Chapter 2
Divergence
Beacon Academy
Evacuations usually ground to a halt at the slightest hint of a problem.
This one wouldn't be the exception.
The several thousand civilians attending the Vytal Festival needed a prompt escape from Amity Colosseum which had been overrun in the matter of minutes by a host of flying Grimm. Hunters had turned the docks of the colosseum into a shooting range as Nevermore and Griffon fell to their accurate snipes.
The story on the ground wasn't any prettier. While the borders of Vale remained intact, dozens of districts had been infiltrated with Grimm, courtesy of the Dragon soaring overhead. The small Grimm decimated the streets, causing people to take shelter on the roofs.
The upper echelons of the Hunters were split among these districts, eradicating each Grimm with prejudice and protecting the people they were sworn to.
The lower echelons were in charge of evacuating the colosseum and school.
If only the job remained so simple.
Minutes after the assault onto Amity started, the White Fang landed a vanguard of Grimm and Paladin on the school's platforms, splitting the Hunter's attention between the evacuation and the sieging Grimm.
Atlas' Knights helped greatly. The sheer number of guns thinned the Grimm to a more manageable number. They weren't perfect as many would simply break under the monstrous strength of them, but they got the job done.
Then the slightly more difficult job turned to hell as the Knights turned on the Hunters.
Weiss flew between the ranks of the Knights, slashing and disarming one row before bouncing off a glyph and repeating the process to the next. Landing, she parried a Knight's blow, planted her feet on its chest, sending it backwards with a glyph while she backflipped away to help Blake.
Under her, Blake fought her old organization. Cutting a member across his chest, she caught a punch and let her clone take it. White Fang members swarmed her as she landed but were blown back by the descending heiress.
The battles around them weren't going as well.
To their left, a Paladin brushed aside several Atlesian soldiers as they attempted to bring their own military's mech down. As they moved to assist, a bullhead with a flaming engine careened towards the school, releasing an Alpha as it descended.
They had to separate.
"Be safe." A nod later and Weiss ran off to help the soldiers.
As she did, Blake jogged towards the crash site of the bullhead, looking around for the Alpha.
Her path was littered with the rubble of the dining hall. A climbing Beowolf ripped chunks of the ramparts on its wayward journey. Glass lay shattered under each window, the unfortunate effect of heavy objects colliding with the wooden muntin.
The dining hall was in shambles. Table legs, broken from their tops, were strewn across the inside. Splitters, embedded in the floor created, miniature spike fields. Flames lapped at the walls, curling wallpaper and charring ancient wood.
A presence within cause her to freeze.
"Hello my love." A baritone slithered out through empty windows. It was a voice she'd never forget.
"Adam." A breathless gasp escaped her. Golden eyes widened in fear, gazing upon a relic of her past she hoped to never see again. It was a fool's hope.
"Running away again?" She took a step back in sheer disbelief. "Is that what you've become my love, a coward?"
"Why are you doing this?"
"You and I were going to change the world, remember? We were destined to light the fires of revolution!" Adam stepped forward and planted his foot on a crippled civilian's chest. "Consider this, the spark."
He drew Wilt from his side, holding it pointed downward, directly at his victim's throat. His intentions couldn't be more abundantly clear.
He couldn't swing his chokutō further; Gambol Shroud intercepted it. Red eyes glared out from behind a slitted Grimm mask.
"I'm not running." Sparks flew as the two weapons clashed and struggled against one another.
"You will." Adam raised his foot again, planting it on her face, sending her rolling into the crumbling walls of the hall. A Creep attempted to gouge Blake before being put down with a single round from Blush. "But not before you suffer for your betrayal, my love."
"This could have been our day, can't you see that?" His incensed voice belied his actions as he sheathed Wilt.
"I never wanted this!" She knelt from her position on the ground, transforming Gambol into its ranged mode. "I wanted equality. I wanted peace!"
"What you want…" He partially drew Wilt out of her sheath as Blake fired three shots at him, splitting them in two as they passed the blade's edge. "...is impossible."
He again sheathed his blade, stepped into Blake and bitch slapped her. She was getting tired becoming this intimate with the ground.
"But I understand, because all I want is you Blake." She cocked Gambol in a futile attempt to harm him. As she did, he roughly kicked the weapon, sending it flying out of her reach. The kick sent her flat; spread eagle across the stone floor.
"And as I set out upon this world and deliver the justice mankind so greatly deserves, I will make it my mission to destroy everything you love." He crouched at her side, invading her personal space deeply.
"BLAKE!" Yang's voice echoed from outside as she pumped a shotgun shell into a White Fang member's head. He'd probably survive. With a severe case of brain damage. "Where are you?"
Yang's voice brought Adam's attention to her. She obviously meant something to Blake, as she nominally shook her head at him.
"Starting with her."
A smug smile made its way across his face. He stood, drew Wilt with practised ease and drove it through Blake's abdomen, eliciting a cry of pain from the downed feline.
The cry drew Yang's attention to them.
"Huh?" She watched as an unknown red-haired man in a trench coat savagely ripped a chokutō from her partner's gut. "Get away from her!"
"No...please..." Blake's warning fell on deaf ears.
Adam sheathed Wilt with a cocky smirk splayed across his face. It was enough to send Yang into a rage, igniting the very air around her. Her eyes blazed in brilliant crimson, a subconscious reaction to seeing Blake mortally wounded.
Dual shots from Ember Celica propelled Yang through the hall's broken windows.
Going berserk cost her a hefty price.
Adam was a paragon of calm against a storm of emotion.
Half a meter from impact, he lunged and performed the first stance from the Iaido.
In a blink of an eye, he effortlessly sliced through Yang's aura shield and deflected her over his shoulder.
Red eyes bled into violet as the shock of the attack struck Yang harder than Nora could with Magnhild. They clashed with Blake's as she passed above her collapsed form. They drifted shut as her body followed suit.
Wordless denial passed through Blake's lips.
Yang's right arm separated from her body.
She collapsed in a heap, curled up and unmoving.
Adam swung his chokutō around his body, staining the floor and walls with blood. Blake gripped her bleeding wound, trembling from the pain. She forced herself from the floor, protecting Yang from the approaching executioner.
"Why must you hurt me Blake?"
Defiant amber was his answer.
He lifted his chokutō and swept in a wide arc, cleaving Blake's head from her body.
"You've gotten better my love." He clicked his tongue in disappointment.
Her body and head dissolved into shadows.
Lithe footsteps reached his ears. He turned to see a limping traitor, carrying the blonde over her shoulder, slip out of the hall.
A Creep attempted to maul him before he neutralised it by removing its head. He followed the pair at a sedate pace, tracking their progress to Beacon's docks.
His job here was done.
Hundreds of Hunters stood around, yet Blake refused to collapse under the weight of her partner until she reached a green and pink pair resting on the ground.
Ren was the first to notice them.
"What happened?" The usual stoic warrior exclaimed as he helped Blake lower Yang off of her shoulder to the ground.
"...Wh...F…" She couldn't get out more before a wet cough erupted from her throat, sending blood trickling down her chin.
His clothes were instantly stained as Yang's injury spurted blood onto him.
"Nora, get bandages now!" Without question, she ran off towards the nearest evacuating airship. "Blake, give me one of your forearm ribbons."
Blake barely managed to unravel one of them with shaking hands before she fell to her knees clutching her abdomen. The front of her white shorts were dyed maroon. Red liquid seeped from between fingers trying to maintain pressure.
Magenta eyes widened at the sight of a grievous wound on another of his friends. He snatched the impromptu tourniquet from Blake's bloodied fingers. He needed to act fast or he'd lose both of them.
Nora wasn't anywhere in sight.
He stripped himself of his shirt and tore it in two, tossing the other half next to Blake. Bleary eyes cracked open as the fabric covered her head.
The other half of his shirt he wrapped around Yang's amputated arm. The teal of the shirt darkened to evergreen. He looped Blake's ribbon around Yang's arm and started to twist the ends together. His ruined shirt clung to the wound as the uncontrolled bleed slowed to an ooze.
He reached over Yang and seized Gambol from Blake's still form. She didn't have the energy or care to stop whoever had nicked it. He tied the ends of the ribbon around the sheath securely. He continued to twist the sheath, using it as leverage. When he deemed the tourniquet tight enough, he trapped the weapon against Yang's body.
He rested her on her back and leapt over to Blake's side. The bleeding from her wound had slowed under the pressure she'd been applying in her haze. He pushed her onto her back, removing his torn shirt from Blake. Her eyes moved erratically underneath their eyelids. .
"Blake? Are you awake?" He used his shirt to wiped her face clean. He moved Blake's hand away, turning the valve back open on the blood flow. It was long and thankfully not wide, but it went all the way through her body.
Her skin was paling rapidly.
He tore his shirt in half again. One half, he pressed against her front, keeping it there with his hand and applied as much pressure as he safely could. Turning her onto her side, he pressed the remaining part of shirt to her lower back. A pool of blood splattered the pavement.
This was too much for him. He needed another pair of hands.
His miracle appeared in the form of an orange-haired angel.
Nora ran at full pace carrying a field kit in her arms. She skid to a halt in front of him and dropped to the ground. He could see the panic building in her eyes.
"OMG, OMG, OMG! Ren! You're shirtless! You're hot. You're hurt! Blake's bleeding. Blood everywhere. OM-." Shy cycled through emotions, clutching her hair and releasing the pack. A deep purple bruise spread across Ren's left ribs and chest.
"NORA! She needs you. I need you. Snap out of it." She did just that, but she remained terrified. "Now open that pack and pull out the bandages. All of them."
She unzipped the pack, pulling out scissors, bags, and numerous tubes until she found two rolls.
"Gottem. Now what?"
"Now, help me get Blake to a sitting position. My hands are a bit full." He chuckled dryly.
"Got it." She dropped the bandages behind Blake and gripped her shoulders, raising her to a seat.
"Start wrapping the bandage around her waist." Ren moved his hands off of his shirt as the bandages began to apply pressure for him.
Blake barely had enough energy to open her eyes. Gold peeked through eyelashes. They zeroed in onto her resting partner.
"Yang…" The syllable spluttered on the coagulation in her mouth. "I'm sorry…" She didn't even notice the rest of her team.
"Nora, tilt her head to the side. We can't let her choke." She pushed Blake's chin down and pried her mouth open. The blockage seeped out and down, freeing the esophagus, allowing for air to reach her starved lungs.
"Yang." A sad call rang out behind them. Ruby stood frozen, eyes plastered on her unconscious sister and more accurately, on her missing arm.
She looked over to Ren and Nora, who were supporting Blake up between them. They sat in a pool of blood.
Blake's blood.
"Oh go-" She was interrupted by a frantic Ren.
Ren never got frantic.
"Ruby! Do you know Blake's blood type?" She needed a transfusion or all the work done in trying to save her would be for naught.
"I don't know. B? Maybe?" She stumbled on her words and wracked her brain, trying to remember that fact among the mass of information in Blake's profile. "Is Yang going to be okay?"
"I believe so. Do you know your blood type?" He asked as she could pulled out her scroll.
"A+. Let me just check Blake's real quick."
Ren ignored her.
"Weiss? Do you know yours?" Blake was still bleeding through the bandages as Nora opened the next roll and started the process anew.
"O-." Weiss caught on quickly to Ren's intentions.
"Nora, keep wrapping. Ruby, take my spot." Ruby rushed over to Ren and gripped Blake's shoulders as Ren slipped out and dove into the field pack.
"Weiss, come here." Blake's situation was critical if she was in dire need of blood. Ren retrieved several tubes, bags and hypodermic needles. "Take off the bolero."
Before she could pass the sleeves over her hands and drop it, Ren was upon her, prodding her elbow joint with a needle.
"Rapidly clench and unclench your hand." Roving eyes never left her skin as he connected bag, tube and needle together. An elusive vein popped out on her arm and Ren smiled. Without warning, he sunk the needle into it. Weiss flinched.
Blood ran down the tube and started to fill up the bag. He grabbed another tube and needle, and shuffled over to Blake, careful to make sure he didn't disconnect the feed by moving too quickly. Weiss diligently followed.
"You almost done?" He inquired as he knelt at Blake's side.
"Just finishing up." She tucked the ends of the bandage onto itself. The bleeding had reduced tremendously. Only a small patch managed to soak the most exterior layer.
Blake's aura would heal her with time.
"Alright. Lay her down on her side." He flicked Blake's arm with a finger. Finding an artery, he slotted the second needle into it. A line of tubes connected Weiss and Blake together, the former keeping the latter alive.
Blake's hand moved on its own, seeking out her partner. She met a warm hard and grasped it, unwillingly to ever let go.
Ren pinched the tube leading to Blake and manually started to feed Blake the liquid she needed to survive. After several repeats, Blake's pallor receded back to the healthy olive skin she wore before the incident.
"She's going to be fine. She's going to be fine." Ren breathed a sigh of relief. He was physically and now mentally exhausted. The exhaustion of the past day weighed on him. Much like it weighed on the people around him. He stopped the manual feed, letting blood flow in naturally.
A summer breeze fluttered across the lawn, causing the shirtless medic to shiver. He would've rubbed his hands along his arms, but one was taken holding up the blood bag keeping the Faunus alive, and the other was feeding the blood into her.
A coat of warmth fell upon him. Bright red entered his peripheral as a cloak was draped across his shoulders. He knew of only one person who owned a red cloak.
She was currently hugging him from behind, thanking him profusely for saving her teammate and her sister.
"You're welcome." The exhaustion was worth it. The relief on her face energized him.
"The soldiers have a ship ready to take you guys to Vale." Sun had disappeared after Blake collapsed on them, searching for a craft to transport them to a hospital.
"But Jaune and Pyrrha are still missing." Nora tried to stand, stumbling as she did from a bruise on her side. The release of endorphins in the last hour had let her ignore it.
"What?" Ruby's eyes widened at the thought of her missing friends.
"Look guys." Everyone turned to Sun. "That giant Grimm keeps circling the school, even the White Fang are pulling out. We all have to go. Now."
"We're not...leaving." A sharp pain on his side caused Ren to fall to a crouch. "Not without them."
Sun stared at the resting forms of Blake and Yang.
Nora comforted Ren, snuggling into Ruby's cloak.
Weiss looked conflicted, unsure of her next course of action.
None of them knew what to do.
"I'll find them. I'll find them and I'll bring them back." The resolute voice of Team RWBY's leader emboldened them. Weiss wanted to step to her leader's side, but her Faunus teammate needed her more. "Watch after Blake and Yang." A series of nods responded to her request. She ran off towards the school. "I'll be back."
"You better b-!" Sun's commanding plea was drowned as she was blown back by a shock wave emanating from the courtyard. The shock wave sent her backwards towards the rest of them.
"What the-." Weiss' question remained unfinished as they were blown back by a second shock wave. The third shockwave failed to reach her, as the second had blown her outside their range.
They weren't the only ones knocked off of their feet. Several others on the platform, closer to the courtyard, lay dazed on the ground from the walls of air rushing at them. It, thankfully, didn't reach Weiss and her group.
Ruby staggered against Crescent Rose, rising from all fours. A fourth shockwave emanated from the center of the courtyard. They appeared into existence from nowhere; from a single point in space. A fifth shockwave tore towards them, and then a sixth and a seventh. The fast moving air popped eardrums.
The shock waves started to increase in frequency.
"What is that?" Weiss worked her jaw in circles, hoping for some relief in her ears. Ruby mimicked her, adding a few pulls on her ear lobes.
They simultaneously turned towards each other, confusion etched on their faces. They received similar expressions in return from the rest of their friends. Unspoken agreement passed between them as they all turned back to watch the enfolding phenomenon.
Blast after blast resonated one after the other. The next followed more quickly than the one before it. The increasing beat sped forward, merging to create a seamless tone. Apparently air did make a sound and it was very low. The steady hum reverberated across the the school.
The fabric of reality wavered around them.
The hum paused for a moment, drowning the courtyard in a void. The moment was short lived.
A screeching note pierced the skies above. Every person on or near the landing platforms reeled in pain at the impossibly sharp noise. The glass of every airship in the vicinity fractured under the unrelenting battery.
Blinding light radiated from the shock wave's origin, extinguishing the stars above and reverting night to day for a number of seconds. Ruby and her friends blinked away spots in their eyes.
The dying light revealed a glowing colossal fractal surrounded in a circle.
"Doesn't that look like one of your glyphs, Weiss?" Ruby took one glance at the seal and connected its style to her partner's.
"It does." Sky blue eyes traced each edge of the fractal, studying the spiraling pattern. The complexity of the seal outstripped her knowledge. "It's one of mine."
"How can you be sure?" Ruby's eyes followed behind Weiss', marveling at the beauty of the glyph.
"Because it's a Schnee glyph."
"But can't everyone in your family create glyphs?" Ruby distinctly remembered Weiss lecturing her on her family before.
"Not everyone." She revised Ruby's information of her family. "The Schnee bloodline carries this semblance. My semblance. But I'm the only one who styles their glyphs with this particular snowflake."
"So… the only person who could create a fractal glyph would be…?" They both knew the answer to her question.
"Me." It was an unequivocally true statement.
A final implosion of air released a calamitous bomb of pressure. Hunters, already braced for impact from the previous, buckled as it passed through them with the force of a runaway train. Unsecured items tumbled over the edge of the cliff. Ren struggled to maintain the connection between Weiss and Blake.
The light died and the glyph unraveled.
Silver threads rose from the last depths of the fractal, pulling the remaining glyph trailing behind them. As the threads reached to pull the layer below them, they combined with a neighbor, thickening in proportion. Each travelled at an angle, creating a sextuple helix inside the outer circle of the glyph.
Reaching a zenith, the threads dissolved, starting a chain reaction down to the bottom. Dust scattered in the still air before a wind swept it away towards the countryside.
The outer circle faded.
Four people; four women, stood at the former center of the glyph. Overburdened packs rested at their feets. Weapons adorned various places on their bodies.
The first woman, swathed in fabrics of dried blood with the hair to match, stood at the head of the diamond. Her hair fell to her chin, dancing in wind. A large, thick barreled mecha-shift weapon attached horizontally across her lower back. Black jeans tucked into a pair of sturdy boots. Grey vambraces molded around toned forearms. A black ribbon adorned her neck, coiling around multiple times before being tied in the back.
Behind her crouched a woman in white. Her hair was styled in a similar fashion. A rapier hung at her hips, fingers playing with a cylinder encased inside the guard. Stylish sneakers tied around dainty feet. Dress pants hung low on her waist, secured by an orange sash, the only colour on her person. A silver bandeau left her six pack bare. A white bolero with three-quarter sleeves protected her upper arms.
To their left, the woman's opposite stood, hips cocked in rapt boredom. Her fingers tapped a beat on her tricep. Midnight hair, topped with feline ears, swayed hypnotically. A charcoal pair of sneakers dressed her feet. Powerful leg muscles rippled under the clingy material of her pants. Her top was a black, v-neck, zip-up crop top shirt with three-quarter sleeves. Two small silver crosses pinned to her shirt, on the same spots where they previously secured a cloak on another owner.
The last member looked ready to keel over. She was bent over, propping herself up with her hands on her knees. Black fitted pants and knee-high leather boots shielded her legs. An orange crop top showed off her arms, one of which was decidedly different. Her left arm was a healthy bronze, but her right was matté grey. Both, however, carried yellow gauntlets around their wrists. Her blonde hair tied up high with an icicle tiara.
Silver and ice widened as they took in the team in front of them.
"It's us?" The team in front of them, was them. Older and changed, but them.
They continued to stare, straining their ears to pick up their conversation out of their range.
"It worked." Ruby took stock on the situation around them. Cracked moon hanging in the sky? Remnant. Check. Familiar buildings? Beacon. Check. A miniature version of her team standing far in front of her, of whom two members lay unconscious? Not check.
"We arrived after the battle Weiss." She nearly sounded annoyed. There was something severely wrong. The sky wasn't black with Grimm, nor were there thousands of them besieging the school.
"Sorry if I was a bit busy concentrating on not scattering us across the time continuum." Weiss rolled her eyes. "I landed us in Remnant, in Beacon, and around the correct time."
"Umm, Weiss, we were supposed to go back in time, right?" Yang stared forward, noticing the discrepancy.
"Yes. Why?" She tilted her head and bit her lower lip in confusion. Other than the midget versions of her team gaping in amazement at them, nothing seemed wrong. Maybe that was the problem. "I assume you're talking about the miniature copy of our team over there?"
"What gave it away?" Ruby deadpanned, demanding answers. Her eye never left her younger copy. "Anything else you notice wrong?"
The team looked around themselves, seeing a school that should have been in the final processes of becoming a ruin. They all noticed a dragon circling the CCTS before alighting on the tower, clawing its way to the peak.
"We'll talk later about the jump. Right now, we're protecting this school." Ruby stated receiving nods of agreement in return. "The Hunters all seem to be gathered at the landing platforms, so don't bother protecting them. Yang, you're with Blake. Find Ozpin."
They ran off towards the CCTS. Ruby traced their forms in the darkness, watching them disappear into the school, before she brought her eye to her old partner.
"We get to go kill a Dragon." A fiendish smirk split her face. Weiss rolled her eyes at her display of wanton sadism.
They chased after the other two member of their team, leaving behind a platform of stunned witnesses.
Base of the CCTS Tower
The atrium windows were shattered, the doors ajar and the support columns smashed or cracked. Great picture of security when dealing with the most important piece of hardware in the last 80 years.
Out from the doors, a red and yellow pair jogged out. The yellow one tripped over his feet running down the stairs after his partner, who took the steps three at a time. The blonde stopped behind the redhead in the empty plaza, breathing heavily.
"Ok, I think I have Glynda's number." He pulled his scroll from his pocket and fidgeted with it, tapping away; looking for it. "Where is it?"
His mind attempted to piece together the events under the tower.
"Pyrrha?" His scroll rested in his hand, forgotten. "What was all of that?"
'I..." Her eyes were downcast, unwilling to meet Jaune's eyes.
Inside the tower, a pyromaniac rocketed up the empty elevator shaft, drawing their attention back to the place they bolted from. She shouldn't have been able to do that.
"But... Ozpin…"
"There's no time." She steeled her resolve, accepted the fate weaved out for her. "Go. Get to Vale and call for help."
"Huh? What are you going to do?" Pyrrha answered for a step towards the tower. "No, Pyrrha, you can't. You saw how powerful she is. Pyrrha, I won't let you do th-"
His first kiss stopped him cold.
Gloved hands tangled in blonde hair, deepening the kiss. His arms wrapped around her waist, hesitant to touch the beauty. His blue eyes fluttered open, staring at the crystals of jade staring right back at him.
"I'm sorry." He didn't have the time to react. She pushed him into a weapons locker and slammed the door shut after him.
"Pyrrha, wait!" His voice cracked. "Stop! Stop! Pyrrha, please don't do this!" He shoved his fingers through the slits in the locker, desperately hoping she would listen to him.
Jade met sapphire as she tapped coordinates into the locker. A look of apology passed from her to him as she pressed the launch button. She didn't have the strength to voice her goodbye.
She ran towards the tower, sidestepping the rubble and cracked flooring. She wrenched the elevator's doors open with her Semblance. They receded into their recesses revealing an immobile elevator car. A giant hole punched through the floor and the control box above. Sparks rained from frayed wires.
She'd have to improvise.
She stepped into the elevator, avoiding the hole in the floor and channeled her Semblance. She shut her eyes as she commanded it to hoist the car up the tower. The car shook as her Semblance fought gravity for control. Clenching her fists, gravity released its hold and the car screeched upwards.
Underneath her, black and yellow descended down the shaft, into the vault she had left minutes prior.
The gallery filled with smoke as Cinder ascended to the landing with her propulsion system. She strolled to the bay windows and watched in glee as her handiwork played out below her.
The Dragon shimmied up the tower. Its eye peered through the window, meeting Cinder's. It released a shriek out towards the night.
"Shh. This is your home now." Her voice placated the beast, receiving a softer squeal in reply.
Above them, Remnant's moon cast light through the cogs, creating varying shades of shadow on the marble floor.
She turned as the elevator door slammed open. Through the smoke, a sword spun towards her. She tilted her head, following it as it passed. She smiled, happy at the prospect of an opponent.
A round shield rammed into her crossed arms as she absorbed the impact. A redhead stood on the other side of it, adding weight to the attack.
It was the false Maiden. Her lucky day.
She pushed the shield off. Pyrrha backflipped, landing cleanly in a fighting stance. Akoúo̱ returned to her left arm as she grasped Miló in her right. Cinder floated in front of her, a small fire underneath her feet keeping her there.
An orange aura erupting from Cinder's eyes was the warning Pyrrha received.
She tumbled to the right, avoiding a swipe of fire. She continued strafing right, avoiding a lance of flame.
A shower of flames spewed towards her. She raised Akoúo̱, deflecting the flames around her body. She staggered from the force of them, before launching forward, breaking the stream and stabbing downwards towards Cinder.
Cinder caught the blade of the sword. Full stop. Pyrrha panicked as Cinder twisted her body and palmed a strike to her chest. Her impact cracked the wall.
She recovered, raising her head in time to see Cinder propel herself at her with flames shooting from her hands. She planted her feet on the wall and looped her arm around Cinder's back and arm, flipping her over and slamming her into the floor.
It didn't phase Cinder. She somersaulted, performing a perfect bridge to regain her footing.
Fighting in high heels was a talent.
Not giving her a chance to rest, Pyrrha rushed her, driving Akoúo̱ into her gut. Cinder spun through it, carelessly parrying another strike to her head. Pyrrha increased her fervor, jabbing Cinder at her unguarded areas.
Cinder shielded each one.
A mistimed spin allowed Cinder to land a flaming back wheel on Pyrrha, sending her up into the air. In the air, Pyrrha sent both Akoúo̱ and Miló at her, which were deflected with orbs of fire. Pyrrha sent herself at her as a last resort and managed to collide with her.
Their tumble raised dust as they fractured the floor. Within the dust, Pyrrha managed to bind Cinder in a chokehold with her left while poising Miló to slit her throat with her right. Cinder's grip on the blade managed to stop her.
A bitter struggle ensued between them. Golden eyes glowed with power as Cinder channeled her Semblance into her hands. Pyrrha pressed her advantage, pulling Miló against Cinder's constraints.
A distraction broke her concentration.
The Dragon barreled in a direct line towards them.
Just before it hit the tower, a black object impacted into its chest, severing one of the dragon's primary muscles attributed to flight. It roared in pain as it veered from its course; its wings barely clipping the tower.
While it wasn't to her exact plan, Cinder took the distraction and melted Miló into three. She stepped backwards into Pyrrha, elbowing her while sending a ring of aura radiating from her. The ring smashed the windows of the viewing gallery, leaving sharp fragments everywhere.
Pyrrha came to leaning against a column. Cinder hovered menacingly, deeming her a small threat. Akoúo̱ lay at her feet while Miló was nowhere in her sight.
She channeled her Semblance into Akoúo̱, aiming at Cinder's shins. The unorthodox attack caught her by surprise as she tipped forward, losing control over her hover. Pyrrha phased above her and drove her fist into Cinder's back, smashing her into the floor again. Dust clouded Cinder's impact site.
Her follow up attack was foiled as Cinder conjured a ball of flame around her and rapidly expanded it, catching Pyrrha and flinging her into the wall again. The crash into the wall dislocated her shoulder.
Cinder stood across the room, bow drawn and pointed at her. She had had enough toying with the child.
Weaponless and injured, Pyrrha ran out of options. She rose and spun her body, releasing Akoúo̱ at the perfect moment. Cinder released her arrow.
The two objects met in midair, but instead of colliding and deflecting into different vectors, the arrow disintegrated around the shield and returned to its original form after the shield had passed.
Cinder sidestepped the shield.
Pyrrha didn't sidestep the arrow.
It lodged into her hip, embedding into the bone. Excruciating pain lanced up her spine as she collapsed, further aggravating the wound. She grabbed the shaft and tried to remove the arrow. The pain flared as the barbed head cut into muscle. The smallest movement caused the head to grind against bone.
"It's unfortunate you were promised a power that was never truly yours." Cinder cupped her chin, meeting tear filled eyes with cruel purpose. "But take comfort in knowing that I will use it in ways you could have never imagined."
Pyrrha shrugged off Cinder's hand before wiping tears from her eyes.
"Do you believe in destiny?" Pyrrha's eyes hardened into emeralds as she stared back at Cinder.
The obtuse question puzzled Cinder. She narrowed her eyes at the girl's act of defiance.
"Yes." She rose and stepped backwards away from her, summoning her bow above her head. She pulled the string back before the arrow finished forming and pointed it at Pyrrha's heart. "Yes, yes I do."
Pyrrha stared death in the eyes, refusing to close her own in fear or pain.
A white glyph shimmered into existence, catching the arrow before it could pierce Pyrrha's heart.
Cinder's eyes scanned each part of the room carefully before scanning the series of intricate cogs above. Only a member of the Schnee family could produce glyphs, but she couldn't find any.
She returned her attention to the Maiden beneath her, the glyph protecting her from death.
"Behind you." A voice sounded directly next to her ear. She flinched and turned towards the voice, pointing her bow at her assailant.
A hand gripped her wrist and pulled back, throwing off her balance. Her eye's widened in surprise at her position. The figure wrested the bow out of her hand while planting a knee into her, knocking the air out of her and sending her through the empty expanse of a shattered window. The figure stepped to the edge, watching her free fall before she righted herself and ignited her hands and feet, slowing her to a gentle touch down.
Two glowing circles pierced the night to glare at her attacker.
Pyrrha was alive. She owed her life to the figure at the window. Her destiny allowed her to see another sunrise. She lifted her head to look upon her savior. Green eyes locked onto the figure's form.
The figure was female, decked in red and black. Her hair reached her chin. She turned and scrutinized Pyrrha's fallen form. She only had one eye. One silver eye.
"Thank you" She tried to lift herself from her resting position. The actions agitated the arrow again, causing her to crash on her way up. "Who are you?"
"You know who I am Pyrrha." She knelt at Pyrrha's side and slid her arms under Pyrrha's back and legs, lifting her up bridal style. "I'm a friend."
Only one of Pyrrha's friends had silver eyes.
"Ruby?" Pyrrha slurred. The near death experience wasted her. "But you-"
"Sleep." Ruby pressed Pyrrha's head into her shoulder. In response, Pyrrha threw her arms around her neck and tightened. "I'll tell you when you wake up."
Pyrrha nodded against her shoulder before becoming limp. Her breathing and heartbeat dropped low as she passed out in Ruby's arms.
"She's completely exhausted." Weiss stepped next to Ruby. "She didn't even notice me behind her."
Ruby shrugged in ambivalence. Together, they walked to the edge of the tower. The wind howled through the viewing gallery.
"This is going to be rough." Weiss glanced at the ground. "I have enough left for two glyphs and then I'm dry."
With Pyrrha in Ruby's care, they stepped off the tower, plummeting towards the rapidly approaching ground.
Two-thirds of the way down the tower, a glyph appeared under them. They slowed to a fraction of their original velocity as they passed through it. Another appeared at the height of the tower's entrance. Passing through, they landed heavily, knees absorbing the impact from the fall Weiss' glyphs couldn't dissipate.
They grunted in mutual discomfort. The glyphs weren't the most comfortable method of descent as they caused certain parts of the body to decelerate as others continued to accelerate.
"I need a nap after this." Weiss shivered as the feeling of a drained core washed over her.
Ruby shifted Pyrrha until she settled into a more comfortable position in her arms and they took off towards the landing docks.
Beacon Vault
Yang and Blake entered the tower as an elevator car screeched upwards. Blake sent Ruby a quick clone, watching as Pyrrha ascended towards her death, letting her leader know Pyrrha was in the tower, before diving into the opened shaft with Yang.
Approaching the bottom, Blake shifted out of her clone, bounding off it, leaving it to crumble as the earth clone lost shape. Yang fired her gauntlets, shaking off her excess speed before hitting the ground mightily.
It was black. Pitch black.
Blake's eyes strained to make out the the shape of the rent open elevator doors before clutching her eyes in agony as Yang created a fireball in her hands. She glared at her partner through pinprick irises.
"Sorry." Yang chuckled good naturedly. "You're not on one of your solo missions Blake. I need to be able to see too."
Blake said nothing.
Blake slipped through the doors into the Vault, Yang on her tail.
There was no Vault.
Most of the ceiling had collapsed, flooding the floor with dirt. Parts of the wall had caved inward, further weakening the ceiling above. Lamps on the wall flickered as power intermittently reached through the frayed cabling.
Searching for their headmaster among this wreckage would take time if they didn't have the nose of a Faunus to lead the way.
Blake dashed along the wall, flipped over the debris and landed on the other side. Yang fumbled behind her, lacking the natural agility her teammate possessed.
The process continued, Yang obediently following Blake deeper into the Vault, trusting she'd be able to lead them back out.
She stopped next to Blake, who stood in the intersection leading towards the Fall Maiden's healing pod.
A literal wall of debris blocked their path. Ozpin was pinned under it, hopefully alive and in one piece.
"Great. Now what?"
The Faunus lifted her hand, flicking the imaginary debris in front of it away.
"You want me to blast it all away?" Blake looked happy Yang had understood her. "You do realize I risk collapsing it further if I do so, right"
A noncommittal shrug answered her.
"Fine." Yang spread her aura through her body, reinforcing the points of leverage first before dumping the remainder into her arm. She brought her arm into contact with the wall, fracturing it and sending it further into the Vault.
A cocoon of emerald greeted her effort. Inside of it sat their headmaster, looking none the wiser to his rescue. Brown eyes opened, taking in the ceiling of the Vault and not the rubble which once trapped him.
"I was wondering if anyone remembered I was down here." He chuckled merrily at his predicament. "I was about to start digging away, but then you two managed to find me."
He lifted himself from his meditation, pulling his cane from the ground, deactivating the protective field.
"Now tell me why two of my students decided to venture into a war zone instead of evacuating into the city?" He wasn't smiling anymore. The safety of his students was no laughing matter.
"Geez. You'd think he'd be happier to escape his prison." Yang jostled Blake on her shoulder. "Easy explanation? Ruby ordered us to find you."
"Why is she giving orders when she should be under orders herself to evacuate?" Ozpin furrowed his brow in confusion, wishing he had a cup of cocoa in his hands.
"She's not under orders." Ozpin began to take notice of the differences between the two in front of him and the two in his memory. The two weren't adding up.
"You're not Yang and Blake, are you? Yang isn't missing an arm and last time I checked, Blake hated not wearing her bow." His hands gripped the lever of his cane, tensed in case these doppelgängers struck.
"Time travel?" Yang sheepishly scratched the back of her head. Blake continued to remain silent.
"With the lack of evidence against you, I believe you. For now." His voice steeled but he eased his grip on his cane. "But at the slightest hint that you are threats to my students, I will eliminate you."
"Very well then Headmaster." Her hand held torch illuminated the cavern further. "Then follow us to the surface."
Blake took off without a sound, leading Yang and Ozpin through the obstacle course. For a middle aged man, Ozpin was nimble, using his cane with great skill to follow the time traveling pair.
They spared no moment at the bottom of the shaft as they leapt from wall to wall on their way upward.
They emerged from the elevator doors moments later, relieved to breathe in fresh air rather than the damp, filtered version the ventilation system sent to the Vault below.
As they exited the tower, they stumbled upon the remaining members of Team RWBY. Pyrrha continued to slumber away in Ruby's arms. The wound on her hip slowly bled around the arrow; the blood imperceptible from the colour of her sash.
"What happened to her?" Ozpin glanced at the woman the Fates had chosen to contain the Fall Maiden's power.
Ruby handed Pyrrha to Blake, the least exhausted member of her team, careful to avoid jostling the arrow and causing her any pain.
"She engaged Cinder Fall, preventing the destruction of the tower until I dealt with the Dragon, taking a barbed arrow to the hip." Ruby droned, giving her report. "Weiss' intervention prevented Cinder from executing, stealing and completing her Maiden power."
"She nearly died?" Ozpin cringed. He had thrust the burden onto Pyrrha too soon. She was young and didn't have the strength to defend herself against the darker forces of the world. Yet.
"Yes sir." Ruby's monotonous speech caught his attention.
"And you Miss Rose, what happened to you? You're not missing an eye, but it's gone dark. And you sound…" His gestured his hand in a circular manner, searching for a word to describe Ruby's voice.
"Emotionless?" Weiss supplied helpfully.
"Dead?" Yang added from his side.
Blake didn't speak any word, further confusing him about her silence.
"Yes, to both."
"My voice is the unfortunate byproduct of several months of torture Headmaster." Ozpin flinched at the mention of the brutal means of retrieving information. "I'm sure you know the legends of the silver-eyed Hunters of times past and the immense power they wielded over Grimm. All power comes with a cost and my eye was one of them."
"Why would you be tortured?" The pieces weren't adding up in Ozpin's head. "You're a first year Huntress, or rather, were if you did travel through time like Yang mentioned."
Ruby simply gestured to the shattered moon patch on her upper arm before tearing it off. She presented the emblem to the headmaster in her opened hand.
Ozpin stared stunned at the small patch, dumbfounded to the reason why anyone so much as knew about its existence, not to mention, wore it on their arm. If this team really did travel through time then he could draw his own conclusions.
"I hope you know the meaning behind this patch, High Commander." He hadn't laid his eyes of this symbol since he'd created it many years ago.
"Yes sir." Ruby repeated in her same emotionless tenor. "Take it. I'm not the High Commander in this time. I defer to you now, not the other way around."
"It's not my right to take it if you are, even in this time." Ozpin curled Ruby's finger around the patch. "No one, except for those in the highest office, know it exists. Wear it proudly."
Ruby didn't remove her hand, thrusting the infernal emblem at Ozpin.
"I don't want it." She snarled at him, dropping the mechanical overtone. "Why do you think we're here Ozpin? Because we won?" Ozpin silenced at the realization. "My Remnant; my Vale; my people burned because we failed. Should I be proud?"
"You will wear it as an order." Ozpin stared at her heterochromatic eyes, unperturbed at the soullessness reflecting back at him. "You will wear it because you failed, not as penance, but as motivation. You will wear it because you have something to fight for."
"Very well Headmaster." She retracted her hand, affixing the patch back on her arm. "Then I formally turn over command of team RWBY to the Headmaster of Beacon. We are yours to use."
Team RWBY fell into stance, saluting Ozpin, and in the case of Blake, nodded her head.
"Thank you." Ozpin declared, striking the ground with his cane. "Team RWBY will continue to be lead by High Commander Ruby Rose. You report directly to me and will inform me of all actions taken by your team before doing so. I strip High Commander Ruby Rose of command of all forces other than her own. Understood?"
"Understood. Thank you sir."
"At ease." They dropped their stances, but waited for their next orders. "After we get Miss Nikos here medical attention, you will present a full report on your world. Proceed to the evac point."
"Yes sir." They sped towards the landing platforms in diamond formation with the Headmaster in the center and Ruby leading them.
Landing Platforms
"What in the name of pancakes was that?" Nora was the first to speak, breaking the silence around them. She snuggled deeper in Ren's side, wrapping the cloak further around them.
No one had an exact answer to her question, only theories and guesses.
"That might have been team RWBY." Sun posed his answer, unsure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. "We all saw that, right?"
"Unless we were all hallucinating, then yes, that was team RWBY." Ever the voice of reason, Ren responded. "Only question left, is how?"
"Hold up." Ruby snapped from her stupor. "How can that have been us? We're all right here." Weiss stood next to her, and Yang and Blake lay at her feet.
"I'm assuming time travel as they all looked older than us." Weiss theorized, finding no other feasible explanation to the appearance of an older version of themselves.
The remainder of the group had to agree with Weiss. While they could have been clones of the originals, or an illusion, none of them saw any benefit to impersonating the team.
Weiss scroll beeped with an incoming call. Its melodic tone broke her out of her musing.
"It's Jaune." JNPR's leader's portrait appeared. "Where are you?" Ren and Nora leaned in, eager to know where their leader had gone off to, and whether Pyrrha was with him.
"Weiss please, you have to stop her." Jaune's voice was frantic, borderline hysterical.
"What?" She had no idea who he was referring to.
"Pyrrha!" His yell caused Weiss to pull her head away from the scroll, ears ringing. "She's going after that woman, at the top of the tower. She doesn't stand a chance."
The group turned towards the tower. The Dragon continued to circle, as if waiting for a command.
"Jaune, what are you talking about? Where are you?"
"DON'T WORRY ABOUT ME!" Weiss nearly dropped the scroll. The usually amiable boy was incensed. His voice dropped into sorrow. "Please, you have to save Pyrrha."
"We will. Are you okay?" She received an depraved cry of anguish in return before the connection ended. "Jaune? Jaune!?"
She looked helpless at Ruby, waiting for her orders. She looked as lost as she did.
"Guys, the tower." Sun pointed to the tower, drawing their attention back to it. The Dragon was no longer circling, but barrelling towards it, intent on cleaving the steeple in twain.
"Pyrrha is up there!" They watched with bated breath as Pyrrha's undoing spiralled towards her, unable to reach her in time.
To their great relief, a black blur crashed into the Grimm, pulling it away from the tower with only its wing brushing the edge.
No one noticed a second blur, white in color, run up the side of the tower and disappear into the cogs.
They traced the Dragon's tumble, its wing clearly disabled as it pivoted in a useless shoulder socket, trying to position itself upright with its functioning wing. It released a keening wail as it gouged a trench into the terrain. A thundering boom silenced the beast, plunging the landscape back into tranquility.
"We have to go help her." Weiss and Sun jumped to Ruby's side, ready to scour the floors of the tower to find Pyrrha.
"You will be going nowhere." Professors Oobleck and Port blocked their way. "Two of you are first year students, while the third is a foreign student under which no circumstances we will allow harm to come to."
"But Pyrrha is in that tower fighting, Professors." They looked nonplussed. "We have to help her out. Jaune is also somewhere out there."
"If Miss Nikos is truly is in the tower then we will retrieve her then search for Mister Arc. You three, however, will stay here and evacuate to Vale." Ruby made to protest but Port denied her. "Headmaster Ozpin is missing and Professor Goodwitch is in Vale, leaving you all under our care."
Ruby nearly burst into tears at the notion of leaving Pyrrha behind. Weiss consoled her young leader, wrapping her arms around her and bringing her into a hug. Ren and Nora, contrary to their injuries, looked ready to throttle the Professors who dared prevent them from searching for their leader and teammate.
Fortunately for the Professors, Ozpin came to their rescue. Behind him trailed the members of the elder team RWBY, vigilant as they searched for enemy combatants. In Blake's care, Pyrrha continued her slumber.
"Interesting. Bartholomew, may I part you from your coffee?" The Professor handed over his thermos without a word, transfixed at the anomalies standing behind the Headmaster. Ozpin took a long draught, intentionally creating a feeling of tension. "Thank you. It is interesting as to why all of you have yet to evacuate to Vale. Everyone else has."
"We were worried about Pyrrha and Jaune, sir." Ruby meekly replied, still wrapped up in Weiss. "They're missing."
"A noble pursuit I'm sure, but as you can see, Miss Nikos is fine." He gestured to the elder Blake, where Pyrrha rested. Ruby and her groupies flinched at the sight of the arrow. "Other than the rather minor injury to her hip that is."
A cacophony of voices assaulted the Headmaster. Some inquired about Jaune, some about the reason behind Pyrrha's injury, some to his whereabouts, but all questioned about the group standing behind him.
"Enough." His raised hand quieted the masses. "Commander Rose, please take your team and clear Beacon of any remaining hostiles and remain on site until I return. I have more than a nagging suspicion if you came with us to Vale, you would receive not a moment of peace."
"Sir." Elder Ruby confirmed their orders. Blake walked over to Ren and awkwardly handed over Pyrrha, shuffling her around to avoid pressing in the arrow.
"When you find Mister Arc, be sure to send him on his way. I'm sure the rest of his team would like to know of his safety. You may go." Team High Command disappeared without a word uttered between the four of them. "Professors, please carry the injured. It's time they received their much needed medical treatment."
"Headmaster, what about-" Ozpin interrupted her by bopping her with his cane. She was his youngest student after all and would have the most questions.
"Miss Rose, I will not divulge any information about them. You will have to ask them, personally, but not until your sister wakes. She'll need you to deal with the trauma of losing her arm." He smiled kindly at her, his brown eyes observing the two silver eyes her counterpart lacked.
She beamed at him before skipping towards the airship where the rest of her group waited, the Headmaster following her at a more sedate pace.
Upon entering the ship, the ramp shut behind him and they began their journey to Monty Memorial Hospital. Ruby had alighted to Yang's side, pulling her head into her lap, with Weiss doing the same to Blake. Ren held Pyrrha in his arms as Nora removed Pyrrha's circlet, hopefully providing some comfort to her. They looked incomplete without their leader.
"Professor, can you tell us anything about that team?" Ozpin glanced from his scroll towards the Schnee heiress. The notice of the rest of the ship turned to him as well. He finished his message to Qrow and Glynda.
"I can tell you they are the future version of your team, team RWBY. Unfortunately that is all I can tell you without breaching the confidence they have instilled in me."
"What about Jaune?" Nora spoke from her seat, brushing fingers through Pyrrha's hair, untangling knots as they reached them.
"I'm sure you're worried about him, but your teammate requires immediate care which cannot be performed on the field. I'm more shocked you hadn't left earlier, but upon seeing the aid Mr. Ren administered to Miss Belladonna and Miss Xiao-Long, I can see why. Mr. Arc will be along shortly after Team RWBY finds him."
They staggered as the impromptu ambulance settled onto the hospital's roof. Ren picked up Pyrrha, Nora hovering at his side, Ruby's cloak still bundled around her. The conscious members of Team RWBY carried their unconscious members down the ramp.
"Port and Oobleck, go and secure the surrounding districts." The two professors jumped from the rooftops, heading in separate directions.
After a brief wait, the original group piled into the elevator and rode down to the emergency room. A jaunty elevator tune followed them on their journey to the ground floor.
The doors didn't open to the expected pandemonium an invasion of Grimm could cause. The reception area was immaculate. A nurse with odd white horns, sat at the front desk, tapping away at her keyboard. She lifted her head at the sound of the arriving elevator chime.
"Headmaster Ozpin. Always a pleasure."
"Nurse Xanna. You look splendid. How's the husband?" Ruby and Weiss shared looks of impatience at the pedantic banter Ozpin invited between the two.
"Most likely terrorizing the nearest nest of Grimm. I do hope brings me a present." Everyone sans Ozpin flinched when her lips curled into a murderous smile, revealing rows of sharpened teeth. "Now, how may I help you?"
"Three of my students are in varying conditions. One has had her arm amputated, the other a stab wound in her abdomen and the last has a barbed arrow in her hip. The first two were treated on the field and all are unconscious."
She searched through several documents on her computer before replying. "OR's four, five and six are available. I assume you remember where they are." Ozpin nodded. "Go right on ahead. I'll page Dr. Chase."
Ozpin stalked down the halls, Ruby, Weiss, Ren, and Nora on his heels. His cane echoed with each impact with the ground.
"Professor, which hospital are we at? We're not at Vale General." Ren spoke for all of them, perturbed at the silence surrounding them.
"This hospital caters exclusively to Hunters, the only hospital to do so. Rarely are more than forty interned at any one given time given the resilience and healing factors all Hunters possess." They turned into a hallway of operating theaters, where several attending waited with gurneys. "It is staffed with the very best, mostly retired Hunters, and funded independently by them."
"Nurse Xanna didn't seem to look the age to be retired nor did she look to be a Hunter." Weiss commented on the woman who shared her hair color.
"She works here at her husband's behest. They are travellers and her husband thought it would help mellow her out if she worked in a profession of helping people. It's done wonders on her." He laughed as his first memory of meeting her was brought to his conscious. "She nearly ripped my head off on her first day. There are some seriously sharp claws on that woman."
The quartet gulped, unable to shake the image of a vengeful goddess from their minds.
"What kind of Faunus is she?" Ruby really wanted to know what those weird horns were on top of head.
"You'll have to ask her yourself." Ozpin helped load Pyrrha onto a gurney as an attending approached him, before moving to assist Ruby and Weiss with Yang and Blake.
"What kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into this time Oz?" The attending stood tapping her foot impatiently, waiting for his cock and bull story to amuse her.
"Not me this time dear Allison. My poor students have." He gestured to the three students lying in their gurneys. Another attending had already begun to cut around Pyrrha's skirt, exposing the injury. The bleeding had stopped, sealed by the escaping platelets.
Dr. Cameron moved to her side inspecting the injury
"You can take her to Chase." She ordered the attending before turning back to Ozpin. "He'll have it out in a few."
She jotted a few bits of information before sliding over to Blake's gurney. She waited for Ozpin to describe the injury but a voice from her side answered before her.
"Stab wound, approximately three centimeters in length piercing through the medial abdomen to the posterior. Blood transfusion given with O-." Ren recited from memory.
She noted the information with raised eyebrows.
"You sure start them young, Oz." She noted the information. "Taub will take her. Check for complications from a field transfusion." She moved to her last patient. "When was the tourniquet applied?" She frowned, unable to spot the time usually written on the forehead of the amputee.
"Around thirty minutes ago." Ren smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. I didn't have a marker on hand. The sheath also belongs to Blake."
Allison pulled a marker from her coat, looked at her watch and scrawled the time stamp across Yang's forehead.
"House will take her." She pushed the cart towards the last theater. "I'll hand the sheath back when it's no longer needed."
"Since when does House do surgery?"
"Since he made a pass at Cuddy the other day. I might as well send him the amputee and brighten his day seeing how he's stuck down here for the next few days."
She turned to the students who had carried their teammates to her.
"We'll take good care of your friends. Go and wait in the reception. We'll let you know how it goes." She turned back to the Headmaster, a glint in her eyes. "Oz, did you know Cuddy stocked the bar with cocoa especially-"
Ozpin was out of her sight before she could finish the sentence, sprinting down the hallway with cane in hand.
She faced the kids once more.
"Go and make sure he doesn't overdose on his cocoa. It wouldn't be the first time we'd have to treat him for his addiction." They sensed a juicy story, interested in their eccentric Headmaster's weakness. "Go and ask him yourself if you don't believe me."
As they turned to follow their Headmaster, she interrupted them.
"Hold up." She jumped over the counter and rummaged among the bins underneath, pulled out a green scrub top, and tossed it to Ren.
"Figured you might want a shirt considered you used your own to patch your friends." Ren took off the cloak, handing it back to Ruby. The color matched his old shirt to the shade. "Now actually go and make sure Ozpin isn't in a coma."
They returned to the reception area where their Headmaster calmly sat with a steaming mug of cocoa in one hand and his scroll in the other, sending off messages to ascertain the general situation after the attack.
"Dr. Cameron must've overestimated the Headmaster's cocoa addiction." Nora scowled, disappointed he wasn't in a chocolate induced coma.
"No. She didn't." Nurse Xanna spoke up from her computer, tapping a pen against her horn. "I only gave him one packet."
"You also threatened to castrate me if I asked for more." Ozpin pouted behind his mug.
"Whatever do you mean?~" She twirled a length of her hair around her finger, a sweet smile plastered on her face.
"Nothing Xanna, nothing at all." He gulped, hiding behind his delicious chocolate. Nora, Ren and Weiss took a step away from the kindly receptionist.
Ruby, whose danger sensing meter was obviously broken, snuck around behind the desk, intent on satisfying her curiosity about the woman's Faunus heritage.
"Child." Xanna caught Ruby's hand as it neared her hair. Ruby was struck still. "Why are you trying to touch my horns?"
"Ruby, I suggest you use your Semblance and run." Ozpin's stricken demeanor terrified the other three students, worrying Ruby had pushed her luck too far.
"What have you been telling them about me Ozpin?" She pulled Ruby into her lap, nuzzling her cheek against the girl's hair. "This one is absolutely adorable. I might just adopt her." Ruby squeaked in embarrassment at the woman's manhandling, flushing red as her cloak.
Ozpin had no words. His hand clamped around the only stable object in his life right now, his delicious cocoa. The most dangerous woman in the world had officially broken him. He hadn't expected her to like Ruby; rather he expected her to crush Ruby's hand at her impudence.
He'd have to talk to Cuddy again about her drugging his cocoa. He swirled the dark liquid in the cup, as if he did it long enough the hallucinogen within would be revealed.
"Nurse Xanna, could you please let me go?" Ruby squirmed uncomfortably in her lap, eager for an escape route to present itself.
"Fine. Only because you're so darn cute." Ruby made to slide off of her lap before a pair of arms trapped her again. "But first you must ask me the question you wanted to before I caught you trying to touch my horns."
"Oh." Ruby perked up, remember how she came to be in her situation. "I wanted to know what kind of Faunus you were." Ruby paid no attention to the fingers running through her burgundy hair, Xanna's sharpened nails raising goosebumps.
Xanna appeared lost in thoughts for a few moments before answering.
"I'm a rabbit-fox hybrid." She tugged on Ruby's hair, anticipating her next question. "I don't know how I came to have these horns but I've come to enjoy them. Any other questions?"
"May I have some cocoa please?" Ruby craned her neck, directing gleaming puppy-dog eyes up at her captor. Xanna gave a token resistance before wrenching her hand free from crimson tresses, her nails severing several strands of hair.
She reached over to a locked cabinet, twisted the key and pull open the drawer, revealing several dozen packs of cocoa.
"You may only have one at a time." She picked a pack and handed it to Ruby. "And no Ozpin, you may not use Ruby to fuel your addiction." She shut down the headmaster without batting an eye. He sulked at his ruined plans.
"Thanks Nurse Xanna." Freed from her imprisonment, she skipped over to the bar. Pouring milk and the contents of the packet into a paper cup, she shoved it into the microwave. The next few minutes dragged on inconceivably as she waited for her liquid cookie substitute to finish heating.
"I can smell why you like cocoa so much Headmaster." At the ding, she flung the microwave door open and reached for her treat. "I can taste why you like it too."
The Headmaster said nothing, continuing to swirl his drink in a cup, lost in a haze.
"You guys should try some of this." She egged her friends to ask the nurse for a packet, but one look at the demoness behind her desk gave them second thoughts. Her eyes glowed in unholy light. They politely declined the death sentence.
"All we can do now is wait for Pyrrha, Yang, and Blake to wake up then." She fell into a seat cushion, crossing her legs and snuggling deeper into her cloak. She periodically sipped her cocoa as her friends crashed onto the seats around her, splayed in various positions in vain attempts to gain a semblance of comfort.
Weiss shifted from sitting to resting her head on Ruby's lap, draping the rest of Ruby's cloak around herself. Ren stretched his arms and hung his head over the back, Nora leaning against his uninjured side.
As their eyes drifted shut for the oncoming night, the hospital's front doors opened to a dusty crow, a tattered cyborg and a drained dominatrix.
"Headmaster, fancy seeing you here. Such a nice day outside, isn't it." James clocked Qrow over the head, breaking Ozpin from his mental stupor at the sound of Qrow eating linoleum.
"Ozpin, we've managed to clear most of the districts of the Grimm presence." Ozpin hummed lazily at the General's report and pulled out his scroll.
"I have similar reports coming in from other districts. Anything to add Glynda dear?" She shook her head and collapsed onto a couch, exhausted beyond belief at repairing structural damage with her Semblance.
"You mentioned in your message one of my nieces is in the hospital." Qrow dragged himself up on his scythe, waving to Ruby who happily waved back. "I can only assume it's Yang since Ruby seems to be indulging in your addiction Oz." Ruby sipped her cocoa, hiding a guilty grin.
"Unfortunately Miss Xiao-Long lost her arm during the battle, amputated from the middle of the humerus." He drank his cocoa, as if delivering such news wasn't anything new to him. "Your niece's other teammate, Miss Belladonna suffered a stab wound to her abdomen. Miss Nikos took an arrow to her hip. They were all admitted to surgery around ten minutes ago."
"Did they recover her arm?" James interjected into the conversation. "It could still be reattached. She won't have to undergo the same treatment and rehabilitation I had to." He rotated his exposed arm in its socket, emphasizing his point.
"No. No arm was recovered. The other half of Ember Celica is also missing."
"Yang's going to be pissed she lost a gauntlet." Qrow stroked his stubble. James, Ozpin and Glynda sweatdrop.
"You don't think she'll be more pissed she lost her arm?" James queried in forced amusement.
"You seem to do just fine James, and you've lost more than just an arm." Qrow punched James on his chest, a heavy thud echoing from within. "I appreciate you sticking with my nieces and all Oz, but you have to deal with the repercussions of evacuating Beacon and its security."
"And what do you think this scroll is for?" He took a seat next to the resting Glynda. "I've been reading through more reports than you can imagine, only able to glance at them before another two arrive." His scroll vibrated as another report came in. "Don't worry about Beacon's security. I have a team taking care of it."
"A single team Oz? The cocoa's finally gone to your head." He rubbed the bridge of his nose, sighing in exasperation. "Also, why aren't you attacking me? My troops attacked your country and you're standing there nonchalantly."
"One, you're standing in front of me and not cleaved in two by Qrow. Two, you have nothing to gain and everything to lose if you actually ordered the attack. We both know you're smarter than that." James nodded gratefully.
Glynda lifted her head from the couch, comprehending James' comment about the security of the school.
"Wait, you have a SINGLE team-." Her incoming rant was interrupted by an incoming call.
"Interesting." Ozpin stared at the scroll in his hand. "Only three people have the number to this particular scroll, and they all happen to be standing next to me." He thumbed the answer button on his screen.
"Sir, we've completed your orders. Beacon has been cleared of all hostiles." A monotone drifted from the scroll's speakers. Only Ozpin could identify the speaker's identity, having been the only one to hear it.
"Commander, have you located Jaune Arc?" Glynda, James and Qrow shared puzzled looks at the speaker's title. They attempted to glimpse the person's identity but Ozpin's hand covered the transparent screen from the back. "We found him unconscious and he's recovering."
"His teammates will be glad to hear about Mister Arc's well being." He looked over to the snuggling pair who were eavesdropping on him. They relaxed before slipping into naps.
"We also managed to retrieve Yang's gauntlet. It's charred black but functional. She may claim it when she recovers from her amputation. We'll also fix it for her." A Grimm had more variation in its howl than the voice did.
"I'll return to Beacon at daybreak." The voice went mute, acknowledging Ozpin's order. "See you in the morning then."
"We'll be in your office." The voice disconnected without another word, plunging the reception area into silence.
"Oz, who was that?" James spoke for his group, quite interested in the mystery woman who could break into Ozpin's office.
"She's the leader of the team who I assigned to secure Beacon."
"And you're not worried about her breaking into your office?" Glynda had a bewildered expression on her face.
"If she managed to place the call to my scroll, then she's already broken into my office." Ozpin made to drink his cocoa, but was severely disappointed none remained in his cup. "No one except for you three have my number so the only way for her to place the call was from my office."
"But you're not worried?" Qrow echoed Glynda's query again, incredulously surprised the Headmaster wasn't more panicked.
"No. While I've only met them about an hour ago, I have complete faith in them to do their jobs." Ozpin smiled infuriatingly as they choked on their saliva.
"You let a team, who you don't know, protect our school and break into your office?" The Headmaster hadn't lost his mind; he'd taken it and scrambled it beyond measure. "Has the cocoa finally addled your mind?"
"No, but I could use some more." A glare from the warden of chocolate told him he would get none. "Everything will be explained tomorrow. Trust me."
They gulped at his implied ultimatum. Qrow couldn't leave since his nieces were in the hospital. James was the leader of a foreign military power who stayed in Ozpin's good graces because they were friends. Glynda had to follow him since she was his deputy.
"We have a little more than seven hours to sleep. I suggest you use those hours to rest and recuperate." He dismissed then with a turn of his heel, walking towards the front desk to weasel another packet of cocoa from the warden.
James collapsed next to Glynda, happy to have the day's toils over with. Glynda had fallen asleep at the mention of rest.
Qrow went to ambush her niece, hoping she'd be able to provide some answers to the Headmaster eccentric behavior; well, more eccentric than his usual.
"Hey Ruby." He sat across from her on the coffee table, resting his sword on its side. "Indulging in Ozpin's addiction?"
"Hi Uncle Qrow." She happily chirped at him in a whisper, mindful of her sleeping entourage, before taking a sip of her cocoa, eerily reminiscent of the Headmaster.
"I hope you don't get addicted to hot chocolate Ruby." He scolded his youngest niece, who took another sip in defiance. "Beacon already has one addict and he's more than a handful to handle." Qrow pointed to Ozpin with a thumb over his head, who was nearly begging Nurse Xanna for another packet. She was having none of it. "It's a wonder he doesn't have diabetes."
"I have my cookies. The Headmaster can have his cocoa." She watched the Headmaster sulk away from the front desk without a packet. "So what's up?"
"Well, I came here as soon as Ozpin sent me a message." Qrow ran his hand through his hair. "Your sister and teammate got hurt pretty good, didn't they?"
"Yeah." Ruby gazed downward, downtrodden at the fate of her teammates. "But the doctor says they'll be fine, but you know, Yang will be missing an arm."
Qrow wanted to hug the depressed Ruby but a certain heiress on her lap prevented him.
"Don't worry about the arm. Ironwood over there's lost more and he gets around." Ruby traced the meeting point of flash and steel, exposed by the General's tattered suit, fascinated at the construction. "We can get Yang an arm, maybe even color it gold."
"Oh no!" Her shout disturbed her sleeping teammate causing her to burrow herself deeper into Ruby's cloak. "Yang lost Ember Celica."
"Ozpin's mystery friend apparently recovered it." He grumbled clearly annoyed he'd been left out of the loop. "He won't tell us anything about her or her team. Cagey bastard."
Ruby innocently grinned at him.
"You know who it is, don't you?"
"Maybe." She drank from her mug, refusing to say anymore, deciding to play along with Ozpin's shenanigans. "It's a surprise."
"Great. He managed to rope my family into his schemes." He lifted himself from the coffee table and slunk over to the remaining space on the other side of Weiss. Throwing an arm over his eyes, he drifted away into sleep's embrace.
Ruby followed in his steps, resting her head on the seat's back and waited for morning. The nurse kindly dimmed the overhead lights.
An: I lied. There will be more author's notes. I know it's similar to Remnant's Reclaimer but the plot is planned out several chapters in advanced. There will be a prequel to this story. Remember that everything happens in this story for a reason. If something appears to be out of context, or unexplained, then you're not looking hard enough.