Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of The Rings, the Middle-Earth universe, Shadow of War/Mordor or RWBY.

This work will contain moments of intense violence, dark and dirty humor, and MANY canonical divergences.


The New Journey

Blake had wanted to go to Patch for a while now.

Maybe it was her curiosity over Ruby and Yang's home, maybe it was the desire to explore more things now that she was no longer subject to the restraints of the White Fang. Whatever the cause, the island had drawn her attention numerous times during her time at Beacon.

But she never would've guessed she'd be seeing it like this.

Over the past week, the island had quickly become crowded with Refugees from Vale. It wasn't even just the city, numerous people from villages beyond the city's borders had started fleeing as well once the Stormbringer's declaration of war went live. Many seemed to be coming to the council for answers. With the help of Atlas, the members of Vale's council who had escaped the Storm's attack set up a provisional government in order to manage the crisis. But even a common citizen could see they were mostly relying on Atlas for assistance at this point.

Blake could see several Atlesian soldiers patrolling nearby. They were guarding a doctor who was speaking frantically over his scroll as he moved. Blake knew that Atlas was doing what they could with what they had, but between the loss of the Fleet in Vacuo and the Fall of Vale, she wasn't exactly surprised by the final plan that Ironwood seemed to settle on.

"Blake!"

Blake was pulled from her thoughts by Ruby, who bounded down the path towards her.

"I was just on my way to visit," Blake smiled as Ruby slid to a stop before her "are your hands..?"

Ruby came to a stop, folding her bandaged hands behind her back as she leaned towards Blake and whispered, "They're fine, look could you just follow me real quick?"

Blake was taken aback a bit by Ruby's directness before nodding, "Sure, I mean I-"

Ruby walked behind her and began nudging her towards the woods beside the path, with Blake growing slightly anxious until they came across an old bench. Around that bench were several familiar faces.

Sitting on the bench was Yatsuhashi, leaning against the trees nearby were Jaune, Ren and Nora.

Blake grew a confused expression as Ruby walked past her, "What are you all doing here? I thought you were all still... recovering?"

"We were," Ren sighed "...in a way."

"And Yatsuhashi," Blake turned on him "I haven't even heard about you guys since Beacon."

He nodded at that, "Perhaps that would've remained the case if your... Leader hadn't been so adamant."

Glancing to Ruby, Blake swallowed nervously.

Ever since they'd gotten to Patch, Blake had made herself more scarce than usual, only showing up to visit her injured teammates along with the others. Even she had felt her excuse had been pitiful, as she could only say that she needed time to herself for so long until it became grating. Ruby had apparently been the exact opposite, with her wounded hands keeping her from working on rebuilding Crescent Rose, Blake had assumed she would be right at her teammates' sides the entire time.

But this didn't seem to be the case.

"We're going to Mistral."

It was an explanation that Blake hadn't been ready for, so her silence provided an opportunity for Ruby to continue.

"As soon as I've got Crescent Rose working again, me and them are heading to Mistral." Ruby pointed to the others "We're tagging along with Velvet and Yatsu, he's got family there we can-"

"Hold on hold on," Blake waved a hand in front of her before locking eyes with Ruby, "Why?"

"Jaune and Ruby have been going over it since we got here," Ren stepped forward before nodding to Jaune "the woman responsible for Penny and Pyrrha's deaths claimed to be from Mistral, she and her cohorts had been parading around as Haven students during their entire stay."

"Their credentials couldn't have just been faked unless they had some kind of access into Haven Academy's systems." Jaune noted before shaking his head "From what happened with Ironwood's robots, we can only assume they've got ins everywhere."

"So you want to go to Mistral because-" Blake was interrupted by Ruby striding towards her

"Because it was their intervention that gave the Uruks an easy target, they had to have been coordinating somehow and if they take another Academy out like that then I don't know if Atlas will be able to stop them at that point!" Ruby exclaimed, before gesturing to her "We all saw that declaration, even if that Doctor freak or his boss were lying about some of it there's no way they aren't gunning to expand!"

"But we aren't sure they were working together," Ren interjected "be that as it may, Cinder's actions clearly paved the way for their invasion, so tracking down her and her allies would go far to securing the rest of Remnant from sharing the same fate."

"They're not getting away with what they've done!" Nora yelled before tightening her hands into fists and slamming them together "For Pyrrha, Penny, Ruby's Uncle and everyone else!"

Ruby notably bit her lip at the mention of all those lost, her rant derailed as her hands lowered.

"Yeah..." Jaune looked away as he folded his arms tightly "for everyone..."

Blake looked down to Yatsuhashi, who had remained mostly silent throughout their conversation, "So you're going to let them tag along with you guys?"

"It seems like a good cause to support." he nodded "Besides, if I'm taking Velvet there anyway, there's no reason not to acquiesce for friends."

Blake narrowed her eyes, "You keep only mentioning Velvet. What about-?"

"Fox is gone." Yatsuhashi stated

The rest went silent at that as Blake grew confused, "Gone? Where did-?"

"Vacuo," Yatsuhashi leaned back "he's got people there he needed to check up on. And... well, with how things are..."

Yatsuhashi didn't have to continue, almost everyone knew that things with Vacuo had reached a boiling point. After Atlas' failed assault on the tower, communications between Vacuo and the other kingdoms began breaking down extremely quick. Ironwood and the Council were working their hardest just to keep the Shade Headmaster and other representatives from cutting off contact. Their inability to hold Vale only made those in Vacuo less willing to continue to support cooperative endeavors, making it a hotbed for turmoil second only to the violence the Storm was kick-starting in Vale.

To go there in the midst of all of that on his own...

"You guys just let him go?" Blake asked

"I respected his desire to check in on old friends and family. Its exactly what I'm hoping to do." Yatsuhashi nodded before giving a shrug "Besides, Velvet doesn't want to be on Sanus for longer than she needs to be."

"They're taking a ship straight to Anima!" Ruby pointed out "Once we get there, we'll split off and make our way to Haven as quickly as we can. Jaune said that if we plot our route properly, we could be at the Academy by the end of next month!"

She paused before looking down at her hands, "I mean, as long as these things heal up quick enough." she sighed before looking to Blake, "Look, I know that you've been dealing with some stuff since Beacon, I haven't been pushing because I know that... well you've got a system with these things but-"

Taking a careful breath, she leaned forward and shot Blake a Determined look, "I'm planning on all of us going together so-"

"Sorry," Blake interrupted with a small shake of her head, "I can't."

Ruby visibly deflated, "Oh..."

"Not that I don't want to!" Blake said quickly before grabbing at her arm, "I just... have some family stuff I need to work out as well."

She stepped away while reaching up to her head, "I... left things pretty bad last time I saw them. I need to make sure I've cleared the air and made things right before I don't have that chance anymore."

Ruby just lowered her head, "Well, where do they live? If its on the route then maybe we can-"

"Menagerie," Blake looked back at her "but I don't want it getting in your way. This is something I need to do on my own."

"I understand." Ruby said with a sigh before looking up as Blake approached.

"But when I'm done, I'll meet up with you guys in Mistral." Blake stated as she placed a hand on Ruby's shoulder "I promise."

Ruby smiled at that, only for that smile to disappear at Blake's next words.

"What does your Dad think about it?"

.{{{{{+-+}}}}}.

Yang's fingers traced the stitches that ran along her face, moving slowly up the line of them with slow movements. The movement made her shift her other arm a bit, causing her to make a sharp inhale of breath. Though it had healed better than she had initially thought, the limb was still wrapped up in a sling for a reason. After pausing for a moment, she resumed inspecting the bandage that went around her head

Or, more accurately, the bandage that covered what used to be her right eye.

She gave a low sigh as her fingertips ran along her bandage, but not loudly enough to wake the man sleeping beside her bed.

Taiyang had been at her side through a majority of her recovery, posted beside her bed like a guard dog. He was ready and willing to get her anything she needed, whether it be a meal, consolation or even just the presence of someone else. Honestly, Yang should've been psyched to have so much pampering from her old man. But all feelings of joy he might've brought withered under the pained undertones his voice held.

Though he smiled and tried to be as supportive as possible, Yang was still cautious whenever they spoke. The last time something like this had happened was too much of an oppressive thought.

The last time they had lost a family member.

As if just thinking about it was enough to rouse him, Tai shifted as his eyelids fluttered open. Almost immediately his gaze fell on Yang as she tried to discreetly lower her arm. No such luck, after giving a short yawn he flashed her an exhausted smile.

"You're up." he said before turning to look for the clock in her room "Was hoping you'd get yourself another few hours of shut-eye. How're you feeling?"

"Good, all things considered." Yang looked down, trying to find anything other than her wounds to talk about "You're room is right down the hall, Dad. You don't have to sit in that chair all day."

"True," he nodded before leaning forward "but its a lot less worrying, ya know?"

Yang rolled her eye before looking up at him, the two sharing a look before Tai gave a short glance to the bandage covering her eye.

"And the- uh..?" he gestured towards her.

"Its fine," Yang insisted before frowning "everything's a little weird but... it doesn't hurt anymore."

Whether he knew she was lying or not, Tai didn't indicate. Instead, he sat back in his chair and crossed his arms, "Well don't you worry, Little Dragon, Ironwood called up earlier and assured me that he'll have a replacement done before we even have to leave."

Yang's hand gripped the covers of her bed at that, a motion which caught Tai's eye.

Yang didn't want to have to think about that damn exodus they were planning. Ever since the Storm's declaration of War, what was left of the Council had been up in arms over how to respond to the inevitable attack on Patch. But eventually Atlas made the choice for them. Unconvinced they'd be able to hold Patch under a similar assault to the one on Vale, Ironwood had declared that Atlas would be pulling out from Patch. It wasn't immediate, they'd do everything they could to facilitate other people wanting to escape from the Storm's territory, but the motion had killed any hope that people had of halting the Stormbringer's advance.

For the past few days they'd already started using the island's harbors and air docks to move as many refugees from Patch as possible. Not just people, officials had been urging companies both Commercial and industrial to move all affiliated facilities from the island as well. By the time the Storm actually did show up, it was hoped that they'd find nothing but cleared out land. The goal seemed to be keeping as many resources out of their hands as possible. While they couldn't do anything about the island's natural resources short of razing it entirely, they could definitely clear out as much infrastructure as they could before bailing.

A number of Yang's friends had already left on those vessels, and it was only a matter of time until they were on one heading to a different kingdom as well. While dialogue with Vacuo may have been tense, Mistral, Atlas and even Menagerie were showing support for those displaced by the invasion. But the fact that they were just going to leave and let the Shaman and his lackeys take the island like that gnawed at Yang. It wasn't just because she'd be losing the home she'd spent practically her entire childhood at.

"We shouldn't just be running..." She muttered, noting the way Tai's expression fell "I... I can't just leave him behind."

At that Tai's eyebrows knitted together as he leaned forward to take his daughter's hand, "Honey, I know its hard... But you said you saw one of them with his sword and his cape covered in blood." Tai had to pause to collect himself for a moment "I wanna believe that he's okay too, but the way you described it-"

"He would've shown me a body!" Yang said closing her eye "That bastard, Ratlug... there's no way he would've settled on just some blade and his stuff."

They didn't understand, even her sister hadn't spent as much time with that Egomaniac as she had. Yang knew Ratlug more than she ever wanted to. There was no doubt in her mind that if he had the ability to drag Qrow's corpse in front of her to make a statement, then he would. The fact that he came at her with his sword and his bloody cape meant he couldn't produce a body, not even a limb. Ratlug wasn't the type to half-ass his taunts.

Ratlug had made several demoralizing broadcasts since the original Declaration of War, mostly just putting on a show of force and capability while endlessly talking down to the people watching. In almost every one of those broadcasts, at least some of its run time was devoted to displaying the rampant cruelty the Storm enacted upon their captives. Despite what Tai would tell her, she always tuned in with hopes that she'd spot Qrow among those captured.

Tai didn't share her optimism.

After standing from his chair with a groan, Tai looked back at Yang with sad eyes, "Even if he's somehow alive over there, that doesn't mean I'm risking keeping you girls anywhere near Vale."

"But there's other villages on the mainland trying to hold their ground!" Yang pointed out "If Ironwood just reached out to help them gather up instead of running then maybe we wouldn't have to-!"

"Yang, you know its not that simple." Tai turned away before pulling out his scroll "I just want you ready for the trip to Atlas, they've got the lowest amount of Uruk and Grimm activity by far. You and Ruby will be safe there, and I hear Ironwood's already offering positions in his Academy for any displaced students."

He turned to look at her for a moment, "Just focus on resting up, okay?"

Yang fell back against her pillow with a groan as Tai exited. Even if what he said was true, even if Alas really couldn't continue providing aid like they'd been doing, Yang couldn't stand the idea of just leaving Qrow in Vale. She was sure he was there somewhere, and she'd be damned if she lost any of her family to the Shaman or the numerous goons he had calling themselves an army.

With her father gone, the ensuing silence almost gave her a chance to slip back into the realm of unconsciousness.

But then the door cracked open.

"Yang?" Ruby poked her head in, "Are you... up?"

"As up as I can be." Yang said with a smirk as Ruby ran over and kneeled by her bed "What's up with you, baby sis?"

"I should be asking you that!" Ruby said as she looked her over and winced "Dad said you were sleeping."

"Ugh, I've been doing nothing but sleep since I got here." Yang murmured before glancing back to Ruby "I'd much rather know what my lil' hero's been up to."

Ruby frowned at that, "I told you not to call me that." she said "All of you were busy defending Beacon and I... well I just got tossed around by Bubol since the attack started."

"But you got away. Even if Blake and Weiss helped, you still managed to evade him and his cronies that entire time." Yang reached over and held her own wrapped up arm "Meanwhile I was surrounded by allies, and still got isolated and torn up."

"Yang..." Ruby reached for her hand.

"Nah, its fine..." Yang looked up at her and smirked "Was only a matter of time before you grew up, just didn't think you'd be outpacing your old sis so quickly."

"You aren't giving yourself enough credit." Blake stated.

Both of the sisters looked to see her standing in the doorway. Blake swallowed at the sight of Yang's bandaged eye, yet stepped inside despite turning her gaze to the floor.

"There were more experienced huntsmen than you out there." she said as she approached "A lot of them didn't make it off campus. At this point I'd consider surviving Vale to have been an achievement in and of itself, let alone covered in wounds like yours."

"Heh," Yang leaned back "I remember back when I used to give you pep-talks like that. Odd kinda roll-reversal we seem to have going for us."

Despite the smile she wore, both Blake and Ruby caught the moisture forming at the edge of her eye.

"You go across the continent to save me, I don't even bother to enjoy watching the tournament with you, and the second I have to put my fists up again I go and lose an eye." Yang wiped at her eye before any tears could form "What kinda big sister would go and invalidate all of that work you did like that?"

"We came for you because we couldn't stand the thought of you being captive to those things!" Ruby insisted as she put her hands on the edge of the bed "It doesn't matter that you had to run, if you hadn't then-!"

Ruby choked up a bit, biting down on her words and lowering her head onto the bed "You might not be here Yang."

Yang looked down at her for a moment before reaching over with her good hand and rubbing Ruby's head, "I'm actually kinda glad that Weiss can't see me like this, I'd bet she'd be harsher than both of you combined."

"Maybe," Blake crossed her arms "but they say she shouldn't be woken up yet."

Despite managing to stay conscious through a majority of that night, medical staff had put Weiss under the moment they had her. The damage she'd sustained while under Gundza's control had been far more grievous than any of them had realized. Though she hadn't been suffering from blood-loss like Yang had been due mostly in part to Blake's work bandaging her up, the internal damage from being impaled had been far more pressing than she'd let on. Due to a graze along her spine from when she being impaled by Myrtenaster, her Aura had prioritized that wound over the rest of them. She'd gone for far too long without her Aura working to patch up her other wounds, and had wound up in grievous condition by the time she'd actually been looked at by professionals.

She'd been in a medically induced coma since the Fall of Vale while undergoing Aura and surgical treatment.

Being reminded of her partner's condition caused Ruby to lean back up, "Yang... I need to tell you something."

She proceeded to fill Yang in on her plan, with the Blonde's smile growing weaker as time passed. When Ruby finished, she sat straight and looked to Yang for some kind of reaction, but Yang just leaned back again and gave a low breath.

"Mistral and Menagerie..." she said slowly, drawing out the words "Long way from home..."

"You don't have to worry about me," Blake emphasized "I'll try to link up with the rest of you as quickly as I can."

Ruby nodded before turning back to Yang, "But I want you and Weiss to join us. They say Weiss should be able to wake up by the end of the week and I can actually hold my tools again so-"

"Nope..." Yang shook her head "won't have my eye by then."

"I seem to recall a certain someone claiming she could take on a whole room full of Grimm with only one eye open." Blake noted

"Yep," Yang nodded "that dumb ass joke really doesn't feel so funny anymore."

"Yang!" Ruby frowned

"Look Sis, even if I did have my eye. I don't think you need me anymore."

"Its not about needing you, Yang!" Ruby insisted

"Dad wants us in Atlas, you know?" Yang looked at her "Says its safest from the Uruks and the Grimm."

Ruby deflated a bit, "Yeah... I know..."

Blake looked between the two of them, but didn't say anything.

Yang stared down her sister, "You're still planning on going to Mistral? Even if you know he wants us safe?"

Ruby gritted her teeth before nodding, Yang blinked slowly before turning away.

"Then answer this for me," Yang stared up at the ceiling "do you think Uncle Qrow's dead, too?"

"You said that-"

"I know what I said!" Yang grunted before flinching and leaning back carefully "But I also know the guys who kept me locked up. Just answer the question."

Swallowing loudly, Ruby looked down at the floor before murmuring, "I want to believe he's alive. But I also want to believe that Penny's alive... and Pyrrha... and Coco... and a whole lot of other people that I know aren't."

Yang took a deep breath, "Then you've got my blessing."

"Blessing?" Ruby raised an eyebrow

"To go to Mistral, of course." Yang smirked as she lifted her head

"That wasn't what I was asking you." Ruby stated

"Yeah?" Yang shrugged "Well I can't bring myself to go with you, not while I'm still a liability."

Blake stepped in, "You aren't a liability."

"Look, I've gotta get back into my groove, sis." Yang sighed "I've been out of it for a while now and the disfiguring sure as hell ain't helping. I don't even want to risk weighing you down, so for now..."

She laid back down and stared at the ceiling, "I... think I'm just gonna take a while to sort myself out." she glanced over to Ruby "Maybe I'll hook up with you guys later, too. I just... don't feel right doing it now."

Ruby stood up and stepped back, "Is that all?"

Giving another heavy breath, Yang nestled against her pillow, "...Yeah."

Silence reigned for several long seconds, but it only served to emphasize the pounding footsteps which sounded through the house.

"Guys!" it was Nora's voice, and she sounded panicked.

Blake moved towards the door, but didn't even reach it before Nora poked her head in with wide-eyes.

"Nora?" Yang sat up

"What's going on?" Ruby asked, only for Nora to wave her hand behind her frantically.

"They're taking Weiss!" she said quickly "A bunch of guys from the SDC are here saying they're taking her back to Atlas!"

Ruby didn't even say anything before rushing out of the room.

Down the path from the Rose Xiao-Long residence was one of the many provisional tent cities that had been set up since the Fall of Vale. They now covered a large portion of Patch with the largest surrounding Signal Academy, where the Provisional Government currently resided. Nothing more than momentary residences for those displaced by the Storm, the tent cities were less than ideal in numerous ways. Ruby could honestly say the broken down shanties that the Uruks in Vacuo lived in might've been filthy and torn up, but even they felt more like homes than the ocean of tents now covering her home.

Thankfully, the number of tents decreased as more and more people were filtered out of Patch, but that just meant that soon her old home would be empty and waiting for the advancing Storm.

Such ideas didn't reach Ruby at the moment, as she darted past the numerous tents and refugees on her way to where Weiss was being treated. She didn't even making it all the way before slowing to a stop beside the tents where that Music Studio had set up. From where she was, she could see several people in uniforms wheeling a gurney in between several tents. Ironwood was walking with them, speaking to one of them while gesturing to the unconscious girl on the gurney.

Ruby altered her course and called out to them, "Hey-!"

But just as she started running again she slammed against someone passing by and stumbled back. Ruby caught herself and looked up to a frightened-looking Deer Faunus.

"Sorry," the Faunus said quickly, stepping out of the way as Ruby stepped by "I was looking for someone and-"

"Its fine!" Ruby said back to her before looking forward again and cursing upon realizing she'd lost sight of Weiss. Walking to where she saw the Gurney last, Ruby looked around for a few moments before hearing the sounds of a ship starting up nearby.

She found them in a clearing with the heavy woods lining one side and the tents lining the other. The SDC personnel were in the middle of loading Weiss onto a fancy looking Bullhead, standing beside the ship was Ironwood speaking to one of them who was holding up a screen.

"Wait!" Ruby called out, causing Ironwood to look back at her.

"Ruby?" he turned to her, "What are you-?"

"Why are they taking her?" she asked

"Oh," Ironwood's eyes softened as he gave a few short nods "seeing as her condition's stabilized, her father's asked us to have her transferred immediately. Even offered one of his ships and some personnel so we won't have to reorganize anything."

"But they said she'd wake up by the end of the week!" Ruby said before pausing for a moment and looking towards Weiss "Should she even be travelling like that?"

"I raised similar concerns," Ironwood coughed into his hand before folding his arm behind his back "but Jacques been adamant that she be returned to Atlas as soon as possible."

"But that doesn't mean they can just-!"

"James?" a voice called out from behind Ironwood "I take it I'm hearing one of my daughter's friends?"

Ironwood glanced behind him, with Ruby leaning to the side to see a woman dressed in SDC security attire holding up a screen. On that screen a figure in white was pouring himself a drink at his desk with his back towards the camera.

"Would you kindly allow me to handle this? I can see why she'd be... hesitant to let her go."

Ironwood frowned before looking to Ruby and gesturing her forward. Ruby looked from Ironwood to the woman holding the screen before approaching. She stood before the screen just as the man in white set aside his bottle and picked up a glass of brandy.

Jacques Schnee turned to the camera and looked her over before taking a sip from his glass and approaching, "Ah, you must be that Team Leader I've been hearing about."

"Sir, I just don't think she should be flying until after she's awake." Ruby stated

Jacques gave several nods before taking another sip and sliding into a chair, "Tell me girl, can you one-hundred percent guarantee me that my daughter will wake up before those brutes sitting in Vale come after all of you?"

"I-" Ruby frowned "the doctors said-"

"I know what they said, but I'm still asking you a question." he interrupted before leaning forward in his seat "Can you one-hundred percent, guarantee me that she'll be awake before they attack?"

"Well I don't know when they'll attack, nobody does!" Ruby said "Even considering the threat, nobody can say if it'll come by the end of the month or later. But even if they do we can just... move her..."

"But I could just move her now, save us all the trouble. Are you saying I should just bide my time, leave her unconscious near Sanus where all this ruckus is getting kicked up? Can you guarantee her safety then?"

Ruby's hands tightened into fists, "No... I can't."

"Ah," Jacques set aside his glass and folded his hands together "then convince me to take that risk, girl. Convince me to leave my daughter right in the neighborhood of those bloodthirsty beasts that've been so carelessly trampling your entire continent."

He nodded towards her, "No no, please. I'm actually quite interested to see how you could justify risking the future of my lineage, my company, my entire livelihood. Go on, I'm waiting."

As he spoke, Ruby never even noticed Blake showing up, helping Yang track down her sister. The moment they saw her, they moved to catch up, only to slow down upon recognizing the conversation taking place.

"I just don't think... she should be-"

"Flying?" Jacques tilted his head and raised an eyebrow "Because it sounds to me that its far safer than leaving her there. Rest assured that I plan on having the best doctors in Atlas looking over her, unless... those relief staff you've got over there have the necessary equipment, sterilized setting, and resources necessary to rival the leading technological giant that is Atlas. Do they, girl?"

"Hey lay off her!" Yang called out as she strode next to Ruby "She just doesn't want anything to happen to her, okay?"

"Then she should recognize the logic of what I'm saying." Jacques replied without missing a beat, not even glancing in Yang's direction but taking note of Blake as she came to Ruby's other side "Hmph, I suppose this is the team she's been running around with, eh?"

He unfolded his hands and laid them along the arm rests of his chair as he leaned back in it, "Well girls, how I about I walk you through this, step by step? Just so we're all on the same page."

He reached over and took hold of his brandy and gave the glass a small shake, "My Daughter, who's been so graciously refusing to speak with me for some time now, gets drawn into what by all accounts and purposes is the start of a war. The cataclysm that sets it off leaves her so battered and beaten that they have to keep her in a coma just so she stays stable. Meanwhile the army of bloodthirsty monsters directly responsible for that Cataclysm are stating out loud and openly that they're planning on descending on the place where that Daughter of mine is undergoing treatment, all the while they've broadcast their atrocities for all to see with absolutely no possibility to negotiate them out of hostilities."

He paused in his speech to take a deep sip of brandy, savoring it for a moment before continuing, "After checking in for days, I'm told that she's finally in stable enough condition to be transferred away from the writhing horde of violence where she can be taken to a proper hospital and given the proper attention that someone of her name and title should be given. Not only that, but this comatose daughter of mine happens to be my current heir apparent to succeed me and take control of a multi-billion lien business that a good chunk of our entire world relies on for an innumerable number of functions."

He lifted his glass to them, "So I ask again that you give me a more solid reason for not doing everything in my power to remove her from that location as quickly as possible."

Ruby lowered her hands as she found no words coming to her.

"Nothing?" Jacques tilted his head "Good. Because you've already wasted more time than I'd usually allow."

With that the rear of the ship closed, with the SDC woman stepping back, only for Ruby to call out.

"Wait! Can I get your guarantee?" she asked, causing the woman to halt as Jacques paused with the glass right next to his lips "That she'll be okay? One-Hundred Percent?"

Jacques set the glass aside and gave her a smile, "Of course I can."

So the girls merely watched as the SDC personnel packed up and took off, gone almost as quickly as they'd appeared. The three watched as the ship disappeared over the tree line, with Yang noting Ruby's tightening expression and reaching over to rub her shoulder.

Ironwood turned to them, "I know its never easy saying goodbye to a teammate, girls. But if Jacques consistent with anything its protecting his investments." Ironwood paused at that, shaking his head with a grunt before walking away "I'm sure you guys can call her when she wakes up."

"Yeah... yeah!" Yang brightened up as she gave Ruby a shake "As soon as she's up and about, she'll be blowing up your scroll in no time, Sis!"

Ruby gave a small nod before lowering her gaze to the ground, "I just wanted to to say goodbye..."

Ironwood gave them their space, walking away with a sigh as he passed between the nearby tents. The entire campaign in Sanus was more than a bust, it was a downright failure. The Fleet in Vacuo was gone and the majority of their forces stationed in Vale were either dead or MIA, staying anywhere in Vale with the Storm going on their campaign would be suicide. He was already stretching forces thin facilitating the Exodus through Patch, hopefully the Storm was less ready for an assault than their eager broadcast implied. If they showed up before they were finished pulling out, it'd just be a repeat of Beacon.

He needed to marshal his forces back in Atlas, it was the only feasible way that they'd be able to defend an all-out assault if the Storm turned out to be telling the truth about the potential scale of their forces. As much as he wanted to help the other Kingdoms and Menagerie, he just couldn't see it working in the long-term. Mistral might've been ready and willing to pool resources, but Menagerie and Atlas had a tense relationship at best and the less time he spent arguing with the Shade headmaster, the better.

Certain that he was obscured from prying eyes by several tents, the General allowed himself to sag a bit.

It wasn't just the Uruks or the failures of his armies that had weighed heavily on his mind lately. Ozpin and Qrow were gone, along with the Maiden and their access to the Relic of Choice. The only upside was that he was hopeful that even if the Stormbringer discovered the vault, he wouldn't be able to open it without the maiden. According to Jaune Arc's account of what happened, the thief who'd managed to kill Amber was likely the same one Qrow had spoke of during one of their last meetings. As enraged as he was that Salem's cronies had managed to infiltrate Beacon and sabotage his entire army, he had to see their intervention as a blessing in disguise. With the Stormbringer in control of whatever Vault Ozpin had in Beacon and Salem in control of the Maiden, they'd at least cancel each other out for now and keep the relic out of either of their hands.

Gods help them if they ever managed to find a way to cooperate.

But he couldn't think about that now. Luckily, none of the Teams seemed privy to the true nature of what Cinder's goal was. Ozpin's secret would be safe for now. But as he straightened himself, Ironwood paused as he considered the validity of that secret. Before he'd been able to bring such concerns up with Ozpin, but now he was gone for who knows how long until the next Ozpin appeared. With Qrow dead and Glynda still missing, Ironwood had been wrestling with the understanding that he and the other headmasters were on their own. Hell, he wasn't even sure how long he could keep the Shade headmaster on board without Ozpin there to mediate for them.

He gave another heavy sigh, everywhere he turned he found more problems and far too few solutions.

"General?"

Ironwood's gaze shot back to see a large man with an immense beard looking him over.

"Ah, Mister... Bigsby, correct?" James turned to look at him

"Wouldn't think one of the most powerful men in the world would recognize someone like me." the music executive said with a nod as he stepped closer

"Well, when you save as many people as you and your crew did, I suppose that garners a fair bit more recognition than peddling music." Ironwood noted "I know a lot of company owners, and can honestly say I don't know many who would cripple their own business just to protect their clientele, let alone risk their lives in the process."

"Good business sense can recover any losses," Mr. Bigsby shrugged "an actual consumer base, however, isn't quite so easy to replace."

"Words I don't hear as often as I should." Ironwood offered his hand "I wish I could do more to reward your efforts, its definitely something to be encouraged."

"Passage away from this war is all I could ask." Bigsby said as he reached forward and gave Ironwood a firm handshake "I'm confident in my ability to recoup my losses anywhere, really."

Turning away, Ironwood gave a chuckle, "Well I hope you give Atlas some consideration," he said as he walked away "I certainly could use more friendly faces around there."

"I'll keep that in mind, General." Mr. Bigsby said with a wave as Ironwood disappeared around several tents.

Mr. Bigsby stood there for several seconds longer before frowning and turning around. It wasn't a planned interaction, but one that he felt he needed to have before he proceeded forward.

Ogthrak had spent nearly his entire time on Patch organizing the staff of Pug-Bringer studio. When he wasn't keeping his loyal gaggle of idiots from drinking themselves into oblivion, they were busy soaking up the praise of the numerous people they'd saved and their families. They were too out in the open for him to simply allow his employees to indulge in their less than marketable tendencies, despite most having some inclination as to what the Masqueraders were all about. Then there were 'Rolo' and 'Banz', those two especially had been kept under watch whenever they spoke to their gracious fans. Ogthrak had confidence in the acting capabilities he'd cultivated during his time under cover. Those two, however, had practically been glued to Melanie and Militia just in case they needed to be reigned in.

Yet even with how secure Ogthrak was in keeping up his Bigsby persona around non-Uruks, he saw an opportunity to put it to the ultimate test and took it. It was something he needed to know for certain before he could go further. But interacting with Ironwood hadn't been the reason for wandering so far from the rest of his employees.

No, that had been the girls.

Though not part of the plan, Ogthrak would be beside himself if he didn't at least keep aware of this particular Team, as he' noticed their involvement in a number of significant events. Krosh's old Slave Fighter, the Slayer of Ashgarn the All-Eater, and the Hybrid who'd been countering the efforts of Hork's exiled Assassin. Then there was there Leader, who he'd spotted conversing at length with that other Team who'd nearly completely ruined the Storm's Dust collection mission.

Not only that, but Ogthrak had heard that she'd actually come face to face with the master during the fall of Vale.

As his Master's Shield, Ogthrak simply couldn't stop himself from passively keeping tabs on these girls, along with several other notable faces that had made it out of Vale. He supposed it was simply muscle-memory at this point, staying aware of potential interests for the Grand Shaman, maintaining the interest of one such as he was no simple task for the average Uruk.

Stepping around the corner of a tent, he spotted the three of them reentering the tent city, with both the Blonde and the Hybrid comforting their Leader as they went.

"Sir!" a voice came from behind him, making him tear his gaze from the girls.

Bebe flinched as he looked down at her, "I was looking for you," the Deer Faunus said, trying and failing to steady her stance as she attempted to star him down, "I know I've asked already but-"

"I don't know." Ogthrak grunted as he turned and walked past her.

"Y-you didn't even know what I was going to ask!" she insisted as she rushed to catch up with him

"You still insist on knowing whether your Brother was collected during the attack." he groaned before casting a glare back at her "And I'll still say that I've got no idea."

Bebe fumed, narrowing her gaze as she ran in front of him "But you're-!"

Ogthrak's hand clamped around her mouth as he raised a finger to his own to hush her. He looked around for a moment before pulling her close, "I'm not in contact with Vale, so I can't exactly go asking about something like that."

He released her, to which she started stammering, "But why wouldn't you be?"

"As 'intelligent' as our good doctor likes to label himself as, I'm not exactly keen on risking my mission by assuming he can get me a secure line of contact." Ogthrak stated before pushing past her "I'm cut off from them for the time being, so don't go assuming I can give you answers."

Bebe bit her lip, once more finding her efforts stonewalled.

She'd been mulling over those last bits of advice Krimp had left her with back in Vale, deciding that even if her brother was dissapointed in her, furious with her, he was still her brother. He undoubtedly cared about her even considering the different views they now had. The idea of him being slaughtered in Vale or held captive and forced to work like she'd been at the tower pained her.

She wasn't given long to really focus on this pain, as she'd been celebrated as a hero along with the rest of Mr. Bigsby's employees for their heroic deed of aiding the evacuation of Vale. As long as she was around the Masqueraders or one of the stars, she'd found herself lumped in and showered in praise. It was praise she knew she didn't deserve, even during the Fall of Vale her assistance was minimal. Numerous Masqueraders did more than she did, let alone the stars or the twins.

But more than that...

"I still don't get it...' she muttered, causing Ogthrak to glance back at her "Why are you so determined to look heroic all of the sudden?"

Ogthrak rolled his eyes and continued walking, "Oh come on, Hybrid..."

"...Even someone like you should note the benefits of being seen as a Hero."

.{{{{{+-+}}}}}.

Two and a half weeks later, Blake was the next of Ruby's teammates to leave.

She was moving to the southern coast of Patch, planning on traveling along the boarder of Vale and Vacuo to the south of Sanus, where other Faunus were converging to sail to Menagerie. If she was going to catch her flight, this'd be the latest she could leave. She'd been holding off for the same reason that Ruby had been holding off her own departure.

Weiss.

Despite the passage of time, their friend never did call them. Ruby had become accustomed to checking her scroll and asking her friends constantly when she wasn't working on Crescent Rose. She'd wanted at least one conversation between all four of them before they continued splitting up, but it became increasingly apparent that that wasn't going to happen.

Ironwood assured them that she was awake, attributing her radio silence to not being fully up to it. Ruby could tell he was just trying to make them feel better, but all it did was make her mind go to the brief exchange she'd had with Weiss's father. Despite the casual way he'd shot down her argument, she wanted to believe that he'd keep to his word and keep Weiss safe while she recovered. But the stories she'd heard from her friends, Blake especially, didn't fill her with confidence. Someone who saw profit as the ultimate end-goal regardless of the tactics his company had to follow to get there didn't sound like the type to nurture someone through their recovery process. But surely that callousness couldn't extend to how he'd treat his own family, his children... right?

The worry that had accumulated over time did nothing to aid her mood as she and Yang hugged Blake before sending her off. Jaune, Nora, Ren and Sun were also there to see her off, Ruby continued checking her scroll as Blake gave her farewells.

"Are ya sure you want to do this alone?" Sun asked as Blake approached.

"I have to, Sun." she stated before giving a smile "It wouldn't be right putting this on anyone else."

Sun narrowed his eyes at her before sighing and holding his arms open. The two shared a tight hug before Blake turned and began her journey.

Even as she vanished into the woods with all of them waving their goodbyes to each other, Ruby hopefully glanced at her scroll one more time before slipping it into her pocket. A hand found its way to her shoulder, and Ruby looked up to Yang, who gave her a smile before nodding behind them.

"Come on, you know Dad'll worry if we don't check in soon." she said as she turned around.

"Yeah..." Ruby nodded before following her away. But as she walked, she subtly looked behind her to Jaune, who gave her a nod before turning to his teammates.

But not one of them noticed the ways Sun still stared down the trail after Blake.

Later that night, Ruby had offered to help Yang back into her bed. Her sister was quick to wave off the offer with both of her hands before slipping into bed, "Sis, I just got allowed to use my arm again a few days ago, at least give me some opportunities to use it."

Ruby smiled at that before looking away, "...Yang?"

Getting comfortable, Yang glanced up at her, "Yeah?"

She found Ruby holding a letter towards her, looking down at her with a tight expression.

"Could you make sure Dad gets this?" she asked

Yang looked from her sister to the letter a few times before sitting back up and taking the letter, "Yeah," she said slowly as she reached for the letter, "just make sure you put some distance between us. You know he's not going to hesitate when he finds out."

"I know." Ruby nodded as she passed her the letter. The two just stared at each other for some time until Ruby fell to her knees and lunged for Yang before wrapping her sister in a hug, it didn't take long for Yang to hug back, the two locked together until Yang started pulling away.

"Come on, " she said as she disentangled herself from Ruby's grasp "go... before you start trying to talk yourself out of it."

Ruby gave her a nod before taking her leave.

Moments later she was tiptoeing down the stairs of her home, freezing as she heard Tai's voice in the kitchen.

"Look James, I don't know about this." he said, pacing back and forth with his scroll in one hand before leaning against the counter "I know, I know... It's supposed to be optional but... yeah, yeah I get that..."

Seeing him suitably distracted, Ruby gave a silent apology to him before sneaking to the front door and slipping out. As quiet as she could, she slowly closed the door behind her before stepping away from her home.

She paused once she was several yards from the porch, glancing back only for a hushed "Hey" to drag her attention to Jaune.

He was looking at her house, trying to keep low and off the path, "Everyone's waiting," he said before noticing how she kept looking behind her "You sure you-?"

"Yes," Ruby stated before tightening her grip on the compact form of her rebuilt weapon, the scars on her hands stretching as she gave Jaune a determined look "Let's do this."

Watching from one of the upstairs windows was Yang, tracing her eye-patch with one hand as the other tapped the letter. She who watched the two of them disappear into the darkness of night before giving a small chuckle to herself. Yang looked down at the letter in her hands for a moment before frowning and turning away.

She sat on her bed before laying back and waiting for approximately thirty minutes. When that thirty minutes was up, she slipped her jacket on and made her way down the stairs with far less covertness than Ruby.

Tai's eyes widened as she passed through the Kitchen, immediately trying to cover his scroll a bit, "Look James, can we talk about this tomorrow? No I-I-"

Yang didn't wait for him to finish his call, merely made her way outside to the backyard before taking a moment to breath in. Momentarily blocking out the sound of Tai hastily trying to end his conversation with Ironwood, Yang raised her fists in front of her and adopted a stance.

Tai exited the kitchen to find her shadow boxing, throwing jabs in the air with force for a moment before adjusting her stance and starting again.

"Yang... what are you doing?" he asked as he approached

"Training." Yang answered simply,

"What for-?" Tai caught himself, "Look hon, I don't know if you should be doing this so close to your operation."

"Right right," Yang shrugged as she looked to him "better get some in while I still have a chance, right?"

Tai frowned at her, "Yang, what would your sister think if she saw you pushing yourself like this, right now?"

Yang paused at that, staying still long enough for Tai's frown to change to a look of confusion.

"Yang?" he said carefully, only to look down at the letter she pulled from her jacket's pocket.

She held it out to him for a moment before he raised an eyebrow and took it.

Yang was silent as he read the letter, keeping her mouth closed even as he finally looked up at her with an expression of growing horror, "This..?"

Yang gave a single nod, which prompted Tai to drop the letter and sprint back towards the house. Hearing the door slam open, Yang glanced down to the letter for a moment before readopting her stance and resuming her training.

.{{{{{+-+}}}}}.

"I know I should've given him more than a crummy letter." Ruby muttered as she looked down at her hands, tightening them against her knees as she closed her eyes "I just didn't think I'd be able to look him in the eye."

She opened her eyes to stare up into the night sky for a moment, "Maybe I would've chickened out or something, ruined all that planning we did. Doesn't mean I think it was right."

She lowered her gaze, "I know you would've done what was right, Mom, even if it hurt."

She was on her knees, face to face with her mother's grave.

Ruby had broken their schedule to do this, but that was mostly because she wasn't sure she'd get the chance to do something like this again. Between Patch being abandoned and the Storm invading, there was a good chance that she wouldn't be able to visit Summer like this for an excruciatingly long time. It was the one concession she had to make before their departure, the one risk she just had to take. Even though she'd visited her grave twice in the days leading up to this, Ruby knew she wouldn't be able to hold back from having one last word before the trip to Haven was under way.

It was a painful idea, just leaving her behind like this. But Ruby knew that Summer would've done the same thing if there were lives on the line. She was a hero after all, someone who pushed forward and risked it all to protect people. It didn't matter if she knew them, if they were just nameless masses that she'd probably never speak to. Life was something to be cherished, protected and cultivated to Summer. This was something she believed in so much that, in the end, she wound up giving her life for that belief.

There was no end to the stories Tai and Qrow told of Summer's exploits, the monsters she slew and the calamities she stood against. Ruby had always hoped that she'd be able to leave even just a fraction of stories of her own when she was older. But now, faced with nothing less than the fate of the world hanging by a thread, Ruby had never been more terrified in her life.

Beyond fighting hordes of Grimm, contesting with the Uruks, even when evading the Warchiefs. She'd never before even considered the possibility that a Huntsman Academy could fall like that let alone an entire Kingdom. Now the threat of it occurring to the other kingdoms was staring her in the face, and it chilled her to her core.

"Ruby?"

It was Jaune, waiting for her to wrap things up so they could meet up with the others.

Ruby looked back, "Just another minute, please?"

Jaune took a breath and nodded before folding his arms and stepping back.

Ruby turned back to Summer's grave, knowing for a fact that she wouldn't have been struck down by such terror. From what she knew of her mother, Ruby knew that she'd stand against even the most impossible of challenges, fighting for what was right no matter how futile her struggle seemed.

Ruby let the tears come, slowly trickling down her face until she wiped them away.

"I might not be as strong as you were, Mom." she admitted, grabbing Crescent Rose as she stood "But that's not gonna stop me from trying."

Ruby took several steps back, turning slightly before looking at Summer's grave one more time.

"I love you."


Well this is a surprise, isn't it? Another chapter only a few days apart from the last? Absolute madness.

But for those of you who read the other author's notes, it probably isn't. What you've just read are the scenes I felt didn't belong in the previous chapter and figured would be better off as their own little thing. Besides, compared to my other chapters this one is nothing in terms of size. This one will mostly serve as set up for the next phase of this story, which I've been mulling over for some time.

Due to this chapter not exactly starring any Uruk Characters, I can use the space often reserved for the Uruk Highlight segments to explain something I hinted to in the last chapter's Author's Notes. Namely, a certain change to things that this story will be undergoing.

For any long-term readers, you'll know that I've always had a certain concern regarding the length of my chapters, always leaning from worrying about bloated chapters to weak chapters. Its a concern that never really went away for me, despite the rhythm I've settled into. For a while now I've considered there to be only one true remedy for this, so I'm happy to say that this is the end...

Of Volume One.

That's right, I'm going to be cutting this undoubtedly massive story into large volumes similar to how the actual show does it. Labeling this volume as complete and moving on to another one will belay my own concerns while giving this story more structure than just piling everything into a million word story. It shouldn't be much of a change, as I'll be able to get the next volume up and running in approximately the same amount of time it takes for me to get another chapter out... well, that and finding a good cover image. Hopefully it'll be much less intimidating for new readers as well, which has been something that's happened to me far too many time for me to count.

Anyway, hope you enjoy, any and all criticisms positive or negative are welcomed in full so leave a review or comment if you are so inclined to do. Things you enjoyed about it? Things you hated about it? Any ways you feel I could improve? Expectations for the next Volume? Follow or Favorite at your leisure and I will see you all in the next installment of The Dreamer Gate.

Next Volume: Wartides