On the Haven Academy school grounds, Qrow, Dante, and V take the lead as the currently present members of Team RWBY, the remaining members of Team JNPR, and Oscar follow close behind. Ruby stops and looks up to admire Haven's CCT tower, before following the rest of the group to a nearby building.
They enter the building and are greeted by Lionheart, who is standing on a terrace at the top of the stairs that is being held up by a statue.
"Why hello. Thank you for... coming. There... seems to be more of you than last time" He said as he let out nervous chuckle.
Qrow and the rest of the group stop to look up at Lionheart "Eh, you know what they say, "The more the merrier". So what's going on with the council?".
"Why... did you bring your weapons?" Lionheart asked.
"What? Leo, we're Huntsmen. You okay?" Qrow asked.
"Yeah," Dante agreed, "It's kind of our thing to carry these around."
"Of course! Of course, sorry. Just haven't had my evening coffee" Lionheart said. Dante and V looked at each other; they both sensed something was up.
Qrow noticed it but kept talking "Look, it's nice to see you, but we got work to do. Are we getting support from the council or not?".
While the two talk, Yang notices from the corner of her eye a black bird perched on a balcony railing "Mom?".
Everyone's attention is turned to the bird. It flies away just as Qrow shoots at it, but he misses. The bird flies down behind Lionheart, transforming into Raven, donning her mask. Everyone glares at her.
"Raven..." Ruby spoke
"They... they really are magic..." Nora said in shock.
Raven takes her mask off "If you're going to shoot me, shoot me. That was insulting".
"What are you doing here?!" Qrow demanded.
Raven walks down the stairs "I could ask you the same thing. You've been scheming, little brother. Planning to attack your own sister".
"Leo... what have you done?!" Qrow asked in anger.
Lionheart looks down "I..."
"Leo did what any sane person would in his position, he looked at all the information he had in front of him, assessed the situation, and made a choice. And it seems you all have too" Raven said while giving Yang a disapproving look.
Qrow was really angry now "You have the Spring Maiden".
"I do" Raven confirmed.
Qrow put his weapon away "Then hand her over and let's work together! We can beat Salem!".
"All that time spent spying for Ozpin and you still have no idea what you're dealing with. There is no beating Salem!" Raven snapped.
"You sure about that?" Dante asked.
V scoffed: "Clearly she has never read the prophecies of the Sentinels."
"I actually have!" Raven snapped: "And in case you two weren't aware, that won't be happening any time soon. To us, Salem can't be beaten!"
"You're wrong. We've done things that most people would call impossible, and I know the only reason we were able to do it is because we didn't do it alone! We had people to teach us, people to help us, we had each other. Work with us. At least I know we'll have a better chance if we try together. Please" Ruby said as she holds her hand out.
Raven glares at it "You sound just like your mother".
Suddenly, Raven draws her sword and creates a portal with her Semblance. From the portal, a fireball is launched and hits Ruby square in her torso. She lands several feet back.
"Ruby!" Yang shouted.
While Yang runs to her little sister, Cinder steps out of the portal "Hello boys and girls".
She is then joined by Vernal, Emerald, and Mercury as they too step out from the portal.
Ruby sits up and glares at them "Cinder..."
Cinder and her group line up alongside Raven, while the rest gasp.
"C'mon guys, is that any way to greet your old friends?" Mercury asked mockingly, Yang growls at him, she has not forgotten how he made her look bad during the Vytal Festival.
"Everybody, stay calm" Qrow ordered.
Suddenly they hear the doors behind them open up.
"Oh no..." Oscar said
Hazel is closing the doors behind him as he enters "The White Fang is prepping demolition and securing the school grounds. No one's getting in, and no one's getting out".
"This was all just a trap?" Weiss asked.
"It appears so..." Ren said.
Dante growled: "I knew something was up."
"Raven, tell me... how long have you been with them?" Qrow demanded.
Cinder answered mockingly "Aww, don't take it personally, little bird. Your sister was a recent addition. The lion on the other hand...entrance into the Vytal Festival was a real treat, Leonardo's been sending Salem all sorts of information for a very, very long time. Isn't that right, professor?".
Lionheart shook his head shamefully "Stop it..."
"It was you... you sit on the Mistral Council. You had information on every Huntsman and Huntress in the Kingdom, and you gave it all to her?" Qrow asked, his tone one of betrayal.
Lionheart looked at him "I-".
"I couldn't find any of them, because you let her kill them!" Qrow snapped.
"Seriously?!" Dante demanded, drawing his sword: "The Leo I knew would NEVER have done such a thing. You're not only a traitor now, you're a coward!"
Lionheart doesn't say anything, only still having a sad expression on his face.
"Aw now, don't beat yourself up about it, Lionheart, I'm sure Tyrian and Hazel would've found them on their own eventually" Cinder said.
"What is wrong with you? How can you be so broken inside... to take so many lives, and then come here and rub it in our faces like it's something to be proud of?!" Jaune demanded with his head down.
"Jaune..." Nora said in sympathy.
"All with that damn smile on your face!" Jaune shouted in enraged and tears streams from his eyes.
The rest of the group draw their weapons with Qrow trying to keep things from going out of control "Everybody, stay calm!".
V tries to help: "Anger will only make things worse."
Cinder just glares as Jaune continues "I'm gonna make you pay for what you did! Do you hear me?!".
"Kid!" Qrow said sharply.
"Well?! SAY SOMETHING!" Jaune screamed.
After a short pause, Cinder speaks her response "Who are you again?".
Jaune transforms Crocea Mors to its two-handler form and advances forward. Cinder summons an obsidian scimitar and blocks Jaune's attack.
"Jaune!" Ruby leaps into the air, but a chain wraps around her and she is pulled to the ground by Emerald.
"You're not getting near her" Emerald declared.
"I am, though!" Dante taunted as he teleported over, drop kicking Cinder in the back of the head.
Jaune advances to make his own move, but is then pushed back by Cinder and the three begin their duel. Yang runs forward to join the fight, but Mercury lands in front of her.
"Hey there, Blondie. I'm thinking you owe me an apology for my leg, don't ya think?" He asked in a mocking tone.
Yang growls and uses Ember Celica to project herself forward, but Mercury avoided the attack. Yang quickly recovers and the two resume their fight.
Raven spoke to Vernal "Take out the heiress. Don't bother wasting your power, she's not worth it".
Raven then draws her sword as Qrow uses Harbinger to lock blades with his sister "Running away was one thing, but this... you've crossed the line!".
"Sorry, brother. Sometimes family disappoints you like that" Raven said calmly.
Qrow glared "We're not family anymore".
"Were we ever?" Raven asked
"I thought so, but I guess I was wrong" Qrow said, clearly disappointed.
The two then proceed with their fight, while Vernal confronts Weiss "Let's see what the Schnee name really means".
Vernal draws her weapons, while Weiss holds Myrtenaster en garde "I'm more than a name".
"Hm, prove it" Vernal said.
Weiss activates a glyph below her and projects herself forward to fight the Spring Maiden.
Meanwhile, Oscar and V sneak up the stairs to Lionheart while Hazel confronts Ren and Nora, who hold up their weapons defensively.
"I don't wish to fight either of you" Hazel spoke calmly.
"Nor I you" Ren said, just as calm.
"But we will if you're with her!" Nora declared.
Hazel cracks his neck and knuckles "Very well, then".
As Lionheart nervously watches the fights going on, he then notices Oscar and V walk up behind him, Oscar leading the way "Young man, I don't know who you are or what you think you're doing, but for your sake, I suggest you leave. Now" Oscar defiantly remains stationary before taking a few more steps toward Lionheart "I'm warning you!" Lionheart holds out his wrist-mounted weapon, while Oscar prepares to draw something from behind him "That's enough!"
Lionheart rotates his weapon, having a glyph appear above it which then conjures a flaming rock that launches at Oscar, who holds out his arms in front of him defensively as the attack explodes. Oscar is unscathed, though his Aura shimmers. He continues to proceed up the steps and draws his cane.
Lionheart eyes widens Ozpin?"
"Not quite" Oscar then proceeds forward as his attacks force Lionheart on the defensive. He manages to whack Lionheart back a few steps.
"This can't be... I knew you would be back, but... you made it here! You found Qrow! How?" Lionheart asked in shock
Ozpin spoke mentally "Leo... what happened to you?"
"Wait. You can't have had this form for long. You're... not really Ozpin right now. Boy. Child. If I deliver you to Salem, she'll have to be pleased with me, and I can finally get out of all of this! I can finally be free!" Lionheart, now determined, preps his weapon again.
V raises his cane as it wreathed in purple lightning: "I think you'll find that to be harder than you realize."
Lionheart widens his eyes in recognition: "It's…you."
V nods: "I may only be a fragment of what I once was, but I still have some power left in me."
Lionheart looked afraid for a moment, but then regained his resolve: "Fine, more reason for her to be pleased."
"What do I do?" Oscar asked.
"The only thing we can do." V replied
"Fight" Ozpin spoke dryly. Oscar and V proceed forward.
Meanwhile, Weiss leaps around on her glyphs, dodging Vernal's weapons as she throws them like boomerangs. Weiss is then forced on the defensive and creates a large ice wall. She then stabs Myrtenaster into the ground as her Arma Gigas summon crawls out of her glyph. Suddenly, a large beam destroys the ice wall as well as the Arma Gigas before it could be fully summoned. One of Vernal's weapons knocks Weiss back several feet.
Vernal catches her weapon "Don't think I'm going to let you take the easy way out".
Elsewhere, Jaune is knocked to the ground.
Cinder chuckled "I'm starting to remember you, you're the dense one that can't tell when he's out of his league".
A bullet then hits her in the shoulder, causing her aura to flare as Dante comes up behind her: "And I'm the one who'll kick your ass if you keep talking."
With Cinder distracted, Jaune gets back up and clashes blades with Cinder again. Ruby watches them fight but is snapped out of her distraction by Emerald. She then transforms her weapons into their revolver forms and fires at Ruby, who twirls around Crescent Rose blocking Emerald's shots.
"Why are you doing this?! Salem's-" Ruby began but Emerald stopped her.
"I don't care about Salem! But I owe Cinder everything" She said before she stopped firing "You want to fight her that bad? Be my guest".
Emerald then activates her hallucination Semblance, creating a wall of fire which Cinder emerges from and charges at Ruby. Suddenly, Cinder's form disappears, while Emerald trips Ruby. Ruby fires a bullet that narrowly misses Weiss, who is blocking Vernal's shots with Myrtenaster. Weiss attempts to summon, but Vernal is too quick and prevents her from doing so. Eventually, Weiss manages to launch Vernal out of the way and prepares to summon again. Suddenly, Vernal appears in front of her and lands an attack that depletes Weiss' aura. Weiss lets out a pained scream. Jaune hears this and looks in her direction as tears well up in his eyes.
"Are you going to let her die too?" Cinder asked.
"Stop messing with me!" Jaune shouts
"If that's what you want..." Cinder then ignites her scimitar, which is now fully coated in flames.
Dante's sword glows a brighter orange as well: "Let's end this."
Cinder charges at Jaune and Dante, who both do the same. Ruby looks behind her and notices this. She briefly thinks back to the moment when Pyrrha Nikos died, and her eyes start to shine bright again.
"NOOOOOOOOOO!" A bright light engulfs the area but dies down when Ruby is knocked unconscious by Emerald.
Suddenly, Cinder falls to her knees, holding her arm in pain. She looks up, and barely misses Jaune's attack as it chips her mask that conceals the left side of her face. As Cinder moves out of the way, Jaune trips and falls. Dante, however, easily dodged the falling huntsman and swings his sword downward, cutting her mask clean off and cutting a bit of her shoulder. Cinder stumbles back in pain as Dante proceeds forward. However, he stops and looks in surprise to see a sort of black mist coming from Cinder's shoulder wound.
"What did you do to yourself?" he asks, "Black mist like that only comes from one thing."
Cinder gets back up enraged, activating her Maiden power while doing so. She then blasts Dante away with a fireball and steps on top of Jaune to hold him down "Did you think you actually had a chance against me?! You?!" Jaune struggles to reach for his weapon while Cinder calms herself and deactivates her Maiden power "You're just a failure with a death wish".
Jaune struggles "If I die buying them time, then it's worth it. They're the ones that matter".
Cinder looks to Jaune's comrades as they fight against their respective foes, before smiling evilly back down to him "You think so?".
She then notices Weiss get knocked back several feet away, and begins to slowly proceed toward her while she conjures an obsidian spear.
"No..." Jaune watches helplessly while Cinder continues to advance towards Weiss "NOOOOOOO!"
Cinder throws the spear and it was about to impale Weiss through her abdomen... but just as it was about to hit her, a gunshot echoed as a small bullet collided with the spear, causing a small explosion. Everyone watched in surprise as a sort of sinister laugh echoed through the room.
"What is that?" Hazel asked.
Emerald widened her eyes in surprise: "I know that voice."
"Oh, but of course you do, street rat." said a voice. Everyone looked in the direction of the voice to see Roman Torchwick emerge from behind a pillar in front of Weiss.
"Roman?!" the kids all shout in unison.
"Yes, yes" Roman replied, "Please, hold your applause."
Cinder clenched her teeth: "Why are YOU here?"
Roman chuckled: "I'd explain it myself, but I think HE would do a much better job of it." he said as he pointed to Lionheart.
Raven narrowed her eyebrows: "What?"
Cinder looked at Lionheart: "What is the meaning of this?"
Lionheart got a fearful expression, but was able to respond: "Sorry, Cinder, but he got to me long before you did. His offer was better as well."
"Wait" Mercury asked, "You're NOT with us?"
Roman answered for the professor as he helped a very confused Weiss to her feet: "Not him, and neither am I; I never was."
Qrow and the kids all look at each other in confusion.
"If you weren't with us" Hazel asked: "Then who ARE you with?"
"I'm very glad you asked that. Let's just say he's got a pretty big bone to pick with you and your pasty-ass witch of a boss."
Cinder seemed confused, but Yang slowly began to realize who Roman might be talking about.
Meanwhile, a large group of Grimm was forming outside of Mistral. One of the lead Beowulves roared, signaling a charge. Suddenly, the pack turns around to hear a rumbling noise…as a line of off-road jeeps fitted with heavy weaponry break through the trees behind them, mowing the creatures down. The jeeps temporarily stop as a motorcycle takes the lead, an exceedingly fast cat faunus wielding a katana next to him.
Katrina looked over to Julius: "You think they know we're coming?"
Julius shook his head and chuckled: "Not a chance. They're probably busy at Haven right now fighting things out. Shall we intervene?"
Katrina cracked her neck: "Let's."
Julius waved his hand and drove forward, Katrina running alongside him, as the army of bandits drove up behind him, straight into Haven and barreling over any Grimm in their path.
…
In another part of the area outside Mistral, a massive Atlesian transport landed just outside the city. The door opens to reveal Novus with the Huntsmen of Haven Academy behind him.
Heather lifted her sword: "Everyone ready?"
The huntsmen gave a war cry in agreement.
Novus held his fist up to stop them, just in time to point out a massive horde of Grimm that massed right in front of them.
"Well then" Shiro said, his eyes wide in surprise, "Looks like we've got quite the welcoming committee."
Novus simply hefted the BFG and aimed right at the Grimm. He then fired, sending a massive bolt of green energy at them. The bolt laced out arc of electricity, vaporizing any Grimm it touched before exploding and killing any that remained.
Shiro really had a reason to be surprised now: "Damn…"
Heather shrugged: "It works though, right?"
Just then, the armored Huntsman with the hammer walked up next to Novus.
"I know who you truly are" he said, "And I want to let you know…"
Here, the Night Sentinel, Anton, takes out his hammer and ignites it, electricity wreathing the head: "I am with you."
Novus nodded, then raised his gun and charged forward, the huntsmen following close behind. Both Novus's and Julius's forces headed straight for Haven, much to the ignorance of most of the people already there.
Let me know what you think so far!