I DO NOT OWN RWBY
BLACK TRAILER:
The scene starts in the depths of the Forever Fall forest, where the red leaves flutter in the air like snowflakes. Watching them fall, a girl with black hair and a bow on her head sits on a lone rock in silence. Then, a man partially shows in the shot, saying:
"Blake. It's time."
She slowly turns to look at him before answering.
"Okay."
"Alright, pause right here," Ghira spoke before anything else was revealed by the trailer.
His chest felt heavy as if he was breathing in dust and debris rather than clear air. The man considered himself to be the most level-headed person in the room since the beginning of this event - maybe aside from that Raven as she clearly was hardly bothered by anything - but from the moment he heard about Summer's theory…
His mind wandered. He wondered. Pondered how he would feel if his little girl, his little Blake, was shown on the screen fighting for her life… And then Ghira thought that it wouldn't change much. He knew that he had no way of alternating how the future looked, so losing one's mind over it was foolish. Those two girls from before… their families were clearly overacting, treating it like something more than it was.
But now… Now, he understood. He understood just how difficult it was to see his own flesh and blood on the screen - left to be torn apart by the wolves.
"Your kid?" Taiyang looked at him after pausing the footage. There was no judgement in his look; it wasn't even curiosity. He already knew the answer.
"Blake," Kali smiled sadly. "Look at her… If it wasn't for Ruby and Weiss, I wouldn't believe… But it's her."
"Of course it's her. She looks so much like you," Ghira pointed out, noticing Raven's disgusted eye-roll in the back. "She must be wearing the bow to hide her… oh."
So after all those years, nothing has changed. Their own daughter had to hide her own identity from the world to live a peaceful life. Did the White Fang fail? Or were they simply brushed aside even after years of activity? Whatever the reason, the outcome was not successful. And Ghira wasn't sure if he wanted to know how the history of his grand family of Faunus ends.
"So that really leaves only Qrow and Raven…" Summer frowned, glancing at the siblings. "Maybe… what if there is only one parent? Maybe then… they would substitute for the other with another family member?"
"An aunt, or an uncle," Willow hummed with a single nod. "That would make sense."
"Hey!" Qrow raised his arm to point at Summer while making his point. "I'm irresponsible, I know. But I'm not THAT irresponsible. I'd know if I had a kid, trust me."
Ghira had thought the same until Kali told him about her pregnancy. It was like being trampled by a Goliath; the shock, both fear and joy, it all turned him into mush for the next few days. But he'd never call Blake a mistake. More like a lucky accident - the best that had ever happened to him.
"Oh my God!" Summer suddenly grabbed her head, staring at the paused screen in shock. "Yang!"
"Yang?" Qrow dropped his arm in confusion, letting his hand bounce off his knee. "What about… oh. Oh. Oh, shit."
Ghira exchange a glance with Kali, but she seemed just as clueless as he was. Neither the Schnee marriage seemed to understand what had just happened, but one glance at the opposite couch was telling a grand tale of awkward realisation. Qrow and Summer were staring off into the abyss while Raven and Taiyang seemed to be tied in some sort of silent glare battle.
Jacques cleared his throat.
"Well, why don't you fill us in on your great discovery?" he suggested with a sneer. "Unless it's just another unimportant little theory of yours…"
"Him being a bastard aside," Ghira huffed, ignoring Jacques' deadly glare. "Who's Yang?"
It seemed like an eternity before the four people from the other couch finally made up their mind to answer them - which involved a lot of exchanged glances and silent conversations.,
"It's our oldest daughter," Taiyang explained. "Ruby's sister."
Ghira cocked an eyebrow, but it was Kali who asked first.
"But that doesn't explain why Qrow and…"
"Taiyang and Raven's biological daughter," Summer added with a sigh and all the puzzles clicked in one place.
This Yang girl, Ruby's half-sister… Both of her parents, Taiyang and Raven, were in the room, but her father was already here with Summer. Which meant that her mother would appear alone, leaving a vacant spot for someone else - and that place was taken by her uncle. Qrow.
"If that's true," Ghira hummed. "Then it's really about parents. Or, at least, the closest family."
Although it needled him, he managed to refrain from pursuing the history between Raven, Summer, and Taiyang. It was not only not his business, but it also seemed like an extremely sensitive topic. And they didn't need any more drama.
"If it's true," Summer flashed them an uncertain smile. "I'm probably wrong. We won't know until the next trailer, I guess?"
Taiyang nodded silently, visibly troubled.
Blake and Adam rush through the forest, following the sounds of an incoming train. It is shown to be speeding across the valley, and when it passes by the cliffs, the pair slides down and jumps on the cars.
"Are they… jumping the train?" Kali's cat ears twitched. "But… why?"
"You talk like your sort never done that before," Jacques sneered. "I can't remember how many reports I've read about your precious White Fang robbing my… SDC Dust supplies."
"And it doesn't explain why they're doing it," Kali pointed out, annoyed at the man's words. "For someone who doesn't like to waste air, you sure speak too much."
Ghira did his best not to laugh at Jacques' shocked expression - and did it better than Qrow who didn't even try to hide it. Besides, it wasn't that much of a laughing manner. He did his best to keep White Fang from becoming a criminal organisation, but he couldn't control all Faunus. Plus, sometimes, they did need those supplies to survive.
But that didn't mean he enjoyed seeing Blake evidently breaking the law alongside a suspicious-looking individual. Just who he was for her?
The pair breaks into one of the cars, but the moment they land inside, the room is revealed to be full of androids that activate immediately.
"Looks like we're gonna be doing this the hard way," Adam huffed, grasping the hilt of his sword.
"That's… quite a security for a train," Summer hummed, leaning forward.
"Most likely a cargo train," Ghira scratched his chin mindlessly. "If there are any passengers at all, they're probably at the front."
"Should be," Qrow sighed. "So if anything happens, the cargo can be cut off to increase the speed… but that's not a guarantee, is it?"
No, it wasn't. Ghira heard enough about failed train robberies that ended in unnecessary bloodshed because passengers were moved to the back for one reason or another. All that death, because of pure incompetence or greed.
"Don't be so dramatic," Blake said in a light voice, clearly unbothered by the sudden danger.
"It's not their first tango, that's for sure," Qrow noticed, leaning back to sink in the pillows with a sigh. Despite the danger on the screen, he didn't seem even partially as interested in it as he was with Ruby's trailer.
"No wonder," Jacques huffed. "Anyone who had to deal with them would know that White Fang will evolve into nothing but common banditry."
"Don't let him get to you," Kali said, grabbing Ghira by the shoulder before he could make any move against the rich man. And she was right. All he would do was prove the bastard right.
So he forced himself to relax into the pillows.
The androids activate their firearms but don't shoot at the pair yet. One of them speaks up:
"Intruder. Identify yourself."
Instead of responding, Adam fires his sword at it and dashes forward to catch the blade. Then, he slices the android in half.
"I don't think I've seen such robots anywhere," Summer pondered, unbothered by the sudden destruction of one of the androids.
"Probably a future invention," Taiyang shrugged. "They don't seem that durable for security bots."
The rest of the androids immediately rush to attack, some deploying blades instead of using their firearms - but in the end, it doesn't matter. Blake and Adam cut through them like through butter.
"Definitely not the best security bots," Taiyang groaned. "Waste of scrap at this point."
"I'm pretty sure the vast majority of robbers wouldn't be anywhere this dangerous," Willow pointed out while much less antagonised by the whole since than her husband. "Even now most of the criminals our security deals with wouldn't be able to cause a fraction of such destruction…"
"She's got a point." Qrow stretched his legs forward, nearly brushing Taiyang's feet with his. "Those two are too good…"
But what else was on his mind, whatever ending to this thought, it was left unsaid.
Meanwhile, Ghira allowed himself to be at least mildly entertained by seeing his daughter fight. Breaking the law or not, criminal or not, Blake was holding her own pretty well and he was glad that no matter what the future had in store for her, he could be sure that she would be able to defend herself.
Adam kicks one of the androids through the door, opening them a way onto one of the flatcars. There, even more bots wait for them, but neither of the pair seems to be fazed by it.
"Let's do this!" Adam doesn't hesitate before attacking the androids and Blake follows his example. Together, they decimate their opponents.
"This reminds me of Ruby's trailer," Summer spoke up while the pair fought on the screen. "Pretty light, no clear danger… Cool music."
"I'd rather if we saw some backstory to it," Kali sighed and Ghira had to agree with her. "I thought Blake would live in a world as a free person, not… doing… whatever this is supposed to be."
"Being a criminal," Jacques said. "Call it by what it is."
"We don't know what forced them to do this," Ghira uttered through gritted teeth, annoyed by how one-dimensional could Jacques' understanding be. "Even your daughter ended up with a scar on her face and all we know about it is that it happened in your house."
"You don't notice getting older." Willow dropped her gaze to the floor and the fluffy carpet. "You don't see how the world changes. And then you dig out an old photograph… and you realise this life is nothing like it used to be."
She was right. Whatever Ghira wished his life to be in the next five years, it would surely be nothing like he could imagine. The unpredictability of life was what made it so unique and so worth living, but it was also the biggest danger and the greatest foe. One random event could turn one's whole existence into pure hell in a span of an hour.
Trying to predict what could've happened to the White Fang and his daughter - and consequently, to him and Kali - was utterly pointless.
Eventually, the pair breaks into another car. This time, there are no androids in sight - but instead, it is full of crates labelled with the SDC logo.
"Wait a second… they're stealing from me?!" Jacques nearly bolted from the seat before sinking back into the couch. "Of course they are. Why would I expect differently?"
"Not everything is about you," Ghira told him with a huff of annoyance. "They're there for Dust, not because of you."
"They're there for Dust made by my company. It's one and the same."
Adam opens one of the crates to examine its contents.
"It's just Dust," Kali pointed out. "You act as if they were cutting out a piece of your body."
"They just might!" Jacques grumbled. "Do you have any idea how much blood and tears I sacrificed for this company?"
"You mean the same company that was created and set up by Ol' Nick?" Qrow cocked an eyebrow and Jacques backed down under Willow's gaze.
"Perfect." Adam closes the crate and looks at Blake. "Move up to the next car. I'll set the charges."
"Whoa, hold up!" Taiyang nearly dropped the remote when quickly pausing the trailer. "Charges?"
"Well, well," Raven smirked at the screen. "How interesting."
Ghira stared at the screen hoping that he had heard wrong, but there was no doubt that what that man said… He… and his daughter… Blake… they…
They planned to blow up the train. This was not a robbery. This was terrorism.
"I… I don't understand…" he shook his head and hid his face in his hands. "Why?"
"Are you still going to defend her? After this?" Ghira heard Jacques say and he could hear the triumph in the man's voice.
"She's my daughter," Kali said and Ghira let his arms down. "I'll never stop caring for her, no matter what she does. But… I won't lie. I don't like this."
"Let's just see where this goes…" Taiyang sighed, hitting 'Play'.
"What about the crew members?" Blake asks, visibly surprised by Adam's decision.
"What about them?" he answers in an indifferent voice and she looks away.
"Okay, Tai, pause for a minute." Qrow sat up straight as the scene froze in time. "So… she either didn't know about it, or the plan was different, eh?"
"Well, she clearly doesn't want to hurt people," Summer hummed in agreement. "And he… doesn't care much about them."
Ghira glared at her daughter's companion, wondering just how strong a bond the two had with each other. If Blake didn't know about killing people, then the man was hiding vital information from her. Or expecting her to follow his lead obediently. Whatever it was, one thing was certain. Ghira didn't like this man.
"Blake, what did you get yourself into?" Kali whispered, shaking her head.
"I don't get one thing…" Taiyang spoke up. "What's the point in blowing up the train? That's hella expensive for a single robbery… Kinda defeats the purpose."
"How would anyone know?" Raven cocked an eyebrow. "The only certain thing we know about the future is that Summer is dead. Everything else is a wild guess."
And until they get it spelt out for them, they could keep guessing until the very end of the universe. Still, Ghira hoped that whatever Blake got into, it wasn't as bad as it looked right now. Because it looked really bad.
"The two of them are Faunus," Summer said. "So we can at least assume it has something to do with the White Fang."
"And this tells us absolutely nothing," Raven summarised and Summer hung her head in defeat.
As Adam turns, he sees a giant Spider Droid descending from the ceiling.
"Okay, that's huge," Ghira heard Summer whisper in awe. While he was absolutely terrified of the android that was right in front of his daughter, Rose was probably amazed by this wonder of technology.
"Hopefully, it's less useless than the rest of this junkyard," Jacques huffed and Ghira wondered if he already suffers from spending money in future on useless security androids.
"Adam," Blake says anxiously, but the man already moves in to fight.
"So, his name is Adam, huh?" Ghira muttered, more to himself than to anyone else. "Good to know."
Perhaps one day, he will have the chance to grab the man by the back of his neck and make him explain his actions. Nevertheless, it seemed like a name he should remember.
Both Adam and Blake try attacking the Spider Droid, but neither of their attacks do much.
"He's durable. He probably has several layers of outer armour," Summer said, watching the fight intently. "Their blades don't leave a scratch, even when strengthened with their Auras…"
"It was probably made to withstand a charge of a Goliath," Qrow added. "No way they're cutting through that metal. They ought to find a joint, or a weak spot."
"So they say, watching the fight from a comfy couch," Taiyang chuckled and Ghira found himself cracking a smile at the comment. Those two nerds truly could find beauty in a hunk of junk.
Suddenly, Blake is knocked down and the Spider Droid is about to crush her…
"No!" Kali nearly bolted from the couch, and Ghira stared at the scene in shock.
…but Adam manages to snatch her away just in time.
Taiyang paused the footage before turning to look at the Faunus' marriage - just like everyone else. Ghira's heart was pounding as he tried to calm himself down, while Kali was at the edge of the seat with her mouth hidden behind her hands. The man reached out to his wife before his thoughts caught up to him, pulling her into a tight embrace.
"That was…" Kali took a deep breath and settled her hands on her knees. "Close. Too close."
"Do you need a minute?" Summer offered, just as Willow was offered during the previous trailer. Ghira was about to take it - after all, their daughter was nearly crushed to death by a giant robot, and his heart had yet to stop the assault at his ribs - but Kali was faster.
"No," she said, shaking her head. "Let it play. Please."
Taiyang looked directly at Ghira and the Faunus, appreciating the gesture, nodded. He'd have that break, but if his wife thought she could handle it, so he could. Besides, it was only a trailer.
Just what would the actual story entail?
"We need to get out of here!" Blake tells Adam just as the Spider Droid begins to charge an attack.
"What now?" Ghira growled, annoyed at how outmatched the pair was. He'd be happy if Blake jumped off the train and forgot about Adam, the bomb, and the Dust. He'd be happy if she found a way to safety. Even if it meant hiding for the rest of her life - but at least, she would be safe and sound. Alive.
"Doesn't look good," Summer winced. "I'd dodge."
"I'd run," Taiyang admitted quietly.
But Blake and Adam had nowhere to run.
The blast sends the pair through the door and out onto another flatcar, but they seem unscathed.
"They're fine," Kali breathed out a sigh of relief, sneaking her hands into one of Ghira's.
"They're tough. Both of them," Taiyang said, playing with the remote. "But I don't think they stand a chance against this thing. It's just… too tough."
"I see at least a dozen ways to defeat it on my own," Raven pointed and Ghira could swear he saw Taiyang's eyelid twitch. "It's slow and predictable. Hardly any challenge."
"Buy me some time!" Adam tells Blake and she looks at him with concern… and doubt.
"Sure, but you're an experienced Huntress," Summer told her. "Well, ex-Huntress. They are basically kids."
"Are you sure?" Blake asks him.
"Then maybe those kids should've thought how dangerous something like this would be?" Raven raised an eyebrow, unabashed.
"Do it!" Adam commands Blake and she rushes into the fight with the giant android on her own.
"If they didn't know the defences of the train, then they weren't prepared," Raven continued coldly. "Which means this is not a robbery or attack, it's a circus. They're lucky to be still alive."
"Aren't you a nice person?" Kali glared at Raven across the room.
"Being nice gets you nowhere."
"Nowhere nice, that's for sure," Qrow grumbled. Ghira could swear that if the man had space for it, he'd join Taiyang and Summer on their half of the couch.
Blake fails to do any significant damage to the android and is eventually knocked away. As she lands next to Adam, the Spider Droid begins to charge another attack.
"Not again," Ghira groaned at the sight, unsure whether the two could survive another of such shots.
"Dodge!" Taiyang nearly yelled at the screen. "Get behind him, for… Ugh. It's like with horrors all over again."
"Move!" Adam tells Blake and she flees behind him while he faces the android. The moment it shoots the beam, he blocks it with his blade, fully absorbing the blast. The power he gathered makes him and the weapon glow bright red, dulling other colours.
"Wait, what?" Summer gaped at the screen. "He… he just… Oh. Oh, boy."
"What? What happened?" Jacques was looking at each of them, one after another, as if that would yield him the answer.
"This Adam guy just absorbed the whole beam," Qrow said with clear amazement. "No wonder he needed a moment…"
"He had to get his body ready to store all that…" Summer nodded and for once, Ghira was glad to have those nerds there. With them, it was easier to comprehend the situation.
As the Spider Droid moves in to jump at Adam and try to crush him, the man chuckles darkly and slashes with his sword. And for a short moment, the time seems to have stopped. Then, the robot disintegrates along with a cloud of leaves from the trees the train was passing by.
The scene was paused, but no one said a word for a short while. Not even Jacques complained after having seen that. They all had been witness to both Adam and Blake attacking the android with all their strength and doing absolutely nothing to it. And then, out of nowhere, this man just erased the robot out of existence with a single slash.
"Just how powerful this man is?" Willow whispered, staring at Adam's face with her eyes wide open. Perhaps she didn't always support her husband, but the enemy of Jacques and the SDC was her enemy, and this man was clearly capable of dealing far more damage than anyone could have anticipated.
"Not… that much," Summer hummed after a moment. "I mean, he's pretty good in general, but his semblance is only as strong as the hit he receives. I think. That's my guess, at least."
"He did need to adjust his Aura for the shot," Taiyang added thoughtfully. "So yeah, I think you're on to something, Sum. It's probably just a retaliation semblance."
"This 'just' a retaliation semblance annihilated a whole robot," Jacques pointed out with his mouth seemingly permanently open. "How can you talk about it as if it was a… a slap on the wrist?!"
"Retaliation semblances are only a danger when they can absorb energy," Taiyang explained. "Which means they are pretty exclusive and hard to use. And that means they compensate for it in strength."
"I'd just love to see Raven pull something like this off," Qrow snickered and his sister rolled her eyes.
"Trust me, it would be down in half the time and with far less drama."
"Can we move on?" Ghira asked, tired of looking at Adam's frozen smug face. "I… I want to see the end of this."
Adam runs up to join Blake, but something makes him stop - she stands on the edge of the next car, looking at him sadly. He reaches out to her in shock…
"Goodbye," Blake says before severing the coupler and separating their cars. Slowly, she disappears in the distance as the screen blacks out.
Four cards are shown again and the third one comes to life with Blake's portrait and an onyx letter 'B' appearing from shadows underneath her. Only one portrait remains.
Ghira didn't protest when Taiyang stopped the trailer at the sight of the cards as this was a good indication that this story was over for now. Overall, he wasn't sure what he should be thinking about it. Although he was glad to know that Blake was safe and sound at the end of this robbery or sabotage, or whatever it was, he could feel anger boiling in his veins.
What was she thinking?! Attacking a Schnee Dust Company cargo with an intention of destroying the train? And possibly murdering the crew? That would get her wanted across the whole Remnant! And for what? He just couldn't wrap his head around all this.
"I'm not sure if I understand…" Willow was the first to speak up. "Why did she… leave?"
That was a very good question. The ending made absolutely no sense to Ghira. Although he was glad that Blake ditched that whole Adam and left for a definitely better life…
"She didn't just leave," Kali suddenly said. "She saved those people Adam… wanted to kill. Blake… saved them."
She cut off the Dust supply and Adam from the passenger cars. Of course. Of course! Ghira had no idea how he didn't see that until now. On the back of the train, there was nobody but androids as far as the eye could see, which meant that the crew was in the far front. So Adam had no means of blowing them up whether he wanted or not if he couldn't reach them in the first place.
"So in the end, the criminal had a change of heart," Jacques huffed. "How romantic. If she really wanted to be useful, she could've kicked him off the train and saved my Dust too."
"Do you ever shut up about your Dust?" Ghira growled. "People are worth much more than your cargo, Schnee."
"Would you mind not to?" Taiyang groaned. "I'm trying to enjoy myself here."
"Well, I'm sorry for ruining your fun," the Faunus huffed.
"No, you're not."
"What gave it away?"
"So," Qrow interrupted them with a fake cough. "You think Yang is next?"
Ghira settled against the pillow, slowly realising that he was picking up a fight with Taiyang for absolutely no reason. Worst of it, he actually liked the man. But his anger at Jacques was so easily redirected and Xiao Long accidentally became a substitute for Ghira's victim.
"Maybe?" Summer shook her head. "I mean, my theory seems right, but…"
"No," Taiyang sighed. "It is Yang. Remember the poster they showed us before we got here? That… I don't know, promotional poster? The title wa Y… Ruby, Weiss, Blake…"
"Yang," Summer finished with astonishment. "You're right. I can't believe I forgot about it!"
"Then you let it play and it's not her," Qrow chuckled. "Come on, I want to see what's next."
Ghira wasn't sure if he was that interested in the next trailer, but if the whole story included Blake somehow… then he surely wanted to know how it ends.