faltered and she almost fell "Well, maybe really tired."
"Hey! We need to stop!" The once-heiress yelled to her friends.
Yang looked back and smiled.
"Finally. I thought you would have given up sooner." She taunted.
"It's not for me." Weiss refuted "Blake needs to rest, or her legs will fall off."
"Losing limbs is not fun, I can say that from experience." Blake agreed.
"Okay. I'll tell Ruby we're stopping." Yang said and urged her pace to catch up with her sister.
Weiss nodded and grabbed her partner by her arm, dragging her along until she sat her against a tree. The faunus smirked at her, but the white-haired girl just crossed her arms in disappointment.
"You should have stayed in Beacon, Blake." She spoke softly "I know you want to fight, but you're not ready. Not so soon… You should be in bed, waiting to get a prosthetic, and after a few years, you would be ready to be a Huntress."
"We may not have a few years." Blake reminded as she caressed her left arm "Besides, I can't leave all of you. And, maybe this will sound a bit crazy, but…" The brunette sighed "I don't want a prosthetic… Maybe this injury is one I shouldn't recover from."
"Again with this?" The once-heiress said exasperatedly "You don't need to punish yourself. What will it take for you to get that notion out of your head?"
"Not a prosthetic arm." The faunus answered jokingly "Maybe after this is all over, I'll get one, okay? So just rest with me for now."
Weiss shook her head, but obeyed her wish, sitting beside her girlfriend and resting her head against her shoulder. Cinder watched them from afar, and after a few minutes, approached them.
"You know, there is one other alternative to your problem…" She started.
"What, healing magic?" Blake deadpanned, still not trusting the older girl too much.
"…You can call it that, I suppose." Cinder realized "Although the correct term is Life Dust."
The faunus's cat ears shot up, demonstrating her interest at what she was being told. Weiss lifted her head and looked at Cinder curiously.
"I know about that." The white-haired girl said "There are, or were, seven types of Dust: Fire, Ice, Earth, Wind, Lighting, Time, and Life. That last one, however, doesn't exist anymore. Reserves were exhausted centuries ago."
"That is true, although even when there were reserves, that Dust was rare." Cinder agreed "Life Dust was the first type discovered, and it was probably the one used to combat the Dark the first time. That may have been what lowered its quantity in the first place."
"You sound very experienced in this topic." Weiss noted "Also, you fight using Dust in ways that are practically impossible even to masters."
The older brunette nodded and lifted her arms up. Red Dust gathered around her hands, and in each one a black sword materialized.
"My body was infused with Fire Dust when I was very young. It was a dangerous procedure, but it turned out successful." She revealed "I can form and manipulate Dust with no dependence on outside sources, and my natural strength, speed and reflexes were also enhanced."
"That sounds very useful." Blake commented "Why haven't more people tried that?"
"The risks are too great, ranging from death to permanent deficiencies. For every successful procedure, there are dozens of failed ones." Cinder admitted "And still, I suffer side effects…" She made the sword disappear and looked at the ground somberly "If the choice was presented to me, I would give up this power."
Blake nodded slowly, growing a sense of respect and admiration towards the Dust warrior.
"I was wrong to judge you so harshly, Cinder." She apologized "I have also suffered from decisions made in my childhood."
"The past never truly leaves anyone." Cinder agreed, and then smirked "But you have learned how to live with that knowledge. You weren't truly tired, were you?"
"No." Blake answered and smiled to her girlfriend "Sometimes Weiss is too stubborn, so I had to take a drastic measure so she would rest."
"You… scoundrel!" The once-heiress exclaimed, but she couldn't even manage to fake her anger. She smiled back and kissed the faunus "Thank you."
Cinder walked away, leaving the two alone. She opened a hand discreetly and formed a small flame on top of its palm.
I've earned their trust… She thought somberly. I'll do it today, tonight… Or tomorrow. Yes, tomorrow will be fine.
"Hey, Cinder!"
The brunette flinched and closed her hand in reflex, dissipating the fire in the process. She looked up quickly, sure that someone had spotted her suspicious behavior, but was relieved when she saw Ruby and Yang walking up to her calmly.
"We're stopping here until tomorrow. No point in getting to the city if we're exhausted." The redhead told "I'm gonna warn Weiss and Blake. You two rest, okay?"
"Sure, mom." Yang answered playfully.
Ruby rolled her eyes and left the two. As soon as she was far enough to not hear them, the blonde grabbed Cinder by the shoulders and stared at her seriously. The brunette cursed mentally, assuming she had been discovered after all.
"Cinder, this cannot reach my sister's ears, okay?" The brawler whispered hurriedly.
"What?" Cinder muttered confusedly.
"Tomorrow is her birthday. Either she forgot, or she wants everyone to forget." Yang shook her head with disappointment "Ruby's been on overdrive ever since we left Beacon, and I'm sure she's not going to rest tonight. So we are forcing her to celebrate."
The older girl blinked in surprise. She had expected to be beaten up or at least threatened, but she was just being told about a surprise birthday celebration. That was definitely not something she had planned for this trip.
"All right. What do you need me to do?"
"Nothing in particular, just enjoy the occasion." Yang lifted her eyebrows suggestively "My sister seems to enjoy you, after all."
Cinder smiled, but the blonde was quick to poke her finger at her face.
"Don't enjoy her." She warned "Or my fists will enjoy your face."
"Understood."
Yang nodded and walked off to talk with her teammates. Cinder watched her go quietly.
What have I gotten myself into?
-x-
Jaune stared at the school cafeteria, his mind running wild, trying to solve a difficult dilemma.
Where do I sit?
Normally, JNPR had a table of their own that they shared with RWBY, but now that the latter team was out on a mission to save the world (or something like that), Nora and Ren were in the infirmary, and he had left Pyrrha in the dust, Jaune realized there was no clear place for him.
He knew none of the other first year students would accept him, because of his loser reputation, and the older ones also wouldn't fit him in because they were, well, older.
The blonde sighed, realizing he would have to sit alone, but then his face lit up when he noticed someone else also sitting alone in a table, eating quietly. She appeared to be very young, and had short orange hair. Jaune hurried to her table and sat facing her.
"Hello!" He greeted nervously.
The girl looked up from her plate and smiled cheerfully.
"Salutations!" She yelled "Nobody has talked to me for days. Are we friends?"
"Uh… Sure." He answered awkwardly "I'm Jaune. Why hasn't anyone talked to you?"
"I'm not sure." The girl admitted sadly "Maybe it's because I'm not a student, or a robot…"
Jaune frowned confusedly, but after a few seconds, he hit his palm against his forehead.
"Of course! You're Penny!" He said "I didn't recognize you, sorry. You saved my teammate, Nora Valkyrie, last night."
"I couldn't stop her from getting hurt." Penny stared at her lap somberly.
"Hey, it's okay. We're all grateful you were there to help." Jaune consoled her "You were pretty brave. I think everyone who doesn't wanna talk to you is dumb."
"Thank you, Jaune! You are a great friend!" The robot smiled cheerfully.
The boy smiled back, but as he looked the side, the expression faded. Pyrrha was standing there, looking halfway between confused and angry.
"Uh… This is Pyrrha, my partner." Jaune introduced slowly "And this is Penny… You know, the one who saved our friend's life?"
"Oh." The redhead said "It's a pleasure to meet you, Penny. Thank you for rescuing Nora."
"It was just my duty." The robot answered.
"Even if you think so, I'm still grateful. I don't know what I would have done if Nora had-"
Pyrrha paused as she touched Penny's shoulder and she felt an electric feeling run up her arm. The redhead gasped and stepped back, her face frozen in shock.
"Are you all right?" The orange-haired girl asked with alarm.
"I-I'm sorry. My Semblance is magnetism, so when I touched you…" The redhead shook her head repeatedly "I'm so sorry."
"It's all right, friend!" Penny yelled and hugged Pyrrha, wanting to show she didn't care about the Semblance.
Jaune smiled, happy that he had made a new friend, and also relieved that whatever Pyrrha had been mad about was forgotten by her.
Robots are real life-savers. He thought amusedly.
-x-
"Congratulations!"
Yang lifted her sister up in the air gloriously while Weiss and Blake cheered near them. The redhead rolled her eyes, annoyed at the unwanted surprise they had planned for her, but she decided to just go along with it and make them happy.
"Sweet sixteen!" The blonde yelled happily "You're now legally allowed to drink alcoholic beverages and have sex!"
"…Yay?" Ruby responded meekly.
"…You're allowed to enlist in the army?" Weiss offered tentatively.
"Uh, we're Huntresses-in-training." The leader noted "Thanks for the effort, though." She looked down at her sister, annoyed "Can I get down now?"
Yang laughed, put Ruby back on the ground and patted her on the shoulder.
"Now you have to make a wish, sis, while the stars are still out." She recommended.
"That's dumb." The once-heiress commented.
"Shush, Weiss." Blake reprimanded "Don't ruin the moment."
Ruby smiled as she looked up at the sky above, filled with hundreds of stars. She didn't even need to consider her wish for too long…
I wish for us to never be separated.
The redhead waited patiently, hoping that a shooting star would pass by. It never came, but she supposed that was a little too much to ask.
"Well, what did you wish?" Yang questioned.
"For Dust's sake, you don't even know this dumb tradition right!" Weiss complained "She's supposed to keep it a secret, or else the wish won't come true."
"If that's the case…" Ruby said slowly "I wish Yang never stops teasing me!"
"Nope, sis, you can't change your wish." The blonde hugged her sister "Happy birthday, Ruby."
The brawler let her go and nodded before walking away to rest. Blake stepped in and embraced the redhead.
"Congratulations." She said softly "You've been working very hard, Ruby. Slow down a little, for us, okay?"
"I can't do that." The leader answered honestly "Thanks for being awesome, Blake."
The faunus stepped back and followed Yang. Weiss stood in front of Ruby, looking at her hesitantly, before opening her arms in defeat.
"I will allow a hug." She said proudly.
"Yay!" Ruby squealed and hugged the once-heiress.
After a few seconds of that, Weiss coughed and backed away from the embrace. She smiled warmly to her teammate before going after her girlfriend.
Ruby looked to the sky again, content despite the unwanted attention. She had been so invested in her training and mission that she had forgotten her own birthday. Maybe she should listen to Blake's advice and slow down a bit.
The redhead frowned and shook her head.
No! I can't let my guard down. Not until everyone is safe.
She jumped in frighten when an explosion occurred in front of her. Ruby unfolded her scythe in reflex and pointed it ahead, but then she gasped. There was fire levitating above the ground, and as she watched, it formed the figure of a rose, and beside it, the number sixteen.
"Happy birthday, Ruby Rose."
Cinder put an arm around the younger girl's shoulders and smiled at her. The redhead blinked a few times before smiling back.
"Thank you, Cinder."
She looked back at the flaming drawings in wonderment, taking in all the subtle details that had been formed. The brunette looked at her slyly, noticing how she had lowered her guard completely.
I could kill her right now, and she wouldn't be able to warn anyone.
She opened a hand outside the redhead's field of view and gathered Dust around it. However, she stopped the process when Ruby turned to her and hugged her.
"That is really beautiful." She complimented "I'm really grateful you did that for me."
Cinder stood still, her emotions like a savage storm inside her mind.
"I-" The brunette gulped "It was nothing!"
She stepped back from the hug and hurried away. Ruby watched her go amusedly, figuring she was just not accustomed to shows of affection. She shrugged and prepared to rejoin her friends, but once again she was surprised as someone appeared beside her.
"Hello, Ruby." Summer greeted softly, floating a few feet from her.
"Hi, mother." Ruby answered awkwardly. They hadn't spoken for weeks, and their last interactions hadn't been really joyful at all "What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to know how you were doing." The ghost answered "Has your mission been successful so far?"
"Sure. We've tracked down the White Fang, now we only need to infiltrate their base." The redhead assured.
Summer nodded, and then she looked to the clearing where the team was resting.
"I see Belladonna has recovered, and she's gotten closer to Schnee." She noted "Yang is also fine… But I don't recognize that last one."
Ruby followed her mother's gaze to Cinder, who was sitting away from her other friends, still looking a little shaken.
"That's Cinder." The redhead explained "She's been very helpful. Don't worry, mother, we've already made sure she means no harm to us."
"I will trust your judgment."
Summer looked back at Ruby and forced a smile.
"Congratulations on your sixteenth birthday."
"I wish I could hug you…" The girl admitted, but she smiled cheerfully nonetheless "But it's enough you visited me. I love you, mom."
Summer lowered her head, but her daughter could still see her smile becoming genuine before she disappeared.
"Happy birthday, sweetheart."