I do not own anything relating to RWBY and Battlefield 1. RWBY is belonged to Rooster Teeth and Battlefield 1 is belonged to DICE and EA. All names mentioned in this fanfic belong to their respective owners.
The ideas in this fanfic belongs to me.
All criticisms are welcomed, especially the ones that are constructive.
Finally, back in action!
Also, some side notes for you guys: this chapter's quality is... kinda meh. Like, the second act "Fog Of War" itself in BF1 is boring and short as hell and I did my best to come up with something "interesting" in this chapter so, please lower your expectation down a bit on this chapter.
I'll also be writing some of related BF1 operations after each War Stories to add more diversity into the story (hats off to pedro117 for the idea ;) )
I will also consider adding some characters from RWBY universe into the audience later down the line, but know that I won't add any until I finish the first war story, which is Through Mud and Blood.
And finally, the hospital food here was good as hell.
"...May you rest in peace...", Ozpin said quietly as the screen turned dark. Everybody else also had the same thought as him, believing that the crew had sacrificed. Some sobbed for them, some sighed solemnly. But then...
The screen then lit up again, showing a dead soldier in German Empire uniform lying on top of a flat surface. His corpse jerked up a bit as the 'surface' he was lying moved up with a small creak, before he was rolled over and fell off said surface, revealing it to be McManus lifting up Big Bess's top hatch door. He then looked around and saw that the whole area surrounding the tank was scorched and still burning from the artillery barrage just now.
The Remnant's natives stared in shock and surprise at the sight of a person they assumed was dead came out unscathed. Their surprise was multiplied as the camera then zoomed out to show that the Mark V tank Big Bess was still intact despite being in the middle of the whole barrage.
"How...", Ironwood asked slack-jawed, unable to fathom just how that tank survived the bombardment.
"I can't believe it... They really just survived that...", Glynda said while she's still in shock.
"They're alive...", Ruby whispered, her voice wavered a little from the small emotional breakdown she had earlier.
"They're still alive...", Ruby said again but louder this time before it became an all-out cheer, "Guys, look! They're still alive! The crew of Big Bess are still alive!"
The students cheered with Ruby while the adults looked at them in amusement or let out sighs of relief.
"Haha! I guess you can say that they 'tanked' the artillery! Eh? Eh?", Yang, in her typical fashion, made a very bad pun, which earned herself a slap at the back of her head with a newspaper by Ruby.
"Well Torchwick, that's the miracle you were asking for.", Qrow smirked at the criminal.
Instead of getting angry for being proven wrong, Roman, surprisingly, smiled at this. "Ya know, for once, I'm actually happy that I was proven wrong"
The scene went back to inside of the tank and focus on the commander, Townsend. He then looked down at his bloodied hand which was covering a wound on his stomach.
"Seems like not everyone came out of that strike unscathed.", Blake said in worry.
Townsend frowned a bit at the wound before shifting his attention away from it. McManus was then seen walking up to his commander from behind.
"You have the luck of the devil, Townsend.", McManus started.
"I wish I had that type of luck.", Qrow snorted.
Anyone that knew of Qrow's semblance flashed him a look of sympathy, aside from a certain female Atlas military officer.
Townsend then looked over Pritchard's body and gently closed his eyelids.
"Is that right?", Townsend asked, his voice full of sarcasm.
Everyone's saddened at the scene. For the students, especially the team leaders, they couldn't imagine how hard it would be to witness the death of one of their own teammates.
"He's blaming himself for his subordinate's death...", Winter said solemnly. She would be too if one of her men and women she's in charge of got killed in action.
McManus, however, wasn't going to let go of his tirade anytime soon. "All we've got out here is blind orders-"
Townsend's face hardened as he listened to McManus' speech.
"-and chance". The scene then cut to Edwards looking away in annoyance.
"Which'll do first for us, do you reckon?"
"I'm sick of your lip, McManus.", Townsend finally snapped as he stood up and glared down on his gunner.
"I hate him now.", Nora frowned deeply at McManus.
"That attitude will get him two weeks worth of cleaning each and every toilet if he's in Atlas military.", Winter huffed, clearly didn't like the attitude McManus used when addressing his commanding officer.
The last remaining gunner then reluctantly backed down but he remarked shortly after. "Aye aye, Sir."
Townsend continued to glare at McManus for a few seconds before he turned to address Edwards. "Edwards, start her up."
"Sir.", the driver breathed out his compliance. He then stood in front of the large crank shaft used to start the engine and turned it. The pistons went up and down and the engine revved for a bit before they all went silent again. Townsend then looked to his left and notice that fuel was leaking and spraying all over the interior.
"Fuel line's backing up!", the old commander exclaimed before dashing hurriedly towards the fuel line. He tried to cover the leak with his hand but the heat from the fuel line combined with the sudden movement inflicted upon his wound caused him to stagger and fall backwards.
"Oh Big Bess. Give us a break, give us a break", McManus pleaded in panic while rushing towards the faulty fuel line. He then grabbed a piece of white cloth and tried his best to cover the leak.
"Come on. Ah, come on Bess, come on. Stop. Stop, Big Bess, stop, stop!"
The audience could only look on in pity at the dilemma that the crew had to face. They might had cheated Death but that didn't mean they could get off scot free.
"Damn...", Neptune muttered, "The situation looks so bleak."
"They may have survived an artillery bombardment but now they have to deal with the thing that kept them alive itself.", Sage added.
"I hope they will succeed, they're still bogged down deep in the enemy territory.", Scarlet said with many people agreed with him.
As if the tank actually listened to its gunner, the leak finally came to a stop.
"It stopped.", he said, but then he turned to Edwards and barked. "Are you just gonna stand there?"
Penny frowned at McManus' behavior. "Maybe I'm wrong but I believe McManus is and have been blaming Edwards for all of the misfortunes that have bestowed on them."
Although they didn't show it, many adults also agreed with Penny's opinion. Most of the time whenever a group, especially the close-knitted ones, received an additional member and that specific group got into trouble of any kind, the new guy would always be blamed by their own group-mates. Specialist Winter Schnee knew this the most, as she was also once a victim of such behavior but luckily, she managed to push through.
The driver and also the mechanic of Big Bess didn't say anything. He instead got back to the large crank shaft and turned it again, this time the tank started up without a hitch, allowing him to drive the crew out of the large hole that was made by friendly artillery just now.
Everyone cheered now that the tank and its crew could finally get back in action.
"Yeah! That's what I'm talking about!", Yang exclaimed loudly.
"Go, Big Bess! Break those German legs!", Nora cheered along.
The youngsters continued to cheer, however Ironwood frowned when he remembered just how difficult it was for the crew to fix the Mark V tank. 'So that's the unreliable aspect that was said by Eli and the opening text.', the General mused to himself.
The crew then ventured deeper into a forest filled with fog. The fog was so thick that the camera had to be really close to the tank so that the audience could see it clearly.
"Ah, hell. There's fog up ahead. I can't see more than twenty yards.", McManus exclaimed.
"We're pushing through.", Townsend said before he turned to address Edwards. "Edwards, I'll drive. You jump out and scout ahead."
"Smart. Send out one person to scout and use the cover of the fog to silently destroy the enemy, without compromising the position of the tank.", Ozpin nodded in appreciation at the commander's decision. While it was risky to send a member of the crew outside the tank, it was still better than going in without a scout and risk being ambushed like last time.
The tank then slowed down before coming to a stop as Edwards left the driver's seat. Before he got out of the tank, Townsend said to him one last time. "Don't be a hero, lad. Just do your job."
Ruby frowned and folded her arms upon hearing this. "What's wrong with being a hero? What if Edwards comes across ally prisoners? He will need to free them, right?"
"Everything, Ruby/Little Red.", Eli and Roman said at the time and they both then stared at each other awkwardly.
"What do you mean 'everything'? People need heroes to protect them and save the right, right? Then why being a hero is a such a bad thing then?", Ruby chosed to ignore Roman and challenged Eli defiantly.
Eli was about to retort but he changed his mind at the last second. "You know what, Ruby? I'll explain it to you later at the end of this segment. For now, let's keep watching. We're getting sidetracked."
Ruby huffed and turned her attention back to the screen along with everyone. Except for the remaining three members of team RWBY as they all glared angrily at Eli for a few seconds before they too turned to the screen.
Edwards then got out of the tank with his C96 pistol in hand. He carefully scanned his surroundings as he slowly and quietly closed the side door.
"Wait a minute... I thought the tank's name was 'Big Bess'? Why the red letterings on the side of it spell 'Black Bess'?", Pyrrha asked in confusion. The confusion also spread to other people as they too noticed what Pyrrha was talking about.
"I forgot to tell you guys. The tank's quote-unquote 'official name' was 'Black Bess', but the crew, especially Townsend, preferred to call it 'Big Bess' because they liked the sound of it more.", Eli explained which satisfied everyone's curiosity.
Just as the new recruit was about to set out deeper into the foggy forest, Townsend emerged from the top hatch and said to him. "Let's all get through in one piece, eh? If you get into trouble, we'll be right behind you."
Edwards then took off into the woods while the tank and its two remaining occupants stayed back. After a short moment of jogging, he came across a lone German soldier just standing there and enjoying his cigarette. He was about to take down the infantryman but he stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes widened at the sight in front of him.
"Whoa. No wonder why that guy was standing there. He was one of the guards of that checkpoint... base... outpost.. whatever that place is!", Jaune exclaimed loudly.
"That's a roadblock.", Eli corrected the blond knight.
"This will be tricky for Edwards.", Winter analyzed. "He needs to find a way to eliminate the hostiles while remaining unseen, and the fog could only do so much for him."
Edwards decided to back away from the enemy soldier as he thought of a way to deal with this threat. He then took out a used bullet casing and threw it, the sound it made upon impact attracted the attention of the lone German. As his enemy went to investigate the noise, Edwards crept up from behind and killed the German with a powerful slash from his shovel. He also used the same tactic with the remaining four soldiers without raising any suspicion, part of his success came from the brilliant usage of the dense fog.
The audience, minus the more hotheaded ones like Yang and Nora, was impressed by the stealth capability of Edwards. They totally did not expect a military recruit could pull off such a fine performance like that, and said recruit was a driver and not some kind of special forces!
"Ms. Goodwitch.", Ozpin called his secretary, "Be sure to remind me to implement stealth-related lessons to our academy's curriculum. This will be a great boon for our students."
"Yes, sir. Consider it done.", Glynda replied, she totally agreed with the Headmaster on this one.
Seeing that the coast is clear, Edwards whistled for the tank to move up to his position.
"Edwards. There you are, lad.", Townsend greeted the driver upon seeing him again. "Magic, driver, that's magic. Wouldn'ae even know there was a war on, eh?"
"Why, thank you, my good Commander sir!", Roman jokingly said to the on-screen tank commander, while Neo sitting beside him just rolled her eyes.
"Hang back, I'm pushing through the wire.", Townsend said as he drove the tank forward and destroyed a row of barbed wire blocking the road. The same thing continued on with two more German roadblocks, though the last one was a bit more tricky but it was nothing that Edwards couldn't handle. As the tank moved through the last roadblock and stopped before a blocked off steel bridge, Townsend emerged from the top hatch again to congratulate the young recruit.
"You're a bloody killing machine, right proper assassin."
"That he does, Townsend. That he does.", Qrow chuckled.
"His approach was very effective and it suited the situation perfectly.", Ren nodded in appreciation along with Blake. They always preferred the stealth approach whenever they had the chance to do so.
"Take some notes, kids. While aura can and will protect you from danger, it is not and never wise to abuse it. Try your best to stay in cover and take down your enemy silently instead of going loud and risk breaking your aura too soon.", Summer sagely told her children. Although she was talking to Ruby and Yang, the other students also listened in and took what Summer said to heart.
The tank commander then took out his map and studied it for a moment. "According to the map we should soon be out of these sodding woods. We need to get across this here bridge and then it shouldn't be much further."
However, the fog was still very thick and it would be detrimental for them to advance without the help of a scout.
Townsend then turned and said to Edwards. "I still need you to scout ahead-"
He didn't get to finish what he was saying as a shot from a German field gun landed right in front of the tank, barely hitting it.
"On the bridge! Germans! Let em have it!", Townsend ordered and he got back down into the tank at once and drove the tank forward with McManus shooting his guns from the inside.
"Edwards! Get a move on!", Townsend yelled out from inside the tank.
"Using the dense fog to stage surprise attack? Damn, those Germans sure are cunning!", Qrow exclaimed.
"You will be surprised and horrified at the same time at the tactics used by all factions during both World Wars.", Eli chuckled.
"Finally some action! I was about to fall asleep from all the sneaky peeky stuff.", Nora said in delight as she finally got to see more action and explosions, but mainly just explosions.
Edwards ranto the right and found a small dirt path that allowed him to walk down towards the ravine under the bridge and flanked the enemy from the side. He cautiously climbed up the slope at the other end of the bridge and engaged the German foot soldiers along with Big Bess. Lucky for them all, the resistance was much more lighter than they first thought as the Germans were swiftly dispatched in no time.
"Huh. That was kinda anticlimatic.", Yang said sadly with Nora pouting next to Ren, totally not enjoyed the firefight just now.
"Relax. The best is yet to come.", Eli reassured them.
Making his way up towards the roadblock's weapon station, he opened one of the weapon crates and got himself a quite dirty LMG called the Madsen MG. He then opened the crate next to the one containing the LMG and what greeted him was a monster of a rifle. The weapon was literally a wayyyyy oversized bolt action rifle with a pistol grip and bipods, and each bipod had a big spike at the end of it.
Ruby instantly perked up upon seeing the huge weapon and she spilled out words at hypersonic speed. "OhmyOum,Itssobig,IwantitIwantitIwantit!"
"Calm down, Rubes. I bet it's just an anti-materiel rifle like your Cresent Rose.", Yang said while trying to keep Ruby in place, though she failed to notice that her stepmother's eyes widened and gleamed visibly when she saw the weapon.
"That right there Yang,", Eli started and everyone turned their attention towards him, "it's a Tankgewehr M1918, the world's first anti-tank rile, designed for the sole purpose of destroying armored targets."
"Preposterous!", both Winter and Ironwood exclaimed at the same time while others just stared at him dumbfoundedly. To their knowledge, anti-vehicle weapons that used bullets instead of other projectiles like rockets would always be heavy caliber ones mounted on weapon platforms like the Atlesian Paladin. In other words, no way can an infantry rifle, however big its size was and no matter what size of ammunition it fired, could be used to deal with heavily armored vehicles like the tanks that they had been seeing on the screen.
"If you don't believe me, it's okay. You'll see soon enough.", Eli just shrugged and everyone returned their attention to the screen.
Hefting the gigantic rifle up, Edwards put in a big 13.2mm TuF round and racked the bolt, producing a very satisfying and eargasmic sound.
"It's so big...", Ruby moaned and groaned quietly but it was still audible enough to make multiple heads turned towards her. "The bullet size, I mean!"
Satisfied with the new weapon, the rookie driver then made his way down the muddy road along side Big Bess. Just as they were about to fully exit the forest and enter a clearing, the tank suddenly stopped, which prompted Edwards to stop with it.
"There's a bunker on the ridge up ahead. Looks well defended too. Those field guns could quickly ruin our day.", Townsend said after quickly assessing the situation in front of them. "You go in clear out those guns, we'll move up and finish the job."
"Sounds like a solid plan to me.", Ren said.
"Send in a small fighting force to sabotage the biggest threats, then send in the main one to mop up the rest. Outstanding move, I would say.", Jaune analyzed the commander's plan in better detail.
"But why even bother doing that though?", Sun brought up. "You guys forgot that when they first rolled out onto the battlefield they just headed straight into the battlefield and destroyed all oppositions in their path or something?"
"At that time their crew was still intact and their combat effectiveness was at peak performance, Sun.", Blake explained to the monkey faunus, but he still didn't understand her reasoning so she continued. "They are now two people short so their effectiveness will be lowered. Edwards has to both drive the tank and repair it, while McManus has to operate all of Big Bess' guns. That's why their performance will be lowered a lot."
Using the last remaining morning fog, he quickly sprinted towards the furthest left side of the clearing and hid behind a pile of logs. He then quickly but quietly sprinted up towards the bunker. However, a German sniper saw the silhouette of the driver dashing up towards the bunker and he decided to go investigate it.
Everyone was at the edge of their seats as they glued their eyes onto the screen intensely. The reason being that this particular section was way more fortified, the environment element was not on the British tank crew side, and this place would decide their very own fate.
"This is so intense...", Pyrrha muttered as she latched onto Jaune's arm.
"This will either be their passage to victory or their resting place.", Weiss commented as she slowly and unknowingly put a spoon of cheesecake into her mouth. She didn't even know when she had summoned it in the first place but she decided to ignore it.
Edwards took out his trusty shovel and waited for the German soldier to come to his position. Just as the German came around the corner, Edwards killed him with a single swing at the neck. Luckily nobody saw the deed.
He then used the same tactic with the other German guards but spared the one guarding a field gun next to the bunker as he had a little surprise for him. Making his way towards the parked FT-17, he commandeered the small light tank and turned the turret towards the poor German standing with the field gun and fired, wiping the German's existence out of the face of Earth.
"BOOM!", Nora exclaimed loudly while giggling like a mad person, and she was not the only one who got excited at the kill.
"Now that's what I'm talking about!", Yang cheered. "In with a bang, out with a- oof?!"
Blake luckily wrapped Yang's mouth with the ribbon attached to her Gambol Shroud just as the blonde was about to finish her awful pun, her friends mouthed a quick 'thank you' before they all turned back to the screen.
After the clearing was now devoid of all German presence, Big Bess then pushed up to meet with Edwards.
"There will be more on the way, look around for anything useful!", Townsend addressed his driver. But Edwards did not get the chance to do that as his officer alerted.
"Reinforcements pouring in!"
The acting infantrymen decided to climb up on top of the bunker and took out the Tankgewehr rifle before lying down onto his stomach and wait for the enemy. He did not have to wait long as an armored troop carrier rolled in from right in front of him. He took aim at the vehicle and fired, the .525 inches round sailed through the air before making impact with the vehicle and blowing it up in a big fiery explosion.
Everyone, minus Eli, jaw-dropped at the sheer power of the gigantic rifle, with Ruby looked like she was having a minor seizure and her mother looked like she was in heat.
"Told ya~.", Eli smirked while glancing at the Atlas military duo.
"Wha... But it was just an armored vehicle! It was not a tank and I bet it cannot do anything against one!", Winter still stubbornly stand her ground against Eli, though doubt had began slowly set in the back of her mind.
"Your loss, then.", Eli just shrugged.
Ejecting the spent round and placing a new one in, Edwards stayed at the same position and waited again. This time, an FT-17 Light Tank rolled in. He pulled the trigger and it hit, ripping a good chunk of metal and armored while also rendering the light tank immobile as a result. He quickly reloaded and took another shot at the tank, this time completely destroying it.
Now nobody had any doubts about Eli's claim. The rifle that Edwards was holding truly had terrifying power.
"Hot damn! I'm willing to trade anything just to get that rifle!", Qrow laughed excitedly with some people also having the same idea as he was.
Winter was still at a loss for words. But after a short while, she managed to compose herself. "I... I shall admit that I was wrong."
Ironwood's interest in the rifle was extremely high. He was debating with himself whether he should order the R&D department to development something similar.
Ruby was in her own little world now. Already, she had come up with tons of different upgrade options for her Cresent Rose just by seeing a relatively 'simple' weapon in action.
"How... Why would someone create such a monstrosity of a rifle?!", Glynda exclaimed loudly, "And who in their right mind would do it?!"
"Simple, Ms. Goodwitch. They need a weapon to combat the tanks and armored vehicles so they made it. And as for 'who', well, Paul Mauser since this rifle was technically an upscale version of the standard Mauser 98 bolt-action rifle, and Paul Mauser was the designer of that rifle so, yeah.", Eli answered truthfully.
Another FT-17 also rolled in but was quickly destroyed by Edwards.
"Look lively, Edwards! Fritz is on the way!", Townsend alerted from Big Bess.
Another troop carrier came in from the same entrance as the last one and Edwards wasted no time blowing it up. He then reloaded the weapon but realized that he ran out of ammo.
"Now that sucks.", Sun flatly said.
"Mr. Edwards has to find a new solution fast or else this will be their grave.", Ozpin squinted his eyes as he paid close attention to the screen, as if he was evaluating something...
Jumping down from the bunker's roof, Edwards quickly dashed around the place to find another effective anti-tank weapon. Just as he was about to give up, luck smiled upon him once more as he found an AT Rocket Gun inside the bunker.
"Okay this is getting ridiculous.", Roman said while massaging the bridge of his nose. "First, an infantry-sized anti-tank rifle and now an infantry-sized rocket GUN of all things?!"
Neo, however, was calmly tapping on her Scroll. 'It's another world, Roman. And we have rocket-propelled weapons too, remember?'
"I know, Neo, but that thing on the screen is a GUN. What we have in our world are LAUNCHERS, not GUNS."
Neo just stared dumbfoundly at Roman as realization dawned on her. 'Oh'
Edwards immediately took the rocket gun and ran out of the bunker. Just as he ran out, an FT-17 Light Tank drove past him. He then lied down on the muddy ground, took aim at the weak point, and fired before quickly reloading the gun and sent another rocket down range, killing the tank.
One more FT-17 was still alive but he only had one rocket left. Luckily for him, Big Bess had already shot it beforehand so just one shot from his rocket gun would do. The new driver hastily made his way towards the last enemy tank and took position right behind the light tank. He pulled the trigger and the FT-17 Light Tank with German camo was no more.
The audience cheered as the battle finally ended and that no more people of the crew of Big Bess had to sacrifice.
"Woohoo! Yeah! Let's go, baby!", the entirety of team SSSN cheered loudly.
"Did you see that Ren?! Those little tanks went boom against Big Bess and Edwards!", Nora exclaimed as she was shaking her childhood friend.
"Big bravo to Mr. Edwards courage and performance. For a new recruit, he will definitely go far and climb the ranks without breaking a sweat.", Ironwood smiled and even felt proud of Edwards, despite the fact that the driver was not his soldier.
"I would love to have a drink with him.", Qrow smirked before down another gulp of alcohol.
Hearing the words that came out of Qrow's mouth, Summer could only frowned and sighed. "Qrow, could you not?"
The person in question did not say anything. Instead, he just shrugged and had another sip.
After clearing all hostiles, Townsend called out to Edwards. "I need you here, son! On the double."
"Well that's enough fun and games for a Tuesday. Get in and drive, Edwards. Let's get out of here.", the aged commander said as his driver got close to the tank. Edwards then got inside the tank, took control of it, and drove everyone closer to their final destination.
"That was outstanding, Edwards. You'll earn yourself a medal if we get through this."
The screen then slowly faded to black and the lights turned back on.
"Wait, it's over already?", Yang asked, disappointment appeared clearly in her voice.
"Nope. I just temporarily paused the viewing because we've been watching it for quite a while. Let's all get up, relax a bit, and we shall get back for more of Big Bess and her crew's adventure, yeah?", Eli said to Yang and by extension to everyone.
Just as everyone was about to get up, Ruby asked Eli in a serious tone. "Hey Eli, why do you think being a hero is bad?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Omake: Wake up call~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Everyone, except for Eli and the criminal duo, tensed at Ruby's question. Beside her, the entirety of team RWBY also stared at Eli waiting for an answer.
"Ruby, sweetie-...", Summer was about to tell her daughter to back off but she was cut off by Eli.
"In fairy tales or in past eras, yes, being a hero is a noble thing to do. But time has changed, Ruby. It's not about black and white anymore, but it's about 'gray'. Now, being a hero may actually do more harm than good. In your view, you may see that your actions are right but in reality, you may accidentally end up creating more trouble for the people involved. Just like that one Delta operator Martin Walker.", he angrily muttered to himself the last part.
However, it seemed like Ruby wouldn't willing to let Eli's explanation to sink in her mind as she still defiantly held her ground. What worse was that she also had the support of the entirety of team RWBY.
"Oh yeah? Then what about the other night when we went out and stopped Roman Torchwick from causing more damage with the stolen Paladin then?", Yang shouted angrily, her eyes changed to red.
"There wasn't anyone there to stop him aside from us!", Blake snapped.
"Besides those are just some light property damage!", Weiss added.
"Three undercover agents in the White Fang got their covers blowned and were executed shortly after,", Eli stared at Blake and listed before turning to Weiss. "19 million lien of property damage,"
"The paladin only caused three quarters of the property damage and 3 injured civilians, the rest were all yours.", Eli dropped the bomb while staring at Yang. Then he said with a flat tone to all of them. "And here comes the juicy part: 12 civilians killed, 3 more still in deep coma, 11 more suffered various degrees of injury. Yup, seems like light property damage to me, alright."
The revelation shocked the remaining students and shook team RWBY to their collective cores. Ruby in particular was affected the most as she fell to her knees and broke down in tears. After all, she was the team leader so she's responsible for all of her team as well as their actions.
"I... I didn't mean for anyone to die...", the little reaper said between sobs. "We just... We thought everything was... would be fine... That we were helping..."
Deciding that he had chewed her out enough, Eli sighed deeply. "There hasn't been a plan that successfully gone from A to B smoothly in history. See this as a lesson that every leader has to learn. I shall leave the task to General Ironwood, Headmaster Ozpin, Professor Glynda, your mother Summer, and your uncle Qrow. Just promise me this: never go off on your own, and report to the ones with authority first before you girls decide to do something of that scale. Am I clear?"
The girls of team RWBY murmured their promises and nodded at Eli's words. But before they could disperse, Eli added. "And be sure to thank Headmaster Ozpin and Professor Glynda, they took a lot of flak just to cover you four."