RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth, of which I am not a part of.

I'm not dead, I swear.

Sorry about any scare I may have made by missing my weekly upload mark; I promise I'll make up for it. My old computer went whack and it took me a while to recover my notes for this fic, ones that I wanted for specific details across the remainder of the story that I could have easily forgotten over the course of several weeks.

Freezerburn Week starts on the 13th, adding onto my ever-growing pile of stuff to do. I'm sad that I started after Monochrome Week had already finished back in February but that just means I'll need to make up for it next year. Or this year if we have a second week, though nothing suggests we will get another one so I guess I'll just have to deal with it.

Just a heads up, I've added my fics to AO3; check them out over there if you want.

Volume 2, Chapter 12, 'Breach'


The sound of Crescent Rose unraveling scratched at the tension in the air. The four girls were surrounded by more Beowolves than they could remember seeing back in Mountain Glenn.

Clenching her teeth and hardening her grip on Myrtenaster, Weiss propelled herself forwards. Thrusting out, she took down the lead wolf whilst Ruby aired over her, cutting down several more. The heiress shot to the right, swinging in a wide arc and catching several more opponents, knocking them to the ground as they disintegrated with pained howls. Yang bolted past and sent another alpha flying with a kick to the chest whilst Blake disappeared into a small cluster of the creatures with the sound of metal slicing through the dark forms.

Summoning a glyph below her, Weiss launched herself into the air, out of the grasp of a charging Ursa, landing midair on another rune that shot her back down, embedding the tip of her sword into the creature's back.

Someone landed behind her. The snow-haired girl didn't know who it was and honestly didn't care right now, too busy slicing her way through the endless sea of Grimm.

That is, until they let out a yell. One she didn't recognize as one of her teammates.

Weiss spared a glance at the newcomer and was shocked to find Pyrrha throwing a Beowulf over her head with her shield, bisecting the creature with her xiphos as it fell to the ground. Green eyes met her gaze and the ace gave off a warm, confident smile.

The heiress didn't let the surprise sink in for too long. She summoned another glyph to guard them from the claws of an approaching Deathstalker as her newfound companion transformed Miló into its rifle form and shot the heads off several more charging wolves before directing her attention back to the larger opponent.

Weiss rolled her eyes and smiled as she heard Ruby and Nora cheering off in the distance, the sound of her partner's scythe firing off a volley quickly followed by a series of explosions that were almost certainly grenades.

Over the heat of battle, she picked out Jaune's shouts, relaying tactical instructions to the teams as Ren charged down a King Taijitu, firing off his guns at the white head while Yang was busying wailing on the black one with her gauntlets.

The blonde boy knocked over another wolf with Crocea Mors, stabbing its sword into the creature's neck as it gave out a roar of pain. An Ursa struck out towards him but he managed to catch the blow with his shield as Blake sliced into its back with Gambol Shroud. As the creature turned towards her, she jumped up, ribbon still attached to her katana as she landed on Jaune's shield. There was a clang against the metal as she pushed off, flipping back over and landing on the shoulders of another wolf, slicing off its head with her weapon's sheath. Digging her heels into the ground, she pulled the great beast forwards as Jaune sliced into its body several times before it fell over and vanished into the air.

The leader gave his friend a thankful smile before shouting off another order to her, pointing towards his partner and Weiss. Blake acknowledged his command with a nod as she grabbed her katana and sprinted off towards the Deathstalker that Pyrrha was dodging. The heiress struck forward again and slashed at its clawing arm before catching the sight of her teammate jumping towards the giant scorpion's tail.

Thinking quick, she shot off a glyph in midair for the brunette to land on, allowing her to wrap her kusarigama around its stinger as she spun through the air, the pistol firing off into its head as she pulled the trigger with her ribbon. The creature roared out and Pyrrha took the opportunity to charge in, slicing at its mouth and causing the monster to reel back.

Focusing, Weiss began to channel her aura through Myrtenaster before striking the rapier into the group. She could feel the glyph building behind her. But then a Beowulf suddenly charged her, forcing her to abandon the summoning and block its blow, before Blake landed on the creature, splitting it apart down the center.

It hadn't worked, but the results were still somewhat encouraging; she COULD summon.

Ugh, focus Weiss!

As she searched for a new target, a huge crash from behind had her spinning around, ready to chastise Nora for her carelessness before realizing it was yet another student. The green-haired boy wielded an enormous sword, lugging it over his shoulder as he turned towards her. Judging by his bared stomach, the heiress wagered a guess that he was from Sun's team, supported by the hollering laughter of the monkey Faunus in the distance as he knocked over several more creatures of Grimm with his staff.

Neptune and another kid with red hair ran between Yang and Ren as the two pulled away from their two-headed opponent. With his trident powering up, the Casanova struck the side of the snake's head, electricity arching down its body as it roared. His teammate tore his cutlass into the white one's eye, causing the creature to bellow out and thrash around violently, sending the unfortunate boy flying through the sky.

Ren volted over Jaune, running to catch his falling ally as the leader ran up to Neptune, who had backed up to give Yang room to blast at the serpent with Ember Celica. Grabbing the blue-haired boy's shoulder to catch his attention, he pointed at his redheaded teammate (who was blasting grenades into a large group of Beowolves).

"Neptune, go electrocute Nora."

Naturally, he got a look of utter confusion for this, the blue gaze mixing in some considerable concern for his friend's mental state. The blonde rolled his own blue eyes.

"Look, I know it sounds crazy but it has to do with her semblance and honestly, it's taking long enough to explain this so please just do it!"

Flashing another glance at the girl, Neptune nodded and sprinted off. Jaune turned to Sun, knocking his way through another wave of Boarbatusks, and yelled for him to go help out Nora as well. To this, he received a salute as the Faunus refolded his gun-chucks back into their staff form.

Nora was standing on top of a large fountain, surrounded by a group of Ursa and taunting them from just out of their grasp as Weiss used some of her fire dust to distract the creatures below. Neptune arrived at the edge of the structure and threw his guandao like a javelin up at the girl. When she saw the weapon flying at her, she grinned maniacally and caught the blade with her outstretch hand, lightning immediately coursing through her body.

Unfolding Magnhild into its war-hammer form, the tiny terror jumped into the air, stepping off Sun's clones as the boy launched them up into the air. Building up momentum, the small redhead brought her hammer to the ground. The impact sent off a shockwave that sent Grimm flying in every direction, even launching the two blonde leaders back with twin cries of shock.

A Nevermore let out a cry of fury as its wing was sliced by Blake, the cat Faunus jumping off its back and swinging up with her ribbon from the ground, pulling on the useless limb. Pyrrha helped throw Ruby into the air with her shield, the cloaked leader using the recoil of her gun to launch herself at the screaming creature, slicing through it with several strokes of her scythe.

Below, Yang took a second to kneel onto the ground, trying to catch her breath as Neptune and Ren fired at another group of charging Beowolves.

"Dust!" The black-haired boy cried out. "Is there no end to them?"

Just as he spotted a rolling Boarbatusk and braced his aura, several swords flew through the sky and took out the rest of the charging group. Yang and the two boys looked in the direction of their savior to see none other than Penny. The quirky girl gave off a small wave and a happy smile. "Hey guys! Need some help?"

None of the three had the chance to reply as the redhead jumped forward, dancing elegantly as her swords sliced apart Grimm by Grimm.

"PENNY!"

The girl turned towards her name and saw Ruby shooting towards her, leaving a trail of petals behind her.

Penny extended out her arms, only for her swords to fly past both of them and strike a Deathstalker that was chasing her friend. Similarly, Ruby flew over her friend and struck at an Ursa behind the android, causing the large creature to stumble back at the impact. She impacted the ground below, silver eyes sparkling with an unnatural glow and ducking as Penny brought her swords back around to cleave the Ursa in two.

As Scarlet and Sage drew back their weapons, facing another group of Beowulves, a shrill siren above their heads caught everyone's attention. Atlesian ships began pouring out large armies of robots into the street.

Ruby looked over at her red-headed companion. "Aren't those the androids we saw on display?"

Penny beamed back at her. "Oh, yes! Mr. Ironwood said that he was very proud of the models." Her eyes sparkled as she looked over the marching groups. "He said that they could be the turning point in defending the kingdoms from Grimm!"

Smiling back, the cloaked girl suddenly shuddered as she heard a loud growl from behind. Rather than another Grimm, she instantly recognized Professor Goodwitch's voice, and every student moved as far away from her as possible as she brought up her riding crop and proceeded to seal the breach with an incredible display of her semblance.


Team RWBY sat at the edge of the cliff at Beacon Docks, staring off into the sunset.

Well, three of them were staring off, at least.

Blake had come to find Weiss's shoulder to be the most comfortable place to sleep over the past few days, especially because the other girl never moved when she laid on it, something she greatly appreciated. The stiffness she felt in the smaller girl's body mattered little to her exhausted mind, plagued by recent sleep problems; either way, it was understandable. It wasn't as though every single issue between them would disappear over the course of a few weeks.

Not to say she didn't trust her, of course. Weiss had the right to feel awkward. After all, she certainly did sometimes, though she could never figure out why.

It's probably just Yang's teasing.

right?

Just about keeping herself from drifting off into slumber, Blake thought back to their mission, her brows furrowing. There were still so many unanswered questions. What was the White Fang planning to do by leading Grimm to the city? What had been Torchwick's final goal? Why were the two groups even working together in the first place?

Was Adam involved?

She dismissed the thoughts quickly. The Grimm invasion had been stopped and Torchwick was in jail. Whatever the Fang's plan was, they'd thrown a wrench in it.

We've done all we can for now.

She knew she'd never be able to fully escape their influence on her life, but still, she had allies to fight alongside her when the time came.

Her mind focused on the rising and falling of the heiress's shoulder. A smile slipped onto her lips as her own breathing slowed.

Weiss kept herself from shaking as her crush settled further onto her, raven locks falling across her chest. She could feel the silky ribbons in their hair intertwining as Blake's face brushed the base of her ponytail.

As her pulse skyrocketed, blue eyes squeezing shut, the heiress finally accepted that her feelings for the Faunus girl weren't going anywhere anytime soon.

I… guess I have to admit that it's… certainly possible that I'm in love with her.

Her mind was going at a million miles per hour. There was still so much wrong with it: her father, Blake's past (which she still knew so little about), her own inexperience with romance.

W-what do I even do? Just… hang out with her until she falls for me? Would she even like me back? I mean… yes, she clearly LIKES me, she cares about me at least, but… It's just not… like-like. Or…

She let out a quiet groan as the tempest swept through her thoughts, an act met with protest by Blake's wriggling reminding her that, YES, the other girl was close to her, in both the figurative and literal sense.

I just… look, Weiss. You are Weiss SCHNEE. Yes, maybe that does put a damper on the idea of getting into a relationship with a Faunus, but it ALSO means that you have a legacy behind you, something strong to stand on. Grandpa Nicholas always led his expeditions, even into dangerous Grimm-infested regions. Because he was brave.

But I don't have to be brave. I just have to be courageous. To hold down my fear and awkwardness and embarrassment, for the sake of-

At that moment, Blake nestled further into her body, letting out a content sigh. Weiss gritted her teeth as blood rushed to her cheeks.

EASIER SAID THAN DONE!

Yet, after a few seconds, the tension disappeared. Her mind forced itself into a position of complete relaxation, willing itself not to panic over this.

Maybe this isn't the healthiest way of handling this, but it's the only way without blurting out my feelings like a fool. I can't put her on the spot like that. I… want a relationship where we can be equals, where we can make each other happy without…

She sighed again. In truth, she didn't know if she was doing any of this correctly. At all. But if it meant not embarrassing herself, she would be strong.

A bump on her other shoulder drew her back to reality, her face turning to meet Yang's own. Lilac orbs sparkled with mischief.

As the blonde opened her mouth to say something, the heiress shot back a glare that managed to freeze veins that normally burned in the heat of battle. The brawler wisely reworded herself, especially as she broke the gaze to glance at the massive drop the smaller girl would have no problem sending her down with a simple glyph.

"S-say, what do you guys think about going back into Vale tonight? You know, to get some… accessories? I mean, I'm sure at least some of the stores are still open despite the incident today."

Azure eyes blinked, her cold fury fading quickly at the innocent request. Weiss thought back to their conversation last night, about their ribbons and expanding the idea to the rest of the team. Part of her mind bemoaned the loss of uniqueness of the bond between herself and the brunette that the ribbons represented, but the rest of her brain chastised it.

Blake is important to me, but so is the rest of my team.

Still, in addition to her exhaustion, combined from the short night and the intense fight earlier, she felt disgusting. Only one day without personal hygiene and she could already feel the dried sweat on her limbs with every movement, testing her nerves.

"Honestly, that does sound nice, but I'd like to go take a shower first."

Her partner nodded while amber eyes fluttered open.

Her expression plastered with confusion, Yang brought up her arm and took an experimental whiff of her armpit. Her face screwed up before she muttered in agreement.


I was going to do the CFVY fight and the Oobleck/Port attack, but then I realized I didn't really know how to change them to make them better. Oh well.

Whew! Volume 2 done and about halfway to the end (there should end up being around 30 chapters if all goes according to plan)! Now I just need to find a way to make up for missed deadlines.

Oh, wait, I've already finished all three inter-volume chapters :P

Let me just edit them up to snub and I'll post them in a while. Just don't expect anything else from this fanfic before the 21st or so; you know, Freezerburn Week. I can only write so much at once, after all, on top of real life stuff.