Warning: I do not own RWBY, that belongs to Oum & Rooster Teeth
Bold: other speaking
Bold: other thinking
Hi: normal thinking
Hi: normal speaking
If you guys like the chapter then leave a like and review while your at it (please)
Review:
Gabe2000: Yep
Eternity456: Oh yeah Ozpin has his own skeltons, but comparted to Salem it's rather small. And thanks to Tyrian, guys way to strong for RWBY
thewittywhy: Well here it is
Connor Worsnop: Cool, and thanks
Luine Mercury LWG: Indeed
Guest: Um ... excuse me?
Greer123: Oh yes, yes she does
harmonylight200: Thanks
MISTRAL, BRANWEN CAMP
"What are you looking at?" Ruby asked. The sky was still dark as the sun had only just began to rise. Raven's men were packing them supplies that should last them for a week, enough for a team of huntsmen at least.
"Besides looking like you all woke up on the wrong side of bed ... you and the girls look like you picked a fight and lost" Raven commented "That or lost a bet with your friends over there."
Ruby didn't even even twitch when the older huntress motioned over to Jaune and his siblings. She couldn't look at them.
Not after last night.
Just thinking about them made her think about Salem, and thinking about Salem ... she shook those thoughts away. No need to ruin the morning with dark and bitter thoughts; Sadly she could not say more for the rest of her teammates.
Yang glared at them when they turned their backs to her, and when they did see her she wore a neutral mask. But even that look painfully plastic for the blonde and anyone with eyes could see that.
Weiss merely returned back to her cold shell when they first back, keeping her distance from the four like a disease. Not even she could pull her icy shell when they were around.
Then there was Blake. Where once there was the cold feeling a realization, like when the worse idea you had was in reality not even close the even darker truth. Now there was only fear in those amber orbs.
And at last we had the siblings, Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren, & Nora.
They hadn't spoke a single word after they learned of Salem. Once Raven finished they got up and went to their tents not once interacting with anyone, not like they wanted to in the first place; And when they finally meet up they looked pale, though Nora looked a bit more green then pale as their eyes had a sullen look in each of them.
"N-Nothing, it's nothing you need to worry about" she said "And um, thanks for giving us some protection from Salem."
"Eh, figured I'll pay back Summer. But don't think I'm coming to save your asses a second time. You eight already used up your one free card so don't go thinking you have another one" Raven warned.
"Oh and before you go Ruby, I want to go here if you don't mind" she pushed a small folded letter to the small girl.
"What this?" Ruby opened the paper to see it was an address.
"Go straight from here and when you see a tree with an X symbol slashed onto it you take a right and keep going. You'll find a dirt road that leads to the main roads here in the Mistral. Follow the instructions when you reach the first sign post" Raven explained.
"That didn't explain the why part" Ruby pointed.
"Because if Salem is coming for you you'll want to get to this person. Her name is Maria Calavera and she is someone who can help with your eyes."
"My eyes? What does my eyes have to do with anything?"
"More then you kiddo, your silver eyes ... well let's just say they're not something you want to write off. There's power in them and you need all the power you can get" Raven warned.
"Um ... well ok I guess" Ruby muttered "pretty sure my eyes are just normal"
"So who is this Maria person anyway? Doesn't sound like anybody I know of" Ruby asked.
"I doubt you would, she's a retired huntress and was once a local legend here in rural Mistral. Now though all she does is eat cashews and watch the TV" said Raven, the young reaper hearing a hint of disappointment in the older women's tone.
"Besides, once you finish with Maria you can head to Mistral, there's an airport in the village that can get you all directly to the Mistral" Raven added. "Anyway, you should probably head out now. The longer you wait the closer the gap between you and Salem is going to close."
She waved the girl away and turned back to her tent.
...
"Well, come on everyone. Let's get going" Ruby called out. The doors to the camp opening up.
xxx Later xxx
The eight drudged through the morning as the soles of their shoes became wet, the smell of wet morning grass coating their shoes. The sun itself had only just risen the first rays of light shined down.
And both of them were split
RWBY was on the right
JNPR on the left
There was a fair amount of space between them as they walked through the thick forest. None of them made a single word.
All of them were in deep thought.
For Yang, the blonde fighter dared not to look at JNPR's direction. Her mind was torn whenever she looked at them. On one hand they were her friends, people who she laughed with and trusted.
But on the other hand, they were grimm. Or at least partially grimm. It was the grimm that took her mother, destroyed her father, and left Ruby and her without a mother. Should she be blaming them? No, but every time she tried not to her mind wander to their magic.
And every time she thought of their magic she thought about the king of fire himself, chewing on Summer's burnt corpse. Another was her mother torn to shreds by different spells, sometimes burnt, sometimes going mad, and sometime ... well better left unsaid.
Was that how her mother died, torn to shreds as Salem unleashed her magic upon her.
Was it right for her to blame them for Summer's death?
No, but it was too hard for her to not to.
...
For Weiss, while some of her thoughts were similar to Yang's own she did no,t however, blame JNPR for anything. The knowledge of Salem and her connection with them was unsettling for heiress.
The very idea that the grimm had a leader and said leader had children felt like a terrible joke Yang would make.
Only it wasn't.
Salem was real person, a person who may have fell in love with Ozpin, or at least had sex with someone and was related to him. Because Pyrrha and her family were Salem's children, or descendants if she wanted to be technical.
Did that make Ozpin a descendant as well, how many descendants of Salem were there, and who would even fall in love with the Queen of the Grimm in the first place?
And what did that make Pyrrha, Jaune, Ren, and Nora? Did this make all four of them part Grimm? Did being Salem's children give them special abilities besides magic?
Could they become Grimm?
She tried to form answers but she got in return were more headaches. She had no idea of what to make of them. Were they friend or foe, or maybe something else? She wanted to say that they were good people, that they would never betray her or those she cared.
But what did she know of the grimm lurking within them?
...
And finally, there was Blake, the huntress who first saw their heritage.
"It all makes sense, their magic, their heritage, and what I saw Pyrrha transformed into. Salem was the last piece of the puzzle" the cat faunus thought.
She should have been happy, or feeling successful. She had solved the puzzle that was JNPR, she now knew their secrets and all the knowledge they tried to hide.
So why did she feel only fear instead.
Salem, the Queen of the Grimm scared her. Their were few things that scared the girl, her time in the white fang saw to that; But it never included knowing the grimm had a leader and said leader was now after them.
It was very clear that Salem would be coming after her children and that there was nothing stopping her. It made the dark hair girl stop and wonder if getting them to Atlas would do any good. Even if they did get them back to their father, how would they even fare against Salem.
In fact, how can anyone defeat Salem?
If what Raven said was true then Salem must have been immortal or has a very long lifespan, either option didn't make things better. On top of that she could control the grimm and wield magic at the same time, how much of chance would any of them stand against her?
Would she assault them at Atlas, leading a massive Grimm army to shattered the flying kingdom? Or would she try to worm her way inside of it, take them out one by one? They had no idea of her true strength or her weakness, no idea of her plans or how she would even react.
There was so little on Salem and what they did know only painted a dimmer picture for her. What could they against a women with the power to rule the grimm, was it even worth it protecting JNPR? Salem would find them in time, she was more powerful then any of them or even Ozpin, and top it off she was immortal.
"Would not be better to give them to Salem, what can we do to protect them?" the small part of her mind whispered.
Blake pushed those thoughts, feeling disgusted at the mere idea. But she could not stop thinking about it.
xxx
What were they suppose to do? That was the biggest question for the siblings, what were they suppose to do if they reach for Atlas.
Salem knew about them, would she even see Atlas as a threat and stop ... or would she crush the kingdom. Would they become responsible for the deaths of millions? And how could their dad do anything against her?
But just thinking of there father ached their hearts.
Ozpin had lied to them, whenever they asked about their mother or any of their families he always said that they were all that was left. Lied right in their face without a single note of guilt. They still loved the man, but ... but they were hurt, how much more did their father lied to them?
They just weren't sure what to make of the man.
And each felt the pain differently.
For Jaune, the blonde always looked up to his father. The man was a hunter, a hero and role model for him; A man who risked his own life to protect innocents without question. That was the man he saw within Ozpin and now that same man was willing to risk so many to die, all to save them from Salem.
...
For Ren, Ozpin was the man that took them when they had nothing. He was the one who showed not just him but his siblings the first sign of love. He always knew what they wanted or what they were feeling at the very moment.
He was naturally his male role model and yet ... his female model? The man knew when the apply a stern rule, yet at the same time knew when to be gentle with mother, heck sometimes he was better then other mothers in that regard.
To learn the man he called a father had lied in their face, was ... painful, a part of him understood his reasoning. Did anyone want to know that their mother was the reason for all the pain in the world and ruled the grimm?
No, no they did not.
He hoped that his father would've told them one day about Salem. But something said that was unlikely.
...
Then there was Nora, the ever cheerful girl ... was frowning.
She loved Ozpin, with all her heart and how could she not. Ozpin was the first adult to show them love and take them under his roof. He was the first link they had with the rest of their family. Someone that proved they were not freaks like the old matron told them. And that they were more.
Only now she was starting to reconsider that.
She didn't give a damn about how others saw her magic, that was something she was proud of regardless.
But her grimm heritage?
Only once she had saw Pyrrha show the other side of their heritage. It was when Ozpin had finally allowed them in the darker aspects of their blood. When she first saw Pyrrha transformed she could not help but feel disgusted.
She loved Pyrrha but looking at her ... it felt like a grimm parody of humanity. And she always wondered if she would be next. None of them ever unlocked this dark power, but it was lurking there, ever waiting just underneath her skin.
That made her scared, when did she transform?
...
And Finally there was Pyrrha, the eldest of the four. Like the rest she too was hurt by knowledge of Salem, of the lies that their father had fed them.
But unlike the rest, she felt a second emotion.
Anger
Now to start out, Pyrrha was not an angry person nor was she someone prone to anger. But in these few months that patience has been tested, crumbled, and lost to the wind. Ever since that fateful battle with the horror everything felt like it was going in a spiral that seemed to lack a end.
Unfortunately, Salem was that end.
Why, why did her father keep something like this from her, that there was someone who had the same curse she had. Maybe it was desperation but ... but could Salem provide the answer she hoped for?
A way to rid herself of this curse.
Surely the women must know something or have the same curse. But yet at the same time could she really hope that Salem would help her; Regardless of being her daughter there was real fear that Salem could do the opposite, and make her lose more control her grimm powers.
And that made her terrified, it took the girls months of intense training and sheer willpower to keep herself from going mad. But even then it felt like a single slip was all it would take, one little slip and she would be gone.
Would Salem push her and keep her there? What about her siblings too? The champion threw those thoughts away, the last thing she needed to do is make it easier for grimm to find them.
So instead she moved a less harsher subject, her father. Thinking about the man ached her heart, she loved her father with all her heart ... but hearing that he lied to them was not something to easily forget.
But she didn't want to hate the man or even distrust him. But being lied for almost twenty years and in your face is not something she could easily forgive. Had she been younger then she would have cried out in anger and demand answers.
She hold her questions for now, better she talk about them with father then in front of others.
xxx Some Time later xxx
"Alright everyone, I think we should call a break here" Ruby patted the flat ground "Let's take thirty and then get back to the road."
...
They all sat a few feet apart from each other.
"So ... um, how's the weather you guys" Ruby pipped up.
"Fine" Yang muttered
"Decent" said Weiss
"..." was Blake's answer.
JNPR refused to reply
Ok, looks like plan A isn't going to work. Time to go to plan B then.
"Come on guys, look just because Raven told us some um ... well, personal history stuff doesn't mean we can-"
"We can what Ruby? Just forget that the grimm have a leader, a leader that has been killing humans and faunus for generations and that we have her children" Weiss interrupted.
"What's that suppose to mean Weiss?"
"Oh don't go playing coy with my Ruby. You know what I exactly mean, is it even safe to bring them to Atlas?"
"What's that suppose to mean" Nora spoke up.
"Is it even safe to bring them to the Kingdom? We've seen Hazel, Cinder, and Tyrian, Salem isn't going to stop with them. She's going to keep throwing her minions at us, how long before she brings out grimm, or worse. We barely survived the last two attacks, what say's we can survive the next ones?"
"But we just need to-"
"Need to what, get them to Atlas? Salem isn't going to stop there, she's the queen of all grimm Ruby, she'll just raise an army and attacked Atlas. How long do you think we could last, taking horde after horde of grimm, Atlas will be overrun! Millions with DIE!"
"M-Maybe, they'll hide?"
"Hide, Ruby, that's impossible" said Blake "Where would they hide? A kingdom can't hold off hordes of grimm forever. Most of the remnant is under grimm control, where they can go that is far away from Salem's eyes?"
"Hey, we have magic you know" Jaune objected.
"Magic? Magic can't save you from Salem" Blake spat "Salem has magic too and I bet she's more powerful than any of you. So what good can magic be when your fighting someone with more knowledge and power!?"
"Well maybe dad can, he's one of the strongest hunters. No one can beat him" Jaune whispered the last part to himself.
"Your dad, don't make me laugh. Pyrrha you said it yourself Ozpin is a shell of himself regarding magic" said Yang.
"How can a man with almost no magic do anything; Better yet how in the world Ozpin fall in love with Salem!? What can of person marries the Queen of all Grimm. For dust sake she's the enemy of everything, how could he fall in love with monster like her?" The blonde demanded to know.
"Maybe she was good before she became ... you know" Jaune offered.
"Pfft, If she was ever good then that women is dead and for a long time. Besides, Raven said that Salem had lived to centuries if not longer. If Ozpin did in fall with Salem then either he's immortal ... or Salem likes ancestral incest" Yang explained.
Now JNPR got disgusted at the image
While JNPR where ... coming to terms with the images in their head RWBY were thinking about what Yang has just said. The idea of Salem falling love with her descendant was ... unlikely, it didn't feel like the women had any feelings for the man.
So did that mean Ozpin was an immortal or something? Had someone told them that even a few days ago they would've laughed, now?
Maybe the idea had merit, with everything involving magic they had seen ... maybe immortality was not a far off idea after all. Just another terrifying thought.
"Well then what do we do then? What do we do, just abandoned them!" Ruby demanded.
...
...
...
"G-Girls?"
"Ruby ... you have to und-"
"Understand, understand what!? That you're actually thinking about abandoning them! What is wrong with you all" she cried out.
"Well what do you want to us do! Atlas is a death sentence for everyone living there and I doubt Ozpin can do anything-"
"Hey, don't go slandering dad!" Jaune jumped
"Oh shut you, this is not dealing with you" Weiss spat back.
"Oh really, seems to me it does" Jaune replied back. Before he stepped forward Yang stepped in front of him.
"Back off Jaune, don't press your luck" the blonde warned.
"Press my luck, you all want to abandon us to the wolfs! So much for our friendship" Jaune spat.
"Yeah in that went into consideration when your mother was brought up" Yang replied.
"My mother! That women is not our mother Yang, don't you dare say that!" Jaune angrily answered. "Hell we didn't even know this women existed in the first place?"
"Then what do we do then Jaune? No matter where we go Salem is going to hunt us all you think Atlas is going to stop her? millions will die because of us" Weiss argued.
"How do you know about that! For you know maybe Atlas is just another stop, dad has a plan to deal with Salem" Nora objected.
"Don't bring the headmaster into this Nora. What can he even do to Salem anyway? That monster has been alive for longer then civilization itself for all we know. How can one man stop her?" said Blake.
"One many with mag-"
"Magic? Nora your siblings said it themselves that Ozpin's magic is long been gone. How can a broken man like him do anything!?"
...
...
*CRACK*
Everyone turned to see the Pyrrha, her hands covered in red magic as the wood underneath her was warped and bended. Getting up she marched over the cat faunus, a red aura forming over her eyes glaring at amber orbs.
"What. Did. You. Say"
"You know what I said"
A low growl rumbled from Pyrrha's throat as she was about to give the faunus a piece of her mind. Right before them, putting herself between them as making some space.
"Ok, let's not get fighting ladies. Look, I know everyone is angry but we can't start fighting unless we want to Grimm to come after us. Please, we don't need to fight each other know" Ruby begged.
"Yeah and how long before you guys decided stabbing us in the back is a good idea" Nora accused Ruby.
"Nora we're not going to abandon you and that's final. All we want to do is make sure you guys get to Atlas" she pleaded.
"And then what, we let Salem kill millions? Ruby we can't do that" Weiss objected.
"We are not letting Atlas burn Weiss, stop thinking like that" demanded Ruby.
"No matter where we go we'll be hunted, Vale, the wilds, Atlas it doesn't matter where we go Ruby. No matter where we go there only pain and misery following them ... that man was right after all" sighed Weiss. Her voice sounded defeated.
...
"So is abandoning us the only way to save everyone Weiss" Pyrrha spat "So giving that monster what she wants the only way to save everyone huh? Great plan there Weiss, daddy taught you well."
"Pyrrha do-" Ruby started
"Says the person whose's dad has been keeping Salem from the entire world. Lies & secrets, just like your old man. A splitting image" Yang interrupted.
"Our dad did no such thing, how do you know that. For all we know this could been going long before dad was even born" Nora objected.
"Pfft, yeah right. You heard what Raven said, if there were others hiding this secret Raven would've told us something."
"Oh now we're trusting bandits now huh? What's next, trusting terrorist that tell you dad is immortal or something!? Or better yet why don't we believe everything everyone tells us, and add a bullet to the back to" said Jaune.
"At least she is willing to tell us the truth!"
"TRUTH! We didn't even have a mother Yang, all we had known in our lives was Ozpin. That was it he was the only parent, there was no one else in our lives that made an impact like him. You think you have it bad, how do you think it is that one of your ancestors is the brothers damn leader of the Grimm.
Don't you dare you say that we like this situation any better then you! Do you even know what it feels like having HER as a mother, knowing that her blood is running in our veins. That because of her millions of humans and faunus have died, that she is root cause of most of the suffering in the world. That ... that we may be like her" Jaune breath was ragged.
...
"So, what's your answer girls ... huh? What's your answer!" he yelled
...
...
...
"I saw you, all of you fight the horror on that day. How you all battle with your magic, each one of you fought valiantly to protect us" said Blake, ignoring the growing look of horror in JNPR's eyes "But at that battle I saw you get beaten, one by one you were all defeated. I though that was it, that this was the end of the line, that everything I tired was in vain in the end."
Blake turned to Pyrrha "But then you Pyrrha changed it all. When Jaune fell in battle I saw you there looking in horror. Right there you ... you transformed. You turned into some else Pyrrha
Your body it was stark white and were veins were visible for anyone to see, but they were black as night. But your eyes ... those were not the eyes of human or even a faunus. They were grimm eyes, you became a grimm that day" said Blake.
"..."
"That's the reason why we can't bring you to Atlas, or even anywhere. Not only would Salem just follow you no matter what, but ... but your just like her.
Your all just grimm"
...
...
...
"I see" Pyrrha spoke up, her hands balled up and shaking "I see that meeting you was the worse decision we ever made."
"Pyrrha wait-" Ruby ran to the women. Right before a wave of raw magic threw her on the ground.
"Don't even try it Ruby! Just leave us alone, why would a huntress want to spend time with some grimm anyway" beckoning for her siblings as they left, ignoring Ruby pleas.
xxx Team RWBY xxx
The young huntress could only watch as four of her closest friends walked out in front of her, and worst of all there was nothing she could say to stop them.
Sliver eyes switched back to her teammates. And for the first time in a while she had felt anger, anger at her teammates at what they had just done.
"So do you girls feel happy now" her eyes narrowing "Do you feel like a better person now. Do you girls feel like a hero"
"Ruby, please don't defend the-"
"I said, Do. You. Feel. Good?" she spat
...
...
...
"We did what we have to Ruby" said Blake "They were too dangerous."
"Dangerous, dangerous, DANGEROUS" shocking all three of the girls "Did they look dangerous, because I sure did not. You know what I saw? I saw four people who were scared and confused, looking for support for something to keep them stable. And you all just tore it away."
"You think they like this? This is a nightmare for them. But oh, just because there mom is the queen of grimm we should all focus on making their lives terrible as possible. Must feel great where you guys are, must be so good being hypocritical!"
"Ru-"
"NO, just shut up Yang!" Yang did not speak back.
"Weiss, your father is responsible for making dozens of faunus lives terrible. But did any of us care about that? Did we all declare that you were a racist against all faunus and did not care about their suffering? We didn't, none of us saw you as your father, we saw you as Weiss."
She turned to Blake next
"Blake, when you revealed that you were once part of the White Fang did we suddenly blame you for all pain they brought, the terror attacks against the kingdoms and Weiss's family? Did we change our perspective on you once you told us your past, did any of see you as a terrorist or a freak? We didn't, because all we saw was a huntresses trying to make right."
She looked at her sister
"Yang, Raven abandoned you at birth. She became a bandit, pillaging and murdering who knows how many innocent people. So did that mean we should attack Yang, because of her mom was murder and bandit? Because it was a way to get back at Raven. We didn't blame you the sins of your mother ... so why should JNPR be any different?"
...
...
...
"I'm ashamed of you all. I thought you were better then this we shouldn't blame them for Salem's crimes. All they wanted was someone to rely on, someone to assure them they aren't being blame. All of us should have been better, we should have been there for them ... but we failed, we all failed.
We're not even worthy of being huntresses."
xxx JNPR xxx
The four children of Salem & Ozma sat around a broken log, the moon providing light for them.
"What, what do we do now?" Nora whispered.
"We can't go back to them" said Ren.
...
...
...
"Maybe there right after all" Nora mumbled "Maybe going to Atlas would be dangerous."
"Nora! Don't say that, those girls as just spouting nonsense" said Pyrrha, wrapping an arm around the young Magier "RWBY is letting their fear speak for them, if they want to be slaves to their fears fine. But we won't let that hold us down; We're the children of the God Brothers."
"But what about SalemPyrrha? Would that women really follow us all the way to Atlas, all the way to the strongest kingdom in remnant?"
"Nora, this is Atlas we're talking about, one of the strongest kingdoms in the whole world. It's the most safest place in the world plus dad will be there and knowing him he'll have a plan" Jaune assured.
"But ... but she's the Queen of all Grimm. Is there any place safe of us?" Nora asked. "I-I-I don't want people to die because of me. Please I don't want to be responsible to their deaths."
"Don't say things like that. No one is going to die because of you Nora" Pyrrha consulted.
...
...
...
"We really are monster aren't we" Nora said.
"NORA, don't go saying such things!" Both Jaune & Pyrrha gasped.
"But ... isn't it true" her fingers tightening their grip on her clothes "If we get angry we, we turned into Grimm. Pyrrha, you turned into a grimm when you fought the horror, won't we all eventually become that?"
Pyrrha felt like someone had punched her in the gut, she knew that her sister did not really mean to hurt her, but it sill hurt to hear that from her; Then again that was contested with the anger of seeing the defeated look in Nora's eyes.
She cursed team RWBY, for making her own sibling think they were monsters. If she ever got her hand on Blake-
"Don't you ever say that" Ren finally spoke up. "Don't even think your a monster or any of us are monsters."
"B-But-"
"But nothing Nora. I know that Pyrrha and us are cursed; Maybe because of Salem's blood but that does not mean we are slaves to it. Nora your sister spends every day controlling that curse, never allowing it to rule over or ruin her life. We may be cursed but that does not mean we will allow it to control our lives."
"We're more then that Nora. We're still dad's children, and when he saw our curse he didn't turn on us, he fought with us, never letting this curse every harm us. Dad loved us regardless, and if RWBY sees us as monsters, fine. But we always have our family Nora."
...
"Yeah ... Yeah I do" Nora croaked out, small tears forming near her eyes.
Before any of them could continue any further the bushes rustled as Ruby emerged out, panting a bit as she looked to the four. "Oh thank dust, I thought I lost you there for a moment."
"Ruby, what are you doing here" Pyrrha demanded.
"Making sure you guys were safe, duh" she said. Ignoring the distrustful looks she was getting.
"And what, so you can back stab us later? Or maybe Yang will break our backs and leave us in a ditch" Pyrrha lashed.
"What! No No No, No one is going to back stab anybody. Look, I know what they said was wrong and it was absolute shameful" said Ruby.
"Shameful, you can say that again" Ren added.
"Shameful, wrong, horrible ... yes, they messed up badly" she admitted "But you guys can't just leave, we still have to get you to Atlas!"
"Atlas? I thought the girls words were 'making sure we don't arrive Atlas' something about Salem coming after us" Jaune motioned with his hands. "Besides, Qrow just told you four to help us, you have no reason to help anymore."
"So what if he told us to help, I not going to let someone close to me get hurt. Why Salem wants you I don't really know, but I know that it's wrong and she has no right to any of you. And because of that I'm not going to let her have single hair under my watch" the girl promised.
...
"Hmph, strong words for someone who nearly died to Tyrian. If you couldn't defeat him then how can you even protect us Ruby? Besides, not like you even care about us anymore. Don't even give me that look, you see as the same ... as Grimm" said Nora.
"What! No!? Of course I don't see you as Grimm!"
"Yeah right, and how long before you do then? what's stopping you from changing your opinion when you see our grimm form?" Nora pressed.
"... I ... it wouldn't change anything" Ruby declared. Still, she hesitated before giving her answer, and at that moment felt sick.
She knew her opinion shouldn't change even if they did had a grimm form ... but for Nora to so brazenly admit it; And her voice, it sounded scared like she was terrified of that very same power. Either only Pyrrha had unlocked it ... or maybe this curse has been with them longer then she thought.
"... You don't mean that ... I guess it was stupid that you wouldn't change your opinion" she caught onto Ruby hesitation.
"~sigh~ Ruby ... just go back, don't waste your time trying. Maybe your teammates were right, it'll be better if we just disappear, least anymore people get hurt because of us" Jaune sighed "Come on, let's get o-"
"PLEASE" they turned to see Ruby on her knees, begging in front of them.
"What are yo-"
"One more chance! Please, just give us one more chance. Please, Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha, Ren, give us one more chance. I know what we did was beyond horrible, but what about all the times we had together all the times we had fun and where you stood by us in our toughest moments.
I know it feels like betrayal, and you have every right to feel that way. They had no right to do that and I made sure they understood that; But please, all I'm asking is a second chance. To show them that th-we were wrong, that your more then Salem children.
Show them who you really are, your the children of Ozpin one of the greatest huntsmen ever and a hero to many. Show them that.
So, please, give us one more chance." Ruby begged.
...
...
...
"Ruby ..."
Her head shoot up, small wells of tears near her eyes.
"... You get one chance"
xxx The Next Day xxx
"Ah, nothing like the wind in your face to get you awake, right Jaune" Ruby beamed.
"Mmph, I guess so. I remember dad used to take us out camping once in a while" Jaune commented.
"Yeah, dad and Yang used to take me out too, right Yang?"
"Yeah, we did" the blonde replied in a more subdued tone. Ruby's entire team both were and looked more sullen/quite then before. No doubt in deep thought about what Ruby said when she went off.
And Ruby was no idiot, she knew why her teammates were acting like this. A part of her wanted know their answer, but a bigger part of her wanted space from them. After last night giving them some space would be a good idea. So both JNPR & RWBY walked along Mistral's roads as they hoped to reach a nearby village soon, or at least by the end of the day.
...
"So, what are you guys hoping to do when you reach a village?"
"Relax, get a warm bed" said Ren.
"Yeah, I think everyone would die for that" the young girl agreed. She tired to hit more conversations with the siblings, only to fail as they gave brief answers. Seriously, how hard is it these days to strike up a conversation?
Still, she'll take the silence if needed. Much of trip remained silent before Ruby decided a break was in order. As they begin to unpack Ruby's cloak was tugged, turning around it was Blake.
"Blake, is there something that you need?" she asked.
"We ... We want to talk to you, about yesterday"
...
"Alright" she folded her arms "What is it?"
"Can we talk about it, a bit away" Blake requested. Ruby narrowed her eyes, but relented. Moving a bit away from the siblings she saw Yang and Weiss waiting for her.
"Alright, so what is it you three?"
...
Weiss stepped forward "Ruby, we ... we've been thinking about what said last night and well ..."
"And what Weiss, spill it out"
"You ... ~sigh~, You were right, happy? Perhaps it was wrong to blame them for their parents misdeeds or in this case, their ancestor. You were right that it was wrong to judge them for it, and how you never blamed us for our past deeds or the crimes of our parents" admitted Weiss. Yang and Blake were nodding.
"I'm sorry sis, I know your angry at us and you have the right to be so. We messed up bad, real bad" said Yang "But even if they are not to blame ... what are we suppose to do with them?"
"Yang, we do what Uncle Qrow said and-"
"Ruby, Salem isn't going to stop just because Atlas in the way. If she really wants them then what is stopping her from sending an army of grimm to Atlas? I know we have to protect them but how can we protect them when everyone Salem sent nearly killed us."
"She's right Ruby" Blake agreed "Every time Salem sent her minions all of them nearly killed us. Your uncle struggled to fight Cinder, Hazel nearly killed us if it wasn't for Pyrrha, and we have Raven for saving our lives from Tyrian. Each time we fought her people they defeated us easily."
"Then what do you want me to do Blake, abandon them!?" she became frustrated with how her teammates were acting, did they learn nothing from last night?
"No, not anymore ... but what do we do about this Ruby. One day we're going to lose our luck, and then what?" Blake pressed.
"... We train, we push ourselves even further, and if we need to we'll have Jaune and his siblings use their magic" said Ruby. She understood where her friends were coming from, every time they fought Salem they barely survived and she understood that.
A weaker person would give up at this rate, but not her, come rain or ruin but she was not about to give up to Salem without a fight. She would not allow to destroy her friends lives, and she will never let her destroy their family.
"We're not letting Salem get to them, maybe a long time ago she may have had the right to be a mother. But that time is over, a person who has killed millions is not someone worthy of being a parent. Now, I think you should apologize to them not to me" she said.
The four of them turned back to JNPR as she called out them.
Only for them to not respond, confused Ruby called out to them again. And once again they did not answer. Walking over to them she waved her, snapped her fingers, shouted in their ear. Getting a bit worried, Ruby tried to shake Jaune's shoulder.
Keyword, tired
Her hand phased through Jaune as his entire body shimmered and shattered. The only thing left was a single note. Confused and scared she picked it up as both she and her teammates read it.
Hey Ruby, if your reading this then our Illusions finally ended. Don't hurt yourself for it, they're pretty strong Illusion. Ren and Dad are the only ones who could noticed it immediately.
I bet you must be wondering about this and why they are Illusions in our place.
And well ... well ... I'm sorry Ruby, I'm just trying to find the write words for this.
Your were right or Yang, Weiss, & Blake were. Salem isn't going to stop at Atlas, and yes we've talked about this over a hundred times but ... but we don't want Salem to attack Atlas for us. Maybe Dad's plan is for Atlas to be a pit stop or something, but Salem won't know that immediately. People are going die, innocents will slaughtered when she comes.
And what about you to?
Every time we fought Salem's people you four get so close to death, if it wasn't for magic or even outside help you would've been dead already.
I'm probably rambling on at this point but ... but we don't want you to die for us. You girls are amazing, you four have a great future and you shouldn't die for us. No one should suffer for our survival, so that's why were leaving.
To where ... I have no idea, but it will be far away from the kingdoms. Who knows, maybe we will find a town or something to stay in, as long as it was far away from everyone. Or maybe live in the wilds, food and water aren't really a problem for us.
So, just go to dad and give him the message. Tell him that we're sorry about this all and that we love him no matter what.
I guess, this is goodbye Ruby, it's been a fun ride with you girls
Goodbye
OMAKE #1: Why Salem shouldn't knit
"I just don't why your angry at me Ozma" said Salem.
"Salem ... all I asked you to do is knit some clothes" Ozpin sighed.
"And that's what I did, I don't see the issue with it? Is it because of knitting, are you going to ban me from knitting like you did with cooking, hm!?"
"You and I both know that I can't afford you to cook, the council is already riding my ass after the second attempt; There's not enough in the budget for you" said Ozma "And secondly, what you did was not knitting women."
"Explain"
"Knitting dear is when you fold layers of cloth to creating clothing and other cloth based products."
"And?"
"You threw your entire set into the pool of destruction, what were you even thinking!?"
"Not my fault knitting is so confusing, with all those needles and moving the string in and out; What do they want, my spine or something? Besides, why are you complaining about it, I was the one who made your clothing when were the gods?" said Salem
"Salem you never made my clothing back then. I made the clothing, you just gave the designs. And don't you add our daughters either, I made all their clothes and designed them myself" he sighed.
"I don't see the difference"
"~sigh~ Never mind" he rubbed his forehead "Look, what you made was not clothing Salem. That was a live grimm you created! It just so happen to look like a sweater."
...
"Mm, Nora liked it"
"Yes, before she went to school today that was"
"I blame the principal, calling us here about clothes regulations; Bah, where is that wore's son anyway I'll choke him!"
"Salem, Nora's clothing is choking him"
He pointed to the grimm arm coming out of Nora's sweater which was lifting the principal up by the throat.
...
...
...
"I don't see the problem here" she shrugged
Ozpin slapped his face
