The finale of RWBY V3 dropped last week and I can't believe some of the things that happened. The opening sure as hell makes a lot more sense now along with us getting to see what most of Cinder's overarching goal was. Nearly everything went just according to keikaku (keikaku means plan) and it was such a sight to see. Not to mention it left so many characters' possible futures and motivation up to question for the next volume. As for certain character deaths I like to think that they were instead mysteriously teleported away to a hellish landscape and will be revealed in about 2 volumes as either antagonists or hostages to up the ante and provide a challenge for the cast once they get stronger.
Now just let me place my crushed heart back into my chest cavity and I'll be good to go for the next volume once it rolls around. In the meantime let's take a look at what's happening aboard the passenger liner.
Ruby walked through the lightless hall as she parroted Dunstan, "Go explore the dark and creepy vessel Ruby. What could possibly go wrong? It's our job Ruby. Why don't we split up to cover more ground?"
The corridors were large enough for three people to walk through side by side. Walls splattered with blood and bodies slumped against doors, killed while trying to escape what was unleashed upon them. Each cut had a story to tell with Ruby examining some of the more whole bodies. Some had the clear marking of claws tearing through them while others had chunks of flesh ripped out with what were probably teeth. Death was never a pretty sight with Grimm involved, but the beasts made a point to maim and leave most their prey after death.
A snarl made her bring Crescent Rose up to bare as a scourge beast charged her in the hall. Trying to swing her weapon she felt it impact on the wall stopping her swing half way as the beast slammed into her. Sliding down the hall she collapsed her weapon and reopened it with the barrel facing towards her opponent who was running towards her. Each bullet she fired would carve out bits of its flesh, but the charge never slowed. As it was about to swing at Ruby she jumped up and fired off another shot sending her further down the hall.
Seeing that her bullets weren't having the desired result Ruby transformed her blade. The seams between each blade could be clearly seen, but the tension was still enough to prevent the blade from losing its form entirely. With a dash she ran closed the distance on her prey bringing her weapons down with a slashing motion. The blades separated and ran across the roof of the hall, but with them no longer composed as a single unite each simply cut across the surface before falling downwards upon the beast. The strength behind each strike from the whip like blade seemed to increase with each hit as Ruby continued to twirl the weapon around her at an ever increasing pace.
Once Ruby stopped her assault she saw the damage she had caused to the hall around her and her target with intricate lines crossing over whenever her blade touched the walls being continued across the beast. Like a work of art Ruby admired the continuous cuts that went form the metallic wall to the flesh of the beast only to reappear on the as a complete circuit. The piece was ruined however when the beasts lumbered forward breaking the image.
Seeing it was on its last legs she decided to have some fun and hook the tip of her weapon into the floor before vanishing in a flash a of petals. Bounding around the beast as many times as she could Ruby came to a stop once she felt the threads connecting her weapon begin to tense. Looking at her prey she saw it was locked in place with her blades wrapped around it like a chain. The threads and blades digging into its skin as it thrashed around trying to break free of it bonds.
With the press of a button the tip released from the floor and all the segment began trying to retract back towards Ruby. Each of them crushing and cutting the captured beast as they ran over its body each one trailing behind the other digging further and further into it with each pass until Ruby saw white chips begin to fly away from the beast. Her blades finally tearing through its bones just before the force was too much and they all sliced through it letting it fall to the floor in pieces.
The splash of red that now covered Ruby from the event made her feel slightly uncomfortable before she pushed the thought to the back of her mind and she continued down the hall finding piles of bodies had been crowding around entrancing in an attempt to run away only to get killed in their attempts. After the first 20 people she stopped closing their eyes knowing that the sheer amount would prove a detriment to her search. Giving up she pressed on feeling a pang of guilt over not being able to offer them the proper respect the dead deserved. Being able to rest in peace without the hardships that life brought upon them. The sound of shuffling brought her eyes to a woman desperately clasping at her side to keep her blood from spilling out.
As Ruby brought her hand out the woman visibly shirked away in fear of the motion and terrified of the caped Hunter. "It's okay, I'm with Beacon. I was sent here to look for survivors and get you out of here."
"Nowhere is safe from it. It will find me and take me just like all others." She wept as Ruby looked around nervously.
"I promise you nothing will happen. Take my hand and I'll guide you out and to Beacon. We can have the medical team look you over and get that wound patched up."
The woman looked up and reluctantly grabbed Ruby's hand, flinching as she felt one of her wounds burning from the contact. Leaning on her for support Ruby began slowly walking back to what she hoped was the entrance. With no emergency lighting or noticeable paths she eventually made her way to the viewing room and placed the woman on the floor. Taking the first aid kit from a nearby cabinet she began meticulously bandaging the injury.
"Thank you for rescuing me." The woman weakly replied.
"There's no need to thank me. It's all part of the job. Just sit still and I'll get you out once I've finished clearing this place out, I promise." Ruby finished with a reassuring smile.
"Then I'll leave you to your job. Just remember to come back for me." Her words were dripping with fear having seen the bodies lining some of the halls.
"I have to clear this place out before any more damage can be done to Beacon. Don't worry, one of my teachers is clearing out the other half so nothing will be able to reach you." With those words Ruby left the room to continue delving deeper into the vessel.
All the blood wasn't helping her any in trying to find distinguishing marks to help guide her so she started leaving cuts on the wall to mark her path as well as having a plan out in case she had to make a strategic retreat. The lack of Beasts made Ruby begin to wonder if it was really just the work of a few that managed to take the plane down. Let alone how they managed to get aboard the vessel in the first place.
Making her way to what should be the engine room Ruby opened the maintenance door to see the huge room that contained the generator that fed power to the entire vehicle. It lacked the normal blue glow it was supposed to be emitting, but Ruby could still marvel at the piece of technology even in its dormant state. Walking towards the generator Ruby wondered what could have caused the goliath of a machine to shut down so suddenly.
Looking at it closer she saw that some cracks had formed towards its base along with what looked like a very rushed patch job. Taking the stairs down she found a sizable hole around the base of the generator along with signs that something tore through the hull of the ship into the room. The metal was warped inwards as if a bullet had shot through the hull hitting the generator with incredible precision.
The generator sprung to life with a thrum as the room was suddenly illuminated blinding Ruby due to the sudden flare of light. She heard the sound of feet landing in front of her and leaped back as she felt the breeze of something passing just by her face. Forcing her eyes open she could make out the blurry image of something very tall and dark about to attack her again.
Dashing back up the stairs Ruby's eyes began to adjust to the bright room and waited for the being to follow after her only for a flash of light to erupt behind her along with something smashing into her side. Being thrown to the other end of the room Ruby only caught a glimpse of what attacked her before another explosion of light happened behind her.
Bringing her weapon up she managed to block the attack finally coming face to face with what she was fighting. It was almost skeletal with its skin wrapped tight to its face along with the two empty holes where the eyes should have been. Unnaturally thin as it was tall the beast stood hunched over slightly with its legs bent ready to vault forward. Sparks of electricity flew from the black fur that covered the beast's back and arms as it began to twitch in anticipation.
Firing a shot at the beast she saw it vanish in a flash of lighting along with an accompanying flash to appear besides her. Leaping out of the way she saw it vanish again and reappear around where she was about to land. Taking matters into her own hands Ruby fired Crescent Rose with the bullet managing to find its mark this time along with pushing her away from the danger. The beast could definitely bleed, since a small trail of red could be seen dripping from the bullet wound.
Angered by the strike or perhaps its target escaping it the beast unleashed a deafening howl that shook the very room and Ruby to her core. Bolts of lightning burst from its back dancing around it like a crazed monster hell bent on catching anything that came within reach. The floor was scorched wherever the lighting touched forever staining the surface.
Walking towards Ruby the lighting continued to fire off of it keeping Ruby from running past the beast. The only safe zone appeared to be directly in front of the beast as the bolts exploded on either side along with behind it. The claws that made up its fingers were shaped like knives made of bone as the flesh was mostly deteriorated and was being held together via the black fur that crept along its body.
With a burst of speed Ruby rushed forward swinging her weapon at the beast as it parried each blow with its claws. Blow after blow was matched with Ruby slowly being pushed back with each counter swing. Refusing to be stagger backwards Ruby slammed her blade into the ground and began unleashing a barrage of bullets. Each one hammering into the beast with incredible impact along with breaking through its hardened skin and drawing blood.
The lightning dissipated as the Beast crouched down making it a smaller target along with building up pressure in its legs. With an explosion of force it shot forward with its claws extended towards Ruby as she dived out of the way. Turning around she saw it had landed on the wall and was clinging to it with its claws and feet. In another burst of strength it flew at Ruby and bounded off the floor onto the ceiling. Like a pinball it was flying around the room with a bolt of blue lighting that trailed behind.
Running into the hall Ruby faced the entrance knowing that it would have to come at her directly if it wanted a chance to attack her. The sound of steel shattering could be heard coming from the room as Ruby waited at the end of the hall. Her eyes were scanning for any sign of movement when her entire perspective shifted sideways as she flew down the hall. Try to turn her head she felt five claws gripping it preventing her from facing what grabbed her.
Bringing up her scythe the weapon managed to cut into the beast's arm forcing it to let go before they slammed into the wall. Tumbling across the floor she slid to stop looking up just in time to see the beast's body begin to spark before leaping through the ceiling and leaving a sizable hole. Listening intently she could hear the leaping happening on the floor above her. When it came to a sudden stop Ruby leaped forwards as it burst through the ceiling and slammed into where she previously stood.
Bringing her weapon back up she felt the floor begin to shift beneath her. Seeing the beast still in front of her she realized that the aircraft was trying to take off again once it's power had been restored. Her feet began to slip as the entire hall began to turn 90 degrees forcing her to slide down the wall towards the beast that had its claws dug in locking it in place. Using her whip she hooked the blade into what was now the ceiling before resting her feet on the surface.
"Let's see who's faster now!" Ruby unhooked her weapon from the ceiling and pushed off at a blinding speed towards the beast.
With no time or room to swing her weapon Ruby let the blade separate into a whip dragging it behind her. The sheer speed forced the blades to violently flail behind Ruby as she managed to avoid a swipe of the beast's claws. As she blew past the tornado like torrent that followed behind uprooted it from the floor pulling it behind ruby and into her weapons path. The blades would snap from one wall to the other catching the beast in between each swing as they whipped around like a leaf caught in a storm.
When she came to a stop the metal creaked and warped from the force of the landing. Leaping to the side Ruby began reeling in the blades seeing some of them come around the corner covered in blood from what she was dragging behind herself. Before the last of her blades were pulled back she saw the Beast slammed into the floor, blood dripping from its fur. It had trouble standing from the various wounds it had received.
Ruby was about to deliver the final blow when the ship's engines gave out causing it to rapidly fall back to its original position. The sudden shifting forced Ruby to use her weapon to help stabilize herself as the floor she was standing on became the wall as the ship settled back on the ground. Looking back up she saw that her prey had vanished, but not without leaving behind a blood trail.
"You are not getting away after I went through all of this."
Following the trail as quickly as she could Ruby found her way back into the generator room. She saw the beast hammering away at the generator with its claws. The casing was cracking and she could see some of the surrounding monitors beginning to flash red with warnings about the casing. With one last hit its claw pierced the exterior and reached the internal wiring components. Lighting up like a Christmas tree Ruby stood in shock over the beast electrocuting itself. For fear of electrocuting herself if she struck it Ruby lined up her rifle with the beast while it was distracted.
Pulling the trigger the beast vanished in a flash as her bullet went through the hole in the casing and exploded inside the still running generator. Alarms covered all the surrounding monitors as a robotic voice spoke from the intercom.
"Generator integrity compromised. Automated shutdown sequence non responsive, please perform manual shut down."
"Do you see what you just made me do?" Ruby shouted as she looked around failing to find the beast.
Giving up on the beast for the moment she turned her attention to the damaged generator full of very volatile and now destabilized dust. Taking the stairs down she reached the bottom of the generator and began looking over its surface for some switch or valve that would be marked as the manual shut off. She found a metallic cylinder sticking out of the base of the generator that glowed a dim green through the glass. Placing her hand atop it Ruby began trying to push it back into the generator as it fought her with every effort. With a final push it locked into place yet the unsettling sound emanating from the generator continued on.
"First override switched, please follow procedure and activate switch 2." The voice spoke again as Ruby looked around surprised her target hadn't attacked her yet.
Finding the second cylinder nearby she was about to reach for it when a flash of light filled the room blinding her again. Leaping back she was met with a strike running across her body as well as losing sight of what just hit her. Ruby's body tensed as she was preparing to counter the next strike once it came. Closing her eyes the flash went off in front of her and she struck her target directly in the chest. Opening her eyes she could see the beast was now glowing with energy and the empty holes where its eyes were missing were now filled with the same blue glow.
"Are you trying to kill us both?" Ruby asked as she looked back at the override wondering just how long the generator could hold together.
As it jumped away Ruby watched the streak of light that followed in its wake reminding her of a tail to a comet. Getting into a sprinting position Ruby took off after the beast leaving behind a shower of rose petals as she followed the blue light. As the chase continued Ruby noticed that she was slowly gaining on the beast. Getting her weapon ready the beast noticed the red cloaked Hunter approaching it and prepared for the oncoming clash.
In a shower of sparks Ruby's scythe collided with its claws sending a painful surge of electricity through the weapon. The injured beast was clearly at a disadvantage with all the damage it sustained earlier, but with its entire body electrified each strike blocked or hit would hurt Ruby and push her further towards defeat. Ruby could feel her hands beginning to burn from the constant flow of energy passing through her weapon. Pressing on Ruby fought through the pain that each attack promised in the hopes of killing the beast before she fell.
With an increased fury behind each strike they danced around one another with each blow drawing more and more blood as neither of them seemed content with landing glancing blows. With one powerful swipe the Beast caught Ruby as she was mid swing managing to knock the speedster out of their blindingly fast chase. Hitting the floor Ruby could feel the platform reverberating from the impact. Looking up she saw the beast looming over her with a claw ready to crush her life.
"I can't wait to come back and gut you." Ruby told the beast wondering if it could even understand what she just said.
As its claw fell Ruby kept her eyes open watching as death approached only for it to be catapulted into the far wall by an explosive punch. Turning her head Ruby could see her sister's face in the helmet of the weird combat suits Dunstan had constructed. The lack of Yang's signature golden hair trailing behind would have made her impossible to recognize had her face not been visible behind the visor.
Before the beast could touch the ground ice exploded beneath it impaling one of its arms and staining the blue crystal. With a swift jerking motion it severed its own arm to escape death as another wave of ice began to rise from the ground. Leaping towards the ceiling sparks began to erupt over its fur as the lightning filling its eyes began to erratically shoot out across the beast's face.
Blake was stood below the beast when a glyph appeared beneath her and began to spin rapidly. With a swing of her sword a blade like beam launched towards the beast. Avoiding the attack it lunged at Blake passing through her clone as a blade ran across its gut. Making another charge it was met with a flurry of blows from Blake's swords as she avoided every attack while leaving one of her own. Once the beast disengaged from the exchange Blake appeared unharmed while the beast was on its last legs having trouble finding the strength to keep its head held up.
Yang was stood behind her when white glyph appeared behind them. Blake ran directly forward towards the Beast with her weapons at her side. As the beast lunged forward it passed through her noticed Yang who was being propelled towards it at incredible speeds by the glyph. Yang's weapon connected with the beast's head cleaving the upper half of it off as it smashed into the ground.
The group turned around seeing Ruby leaning against the generator using the last of her strength to force the control rods back in. Sealing with a click the generator died engulfing the room in darkness and silence. The only source of light being the lantern hung on Ruby's belt barely giving off enough to even make her visible.
"You okay Ruby?" Weiss asked as her partner stood up using Crescent Rose as support.
"Just a little winded from earlier. Give me a minute and I'll be ready for anything."
"I'm just glad we managed to make it in time."
"Me too, you have no idea how annoying it would have been if I had to run back here." Weiss looked at Ruby in horror over how her partner viewed her own life.
"Ruby Rose don't you dare say that about yourself. I refuse to let you value your own life so little."
"If I can use my life to save another's then there's no question on the matter."
"Did you even bother to think about how it affects us? Watching my best friend die in front me only to come back so she can throw her life away again." Weiss yelled as Yang turned away from Ruby and Blake refused to make eye contact with her.
"Me coming back from the dead is the problem? I can't die, it's impossible for you to lose me."
"But you do die Ruby! We can't just ignore you dying before us and pretend nothing happened when you come back."
"That's what I do whenever I pass. Come back and get what got me then move on with my life. I have no consequence so you shouldn't worry about my deaths."
"We have to worry!"
"Why!"
"Because it's what we feel," Weiss kneeled on the floor bringing a hand up to hide her tears, "we can't stop worrying about you at the drop of a hat."
"Is all this true?" Ruby asked Blake and Yang while Weiss began rubbing her eyes.
"I already lost you once Ruby. I don't know how many more I can take before I stop caring and that terrifies me. The thought of me not caring whether you die or get hurt scares me." Yang tried explaining as her voice shook.
"I can't promise you I won't die anymore tonight, but I can try to be more careful."
"We'll be there to watch your back so try not to do anything too risky."
"When have I been known to take risks?"
"Do you really want me to start listing them off?"
"I'm good. Let's just get out get back to Dunstan and get out of here. I don't know about you but this place is giving is really starting to weigh on me." Ruby said as she tried walking back to the entrance.
Her team followed her closely not wanting to get separated in the winding corridors. Ruby kept her hand on the stained walls for support as well as letting her find the markings she left behind as a guide. The team naturally shied away from the bodies as Ruby stepped over them without care. Many of them had faces of fear frozen upon them from whatever finished the job. It may have been bad the first time through with the halls illuminated, but they had been in a rush at the time and the ambient lighting coming from the lamp only served to enhance the sight.
Making their way back Ruby heard the sound of flesh being stabbed and busted into the entrance finding Dunstan standing over the body of the woman she had bandaged. His cane was dripping with blood from the fresh wound it had just delivered. Ruby couldn't believe what had just happened with the death of a woman she promised to protect being taken by her teacher. A surge of emotion began to fill her as Ruby's hand reached for her weapon only stopping once she saw Dunstan shutting the woman's eyes.
"Why did you kill her?" Ruby spoke alerting Dunstan to her presence.
"I'm merely performing my job as you should have in the first place."
"She was infected." Ruby realized looking saddened by the realization.
"As was every person I came across while scanning the upper decks. This place would have turned into a small fortress had it not been eliminated."
"I promised to protect her and now she's dead."
"We can't save everyone Ruby, but we can prevent others from having to suffer the same fate. We can put a stop to this Hunt and save everyone who has yet to be infected." Ruby nodded in agreement as Dunstan placed his hand on her shoulder. "Now let's get back to the headmaster. I doubt he'd want us twiddling our thumbs when we could be of use."
Leaving the wreckage of the crashed ship RWBY and Dunstan walked back towards Beacon. The number of Beasts seemingly reduced to none since no confrontations happened while they were crossing between the buildings. Heading towards the auditorium Ruby was nearly tackled by an orange haired blur, barely avoiding it with her semblance while the team stared at the perpetrator.
"I thought you were dead." Nora cried out as Ruby continued to avoid her by weaving in between her team.
"Ruby," Jaune walked forward a hand covering his mouth in shock, "They said you died during Beacon's defense. Your name was listed and everything during Port's service."
"I'm fine. it was just a communication problem on our end."
"But you're covered in blood."
"Most of it isn't mine," Ruby said as JNPR looked at her skeptically, "Just don't touch me before I get a chance to clean up. Don't know what some of this stuff could have in it."
"Sorry Ruby, it's just that this is a lot to take in. We all wept for you and to have you show up is a little shocking to most." Pyrrha explained looking at the blood covered reaper.
"I'm just glad you're alive and okay. Ozpin is having us gather in the auditorium for an announcement about all of this, think you can make it." Jaune asked hoping that RWBY was okay to come along.
"We'll be there. Just have to clean ourselves off first." With that JNPR went on their way leaving RWBY to their business. "You guys head to the sanitation showers in the labs I'm going to the gardens real quick. We can meet up at the auditorium." Ruby said as she took off toward her destination leaving her team and Dunstan behind.
"Well let's get this over with." Yang began heading to the labs happy to get some of the blood off her visor.
Approaching the main hall they saw students entering the auditorium followed by Ozpin's voice spilling out of it.
"With Beacon secure for the moment we have to focus on keeping this a viable sanctuary for those we are going to rescue from Vale. Due to losing one of our larger transports we'll have to rely on bullheads alone to ferry them from the city to Beacon and that will require escorts of Huntsman." Ozpin began as the students in the auditorium began to look around concerned.
"As such we have decided to place teams into categories for what missions they will be best suited for in Beacon's fortification and recovery efforts. Whether that be gathering supplies, defending the perimeter, or rescue operations. We'll need every able student and faculty member if we want to hold out long enough for the other kingdoms to make the trip to Vale and begin their relief efforts." Glynda added as the screens on the walls began running through every team at Beacon. "Those of you not being sent into combat situations will have your time best spent on making repairs and modifications around Beacon under supervision from our technicians in order to get everything back online."
"No matter which kingdom you hail from or your heritage we must put our differences aside and work together if we wish to make it through this darkness. We must do everything in our power to make it through this not as a school, but as defenders of the Kingdom." Most of the student body began cheering, understanding that they would be performing the tasks of full Huntsman while the older students looked around in worry for their less experienced juniors. "For now you can find your assignments from the job boards around the room. Please report to the designated area and supervisor to receive your full assignment and schedule."
With the announcement finished the students began to disperse around the room in search of their jobs. As time went on everyone began to file out of the room until only 10 teams remained. JNPR, CFVY, and SSSN were the only ones Ruby could recognize among them. Each team gave a polite nod or wave to their friends once they realized they would be part of the same group.
"Now that the others are gone we can go over what your teams will be doing," Ozpin began as the screens changed to an overhead map of Vale with certain areas circled or highlighted. "You were all chosen for your exceptional combat and team skills. Each of you has proven themselves one way or another that you can handle extreme situations and complete your jobs. For that reason you will be running key operations with Huntsman in Vale. Restoring communications, fortifying safe zones, and demolishing strongholds our enemies are using to maintain a foothold in Vale."
"Shouldn't you be sending, oh I don't know, actual Huntsman and Huntresses out there?" Sun argued having seen some of the horrors that had infested the city before returning to Beacon with his team.
"Most are currently manning the perimeter of Vale in an attempt to keep this contained and prevent the Grimm from becoming an additional factor in the fight. For now RWBY will be tasked with finding and activating old communication towers around Vale. Your job will have the most danger out of either team due to the amount of travel and exposure you'll get. For that purpose you will be paired with our current leading expert in combating this new enemy." Weiss was visibly annoyed by the announcement, knowing who this 'expert' was while Ruby tried to hide from the sudden attention being cast on her team.
"5 teams will be fortifying safe zones we have yet to evacuate. Due to recent incidents we won't be using the larger transports and instead focus on the smaller more agile Bullheads for moving civilians. Sure up each base's defense before moving on to the next while being on alert for any that may be under attack by the White Fang or those beasts roaming the streets. Finally the remaining 4 teams will be tasked with destroying any stronghold our enemies have claimed as their own. Your job will be instrumental in pushing the enemy forces out once the time comes."
"Please report to your bullhead. The pilots will drop you off at your assignments and be on standby should you require any assistance. Protective suits have been issued and you will be required to wear them while out in Vale to prevent infection from a new disease we've discovered in the city." Glynda said as the remaining teams began walking out of the room.
"Any idea what's happening down in Vale? I never heard anything about a sickness going around warranting a suit." Coco asked RWBY seeing they were already wearing the gear.
"Spreads by blood and if you get any on you there's a really good chance you'll turn into a monster." Ruby said as they noticed the team leader covered in dried blood. "I'm slightly immune so I'm fine."
"Ruby's a special case," Weiss began, "Unfortunately I doubt any of us will be immune since there wasn't one in all of Asylum." The SSSN and CFVY looked at the Heiress in shock over the revelation of the town's true fate.
"Is that why Atlas bombed it into rubble?" Velvet asked looking towards the fleet hover just above Vale.
"It's not like secrecy matters anymore with Vale in the middle of a war and the CCT down." Weiss argued over her slip up. "Besides it's not like them knowing puts any of us in danger."
"Not unless Atlas somehow finds out we know or that they know too." Blake added knowing well enough the length the kingdom would go just to keep their skeletons in the closet.
"Cool, so we keep this a secret and no one has Atlas spooks trying to hunt them down. We all good?" Coco asked as she looked around as every person present gave a nod or thumbs up in agreement.
"Wish they built those suits with Faunas in mind." Sun said as he looked over team RWBY's finding little space around the head for ears or room in the back for a tail. "It's going to be a little tight."
"Well good luck. We'll see you once this is all over." Ruby said as they reached a split in the path, one leading to the armory and the other to the docks.
"No need to worry about us we'll talk once communications come back online. Until then don't go and get yourselves killed." Coco held out her hand as Ruby, Sun, and Jaune placed theirs on top.
"We'll all make it back here." Jaune said wanting to protect his team.
"And we'll all get to share stories of our adventures, Vomit Boy." Ruby joked as the Sun broke out in laughter.
"I'm sensing there's a story behind that name." Sun said with a grin as Jaune was pushing Ruby towards the docks with WBY following behind.
"Ruby would love to tell you, but she has to leave on their very important mission."
"I'll tell you when I get back." She cheered as she started walking on her own towards the bullheads letting Jaune return to the others.
Walking into the plane they saw Dunstan sat in one of the seats with his arms crossed. They couldn't see his eyes with the way his hat covered him, but they could tell that the Hunter was awake and waiting for his next task. Finding a spot in the Bullhead the pilot closed the doors and began to take off into the air. Looking off towards Patch they could see the beginnings of a storm just off the coast starting to roll towards Vale.
"We'll finish Ozpin's mission then go in search of the cause of tonight's Hunt." Dunstan said wondering how someone had discovered how to callout to the Great Ones.
"You mean someone caused this to happen?" Weiss yelled over the thought of people intentionally setting the plague upon Vale.
"The beasts were likely here already with how far some have gone, but the appearance of new Great Ones can only mean someone has decided to try summoning them. I can only guess how the other kingdoms can be fairing right now."
"What do you mean by that?"
"They're attracted to people in general since they prefer to interact with them. Not sure what the idiots who started this are trying to call though. There are too many unique beings to even begin narrowing down the list."
"So all we have to do to end this nightmare is stop this person?"
"It's a likely a group of people, Mensis had to fry their entire student bodies minds just to get an audience with a Great One last time. I can't imagine the price being any lower this time around."
"So we're dealing with a cult who has access to plenty of people and a place large enough to house a few hundred members. Shouldn't be too hard to find once we get communications back up for Vale." Weiss said pulling out her scroll and seeing it still couldn't find any connection.
"Where's our first stop then?" Yang asked the pilot wanting to get to some action.
"A club in the commercial district ran by Hei Xiong. They have an entire array on top of their building, though I can't understand why anyone would need that much equipment when the CCT could handle everything within Vale."
"Unless they didn't want their messages to pass through official channels." Weiss added getting a grasp on the kind of people they'd be dealing with.
"Someone's being paranoid." Yang joked thinking about just how far this Hei person would go to keep a secret.
"The sooner we get all this done the sooner we can put an end to this whole disaster."
"Good luck down there. If you need a pick up just fire up a flare and I'll be there." The pilot said as the doors slid open letting them see the street below.
"Let's get started then." Ruby leaped from the Bullhead towards the ground landing with ease.
"Come on I know this district like the back of my hand." Yang said as she grabbed Blake and jumped out. Weiss followed behind as she used her glyphs to eloquently land onto the street below leaving Dunstan behind in the Bullhead.
"Think you can get me in closer to the ground?" Dunstan asked knowing that falling from such a height could cause some severe damage to himself.
"No can do. Ozpin doesn't want us risking a landing in the streets since we have a limited supply of Bullheads now. You'll have to jump."
Dunstan pulled out his whip and with a quick strike hooked it onto the doors hatch before jumping from the plane. Reaching the end of his line he was still about halfway down when his weapon went taught leaving him slowly spinning as he shook his weapon trying to dislodge it. The sight was one to behold as Ruby and Yang started to laugh at the spectacle of the Hunter suspend in the air trying to get down. With a tug the whip came undone letting Dunstan fall to the ground to join the others.
"Are we ready to go?" Dunstan asked while looking at the two laughing members of team RWBY.
"I really needed that, thanks." Yang said as she tried to stop laughing.
"With this we might finally get to complete a mission." Ruby happily said trying to break what she was determined was a curse after all the previous failures.
"It should only be a few blocks away." Blake said looking over the map she had on her scroll.
"Let's go meet this Hei fellow." Yang said as she began leading the group through Vale's commercial district.
No need to worry about me losing focus on team RWBY with all these other teams going out. They'll only show up if RWBY crosses paths with them or another key character is around them. Also shout out to Xenoanubis and ShadeofGrimm who have both recently done some very excellent RWBY/Bloodborne art. You all know I'm a sucker for the combination whenever I see it done well.
Thoughts about Things and Volume Three:
8 people in the finals meaning there were 16 teams in the doubles which means there was 32 teams in the first round. At those numbers that means each school elected 8 of their best teams to represent them meaning there was 128 people total competing. I'm just going assume they finished one bracket a day meaning 16 rounds on day one to clear all the full team matches, 8 matches day two to finish the doubles, and then the singles matches began. The point of all this is that V3 of RWBY probably takes place over the span of 3 days. So everything went to hell in the span of a single very bad day.
This leads into my next point that the schools in RWBY are probably a lot like the one in Soul Eater, with there being a couple very exceptional teams among the ranks who are leagues above the average student. That's the only way I can comprehend why so many students are running away instead of fighting when everything goes to hell.
Magic is now a thing and can do just about anything since magic seems to be able to ignore most of the rules. Penny was likely a prototype and any future models would likely have been used as immortal vessels for the maidens' souls or a group of spies Atlas could integrate into the other kingdoms to know what's going on in each one in a 'big brother is watching you' kind of way. Lastly did anyone else see that Cinder had tears in her eyes after Pyrrha asked her about destiny?