AN Fill out when I wake up tomorrow
"How much further till we reach Signal?" Dunstan asked, as Ruby cut down another bush.
"Since you refuse to take the front entrance –"
"Because it's likely been turned into a kill zone."
"–we're going in through the back."
"Wouldn't they expect that though," Yang said.
"Which is why we are now going to enter from Signal's left side." Ruby said immediately thinking over her entrance plan.
"Is it our left when we're facing the entrance or is it when we're leaving through the entrance?"
"Look, we're going to break down the wall on Signal's east end. Then we'll," Ruby froze trying to think of what to do after breaking in, "do something and then beat back the people who caused this."
"I can't believe you haven't even thought this through yet," Weiss chided her leader.
"It's not that I haven't thought it through. There's just so much we don't know at the moment. There numbers, possible hostages, positioning, strength, and where the person in charge currently is. When something goes wrong I might give a bad order or do something that gets someone killed."
"Yeah, that is not going to happen," Yang responded as the other members let out a small laugh. "Ruby, you are not going to get us killed. You may be young, but you're also one of the best team leaders in Beacon. That and the fact that you're being backed by what I personally consider the best first year team means you're going to have to try to give us bad orders if you want us gone."
"Despite your sister being an uncouth brute at times I have to agree with her. We got this far thanks to you. We may have even lost Vale if you didn't save Penny and you made it possible for Vale to unite thanks to that transmitter. If it wasn't for you taking the taking that hit for me I'd probably be dead, so don't go talking like that. Like you said, nothing can stand against us when we work together'."
"Okay then, I have a plan. We need to get the students and teachers out of here though if it's going to work."
"I can't wait to see the look on Uncle Qrow and Dad's face when we show up to save them," Yang snickered at the thought.
"Do we have a means to evacuate them off the island?" Blake asked knowing that there were likely more anti-air missiles within firing distance of the school.
"About that, we won't be getting them off Patch immediately. We'll just get them away from Signal." Ruby twiddled her thumbs while looking away at the ground.
"You want us take them from a safe shelter, run them through a warzone, and then just leave them out in the open?" The anger building behind Weiss' voice caused Ruby to shy away even more before continuing.
"If they stay in Signal then they will just get caught up in the plan or killed. We can't go all out if we have to worry about destroying a building that someone decided to hide in," Ruby explained.
"You can't seriously be considering this?" Weiss asked. "There will be casualties if we try to move a group that large. Even with the teachers and us protecting them they won't all make it out of Signal alive."
"Would you rather they all die?" Ruby yelled back. "If we have to retreat it's possible no one will make it back here for weeks and they'll all starve to death before help arrives. Even if we win the fight there is no guarantee that the forge will hold out forever. There's even some force marching through Patch towards Signal. What if they don't like the idea of survivors? The safest thing to do is get all of them out of here and heading north."
"They'd have to go through Some of Patch's wilderness. Grimm would be a problem, but it would slow down any pursuers." Blake commented on the tactic, knowing all too well how large forces would grind to halt when confronted with difficult terrain that broke up their formations. "Higher chance of survival along with the possibility of escaping if the enemy ever catches up."
"Damned if we do, damned if we don't." Yang rolled her shoulder as it let off an audible crack. "Ruby, this choice will affect all the survivors still in Signal. Are you sure you want to evacuate them?"
"It's the safest choice we have. The teachers will be able to handle the Grimm and avoid any possible infections from the cultist." Ruby's head tilted back up to look Yang in her eyes.
"Then we'll help them evacuate. I decided to follow Ruby ages ago and that hasn't changed."
"Let's go get a bunch of kids killed then," Weiss said with some spite over the decision.
"Weiss," Yang warned the heiress recognizing the tone in her response.
"Weiss is right Yang. People are going to die during this and I'm the one who made the call," Ruby said walking away from Weiss and towards Signal.
"She knows that I'll still follow her decision up to the end of this," Weiss said to Blake as they walked around the forest edge.
"It's part of being in a team. Disobeying orders is only going to cause more harm than good and end with some of us taking unnecessary hits," Blake responded while walking alongside Weiss.
"Have you ever disagreed with the person in charge so much that you questioned your position in the team?" Weiss' question was met with a deadpan stare. "Sorry, stupid question."
"Weiss, you have to believe that the person giving the orders knows what they are doing. Even if it's disagreeable you have to work together for the survival of the group."
"And if I continue to disagree with it."
"Then you finish the job and leave. Are you thinking of leaving?"
"I'm just so tired Blake. We've only been in this war for a few hours. I have watched my partner die, made a deal with the dead, seen the horrors of this plague, and found out my own kingdom is somehow involved in all of this. I don't know how much more of this I can take."
"Not exactly the glamorous life we were all promised, but it's what we chose. Our lives and opinions have to take second place to the job."
"I can understand why Ruby made the choice. It's the most logically sound option in any outcome from our battle. Win or lose they'll be safe and have a chance to find shelter or a way to escape off Patch. It's just," Weiss paused knowing there was no right or wrong answer to their dilemma, "We will be leading these children to their death knowing they won't all survive."
"Battles like this never end well. Non-combatants are easy targets and demoralize the enemy. It's going to be up to us to minimize those casualties. It's the best we can hope for." The sound of stone being slowly pushed away interrupted them.
Yang was stood in front of a newly made hole in Signals perimeter wall. Poking her head through she gave a thumbs up to the group before stepping onto the academy's grounds. Ruby and Dunstan were just behind Yang as Weiss and Blake guarded the rear of their team. Turning around they could see the damage that Signal had suffered from the invasion. What was once displayed as a pristine castle modified for training the next generation now resembled a sieged town. The battlements that lined the walls had been obliterated along with some of the buildings that skirted the edge of campus. The tower or fortress if the size and design were anything to go by sat at the center of the school seemingly unharmed. Burnt steel and dents marked the exterior, but the signal that the academy was known for was still burning bright atop it. An outdated way of delivering a warning of an impending naval invasions at night that slowly turned into a symbol of peace once the war ended.
There were three crescent shaped buildings that formed a circle around the tower. Each one laid atop the foundations of the previous garrisons that stood guard. Each one rose four stories off the ground and had walkways constructed between them allowing anyone on the second floor to go between the structures. Further out towards the walls a few buildings dotted the war torn grass. Sidewalks obliterated by explosives and destroyed trees now took up a majority of the school's outward appearance.
Walking around the schools edge they could see the cultists atop the walls looking for any possible attacks. Most seemed focused on the perimeter with the possibility of an invading army marching towards them at this very moment. The black robes stood out some cultists patrolled the grounds. When one turned its head towards them, Ruby grabbed Yang and Weiss pulling them into a bush. As the cultist turned back around Ruby peaked out of the foliage.
"I think they're gone." Ruby stepped out of the bush and began pulling twigs out of her hair.
"What happened to Blake and Dunstan?" Yang asked.
"We're fine." Dunstan said, stepping out from behind a tree as Blake dropped down from a branch.
"Which way to the armory?" Blake asked keeping an eye out for anyone patrolling.
"It's on the north end of campus in the basement of the engineering building. They couldn't put in one of the main ones in case a fire broke out. Helps keep the damage isolated when you have a bunch of first years trying out a forge for the first time," Ruby said thinking back on the constant whining of the fire alarm that occurred at the start of every school year.
"It's only a four-minute walk from the entryway. If you run and ignore some of the laid paths you can get there in under a minute," Yang added.
"And there's no cover between us and there. I might be able to sneak through, but I doubt the rest of you could." Blake looked back towards the walls noticing another patrol walking along it.
"I was going to cause a distraction while the rest of you sneak along the sides." Ruby appeared next to Blake in a flash of petals.
"Except they already know that we're all part of a team. If they find out one of us is here, then they will know all of us are somewhere around Signal. Even if your distraction does work a single guards posted outside the forge would ruin any chance of a stealthy escape."
"Well, we can't just wait for a distraction to happen," Weiss said as an explosion erupted on the wall near the front entrance.
A burst of movement filled Signal as the some of the cultists came running from the buildings towards the front. Those on the wall all converged with weapons at the ready to fight off whatever was threatening them. Leveling their guns at the entry point a shower of bullets tore through the entry hitting those who standing ready. Like dying embers, the bullets would streak though the air before vanishing inside their targets. Soon the cultists began retaliating with their own attacks. Peaking over the fortifications they returned fire on those below. Screams could be heard from the attackers as the number of injured grew with each second. A group of cultists armed with blades, hammers, and guns were briefly seen before leaping off the wall to charge the enemy.
"I'd say the cavalries arrived, but I'm pretty sure they'd just as soon open fire on us," Yang joked as another explosion lit up the courtyard.
"Their misfortune is our opportunity. Come on." Ruby crept along the base of the wall towards the school's north end.
"Think we'll be able to get everyone out?" Weiss asked as the fighting continued.
"We'll never have a better chance than this."
Walking under the edge of the wall they began making their way towards Signal's engineering department. Being on the North end it seemed to have avoid the shelling that the south end took when the invasion started. Even without craters covering the grounds they could still see that the cultists had laid siege to the structure. Parts of the second floor had been demolished from explosions and the front doors bent completely inwards from something forcing them open. Blood coated the grass surrounding the building and they could make out red splatters through the buildings windows.
"Looks like they put up a fight," Dunstan said running his finger over the stained grass.
"Well the 4th years are basically Huntsman in training by the end of the semester." Yang tried peering into the darkness to no avail.
"So they had some people the equivalent of Ruby." At this Yang began laughing uncontrollably. By the time the laughter subsided she was clutching at her stomach from the pain.
"Now that was a good joke. Try two of them adds up to about one Cardin during the first semester. I'm nearly positive we could take on about six 4th year students at once before they become a problem. Even if a student graduates that doesn't mean they'll have the skills or abilities to make it into an academy."
"It's nice to know they are not defenseless, but would still expect to find at least some bodies around this place. A war breaks out, we find all this blood, and there is not a single body to be found."
"That's good right?" Ruby asked since a lack of bodies more likely than not meant more survivors.
"The cultists' bodies were likely taken back somewhere once they secured the school. The question is what happened to the students' bodies. A retreating force usually can't carry the dead back with them when such an overwhelming force is pushing them."
"So your saying no one died."
"Or that their bodies were collected with the others."
"What could they possibly want with them though?"
"Beats me, why would they want to bring about the end of times?"
"Let's just focus on getting the others out for now. Yang you're on point guiding Dunstan and the others. I'll be in the back." Ruby's order quickly got everyone in formation as they walked through the entrance.
"How are some of the light's still on?" Weiss looked down the halls seeing stretches of darkens between the lights that flickered on and off.
"Patch and Signal have their own generators since we're off the mainland. There were talks of running cables underwater, but with how much it would cost Vale they decided to just upgrade the generators as the population grew. Should have enough dust to power the school for about a month if deliveries ever stop," Yang stated proudly.
"How do you even know all that?" Weiss looked at the blonde in disbelief.
"Yang was forced to take a course on Patch's history her last year here." Ruby explained.
"It's not like I failed any classes. I just didn't fill out my general education requirements. Which by the way is completely pointless. If I'm going to become a Huntress, why would I even need to know any of that stuff?" Yang fumed at the thought of wasted time in the class that could have been spent sleeping or anything else more useful than the course.
"Yang, everyone needs to fulfil their basic education requirements. Every student at beacon has to prove they had some form of an education. I was homeschooled by some of Atlas' best before coming to Beacon." Weiss pointed out the photos of previous graduating classes that lined the wall to prove her point.
"What about Blake then? She didn't go to school."
"Ozpin had me take a written test to make sure I would be on par with the rest of the accepted students and a practical examine to test my abilities in combat," Blake responded as Yang stepped on some broken glass.
"You mean I didn't have to waste my time in school?"
"Everyone is allowed to test out whenever they wish. Going through the school just assures you of a degree if all the requirements are met."
"Uh guys, I think we're here." Ruby walked up to a heavily burnt and dented door. Cuts ran across the frame, but even those that ran through the door came to a stop once meeting the reinforcements on the other side.
"Anyone have a plan on how to open this thing?" Dunstan asked, as Yang readied her weapons.
"Allow me," Dunstan said. "Hello, this is Dunstan Arkwright of Beacon academy. We've come to help you evacuate Signal."
The sound of people moving behind the door could be heard as they murmured amongst one another. When silence fell behind the door a single pair of feet were heard approaching the frame. "Not going to happen you morons. Do you really think I'd open this door just so you could try and kill us? I doubt I'd have any problem taking you, but apparently I have to 'think of the children' now.
"It's our job to look after them Qrow. You can't just keep pushing that responsibility on others," Another voice scolded Qrow.
"I'm a great teacher. Just look at how Ruby turned out."
"Just because your insane training regimen happened to work on my daughter doesn't mean the others can handle it. Most of them don't even use polearms as their main weapon."
"And how is that my fault? If they didn't want to learn how to swing a horribly balanced weapon they should have gone to someone else."
"Most of them chose your class because all you ever use in public is that sword of yours."
"It's not my fault nothing here is worth breaking out the scythe."
"Should we interrupt them or…" Weiss nodded her head towards the door as the insane rambling continued.
"Dad, either you open this door or I bust it down," Yang threatened, already tired of her families fighting.
"Not now Yang. Your uncle and I are having an important discussion right now." Taiyang froze as he realized who was standing outside. "Wait, Yang! Qrow, get the door."
"Now you want me to open it. Make up your mind Tai." Qrow walked up to the door. Drawing his sword, he began cutting into the bars they bolted onto the door to keep it sealed. After a few second of chopping the doors swung open. "this is not going to be easy to repair."
"Took you long enough, old man." Yang said walking past Qrow to see her dad.
"I'm not that old," Qrow argued as the rest of team RWBY walked in with Dunstan.
"Please don't call your uncle old, Yang. We're nearly the same age so how do you think I feel." Taiyang said as Yang stuck out her tongue.
"Really helping me feel all that family love, Tai." Qrow walked up to Ruby who began showing off her latest changes to Crescent Rose.
"Your tough, you can take it."
"Tai, I have watched you beat an adult Death Stalkers to death with your bare fists. Out of all of us I'm probably one of the more fragile teachers here."
"Hey, I am an emotional time bomb."
"I somehow doubt that. So what brings my two favorite nieces here today?"
"You know, the usual. Just kicking ass and taking names. Maybe save the world on the side if there's time," Yang told Qrow.
"Well you've done a real fine job if what's happening here is anything to go by."
"For your information we saved all of Vale and got the Atlas military back on our side."
"Did James really launch an attack on Vale? I knew he was hardass, but then again Atlas always came first to the guy."
"General Ironwood left for Atlas once control of the knights were lost," Weiss explained trying to preserve some of her kingdoms image. "Ruby recently got them back under control with help from one of her friends."
"Good to know my lessons got put some good use. Dunstan, was it? Sorry for not letting you in earlier. Didn't know Beacon hired on some new staff this semester."
"I was brought on for the tournament and some added security. Seems appropriate now with all this going on. I'm currently assigned to team RWBY to offer them assistance when running missions in Vale." Dunstan gave a polite bow to the teachers.
"As long as you keep my daughters safe I'm sure we'll have no problems," Taiyang started as Yang, Blake, and Weiss turned their faces away from the father.
"I wouldn't sell your daughters short sir. They are quite tough in their own right. Even Ruby has survived somethings I thought would have killed her outright."
"Wait, what?"
"5mm rounds nearly gutting her, impalement, and having most her bones broken. She could probably take a bullet to the head and keep on going," Dunstan joked as Taiyang's expression darkened.
"Now that is messed up." Qrow undid the cap on his hip flask and took a swig.
"I got better though." Ruby ran up to her father to show the lack of wounds. "See, I'm completely fine."
"Ruby, I'm going to need you to step a little bit to your right," Taiyang stated, as he brought his fists up into a fighting stance.
"How about instead we all take a few deep breaths and discuss this like calm rational adults," Ruby suggested instead of the fight that was about to breakout.
"I'll calm down once the man who let you get hurt is missing a few teeth."
"Most of those injuries were my own fault for not dodging an attack. Besides," Ruby began to mumble her words while avoiding eye contact, "I may be kind of immortal now."
"What?!"
Ruby spoke a bit louder so her father could properly hear her, "I can't really be killed."
"And you know this how?"
"Three rounds of buckshot through my sternum on one occasion and a Death Stalker tearing my back open the other time."
"Qrow give me your flask." The metal container was thrown through the air towards Taiyang. Grabbing it out of the air he tilted the flask and began drinking the concoction.
"Dad, are you okay?"
"Give me a second." He tipped the flask again taking another drink.
"Is your dad going to be alright?" Weiss asked, seeing the man put the cap back on the flask.
"I haven't really seen dad drink much. Usually that's more of an uncle Qrow thing to do," Ruby told her partner.
"Okay, I think I'm good. Now would someone please tell me what is actually going on in Vale because I doubt cultists are the only problem we have." Taiyang threw the flask back to Qrow.
"Do you want the short version or the long version?"
"You know what? We don't have time for the long version," Dunstan interrupted. "Someone has released a plague upon the world which transmits via blood and causes people to become aggressive then turn into beasts. That same person is likely here trying to summon a god to grant a wish or desire. Now would you be so kind as to help us evacuate all of you to somewhere outside of Signal."
"We can't leave until a secured route out of here is available," Qrow practically yelled at Dunstan.
"You're not going to get a secured route. We're all you guys have since Vale is falling to pieces. It could be days before any real backup can be sent up here."
"Why the hell would Ozpin send you all out here if backup wasn't even available?"
"About that," Ruby began, "We might have borrowed a ship and disobeyed orders to not go to Patch."
"Ruby, while I love you like the daughter I'll never have, do you have any idea how bad this will look on your entire team. The council has executed people for less than what counts as treason. How do you think this will end once order is restored to Vale?" Qrow was visibly shaken at the prospect of his family's possible execution.
"Would you rather had us stay in Vale and let all of you die?"
"I'd rather not have a bounty mission to bring all of you in for a death sentence."
"You'd never take an out a bounty mission on us." Ruby took a few steps away from her uncle. "Would you?"
"Of course I wouldn't. If it came down to it, I'd quit my job and make sure no one collects on that bounty."
"Look I'm really learning a lot from what I'm guessing is a functional family working through their issues, but the fighting outside won't last forever," Weiss interrupted. "If you wanted a chance to leave, now is the time."
"I thought you said Oz couldn't spare any backup." Qrow looked between the group.
"That would be whoever landed on Patch's southern beach. They're currently an unknown factor, but they are attacking the cultists vehemently."
"Everyone form up with your partners," Taiyang said as the kids began to stand up and walk over to their respective partners. "We're going to evacuate Signal."
"Once you make it outside head towards the east wall. We've opened a hole there for all of you to go through. Once you're out start traveling North, away from Signal, until you reach Patch's cliffs," Ruby explained to the students. "I have a friend who should be able to spare some ships to carry you all back to Beacon."
"You heard her, let's get moving." Qrow stood up to lead them out of the forge and into the building.
The hallways seemed even bleaker now that they were moving with a group of frightened children. Each step seemed fraught with terror of what lurked around the corner. Even with Qrow leading it didn't seem enough to assure the students of their safety. With what they probably saw outside during the firefight it was no wonder. Both sides suffered casualties, but the cultists clearly had the upper hand in the firefight. Approaching the front door, the sound of gunfire began to ring out through the building. Stray bullets occasionally hitting the building's side causing some of the windows to shatter. Stepping out of the building it was clear the cultists battle had turned into a stalemate.
Men and woman dressed in white suits of armor had managed to breach the front gate and bring the fight out to the school courtyard. Either through sheer numbers or perhaps team RWBY's battling in town the crusaders like soldiers were pushing the cultists back, however slow. The battle wasn't kind on the new army either with their bodies littering the entrance and even more just outside, lost during the siege. A few cultists were in the heart of the battle takin on multiple fighters at once with ease. With speed and strength that seemed unreachable for someone without any aura.
Trying to avoid any confrontation the group stuck low to the ground and made their wat towards the wall. Their escape seemed to go off perfectly until a cultist ran across the wall and turned his head noticing something out of place. As he focused on the students lying on the ground frozen in fear a bullet sailed through the air and into the cultist's head.
"Run!" Ruby yelled as the students stood up and broke into a sprint.
Yang and Blake were along the outskirts of the group making sure nothing breached their thin perimeter. As cultists began to step forward RWBY would beeline for them making quick work of their opponents. A line of men formed behind the group taking aim when a whip like blade shot past them. With a spin of her Scythe Ruby forced the blade to cleave through the group ending any chance of an assault from behind. Catching up with eh others Ruby saw the last of the students climb through the wall to the other side.
Looking over them it became apparent that they didn't escape unharmed. A few had bullet wounds and were using torn cloths to help stave the flow of blood. A few were crying out for help while others stared off into nothing. The sight was disheartening, but not so much so as the number of students that they saw present. It was clear that there weren't as many with them now as before.
"Come on, we can make to the cliffs in about thirty minutes if we hurry," Taiyang said as RWBY stayed on the other side of the wall.
"Dad, we have to finish what we came here to do." Ruby felt a twinge in her heart for refusing to go with her father. "The person who started all this is somewhere in Signal and we have to stop him."
"You can leave that to the professionals. Just come with us and we can all go to Beacon."
"There's no time to wait for professionals. If we don't stop him now, then there may not even be a next time."
"Then let me and Qrow come with you."
"You have to make sure all the students make it out of here. Besides, I don't want to risk either of you getting infected with the plague." Taiyang felt his stomach sink at the realization of why his youngest wasn't wearing a hazmat suit like the rest of her team.
"Oh god, Ruby, I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you." Taiyang was choking back tears at the thought of losing another loved one.
"The plague will take me one day, but I have a while thanks to my resistance. Please look after Uncle Qrow. I know he likes to act all tough, but he can be as bad as you at times."
"I could say the same about Yang." Taiyang looked over to the group of children before turning back to Ruby. "Please be careful."
"I will."
"I want the both of you to know you mean the world to me. Now go kick some ass." Taiyang walked past the group and they began to fall in behind him.
Qrow jogged up next to him and put an arm around his shoulder. "You going to be okay Tai?'
"I'll be fine."
"I know you don't want to talk about this now, but once we get the kids out of here we're going to try and work this out. Ruby always had a way of making the impossible happen around her. I'm sure they'll find a way to solve this."
"We can only pray for a miracle then."
"If one is going to happen then it's going to happen around your daughters."
"It's going to be a long trip. You watch the back and I'll watch the front." Taiyang picked up the pace as Qrow dropped to the rear of the pack to protect the students from any Grimm they would run across. The sound of gunfire slowly fading into the distance as they set their sights towards the coast.
I know this chapter didn't give you guys much since it was mostly set up, but I can promise you that nearly all the chapters up to the finale will have some long fight scenes in them. While I'm on the topic of a finale I feel safe saying that there are only about 5-8 chapters left. I started writing this after V2 of RWBY and it's influences will shine through on the next few chapters. Heck, I've had most of the next chapters planned out since the beginning of this series. It's going to be such a relief to finally get them down on Word and flush some of them out more. Until next time, thank you for reading.