A/N: For those who are wondering why the updates are taking so long, you can blame it on the college assignments I have to do. Also, I am not happy with this chapter. You'll see why.

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning: Vol Three

Kill Forty Nine: Peace Before Chaos

The sound of flames going off could be heard in the training room Cinder was in. She was busy slaying Beowolf after Beowolf using her new Fall Maiden powers but the look on her face clearly showed signs of fatigue. As of now, four Beowolves were slowly walking toward her. Cinder swept her arm across and fire emerged to cut all four Beowolves in half. Cinder didn't know how much more she could keep it up. Unfortunately for her, she wasn't done yet. Cinder heard heavy thudding and looked up to see a Beringel jumping to attack her. Fire instantly surrounded Cinder's hand and punched through the Beringel with ease. The Grimm disintegrated, much to Cinder's relief and dropped to her knees feeling exhausted. "Enough." As if Salem arriving seeing Cinder in a pitiful state wasn't bad enough. She glanced over to her master. "I thought you were the girl that wanted power. Did you lie to me?" Cinder looked away slightly before turning to her master again and shaking her head. "Then stop holding back. If you wish to master your new powers, you must-"

The door suddenly opening interrupted Salem and both she and Cinder turned their attention to it. To their surprise, Tyrian had returned but he was not acting like himself. Cinder saw as she thought would never see. Frightened. Tyrian shakenly walked into the room whimpering to himself and then dropped to his hands and knees with his head looking down at the floor. "I'm sorry. She'll forgive me. Please…forgive me…"

"Tyrian." The scorpion Faunus raised his head to his goddess and sat on his knees. "Your task…were you successful?"

Tyrian couldn't bear to tell his goddess the bad news but he didn't have much of a choice. He looked away from her in shame. "N-No…" The news Salam had heard didn't please her. "Someone got in my way. Someone…who is beyond human."

His words caught Salem's attention. Cinder was just wondering what he was talking about. "Would you care to explain Tyrian? What happened?"

Salem could see the sheer fear in the scorpion Faunus' eyes. Whoever he fought must've been quite the foe to even leave him afraid. "This man…he was the one who interfered. I was about to accomplish the mission you have graciously given me but then he appeared." He recalled how his fight with Wave turned out. "He was no ordinary man. He summoned a terrifying monster out of the ground. It was not unlike any Grimm. It wasn't even a Grimm at all." Now Salem was very interested in what her failed servant had to say. "He wore that monster like a suit of armor and called it something. Imperial…Imperial…"

Cinder's eyes widened in surprise. She knew exactly what Tyrian was trying to say. So did Salem. "Imperial Arms?"

Tyrian nodded his head quickly at his goddess. "Yes, yes. That's it. He called it that. I fought him and…" The scorpion Faunus slightly looked down at the floor. "He utterly devastated me. His power was unlike anything I had seen before. I was helpless to even do anything against him. He even pulled apart my tail with his bare hands."

Salem couldn't help but wonder who this induvial was now. More pressingly, hearing the term "Imperial Arms". It was the second time she heard that. "Two people in possession of these Imperial Arms. This is no coincidence. Someone is pulling strings behind all of this." There was one more thing Salem wanted to know. "Did you happen to learn the name of the man who defeated you?" She wanted to know just who they're dealing with.

Tyrian tried to recall and then remembered what that wolf Faunus said before he delivered the finishing blow. "I believe it was Wave and before the fight, he mentioned something about not being a hunter but a soldier." That was all Salem needed to know. Obviously, there was something at work and Salem didn't like it. She started to walk away from Tyrian. Said scorpion Faunus looked up again seeing his goddess leave. "P-Please!" Salem stopped walking and turned her head to him. "I beg for your forgiveness for my failing. I promise…I won't fail a second time! Forgive me!"

Salem narrowed her eyes at her subordinate. "You disappoint me." With those words said, Salem looked forward again and continued to walking away from Tyrian. As of now, Salem had a lot more to deal with. "First this Akame Cinder had fought and now this Wave who defeated Tyrian. Something is at work here but what?"

As Tyrian saw his goddess walk away from him, he didn't know what was worse. The fact Salem didn't forgive him for failing his mission or her saying she was disappointed in him. The thought of it depressed him and began to sob. Unknown to him, a Beowolf was sneaking behind the scorpion Faunus. It jumped at him but he quickly turned his head to see the Grimm coming at him and roared while his tail smacked the Beowolf away from him. Tyrian brought out his wrist blades and jumped on top of the Grimm where he proceeded in stabbing it repeatedly while continuing to sob. His sobbing eventually turned in crazed laughter. Cinder couldn't help but feel a little uneasy seeing Tyrian like this as she continued to watch him stab the Beowolf.

B

Walking on the trail ahead of them, Akame and the rest of Night Raid continued to make their way to Mistral. For the countless time, Chelsea groaned at the pace they were going. "Come on…are we almost there yet?"

Takeo looked at the map hoping that where they are now would finally make her friend stop complaining. To her relief and soon Chelsea's, there was some good news. "We're closer to the mountain now. All we have to do is go through a place called Kuroyuri."

Chelsea couldn't help but snicker at the name. "Heh, Kuroyuri."

Rienna didn't understand the joke. "What's so funny Chelsea?"

The other girl didn't know why the others didn't find the name funny but decided to let it go. "It just is. Anyway, all we have to do is go through this Kuroyuri place and then cross over a mountain to get to Mistral. Seems easy enough. Hey, maybe we can resupply or something."

For once in a rare while, Chelsea had a good idea. They had pre-destination set and the sooner they can arrive, the better for Akame. "Taeko, how much further is it until we reach Kuroyuri?"

The other girl checked the map again. "It's not far off from where we are. We should arrive there shortly."

Akame could accept that. "Alright, let's pick up the pace and head there quickly as possible." She increased her walking speed and the others did the same. They were so close to their destination now and closer to where they'll meet up with Leone again.

After some time had passed with their increased pace, the group saw several buildings off the horizon. Seeing them made Rienna glad. "Hey, I think that's it!" The other girls thought the same.

With each step, they approached closer to their destination. When they finally saw the whole place up close, that happiness was gone. What was replaced was shock and awe at the state Kuroyuri was in. It was in ruins. They slowly entered the village and looked all around the area. The sight of the village was very depressing. Chelsea's enthusiasm from earlier vanished and sighed at what she was seeing. "Well, this place is depressing."

The more Esdeath looked at the place, the more she felt sad about it. "How awful. I wonder what happened here."

Cornelia was thinking of the same question. "Nothing good I can you that."

They continued to walk through the ruined village until they arrived at a large dead tree in the center of the village. That's where Akame stopped in front of the group and turned around to face them. "I think we can afford to take a rest here. Mistral is just up ahead and we need all the strength we have if we're going over that mountain. You're free to do what you wish here but go in pairs just to be safe."

Everyone else was glad they were getting some rest. Kurome dropped her pack and sighed as she rubbed the back of her head. "Sounds good to me. I could use a little relaxation. Think I'll take a look around. Coming Chelsea?" The other girl was about to reply but Kurome cut her off. "Not what I meant. Let's go." Kurome was walking off in a random direction with Chelsea closely following her.

While everyone else saw the two walk away, Esdeath smiled at them. "I think I'll walk around a little too." She dropped her pack to the ground. "Who knows, maybe we'll find something interesting here."

Rienna was next to drop her pack and ran up to Esdeath happily. "I'll go with you." She smiled at the other girl.

Esdeath smiled back as she was all too happy for Rienna's offer. "Sure thing." She looked past her teammate and at her leader. "What about you Akame?"

Akame's response setting her pack down and sitting down against the tree. "I'll just sit here for a while. Don't mind me."

Cornelia giggled softly at her leader and looked at her two teammates. "I'll be here to keep an eye on her. You two go on ahead."

Taeko was the last to set down her pack. "So will I. Go on ahead." With the go-ahead, Esdeath and Rienna took their leave and went to explore the other half of the village.

With them gone now, Akame sighed as she could finally relax. Seeing her as she is now was a rare sight for Cornelia to see considering the journey so far. "You look pretty happy."

Akame smiled contently at their most recent point of their journey. "We're close now. We just need to push a little further and we'll be there. We'll find Leone and then…make Cinder pay for what she did."

The other two girls didn't forget that small detail. Akame couldn't forgive Cinder for what she did back at Beacon. Not only she managed to destroy their school and made their separate from each other, Cinder also did the one thing Akame could never forgive her for doing. Taking away the only normal life Akame had experienced. Shade was the closest thing to having it again but the thought of Cinder still being out there, doing who knew what next after what she had done back at Beacon, it was something Akame couldn't let go of. "I will never forgive you for doing this."

Akame quietly gasped at the sudden random thought. "Why am I remembering that now?" She lowered her head and stared at the ground. "Maybe this is how he felt during that time."

"Are you alright Akame?"

Akame quickly looked up at Cornelia and Taeko who seemed to be a little worried. She gave them a comforting smile at the two girls. "I'm fine. Just…thinking about some things is all." And as if on cue, her stomach growled.

Akame slightly blushed out of embarrassment while Cornelia laughed. "I guess your stomach is thinking too. I'll get something to help out with that." She kneeled next to her pack and searched for something for Akame to snack on. Akame was grateful for the help and for the rest they're having at the moment.

B

Qrow, Wave, and team RNJR were trekking on a mountain trail that was less than smooth. Jaune groaned at the hiking they had to do. "We couldn't find a more pleasant path to get to Mistral?"

Ren could more or less agree with his teammate. "We never get the easy path."

Nora put her arms behind her head. "Easy's no fun anyway."

While they were hiking, Ruby couldn't help but worry a little about Ren. Mostly because of how he acted from before about Kuroyuri. "Hey, Ren. Is everything alright?"

She didn't hear a reply from him for a few seconds. "I'm fine Ruby." The young leader had no choice but to accept the answer but she could still tell something was wrong.

Wave spotted something ahead of the group. "Huh?" He narrowed his eyes and saw what was ahead. "Hey, there's a cave ahead of us." Wave walked ahead of the group a little quickly and reached the cave opening. Sure enough, he felt something hitting his body and turned to the group. "There's some wind coming out of this cave. I think it could be a shortcut!"

Jaune sighed in relief. "Thank you!"

The rest of the group caught up with the soldier and peered at the inside of the cave. "Does anyone else think this'll lead up to the peak?" Nora asked.

"One way to find out." Wave took several steps forward when the wind blew suddenly at him and a piece of cloth smacked right into his face. The others found it a little funny as Wave struggled to get the piece off his face. He managed to do so. "Jeez. Even in this world, I can't catch a break. What hit me anyway?" Wave looked at the cloth to see a symbol of some kind on it. "What's this supposed to be?"

Everyone one else took a closer look at it and RNJR easily recognized it. "That's symbol for Shion Village." Ren described.

Wave turned to Ren looking more confused. "Shion Village?"

"It was a place we passed by a couple of weeks ago. It was destroyed. No one survived." Ruby answered.

Already Qrow had a bad feeling about this. "Why is a flag from Shion during here?"

Ren already had a guess and suddenly ran into the cave. "Ren? wait!" Nora and the others followed Ren into the cave. All of them traveled into the cave and saw Ren stop and for a good reason.

They saw what was in front of them and couldn't believe it. "Oh my gosh." Everyone shared Nora's reaction.

What all of them were saw were weapons scattered everywhere in the cave. It certainly wasn't what Wave was expecting to see inside the cave. "What is this place?"

Ren walked a little further in until he saw a familiar arrow and picked it up. Questions arose all around the group wondering who would have such a collection. Everyone looked back at the cave entrance and walked outside to see some of the trees moving. Seeing them move confirmed Ren's fears. "No…"

Qrow saw the path in which whatever is shaking the trees. "It's heading toward the village."

Ren shook his head in denial. "But there's no one there! There shouldn't be!"

Wave could say otherwise. "Well, there's gotta be a reason why it's heading over to the village. If there are people in the village, they're in danger." Wave jumped off and slid down the rocky slope.

Ruby ran up to the edge. "Wave, wait!"

Qrow could see what was Wave's intentions. Being a soldier, he would want to warn those who happen to be at the village below. But somehow, he knew it wasn't going to be that easy. "Why do I get the feeling something bad is about to happen?"

B

Leone yawned as she walked through the hall of the Chief's home. After she, Blake, and Yang came back from their chase, they were confronted by Kali and Ghira. They wondered and Kali was worried what happened to them and why they left so suddenly. Kali was especially worried seeing the wound in Leone's shoulder but was surprised it healed. Blake explained to her parents that the White Fang was spying on her and chased a member down. It was where Blake had acquired a scroll and handed it to her father. She had a suspicion that something was important in it and would like her father to see what it was. After that, all three girls went to bed. Leone rolled her shoulder and it still felt a little sore. "Damn. When I get my hands on that…chameleon girl…"

She approached the room Yang and Blake were sleeping at. Well, it was Blake's room and Leone could imagine how happy Yang must've been seeing it. She stood in front of the door and was about to knock. "This is why I left in the first place, Yang!" Leone stopped and closely listened. It sounded like Blake yelled at Yang which was something Leone had never heard before. "I don't want to see those I love keep getting hurt because of me!"

"But, Blake-"

"It's my fault you lost your arm and my fault everyone is separated! I brought this upon all of you! I loved all of you and you and Leone gave me something I thought I would never have. But every time I found happiness, it was always stolen from me. There was even a time that I hoped you and everyone would hate me for leaving all of you."

Leone wanted to open the door and intervene but decided it was best for Blake to finally vent out whatever she had inside of her. Her lion ears picked up something else and turned to see who was approaching. Inside Blake's room, the Faunus girl was sitting on her bed looking away from the other girl while Yang was standing in front of her. The blonde just let Blake vent out her frustrations. She knew there was more than what Blake let on. It wasn't just her being hurt. It was hurting the whole team and feeling responsible for what happened to them back at Beacon. "I thought I was done with it, done with this but now I dragged both you and Leone into this mess. You saw Ilia last night and she wasn't even the worst. I think…you would be better off without me. That way, you could've kept your arm and none of this would never happen. These are my choices and I'll deal with consequences because they belong to me."

After hearing all of that, Yang took in a deep breath. "Blake…look at me." The Faunus girl did just that but reluctantly. As soon as she did, a loud smack echoed throughout the room. It took Blake a few seconds to register that Yang had actually slapped her with her human hand. Her cheek was stinging in pain as Blake stared at Yang in disbelief at what she did. She could see that Yang's eyes turned red and they were glaring at her. "You…moron!" Now it was time for Blake to hear out Yang. "Don't you ever say something like that in front of me! How can you say such a thing about yourself?! What happened back at Beacon wasn't your fault. It was Adam's and it was Cinder's. You had nothing to do with it. Yes, I did hate you for leaving me but you came back. Came back to me. And you didn't drag me into this whole thing. I came along with you on my own choice. And I told you I never blamed you for losing my arm. Never have and never will. As for Leone, she's taken a lot worse than some stab to the shoulder. We both know that and we both know she would do anything to protect us because that's just who she is! I would do the same because you're important to me. Hell, you're important to a lot of people! So don't come off thinking you're being selfless at this whole thing because you're not! You can make all the choices you want but you don't get to decide ours."

Yang's word did cut into Blake deeply but despite all of them, the Faunus girl still had doubts. "And what if you can't?" She stood up and looked at the blonde directly in the eye. "What if you aren't able to protect me? What if there's someone stronger than you, someone you can't handle on your own, then what?"

Yang never gave much thought about that scenario but she didn't care. "I don't care if they are stronger than me. I don't care if I lose my arm again because I would do the same thing over if it meant protecting you. When I, we, all of us, your friends fight for you, it's because we want to. So don't think this is your fight alone. It's OUR fight. Quit pushing us out and belittling us. That hurts a lot more…" She grabbed her robotic arm. "Then this will ever feel." Blake didn't know what to think of what Yang said to her. She did admit the other girl had a few good points about what the Faunus girl was thinking and doing.

There was silence between the girls for a few seconds until Blake's door suddenly dropped forward to the ground. Both turned to the dropped door and saw Ghira and Leone standing outside while Kali was on the door. Kali quickly stood up while feeling a little embarrassed. "Oh, oh dear, would you look at that. You two are awake. Thank goodness."

Ghira couldn't help but facepalm at his wife. "Kali, please." Leone couldn't help but snicker at what happened and at the sight.

Blake was both mad and embarrassed by her mother's sudden intrusion. "Mom!"

Yang couldn't help but wave awkwardly at the Belladonna couple. "Uh…good morning." She suddenly had a terrible thought. "Oh crap. Did they hear all of that?"

Blake took a few steps forward to her parents. "What are you two doing here?"

Kali really didn't want to worry her daughter but there was an important issue to talk about. "Well, sweetheart, your father and I needed to speak to the both of you and…Leone."

Already Yang didn't like where this was going. "So I'm guessing we're not going to have breakfast?"

B

Everyone gathered in Ghira's office and Blake and Yang were nervous about what they wanted to talk about. Obviously, it was about the scroll Blake had given to her father but chances are there was something else. The three girls were sitting across from Kali and Ghira with Leone sitting in between Yang and Blake. Ghira set down the scroll Blake handed to him last night. "Before we discuss the contents of what was found here, I'll ask you the same question before Miss Xiao Long." Hearing her last name confirmed the blonde's fears. Ghira narrowed his eyes at her. "What is my daughter to you?"

Yang had two choices in answering. Either continue to play it off or tell the truth. "I…uh…it's like I told you. We're teammates."

And the blonde obviously chose poorly because she saw the look Ghira was giving her and it wasn't pleasant. "You're lying to me and I do not condone lying."

Yang had never felt more afraid. Probably because the people in front of her was Blake's parents. Blake knew where this was going and thought it was time to finally come to talk about them. "You know, don't you?"

Kali nodded at her daughter's question. "We do. Shortly after you three left last night, I told your father about what I heard between Yang and Leone. I didn't mean to eavesdrop. It just happened."

Leone groaned at herself. "I knew we should've been more careful."

Both Yang and Blake looked away from the Belladonna parents. Kali could sense the worry coming from her daughter. "Why didn't you tell us about this?" She heard what Yang said before but she wanted to know directly from her daughter.

Blake continued to refuse to look at her parents. "Why do you think? We haven't seen each other in a long time and the last thing I wanted you two to know was your own daughter being in a relationship with another girl. A human girl. I thought you would disapprove. Both the relationship and who I'm with. Yang's father was accepting of it but you two? The Chieftain of Menagerie and his wife, what would they think? I've feared that question ever since we left Patch. I thought it would've been better if you didn't know it at all."

Yang looked over at the other girl with a soft look in her eyes. "Blake…" She finally turned to her girlfriend's parents. "You asked me what your daughter is to me right? Well, here's my real answer. She's important to me. Both as her teammate and as the girl who loves your daughter. Maybe it was coincidence, maybe it was fate we found each other, I don't care. What I do care is how lucky and glad I could meet her. I couldn't ask for a better partner and I can't imagine anyone else I would spend the rest of my life with. And I would kick anyone's ass who hurts her in any way." She held her robotic arm again. "That includes Adam Taurus and not only for Blake but for me too." Yang took in a deep breath and exhaled while letting go of her arm. "That's my real, true answer."

During that whole explanation, Ghira studied the human blonde and didn't find any hint of lies. Unlike the first time he asked the question, the Chief saw uncertainty in her eyes when she answered. What Ghira saw now was the strength and resolve in Yang's eyes. That much told him she was telling the truth. He studied the two girls for a few seconds longer before moving on. "For my last two questions, what does Leone have to do with both of you? What's this about you being their…daughter?"

It was Leone's turn to be put on the spot. The Bumblebee pair turned to the Faunus blonde who chuckled lightly. Leone looked back at the Chieftain. "To make a long story short sir, I was the one responsible for pairing these two up after a…misunderstanding. As for the daughter bit, well, as you can see, I do kinda resemble the two of them. My looks from Yang and Faunus heritage from Blake. It may seem a little stupid but I do think them both as my parents. My real mother died when I was young so I didn't have a parent for a long time. Yang and Blake come close to being parents to me. It's kinda simple really. I think of them as my parents just as they think of me as their daughter even though we're not related. It may come across as a joke to others but to us, we are a family and just like Yang said before, anyone who hurts them, I'll make sure they'll pay for it."

Ghira saw that same strong resolve in Leone's eyes. In a way, she was like Yang and not because they look similar. There was only one last thing he needed to confirm. "You do realize the difficulties that'll come along with this. Are you prepared to face what's to come? The hardships? The discrimination? Of what others would think?"

Blake was already prepared for a question like that and looked back at her father. "I don't care what others think about us. Humans or Faunus. I only care about what my friends and family would think."

Yang was pretty much on the same boat. "To me, it's worth it."

Leone just grinned at the question. "If others have a problem with it, I'll gladly make them think otherwise. The hard way."

With their explanations done and hearing their answers, Ghira finally came to his conclusion. "Blake…" His daughter stiffened up when she heard her name. "I know you're old enough to make your own decisions and this isn't any different. You're free to choose what to do in your life and I won't force you to change your way of thinking. What I heard alone is proof enough."

Blake couldn't believe what she had heard from her own father. She was completely dumbfounded. Her mother smiled at the three girls. "I personally think it's wonderful you found someone like Yang. I could tell even before I found out. You care for each other very much. All three of you."

Blake lowered her head while shivering slightly. She tried to best to hold back the tears but they came out anyway. "Thank you…"

Yang smiled at the Faunus girl. She was happy that Blake's parents were accepting of them and she could tell Blake thought the same.

Leone laughed as she hooked her arms around the two girls' necks and brought them close to her. "Alright! Everything worked out in the end after all!" All three girls started to laugh together.

Unfortunately, their little celebration had to be cut short as Ghira cleared his throat. All three girls looked at him and Leone let go of Yang and Blake. "We're not done yet. We still have to discuss what was on that scroll."

Blake had almost forgotten about that and rubbed her eyes with her sleeves to rid of the leftover tears. "Right…" She set her arm down and looked at her father again. "So what did you find?"

Ghira looked down at the scroll. "I'm afraid you were right to be suspicious."

Blake already didn't like where the conversation was going. "What do you mean?"

"Adam Taurus is planning to overthrow the leader of the White Fang and stage a full-scale attack on Haven Academy. It would be the Fall of Beacon all over again."

Hearing that made Blake very worried. "Sun…no."

Yang was equally worried with what she heard. "Ruby…"

Leone gritted her teeth at what she heard. "You gotta be kidding me. Never thought he would do a coup d'état." To make matters worse, Akame and the others were headed to Haven. The very thought of it angered her. "Not if we destroy the White Fang for good. Those assholes had it coming for way too long now." She was already prepared to such a thing from the start.

However, Blake had another idea. "No." She stood up and looked at everyone. "We're not going to destroy the White Fang. "We're going to take it back."

The room was silent as Yang Leone couldn't believe what Blake had just suggested. "Say what!?"

B

Wave was running fast as he could to reach the village of Kuroyuri. If there were people in that village, their safety was top priority. Once they're out of danger, then he and the others can take care of whatever it is headed toward the village. He made it to the entrance of the village and the state it was in. "What the hell happened to this place?" That was a question he would have to ask later as he kept running. Wave finally saw some people up ahead next to a large dead tree. "They must be the ones in this village."

The people he saw were none other than Akame and the others with her who heard the roar coming toward them and Cornelia didn't like it one bit. "Well, there goes our break."

Taeko grabbed the handle of Tsugaku-Hime. "We have to be prepared for whatever's coming at us."

Akame had to agree with her teammate. "The others must've heard it too. Whatever made that sound, it's likely something we haven't faced before."

"Hey! Are you alright!?"

Akame gasped at the voice she just heard. There was no mistaking of who that voice belonged to but she couldn't believe it. "That voice. It can't be. There's no way."

Cornelia and Taeko looked at the one who yelled at them and saw him. Who's this guy?"

Taeko wondered the same question. "I do not know." She noticed the clothing he was wearing. "He's wearing the same attire as Kurome."

Wave saw that he came just in time. "You should get out of here! There's something…" He stopped when he saw a very familiar figure among them. That figure turned around to face him. Wave felt a single strong heartbeat resonate through his body as he saw the one person who responsible for Kurome's death. "Akame…"

Akame was in the same state of shock at who she was seeing in front of her. It was almost unbelievable to her and yet he was standing in front of her. "Wave…" Both stared at each other deeply into each other's eyes looking at each other's reflections in them. It was at that moment, everything else vanished around them. The last sound either of them heard was the roar of the beast that was still coming towards them.