AN: So, Ghira and Kali are pretty much the best parental figures in RWBY. And that's fine, but for one minor problem: they raised Blake. I get that kids go through rebellious phases, even kids from happy homes, but Blake's a pretty extreme case, and it makes it hard to have any sympathy for her. Fortunately, there's an easy fix; show why she ran away.
And it's an excellent opportunity to flesh out Sienna and Ghira, explore the origins of the current White Fang, and explore Adam's relevant backstory. And I wanted to flesh him out as a character with reasons for all the anger and murder. And Tyrian's supposed to be a master manipulator, so let's show him manipulating.
Ruby inched closer to the enemy camp with Jaune at her shoulder while the rest approached from separate angles.
"Remember," Ruby whispered into her radio, "We don't have to win the fights. We just have to hold out long enough for me to get the sword back to Raven's camp."
"And hope she keeps her promises," Yang muttered, not entirely convinced.
"Whether Raven agrees to help or not," Jaune whispered. "Once Ruby has the sword, the rest of us beat a tactical retreat, scatter, and meet back at Raven's camp unless Ruby's negotiations don't work out, then we head back to Haven."
"That's a long trip." Ren voiced next to Nora, "Still no word from Team SSSN, Blake?"
Blake shook her head. "I still can't reach them. We're too far out."
"We'll just have to hope we can make it back before things get out of control back at Haven." Ruby shrugged. "Let me fuel up. Jaune will give the signal when we're ready."
Jaune placed his hand on Ruby's shoulder and breathed aura into her while she began to fidget nervously.
"It's not a perfect plan." Jaune noted, "But it's the best we can do under the circumstances. I think we'll be fine."
Ruby hanged her head sadly. "The last two times people were counting on me to be fast enough, I wasn't, and Penny and Pyrrha died because of me."
She squeaked as Jaune wrapped her in a tight hug. "But you kept going. That's what's amazing about you. I know you can do this."
Ruby hugged him back, and then he pulled back with a cheeky smile. "And I think I have one last-minute plan to tip the scales in our favor, but I need to get this armor off first."
Cinder tapped her toe impatiently as she leaned against a tree. Two whole days since the beginning of the contest, and other than her discovery of Ruby's origins, nothing interesting had happened. When she'd agreed to the competition, she'd been counting on Ruby's reckless nature and the Arc boy's desire for revenge to lead to an early confrontation, but it seemed they had matured since Beacon…
She suddenly jumped when a blonde figure popped out from behind a tree, about 50 yards from the camp.
"Hazel!" Jaune Arc called, "Ozpin's not here right now, but I can fill the part! Let's talk!"
Cinder's confusion was interrupted by a growling to her right, that was quickly turning to a roar.
"OZPIIIIIIN!" Hazel roared as he charged after Jaune, who Cinder noticed too late wasn't wearing his usual plate armor and seemed only to be armed with Ozpin's cane.
"Hazel! Wait!" She called, "It's a trick-aaagh!"
She was cut off when a grenade went off next to her, and she found herself engaged by Ren and Nora.
"I'm assuming that was the signal!" Nora laughed as she rushed at Cinder.
Before Emerald or Mercury could come to Cinder's aid, they were apprehended by Yang, Blake, and Weiss. Mercury grinned viciously as Yang charged him. "Brought some friends along for our rematch, blondie?"
"This time, I'll break a lot more than your legs." The blonde muttered as she charged.
Cinder growled furiously as she threw up a gust of wind to create distance from Ren and Nora, looking about for Ruby. Too late, she thought to look at the sword they were meant to be guarding, only to see it disappear in a flurry of rose petals. She ground her teeth in fury as she weighed her options. If Jaune could beat Emerald and Mercury, then they didn't stand a chance against two members of his team, never mind WBY. But if Ruby was heading to Raven's camp, it was the perfect opportunity.
She propelled herself towards the camp with flames and wind, ignoring Emerald's cries of despair.
"What are you doing?!" Watt's voice shouted in her ear.
"Our mission is to secure Raven's allegiance and capture the Silver-eyed girl." Cinder rationalized, "That's what I'm doing."
"That's your excuse?" Watt's growled, "I thought you wanted to weed out some obstacles."
"Send in some Omni-Knights to help my subordinates." She shrugged. "And see if you can get through to Hazel."
"My Omni-Knights are useless against Ren and Valkyrie, and Hazel's blind when it comes to Ozpin. You'd better secure the girl, and the alliance or Salem's wrath will be on your head!"
Cinder rolled her eyes and continued to charge towards the Branwen camp.
Jaune paused for a moment to take his breath. "Think I put enough distance between us?"
"I think the only place you'll ever be fully safe from Hazel is in one of the Relic vaults."
Jaune chuckled. "Well, this is probably a good star-"
He paused as a crashing sound came from behind him. He turned and paled in terror as a massive, flaming redwood came flying through the other trees at him.
"What the…"
"RUN!"
Jaune barely evaded the blazing log as it crashed to the floor, bringing smaller trees down with it.
"I told you his inability to feel pain makes him powerful."
"OOOOOZZZZPIIIIIINNNNNN!"
Jaune felt the dread growing as that shouting grew closer and more trees were flung his way.
Ren and Nora had retrieved Jaune's discarded gear and were beating their retreat separate from WBY when they spotted the loud crashing and smoke rising a distance away.
"There's no way Jaune's gonna get away from that," Nora noted in concern.
Ren shook his head at her look of concern. "We'll fare no better against him than we did Tyrian."
Nora glared at him. "So we're just going to let Jaune die? And don't say Jaune would do the same to us, this is different, and you know it."
Ruby's aura gave out just as she burst through the clearing to what should have been the Branwen camp, only to be greeted by an empty field. Before she could fully process the implications, a body shot out of the forest and tackled her to the ground.
Cinder looked out at the clearing before giving a furious howl of rage. Ruby tried desperately to swing the sword in her hand, but Cinder knocked it aside and straddled her, seizing her by the throat. Ruby tried desperately to get her eyes to work as a dagger formed in Cinder's hand. Cinder glared furiously down at her, seething heavily through her teeth. Ruby tried to scream through the hand at her throat as Cinder plunged the blade down with her own scream of rage.
Ruby gasped as she felt Cinder release her throat and looked to the side, noting the dagger planted centimeters from her face. She scrambled to her feet and prepared Crescent Rose. Cinder stood and began speaking urgently to a voice Ruby couldn't hear.
"Branwen's gone- JUST SHUT UP AND LISTEN TO ME! Pick up Hazel, and Emerald, and Mercury if they're still alive. We need to get to the academy. And tell Tyrian he's out of time. We need the White Fang NOW!"
She paused and then glared at Ruby. "She got away, but don't worry. We'll see her at the academy."
She glared viciously and mouthed, "Won't we?" Ruby set her jaw and nodded stiffly.
Cinder took off back into the woods, and after a moment, Ruby sank to her knees and began sobbing in terror at her near death.
After a few moments, she composed herself and reached up to her earpiece.
"Somethings wrong, guys. I think Raven moved up her schedule."
Jaune's aura shattered as Hazel's fist sent him crashing through a tree. He'd tried giving Ozpin the reigns, but he was still too rusty, and Hazel had overpowered him.
Jaune took back control as Hazel continued to approach. "Look, I get that you hate Ozpin, and trust me, I'm not his biggest fan either. He used my partner just like he used your sister. But isn't Salem the one really responsible? Her Grimm and servants are the ones who killed them. Why not deal with her first?"
"You think I haven't tried?!" Hazel's growled in a distorted voice as flame and electric dust ran through his veins. "Salem is a force of nature! She can't be stopped!"
"What's he talking about?" Jaune muttered to himself.
"You can't reason with him!" Ozpin spoke up urgently, "You have to escape!"
Jaune nodded, only to be knocked aside again, wincing at the sharp pain in his ribs.
"But I can kill you as many times as I want. I won't let you hide behind any more children."
Jaune gritted his teeth and threw several jabs at Hazel's abdomen. "Who's hiding? I knew you'd follow me, and that would give my friends a fighting chance. They're what matters. Not me."
Hazel swept the cane and struck Jaune in the face, driving him to the ground. He felt his face swelling where he'd been hit. He tried to rise, but he stumbled and could only kneel.
Hazel knelt and cupped his face with a look that seemed almost gentle "A noble act. I'll end you're life now while that nobility remains. Before you become him."
Suddenly, a grenade struck Hazel in the back, and he turned just in time to be met with the blades of Storm Flower. He swept Ren aside, only to be met by a furious Nora, whose hammer he caught and tossed aside as well. As the duo recovered, he reached up and removed the electric dust from his shoulders.
"I know your semblance, Nora Valkyrie."
"What are you doing here?" Jaune groaned as Ren came to check on him. "I led him away because none of us can beat him, so why are you here?"
Ren smiled reassuringly. "Because we're better than Ozpin. And so are you."
He and Nora once again went on the offensive, and Nora sent up a smokescreen around Hazel. Before the two could retreat, Hazel burst from the smoke and swung at Ren, who desperately tried to dodge him. Nora swung Magnhild, but Hazel caught it in one hand and kept trying to swing at Ren. Suddenly, he felt a weight at his back and found Jaune there, removing the electricity dust he'd pulled from his shoulders. Jaune barely had enough time to toss the crystals to Nora before a backhand struck him, and he crashed through the trunk of a tree.
The next few moments were a blur for Jaune. Ren cried in agony and weaved a deadly dance around Hazel, trying to keep his attention away from Jaune's injured form. Nora shouted in pain and fury as she shoved the dust crystals into her thighs. She dealt a blow to Hazel that sent him several yards away. Ren and Nora stood between Jaune and Hazel as he kept advancing. Hazel suddenly paused in apparent confusion and fury until he began speaking to a voice in his earpiece. With a furious growl, he stepped away and boarded a bullhead that had descended behind him.
The last thing Jaune saw before losing consciousness was Ren and Nora's faces calling his name.
A FEW HOURS EARLIER
Qrow and Taiyang approached Lionheart's office. They'd confronted Leo the day before about the massive deaths and casualties of Huntsmen and he'd admitted that that was the main reason he wanted to wait for the Council, but he'd agreed to speak to the council to see if any police forces or huntsmen running black ops could be spared. The two Huntsmen were now on their way to follow up, while Team SSSN and Maria waited in the academy entrance.
As the two approached, they froze as they heard what sounded like a struggle coming from the office.
"Y-you're too early! You weren't supposed to arrive for another day!"
"What? So your friends could prepare more time to double cross me?"
Tai and Qrow looked at each other. That was Raven!
Qrow grabbed Tai before he could barge in and listened in on the conversation.
"No double-cross was planned! You're a valuable asset even without the Maiden. We'd hoped to recruit you to the cause."
"Whose cause, exactly? Ozpin's or Salem's?"
Lionheart inhaled sharply. "How do you-"
"We found one of your huntsmen before he died. Before succumbing to the poison, he told us that you had sent him to a bogus assignment where he was ambushed. Said that suspicious things like that had been happening ever since the Fall of Beacon, Huntsmen being sent on assignments two at a time and never coming back. A little digging proved that you were working with Salem's cronies."
Qrow and Tai listened in to hear Lionheart's rebuttal, but couldn't say they were shocked when he didn't give one.
"I had no choice. Defying Salem is hopeless. But she still wants your help, Raven. Return to your tribe and-"
"I don't care what Salem wants anymore! And I don't work for Ozpin either. They've had their time and their games. It's time someone else had the power in this world. Time someone made some real changes to this world. Now take me to the vault, or I'll kill you and tear this place apart finding it!"
"I…"
Qrow and Tai chose that moment to burst in and attack. Qrow ran forward and grabbed Lionheart roughly while Tai caught Raven off guard and threw her through a bookcase, stunning her for the moment, and the two ran for the academy entrance hall.
"Th-thank you!" Lionheart gasped as they ran.
Qrow shot him a withering glare. "We didn't do it for you, traitor!"
"Why did we save him?" Taiyang asked as they reached the entrance hall and prepared to join Team SSSN.
"We need to keep Raven busy while we regroup. You fill the kids in on the situation while I contact Ghira. If the White Fang's gonna help us, we need them now."
Tai quickly filled in Team SSSN on the situation, though he decided to omit the details of Lionheart's betrayal for the time being.
"It's just Yang's mom in there, right?" Sun asked, "We can take her."
Taiyang looked up as several dozen footsteps began to march towards the entrance hall. "She summoned the rest of her tribe."
"We need to get out of here!" Lionheart insisted.
"No!" Qrow growled. "If we leave, she'll just burn the academy to the ground looking for the vault. She'll have the relic, and the destruction of Haven will cause a panic that will bring the Grimm. It will be another Fall of Beacon."
Taiyang nodded. "We keep Lionheart moving and try to stall until Ghira gets here, hopefully with reinforcements."
"What about Blake and the others?" Sun asked, "They're stuck out in the woods with no idea what's going on! Once Cinder finds out what went wrong, she'll probably kill them!"
"I can get them back!" Maria supplied, "Get me an airship and I can pick them up!"
Sun didn't question the validity of the older woman's statement and turned to Sage. "Take her to Weiss's pilot friend and see if he can get us a ship. With luck, we'll have the others back here before Cinder's group knows anything's wrong, and maybe we can get the relic out of here without the White Fang."
Adam entered Sienna's hall accompanied by Tyrian. In the hall, he was grateful to see that aside from Sienna, the only other occupants were Ilia and Fennec, both shackled and a pair of guards. Sienna was watching Adam as if seeing him for the first time.
"I see you found Ilia." Adam nodded while Tyrian went off to a corner. "Did her statements corroborate my defense?"
"They did not." Sienna shook her head. "Ilia is loyal to the White Fang, and what we are meant to stand for. Fennec has different ideas of what the White Fang should be and supported you, which means I have two conflicting stories."
She met Adam's eyes sadly. "But ultimately, none of that matters. I know you, Adam. I know what you've done." With that, one of the guards aimed his weapon at Adam while the other aimed his at Tyrian.
"I simply planned to eliminate the enemies of the Faunus and the White Fang."
"Ghira Belladonna fights for Faunus freedom and rights just like we do! Just because he disagrees with us, that doesn't make him our enemy!"
She continued to observe Adam with sorrow, "Maybe it's my fault for failing to teach you who your real enemies are."
She embraced him. "I'm not giving up on you. Come quietly and I'll see that you get help. I can still be like the mother I should have been."
Adam sighed, and a solitary tear fell from behind his mask. "I had a mother."
Sienna gasped and stiffened as Adam shoved one of Fennecs spare daggers into her ribs.
"What are you doing?!" The guard who was watching Tyrian cried out before Tyrian came around and plunged a blade into his chest.
"Traitor!" The guard who had been guarding Adam called out in feigned horror and turned his gun on Fennec, gunning him down before he knew what was happening.
Ilia cried out in terror as Sienna's body fell to the floor.
The remaining guard turned to her, but Adam stopped him and paused the recording on the guard's belt.
"You did well, Ilia. You showed me where Sienna's true loyalties lie."
"This wasn't…." Ilia felt her heart racing as she struggled to keep her thoughts straight.
Tyrian nodded. "Telling Sienna the truth was for the good of the White Fang Ilia, just like I said it would be."
Ilia took a deep breath and chose her next words very carefully. "I didn't expect this outcome, but you're right. The White Fang needed to evolve beyond Sienna Kahn's soft ideals."
Adam turned to the guard. "Get that recording altered. We need to rally the rest of the White Fang and march on Haven."