October 17, 2015

"Velvet," Coco replied as she pulled a cigar from a box. "It's time." The two were locked in an underground bunker at Beacon Academy as Grimm flew and trampled on overhead. "Even the White Fang is pulling out. We can't survive this."

"I suppose so," Velvet replied. Both of their moods were sombre, and any of the energy they had before was gone. The rabbit-haired faunus girl pulled a cigar out and used a lighter she had to light it.

"We were supposed to use these after the tournament," Coco replied as she closed the box. "But, since this is the end, we might as well smoke one each before we die." She then lit her cigar. After puffing on it and taking it out of her mouth, she said, "It's not like we're gonna die of lung cancer, Velvet."

"True," she replied after puffing out smoke. "We're bloody buggered. I suppose this is a better alternative than getting mauled to death by some shitcunt Grimm."

"You're letting your slang out again," Coco replied as she smiled. "I love it when you do that."

Velvet laughed and then sighed. "Yeah. Figures that since I'll be biting the dust soon enough, I might as well drop all pretenses with this "proper Valeanian" nonsense and let my native tongue out, mate. I've been holding back too long here at Beacon 'cause I didn't want some of the more ignorant fuckwits here think I'm song hick or some shit like that, strewth. I'm not talking porkies or anything, Coco. I've had some ignorant cunts come up to me with that shit, including that fuckwit Cardin." She then burst out laughing. "Well, there I go. I finally let it all out."

"You sure did," Coco replied. "And Cardin is indeed a fuckwit. If he dies in the battle and we see him in Heaven, I'm gonna kick his fucking teeth in."

"Same," Velvet replied. "Or Hell, if we all go there. Anyways..." She then took another puff of the cigar. "I got my note prepared and everything. Hopefully, when they find us, they find the notes, too. How about you?"

"Same here," Coco replied as she showed her her suicide note. She then got her pistol out to inspect it. "Wanna do it now?"

"Sure," Velvet replied as she pulled her own pistol out. The two of them then put the guns to their heads and looked at each other as they threw their cigarettes to the ground and stomped on then.

"3, 2," the two said as they began to count down. Then, just as they began to say 1, they heard banging on the bunker's entrance door. They both stopped and looked.

A familiar male voice then called out, "Is there anyone in here?! Hello?!"

Velvet dropped her gun and said, "Yatsuhashi?!"

"Velvet?!" They then heard the sound of the bunker door being unlocked through the number pad key before it opened. As it opened, Yatsuhashi and Fox came running in with a Valeanian Gendarmerie gendarme.

Velvet immediately broke down in tears and hugged Yatsuhashi, saying to him, "I'm so sorry..."

Coco put her pistol down and said to Fox and the gendarme, "We... Uh..."

The gendarme said to them, "Were you two considering suicide?"

Coco then hung her head low as she solemnly replied, "Yes... We thought we were all done for." She then wiped away tears from her eyes.

"I see," the gendarme replied as his partner came in. "I'm afraid we're gonna have to involuntarily commit both of you. It's our 941 protocol with suicide attempts." He then shrugged.

"That's fine," Coco replied. "I'd rather be in a mental hospital than over here." She then yawned. "This whole day has been nothing but horror."

February 9, 2022

Ruby and Blake had just returned from an Advanced Firefighter-Paramedic class session to the Vigilant Fire Company station. As of Ruby becoming queen, she concealed-carried a pistol with her at almost all times for protection. One of the only times she did not carry it was when she went to a call, with her instead storing it in a small locked cabinet in her gear locker. The time was 11:04 P.M.

As the two talked, Ruby said to Blake, "I'll be going to an event in Apamea tomorrow, so that should be fun. I'll be leaving here around 10 in the morning and touching down in Apamea around 1."

Blake replied, "What's the event?"

"Some thing involving kids with disabilities," Ruby replied as she adjusted her pistol holster. "PR stuff. So, Blake, how's things with Sun?"

"Going good," she replied as she smiled. "He's been a big help with the whole hospital thing. Now that I'm out of the hospital, he's living with me, which is nice. You know, ever since I've gotten back, we haven't had a single actual Code 99."

"I've noticed that, too," Ruby replied as she wondered to herself why there hadn't been as many fires. "Weiss told me that the number of fires has gone down since the attacks. The last Code 99s or higher we had were on New Year's, and we only had two as opposed to the previous nights when we'd have 4 or 5. Maybe people are getting smarter because of what happened." She then shrugged her shoulders.

Suddenly, they both heard their pagers ring. As they looked down, they heard the tones that set off the house siren go off before they rushed out of the rec room. Blake said to Ruby as more tones dropped, "I think you jinxed us!" The dispatcher gave the info of the call out over the air, which was for a possible structure fire.

"You think?!" Ruby then ran to her gear locker and quickly put her holster and pistol away before kicking her shoes off and putting her boots on. She then pulled them up before putting her coat and helmet on. As she zipped her coat up, she saw that Ambulance 201 was full, so she grabbed her mask and walked to the engine with Blake. They both jumped into the back of the rig and began putting their SCBAs on as they saw one person run into the station, followed by another. As the siren wound down, a few more people ran in as Ruby said to Blake, "The dispatch makes me think it could be the real deal."

"Yeah," Blake replied. "Sounds like they had multiple callers." Then, three people hopped aboard the engine as more people streamed in, including Penny, who waved hi to Ruby and Blake as she strapped herself in.

Eventually, Whitley became the last to board the engine, taking the 10th seat. He said to the driver, "I'm all set! Go!" As the engine pulled out, three people hopped aboard the rear step.

The officer up front said to the crew in the back after he called en route on the radio, "Police are on scene confirming a Code 99! Get ready!"

Within 7 minutes of the call, Engine 201 pulled up to an apartment building with smoke billowing out of one of the 2nd-floor apartments. The three firefighters on the rear step were dropped off at the hydrant and pulled a 5-inch supply line and a hydrant tool bag, as well as a spare air pack. When Engine 201 pulled up just before the front of the building, to leave room for Truck 201, all 8 firefighters in the back stepped off with their masks on. Ruby and Whitley pulled an 1 3/4-inch hand line off the side of the engine and stretched it as Blake and Penny grabbed hand tools and ran into the building ahead of everyone else.

Weiss ran up to Ruby and Whitley and told her, "Ruby! Whitley! We got most of Apartment 5 on the second floor well-involved! I want you to go in and knock it down! Watch for evacuating residents!"

Ruby replied, "Got it! Let's go, Little Schnee!" Whitley then followed her in as they advanced to the first floor and began to go up the stairs. As they did, they hooked their mask tubes into their regulators to breathe SCBA air. As they reached the second floor, their vision was obstructed by heavy smoke.

Whitley asked her, "Should we charge it now?"

"Yeah," Ruby replied before she radioed, "Engine 201 Pump, charge the First Line!" As the hose filled with water, the two made their way to Blake and Penny, who had just forced in the door to the burning apartment. She said to Blake, "I think Lieutenant Key wants you guys to check the other apartments on this floor to see if there's anyone still here!"

"Got it," Blake replied before she turned to Penny and said, "Let's go check Apartment 6!" The two then went to the apartment across the hall as Ruby and Whitley went in. As they did, they could hear a second line come up the stairs to back them up. They also could hear Truck 201's crew begin to throw up ground ladders to the second floor.

Ruby then said to Whitley, "Pull more hose! I can see the fire!" She then radioed, "Engine 201 First Line to Car 5, we have found the fire in Apartment 5!"

"10-4."

Ruby then opened up on the nozzle to knock down the flames, which had consumed two-thirds of the apartment. Whitley continued to back her up as they moved in further to the apartment. As they did, three more firefighters entered behind them with a second line.

Meanwhile, across the hall, Blake and Penny rushed out of the other apartment, crawling on their knees due to the smoke, as Penny carried a small child that had become scared and locked himself in a closet. As the child began to cough due to the thick black smoke, Penny told Blake, "Fuck it, this kid needs my mask more than me."

"What?!" Blake was in shock at her statement. "You're gonna do what?!"

Penny then took her helmet off and then took her mask off before putting her helmet back on and shoving the mask in the child's face as they continued to come down the stairs. She coughed as she then rotated the mask to her to take a breath before giving it to the child again. As they went down the stairs, she continued to cycle the mask back and forth between her and the child until they got to the front door and left the building as two Fire Patrolmen entered to do salvage alongside two volunteers from another fire company. She said as she put the child down on the ground, "Agh, motherfucker..."

As Penny coughed up soot, Blake patted her on the shoulder before taking her helmet and mask off. She then said to her, "You're insane, but to be honest, I could see myself doing that, too."

As several firefighters ran over with a stretcher to help the child, who was now crying, Penny replied to Blake, "I don't think I'll be doing that again."

February 10, 2022

Around 10 at night, Ruby was relaxing in a guest bedroom in an estate belonging to an Earl from the House of Lords. She and Delwyn had both delivered speeches at a children's hospital in Apamea, with this being Ruby's first ever major speech. She had performed well for her first time, as evidenced by the raves she got on social media. Ruby said to her husband, "Did you see how they're reacting to us, Delly? They loved it."

"I can tell," Delwyn replied as he sat down in bed with her. "Seems as though all the doubts have been erased from their minds, Rubes." He then turned on the T.V. in the guest bedroom, which had been left on VNN. "I wonder what's on the news now?"

"Controversial MP Alexander Andersen," said a news anchor as VNN rolled a story about him. "Who has called for the dissolution of all volunteer firefighting and ambulance services in favor of military-based services in the past, is now proposing a bill that is getting just as many heads turning."

As the anchor read on, Ruby read the story title, which was 'MP Andersen Wants "Travel Ban" From Menagerie.' Immediately, Ruby replied, "That racist piece of shit. I fucking knew he was a scumbag from when me and Team RWBY attended that hearing on the NAAF Building Fire in 2020."

"If somehow that stupid little bill makes it to my desk," Delwyn told her. "I'm gonna veto it and hope they don't override it." He had been dealing with increasing anti-faunus sentiment in light of the August 23rd Terror Attacks, and he was not happy, as was Ruby. "His little 'travel ban' would not have stopped the attacks."

"Exactly," the redhead replied as she nodded. "And it's a God damn insult to the 1344, of which I think about 400 were faunus." Ruby had referred to the 1,544 firefighters that had died in the attacks, with 1,282 dying in Vale, 44 dying in Apamea, and 16 dying at Sanctum Academy in Mistral. "Not to mention all of the guys and girls that went to fight the White Fang with me in Menagerie, especially those who didn't make it home." She then sighed in sadness. "I still think about all the guys I knew that aren't here anymore every single day, especially my dad."

"He would be proud of you today," Delwyn told her as he wrapped an arm around her to comfort her. "Your father was so ecstatic to know that you were dating me when we first met. He said that he thought I was the one."

"I'm not surprised," Ruby replied as she smiled. "After all, here we are." The two then laughed before they kissed and embraced each other. As they continued, Ruby began to reach her arms around him and feel up underneath his shirt. She then parted from his lips and told him, "You really are the best."

February 11, 2022

Raven had just finished a call report at the Patch First Aid Squad station in the morning when a volunteer around the age of 20 walked in by the name of Thomas Grunvald. He was a newer volunteer who had about a year and a half in the company. "Hey, uh, Captain Branwen?"

"What's up, Tom?" She then spun around in her chair to him. "What can I do for ya?"

"What would you do if you thought your girlfriend was cheating on you?" Tom was clearly distressed. "I think mine is."

"Well," Raven replied as she thought to herself. "How do you know she is?" She thought to herself, "Why is he coming to me for advice?"

"I saw her walking down the street holding hands with someone else," he replied. "That and she's been less active with me."

"Ooooh," Raven replied as she realized that his girlfriend was indeed cheating on him. "Yeah, I'd say she's definitely cheating on you. Sorry, man. You know, one way I'd consider doing in your shoes could be to find someone else and break up with your current girlfriend by texting a picture of you and your new girlfriend to her, or as in my case, boyfriend. It may seem like a dick move, but to be honest, they kinda had it coming."

"Sounds about right," he replied as Raven noticed that he was checking her out.

"Hmm," Raven replied. "Are you trying to get me to do something about that? You've been checking me out this whole time. You've been checking out your own captain." She then laughed.

Tom blushed and replied, "What?! No way!"

"Bullshit," Raven replied. "You're into older women, aren't you? I can tell. You're old enough to be my son, pretty much, with me being 51 and all." She then got up. "You know, there isn't anything wrong with that. We all have stuff we're into. I'm not being seductive or anything. I'm being serious."

Tom by now was blushing hard, and he could barely reply to her. "Uhh... I... Well..."

"You don't have to be so embarrassed," Raven replied. "You gotta learn to just accept it. Hey, listen, if you get more proof that she's cheating on you, give me a call, and we'll see what happens from there." She then wrote her number down on a sticky-note and left it for him. "If you don't have my number already, there it is." She thought to herself, "Raven, what are you doing?! You're giving your number out to a guy who's many years your junior and is under you in the Squad! Okay, well, maybe this won't lead to anything..."

Later, around 11 at night, Yang was awoken from her sleep in her apartment by her cellphone ringing. As George also got up, she said to him, "It's my mom. I'll take care of it." She then yawned as she answered. "Hello?" She was also now only 2 months away from the expected end of her pregnancy, and as a result, her belly was considerably more swollen than before.

"Yang," Raven replied in her bedroom as she laid next to Tom. "Uh, can I tell you something that you can't tell Ruby or Qrow or anyone else for now?"

Yang, now concerned, asked her, "Mom, what happened?"

"You know that Tom kid from Patch First Aid?" Raven then sighed.

"Yeah," Yang replied. "A bit. You said he's a good fireman and all that, right?"

"Yeah, I did," Raven replied as she yawned. "Well, uh, his girlfriend cheated on him, and he just broke up with him-"

Yang, confused and tired, interrupted and asked her, "And what's the point?"

"I slept with him," Raven replied, not holding anything back. "And not in the sleeping way. No, I mean THAT way."

Yang paused as she took a second to collect her thoughts and process what she just heard. She then said to her, "You had sex with a guy who is old enough to be my brother or something?"

"Yes," Raven replied. "I know you may be a little upset, Yang, but trust me, I didn't force anything, okay?"

"I know you wouldn't force anything," Yang replied to her. "Look, mom, I'm tired. Can we talk later about this? To be honest, there really isn't anything wrong with it, but it doesn't feel right to me."

"I understand," Raven told her. "I'll call you tomorrow in the morning, Yang."

"I love you," Yang replied.

"I love you, too," Raven replied back as she hung up. She then turned to Tom and told him, "Well, that went better than expected."

"I could hear that," Tom replied. "You know, I've never actually had sex before, not even with my girlfriend."

"Really?" Raven was surprised. "How long have you been with her? Did you have any before her?"

"8 months, and no," he replied as he shrugged. "I never put much thought into it."

"And yet you have sex with a woman you have never dated before..." Raven then chuckled. "To be honest, I needed that, too. It really got my mind off a lot of things."

February 12, 2022

"So," Yang said to Raven over the phone. "His girlfriend cheated on him, he's never had sex before, and you had it with him?"

"Yeah," Raven replied to her. "That's the gist of it."

Yang then sighed. "Mom, I get that you are your own person, and you can make your own decisions, but I sorta question why you'd have sex with a guy who's Ruby's age."

Raven then thought to herself. "Well, to be honest, I needed a way to get my mind off of things. With your father not being around anymore, and me running Patch First Aid AND being a regular member of Signal Fire Company again, I've been under quite a bit of stress. Yang, I don't know if you know this, but I haven't had sex since before I died for the first time, and that was almost a year and a half ago, and before then, I hadn't had it in years."

"I get that," Yang replied. "It just... It just seems off to me. I don't know why. Maybe I'm overthinking things because of what happened to Dad."

"Probably," Raven replied before she yawned. "Well, I gotta go do a 12-hour at Signal Fire. I'll call you later. I love you."

"Love you, too," Yang replied before she hung up. She then sighed and said to herself, "This is gonna be an interesting year."

Meanwhile, on a farm in a town near the walled City of Whitehall, about an hour away from Vale, a young man aged around 20 was working on a farm when he saw a rather nice-looking car pull into the driveway of the farmhouse. He was confused, saying to himself, "Huh, that's funny. I don't remember any visitors that were supposed to be coming here today." He put his hoe down and ran over to see who drove up. He said to them as they stepped out of the car, "Hey there! How are ya doing?"

"Pretty good," said Ozpin as he stepped out of the vehicle, much to the young man's surprise. "Say, is your name Oscar Pine by any chance?"

"Yes, it is," Oscar replied as he brushed some dirt off of his clothes. "I believe you are Headmaster Ozpin of Beacon Academy."

"The one and only," he replied as he chuckled. "May I speak to you for a minute? You're not in trouble or anything. Don't worry."

"Well, sure," Oscar replied, unsure of what was going to happen next. "You can come in. My mom won't mind."

"Sure thing," Ozpin replied as he turned his car off and locked it. "It would be good to sit down for this."