Chapter 11: The Election

The Mandalorian was training with Winter and the Ace-Ops, testing new upgrades to his armor and weapon. Interested in the Hardlight Dust Jaune had in his shield, the Mandalorian asked Pietro to modify both his gauntlets to allow a small Hardlight shield to appear on each of them. This would allow him to deflect bullets and fists so he could then give a counterstrike. Along with that, he asked for an upgrade to his Amban sniper rifle. The rifle looked the same in its original form, but when he pressed a button, it would transform into an electro staff. He quickly got the hang of his new staff, as he was practicing against Winter's summoned Grimm and Harriet's speed. But they were tougher than he expected. The numerous Grimm left him exhausted and Harriet was running in a circle around him, making him disoriented. But he wasn't done yet, as he had one last trick up his sleeve. Taking his staff towards the edge of the circle Harriet made, he swung the end right into the circle, and Harriet stopped as the end electrocuted her. She fell to the ground but quickly got back to her feet.

"Not bad." Harriet said.

"You certainly know how to think on your feet." Winter included.

The Mandalorian was out of breath and kneeling on the ground. "You certainly know how to keep a Mandalorian busy."

"Well, we're the Ace-Ops for a reason buddy." Marrow said as he walked towards them. "Thanks for asking to train with us. I was not in the mood to babysit the fresh meat." he said referring to Ruby and her friends.

"But we babysit you all the time." Harriet told him, which caused the other Ace-Ops to laugh. Marrow just rolled his eyes. "Hey, where are you going?"

The Mandalorian turned around before walking out of the room. "Talking about 'babysitting' made me remember that I left Neo to watch the Child, I should go relieve her."

"Mando, wait." Winter called out and walked up to him. "Have you been thinking more about your plan?"

"I have." Djarin replied. "It's not ready yet but I have a good idea of what we should do."

"Well, I'd like to hear it. And I think it's time you shared with the General as well."

"…Alright. But I want Ruby and her friends to know too. She's on a mission in Mantle, I'll tell everyone once she gets back."

Ruby was in an airship heading to Mantle. A pack of six Sabyrs was on the loose in one of the streets. The street was blocked off and the residents were staying indoors until the situation was dealt with. Even though this wasn't an extraordinary mission, Ruby was nervous. She had enough practice with Rosenrot and she remembered her Grimm training at Beacon. However, she still had previous doubts after her failure in Argus.

"Ruby, are you alright?" Since she was the Protector of Mantle, Penny had decided to tag along with Ruby.

"I'm fine, Penny. I'm just…I'm just a little nervous."

"Don't worry. I will be with you every step of the way." Penny said with a smile.

As the ship landed, Penny and Ruby walked to the street where two Atlas guards were waiting for them.

"Over there." one of them pointed. Ruby ran over while Penny took to the air.

"Hey, that was one of the kids that came in the big ship, right?" The guard on the left asked his partner on the right. "The one with the kid that ate my candy bar?"

"Holy crap, are you still on about that?" the second guard asked. "Whenever we need to guard something, you ramble on about that."

"Well, what did you expect? We've been on guard duty almost every hour of every day ever since that ship came. Talking about it is the only way to pass time."

"Well, that's all you ever do. How about instead of talking about that ship, you do something else for a change?"

"…Like what?"

"I don't know, think about something else you find interesting." The first guard was silent after this. After a minute, he turned back to the other guard. "Hey."

"Yeah?"

"You ever wonder why we're here?"

Ruby had found the Grimm. Seeing her, one Sabyr ran towards her. Only to pass through rose petals. Looking up, it saw Ruby pull a gun off her back and fire. With one Grimm down, Ruby extended Rosenrot's first blade and swung down at the next Grimm she saw, cutting it in half. Two more Sabyrs came running towards her, she held her weapon with the first scythe sticking in the air. Ruby extended the second blade and twirled her weapon twice, with one blade stabbing a Saybr in the chest and the other splitting the second one's skull. Hearing a beam behind her, Ruby turned around to see another Sabyr cut in half. Looking up to see Penny waving at her, she waved back. Hearing a scream, Ruby turned to see an Atlas guard who had lost her leg, which in the final Sabyr's mouth. It was too far for Ruby to get a clear shot, and Ruby cursed herself. She got caught up in taking down the other Grimm that she forgot about the last one. Now, it cost someone to get hurt. Seeing Penny cut down the Sabyr, Ruby ran up to her and started to panic.

"Don't worry, I'll get help." Penny said as she flew away. Ruby was left alone with the guard who was bleeding out. Ruby was panicking, remembering what happened to Maria and what almost happened to her. It seems that it was all happening again and Ruby couldn't do anything about it.

Suddenly, Ruby had an idea. Seeing a Dust shop with fire Dust in the window, Ruby smashed the glass and took the Dust to the guard. "Okay, this is gonna hurt." she said, as she carefully pressed the fire Dust on her wound. The guard screamed as she felt her leg burning. Suddenly, she passed out.

Ruby looked up to see two more guards with a stretcher and Penny. Looking down, the first guard saw what Ruby had done. "Wow. Quick thinking, kid."

"Is she dead?" Ruby asked.

"No, just unconscious. If anything, this may have saved her life." The two guards carried her away.

Returning to Atlas, Ruby and Penny found everyone in General Ironwood's office.

"What's going on?" Ruby asked.

"Mando wants to share his plan." Weiss told Ruby.

Seeing that everyone was here, General Ironwood activated a projection of Atlas and Amity Colosseum. "This what I had in mind." Djarin began. "First, we need to know what we're up against. I want to take the Razor Crest to wherever Salem is. Then, we're going to observe the number of Grimm Salem has at her disposal."

"I can cloak the ship and get us close enough to avoid detection." Ren said.

"Once we come back and report, we're going to launch a small attack on Salem. Not enough to stop her, but to draw her out in the open." Djarin continued.

"Wait, you want to draw Salem out?" Winter asked. "Where are we bringing her?"

"Here. To Atlas." Djarin responded.

"Mando, we may have the entire Atlas fleet here, but I don't think it'll be enough to stop Salem." Qrow said. "I've seen some of the things she's made, and we may not be up to par."

"Which is why we're going to have every fighter from every kingdom join us." Djarin continued. "Once Amity is ready and we make contact with the rest of the world, we're going to tell every kingdom to send whatever support they can. Once they arrive, we'll draw Salem out and make our stand at Atlas."

"I don't know about this." Ironwood said. "We may have the entire world, but there's a big risk if we fail."

"With all due respect, General, you told me Salem's goal was to divide humanity." Djarin said. "Once the united world comes and fights with us, she'll realize that she failed."

"But Salem can't be killed." Ruby said. "If we stop her Grimm, she can just come back and destroy Atlas. Nothing can stop her."

"I'm working out the details on that." Djarin concluded. "I just need more time."

Everyone turned to Ironwood. He stood up and addressed the group. "If this is our plan, we need Amity up and running. So, we need as many supplies as we can use. Mantle won't like it, but it'll be worth it in the end."

Most of the people in the room nodded in agreement. It seems they had a plan of attack now. As everyone began to leave the room, an Atlesian soldier and a woman in a wheelchair were on the other side of the door.

"Sorry to interrupt General, but is Ruby Rose here?" the woman asked.

Ruby walked towards the woman and stopped. "Miss Rose, I wanted to thank you for saving my life."

"Me?" Ruby asked. "But…I didn't stop the Sabyr that took your leg. That was my fault."

"Actually kid, that was on me. I saw that Grimm hiding in the shadows and tried to kill it. Seems the only thing I did was piss it off. If it weren't for you and your friend, I'd be dead. So, thank you. Both of you." she said as she looked at Penny. After the soldier took the woman back to the medical wing, Ruby felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking to see Yang, she had a big smile on her face. "Nice work, sis."

In the weeks that followed, Amity was making great progress. With the Mandalorian helping deliver supplies in the Razor Crest along with the trucks that followed him, it seemed Amity would be up and running in no time. In that time, Ruby had begun to recover from her ordeal. She started going on more Huntress missions with the rest of Team RWBY every day, each one being completed faster than the last. One day, when she and Team RWBY came back from keeping Grimm out of the mine, Ruby went to the training rooms alone. Sensing something was wrong, Weiss followed her.

Ruby was practicing using her Semblance, and now she was able to split her rose form in two, avoiding obstacles when they arrived. After ten seconds of doing this, Ruby stopped to rest. Turning around, she saw Weiss standing by the door. "Oh, hey Weiss. Did you need something?"

"I just wanted to check on you. I thought we agreed we would train as a team from now on?" Weiss asked.

"Oh, that's right." Ruby said. "I'm sorry, I just needed to…clear my head."

"…Ruby, are you alright?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay. I was just…thinking."

"About?"

"…Weiss, I'm not so sure I should be doing this anymore."

Weiss was sad to hear this. "Ruby, I thought we went over this. You're a great Huntress, and you've done so much for Atlas and-"

"No, no. Not that. I know I can be a Huntress."

Weiss' face made a confused expression. "Then, what's bothering you?"

Ruby sighed as she continued. "Weiss, I'm not sure I should be the one leading us."

"What do you mean?"

Ruby turned to face the obstacles of the training room. "When Ozpin tried to lead us, things fell apart. When I tried to lead us, things also fell apart. I never told this to anyone, but a part of me was thinking we shouldn't tell Ironwood about Salem. But as we found out, that would have been another bad choice. I could have jeopardized everything. I don't think I should be the one to do this."

"Then don't."

Ruby turned around hearing this.

"Ruby, do you remember when I was jealous about Ozpin making you the leader of our team?" Weiss asked. Ruby nodded and she went on. "Well, I went to Professor Port to see if…I could convince him to speak to Ozpin for me. I'm sorry, I really shouldn't have done that."

Ruby was confused hearing this. "Weiss, if you want to lead all of us against Salem, I should warn you-"

"No, no. It's not like that." Weiss said. "He actually gave me some really good advice that you should hear. 'Hone your skills, perfect every technique, and be not the best leader, but the best person you can be.' And I think you're one of the best people I know." Weiss finished with a smile.

Ruby smiled back, understanding what Weiss was telling her. "Ruby, you definitely have what it takes to lead Team RWBY. But if you feel that leading us against Salem is too much of a burden, talk to us. We'll see what the right thing to do is. Together."

Smiling, Ruby hugged Weiss, who eagerly returned the hug. "Thanks Weiss."

With that, Weiss went back into the dorms, just as the Mandalorian walked into the room.

"Hey, Mando!" Ruby called out, getting the Mandalorian's attention. "I heard you upgraded your weapons, and was wondering if I could see them. I've…always been a dork when it comes to weapons."

"Sure." The Mandalorian said, taking his rifle off his back and holding it front of her. "Amban sniper rifle, capable of disintegrating anything it touches. It's…how I destroyed your first weapon."

"Oooohhh…" was all Ruby could say, amazed by the weapon. "Does it do anything else?"

Pressing the button on the side, the rifle transformed into an electro staff. "That."

Weiss was watching Ruby enjoy herself with the Mandalorian. It seems, at long last, she finally had her friend back.

"So, how did it go?" Neo asked Oscar.

"I, uh…it didn't go that well." Oscar replied.

"You chickened out, didn't you?"

"Yep."

The Mandalorian had to go deliver more supplies to Amity. Hoping to run into Robyn again, he took a truck instead of the Razor Crest. Since he would be gone longer, Neo offered to babysit the Child with Oscar. At the moment, Neo was playing with the Child while Oscar was sitting on the bed venting his problems to her.

"It shouldn't be that hard. Just tell Ruby how you feel about her." Neo suggested.

"I know, but every time I try to, a million different things pop in my head." Oscar said.

"Things like what?"

"Like…what if she says 'it's because of Ozpin'?"

"Huh?" Neo asked. "Oh, that's right. You're the host of the guy cursed by the Gods. If I'm being honest, I completely forgot about that."

"HOW COULD YOU FORGET SOMETHING LIKE THAT?!" Oscar shouted in amazement.

"I don't know. Maybe it's because it doesn't matter. You're still Oscar, the kid who left home to fight an immortal witch, the first guy to make friends with me."

"It's…not that simple, Neo."

"Seems simple enough to me. And I'm sure it will with Ruby too."

"Yeah…I guess so."

"So, go tell her."

"Ok, let me level with you." Oscar said. "Ruby is someone who carries the world on her shoulders. She's the type of person that would neglect her own care to make sure everyone else is holding up alright. When we went out to lunch that day, all she wanted to talk about was me. Like, how I'm doing with the whole 'Ozpin' situation. While everyone sometimes thinks I'm just going to be another one of his lives, Ruby thinks I'm my own person. And she's one of the best Huntresses I know. So, tell me, how am I supposed to tell the girl who helps everyone but herself, the one who does so much for me, that she's also the girl of my dreams?"

"And how would you describe yourself?" Neo asked.

"Well…nothing like that."

"I disagree. Oscar, when we first got to Atlas, did you notice everyone ignored me but Mando and you?" Oscar took a moment and realized she was right. "And whenever I want to talk to someone, you're usually the only one who can stand within a foot of me without being uncomfortable? I mean sure, Mando trusts me, but what about you? What's your excuse?"

"Well…I don't really know."

"Well, I do." Neo replied. "Because you do what Ruby does. And I think she would like having someone like you around her more. So, go and tell her before you regret it."

"Well…I mean-"

"Tell." Neo and Oscar looked to the Child. "Tell."

"See? Even the baby agrees with me!" Neo laughed.

"You expect me to take advice from an alien baby?" Oscar asked.

"Yes. Yes, I do."

With that, Oscar left. Neo looked down at the Child "Yeah, he's not gonna do it."

"Chicken." the Child said. Neo rolled on the floor laughing at this.

The Mandalorian was in the training room, sparing against Ren. Who kept getting knocked to the floor. But Ren kept getting back up. While Djarin respected Ren's tenacity, he noticed it took Ren more time to get back up each time he hit the floor. This was starting to get brutal.

"…Again…" Ren said, panting for breath.

"We're resting." Djarin told him.

In response, Ren pulled out his guns and shot two blaster bolts at the Mandalorian. Both missed, and Djarin pulled out his blaster to shoot Ren's hands. Which caused Ren to drop his weapons.

"That's enough." Djarin repeated. Seeing Ren fall to the ground, the Mandalorian walked over to him and extended a hand. "You're improving, Ren. But you need to rest, take some time to-"

"We don't have TIME!" Ren yelled as he slapped the Mandalorian's hand away and stood up. Walking towards the exit, Ren felt an electric jolt hit his back and he fell to the ground. Looking up, he saw the Mandalorian holding his electro staff.

"I thought you said we were done." Ren said.

"When did you notice I had my staff ready?" the Mandalorian asked.

"I didn't."

"Exactly." Djarin deactivated the staff. "A week ago, you would have noticed it even if you were in the hallway. You're getting sloppy."

"I know." Ren said. "Which is why I need to be in here every chance I get, why I need to be at my best."

"You realize that's the opposite of what you're doing." Djarin said. "I noticed you've been neglecting your friends. Always training, always working yourself past your limit, but always alone."

"There's more at stake here than me worrying about them." Ren countered. "Or them worrying about me."

"I disagree." Djarin said. "Ruby's been spending an equal amount of time working and being with her team. And she's improved so much since then. I don't know much about Huntsmen or Huntresses, but I can tell she has what it takes to be one of the best. Like you." He said, extending a hand again. This time, Ren took it. Standing up, he looked at the Mandalorian. "Being at your best doesn't mean working yourself to death. It's knowing when you need help."

"What about you?" Ren asked.

"I've travelled the galaxy, making friends here and there. They've all helped me and I've been able to help them in return." Djarin explained. "That's something you should work on."

"Right. Thanks." Ren walked out of the training room. He had a lot to think about.

Tonight was the night Atlas would be electing a new council member. General Ironwood decided to give everyone the night off, wanting everyone to be prepared for a brand-new Atlas that would come tomorrow. So, everyone decided to do separate things. Team FNKI invited Blake and Yang out dancing, Djarin convinced Neo to go to the movies with Weiss and Jaune, while Oscar, Ruby, Ren, and Nora went to Mantle for Robyn's "victory party."

"I understand Weiss' point though. A victory party does seem premature." Ren said as they walked towards the warehouse where the party was.

"Aw, let them have one sure thing." Nora countered.

"Probably the last sure thing before Amity Tower goes up." Ruby included. "Before everyone learns about…what we're fighting."

"Mando and Ironwood spent a lot of time planning how we're going to fight." Oscar said. "But has anyone considered how we're going to beat her once we get past that?"

"Jinn said she can't be beaten." Nora pointed out.

"She told Oz that he couldn't destroy her." Ruby also pointed out.

"But maybe someone else could?" Nora asked Ruby.

"I…don't know if that's what we're going to do." Ruby said.

"What do you mean?' Ren asked.

"Mando has most of his plan figured out except how we finish the fight." Ruby explained. "I think he's looking for an alternate solution."

"Which is?" Nora asked.

"Well…I can't think of anything at the moment." Ruby said.

"Neither can I. But it's possible." Ren suggested. "We've been focused on one outcome we know is impossible. I think Mando's trying to think outside the box."

"Which means there's a chance we can win!" Nora said with a smile.

Ren looked back at Nora and smiled.

When everyone got to the warehouse, Ren stopped at the door. "Nora, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Oh…sure. You go on ahead." Nora said to Ruby and Oscar. After they walked inside, Nora turned to Ren. "What's up?"

"I…wanted to apologize." Ren said.

"For what?"

"Ever since we learned about the Relics, Ozpin, and Salem…I've been so wrapped up in everything that I've been neglecting you."

"Ren-"

"Please, let me finish. It's just, I've spent so much time trying to be ready for what's to come that I never realized I can't do it without any of you."

"Ren, it's-"

"Please, let me finish. Back in Kuroyuri, you told me not to get myself killed like this. And that's exactly what I've been doing, and-" he stopped talking as he felt a pair of lips touch his. Pulling away, Nora looked up at him. "Ren, it's alright. I'm just glad you got your head out of your butt." Nora said with a soft laugh. Ren blushed and laughed at this too. "Now, come on. Ruby's waiting for us." Holding Ren's hand, Nora guided him inside.

After talking with Penny, Ruby saw Nora and Ren come in. Seeing Ruby waving towards them, they walked over to her and Oscar.

"Did we miss the results?" Ren asked.

"No, they're closing now." Oscar said.

Hearing everyone starting to count down, Ren and Nora looked at each other and smiled. However, something caught Ren's eye. Nora saw something was wrong with him and followed his gaze. They both saw what looked like a metal tail under a brown overcoat. Tapping Ruby's shoulder, Ren pointed to the man they saw. Ruby got a closer look and saw a familiar face under his hood.

"WATCH OUT!" Ruby yelled, but it was too late. The lights suddenly went out, and all everyone could hear were screams. Ruby, Nora, and Ren tried to find their target but it was too dark. However, Penny was able to use her night vision to see a Faunus killing people.

'PUT DOWN YOUR WEAPONS AND SURRENDER!" she ordered, extending her swords. Seeing him disappear, Penny jumped on the stage to protect Robyn. She suddenly felt one of her swords weigh heavier. Before she looked at what it was, the lights came back on.

"And the winner of the Atlas Council election is…Jacques Schnee!" Penny didn't pay attention to this, instead looking around to see multiple people on the ground bleeding. Looking to her left, she saw Robyn pointing her weapon at her, with a look of shock on her face.

"Penny…how could you…?"

Looking to her right, Penny saw what was weighing down her sword. Right in the middle of the blade was Oscar.

"No!" Penny unfolded her swords as Ruby and Ren ran up to the stage. "What happened?"

"It was Tyrian!" Ruby yelled. "Tyrian's here!"

Gently taking Oscar off the blade, Ruby laid him down and applied pressure to his wound. However, the crowd began to charge at Penny. Fortunately, Marrow was able to use his Semblance to slow them down. Seeing them go out the back, Robyn was too busy to do anything trying to help one of her Huntresses, Fiona.

Ruby, Ren, Nora, and Marrow were outside trying to help Oscar. Remembering her trick from last time, Ruby took one of Ren's blasters and fired it in the air multiple times. Using the hot barrel, Ruby cauterized Oscar's wounds.

"Penny, take Oscar to Atlas. Backup's on the way." Penny didn't answer Marrow. "Penny?"

Penny suddenly grabbed Oscar and flew into the sky. Ruby could hear the sound of Grimm coming from all directions. Sighing, Marrow drew his weapon. "We've got a long night ahead."

Author's notes: thanks for reading and reviewing, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I decided to focus more on developing some character in this one. As you saw with Neo, Oscar, and Ren, I decided to change things up and see how it went. Please let me know what you thought and review so I can learn for next time. Also, I hope you were able to catch the reference I made early in the chapter.

To GojiraFan455515, glad you liked the segments with Ruby, Mando, and Yang. Also, Robyn's not a Mandalorian, she just wears the armor. As for her knowledge of the Children of the Watch, that will be next chapter.

To NeoConVAL, I couldn't agree more. Which is why I wrote more about her recovery here, I hope you liked it.

To Rookie80, yeah I know, it was a real blow for Mando.

To RedRat8, you're absolutely right about Robyn and RWBY screwing things up. Which is why I changed the part about Ruby lying to Ironwood. As for Robyn vs Djarin, come back next chapter.

To Mandalore the Survivor, glad you enjoyed last chapter. I understand why you feel that way about Neo, but I always thought she deserved to have a voice actress, she's a really cool character. Anyways, thanks for the continued support and links, you're the man. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Stay safe, PAR KOTE BAL IJAAT BE MAND'ALOR!

To NotPalpatine, is it possible to learn this power?

To an unknown guest, that's a very good point. I knew what happened to Mando in the show, when he went back for the Child. I always thought it was because it reminded him of his time being a Foundling of the Mandalorians. But the Force being involved is a very interesting idea.

Anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review!