December 4th, 2040

5:37 PM

Taiyang woke up after sleeping for a good couple of hours. As he woke up, though, he felt a sense of regret… as if something in his gut knew that something bad had happened. Looking to his phone, he saw that it had buzzed numerous times, so he checked his notifications to see that Raven was calling incessantly.

Deciding that it would be best to call her back, Taiyang was surprised to hear how quick she answered the phone.

'Tai?'

"Hey, sorry I—"

'Do you have Ruby?'

"No, Agent Callows was trying to locate her last I checked in. Why?"

'Oh god… Tai, you need to turn on the news.'

Taiyang put Raven on speaker and opened his phone to see the live video of President Ironwood.

'My fellow Americans…'

5:27 PM

Ruby was asleep in her bed the last bit of energy that she felt was drained from her system. However, she was having a very bizarre dream. She sat in a forest, against a tree with her body unable to move. All she could do was stare straight ahead as she saw a blurry figure approaching her. She tried to get a better glimpse, but she could not tell who it was that was approaching her. But before she could discover the answer, she was woken up by Jaune.

"Huh? Wha…"

"Hey, sorry, I was just letting you know that it was time for dinner."

"I guess I could use some food…" Ruby said as she felt her stomach growl, "Our previous cuisines did not really satisfy my hunger."

"Well it was beef jerky and soda, so… at least your sodium levels are through the roof, so that is something."

Ruby chuckled as she got out of bed, wearing a lighter and more relaxing outfit of pajama pants, and a tank top.

"Can you… you know," Ruby blushed.

"Oh right, sorry," Jaune said as he walked away.

Having the small amount of privacy, Ruby changed into some fresh and lighter clothing. Once she was dressed appropriately, Ruby jogged out of the living area and saw Jaune was waiting for her.

"Ready?"

"Yup," Ruby smiled.

As they proceeded to the dinner table, Ruby noticed Coco and Velvet were eating already.

"Hey guys," Coco said as Ruby and Jaune sat down opposite of them.

"Here you go," Pietro handed the two a bowl of stew.

"Thank you, Pietro," Ruby said.

"So Ruby, your friend here was telling me that you stole a train from New York, " The chef said.

"He probably made it sound much more dramatic, didn't he?"

"He said that you were in his arms, bridal style, and that there were explosions at every moment," Coco said.

"Oh did he now," Ruby said as she and Coco started laughing.

"I did not," Jaune chuckled.

"Miss Rose, if I may, I have asked these two to tell their stories, but now I wish to hear the story of when you used your first spell."

"My first spell?"

"Why of course, everyone has an interesting tale."

"Well, it was in 2034, I had just gotten home from a bad day of school and my dad was still at work."

"2034… weren't you like eight then? What is a bad day for an eight year old," Coco asked.

Ruby blushed, "That isn't the point."

"Wait, let me guess," Jaune said as he stared at Ruby, "You… failed a math test."

"No… I may have said to a boy that I liked him and he laughed at me."

Coco was drinking water when Ruby said that, so she started choking from laughter as she tried to clear her throat. Meanwhile, Ruby was blushing from embarrassment.

"I was eight," Ruby said.

Jaune and Pietro now started laughing, then Velvet, and then finally Ruby started laughing.

"Okay," Jaune said as he finally stopped laughing, "What did you do?"

"Well… I came home. Dad was away and Penny wasn't with us yet—"

"Penny," Coco asked.

"Our android."

"Ah… Continue."

"So, I ran to my room, fell on my bed and screamed into my pillow. As I screamed, I realized that I had actually used the wind spell and launched myself into the ceiling by accident."

The others made their own pained expressions as Ruby continued, "When I looked in my mirror, I was in shock. I thought that I was dreaming and looked in the bathroom mirror to see if what I saw was true, and as you can all guess, it was true. Luckily, Grimm were starting to appear around the country. So when I looked up facts about the Grimm, there was a section that I saw that explained what spells they use. Luckily, there was a spell to hide my eyes. When my dad asked why there was a crack in the ceiling, I told him I was having a bad day at school and threw a baseball and it cracked the ceiling. Cost me a week of no TV, but that was much better than the other option."

"I can't even imagine the stress of living under the roof of a G.D.T.F officer."

"Well… it was tough at points, I'll tell you that. One wrong phrase and I could have been in chains heading to the Institution by the time I was ten."

"Hey where is that guy who showed us around," Ruby asked.

"Sun? He is probably keeping an eye on the news and using the radio again."

"So what is his story, anyways," Jaune asked, "He seems a bit too… hyper for this situation."

"Sun… he has a long story. He is one, possibly the one, survivor of the Main faction."

That shocked Coco, "Maine?! How did he get out of Maine? Last I heard, they filled the hideouts with mustard gas."

"They did," Hazel said as he took a seat beside the fellow Grimm and Coco, "It was a mess. I told Cardin to move but it was too late… they came during the night and began to detain Grimm as they screamed in agony… Sun only survived by being in the attic and having a lucky fall."

"Oh my god…"

"He claims that a few others made it out as well and have been in hiding, so he has been using our radio and using coded messages in the hopes of a response. He still believes that they are out there, which is why he tries to keep a positive attitude. It does also help to not feel so hopeless during these times…"

The group had nothing to say for that sudden reveal…

"We all have different stories and yet, it has led us all here. Here, it does not matter what we were. We are all one thing now… family. Here, we are brothers and sisters. And by the tomorrow's end, you shall all be across the border and join your fellow brothers and sisters in Canada." Hazel said.

"What about you and Sun?" Jaune asked.

"We have a duty here, just as the other members of The Light here do. To guide those like us who are lost and show them the way to libertas."

Suddenly, Sun ran from out from the other room in a panic, "Hazel!"

"What?"

"We have a problem. Like a big, BIG problem. It's the news."

Hazel, Pietro, and Sun ran into the room Sun came from, shortly followed by the injured Grimm and the Grimm who was healing him.

'My fellow Americans, for the last six years, we have lived in a time of fear. These people who have unknown amounts of power… the Grimm, have plagued our planet for the last six years. Ever since the first reports of people with these dangerous powers, we, as a united nation, feared what these individuals may do with these powers. We tried to place them in Institutions where we could hold them as we relentlessly try to find a cure for them. The results have only ended in violence and needless human casualties. A group calling themselves 'The Light' has attacked these Institutes, setting hundreds of these dangerous individuals out into the streets of our good country. After multiple Institutions have been unjustly destroyed, officers needlessly killed, and hundreds of thousands wasted… I believe that we have tried long enough and it clear that they cannot and do not wish to cured. The Senate put on the table, a bill that was considered unethical at first, but has now become a necessity… called the Grimm Genocide Bill. It has been in discussion for months, and finally the bill has been passed by the Senate.'

"No…" Coco said as she held Velvet's hand.

'As I speak now, there are dozens of military checkpoints being set up in major cities. I have ordered the Institutions to neutralize all of their Grimm and instruct any of you who are in the company of Grimm to report them to the nearest police station or risk being considered an accomplice. I know that some may find this unethical, but know that this is to protect the nation as a whole from any possible domestic terrorist attack, especially from attacks that are performed by an individual as dangerous as the Grimm. May God bless us and may God bless the United States of America.'

'Mr. President! Mr. President!'

5:45 PM

Taiyang stared at the TV as Raven spoke first.

'Tai?'

Lowering his head, tears in his eyes, he heard her.

"Do not kill what little is left of us, Tai. Let us live by letting her go."

"I… I have to go…" Taiyang said as he sat on his bed and began crying.

5:48 PM

"Agent Callows, I am here to inform you that President Ironwood has announced the G.G.B has been passed by the Senate."

Tyrian chuckled as he stood up, "I want every Hunter drone ready, every gun cleaned and ready, every soldier rested and ready. The Grimm will try to leave by tomorrow. And I will take them down… all of them."

"What about Lieutenant Long, sir?"

"If he wishes to join us on the hunt, then he can."

5:50 PM

Hazel turned off the television, making the room dreadfully silent.

"Oh my god…" Sun said as he sat on the ground.

"What are we gonna do now," The Grimm healer said.

"Calm down Nora," The wounded Grimm said.

"NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO BE CALM REN," Nora yelled.

"Enough!" Hazel yelled.

The room was, once again, silenced by the Hazel's loud yell.

"The plan is still the same. The other members of The Light and I shall plot out the best route tonight and inform you of the plan by early tomorrow morning," Hazel said. "I suggest you all get some rest. We have a long day tomorrow. Sun, get the others and let's meet over by the map. Pietro, it appears that we will need to take down everything."

The two members of The Light nodded and went off to go do their tasks.

"What about us," Coco asked.

"You should all get some rest," Hazel said as he rubbed his eyes.

"All those Grimm in the institutions… They won't even be able to defend themselves," Ren said.

"Hey, we should get some rest as well…" Jaune said.

As Ruby was about to leave, she looked at Hazel as he sat down near the radio and television as if in defeat.

"Give me a second," Ruby said.

Jaune nodded and walked back towards the beds. Ruby looked at Hazel as she slowly began walking over to him. Noticing her, Hazel sighed.

"Miss Rose, you should get some rest."

"I think I can manage a couple more minutes," Ruby said.

Hazel chuckled.

"Gretchen would have liked you… before all of this," Hazel said.

"Gretchen?"

"My sister, she wasn't like us, but she was still a good friend to The Light… she died in the March on Beacon Street. Died right in my arms, right through her head… I couldn't do anything about it."

Ruby stayed quiet as Hazel continued, "She always wanted children. I kept telling her that she was crazy, that all of this would be a bad upbringing for them. The more I think about how I handled that conversation, the more I…" He placed his head in his right hand and sighed. He leaned back in the seat with irritation around his eyes and looked at me, "Who have you hurt Ruby?"

"Excuse me?"

"When we reveal our powers, there is always someone we hurt, at least one person. A friend, significant other, family member, someone. Who was it for you?"

There was only one person on my mind.

"My father…" I said. "When he discovered that I was a Grimm, he told me that I was a monster…"

"And how did you feel?"

"At the time? Like the one person who I cared about in the world just abandoned me… hated me."

"Oh I doubt that he hates you," Hazel said, "At the time, your father just discovered that his daughter is the very same thing that he is trained to arrest and take away. No, I don't believe that he hates you. I believe that when humans discover something that they do not understand, they fear it. That is why they never gave people like you and I a chance. They only saw the destruction we were capable of committing, not the miracles we could have done for them."

"And now they never will."

"It may feel that way, but I have hope. That is all we can have now."

"Hope? They are wiping all of the Grimm out! How can you have hope," Ruby asked.

"Hope is the one thing we can have. The one thing that humanity cannot take away from us. Down the road, humanity will see what they have done and realize the opportunities that they have destroyed. And that is when Liberteria will reach out to offer a second chance."

"What is Liberteria like?"

"It is a marvelous sight… a river goes through the town, so fish are almost always available. We open up the skies on the stormiest of days, letting the sun shine through. Th houses are small but exceptional with everyone offering to help others fit in. The citizens of Liberteria work as one and help out each other during trying times."

"It sounds like a nice place…"

"Oh it is child, and you shall discover it soon enough. Now then… I better join Sun and the others to discuss what our next strategy is. Try to get some rest," Hazel said.

Ruby walked back to Jaune and the others as they began to drift off to sleep. Sitting in her bed, Ruby stared at the ceiling of the hideout… Ruby reached into her bag and pulled out a photo of her mother.

6:10 PM

Taiyang stared at the ceiling of the precinct while staring at his phone, or more importantly, a photo on his phone of himself, Ruby, Summer, Qrow, and Raven during a G.D.T.F BBQ…

Placing his phone, with the photo still open, on the table beside him, Taiyang coxed his eyes as a tear ran down his cheek.

6:12 PM

"Ruby."

Ruby looked past the photo to see Jaune as he kneeled down beside her bed, "We'll be fine."

"Are you telling me that or yourself that?"

"Can both be a valid answer?"

Ruby chuckled as she put the photo back in her bag, "I'll see you in the morning."

Jaune nodded as he went back to his bed. Ruby shut her eyes as fell asleep, as ready as she would ever be for what was to come.