Another day, another chapter. This story is almost finished, but still this and another chapter left. I've also been playing the Overwatch Open Beta and it's kick ass! If you're here because you're a fan of RWBY more than Overwatch, I implore you to check it out! Open Beta is available on PC, PS4 and X-Box One and is available until May 9th. First, review response time! Dragonsoul1; Insert diabolical evil laugh here… MWAHAHAHAHAHA! Guest; thanks for the compliment. And who knows, Ruby may have a trick or two hidden up her sleeve. OutlastTheDark; you are not over-thinking for once, I did indeed steal the title of one of the only good things in the prequel trilogy. As for their relationship before Overwatch, they were apparently really good friends during the Omnic Crisis until the UN replaced Reyes with Morrison as the Overwatch Strike Commander. Now, on with the show!

00000000

Chapter 23- Death Comes

"Gotta find Jack! Gotta find Jack!"

Those were the words Ruby repeated to herself as she sprinted around the School, looking for an access point of some form for her to make her way to the Generator. Winston had told her to stay put and help with the evacuation, but she wasn't going to stand around helplessly whilst Reaper did god knows what under Beacon. She had to do this, make him pay for everything he'd done to her, her Team, the Students...Qrow. But if she wanted to make him pay, she needed to find him first.

She was about to complete her first lap of the Academy. Jack had said he had found a hidden entrance into the Academy, she just had to find it, that's all. As she came close to completing a full circle, she skidded to a halt when she spotted five figures scanning the surrounding area, their backs to a large opening.

"Talon..." Ruby whispered to herself, quickly diving for a nearby bush to better conceal herself. If Talon were guarding the opening then it must've led to something important.

Ruby ducked lower as a Talon operative made his way to her, not having noticed the hooded Huntress. If he got close enough to her location, she could easily make a stealth take down. All she had to do was ensure that she made no noise and-

"Ruby! Are you there!" Winston's voice suddenly blared out, causing Ruby to wince as she clutched her ear, the Talon operative turning her direction with his Rifle aimed precariously at her.

"What the-"

Ruby dashed out, knocking the Talon operative off his feet as she barged past him. She sped past the other four operatives, who all turned rapidly in an attempt to track her. As Ruby passed the last operative, she slammed Crescent Rose into the dirt, churning up a large amount of soil as she skidded to a halt. Almost immediately after stopping, five laser sights found themselves pointed at her head and limbs, the Talon operatives barking orders at her.

"Freeze!"

"Don't move!"

"Move and you're dead!"

"We have you surrounded kid." a female operative, clearly the leader of the group, ordered. "Put the Scythe down and place your hands on your head, now!"

"Can't we just...you know, talk about this?" Ruby asked, laughing sheepishly to herself as the operatives all looked at one another.

"This is your last chance!" the woman stated, tightening her grip on her Rifle. "Drop the weapon and-"

Ruby charged forward with aid from her Semblance, delivering a high kick to the operatives chin, sending her into the air before she delivered another kick to her chest, sending her tumbling towards another operative. She then charged a third operative who had begun to fire at her, sweeping his legs out from under him with Crescent Rose before slamming the butt of her weapon onto the back of his head, knocking him out.

"Drop her!" the female operative shouted, quickly rising as she and the other four operatives began to fire their weapons at her.

In response, Ruby began to spin Crescent Rose out in front of her, the bullets ricocheting off her weapon. As the operatives began to slowly move around her, Ruby backed away slowly, ensuring the operatives were always in front of her. She eyed one to her right, who had started to reload his Rifle, quickly dashing towards him and slamming the butt of Crescent Rose into his gut, causing him to fall onto his knees. She then spun around him, shifting Crescent Rose into its Sniper form and used the operative as a rest for the weapons barrel, shooting two operatives in their legs before hitting her cover with the butt of the weapon.

The leader, having realised she was the last one standing, quickly fired her under-barrel taser at Ruby, hoping to catch the Huntress whilst she was off guard. Having spotted the stunning barbs seconds before they could hit her, she shifted Crescent Rose back into its Scythe form and weaved her weapon around the tasers wire and swung her weapon forward, sending the taser back at her. Realising her mistake too late, the leader stood frozen in shock as the taser barbs hit her, sending an electrical shock through her system and causing her to spasm on the floor uncontrollably. Smiling to herself, Ruby quickly loaded a fresh magazine into Crescent Rose, watching as those still conscious writhed around on the floor in agony.

"Good talk guys." Ruby chuckled, merrily skipping forward towards the passageway they had been guarding.

"No it wasn't..." a Talon operative muttered, clutching his leg as he winced in pain.

"For god sake Ruby, answer already!" Winston's voice suddenly shouted again, causing Ruby to pause in her tracks.

"Look Winston, I don't care what you say, and yeah, you're probably right, what I'm doing is stupid!" Ruby shouted through the earpiece, sighing loudly to herself before continuing. "But I have to do this! What sort of Huntress would I be if I ignored the problem? I'm going in to face him, and nothing you or anyone says is going to stop me!"

"I know Ruby, and that's not why I'm calling." Winston then said, causing Ruby to narrow her eyes in confusion as she continued to listen. "It's Jack, I can no longer contact him."

"What?" Ruby murmured, her eyes going wide in shock. "What happened?"

"Who do you think?" Winston solemnly replied. It didn't take much effort for Ruby to realise just who Winston was talking about.

"Reaper..." Ruby whispered, tightening her grip on Crescent Rose at the mere mention of his name.

"Under normal circumstances, I would tell you to high tail it out of there, but I know that won't work with you." Winston sighed, cursing himself for what he was about to say next. "But I think Jack is going to need all the help he can get, don't you?"

Ruby's eyes widened as Winston spoke those words. He was giving her a chance to fight Reaper! And this time, she wasn't going to let him beat her!

"I'll find him, and help beat Reaper!" Ruby stated, gripping Crescent Rose even tighter.

"Good luck, Huntress." Winston responded, his voice fading as the connection was terminated.

Ruby quickly unclipped the magazine inserted in Crescent Rose currently and replaced it with one she had saved for just the occasion. Heavy Duty Ballistic rounds, could pierce Armour at long range and can completely obliterate it at close range. Hopefully they would deal with Reaper, or wound him a great deal at the very least. She ensured the new rounds slotted into her weapon correctly before dashing into the tunnel, quickly weaving her way through the passageway.

That was when she felt the ground shake slightly, dust dribbling through cracks in the ceiling. Ruby paused in her tracks as she steadied herself, looking around to see if any more explosions would follow. Confident that none would, Ruby continued through the passageway.

"Jack?!" Ruby shouted, quickly increasing her pace when she received no response. "Where are you?!"

As she continued through the passage, she slowed down upon seeing flashes of blue light ahead of her. Slowing down to walking pace, Ruby made a bee line for the light, freezing immediately upon spotting its source.

In front of her was the Generator, yet it was shooting out deadly bolts of electricity, and surging with it as well, more so then it should do. In front of her was the body of a Talon operative, his head twisted awkwardly to the side as if he'd fallen and landed on his head. On the walls were multiple charges beeping with a bright red light, seemingly four on each level.

"Uh...Winston? I think Reaper's done something to the Generator." Ruby whimpered, quickly looking around for any sign of Soldier 76. Where was he?

"What do you mean?" Winston asked, his voice oblivious to the danger that lurked beneath the ground.

"It's shooting electricity all over the place! It looks like it'll overload!" Ruby explained rapidly, turning sharply as she heard the clattering of metal behind her.

"Dammit! He must have done it in case the charges were compromised!" Winston grunted, sighing loudly before continuing. "I'll walk you through it as best as I can, but you have to take care of those charges first!"

"Okay, how do I do that?" Ruby asked, peering around cautiously as she spotted a shadow move swiftly across the floor.

"Either disarm them individually or take care of the trigger, whichever is easier!" Winston explained, Ruby nodding slightly to herself.

"All right then...where's the trigger then?" Ruby murmured, freezing as she heard soft whispers behind her.

She spun rapidly with Crescent Rose as it locked itself with a long curved blade, before the wielder kicked her in the chest, causing her to stagger back against the wall. When Ruby looked up, she froze. There stood Reaper...or what was left of him. His robes and Armour were tattered, scorched and torn in multiple areas, his skull like mask shattered slightly, revealing a portion of his face. Holstered to his hip was one of his Shotguns, though it looked barely functional in comparison to the one he held in his left hand, which was shifted in its Sickle form. In his right hand was a small cylindrical device which he held a tight grip on. The trigger.

"You..." Ruby seethed through gritted teeth, glaring at Reaper as she tightened her grip on Crescent Rose, shifting the weapon into its Sniper form. "You're gonna pay for what you've done!"

"I doubt that very much..." Reaper murmured, his voice gurgling almost as if he his throat had been cut. "And I'm afraid you're out of time. There are many ways this can go, but they all end the same."

"You forgot about the way me and Jack kick your ass!" Ruby seethed, quickly aiming Crescent Rose at Reaper as he began to laugh sadistically to himself.

"I don't think so." Reaper chuckled, tilting his head to the side slightly. "You see, Soldier 76 won't be able to save you any more..."

Ruby narrowed her eyes as Reaper continued to laugh, before quickly widening in shock. She looked up through the grated floors above her as Reaper's laughter continued to echo around the room. Amongst the bodies of Talon operatives above her, she spotted a sprawled form of a man, wearing a jacket with the number '76' on it.

"No..." Ruby whimpered, shaking her head as she lowered her guard. Jack was...dead? Ruby's sadness was soon overcome by pure anger, her eyes narrowed in a hateful gaze as she brought Crescent Rose up again, aiming at Reaper once again. "Why would you do this?! He was your friend!"

"My friend died 20 years ago, when he tried to kill me!" Reaper hissed back, quickly raising his right hand up, his finger gingerly flipping up a small cover on the remote trigger in his hand, revealing a large red button. "And now you can join him..."

BANG!

Reaper howled in pain as he staggered back from the blow, Ruby already loading a fresh bullet into the chamber with a satisfying click. Reaper seethed in pain as he looked down at what was left of his right forearm. The flesh and Armour had been completely obliterated by the Heavy Duty bullet, along with the trigger. All that was left was a fleshy stump with shattered bone and fragmented metal. Hissing loudly, Reaper quickly shifted the Sickle into its Shotgun form and began to fire with his one good arm, forcing Ruby to take evasive action.

"Die!" Reaper hissed as he continued to fire, holding what was left of his right arm close to his chest.

As Ruby prepared to return fire, a stray bullet hit a pipe next to her, causing a jet of steam to spray out in front of her, causing her to duck beneath the hot air as she hid behind a corner. As Reaper scanned the room for Ruby, his eyes fell on the dead Talon operative before him. Ruby then watched in horror as smoky tendrils weaved around Reaper as he began to spasm uncontrollably. A red ethereal stream then began to leave the corpse and enter Reaper, the Talon operatives body slowly beginning to whither away as Reaper's shattered arm slowly began to grow back. Ruby nearly dropped her weapon as Reaper's arm quickly returned, his gnarled and clawed hand quickly grasping for the weapon holstered to his hip.

"Oh my god..." Ruby whimpered, slowly backing away as Reaper turned to face her. She knew that Reaper was damn near invincible, but regrowing limbs? That was unfair!

"What's the matter?" Reaper laughed, his voice dangerously low as he aimed both weapons at Ruby. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Reaper began to fire immediately at Ruby, who only just managed to dodge the barrage of bullets coming her way. If there was one good thing in this scenario, it was that only one of his weapons were pin point accurate. The other was acting more like a sawn-off Shotgun, deadly at close range, but completely useless at long range. She could easily keep her distance, the problem was that he was pretty fast. No doubt whatever injuries he had before the fight were now completely healed when he drained that corpse.

Ruby fired two more Ballistic rounds, Reaper quickly weaving through them with ease. She had to be careful with her shots, she only had about four Ballistic rounds left in this magazine, then it was back to normal ammunition. And if that happened, she would stand no chance. In response to this, Ruby quickly shifted Crescent Rose into its Scythe form and charged Reaper, hefting the Scythe over her head.

Quickly shifting the Shotgun in his left hand into its Sickle form, Reaper parried the blow before swinging his own weapon in return, forcing Ruby back with each swing. Reaper continued to press his apparent advantage until Ruby was backed up against the wall. With a snicker of satisfaction, Reaper swung forward, only for the Sickle to become embedded in the wall as Ruby dashed out of the way.

As Reaper pried his weapon out of the wall, he ducked as Ruby swung at him, her own weapon getting embedded in the wall. As Ruby attempted to pull back, Reaper grasped her by the back of her head and slammed her against the wall, causing her to yelp in pain as she staggered back. Reaper then holstered his weapons as he began to punch Ruby with a number of left and right hooks, causing her to stagger back with each and every hit. With the final punch, Ruby fell to the floor as Reaper then crouched over her, quickly grasping her throat and squeezing hard.

"Just! Die!" Reaper seethed as he continued to apply pressure, moving his face out of arms reach as Ruby attempted to claw at it.

Ruby was soon thrashing about on the floor like a fish out of water, her mouth agape as she attempted to swallow air, yet Reaper's grip was too strong. She could feel her legs slowing down as her vision blurred and darkened, as what air was already in her lungs was slowly leaving her body. As her fate seemed sealed, she looked behind her at the Generator, a plan already forming in her brain. Quickly planting her feet onto Reaper's chest, she grasped hold of his robe collar and pulled him closer, surprise written all over his visible eye.

"Death comes..." Ruby muttered, a sly grin on her face.

Reaper's eyes soon widened in shock as he realised what was about to happen. Using every last ounce of strength, Ruby threw Reaper over her, right into the Generator. She spun round onto her belly as she watched Reaper tumble directly into the Generator...only for him to activate his Semblance and disappear altogether.

Ruby quickly stood up, taking huge intakes of air as she quickly charged towards Crescent Rose, prying it free from the wall and shifting it into its Sniper form. She scanned the room, searching for any sign of Reaper, yet she found none.

"Ruby?! Are you still there?" Winston's voice suddenly asked, startling Ruby as she fumbled for her earpiece.

"Yeah I'm still here, I dealt with the trigger but the Generator is still unstable." Ruby stated, looking up as the Generator began to shoot out even more electricity.

"Don't worry, I can help in that regard!" Winston stated, causing Ruby to let out a sigh of relief. "Head over to the main console, I'll guide you from there on out."

Ruby wasted no time, quickly dashing to a number of computer terminals, all of them flashing with warning lights.

"Right, I'm at the console." Ruby stated, leaning against the console as she leaned Crescent Rose against the console. "Now what do I do?"

"Look for an Emergency Restart!" Winston ordered, Ruby's eyes scanning the console rapidly for the button. "It should reset the Generator systems and shut it down before it can overload! It should be a large red press with white arrows pointing-"

A heavy thud soon resounded around the room, causing Ruby to gasp and turn around. Stood before her was Reaper, his Shotguns in hand as he aimed them at her. Ruby quickly grasped Crescent Rose and aimed at Reaper, but he was quicker. He let loose a barrage of bullets, causing Ruby to stagger with each hit until she fell forward, groaning loudly. She looked up, Crescent Rose slightly out of reach. Then she spotted Reaper, raising a Shotgun aimed at her face…

BANG!

00000000

Soldier 76 let out a groan as he slowly opened his eyes, the metallic taste of blood in his mouth. He groaned loudly as he slowly got up, clutching his shoulder as blood poured out of the wound. His head hurt, his chest hurt, everything hurt. He was beginning to bleed out, if he didn't get medical attention soon then he was good as dead.

BANG!

Soldier 67 froze at the sound of a bullet going off. Turning around rapidly, he looked through the grated floor and gasped. Reaper was slowly stalking towards Ruby, who laid sprawled across the floor, seemingly unconscious or dazed at the very least. He had to help her. He rose to stand, but quickly collapsed again in pain. He dragged himself across the grated floor towards the handrail, quickly fumbling for a pistol on a nearby Talon operatives corpse. Checking the weapon was loaded, he pulled himself up to a standing position, biting his lips in an attempt to silence his pain before half leaning half collapsing onto the handrail, lazily aiming the weapon at Reaper…

00000000

"Ruby?!… Ruby?!"

Ruby groaned loudly as she rubbed her forehead, her vision blurred. In front of her on the floor was Crescent Rose and her earpiece, the device having fallen out no doubt when Reaper blasted her. She looked up to see Reaper slowly walking forward, quickly ejecting the spent shells as he slowly loaded fresh rounds into the weapon.

"Ruby are you there?!" Winston's voice shouted, causing Reaper to stop and stare at the device before focusing on Ruby again. "Please respond!"

"Don't worry, I'll be sure to send them your regards..." Reaper chuckled as he aimed the Shotguns at Ruby, who groaned loudly as she attempted to stand. "And when you see your Uncle Qrow shortly, tell him I said 'hi'..."

Ruby looked up with determination, gritting her teeth as she growled at Reaper, who only seemed to find the sight before him humorous. Ruby could only watch as Reaper's fingers tightened around the triggers and-

BANG!

Reaper yelped in pain as he staggered back, a gunshot in his shoulder. Seething loudly, he glared upwards, only to stagger once more at the sight before him. Soldier 76 leaning against the handrail, a pistol grasped loosely in his hand, the barrel smoking.

"Not dead yet Soldier?!" Reaper seethed, rolling his shoulder forward as he glared at the vigilante. "That can be arranged!"

"Hey Reaper!" Ruby suddenly shouted, causing the terrorist to growl loudly as he spun around to face Ruby.

BANG!

Reaper staggered back as he grunted in pain, a large bloodied crater in his chest. Looking up, he saw Ruby holding Crescent Rose, the barrel smoking as she loaded a fresh round into the chamber.

"That was for betraying your Team Mates!" Ruby hissed, stepping forward quickly as Reaper growled before charging.

BANG!

Reaper howled in pain again as another Ballistic bullet hit his chest, staggering him back further as Ruby loaded another round into the chamber.

"That was for hurting my friends!" Ruby shouted, watching as Reaper slowly staggered forward, glaring at Ruby with hate filled eyes.

BANG!

Reaper staggered back again as Ruby fired the third Ballistic bullet, nearly sending Reaper into the Generator, the terrorist now struggling to stand straight.

"That was for everyone you killed! And this," Ruby stated, pausing as she loaded the final Ballistic round into the chamber. "Is for my Uncle Qrow!"

BANG!

Reaper staggered back at the final round, finally coming into contact with the Generator. Ruby winced as Reaper began to scream and howl in pain, electricity arcing all over his form. Reaper let out one last gurgle of pain as his form slowly disintegrated, his weapons and mask clattering to the floor with a loud thud. Ruby fell to her knees in complete shock, dropping Crescent Rose onto the floor.

"He's...he's dead..." Ruby murmured, laughing nervously to herself as a sad smile crept onto her face. "He's finally dead..."

"WARNING! GENERATOR OVERLOAD IN 30 SECONDS!"

Ruby gasped as she turned to face the console, the flashing lights having intensified as more warnings flashed on the screen. Ruby sped towards the console, quickly analysing the buttons before her. Winston had said it was red with white arrows pointing...right, he never said because of Reaper. Her eyes scanned the console, searching for the button that could save them all.

"GENERATOR OVERLOAD IN 15 SECONDS!"

Ruby continued to scan, ignoring the automated countdown the systems AI had started. Then her eyes found the button, causing her to let out a premature gasp of relief. Without a second thought, she slammed her hand on the button, the console shaking as it initiated the programmed response.

"EMERGENCY RESTART INITIATED! RESETTING ALL SYSTEMS! GENERATOR NOW STABLE!"

Ruby sighed in relief as she slumped down on the ground, nearly collapsing from exhaustion. She looked around as she slowly picked up Crescent Rose, though she paused as she remembered something important.

"Jack!" Ruby shouted, quickly dropping her weapon as she sprinted up the stairs, Soldier 76 on the verge of consciousness as Ruby quickly shook him. "Jack! Are you okay?!"

Soldier 76 coughed loudly as he slowly opened his eyes, a faint smile on his face as Ruby came into view.

"Not bad..." Soldier 76 started, pausing as he took in another breath of air. "...for a rookie..."

Ruby smiled slightly as she quickly hugged the vigilante, who lightly patted her on the back before she drew away, slinging Soldier 76's arm over her shoulder as she gently hefted him up.

"Come on," Ruby stated, gently guiding Soldier 76 out of the Generator room. "Let's get out of here."

00000000

Well that was that, Reaper finally got his comeuppance. But still a chapter left to do, loose ends that still need tying. Find out how that will go next week. As always, if you liked leave a review and constructive criticism is welcomed! Any questions? Either leave in your review and I'll answer next chapter or PM me and I'll answer whenever.

Raging Archon out.