Chapter 16) Team RWBY


A/N: Remember when I mentioned a while back that I wished I were a better artist so I could do some illustrations for this fic? While, I decided that I would just get someone else to do it for me instead! So a special thank-you to the talented Punkichi over on DeviantArt for providing the illustration for chapter! Links to their account and Twitter will be in the notes at the end, so please go and check out their other work!

But first, it's time for a season finale!


"Here's an idea: why don't we save the explanations for after we survive this life-or-death encounter!"

Once again, it seemed that Weiss had to be the sole voice of reason on the team and remind everyone of the dire situation they were currently in. Thankfully, Yang agreed with her, and the other two did as well shortly afterwards.

The White Fang soldiers were closing in cautiously, but they were closing in nonetheless. Weiss could tell that as soon as one of them charged on their small band, the rest of the soldiers would swiftly follow suit, and they would run the risk of being overwhelmed by sheer numbers. Blake was clearly in no condition to continue a long fight, and they also had a bleeding and unconscious boy to worry about as well. Not to mention whoever else might be injured elsewhere.

Barrelling headlong into a big battle was not going to work. They needed a proper plan, and they needed time to formulate it.

The barrel of Myrtenaster spun until it landed on the vial Weiss needed. She plunged the point of her weapon into the ground and cast a Glyph to encompass all six of them, before channelling her Aura into her blade and activating both Dust and Glyph in tandem.

A circular wall of ice rose up around them, shielding them from the approaching soldiers, who quickly began hammering away at the impromptu barrier with their weapons.

"That won't hold for long!" Weiss yelled. "Ruby, we need a plan!"

"A… a plan?" Ruby stammered.

"Yes!" Weiss snapped, her patience non-existent. "You're our leader, aren't you? Lead us! How do we get out of this mess?"

Ruby said nothing for a moment, and Weiss worried that Ruby wouldn't be able to suggest anything in time. Every second that passed was a second closer to the barrier crumbling, and if they had no viable plan of action when that happened…

"W-we need to get away, s-so w-we should f-focus on escape. But w-we can't do that if th-there's anyone chasing us. So… we n-need to m-make sure they can't f-follow us."

Ruby pointed at Blake. "Blake, who else is h-here?"

"Three others besides Sage," Blake replied. "Scarlett was knocked out by that Torchwick guy, he's near the bulkheads. Sun is there as well, fighting Torchwick. There's Neptune as well, but I don't know where he is. We got separated."

Ruby seemed to consider this information for a moment, before rounding on the girl in the green dress. "Penny, can y-you clear a path f-for us to the bulkheads?"

"Affirmative, Ruby," Penny replied with a salute. "I will make sure no-one gets in your way."

Ruby nodded. "Yang, can you f-fly a sh-ship?"

"I can," Weiss interjected before Yang could say anything. "I had pilot lessons when I was younger."

"OK then, W-Weiss is our pilot. Y-you go w-with Penny and get one of the sh-ships ready f-for us. I'll h-help S-Sun get past Torchwick, and the two of us w-will destroy the other sh-ship s-so no-one can f-follow us."

"What about me?" asked Yang. "If I'm not flying us out, what's my job?"

Ruby turned to face her sister. "You and Blake… you n-need to h-help get the others to the sh-ship. Grab S-Sage and S-Scarlett, f-find Neptune, and m-meet us at the sh-ship."

Yang looked like she might protest, but ultimately said nothing. She just grimaced and nodded, silently accepting her sister's judgement of the situation.

"Alright everyone, get ready," Weiss warned. "As soon as I stop maintaining the barrier, it'll start to crumble faster and we'll be out in the open."

"Everyone get ready," Ruby ordered, dropping low and holding her scythe behind her. "W-we need to be f-faster than th-them."

Everyone nodded and took their positions, ready to move out as soon as Weiss stopped maintaining their rapidly diminishing fortification.

It wasn't a particularly ingenious plan, but it was more than Weiss had been able to think up in the heat of the moment. Her entire focus had just been on keeping the White Fang at bay for as long as possible. She wasn't able to think ahead to what they would need to do next.

Coming up with plans in a classroom or a training exercise was easy. There were no real stakes there beyond grades, so Weiss could take her time to think of the best possible course of action for the scenario she found herself in.

But in a real situation like this? One where every second counted and a mistake could mean death?

Weiss could plan, but she couldn't improvise. Not the way Ruby could. Ruby could take stock of a situation, weigh up her options, and cobble together a strategy that they could use on the fly. They were never super complicated or clever strategies, but they worked. It had worked in the Emerald Forest when they fought the Death Stalker, it had worked for her when she sparred with Weiss, and now she had done it again here.

Weiss was beginning to understand now just why Ruby had been made the leader.

Because she really was good at it.

She just needed a little extra input here and there.

And Weiss could accept that she was more than happy to be able to provide that.

Weiss turned to face Ruby. "Just say the word, partner."

Weiss saw Ruby flush just a little bit at Weiss' remark, but then her gaze set, focussed and stern, all traces of hesitation gone.

"GO!"

Weiss cancelled her Glyph, and her Aura stopped sustaining the ice wall. With the damage it had already received, it swiftly fell apart around them, collapsing into a melting ring of slush in seconds.

As one, all of them sprang into action.

"This way, Weiss!" Penny yelled, opening fire with her strange floating guns, forcing the surrounding soldiers to dodge to either side to avoid getting shot.

Seizing the opportunity, Weiss dashed forwards and ran past the soldiers before they had a chance to regroup.

Don't stop. Don't waste time engaging anyone. I have to get to the bulkhead and get it ready, or none of us will make it out of here.

Someone to her right fired at her. She quickly swerved to avoid the shot, feeling it skim past her shoulder, but did not pause to see who had attempted to shoot her. She just kept on running.

Someone to her left lunged at her with a sword. She parried the lunge, but did not stop to retaliate further. She just kept on running

Several shouts behind her indicated that she was being chased, but Weiss did not look back. She kept her gaze fixed forwards, focussed only on her goal.

Nothing else mattered, so she just kept on running.

She was getting closer. She could see the nearest bulkhead just up ahead, no-one guarding it. A few more seconds of running and she would be there.

A tall man moved to block her path, but she would not be stopped now. She was so close. Conjuring a Glyph beneath her feet, Weiss used it to boost her jump so she sailed over the man's head-

A hand wrapped around Weiss' ankle, and she felt herself being pulled downwards. With a shout of alarm, Weiss was slammed down onto the ground hard enough to make her Aura flare.

The hand on her ankle maintained its grip, and the tall man swung her by her leg and slammed her into the side of a shipping container. Weiss saw stars as her head impacted hard with the steel wall of the container, her remaining Aura only able to do so much to reduce the force of such an impact.

A distinctive and unmistakable mechanical roaring sound filled the air, and Weiss stared in horror as a gargantuan chainsaw, wielded by the man holding her, descended towards her pinned leg.

A blast of green energy struck the man's arm, knocking his aim wide and sending the chainsaw into the ground beside Weiss instead of into her flesh.

"Unhand her at once!" Penny cried. "You will not hurt anyone else!"

The tall man released his grip on Weiss and rose to his feet, grasping his weapon with both hands and charging at Penny with a furious yell.

Weiss scrambled back up and began to move to help Penny.

"No!" Penny yelled. "You must get to the ship! I will make sure he does not follow you!"

Right, the bulkhead. She had to get it ready. They were all counting on her to get it ready for their escape.

Sparing Penny one final glance and silently praying she would be alright on her own against this monster of a man, Weiss turned and sprinted towards the bulkhead.


"Humanity will pay for what they have-!"

Yang's uppercut silenced the White Fang soldier mid-rant, launching him upwards and sending him crashing into a heap some distance away, out cold and almost certainly in need of some serious dental work to repair the damage he had just received.

How many more of these guys are there?

Were Yang on her own, she would have felt fairly confident in her ability to take on every single one of them. Thus far the ones she had taken down hadn't really put up much of a fight, having likely been worn down a decent amount already by Blake and the others before Yang had even arrived.

But that was the problem. She wasn't alone right now. She couldn't afford a drawn-out slugfest, not when there were people she needed to get to safety right this instant.

"What does this Neptune guy look like? Yang asked.

"He has blue hair," came Blake's strained reply. "Just look for the colour blue."

Another White Fang soldier came barrelling towards them, armed with what looked like a pair of tonfas.

Well, at least these guys have a bit more variety to their gear than some of the other goon-types I've met.

More variety, but not much more skill. Yang made short work of her latest assailant, dismantling his flimsy guard with a few well-placed feints before hammering his body with a barrage of powerful jabs, driving the air out of his lungs and leaving him slumped over gasping for breath before she moved on past him, Blake following closely behind with the unconscious Sage draped over her shoulder.

The unmistakable sound of a very specific sniper rifle being fired over and over almost caused Yang to stop and turn towards the source of the noise, but she fought against her instincts and pressed on, trying her absolute hardest to block out the sound that indicated that her little sister was fighting for her life and Yang wasn't there to protect her…

She doesn't need protecting, Yang. She needs you to do your damn job!

Yang knew better than most just how skilled Ruby was in a fight. They had trained together since they were young, learnt from their parents, from their uncle, and from each other how to take care of themselves in combat. Yang had seen Ruby take on opponents twice her size and with years more training and come out on top almost every single time. She had seen Ruby carve through Grimm and hit targets so far away that Yang couldn't even see them. Yang knew full well what Ruby could do, and she knew that out of all of them right now, Ruby was the one who she should be the least worried about.

But that didn't matter. It didn't matter what she told herself, or how much she convinced herself that Ruby would be fine. Hearing that rifle go off filled Yang's mind with images that made her feel sick to her stomach.

A grunt of pain from behind her snapped Yang back to reality.

Ruby will be OK. Besides, you have other people to protect right now.

"You sure you're holding up OK?"

The short, pained laugh Yang received from Blake was not entirely humourless. "Believe it or not, I have been in worse condition before."

Yang decided not to try and unpack that statement for the time being, choosing instead to focus on the fact that Blake was at least feeling well enough to snark at her, which was a good sign, all things considered.

Another pair of White Fang soldiers rounded a corner and leapt towards them, swinging their weapons in unison to strike at Yang on both sides.

Yang dodged the attack on her left, the curved blade of the soldier's sword skimming past her arm. The attacker on her right was able to land a hit with their staff, but Yang's Aura reserves were still plentiful enough to render the impact more-or-less moot.

Twisting around, Yang delivered two jabs to the staff-wielding soldier's body, then followed up with a hook that they were only just able to block with their weapon. They swung for Yang again, but she just ducked beneath the high strike before launching into a rising uppercut, her fist slamming into her opponent's chin and cracking their head backwards.

They swung for her yet again, but Yang's last hit had clearly left them dazed. The attack sailed past Yang, who didn't even need to move to avoid them. Drawing back her right fist and cocking Ember Celica, Yang delivered a final hit to the soldier's chest, firing off a shotgun blast upon impact that sent the hapless individual careening into a stack of crates, which proceeded to collapse on top of them, burying them underneath a mountain of splintered wood.

The sound of metal-on-metal rang out from behind Yang, and she turned to see that Blake was holding off the sword-wielding soldier, having been forced to drop Sage in order to defend herself from attack. Even exhausted and with no Aura left, she was able to guard against her enemy's strikes well enough to avoid taking any more damage.

Not that Yang was about to let Blake continue fighting in her condition. Not when Yang could help to protect her.

Yang fired Ember Celica behind her, using the recoil to launch herself towards the remaining soldier faster than she would have been able to on foot. Ever since Ruby had figured out that trick and taught it to her, it had come in handy time and time again.

But before Yang could even close the gap between them, a bolt of bright blue light flashed past her eyes and struck the soldier, knocking them aside and sending sparks of electricity coursing through their body. They keeled over, paralysed from the shock.

Yang landed beside the now crumpled soldier, and turned to see where that shot had come from. Standing a few metres away was a tall, thin boy with bright blue hair, holding a glowing blue rifle and staring daggers at the soldier he had just incapacitated.

"This whole night has been one giant disaster," he huffed.

"Neptune!" cried Blake. "You're OK!"

"No I am not," Neptune replied. "But I will be as soon as we get the heck out of here."

Blake nodded. "Right. Let's get out of here." She stowed her weapon on her back once more, and lifted Sage back onto her shoulders.

"Alright, let's grab the others, get to the ship, and then-"

Yang didn't finish what she was about to say, because the whole world suddenly tilted, and a dull pain blossomed from her temple.

Yang fell roughly on her side, her vision going slightly out of focus as a result of the blow to her head. Pushing herself upright, she saw a short girl standing nearby, with what looked like an umbrella held in one hand. She was staring down at Yang with mismatched eyes, smirking.

"Yang!" Blake yelled her name, and Neptune called out to her as well, moving to take aim at the girl who had managed to blindside Yang so effortlessly.

"Go!" Yang snapped, rising to her feet and taking a fighting stance, glaring at her new opponent. "Get the others and get to the ship! I'll meet you there!"

Blake seemed to hesitate for a moment, but Neptune quickly grabbed her arm and steered her away. Yang just about managed to hear him insist that they needed to find the rest of his team, before they both retreated from view, leaving Yang alone with the short girl in front of her.

"So who are you supposed to be?" Yang quipped.

The girl did not respond. She just smirked a bit wider, twirling her umbrella in a playful manner.

I can't waste time on this one. I need to catch up to Blake.

The distance between the two of them was narrow. In a single quick step, that distance was closed, and Yang was in position to attack.

Yang swung for the girl's head, but she ducked underneath Yang's arm smoothly. She stepped aside as Yang launched a jab to her torso, backstepped to avoid an uppercut, leaned out of the path of a hook…

The short girl evaded all of Yang's punches effortlessly. She ducked and weaved out of the way of every single hit, smirking at her all the while, taunting Yang without even saying a word.

Yang felt her patience wearing thin, her frustration mounting and her impatience boiling over. She didn't have time for this! Blake needed her, her sister needed her! She had to get past this little brat, now!

The air was filled with the sound of shotgun fire as Yang unleashed Ember Celica with each new punch she threw. If she could just land one good hit, knock this kid off balance and create an opening-

The end of the girl's umbrella slammed into the side of Yang's head, striking her in the same spot she had been hit before. In spite of the frail appearance of her opponent, the blow Yang received was powerful. The handle of that umbrella was heavy and solid, and this girl swung it with the force of a sledgehammer. Yang staggered to the side, the blow leaving her dazed and disoriented.

Another blow, delivered to her stomach, drove the wind out of Yang's lungs, and she almost dropped to her knees. She was just barely able to guard against a third strike before she back-peddled away from her attacker, putting some distance between them. She launched a barrage of shots from her gauntlets, all of which were blocked by the open canopy of the short girl's umbrella, which proved to be far more durable than something that flimsy-looking had any right to be.

Who the hell is this kid!?

The kid in question twirled her umbrella around, settling it on her shoulder and winking at Yang, that smug smirk still plastered across her face.

Yang's temper rose even higher, and she felt her eyes begin to heat up. They had almost certainly just turned red.

Firing Ember Celica behind her, Yang flew towards her diminutive enemy, all other thoughts gone from her mind besides a burning desire to take this girl down.


Ruby heard them before she saw them. Rapid-fire shotgun blasts, not too dissimilar to what her sister used, mixed in with intermittent sounds of larger explosions from a more powerful firearm, all intercut with the sound of weapons clashing together over and over and over again.

Activating her Semblance once more, Ruby sped ahead the remaining distance, and the two combatants came into view as she came to a halt.

Torchwick and another boy, who Ruby guessed was Sun, were fighting ferociously, their movements almost a blur as they exchanged frenetic blows and barrages of gunfire, their respective Aura's flashing intermittently, dull orange and golden yellow, as they each managed to land hits on the other in the chaos of their duel.

Neither one had noticed Ruby yet, so she ducked beside a hunk of what looked like the wing of a destroyed bulkhead and watched, waiting for an opening she could take advantage of.

The last time she had charged into an ongoing battle blindly and without care, she had helped to accidentally set a large chunk of a forest on fire. Best to play it a bit more cautiously this time around, lest the consequences be even more dire.

I've made enough mistakes already. I don't need to make things even worse by barging into another fight without warning.

Sun, whose nunchakus would have fascinated Ruby immensely were she not so worried about what might go wrong next, landed a solid blow to Torchwick's head that sent him staggering backwards.

It was the opening Ruby was hoping for. Taking aim, she opened fire, shooting half-a-dozen rounds at Torchwick in quick succession, who was taken completely off-guard, unable to block or avoid a single bullet. They all hit home, his dull orange Aura flashing with each hit as he was blasted further backwards, the gap between him and Sun widening even further.

Ruby spun Crescent Rose around so it was aimed behind her, and fired once more, the recoil sending her flying towards Torchwick. She twisted in the air as she flew, ready to land a powerful kick to the crime lord's head and knock him down.

But Torchwick had already recovered. He brought his cane up in a two-handed grip, blocking Ruby's kick and pushing her away.

Ruby landed in between Torchwick and Sun, both of whom regarded her with surprised expressions.

"Little Red!" Torchwick exclaimed. "So nice to see you again, kiddo! How've ya been?"

"I take it you're Blake's teammate?" Sun asked, coming to stand beside Ruby. "Thanks for the help."

Ruby just nodded in response; all her attention trained on the man in front of her. She had not been expecting to ever see Roman Torchwick in person again, but here they were.

"He's fast," muttered Sun from beside Ruby. "And that cane packs a wallop."

"I know," Ruby muttered in reply. She drew Crescent Rose back, and crouched low, drawing upon her Aura and preparing to activate her Semblance again.

Torchwick raised his cane, ready to fire, and Ruby sprang into action.

In an instant, she was right in front of Torchwick, and Crescent Rose was slicing through the air towards his body. Torchwick raised his cane to intercept, parrying Ruby's attack and transitioning into a counter, the curved handle of his cane striking at Ruby's leg.

Crescent Rose span around Ruby's body, the lower portion of the handle blocking Torchwick's attempt to hobble her. She responded with a counter of her own, the blunt end of her scythe coming down towards Torchwick's head.

Torchwick blocked with the barrel end of his cane, firing off a round as he did so, the force of the explosive shot knocking Crescent Rose upwards, and Ruby almost lost her grip on her weapon.

He struck her with a blow to her stomach, causing Ruby to grunt in pain and step backwards to avoid the follow up. She span Crescent Rose around her in a wide arc to give herself more space, then resumed her offensive.

Roman was indeed fast. He kept up with Ruby blow-for-blow, blocking and parrying each of her attempted attacks and countering with his own. In their brief exchange, Ruby had yet to land another hit, but had taken several hits herself.

"Isn't it past you're bedtime, Red?" Torchwick asked mockingly as he once again succeeded in parrying Ruby's attack. "And on a school night, as well? What would your parents say if-?"

Torchwick's joke was interrupted by a blow from a red-and-gold staff that staggered him. Seizing the small opening it provided, Ruby successfully landed a diagonal slash with Crescent Rose that caused Torchwick's Aura to flash bright and flicker slightly. Evidently, he was just beginning to reach his limit.

Ruby spared a brief glance to her right. Sun, now wielding a staff that Ruby could only assume was his weapons' combined form, was staring at Roman with a furious expression.

"That was for Scarlett," he spat.

Torchwick rolled his eyes. "Sheesh, you two need to watch other movies, you don't sound nearly as 'cool' as you think you do."

Ruby circled around, holding Crescent Rose close to her body in a defensive grip as she sidestepped to her left.

"Y-you can't f-fight us both by y-yourself."

"A-a-actually," Torchwick stammered out in a mocking imitation of Ruby. "I think I can." Torchwick circled around as well, mirroring Ruby's movements as he continued to place himself in front of her. "You got a little talent kid; I'll give you that. But I've done this a lot longer than you have, and let me tell ya, I usually wind up on top in the end."

Ruby racked a fresh round into her weapon's chamber, collapsed Crescent Rose down into its more compact rifle form, and lined up her shot.

Torchwick raised his cane in response, lining up a shot of his own, smirking all the while. "Go ahead, Little Red. Let's see how this one ends."

At once, both of them fired, the sounds of their weapons mixing together as rifle round and explosive round flew from the ends of their respective barrels and towards their targets, passing each other mid-air and continuing on without interruption.

The recoil of her shot sent Ruby backwards. She leaned into it, back arching as she bent over in limbo. The explosive firecracker passed over her, and she watched it fly past as she fell onto her back.

Torchwick sidestepped to avoid Ruby's shot, but he needn't have bothered. It had gone wide, sailing past him comfortably.

Neither Ruby nor Torchwick had been hit.

But unlike Torchwick, Ruby hadn't been aiming for her opponent in the first place.

Just as Torchwick's firecracker round impacted the crate behind Ruby and exploded, it was drowned out by a far more deafening explosion from behind Torchwick, one that lit up the surrounding area and made everything shake from the force of the blast.

Ruby lifted her head in time to watch Torchwick spin around to see that the bulkhead behind him had just gone up in flames.

The back door had been left open, and Ruby had just set off the crates of Fire Dust that had been stacked inside.

That takes care of that.

Torchwick rounded on Ruby, his face twisted in rage, composure utterly broken.

"Do you have any idea what you've just done!?" he spat.

"Yup," Ruby replied simply, rolling to her feet and redeploying Crescent Rose into its scythe form as Sun moved to stand beside her.

"I'm sorry, what were you saying a moment ago? About how you always come out on top in the end?" Sun was grinning wildly as he spoke.

Just as Torchwick raised his cane again, a blue bolt of energy sailed past his head, making him pause.

"You OK, Sun?"

Ruby turned to see who had just spoke, and was filled with relief when she saw who else was standing with the blue-haired boy who had just arrived.

"It's over, Torchwick," Blake said coldly, aiming her gun at him at she spoke, the larger boy slung over her shoulder not seeming to inconvenience her at all.

Torchwick was clearly taken aback by this turn of events, but then his expression returned to one of smug arrogance as the sound of footsteps echoed around them.

"It certainly is, Kitty Cat. But not for me."

Ruby stared wide-eyed as over a dozen White Fang soldiers surrounded them on all sides, all aiming various firearms at them.

"OK, seriously, where do these guys keep coming from!?" Sun asked incredulously.

Ruby's mind raced as she took stock of the situation. If her count was correct (and it always was), she only had two rounds left. Sun and Blake's ammo-count was a mystery, but she was willing to bet they were running low as well, if they hadn't run out entirely by now. The blue-haired boy's weapon looked like one that fired energy-based shots, so it would likely have more to offer, but there was only so much a single rifle could do against a large number of opponents.

"You're trying to think of a way out of here, aren't ya Red?"

Ruby glanced at Torchwick, who was smirking at her while leaning on his cane in an almost casual manner.

"I can almost hear the wheels turning in your brain from here," he continued. "But why don't I make it easier for you? If you all just drop your weapons right now, we can settle this like civilised people."

"You really think we'd give up that easily?" Sun retorted. "How stupid do you think we are?"

The sound of breaking glass rang through the air, and Torchwick's smirk grew into a more sinister grin.

"Why don't you show me?" he asked. He lifted one hand and gestured to the right, pointing at something just outside the circle.

Ruby felt the blood drain from her face and her breath catch in her throat as she saw Yang, eyes closed and slumped over, head pulled up by her hair as he was held by a shot girl with multicoloured hair who was pressing the blade of a thin sword to her sister's neck.

"Impeccable timing as always, Neo!" Torchwick exclaimed. He turned back towards the group, his smile falling and expression turning deadly serious. "Now drop your weapons, all of you, or Blondie gets bled."

Ruby stared at her sister, feeling herself begin to shake, her racing mind grinding to a halt, all thoughts of escape or fighting their way out of this jettisoned and replaced with the image of her sister bleeding to death.

"I'll give you to the count of three to make up your minds," Torchwick said. "One."

Ruby franticly turned to face the others. They were all frozen. Sun was glancing around at all the soldiers surrounding them. The boy with blue hair had his rifle trained on Torchwick, but he was noticeably shaking as he did so. Blake was staring in horror at Yang, the boy draped over her shoulder sliding from her grip.

"Two."

A new image flashed through Ruby's mind. A familiar hilltop, adorned with a simple headstone that she knew all too well, but beside it a newer, fresher grave…

"Thr-!"

Ruby dropped Crescent Rose, the large scythe loudly clattering to the ground.

Sun, Blake, and the other boy's weapons followed suit.

Torchwick laughed. "Well, that settles it! You really are idiots!" He turned to face his ally. "Neo, ki-"

A single gunshot echoed through the air. A pistol round. Ruby saw one of the White Fang soldiers stumble… and shatter.

"They're not real!" a voice screamed. "It's an illusion!"

More gunshots followed, and more White Fang soldiers shattered as they were struck by an unseen attacker.

"Scarlett!?" Sun cried, whipping his head around in search of the origin of the voice.

The rest of the White Fang soldiers… the copies… broke apart all at once, vanishing from sight, leaving only Torchwick and the other girl as their enemies.

Ruby activated her Semblance, launching herself towards where the girl was holding Yang. She had left her weapon behind in her haste, but she didn't care about that. All that mattered to her was stopping this girl from hurting Yang.

"Let my sister go!" Ruby screamed, stopping right in front of the short girl, Neo, and landing a direct punch to her face, causing her to stagger backwards and release Yang from her grasp.

Neo responded with a swipe of her blade, which Ruby saw extended from the end of what looked like an umbrella. She stepped back, but the weapon had a long reach, and it grazed her stomach, her scant remaining Aura just about managing to stop it from slicing open her belly.

Ruby took a defensive stance, copying the way she had seen Yang guard herself a thousand times before. Fists clenched, arms raised high to cover her head, one foot forward and knees bent.

So far this night, Ruby had gone from exhausted, to screaming out her emotions in an alleyway, to desperately running into certain danger, to panicking at the situation she had arrived in, to determinedly fighting through everything in their way to get out, to scared out of her mind upon seeing her sister almost die.

She should have felt utterly drained, emotionally and physically, but instead she was buzzing with adrenaline, and utterly furious.

Neo retracted the blade of her weapon into her umbrella, opened its canopy and twirled it around, flashing Ruby a playful smile and a wink as she did so.

Ruby was about to throw all caution out the window and charge at her opponent, when the air around them suddenly began to be whipped up into a frenzy, and the noise of engines descended from above.

A floodlight lit up the ground where Ruby stood, and a ladder descended in front of her.

"Get in!" echoed Weiss' voice, amplified by the speakers of the bulkhead she had managed to get airborne.

Ruby saw Neo dash towards her, only to be driven back by a hail of green energy bolts.

"We must depart at once!" yelled Penny, running up to Ruby from behind and all put pushing her towards the ladder. "More soldiers are on their way, their Lieutenant called for backup! They will be here soon!"

Penny's urgent words jolted Ruby out of her haze of anger. She grabbed onto the rungs of the ladder with both hands, then turned to face Penny.

"Grab my s-sister!" she shouted over the noise of the bulkhead's engines.

Penny nodded, and Ruby began to ascend the ladder into the hovering ship it dangled from.


Blake's hair whipped about in the gale-force downdraft produced by the bulkhead, and her eyes squinted from the stinging of the powerful winds.

"Neo!"

Blake turned to see Torchwick had started to run away, his diminutive companion following behind.

They weren't chasing after them. They were escaping.

After all of that, they're just going to get away?

No.

NO!

Blake stowed her own empty weapon, and grabbed Ruby's discarded scythe-rifle from the ground beside her. Hefting the enormous weapon in her arms, Blake aimed down the sights, lining up the fleeing back of Roman Torchwick in the scope.

You don't get to run away. Not after this. I won't let you run away!

Sage had almost died because of him. Gainesboro had been here because of him. All of the robberies, all of the pain, everything… it had all been his fault, and Blake wanted him to pay!

Blake's finger found the trigger, and pulled. The recoil sent the hefty weapon slamming painfully into her shoulder, but she had succeeded in making the shot, the bullet striking Torchwick's back-

And causing the illusion to break apart and vanish.

He was gone.

"NO!" Blake screamed. She whipped her head back and forth, spinning around to search for any sign of the escaping criminals.

But there was none.

They had vanished into the night.

It had all been for nothing.

Blake screamed in rage, her throat burning painfully, the taste of copper filling her mouth as she let out all her anger and pain at the utter unfairness of it all.

"Blake, come on! We have to go, now!" Sun grabbed her arm and began to pull her along.

Blake allowed herself to be led towards the dangling ladder, allowed herself to be lifted onto the rungs as she grabbed on to them, She robotically ascended, pulling herself up and into the bulkhead.

Sun followed behind, helping Neptune up after him, the pair of them carrying the still out-cold Sage and laying him across several seats in the cramped passenger bay. Scarlett was last up, having emerged from his hiding spot after the bulkhead had arrived. He looked terrible, and was noticeably gasping for each breath, but he made it.

Scarlett pulled up the ladder after himself and slid the bay door closed.

"OK, let's go!" Weiss announced over the ship's intercom. Blake stumbled as the bulkhead began to move, rising up and flying away from the carnage below.

Mutely, Blake stared out the window at the scene below. She watched as a number of White Fang soldiers, fresh reinforcements called in by their allies, swarmed the docks, running towards their fallen comrades and taking stock of the remains of their operation.

She watched as the unmistakable, hulking figure of Gainesboro emerged from the shadow of a fallen container. He stared up at the retreating bulkhead, and Blake knew that he was staring directly at her.

He'll know where I am now. He'll find me.

Blake clenched her shaking hands into fists and swallowed thickly. "Drop me off somewhere outside the city."

Sun leaned into her field of view. "You're kidding, right?"

Blake shook her head. "I can't stay here anymore. I have to leave."

"Why?"

Blake turned around. Yang was sat up, her sister silently fussing over her after she had awoken.

Blake took a deep breath. This was absolutely one of the worst ways for everyone to find out, but that was neither here nor there at this point. It was too late for her to be worried about how much everyone was going to hate her for this.

"I… I used to be in the White Fang, Yang. I used to be one of them." Blake closed her eyes, desperate to avoid the undoubtedly venomous looks she was getting from everyone as she spoke. "When A-… when the leaders fine out I'm here, they'll come for me. So I have to go."

"You will do no such thing."

Blake opened her eyes in shock. Weiss was glaring at her from over her shoulder where she was sat in the cockpit.

"You are coming back to Beacon with us, and we will not hear any arguments otherwise. I personally refuse to have a repeat of any of this in the future."

Blake sagged, realization dawning on her as to what Weiss was implying.

"You're going to turn me in," she mumbled.

Silence reigned for a long moment. Blake kept her gaze cast downwards, waiting for the hammer to fall upon her, the inevitable condemnation…

"Are you still with the White Fang right now?" Weiss asked slowly.

Blake lifted her head. Weiss was no longer looking at her, having turned to face ahead as she flew the bulkhead, but Blake could see her eyes reflected in a rear-view mirror. She couldn't read the expression in those eyes, try as she might.

"No," Blake finally said. "I left, a year ago. I…"

Suddenly, it all came spilling out, the words Blake had been keeping locked away tumbling out of her in a breathless rush. "I didn't want to be a part of it anymore, but it took me so long to see how bad it had gotten! I did awful things, I helped them do awful things, all because I wouldn't accept that we were going too far! I never wanted it to turn out like it did, I wanted to help people, I wanted to be good, but I was stupid and ignorant and I'll never be able to get away from it and now he knows where I am and he'll find me and… and…"

Blake sobbed, tears pouring down her cheeks as she fell apart, no longer able to stop herself from crying.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry…"

Blake cried her heart out, burying her face in her hands as she collapsed to her knees. She had ruined it all, ruined her new start. Not that she ever deserved it in the first place, not after what she had done for so many years. She didn't deserve to have a normal life. She didn't deserve to be a Huntress.

She didn't deserve to have friends again, even though it hurt so much that she was going to have to go back to being all on her own, even though she hated being alone…

A pair of arms wrapped around Blake and pulled her close, hugging her tight.

"It's OK," whispered Yang softly. "It's going to be OK, Blake."

A hand touched her arm gently, and someone took her hand in theirs.

"W-we're n-mot mad," Ruby stammered, and Blake could hear the tears that the younger girl was trying and failing to hold back. "W-we w-were worried about y-you, Blake. We just w-wanted to f-f-find you."

"I'm flying right now, so I can't join you, but I want to add that I'm glad we were able to find you before it was too late." Weiss' voice was tired, but it was not in any way angry.

Blake opened her eyes again, her blurry vision filled with the golden yellow of Yang's hair, who was showing no indication of breaking her embrace of Blake anytime soon.

"H-how can you all be lime this?" she hiccupped. "How can you not hate me?"

Yang pulled back, but kept her hands on Blake's shoulders, smiling at her warmly.

"Because we're your friends, dummy."

Sun nudged her with his foot. "Told ya," he quipped.

Blake stared at Yang, then at Ruby, who was giving her a teary-eyed smile of her own, then at Weiss, who was still facing ahead, but Blake saw her smiling in her reflection.

"I'm sorry," Blake mumbled, sniffling and scrubbing at her eyes with the sleeves of her top. "I should have just told you from the start."

"Yes, you should have," Weiss retorted. "But I think I understand why you felt like you couldn't."

"It doesn't bother you? That I used to be in the White Fang?"

Weiss stiffened. "It does bother me," she said slowly. "I can't deny that. But… you deserve to be able to tell us the whole story, without me jumping to conclusions."

Weiss then relaxed slightly, her shoulders slumping again. "But after what I saw tonight, I think I already owe you an apology. So I'm sorry as well, Blake. I'm sorry for thinking so little of you."

Blake felt more tears begin to well up, but she blinked them back. She had cried enough.

"I'm s-sorry too, Blake," Ruby whispered. "I sh-should h-have realised th-that y-you were w-worried. I'm s-sorry I didn't do m-more."

Blake turned to face the younger girl. "Ruby, I'm the one who shut you all out. You couldn't have known because I didn't let you know."

"Then let's all make a promise," Yang said firmly. "No more keeping things from each other. If something's going on, we talk about it together. Deal?"

"I'll agree to that," Weiss replied.

"M-me too," stuttered Ruby.

Blake finally smiled a small smile. "Alright, it's a promise."


Glynda knew she was going to have a monster of a headache when this was all over and done with. Somehow, Team CFVY was looking downright sensible compared to her newest batch of problem children.

"So, let me see if I have this all correct. The nine of you decided, on a whim, to take it upon yourselves to intervene in a smuggling racket led by the White Fang, without considering reporting this to anyone."

"That would be correct, yes," Mr David chimed in, sounding nowhere near as nervous as he ought to have done given his circumstances.

"Then," continued Glynda, her voice growing even more icy. "You proceeded to lay waste to an entire wharf of the Vale dockyard, causing a sizable amount of property damage and destroying no less than three bulkheads in the process."

"Y-yes Professor Goodwitch," stammered Miss Rose, fiddling with the hem of her cloak and refusing to look Glynda in the eye.

"And then, belatedly realising that you were in over your heads, you stole a fourth bulkhead and fled the scene, landing it illegally on school grounds, and rather than explaining all of this to the authorities after all was said and done, you thought it best to tell us instead. Do I have that all correct?"

"In our defence," Weiss added. "We only stole the bulkhead because there was no other choice available."

"And, hey, we managed to destroy all that stolen Dust they were keeping at the docks, so I think that balances us out," Mr Wukong concluded. "Right?"

Glynda just stared at them all with the most neutral expression she could muster given the circumstances. Taking a deep breath, she turned to face Ozpin beside her. "Headmaster, would you like to take it from here?"

Ozpin leaned back in his chair as he considered the nine students in front of him in turn, his expression unreadable to anyone who didn't know him well enough,

Glynda did know him well enough, and as a result she supressed an exasperated sigh upon realising where this would go next.

"While the results of your actions are indeed warranting of punishment, I wish to begin by acknowledging the fact that you did indeed succeed in partially dismantling a criminal operation that has been causing a great deal of disruption and grief to the city. So for that, I thank you."

"However," Ozpin continued, tone shifting from semi-jovial to serious. "That does not excuse the fact that you all put yourselves in a great deal of frankly unnecessary danger, and caused a great deal of trouble for the local authorities."

Ozpin turned to face the boys of Team SSSN. "I will be informing Headmaster Lionheart of your actions, and I shall leave your final punishment to his judgement. While you stay here in the meantime for the Vytal Festival, I shall be setting the four of you remedial classes on Huntsman Ethics, which you are to attend every weekend for the foreseeable future."

The boys seemed to accept this decision, and left the office upon being dismissed.

"Miss Polendina." Ozpin turned his attention to the lone Atlesian student who had gotten involved. "I shall likewise be passing this on to Headmaster Ironwood. He will no doubt wish to discuss this incident with you in great detail. In the meantime, I am imposing a curfew upon you, and insisting that you not be unaccompanied when you leave this campus, until such a time as you are able to meet with your Headmaster to discuss alternative arrangements."

Miss Polendina nodded. "I understand, Professor. And I apologise once more for my recklessness."

That left the remaining four.

"Girls, you must understand that your actions as students of this academy reflect back on the entire student body, as well as the entire establishment itself. This sort of reckless behaviour cannot be tolerated, especially at this early stage of your studies."

"At Professor Goodwitch's suggestion, I am suspending you all from Beacon for the remainder of this week. I shall give you till the end of today to collect anything you may need from your dorm, and you are to remain off-campus until Monday. You will leave your weapons here in storage in the meantime."

"That will be all. You are dismissed."

The four girls made their way out of the office, closing the door behind them.

Glynda let out a deep sigh. "You were far too lenient with them, Headmaster. Three days' suspension is a slap on the wrist, given the amount of trouble they caused."

Ozpin gave Glynda one of his enigmatic small smiles, rising from his chair and walking over to the window.

"Perhaps," he mused. "But their actions would not have been necessary if the authorities had taken action themselves sooner. Besides, getting involved in situations that others wilfully ignore is part of being a Huntress."

Glynda couldn't agree with that, but she did not press the issue any further.

After all, Ozpin had a keen sense for this sort of thing.

Who was she to question someone like him?


"So, where are we gonna go for the next three days?" Yang asked, stuffing an assortment of random clothes into a bag without really looking at what she grabbed.

"I suppose we just get a room at a hotel someplace in town," Weiss mused. She was being much more careful with her packing, neatly folding each selected item before placing them in her bag. "I can call ahead and see if there are any rooms free?"

"I still can't believe we didn't get any worse punishment," said Blake, grabbing two of her books from her shelf. "I thought Professor Goodwitch would be furious with us."

"I th-think she w-w-was," added Ruby, zipping up her backpack after double-checking it. "I th-think Professor Oz… Ozpin talked her down."

Yang just shrugged at that, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "Well, whatever. We somehow managed to get a weekend off out of this whole mess, so I'm not really complaining."

"We've been suspended, Yang!" Weiss huffed. "This isn't a vacation! This will go on our records!"

Yang scoffed. "C'mon, Weiss. Those things don't matter in the long run. You should hear some of the stories Uncle Qrow told us about what he got up to at Beacon!"

"I don't think I want to hear those stories," Weiss muttered in response, closing her bag up.

Blake nudged Yang with her elbow. "I might wanna hear them."

Ruby shouldered her own bag. "Alright th-then. Team RWBY, let's h-head out!"


June 3rd

Dear diary,

We got suspended for the fight at the docks. I was scared it would be even worse than that, but it seems Professor Ozpin stepped in and convinced Professor Goodwitch to reduce our punishment. I guess Uncle Qrow was right, he does like to bend the rules sometimes, but I don't think we can count on that happening too often.

Weiss paid for us to all stay at a hotel together. I hope it didn't cost her too much. I know she has a lot of money, but I don't want her to feel like she has to pay for us all the time. I should get her something nice to say thank-you. I wonder if she likes cookies? I guess I'll have to ask her.

Blake still hasn't told us everything yet, but she says she wants to talk properly tonight, so maybe that's when she'll explain what happened? I don't want to pressure her if she isn't ready yet, though.

Things feel a bit better now. I don't know if what Blake tells us will change that, but I want to believe that it won't. Whatever Blake used to be, I don't think that's who she is now. The Blake I've gotten to know would never do something like what Weiss told us, and I think the others feel the same way. I know Yang definitely does.

I think I need to talk to everyone tonight as well. I've put it off, but Penny is right, I need to tell everyone what I'm thinking, what I'm feeling. I'm nervous, but I need to do this. I'm a leader now. I need to be the one to take the first step.

We're about to go out to a café for some food, so I'll leave it here for now. I'll fill in what happens tonight tomorrow morning. Right now though, I just want to spend some time with everyone.

Because we're a team. We're friends. And I'm so happy that we're all safe.

Ruby Rose.

RWBY Re:Mixed Volume 1

END


Hello to those of you who somehow binged the entirety of this fic in one sitting, and a special hello to those of you who have been here from the beginning. I'm Not Scot.

Firstly, let me say thank-you again to the talented Punkichi for providing the illustration you can see here! You can check out their other work over on DeviantArt (/punkichi) or on Twitter ( schrwby). [If you are reading this on ffnet, you can see the illustration on the AO3 version of this fic, so swing on over that way to check it out!]

Secondly, let me say a big thank-you to all of you. It took a while, but I finally reached this first big milestone for the fic. Volume 1 is done! I've had a ton of fun writing it, and I hope you all had a ton of fun reading it. To all of you who left reviews and likes, and to everyone who has followed this, thank you so much for the support. I hope you will continue to follow along with me as I move into Volume 2!

Speaking of which, you can expect the first chapter for the Volume 2 Arc to come out around November-time, probably a week into the month proper. Look forward to that when it comes around.

I'm still not sure if I'm doing the action scenes right. I can't put my finger on it, but I just always feel like I'm making a mistake somewhere. Hopefully it was at least easy enough to follow what was happening. I know I was jumping around a lot, but I wanted to get every member of the team involved here, hence why this chapter came so close to breaking my imposed 10,000-word limit per chapter.

The diary entry was going to be longer, but I cut it down to avoid breaking the rules. I ain't no cheater, especially when the rules I'm following are entirely arbitrary and enforced by absolutely no-one other than my own ego.

It's like a Nuzlocke run of a Pokémon game. No-one else will probably notice, but I will, and that's reason enough to stick with it.

As always, please feel free to leave a comment/review if you feel so inclined. I love getting notifications whenever someone has something to say about my work, so by all means, type away! Share your thoughts, your suggestions, or anything else you wanna say.

Next time, we start Volume 2. The canon Volume 2 had 12 episodes, so I only get 12 chapters this time. I have it all planned out, so I think I can make it work with the ideas I have in mind. The first chapter of the V2 Arc will be…

Actually, I won't spoil the surprise just yet. You'll just have to wait a month to find out what it will be.

I'll give you the chapter's title though, just to get you thinking: 'Blake Belladonna'.

For now though, I shall take my leave.

Until next time,

Not Scot.


P.S: Don't expect illustrations like this to be a frequent occurrence. One per volume will likely be the limit, barring exceptional circumstances.

That said, if anyone wishes to do their own art based on this fic, I certainly won't stop you.