The sun rose the next morning and some of the sun's rays just peaked through the flap of Michelle and Ruby's tent as it hit Michelle's face and she rolled over in her sleeping bag as she said, "Mmm...Ruby...five more minutes..." and Ruby just giggled a little at her sleeping girlfriend before she leaned over and whispered in her ear,

"Ok my gorgeous ice queen Michelle, you can have five more minutes in bed, I'll get us some breakfast"

Before Ruby then climbed out of her sleeping bag and got changed into her normal outfit before she left her tent to get some breakfast for her and Michelle and as she made her way out of her tent Jaune came over to her as he said with a smile on his face, "Morning Ruby, did you and Michelle manage to sleep at all last night?" and Ruby smiled at Jaune as she replied,

"Yeah me and my girlfriend Michelle did manage to get some sleep last night thank you, umm...how about you?"

Jaune rubbed the back of his head slightly as he said, "Yeah I also managed to get some sleep night, Nora and Ren are still sleeping though so I went to get some breakfast." And Ruby smiled as she replied,

"Yeah same here, I'm letting my girlfriend sleep in for a few minutes while I get breakfast for us."

Weiss then joined them as she was holding a couple of cups of coffee and she handed one to Ruby as she said with a smile on her face, "Morning Ruby, I got you a cup of coffee just how you like it and...I'm guessing Michelle is still sleeping at the moment then."

Ruby smiled at Weiss and gave her a hug as she replied, "Thanks Weiss and umm yeah Michelle is still sleeping at the moment, I just decided to get some breakfast for us." Then Ruby's sister Yang joined the group with Blake as she said with a beaming smile on her face,

"Good morning gang, I'm guessing Michelle isn't much of a morning person as it looks like she hasn't gotten out of bed yet."

Blake then shortly joined the group after Yang as she rubbed her eyes and grumbled sleepily, "That makes two of us, I'm not exactly a morning person either and I was going to get myself a coffee in a little bit." Before she then noticed Ruby as she smiled and said to her, "Oh morning Ruby, I take it you're getting some breakfast for yourself and Michelle when she wakes up, that's...rather sweet of you and I'm sure Michelle will appreciate that kind gesture."

Before Ruby then had a beaming smile on her face as she replied, "Ok team MRWBY and Jaune, let's all go and have a team breakfast!" and Weiss giggled a little as she said,

"Ruby, you can be such a dolt sometimes aren't you forgetting that a member of our team and your girlfriend is still asleep? Regardless I do agree that we should get some breakfast"

Ruby then let out a soft sigh as she replied, "Oh yeah...oops, oh well I'm sure Michelle will forgive me as it's not like I forgot she was still asleep on purpose." Before they all walked to get some breakfast together while they waited for the others to get out of bed.

After breakfast...

Once everyone had breakfast Michelle sat next to Ruby and wiped some sweat from her forehead as she said to her, "hopefully we won't have to be in this heat for too long during this mission Rubes, because as much as I could keep us cool by making some cool treats with my Maiden power it does have a limit because I don't have a high amount of Aura like Jaune."

Ruby then gave her girlfriend a kiss on her cheek as she smiled and replied, "Well umm if you're feeling a little hot Michelle we could always go back to our tent as that gives us a little shade so be a little cooler and umm..." before she collapsed in Michelle's lap and Michelle was worried before she gently lifted Ruby up in her arms and carried her over to their tent as she thought to herself, "It wasn't me I was worried about being too hot, but I guess our tent is a good place to stay for now as it gets us out of this heat"

Once Michelle reached their tent she pushed open the flap with her foot as she carried Ruby inside and gently placed Ruby down on her sleeping bag before Yang then came in shortly after with a worried look on her face as she said, "RUBY!" and Michelle looked back at Yang and tried to reassure her as she replied,

"Ruby is going to be okay Yang, I think she just collapsed out of heat exhaustion because she was talking to me then she just...collapsed on me so I took her back here as quick as I could."

Yang took a deep breath as she sighed and smiled at Michelle as she said, "well, it's good to see my little sis has you to look after her Michelle and this is all General Ironwood's fault for not making sure everyone had something to keep them cool to stop things like this from happening."

And Michelle smiled back at Yang as she replied, "I will always be there for your sister Yang, because like you and Blake, me and Ruby look out for each other speaking of which...Yang could you get me a glass of water as I have an idea" and without giving it a second thought Yang nodded her head as she said,

"Of course, I'll be right back with that glass of water Michelle."

Before she then left the tent to get some water for Michelle as Michelle looked down at Ruby as she held her hand in her own as she said softly to her, "Hang in there Ruby, I'll have something nice and cool for you in a little bit when your sister gets back with some water."

A few minutes later...

Yang returned with a couple of glasses of water as she handed them to Michelle as she said, "here you go Michelle, I grabbed a couple of glasses as I wasn't sure if one would be enough." And Michelle smiled back at Yang as she took the glasses and replied,

"This is perfect Yang thank you, just watch this."

Before Michelle then closed both of her hands for a moment before opening them again as small ice cubes fell from the palm of her hands into the glasses and Yang looked on in awe before she said, "That is so cool, pun not intended I swear, my little sis told me about your neat trick you can do with your Maiden power but I had never seen it in person until now that is."

Ruby then woke up and blinked a couple of times as she looked around before she said, "W-where am I? The last thing I remember was talking to Michelle then everything went black." And Michelle handed Ruby a glass of water with some ice in it as she replied, "It's ok Ruby my adorable rose petal, you're in our tent as you passed out from heat exhaustion because before you collapsed I was going to ask you if you wanted to go for a walk and look at some of the wildlife but I guess that's off the table at the moment."

Then Ruby smiled at Michelle as she took the ice water from her as she replied, "It's ok Michelle, maybe we could do something like that together when this is all over and umm...I'm sorry I made you worry over me."

Michelle then gave Ruby a kiss on her lips before she said, "It's ok Ruby, I'm just glad you are ok and I think we should stay in our tent until we are needed so we can try to keep cool as your sister Yang was also worried about you as well."

Yang then gave her sister a hug as she said to her, "Michelle's right sis, I was really worried about you but it looks to me like you are in good hands with Michelle and I know she will keep you safe." And Ruby returned the hug to her sister with a smile on her face as she replied,

"I know Michelle will keep me safe but umm I umm I will keep her safe too Yang and I hope that you and Weiss and Blake all make it home safe."

Later...

Weiss Blake and Yang were called into General Ironwood's tent to go over the plan one more time while Michelle was standing by her tent softly singing to herself as she sang the words from one of her mother's other favourite songs from Celtic woman in the voice as she sang, "Listen my child you say to me...be not afraid come follow me...answer my call and I'll set...you...free!" before Ruby then walked out from their tent holding her glass of water with ice in it as she smiled and said to her girlfriend,

"That was umm...beautiful Michelle, I had no idea you had such a good singing voice because umm I thought Weiss was the only one out of us who could sing...not that I ever heard her sing at least."

Michelle was caught a little caught off guard by her girlfriend as she replied slightly startled, "AH! Ruby, I didn't hear you come out of the tent but erm...thanks." before she then added, "Weiss and Blake and your sister were called into Ironwood's tent not that long ago as he wanted to go over the plan with them one last time before we begin our assault on Salem's fortress."

Qrow then walked over to Michelle and Ruby as he smiled at them as he said, "I'll have to agree with my niece that's a pretty good voice you got there frosty, now James doesn't know I'm doing this but...I'm going in with you and Ruby and Oscar because as skilled as you kids are I figured it couldn't hurt for you guys to have a pro huntsman like me to back you up."

And Ruby giggled a little at the name her uncle gave her girlfriend which earned her a playful jab to her ribs from Michelle before Michelle smiled at Qrow as she replied, "Thanks Qrow, and it would be an honour to watch a pro huntsman like you in action alongside us." Before she then turned to her girlfriend Ruby and took her hand into her own as she said to her, "Well, seeing as it isn't as hot as it was this morning, how about we go for a walk around the camp together? And we can enjoy a nice ice cream together."

Ruby then smiled and gave Michelle a kiss on her cheek as she replied, "Yeah, I would like that Michelle and umm it would be a good way for us to relax before...you know we fight Salem." Before she turned to her uncle as she said to him, "See you later uncle Qrow, I'm gonna go for a walk around camp with my girlfriend."

Qrow just chuckled a little as he said to Michelle and Ruby, "Have fun Kiddos, and make sure you keep yourselves cool in this heat, I'm gonna see if Oz has any last minute wisdom he wants to share with us before we storm Salem's fortress." Before he left to find Oscar/Ozpin while Michelle and Ruby gently strolled around the camp together.

While Michelle and Ruby were walking together around the camp together and holding hands Ruby said to her girlfriend, "So umm Michelle, why don't you tell me what your mother was like? Y-you don't have to if it's too painful as I don't want to upset you." And Michelle smiled slightly as she replied,

"It's ok Ruby, I figured you would want to ask about my mother and what she was like so I don't mind talking about her as this might be our last chance to actually have a conversation for a while as we will probably be busy fighting Salem's followers or Salem herself." Before she then added, "Well let's see...where to start...oh I know that your sister would have loved to meet my mum if she was still around as she loved making puns just as much as your sister does and...she was the most kindest person I knew and she...she was very beautiful and it was easy to see how she had managed to capture my dad's heart."

And Ruby smiled in awe before she said, "Wow...I guess I can see your mother and father taught you well as I think you are just as kind hearted as she was and umm I think if your mother was still here she would be proud of you." Before she frowned a little as she added, "people always say things get better over time and...umm their right some things do get better over time but losing some you loved and cared for...well my uncle tells me that feeling never really goes away but it does get easier with time."

Then Michelle had some tears in her eyes as she replied, "I...I know that Rubes, but the thing that really hurt me the most about losing my mother was knowing my dad probably held her in his arms as he witnessed her final moments and that...that's what hurt me the most and sometimes when I sleep all I can think about is the look on my dad's face as he held my mother in his arms as she took her dying breath..."

So Ruby turned around and hugged Michelle as tight as she could muster in a hug as she had tears of her own in her eyes before she said, "I am so sorry Michelle, I didn't mean to bring up painful memories for you but I swear I will never leave you because...I love you and I want you to be happy with me..."

Michelle then stopped in her tracks as she held Ruby in her arms and wiped the tears from her eyes as she said, "You have nothing to be sorry for Ruby, it's not your fault my mother is dead and I am happy with you as your girlfriend and I love you too, it's my stupid fault for constantly reliving these painful memories over again in my head but all I can do is just keep moving forward as that's what my mother would want me to do and I'm just glad you want to move forward with me."

And they held each other in their arms for a few minutes before they broke the hug and just stared into each other's eyes and smiled at each other before Winter walked over to them and cleared her throat a little before she said, "I umm I hate to interrupt this...touching moment between you two but General Ironwood has asked for you both to join him in his tent along with Oscar so he can give your orders."

Then Michelle rolled her eyes before she looked at Ruby and said, "I guess we should get our orders from the General, even though I still don't agree with him sending Yang Blake and Weiss in first as although they are quite skilled and I don't doubt their ability as huntresses, it's just I still think it would have been better to send us in first and I don't care if General Ironwood thinks we would be giving Salem an advantage."

Ruby just smiled at Michelle and stood on her tip toes as she gave her a kiss on her lips as she replied, "I know Michelle, but I think General Ironwood wanted to send us in last as a precaution, after all we were both recently injured but yeah let's not keep the General waiting."

Before they then followed Winter towards General Ironwood's tent where Oscar was also waiting for them.

Inside General Ironwood's tent...

Michelle was standing next to Ruby with Oscar beside her as General Ironwood said to them, "Now, once Weiss Yang and Blake have cleared a path through to Salem's fortress Jaune Nora and Ren will follow in behind them and then you Ruby and Oscar will follow in after them, now I suspect Salem won't make this easy for us and you can probably expect heavy resistance either from Grimm or Salem's followers, however once inside it will be up to Michelle Ruby and Oscar to bring Salem down once and for all, do you understand?"

And Michelle and Ruby and Oscar all stood there as they chimed, "Yes sir!" before General Ironwood then stood at the table as he said,

"Good, now...I'm sure Winter has told you all that...some of you may not make it out alive in this mission because Salem will likely throw everything she has at us and I expect you all to hold nothing back, I'm sure that's what Oz would have wanted if he was here but if you don't have any questions you wish to ask then you are dismissed!"

After Michelle and Ruby and Oscar all left General Ironwood's tent Ruby could see her girlfriends hands were clenched tightly into fists so she turned to her and said cautiously, "Michelle, umm are you ok?" and Michelle looked at Ruby and let out a heavy sigh as she replied,

"I'm fine Rubes, I'm just a little angry because to General Ironwood we are nothing but resources he can deploy and expect results and I know we have been through a lot together as a team but asking us to take down an immortal being that's asking a bit much because at the end of the day we are still just kids, we're not soldiers we're huntresses and yes I know we will suffer losses but...how in Remnant are we supposed to take down someone who can't be killed?"

Ruby then walked up to her girlfriend and gave her hug as she said, "We will find a way to stop Salem for good, and umm I'm still not very good with eyes but hopefully it will be enough to stop Salem Michelle and I just hope our friends make it home safely."

And Michelle returned the hug to Ruby as she replied, "Yeah...and if your silver eyes don't work on Salem then the only option I can think of is freezing Salem solid like I did or at least thought I did to Cider inside the Atlas vault, come on we should probably try and get some rest for now."

That night...

Ruby and Michelle were sitting in their sleeping bags in their tent before Michelle turned to Ruby and said, "I'm sure both of our mothers would be proud of what we are doing Ruby my sexy crimson reaper, but...I am worried that we might lose some of our friends." And Ruby turned to Michelle and gave her a little peck on her lips as she replied,

"Yeah...I think our mothers would be proud of what we are doing too and umm I also think they would be proud us being together and supporting each other as well but umm...you're not the only one who is worried because I am worried about how many friends we might lose as well but hopefully we can all make it home safely."

Then Ruby went to say something else before she looked down and saw her girlfriend was fast asleep so she just gave her a kiss on her forehead as she laid down next to her and said, "Goodnight Michelle, my beautiful ice queen sweet dreams." And as she laid down to get some sleep Ruby felt Michelle's metallic arm wrap around her so she wrapped her own arm over Michelle as they drifted off to sleep in each other's arms.