A/N: Attention! Friday, I'm going to put up a poll for the Winter/York pairing name. Winner gets a really good prize, so please submit your suggestions before Friday.

Next, I would love it if you would tell me if the songs I've paired with the sections seem to fit with the situations, so please tell me. Just leave a review. And, if you have a suggestion for a song for me to use in the future, feel free to PM me.

Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY or RVB, they are property of Rooster Teeth. I also do not own the songs mentioned in this chapter, though I do recommend you listen while you read.

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Song: Relay- Trocadero

Grimm Wilds, the next morning

Ruby

The next morning, I woke to the smells of hot chocolate and once again, biscuits. I realized as soon as I came to my senses that I had fallen asleep on watch duty, and sat straight up, looking around. I was once again on my mat, with no recollection of how I'd gotten there.

York caught my eye and winked, signaling he knew what had happened. I went red, embarrassed I had fallen asleep on guard duty.

"We break camp in ten, so eat up and saddle up." York told me, handing me a mug of the hot chocolate.

"What, no coffee?" I questioned.

"Utah packed our bags." North muttered, and York laughed. (A/N: Mormons don't drink coffee)

"Yang warned me about letting you have caffeine. Never with you and Nora." York explained, and I blushed, remembering the last time I'd had coffee, which is why I'm no longer allowed anywhere near a café in Vacuo.

York was already saddling his horse when I finished. I went over to my own small horse, a tan quarter-horse with a white star on his head. I called him Cookie.

York's horse, he told me, was a mix of a quarter-horse and a thoroughbred. The horse was a grey stallion named Diesel.

North rode a purebred quarter-horse, a roan mare he called Red, and Rowan rode a grey Appaloosa named Speckle. Everyone was saddled and mounted when we started out, heading once again along Maine's trail.

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Song: House of the Rising Sun- Five Finger Death Punch

York.

The terrain of the Wilds was getting steadily worse, becoming even more flat and sandy. York led his team, following the fading tracks of his friend's horse. The wind was starting to pick up, so he was in a hurry, trying to close as much distance between Maine and them. They were heading towards an entrance to a canyon up ahead, rocks scattered around in front of it.

"Hey, what's the nearest town from here?"

"There's the ghost town of Desert Sands, about two miles west of here, then San Rojero ten miles north of that, but there's a few other ghost towns around, regular hideouts for criminals and bandits."

York nodded, studying the tracks.

York, duck, now!" Delta warned. York bent over his horses head as a shot whizzed over his head, into the dirt. "Bandits!"

Gunshots rang out along the rocks, and York spotted multiple men atop a twenty-foot tall rock, the highest ground. York pulled Diesel into cover, pulling his shotgun and .30-30 off the saddle.

These two weapons were custom made by Ruby, York slid the shotgun onto his back, the gun attaching to the electro-magnet plate hidden under his duster, and leaned out of cover, firing at a man as he rose to shoot one of his teammates.

"New Freelancers." He ordered, telling Delta to relay it through the radio. "If we're separated, we meet in San Rojero, Sync?"

"Sync!" Multiple cries echoed.

(song change: Smugglers- Santaolalla)

York shot one man off a horse as he attempted to move from cover, then ducked back to dodge an incoming sniper round.

I detect at least two dozen contacts, including a sniper on the nearby canyon wall wielding a Sharps rifle. Delta informed York. I suggest a counter-snipe maneuver.

Coordinate with North. York told the AI, drawing Firestorm and shifting it to sniper rifle form.

"North, you ready? We pop out on my mark, take your time and make sure you hit him." York said.

"On it." He heard North say

York prepared to fire, poking out to see the sniper's position for a split second. "Mark!" He yelled a few seconds later, then stepped out and fired two shots into the snipers chest, then looked down and took another off the 20-foot rock before ducking back.

"Confirmed two hits on the sniper." York stated.

"Kill confirmed. What's the plan?"

York considered. "There's too many of them, and their too well-prepared. I'm sure there's already another sniper heading up there now. You'll have to push on through. North, get your bubble shield ready, Ruby and I will cover the two of you while you make your way through."

"Whoa, we're not leaving you." Rowan told them.

"Yes, you are. If we're not in San Rojero in three days, find Maine without us. We need to find him before the next sandstorm, or his tracks will be covered." York told them. "Now move!"

"Ruby, cover them, I'll draw the bandits fire." York told the reaper, trading weapons for his BR and SMG as well as slipping on his backpack, soon covered in his armor. The man stepped out with deadly confidence, then began firing at will, the BR and SMG making men fall to their dooms. Fire spread all over his armor as shields flared, and Ruby confirmed North and Rowan had gotten in the clear.

"You're dead, you son of a-" York heard behind him, then a sharp pain in his head knocked him into unconsciousness.

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Song: The Hunters- Santaolalla

Ruby

I attempted to not kill the men I shot at, aiming for incapacitating hits, then I saw York get knocked out from behind, then a pair of arms twisted Crescent rose out of my grip and trapped my arms. "Hey. Let go of me, you big meanie!" I cried, trying to kick the man.

"Hey look, she's got spirit. Let's take her back, it'll be fun to break her." My captor said to a nearby friend as another thug tied my hands behind my back and searched for any weapons.

"Alright, we'll send a scavenger team back here for their horses and gear. That armored freak probably has some good stuff, did you see those weapons?" Another said.

"Your guys killed a lot of our friends, little girl." A man with horrid breath said into my face. "You're going to pay."

"What about this guy?" A guy called from York's fallen body.

"Tie him up, his armor's valuable, we'll leave him to the scavengers, they can take him back on the wagon." The man in charge ordered.

I looked to York's unconscious body as I was dragged by, one man carelessly throwing Crescent Rose into a saddlebag with York's BR and SMG.

"York, wake up." I pleaded softly.

"Hey, keep it quiet." One man ordered, and I kicked him in the crotch. My reward was his howl of pain, which was very satisfying, and then a man knocking me out from behind, much like York had been.

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No song

York

York woke to the sound of a horse neighing, and found himself in his armor, hands tied behind his back and his legs banded together as well. He smiled, then broke the bands easily with strength and the armor. He undid the bonds on his legs, then looked to see six men hopping off a wagon. He ducked low, then ran to Diesel, who had been left behind. Deactivating his armor, he retrieved Firestorm from the pocket of his duster, attaching it to his belt.

Looking around, York looked to the men entering the area.

"Man, our boys got screwed." One stated, looking at the corpses.

Another spoke, "Yeah, we lost our best sniper today. Two of them got away, too."

"Damn."

York let out a battle cry and leapt out of the shadows, Firestorm draw in a second and slicing into the man's chest. Blood spurted everywhere and York kicked the body off his blade, then switched it into its double-blade form and slicing the other man's throat.

Another met his blade with a bow staff, then York sent a flying kick into the man's hand, causing him to drop the staff and meet his own death.

From behind, one man grabbed his throat, attempting to put him in a sleeper-hold while another, who held a magnum revolver, took aim. "Finish him off!"

York shifted his sword into rifle mode and fired straight into the man's head, blowing it clean off then flipping the grunt off his back and punching the man's throat.

He turned and shot the last man, who was holding a shaking pistol. "Stay back!"

York rolled his eyes, then shot the man in the leg. The bandit fell to the ground with a howl, and York knocked the man out.

0ooooooooooo0

York

York put every ounce of energy into each punch, landed squarely on the man's face as his companion watched, until he felt satisfied. Freelancer had taught each one of them how to interrogate people, and this was one of many ways York could use.

Leaving the man leaned against the boulder, York said, "Don't go nowhere." And stepped over to the remaining man, who sat on a rock positioned next to a larger one, tied up so he couldn't move.

"Alright, then." York said as he squatted to the man's eye level. "Where is she?"

"Where's who?" The man said snidely. "I don't know of any 'she'."

York sighed and took a knife, the man's own knife, ironically, and stabbed it into the man's leg. "Wrong answer."

The man cursed, and York slapped him lightly. "Focus right here." He ordered coldly. "Now you tell me, or I'll pop your damn knee off. Is she alive?"

The man whimpered and nodded. "We're keeping her to break her, make her one of our girls."

York bit back the bile in his throat at the thought of Ruby being broken into a slave. "Where's the town, I want you to whisper it, right into my ear, and it'd better be the exact same place your buddy over there points to, or else. Understand?"

The man leaned forward, "We're in Western Skies, about ten miles west of here. You take the canyon pass, it'll take you straight there." He whimpered into York's ear. "Go ask him, he'll tell you. Ask him. I ain't lying."

York stood, then took the man's head and snapped it, killing the man instantly.

The other man cursed at him. "I ain't telling you nothing, he told you what you wanted."

York took the man's pistol and checked the chamber, "That's alright." He growled, pulling back the slide, "I believe him."

And with that, York aimed for the man's head and fired.

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Song: All Gone (Alone)- Santaolalla

Western Skies

Ruby

I felt another horrible punch land in my stomach as the bandits tried to break me. This had been going on for at least two hours. My body ached, tear marks running down my cheeks in pain.

"Your ours now, little girl." One man growled. "And you'd better learn to obey."

I opened my eyes and looked at him, then spat on his boots, a small bit of fire rising up. It was immediately beaten down as I was kicked across the small room I was in, and I started to cough and wheeze, instantly regretting my decision.

"Let her alone for a while, Jake. It'll make her sore." One man jeered. "She's nothing but a weak little girl."

As soon as the door closed, I began sobbing, holding my stomach in pain. I longed for Crescent Rose's familiar weight in my hands, the comfort in stroking the weapon soothing me. I took a deep breath, hardening myself for what was to come.

I would endure and survive.

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Song: By Any Means- Santaolalla

York

York rode with Diesel and Cookie towards the town of Western Skies, one of the ghost towns Rowan had spoken of. Indeed, when he first saw it, it seemed like an abandoned town from an Old West film. But York knew better. He secured his hat, then pulled out his .30-30 and shotgun to their proper places, then led the horses to a rock and tied them to a mesquite bush.

An enraged look on his face, York entered the city, determined to find the girl he considered his niece.

"Incoming!" A man yelled, and a bullet whizzed past him. York pumped the lever, then fired at the man who had just vaulted over a porch wall. York loaded the next round as another bullet missed, then killed another bandit.

"Where is she?" York roared, firing off a few more rounds, then ducking behind the cover of a wagon to reload from the plethora of bullets in his left jacket pocket, the right filled with shotgun shells. He stepped back out of cover, continuing to walk down the middle of the street. By some miracle, it seemed most bullets were missing. York continued to fire, killing off the bandits until he was finally struck.

The bullet whizzed right towards his face, and froze inches away before falling to the floor.

York looked at the fallen round, then smiled. His Aura was in play now.

The Freelancer continued onward. "Tell me where she is!" He yelled, killing another man as he popped up to take a shot. Delta warned him of an incoming Molotov. York turned and caught it mid-air, then tossed it back to a group of bandits he knew were hiding behind an over-turned wagon. He heard their screams and continued, stepping towards the wagon. As soon as he passed the corner, a huge man slapped him back with a huge bat of a hand. York staggered, then regained his balance, switching to his shotgun to blast the man off his feet. The giant obviously had an Aura, as when he came back up, he had a real bat, which collided with York and made him tumble back, straight into the remains of fire in the Molotov. York yelled, fully expecting to catch fire and burn before he could tamp It down, but instead, it seemed as if the fire was slowly spreading over him, York felt the tickle of fire as if it were a feather as if engulfed his legs and torso, then cried out in pain.

The fire clawed at his neck, but that wasn't what hurt. York held his face with gloved hands as skin seemed to melt off, leaving nothing but white skull underneath. He closed his eyes, and when he opened them, there was nothing but the sockets. Fire licked at the top of his head, then surrounded it, his entire body encased in fire, clothes not seeming at all damaged. He rolled his shoulders.

"Well, that's new." He said in a voice that wasn't his own, but deep, gravelly, almost hissing. He stepped towards his opponent once more, knocking the bat out of his hands as it was swung. Every step left behind a burning footprint. York took the man's shirt, hands burning through his Aura, and the man screamed as flames spread over his body, leaving nothing but a skeleton and ashes in less than a minute.

Bullets were sent into his body, but they had no effect. York couldn't even feel them. He took his .30-30 in hand, holding it as flames spread over it as well. Every time he fired, flames and lead sent men into flaming deaths, which would spread into chaos as they ran around, anything or anyone they bumped or ran into instantly caught the fiery disease.

York bent and picked up his hat, which had fallen during his transformation, and walked towards a fallen man, one who cowered in fear as this demon seemed to approach.

Picking the man up by his throat, trying not to burn him, which was apparently easily controlled, he said lowly, deathly. "Where is she? Tell me and I'll make your death quick."

"Police department, there's men there trying to break her, then they're going to rape her." The man sputtered, pointing to a building down the street.

York hissed in disgust, then snapped his neck before throwing the man down and letting the fire consume his corpse, then made his way to where a single flag flew above a building, the town hall where Ruby lay. He knew time was of the essence, and he made a run for it, fire trailing behind him.

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A/N: And, cliffhanger. Sorry if it was a bit morbid for your tastes. How'd you like Ghost Rider York? No, he can't do Vengeance Stare, and he can't turn his bike into an awesome fire car, but everything else is pretty much the same. (P.S. York's semblance only activates if he catches himself on fire.)