Copyright disclaimer: RWBY belongs to RoosterTeeth, The Legend of Zelda belongs to Nintendo, Pokemon belongs to Game Freak, any other franchises mentioned or included in this work belong to their respective owners (not me). All I own are my OC's (Aris, Perci, Raylo, Takashi, and Loretta), the cover (made it myself via Google Slides), and this story itself.

This is the chapter that contains the interesting parts of Volume 4.

The newly formed team RNJR, which consists of Ruby Rose, Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, and Lie Ren, continues their journey to Mistral. Nora raises her arms skyward and yawns. "Another day, another adventure!"

"What's on the agenda today?" Ruby asks Jaune, who carries the map.

"Walking," says the Arc.

Nora prods hopefully, "With a side of...?"

"Walking," Ren deadpans.

Ruby sighs. "Haven is a lot farther away than I thought."

Ren walks up beside her. "How long did you say this journey would take?"

"I don't know!" says an exasperated Ruby. "I grew up on Patch, I've never been this far away from home."

"Right," says Jaune. "But how long?"

"Two weeks?"

"What?!" cries Jaune.

"Fine, around three!" Ruby sighs. "Look, whatever." Her eyes drift forward, looking into the distance. "Hey, what's that up ahead?"

Up ahead is a wall with an open entrance. The roofs of buildings can be seen. The weather suddenly begins to rapidly transition from sunny and bright to bleak and overcast.

"That's...odd," says Jaune. "I thought we wouldn't be hitting another village for a few days."

"Those buildings look...damaged," Nora points out, gazing at the village while perched atop a fencepost.

"We gotta search for survivors!" exclaims Jaune.

The newly formed team RJNR rushes into the village.

BGM: Lavender Town - Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu/Let's Go Eevee

The sun has completely disappeared now; the sky is no longer blue. Stratus clouds blanket the skies. The remains of buildings dot the ruined village, their frames like skeletons in a closet.

Ruby lowers a random set of wooden planks after an unsuccessful attempt to search for someone potentially hiding under them. "Anything?" she calls out to her comrades.

"No joy over here!" Nora replies.

"No one over here, either!" says Jaune.

"It almost seems like this place was abandoned," Ren says once team RNJR regroups.

The group continues searching.

"Hey!" Nora calls out. "I think I might've found something!"

The others join her by a small sign covered in ivy. Nora brushes the leaves away to reveal a name: "Oniyuri".

"Never heard of it," says Nora.

"Me neither," says Jaune.

"I have," Ren puts in. Everyone looks his way. "You could say it's Anima's version of Mountain Glenn, had it never been completed. Years ago, the richest members of the kingdom of Mistral were unhappy with how the kingdom was being run. Frustrated with the council, they pooled their resources together to build a city of their own, with laws of their own. They hoped that it could maybe even become its own kingdom one day. Many thought it would be the future. I know for sure that my parents did."

"So...what happened?" Ruby asks worriedly.

"What happened is what always happens," Ren answers.

"The Grimm," says Jaune upon the realization.

Ren clenches his fists. "Not just any Grimm."

Overhead, a flock of birds flies.

"C'mon," says Jaune. "Let's head through to the other side. This place is creeping me out."

Nora follows him. Ruby and Ren do the same.

BGM: Hotel - Undertale

People in snazzy outfits mill about the ballroom, sipping fancy drinks and talking about rich-people things.

Weiss stands silent beside her father as Jacques Schnee chats with some stranger she doesn't know. Weiss silently longs for the man she loves to return to her, safe and sound. "Aris is wherever those two angels took him," Weiss thinks. "I hope he's alright, with or without the left arm."

"That's precisely my point," Jacques says to his acquaintance. "We offer the Faunus the exact same wages as the rest of our mining staff. Their argument's completely invalid right off the bat."

As the two rich old men continue their conversation, Weiss's gaze drifts to the wall on the far side of the room, where a large framed portrait of Beacon Academy sits, surrounded by velvet ropes.

The heiress takes a step in the portrait's direction, only to be stopped by her father grabbing her arm. "Where are you going?" Jacques asks.

"I'm just a little thirsty," says Weiss.

"Dear, we have people for that," Jacques sighs.

"No, I can get a drink myself," says Weiss. "I'll be right back, I promise."

Jacques hesitates, and sighs again. "Alright, just go."

He rejoins the conversation as Weiss leaves.

Weiss makes her way to the portrait of Beacon. Whoever painted it did a great job; they managed to depict every small detail of the school before its destruction.

"It's quite a nice picture, isn't it?" says the voice of a young man to her right.

"Yes, it's a lovely painting," Weiss deadpans.

The young man, who has gelled-up dark blue hair, speaks. "So...that was kinda my attempt at breaking the ice a little. How am I doing so far?"

Weiss sighs. "You're leaving a lot to be desired." She silently longs for her boyfriend's presence, so Aris can put this annoying little twerp in his place.

"I've always appreciated honesty," says the young man. "I'm Henry Marigold, by the way." He holds out his hand for a handshake.

Weiss reluctantly shakes his hand. "Weiss Schnee."

"I know," says Henry. "I saw your performance...obviously." Henry clears his throat, clearly struggling to keep his composure. "You were wonderful onstage. And I can promise you I'm not just saying that because you're pretty. Honesty, remember? So...about the painting. You thinkin' about buying it?"

"No," Weiss answers. "No, I don't think I will."

"I don't blame you," says Henry. "It's kinda pricey for a painting."

"It's to raise money," Weiss says, glaring at Henry and slightly raising her voice.

"Oh, it is?" says Henry. "Raise money for what?"

"For what?!" Weiss raises her voice a little more.

Henry laughs a little. "I'll admit, I only come to these fancy parties for the food. And, the extraordinary company." He winks at Weiss. "So, is the painting another Mantle fundraiser, or something?"

Weiss stares at him with an icy glare, ready to reach into a secret pocket in her dress and release Articuno. "Go. Away."

Henry snickers. "What?"

"Go away or I will have security escort you away," Weiss threatens.

"What'd I do?"

"Leave!" Weiss reaches into her pocket and grasps Articuno's Ultra Ball.

Henry sighs. "Whatever."

Finally, the annoying rich boy leaves Weiss's presence. The heiress removes her hand from her pocket, leaving the Ultra Ball inside. She eyes a small sign in front of the portrait of Beacon. The sign reads "SHOW THE WORLD WE CARE" and below it, in smaller text "All proceeds go to the Kingdom of Vale".

Behind Weiss, a woman speaks to someone. "But really, is it any surprise what happened to Vale? They had it coming if you ask me."

The woman's husband tries to stop her. "Honey..."

"What?" the woman laughs as Weiss turns to look at her, reaching into her pocket once again. "You said the same thing last night. If they're so arrogant to think they can get by without proper defenses, then I say good riddance."

End BGM

Weiss finally snaps. "Shut your damn mouth!"

The room falls silent. Almost every pair of eyes is fixed on Weiss.

"You don't have a clue what happened there!" Weiss exclaims, removing Articuno's Ultra Ball from her pocket. "None of you do!"

"Excuse me?!" says the woman, clearly taken aback and offended by Weiss's outburst.

"All of you are just standing around talking about nothing!" Weiss shouts. "You only care about your hair, your money, your stupid problems that don't mean a damn thing!"

Jacques Schnee marches over and grabs his daughter's arm. "Weiss, that's enough."

"Let go of me!" Weiss demands.

"You're embarrassing the family!" Jacques exclaims.

"I said let go!" Weiss wrenches her arm from her father's grasp, accidentally dropping her Ultra Ball.

In a flash of energy, a large blue and white bird emerges. Articuno lets out a cry to announce its appearance.

People cower in fear as Articuno flies up towards the ceiling and dives down towards the woman.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" the woman cries. "Please, just leave me alone!"

Just before Articuno reaches its target, a bullet flies from elsewhere in the room and hits the Legendary, stopping its dive. Weiss quickly gets to her feet and returns Articuno to her Ultra Ball. Elsewhere, General Ironwood lowers a pistol.

"Arrest her!" the woman demands, pointing an accusing finger at Weiss. "She's insane! She needs to be locked up!"

Ironwood moves closer to Weiss, giving her an apologetic nod before turning to the woman. "She's the only one making any sense in this room," the General says in his familiar low voice. Ironwood leaves the area, monotonously thanking Jacques for the party before doing so.

Weiss looks at her father. Jacques returns her gaze, fury flashing in his eyes.