Michelle and Ruby were with the rest of their team mates and friends and were waiting on the landing pad before Michelle turned to her girlfriend and said, "I'm not sure what will be waiting for us in Vacuo Ruby but...I am ready for this because this is what we have been training for as huntresses!" and Ruby smiled at Michelle as she replied,

"Yeah you're right, this is what we have been waiting for as huntresses and I know that together as a team we can do this!"

Winter then arrived a few minutes later as she said to the group, "General Ironwood has gathered every available huntsman and huntress in the kingdoms for this as he believes this may be our only chance at stopping Salem once and for all, I hope you are all ready as this will be your toughest mission you will embark on yet and I can't promise all of you will make it home safely"

Just then the first of several Atlas flagships arrived called the spirit of Beacon and opened its doors and Yang smiled as she took Blake's hand into her own as she said, "We're as ready as we'll ever be for this, I just hope most of us can make it home safe." Before she boarded the ship along with Weiss and Blake before finally Ruby and Michelle joined them on the ship.

Once everyone was on the airship it took off as the captain of the airship said over the comms,, "Alright everyone, next stop Vacuo!" and Michelle was looking out one of the windows when Ruby walked up next to her and placed her hand into her own as she said to her, "You know I had always dreamed of having a happy ending when I was a kid as my sister Yang would always tell me stories of these wonderful heroes and I wanted to be just like them when I grew up but to think this is almost over and we can enjoy peace once again."

And Michelle squeezed Ruby's hand into her own gently as she replied, "Wow I never knew that was the reason you wanted to become a huntress Ruby and I can't believe this is almost over as well but the truth is...I'm scared, but I'm just scared of losing you but scared of the fact most of our friends might not even make it home alive."

Ruby then leaned her head against Michelle's shoulder as she said, "you're not the only one who is scared Michelle because...I'm scared too but I know our friends would want us to continue fighting no matter what." As they continued to look out of the window together.

later...

After everyone had arrived in Vacuo Michelle was the first to walk off the airship as she was met with the intense heat of the Vacuo desert and Michelle smiled at Ruby as she took her Jacket off and said, "Man, I wasn't expecting it to be so hot here in Vacuo, I guess I won't be needing my Jacket for this mission hey Ruby"

Ruby walked off the airship after her girlfriend as she giggled a little as she replied, "Yeah, it looks that way my gorgeous and beautiful ice queen Michelle, and it is pretty hot here in Vacuo but we should probably think about setting up camp first before we do anything else." Then General Ironwood walked off one of the other airships that had landed in Vacuo as he said to everyone,

"That won't be necessary Ruby, as I have already had a team set up camp here in Vacuo which will serve as our temporary base of operations and I have a plan for this mission if Ruby and her team will accompany me into the main tent."

Michelle rolled her eyes before she looked at her girlfriend as she said to her, "I guess we have our orders Rubes, let's go and see what the General needs us to do for this mission." And Ruby smiled at Michelle as she took her hand into her own as she replied,

"I'm sure it's nothing to worry about Michelle, General Ironwood probably wants to tell us what the plan is so we can tell the others so umm I guess we shouldn't keep him waiting."

As they held hands with each other as they walked over to the main tent with the rest of their team for the meeting with General Ironwood.

Inside the main tent...

General Ironwood was standing over a table as he said to Michelle and the others, "Thank you ladies, now I will get right to the point as I have carefully planned out our attack on Salem's fortress as you will all be in teams of three to try and limit the amount of resistance we will likely have from Salem's forces." He then added, "Weiss Blake and Yang, you three will be the first team and you will probably encounter the most resistance from Salem's forces as it will be your job to find a way inside Salem's fortress so the other strike teams can follow you."

Michelle then stood there at the table as she said to General Ironwood, "with all due respect sir, wouldn't it be better to send me and Ruby in first as we could easily push back Salem's forces with her silver eyes and my Maiden power?" and General Ironwood stood there as he firmly replied,

"Absolutely not! We cannot afford to give Salem any advantage and that includes giving her the Winter Maiden which is why you Ruby and Oscar will be the last strike team to enter Salem's fortress do I make myself clear!"

And Michelle just stood there at the table and grumbled in reply, "Yes sir!" before General Ironwood then took a deep breath as he continued,

"Now then, Jaune Nora and Ren will follow behind Weiss Blake and Yang once they have cleared a path through for the others as for the other huntsman and huntresses I have gathered it will be their job to draw most of Salem's forces away from the fortress leaving it vulnerable to attack, if there is nothing you wish to discuss then you are all dismissed!"

After the meeting inside the main tent...

Once the meeting was over Michelle and the others left the tent and Michelle stormed off in a direction of one of the many tents at the camp and Ruby wasn't sure if she should try to comfort her girlfriend or give her some space to cool off before her uncle Qrow noticed the inner turmoil his niece was having as he walked up to her and said, "Hey kiddo, judging by Michelle's reaction I'd say James's meeting went rather well but you're not sure if you should talk to her or give her some space to cool off are you?"

Ruby then looked at her uncle and faintly smiled as she replied, "I umm I can tell when you are being sarcastic Qrow but umm you're right as part of me thinks I should talk to Michelle to see if she is ok but then part of me thinks I should leave her alone for now to calm down, what do you think I should do uncle Qrow?"

And Qrow paused for a moment as he thought of something to say but before he could reply Weiss came over to them as she said to Ruby, "Why don't you let me talk to Michelle Ruby? After all if Michelle snaps at me at least I would sort of deserve it given how cold I used to be towards her and...I'm sure there is a reason why Michelle is angry and I think she would feel rather bad if she took her anger out on you Ruby"

Then Ruby gave Weiss a hug as she said with a beaming smile on her face, "Aww thanks Weiss you're the best! I knew we were BFF's after all!" and Weiss returned the hug and giggled a little as she replied,

"I wouldn't go that far just yet you dolt! But I will go and try to talk to Michelle as I think she could use a friend right now."

Before Weiss then slowly walked over towards the tent that Michelle had stormed off to hoping to try and talk with her friend.

Inside the tent...

Michelle was sitting down in the tent facing one of the sides when Weiss opened up the flap and walked in as she said calmly, "Hey Michelle, you want to talk?" at which Michelle turned to face Weiss and let out a soft sigh as she replied,

"Hey Weiss, yeah you can talk to me but...I thought Ruby would have been the one to chase after me after I stormed off?"

So Weiss sat down next to Michelle and smiled as she said, "Well, I offered to come and talk to you as I was worried you might snap at Ruby and at least if you snapped at me I...would kind of deserve it given how cold I used to be towards you Michelle." And Michelle let a small sigh as she replied,

"Yeah I suppose you're right Weiss, and the way General Ironwood spoke to me in that meeting is exactly why I don't like authority that much because it really pissed me off but I chose to separate myself from the group instead of Jeopardising the mission."

Michelle then made an ice cream in her hands and handed one to Weiss as she added, "ice cream? I figured it might help keep us cool in the intense heat of Vacuo" and Weiss took the ice cream from Michelle and smiled as she said,

"Yeah thanks Michelle, I was starting to feel a little warm and I'm sure the others will really appreciate this as well"

And Michelle smiled back at Weiss as she replied, "Yeah, I already made a bunch of cool treats to help keep us cool and...I know you and Blake and Yang are going in as the first strike team on Salem's fortress but promise me one thing?" and Weiss smiled as she placed her hand over Michelle's as she said,

"Of course, anything Michelle."

Then Michelle smiled at Weiss as she replied, "Promise me that you and Blake and Yang will come back safe, I have grown close to all of you since Joining this team and...I'm scared of losing you guys as you are all some of my closest friends." Before Weiss then stood to her feet and pulled Michelle up to her feet as she smiled and said,

"Don't worry Michelle, me and Blake and Yang will all protect each other and...I promise to come back safe and I know that Blake and Yang would say the same, for now let's get back to Ruby and the others seeing as you are calm."

Michelle then smiled as she replied, "Yeah, let's go Weiss I feel kinda bad just storming away from Ruby like that" before they then left the tent together as they walked back to the rest of their team mates.

A little later...

Ruby ran up to Michelle and gave her a hug as she said to her, "Hey umm Michelle my beautiful ice queen, are you ok? You looked pretty mad earlier." And Michelle returned the hug to Ruby and gave her a kiss on her forehead as she replied,

"Yeah I am ok now Ruby, and...I'm sorry I stormed off earlier I just needed to calm down a bit after the meeting and I made some ice creams for all of us to help keep us cool in this intense heat."

Then Ruby smiled at Michelle as she said, "It's ok Michelle, to be honest I wasn't sure if I should talk to you or not to see if you were ok but then Weiss offered to talk to you for me and umm that's very sweet of you to make us all something nice to help keep us cool in this heat."

Yang then smiled at Michelle as she said to her, "I agree with my little sis Michelle that was very...cool of you to make us some ice creams to help keep us cool in this heat hey?" and Blake and everyone just shook their heads at the terrible pun Yang made before Michelle giggled a little as she replied,

"I see what you did there Yang and if you have any more ice related puns please keep them to yourself as I don't really want to hear you saying ice puns the entire mission."

And Yang smirked as she made another pun as she said, "Oh come on, it's snow joke and besides I wouldn't want you to get cold feet on us." And Michelle looked at her girlfriend as she rasped a little in annoyance,

"You know Ruby my gorgeous crimson reaper, I'm glad we are the last strike team to enter Salem's fortress as I don't think I could handle listening to anymore of your sister's terrible ice puns."

Ruby then giggled a little as she stood on her tip toes as she kissed her girlfriend on her lips as she replied, "It's ok Michelle, you'll get used to it and to be honest I'm not even sure myself how I managed to put up with my sister's puns for this long."

Blake then stood there and smiled slightly as she said to the group, "It looks like the sun is going down so maybe we should think about getting as much rest as we can." And Michelle smiled at Blake as she replied,

"Yeah, that does seem like a good idea as we should try to get as much rest as we can as who knows how long this mission will take us and I saw that we have designated tents so I'm sharing a tent with Ruby and Weiss is sharing a tent with Oscar/Ozpin and Blake and Yang have their own tent as well."

Weiss then stood there and smiled at the group as she said, "Well...I suppose sharing a tent with Oscar doesn't sound too bad and I guess it would be better than sharing a tent with Jaune at least." And Michelle decided to tease her team mate Weiss a little as she said with a smirk on her face,

"Oh your just saying that Weiss because you like Jaune but you don't want to admit it that's why you choose to be so cold to him all the time."

Then Weiss blushed a little as she yelled, "I DO NOT FANCY JAUNE MICHELLE YOU DOLT!" before she added, "I...I do think he is charming though...sometimes." and Ruby just burst into a fit of laughter as she said while laughing,

"He he, Weiss and Jaune sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G, he he he!"

Weiss then chased Ruby as she said running after her, "Ruby Rose, you are going to be in so much trouble if I catch you, you dolt!" and Ruby stuck her tongue out at Weiss as she ran from her and replied,

"You'll have to catch me first ice queen!"

Michelle just stood there and smiled at Blake and Yang as she shrugged her shoulders and said to them both, "I guess I better go and sort those two out before this gets out of hand, so umm I guess I'll see you both tomorrow morning." Before she then chased after Weiss and Ruby as she called after them, "Hey wait up you two!"

Meanwhile Blake and Yang just giggled as they watched Michelle chase after Weiss and Ruby before they turned to each other and shared a passionate kiss with each other before Blake broke the kiss as she said to Yang, "We should probably try and get some rest for now as apparently we might have a long mission ahead of us."

Yang took Blake's hand into her own as she smiled at her and replied, "Yeah, I agree Blakey we should go and get some rest as it's getting pretty dark now and I wonder if Michelle has caught up with Weiss and my little sis yet." Before they then walked towards their tent together.

That night...

Inside Michelle and Ruby's tent...

Michelle placed her sleeping bag next to Ruby's and she climbed inside before she turned to her girlfriend and said, "Ruby my sweet and beautiful crimson reaper, please don't ever make me chase after you and Weiss ever again I feel out of breath after that but we should try and get some sleep for now so we are well rested for our mission."

And Ruby then climbed inside her sleeping bag next to Michelle after getting changed into her Pyjamas and smiled as she gave Michelle a kiss on her cheek as she replied, "Oh don't be like that Michelle my adorable ice queen, you enjoyed chasing after me and Weiss even you can admit that."

Then Michelle smiled as she returned the kiss to Ruby as she said, "Yeah, I'll admit I did have some fun chasing after you and Weiss but just because I teased Weiss doesn't mean you can do it." And Ruby smiled at her girlfriend as she replied,

"I know Michelle, but umm I was only having fun and Weiss knows that because we are BFF's after all." And Michelle smirked at Ruby as she said,

"That might be true Ruby, but I only tease Weiss because I can get away with it where as you and Weiss and the others have been friends since Beacon so I don't think Weiss would let you get away with something like that so easily, anyway we should try and get some sleep for now as we are going to be fairly busy." As Michelle settled down to try and get some sleep while Ruby tried to do the same before she gave Michelle a kiss on her forehead as she replied quietly,

"Goodnight Michelle, sweet dreams my beautiful ice queen."

During the night...

However for some reason Michelle was finding it hard to sleep and she wasn't sure if that was due to her being hot or because she was worrying too much about her friends safety so she just laid in her sleeping bag staring up at the top of the tent for a few minutes before she eventually tilted her head as she whispered to her girlfriend, "Hey Rubes, you awake?"

Ruby then rubbed her eyes slightly as she smiled at Michelle as she replied, "I am now, why what's up?" and Michelle turned to face Ruby in her sleeping bag as she said,

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you my beautiful rose petal but...I can't sleep and I'm not sure if it's because I am too hot or if I am just worrying too much about everyone's safety."

And Ruby placed her hand over Michelle's as she replied with a smile on her face, "It's ok Michelle, because the truth is...I can't really sleep either and umm I feel the same way as you because I am scared for our friends safety as well." And Michelle laid there next to Ruby as tears started to build in her eyes as she said,

"I'm glad I'm not the only one who is scared for our friends safety as this is our most dangerous mission we have been on but...the one thing I am scared the most is losing you Ruby because you are my rock my everything and since we agreed to try a relationship together you have changed my life for the better and...if I lost you I would be devastated to the point where I would probably take my own life just so I could be with you."

Then Ruby wiped some tears from Michelle's face as she replied, "I'm not going anywhere Michelle I promise, I told you I would be by your side no matter what and I still mean it but umm you have changed my life for the better too and...I'm scared of losing you too because you are the first person I have actually dated and if I lost you then I probably would never want to date ever again."

Both Michelle and Ruby wrapped an arm over each other as they held each other tight in a hug and buried their heads in each other's necks before they both finally allowed sleep to take them.