Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY
AN/ I'm back, we got a new semester, a new chapter, and a repeat schedule of last semester, let's go! First of all, sorry for slacking on the uploads, it's just been busy and exhausting, both at work and home, I just had t move into my friends basement so that we can move into our apartment in about a week, so yeah, it's been busy. But hey, I'm here now, so let's get this started.
As the grimm drew closer, Ruby could feel a shift in the air. Instead of fighting one another, her team and the White Fang formed an unspoken truce as every weapon they had was trained on the grimm.
"Yang! Focus on the main group, Weiss cover the flanks! Blake, get Doctor Oobleck away from the grimm!" Ruby shouted as she ran the bolt on Crescent Rose as fast as she could. She could hear someone issuing orders to the faunus, likely Roman or the big faunus with the chainsaw.
"There's too many!" One of the grunts shouted, frantically shooting into the horde. Creeps and beowolves falling, only to be replaced by three more. Ruby could tell that fighting each other had taken its toll on everyone, ammo was low, people were exhausted, and overall morale was dwindling. Loading her specialty ammo, Ruby tried to form some semblance of a wall. Despite being unable to see her handiwork, Ruby knew it wasn't working.
"Any suggestions?! I'll take whatever you got!" Ruby heard Roman shout. Thinking to herself, an idea came to her.
"Yang cover me! Weiss, I need a glyph on the highest part of the ceiling!" Ruby shouted, hoping her teammates could hear her over the gunfire. With no audible response, a glyph appeared above Ruby as Yang slammed into the ground in front of her. Loading an explosive load into Crescent Rose, Ruby aimed for the glyph. Firing, Ruby waited, hoping her plan would work.
"What the hell?! Everyone take cover!" firing three more times into the same location, Ruby hoped her shots went high enough as Yang suddenly tackled her.
*Vale*
"Ozpin, tell me, what does Mountain Glenn itself mean to Vale?" Ironwood asked cautiously.
"Much like the Forest of Forever Fall, it's a landmark teeming with grimm, but still a beautiful sight to behold. Why?" Ozpin asked responded.
"It would seem that miss Rose found something inside the mountain, judging from the limited description I was given, it might be a massive grimm, or a grimm hive, nested within the mountain." Ironwood explained.
"Considering the grimm have no real reason to nest inside the mountain like that, it's rather hard to say. I'm well aware of the size grimm can grow to, I've been off the coast of Argus, but for something like that to be nested just outside the kingdom and have never shown itself? Also, incredibly unlikely." Ozpin added.
"This just highlights how little we know about the grimm. I would like to propose to the Vale council an investigation, and if possible, extermination event. Though Vale may lose part of its scenery." Ironwood admitted.
"I will put forth a motion with the council, though I cannot guarantee they will see things the same way you do." Ozpin offered. As Ironwood was about to respond, something drew away Ozpins attention. Light smoke, and three flashes of light.
"What is it?" Ironwood asked, noticing his friend's distraction.
"Scramble what aircraft you have, Mountain Glenn just turned into a rescue mission."
*Underground*
"Why did you do that?!" Weiss shrieked as the dust began to settle.
"I had to try and get someone's attention!" Ruby shouted back. Looking around, Ruby could see that a lot of the White Fang had either perished or were trapped by the rubble.
"A little warning next time then!" Weiss shouted. Seeing that her team was alright, Ruby began searching for any grimm that may have survived. Seeing that Roman was dealing with a limping beowolf, Ruby let herself relax.
"Looks like it's just Torchwick now." Blake commented as she stepped beside the pair.
"Should we do something?" Yang asked as Oobleck appeared with Zwei.
"Arresting Torchwick would be a huge blow to the White Fang, not to mention the other crimes he needs to answer for, though it would seem that he is out of ammo." Oobleck commented. Suddenly, a skittering noise began to emanate from the tunnels. Soon the sound began to multiply as multiple deathstalkers and king taijitu emerged, surround by more beowolves and creeps poured in around them.
"Please tell me at least one of the paladins is still up and running." Yang asked, fear beginning to seep into her voice.
"No, they were all crushed in the cave in. We're all that's left." Weiss said, realizing what the situation had just become. Ruby knew she had to do something, but as the grimm slowly closed in, it looked more and more hopeless.
"Well Red, thanks to you, looks like we all get to die down here. Truly, a great hero, you have my eternal gratitude. Anything you want to say before we all turn into lunch for the wonderful creatures coming from down those tunnels?" Roman asked tauntingly. Roman never noticed Ruby stalking closer to him, as her team watched in stunned silence as Ruby swung Crescent Rose at Roman, knocking him across the head, silencing him.
"Ruby, are you ok?" Yang asked, stunned at the violent act.
"We are not dying here. Help should be on the way, we just have to hold out long enough. I refuse to let anyone die here." Ruby stated, as if saying it would make it true. Letting her scythe extend to its full glory, Ruby moved to the front, facing the oncoming grimm.
Charging forward, Ruby began to slash her way through the lesser grimm, avoiding the larger grimm altogether. She knew from experience that they would need to work together to defeat them. Feeling a chill, Ruby smiled to herself as Weiss skewered a creep that tried to sneak up on her. As Yang and Blake charged ahead, Oobleck launched Zwei into the fray.
Despite their lack of ammo and clear exhaustion, team RWBY held out, but deep down, Ruby knew it wouldn't last. Eventually, someone would fall, and when that happened, it would be like dominoes. As if to show that they heard her thoughts, the grimm began to descend on Yang.
"Yang!" Ruby screamed as she watched her sister's aura drown in a sea of grimm. Charging towards her sister, Ruby threw herself to the ground as a deathstalkers took a swing at her with its tail. Feeling a pressure building just behind her eyes, Ruby stood as quickly as she could. As Yang disappeared entirely, something within Ruby broke. As if a flood of emotions spilled forth, Ruby felt immense pain, then nothing.
Looking up, the first thing Weiss noticed after he blinding light was a distinct lack of grimm in their immediate area. The second thing the heiress noticed was the lack of movement and sound from the grimm that were further back.
"Yang!" Blake shouted, breaking the silence.
"I'm fine, really. But what was that?" Yang asked, holding a tender spot on her arm.
"I think that was Ruby." Blake responded as Weiss crouched beside their downed leader.
"She has a pulse and is still breathing. Whatever she did, it took a lot out of her, but she'll be fine." Oobleck said, trying to soothe their worries.
"Are you alright Yang?" Weiss asked, looking over the brawler.
"I will be, my aura broke right before Ruby did, well, that." Yang said with a broad gesture around the battlefield. Suddenly, the silence was replaced with a dull roar, one they recognized.
"Looks like the cavalry is here, if a little late." Blake spoke, trying to lighten the mood. They watched as a bullhead hovered above the hole Ruby had made, releasing ropes from the sides. Atlas soldiers suddenly appeared, descending the ropes. Waiting for them to reach the ground, they collectively breathed a sigh of relief.
"Sergeant Washington of Blue company, what happened?" A soldier in blue highlighted armor asked as he reached the floor.
"Doctor Oobleck, Beacon academy. Training mission gone wrong I'm afraid. The students are a bit shaken up, with one unconscious, as well as a criminal asset." Oobleck explained.
"We're here to take you home, let's get these two on board first, then we can airlift you out."
*Hours later, Beacon Infirmary*
"You say that there was a blinding light, and suddenly the grimm were gone?" Ozpin asked.
"Yes. One moment Yang is covered in grimm, the next, Ruby is unconscious, the grimm are either vaporized or turned to stone, and it's just silence." Weiss explained.
"Hm, I'll have to look into this, dual semblances have never been recorded before. In the meantime, I want you all to rest up. I've already excused you from your classes for the remainder of the week. When you are all awake and able, I'll be back to speak with you. Enjoy the rest of your night." Ozpin dismissed himself, standing from his seat. Looking over to Ruby, he felt something within him twist.
Waiting for the door to close, Weiss started "So does nobody besides me have questions?"
"What are we supposed to say Weiss? Ruby just eliminated all of the grimm in that cave without using her weapon and is now unconscious in a bed next to mine. How was that even possible?" Yang asked rhetorically. Suddenly, a knock sounded from the door.
"Come in." Blake called, turning away from Yang.
"Hey guys, what happened?" Jaune asked as he stepped through the door, followed by the rest of his team.
"Oh, you know, we tried to bite off more than we could chew, I came close to dying and Ruby somehow nuked a hoard of grimm after caving in the ceiling and crushing most of the White Fang. The usual." Yang responded, falling flat in her attempt to lighten the mood.
"Well, I hope everyone is doing better, relatively speaking." Ren added, concern in his voice.
"Trust me, we are. We just need some time to rest, then we'll be ready for the tournament, I'm sure Ruby would regret every decision up to this point if she had to miss it." Weiss spoke as she looked towards the unconscious girl.
"Yeah, that sounds like Ruby. Though your return drew a bit of a crowd. One moment, everyone is just sitting around and preparing for missions, the next, sirens start going off an entire wing of Atlesian ships starts flying towards Mountain Glenn. People were asking all kinds of questions." Pyrrha explained.
"Yeah, I bet. Though we're just glad that someone interpreted her little fireworks show as an SOS and not a negligent discharge of dust." Weiss added.
"Though we did catch Torchwick, so despite the absolute disaster that was our rescue, the mission itself was still a success. Though Ruby has a couple things to go over with the headmaster and the general. I heard they wanted to put us on the news?" Blake spoke up.
"Oh, trust me, they wanted your story the moment Atlas tore through the sky, though I think Ozpin strong-armed them and told them to shove it." Nora explained, her eyes shining at the though of Ozpin getting worked up to the point of threats.
"Alright, that's enough of you for one night, they need to rest Nora. Take it easy guys, if you need anything, just call one of us, alright?" Jaune said as he began to usher his team through the door. As he turned back to say goodbye once more, he felt a pair of arms wrap around him as a white ponytail filled his vision.
"Thank you for checking on us Jaune, I really appreciate it." Weiss said quietly as she tightened her hold.
"Anything for you Weiss." Jaune responded as he held her close.
"Alright lovebirds, break it up." Nora and Yang said in unison as Nora began to pull Jaune away.
"Are you ok Weiss? You normally hate physical affection." Blake commented.
"I just witnessed my leader explode and a teammate almost die, cut me some slack!" Weiss spat.
"Honestly, I'm more surprised that she only went for a hug." Blake joked.
"The real world doesn't work like your porn Blake." Yang deadpanned.
"It's not porn!" Blake defended.
"Sure, it's not. Besides I'm surprised Yang didn't immediately try jumping someone, seeing as how she almost died." Weiss added.
"Ok, at first it didn't bother me, but can we please stop talking about how I almost became grimm food?" Yang asked.
"Sorry. Look, it's starting to get late. Blake, why don't we go back to the room, unless you really want to sleep there tonight. You know where we'll be, call us if you need something, ok?" Weiss suggested.
"Will do Weiss. Blake, go on, you're not sleeping there tonight, we'll be fine." Yang practically ordered.
"If you say so Yang. Sleep well, we'll be back tomorrow morning." Blake said as she stood from her seat.
"I do say so, now go sleep before Sun comes searching for you." Yang joked as Blake grimaced from the thought of Sun bothering her sleep. Silence filled the room as the other half of her team left, leaving her alone with her thoughts.
'That was mom, no doubt about it. But why did she save me, and why only once?' Yang asked herself as she stared out the open window. As if to snap her from her thoughts, Ruby's breath hitched, before returning to normal.
'Must be a dream.' Yang concluded. She supposed that was a good sign. Looking at Ruby's face, Yang thought back to how rare it was for her to see her face unobscured by the shata she wore. She briefly wondered what she would've looked like in the tunnels if she didn't have the shata on when she bludgeoned Roman. She was still coming to terms with the fact that Ruby had just acted on violence out of anger, something she thought she was incapable of.
Feeling her eyes become heavy, Yang turned in for the night. Closing her eyes, she never noticed the raven perch itself outside the window.
AN/ I'm not going to lie, this chapter honestly feels like a mess. It feels like it's unfocused and only barely managed to introduce elements and set up further chapters. Hopefully I can really get back into the swing of things, ya'll don't deserve chapters this unfocused, and that's not why you're here. If the next chapter I write comes out the same way, I will be taking steps to address it, but until then, have a great day!