(Nearly) Everyone Reacts to RWBY Volume 3, Part 2!

A/N: Welcome, one and all, to the latest chapter that nobody wanted of Weiss Reacts! Well, this ought to be fun. Let the feels ensue. Maybe. I dunno. I'm terrible at writing feels, eh? Not that amazing. Well, at any rate, you guys are paying for all the stiff drinks Pyrrha, Penny and Yang are going to be taking after this rollercoaster of a chapter. And since apparently nobody cares about Torchwick, you can go pay for those too.

I'm still conflicted on having Pyrrha as a main character after they shafted her, mainly because on one hand she's fun to write and I can't exactly just shoot her in the face to get rid of her in this story, but it just looks like I'm denying her death if I keep using her. I dunno. Eh.

DISCLAIMER: RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth, otherwise there would be more glasses fanservice in canon. (Come on, man, give some glasses girl love! I kid, I kid.) Spoiler warning!

All mentioned franchises and characters belong to their respective owners.

"It's getting dark." Weiss noted, as she stared at the paused screen. "The story, I mean. I can see the window."

Indeed, it was getting late in the day. The gathered students and two mentors looked between each other, murmuring.

"We sure we want to keep watching this stuff?" Jaune inquired. "It won't get any better. I mean, if they're only starting with Yang getting arrested and Pyrrha potentially losing her personality…."

Yang crossed her arms, huffing." Dammit, I wanna see the end of this! I better have my innocence proven! I totally didn't shoot first!"
"I need to see the end of this, too." Cinder nodded in agreement. "I want to know exactly what my other self's playing at, after all. Even if I find myself slowly less tempted by my other self's rather voluptuous charms~"
"What is it with people, fire and sexiness?" Weiss complained. "Seriously! You and Yang, Professor Fall, are obsessed with nothing but your own backsides!"

Yang rolled her eyes dismissively. "Oh, please. Just because your backside's nothing nice to look at-"
"Hey, her butt's cute!" Ruby cried in protest, causing the heiress to blush in embarrassment, slapping Ruby on the back of the head. "Owwwww, Weeeeeiss!"

"D-don't say things like that! I-It's embarrassing!"
"I…..I think Jaune's butt is cute….." Pyrrha confessed with her voice barely above a whisper, blushing slightly. Judging by how red the knight's face went, he was just as embarrassed as his partner was. Weiss grumbled irritably, rubbing her temples.

"And this is all collapsing into chaos again. Alright, so everyone's staying to watch the end of this season, right? Even you, Penny?"
"I'm…watching-stuff-ready!" The puppet girl saluted her happily. "It's fun to watch things with friends!"

'It'll help soften the blow, certainly.' Torchwick mused to himself, sighing. "Alright, kids, enough flirting. Get this show on the road! Us teachers have things to do!"
Cinder raised an eyebrow. "We do?"

"Don't encourage them, Fall! They already think my subject's useless as it is!"
"What does economics even have to do with Hun-"

Weiss motioned to Yang, sighing. "Just unpause. We'll watch it while they argue."

"Alright." The brawler sighed, taking a glass from the table and a deep gulp before she grabbed the remote and pointed it at the screen.

"I find this rather exciting, if I am honest." Winter whispered over to Penny. "To be honest, this is the first time I've ever watched a television show….."
"It's my first time too!" The puppet girl responded with a smile. "Hey, can we be friends too?"
"Of course. I've heard a lot about you, Miss Polendina. I'd love to be your friend." The lady smiled. "Let's keep quiet, yes? The show is starting."
"Oh! Right! Apologies!"

Beginning of the End

Cinder tilted her head, frowning. "…..oh, if only Emerald and Mercury were here to see this."
"…..was his dad really that skilled an assassin?" Weiss inquired, curious. Cinder nodded.

"Oh. Yes. Definitely. Also a complete monster, but…." The pyromancer sighed. "Our Mercury ran away from home, suffice to say. "
"And Emerald? She was a thief?"

"Before the old headmaster took her in, seeing potential." Cinder clarified, before chuckling nostalgically. "You really should've been there, back in the day. It was just us misfits; the perverted fire girl, the runaway, the homeless girl and the bowler-hat wannabe."

Roman grumbled. "The hat's a fashion statement, you know. At least I don't dress like a walking fashion show every day."
"If you've got it, flaunt it~"

"Adam? Why would you want Adam?" Blake inquired, scratching her head. "He was a wimp. Also, why is my chest jiggling?"
"Unlike you, Blake, we can't all slam drills made of pure testosterone into people's faces." Weiss reminded her. "Although, I'd be interested to know what this cause Cinder really was going on about."

The pyromancer tensed up slightly at the mention of her motives being examined. "…I wouldn't, personally." Her voice sounded just that little bit less cheery than it had been a moment before.

'….Amber, huh? It's…..been a while, since I last saw that face.' Cinder mused, looking away briefly. '….if only she were here to see all this.'

Pyrrha shook her head. "I swear, I've seen this girl before, but I can't remember where…."

Everyone in the room was once more silenced by the disastrous end of the fight between the pyromancer and the former Fall Maiden.

"…did she just…throw a facehugger at her and…." Yang flinched. "Oh Dust, that's messed up."
Jaune looked slightly nauseous. "…..yeah. What kinda Grimm is that?"

Cinder merely remained silent, staring at the screen stock still, as if remembering a distant bad memory. Weiss briefly noted this, filing her reaction away in her mental profiles of everyone.

'…..it seems Professor Fall is….more than meets the eye. I'll have to look into this.'

"Oh come on!" The brawler complained, growling. "Really? Great, well, thanks, Mercury! Screwing me over with those robot legs! Now they all think I'm some sort of evil person who kicks puppies and steals candy from babies!"

"One out of three isn't bad." Weiss drily remarked.

Yang pouted. "S-shut up! That isn't funny!"

Destiny

"….so we've been disqualified. I always said that you'd get us disqualified from something…." Weiss remarked. "But I didn't think it'd happen like this. What kind of scheme is Cinder playing at…."
Winter looked up at the pyromancer. "Professor Fall? Is everything alright?"

Cinder, for her part, was simply staring at the screen, not saying a word. Her face seemed neutral, seemingly unbothered by these events, but her eyes told a different story. They seemed traumatised, as if she was being forced to relive a bad memory.

"J-just…..fine, Winter. I'll be fine." The pyromancer said distractedly, waving her off without even looking at her.

Yang sighed. "Thanks, at least, for believing in me. It's nice to know Blake's got my back no matter what world we're in."
The catgirl smiled back. "Of course, Yang. No way I'd just leave you hanging. That's the way team RWBY rolls!"

Pyrrha frowned. "I…I see my other self is troubled. I can't imagine what kind of crisis she's going through now with this burden of the Maiden on her…."
"...you alright, Pyrrha?" Jaune looked over at her, concerned. "You look a little pale. You sure you wanna keep watching?"
"I'm….fine." The spearmaiden nodded. "Trust me. It's just an animation. I should be fine."

Regardless, Jaune felt her hand search for his at her side. Almost instinctively, he held it softly, rubbing it comfortingly with his thumb.

Yang resisted the urge to take a picture.

"…destiny? The hell's that?" Blake scoffed, crossing her arms. "Kamina-sama always taught me to screw destiny, to make our own with our own two hands!"

"…..isn't that what Pyrrha just said?" Weiss pointed out. "….and…..Pyrrha! What the-!"

Pyrrha's hand tightened around Jaune's. "….I-I….I'd never do that. I promise, I-"

"It's okay, Pyrrha. It's fine." Jaune replied, smiling reassuringly. "I know."

"I'm going up against Pyrrha?" Penny looked at the screen with wide eyes. "…..I have never fought her before, but I know that cannot end well."

Weiss cringed as the episode ended. "For the love of Dust, please tell me they're not going to end it like I think they are…..

Robots and metal do not mix. Please, please tell me that's not how this ends."

PvP

The room was silent once more, as the episode ended. Not a single word had been said throughout the length of it, and not a single word was said when the battle ended between Pyrrha and Penny exactly as one would expect.

Ruby blinked rapidly. "D-did Penny….did she just….."

"…..I…." Pyrrha shook her head. "I would never…..the illusions. That's…."

Penny just stared at the screen, her mouth open in shock. "…..I…..I died….

Is this what…..w-watching yourself die feels like? I…..feel something odd….it feels…..wrong."
Weiss shook her head. "Look, we can stop watching now, if you guys want, alright? We don't need to finish this.

Professor Fall's speechless, Penny's just….and Pyrrha's barely speaking. Are we going t-"

"Yes." The spearmaiden interrupted her, nodding. "We'll…..we'll finish this. It would b-be a disrespect."

Jaune looked over to her. "Look, Pyrrha, if you need a moment-"
"I-I'm fine. D-don't worry about me, Jaune. It's just a show." The spearmaiden responded, reassuring herself more than her partner. "…..right?"

'…I can't deny that it's a possibility. Not after what happened with the Ylisseans…..I can't deny that this….truly happened somewhere beyond our knowledge.

I….I can't ever let this happen. Not here.'

Ruby looked down to Penny. "Hey, look, if you want to just go now, it's fine. You don't need to finish the show-"
"I'll be fine, f-friend!" Penny responded, trying to force her voice to sound cheerier than usual. "…i-it is just….a show, right?"

Weiss looked concernedly around herself as most of her friends seemed to become even more horrified at the lengths that the show was going to.

'….this isn't good.' The heiress thought to herself. '….what are these people playing at? At this rate, even Blake will be broken down at the end….

Ruby seems almost fine, but…'

The reaper nodded, clearly shaken. "Let's keep going. T-there's no point turning back now. Y-you're all staying, correct?"

Penny, Pyrrha and Cinder all nodded in the affirmative.

"A-alright." Ruby breathed in, taking the remote and unpausing the show. "Here goes."

Battle of Beacon

"Woo!" Blake yelled. "We really needed that one. That awesome take down of the Nevermore. We really needed that! That is how true companions do it!"

Pyrrha nodded, blinking. "Yes. Y-yes we do. I still don't understand how that went so wrong….

The catgirl looked impressed. "Place your bets, eh? Port's sounding a bit more like a man than he usually does. This ought to be fun."

"Oh, man." Jaune shuddered. "Things really are bad. The Grimm are everywhere…wait, wait, Professor Port and-no! No! They're going to die!"
"Relax." Velvet reassured them. "They're too badass to die. Besides, what would be the fun in killing them off? Also, woo! I get some screentime!"

"Nobody cares about that right now!" Weiss snapped irritably. "I swear…..

And what kind of…..good Dust. This is…..this isn't good. They've got one of the ships, they've got the Grimm all over Vale…they took Penny…."
As the Grimm Dragon sprung from the mountain, they were all silent.

The memory of the Grimmfather was still fresh in their mind. It, too, was a giant Grimm, larger than any they had ever seen, and they had only defeated it with luck and the power of a giant ship behind them. As more chaos descended upon Beacon, they realised just how lucky they were, to have defeated said giant Grimm the way they did. They saw the consequences of failure, or a close approximation.

'…to think that we defeated a creature like that.' Weiss remembered. '…..to think that we survived, too…

I understand now why they tell us to appreciate life.'

"…that's…." Ruby could barely speak, before turning to Weiss. "W-Weiss, it's going to be okay, right? We're all going to get out of this alright, right?"

"…this isn't good." The heiress admitted. "…but I have faith it will end well. I doubt they'll let it end badly.

They haven't in the last two volumes, why start now?"
"I don't have a good feeling about it myself….." Pyrrha admitted, swallowing. "…..let's just keep going."

"Even Ironwood….." Winter muttered. "…this truly has become darker than expected."

Heroes and Monsters

Roman groaned irritably. "Oh, wonderful. So I just got eaten in my big scene! Great! As if being locked up in a ship wasn't bad enough! Remind me, why did they think it was a good idea to keep me around the place I just tried to break into with a horde of Grimm?"

Yang tried to snicker, but couldn't. "Heh….Neo just got….Mary Poppins'd…..eh. Guys?"

"Whoa. Velvet's….Velvet's basically ripping Archer off." Jaune noted, chuckling. "That's kinda cool."

The bunnygirl cheered. "YES! FINALLY! I GET THE APPRECIATION A CHARACTER OF MY CALIBRE DESERVES!

…..and Weiss, thanks!"
"Heh." The heiress smiled. "It's nice to get some appreciation myself. It seems we're all in need of something happy, eh?"
"…." Blake watched the screen as Adam threatened to destroy everything she loved. Her hand clenched tightly.

'Like hell you will, Adam. If you try that here, I'll just have to destroy that screwed illusion of yours.'

Her hand was suddenly clasped by another's, Yang's. The catgirl looked up to talk to her, as the fateful scene, of Yang losing her arm, happened.

For the umpteenth time, everyone was once more silenced. Yang's eyes were wide in horror, her mouth agape in surprise.

"M-my…..my…." The brawler blinked, unable to speak, having to look down to check that her own arm was still attached. Thankfully, it still was. "…..impossible…..no way….

H-he hurt Blake…..t-that bastard hurt Blake….no, I don't care about my arm, I'm going to-"

Her hand was clasped by Blake's. She looked up, and the catgirl nodded at her, trying to give her a reassuring look.

"…..don't worry, Yang. I-It's not real. That's….that's not you. Your arm's still here. I-I'm fine."

The brawler sighed heavily. "…...t-thanks, Blake. I…..I really needed that."

Jaune's free hand clenched as he heard Pyrrha's voice scream in agony.

'I know it's not real, but….dammit, I….I never want to hear her scream like that.' The knight shook his head, closing his eyes. '…I'll never let her scream like that.'

Cinder simply stared blankly at the screen as her counterpart murdered Amber with an arrow to the heart, not saying a word.

Ruby had to turn away briefly as the former Maiden struggled briefly and writhed in agony before slumping to the side, dead.

'This….what happened to the show…..and why do I feel so sad? T-this is only fiction, right? This is only a show…..' The reaper tried to reassure herself, to no avail.

It did not help that aside from three or so years of aging, the people on screen were them, right down to appearance, voice and even weapons. Only Velvet and Blake could claim not to be the same, and they still highly resembled their counterparts.

That, then, would explain the next reaction.

End of the Beginning

"First Penny, then Ozpin….." Ruby shook her head. "At least the professors are fine…no, wait, Pyrrha! What's going to happen to you and Jaune?"
"W-we'll be fine, right?" The spearmaiden inquired hopefully. "N-nothing bad's going to happen, r-right?!"

Jaune shook his head, simply tightening the grasp he had on Pyrrha's hand. "I-It'll be alright. It's just a show."

'…..i-if it's just a show…..then why am I….'

Despite Pyrrha and Jaune finally kissing on screen, Yang lacked the motivation to even crack a joke at their expense, let alone to take a picture like she'd threatened to for the last month or so.

"P-Pyrrha….no….." Jaune uttered, as he watched his on-screen counterpart be launched away.

Nora finally mustered up the courage to say something. "…..c-come on, Pyrrha! You can do it! Just…beat her up! Win! For us!"

"Come on, Ruby!" Weiss clenched her fists. "Y-you can stop this madness!

….no. Not the Achilles' heel. Pyrrha, no. NO!"

"PYRRHA!" Jaune yelped as he witnessed his partner being shot through the heart. "NO!"
The spearmaiden herself just stared in mute horror.

It was just fiction, yes. That wasn't her. She wasn't dying on the top of the school, dying with no-one but her murderer and Ruby to see it happen, dying without having even said a thing to Jaune about her feelings for him.

She was here, right now, watching it happen from the safety of a couch next to the boy she loved amongst the company of true companions.

'…..why does it scare me so much, then? I-it's just….a show, right?'

And yet it was her voice that was gasping desperately for breath, her hand clutching for the arrow, her eyes that widened in terror at her fast-approaching death.

It was not her, but she couldn't help it.

She simply held Jaune's hand tighter, trying to find some security in the touch of her beloved, and not wishing to let him go.

The rest of the room watched the rest of the episode in silence. Not a word was spoken. No proud boasting from Yang about her sister blowing the competition away, no manliness pun from Blake, no cheering from Nora, nothing.

As the episode ended, everyone was left staring at the screen in silence.

The air was tense. The clock ticked. Outside, the night wind blew, shaking the trees below the dorm window slightly.

Thankfully, Yang broke the silence. She looked incredibly distraught.

"That was…..a thing, huh?" The brawler uttered, her voice shaking slightly. "Hehehe…..that was a thing. Y-you guys alright? I'm f-fine! I'm g-great!

I just saw two of my best friends die, my arm get chopped off and the most important person in my life abandon me!"

"The girl you wha-" Blake inquired, but Yang ignored her.

"Hehehe…..I'm fine! I'm totally…..I-I'm….going to need a while." The brawler admitted, looking down.

"I think after that, we…..we all need a while." Weiss nodded, looking around to Penny, who, if she had tear ducts, would look near tears and Pyrrha, who simply looked shellshocked. "…let's just…..take a moment."

"It's a-alright, guys." Ruby reassured them. "W-we're all still here. We're all still alive. T-this is…..this is just a show-"

"We can't say that, not after we saw alternate worlds like we did." Winter muttered. "…..b-but….you're right. We can't just….give into despair like this."

"…everything will be okay." The reaper promised. "…..everything's alright.

Nobody's hurt. Nobody's gone. Let's all….calm down."

Yet nobody seemed to release the tension they were keeping pent up, and nobody even noticed Roman and Cinder leave the room.

It was a very, very quiet next hour or so for the remaining people.

END

A/N: You guys happy now? I put Pyrrha and Penny through the wringer of seeing themselves die! Literally, as in, watching their other selves die! You guys happy about that now? I hope you are, you just broke Pyrrha. I mean, she's still better off than her canon self, but damn. She ain't getting sleep tonight.

Well, anyway, next time, to cheer things up, we're covering Squid Girl, so there. We can all calm down, the worst is over.

Also, because why the hell not, this chapter's dedicated to everyone who died in this volume.

Of course, we can't forget Monty, either.

We love you, man. Hope wherever you are now, you're enjoying the fruits of your creation like the magnificent bastard you are. We'll have a Nora gun salute, with grenades, in your honour!

So, I hope you enjoyed that, leave your ideas, suggestions, comments, criticisms, reviews and thoughts, and I hope you-STINGER

Later that night…..

Norn put her book away. The book was titled 'How to Efficiently Make Friends In Twenty Steps'.

"That book was rather….unhelpful." The robotic maid noted, shaking her head. "There are more efficient ways than kidnapping people to make friends.

I personally do not believe it is logical to-"

Suddenly, her scroll beeped. Norn looked at it to see Penny's contact calling her.

"….Miss Penny? What are you doing calling at this time of night? Surely you're on your way home now?" The maid noted as she picked up the call.

"N-Norn…." Penny sounded distraught. "….I-It's Penny. C-Can I….Can I talk to Blake, please? I….I need to ask her something."

Norn felt something odd, hearing her friend sound like that.

'…something happened to Miss Penny.' Norn concluded. '…I….I feel as if I must ask.'

"Miss Penny, are you sure everything is-"
"I-I don't wanna talk about it…..j-just….c-can you get me to Blake, please?"

….

RWBY dorm….

Blake was sitting at the dorm's computer, trying to work out her despair by working on something.

It was a new design for Norn's weapons, a replacement for the flimsy chain-kunai that she currently used. Verthandi and Skuld were, while incredibly useful, not strong enough to survive the theoretical stresses of Valkyria Mode for long periods.

These new weapon designs would-

"Blake."

The catgirl turned around, seeing Norn standing in the doorway and holding her scroll.

"…..Blake. Miss Penny wants to talk to you about something." The maid called over. "She says it is urgent."

Meanwhile, in Ozpin's office….

"So. The events in the other world happened exactly as described." Ozpin inquired, as Cinder and Roman stood in front of his desk.

The pyromancer nodded shakily. "Y-yes. Exactly as….as we predicted."

"Cinder, you look like hell." Roman noted, offering her his hand. "Just sit down. I'll do the talking."

"….t-thanks, Roman. I…I barely handled seeing those events once…..let alone twice." Cinder choked slightly, shaking her head.

Ozpin sighed. "Can you confirm this, Torchwick?"
"Yeah, yeah. Penny got gutted, the bots were hacked, Grimm were released…..the vision was right." The stylish man replied. "Right down to that Nikos girl getting shot through the heart."
"I see." The headmaster closed his eyes, thinking briefly. "….our actions were successful, then.

The Awakening Initiative is no longer in force, effective immediately. We have successfully averted a potential series of events outlined in the incident seventeen years ago."

Roman exhaled, sounding relieved. "Heh. You don't know how long I've waited to hear those words, Oz. To think I don't have to worry about being eaten by a Griffon…."

"Thank Dust….." Cinder spoke up, looking happier now. "…I….I hope we did it. I hope we averted such a terrible future…."
"To think that so much would be achieved, but at such high cost….." Ozpin noted, sighing. "But….we don't need to worry about it anymore.

Cinder, please contact the Antic Order and tell them the Initiative was a success. We need only contact them over the object in Professor Faust's basement. Torchwick, inform the rest of the staff. I will contact Qrow, Taiyang and everyone else involved in the Initiative.

I suspect that some, like Miss Nikos' mother, will be thrilled to hear our news."

"…regardless, I would still like to be attached to the school, in order to keep an eye on Miss Nikos. And her friends, of course."

Roman and Cinder turned around to see a tall, thin woman walk from out of the shadows. She appeared to be in her twenties, with long blonde hair tied in a ponytail and vivid green eyes standing out from behind thin-rimmed spectacles. Her face, although young, seemed somewhat tired and exhausted.

Her attire consisted of a small white and gold breastplate, with a small, gold and red miniskirt with white greaves reaching to her knees and golden-red shoulder pads. She wore a red scarf around her neck, and a rectangular, black box was slung to her back by a leather strap.

Roman raised an eyebrow. "Who's she?"

"Ah. Miss Cassandra." Ozpin clapped his hands. "I was informed by the Order you would arrive soon. A pleasure to meet you in person."

Cassandra adjusted her glasses, nodding to Ozpin.

"A pleasure to meet you too. You must be the Ozpin I've heard so much about. Thank you for having me here.

I assure you, I will take advantage of the opportunity you have provided me."

END