This, was a living breathing Hell for me to write. Distractions, constant re-writing, additions, deletions, and the saddening news that the pup that I was supposed to bring home a week after being born alongside her brothers Brownie (which went to my older brother) and Snoopy (which went to my folks.) was killed the night before, so this goes out to my little girl..God called you home early little one, rest well.
Disclaimer: RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth who shouted us all out with that whole "team attack spiel, Bálor's mine (please send all death fodder and parody fic use requests my way and I'll gladly consider it)
"Yang, what the Hell do you think you're doing in here?!" Ruby was seething as she unfolded Crescent Rose, seeing nothing but red in front of her as she stared down her older sibling. The two of them had been so close once upon a time, but that was before the silver-haired young Huntsman touched their lives and tore Team RWBY asunder like a piece of fruit thrown into a blender. "After everything you've done so far, to have the gall to even sit at his bedside!" The crimsonette would take another step forward as she tried to piece the situation in her mind, this strange woman with a Grimm mask who was breathing heavily as if she were exhausted from doing something strenuous. Then there was her sister, looking at the younger reaper calmly as she slowly moved away from the sleeping wolf. "Okay Ruby…just take it easy, I'm not going to hurt B-" The blonde would stop short as she saw the crimsonette's eyes flashed in response to her use of his pet name. "I'm…I'm just here to say goodbye to him sis." Yang would flinch as she looked away from her sister at the monitors displaying Bálor's vital signs, as far as she could tell everything looked completely normal.
"Goodbye..?" Ruby would frown, folding up her weapon and holstering it as she approached her big sister cautiously. "Yang, are you saying that you're leaving Beacon? Leaving me?" Her eyes would well quickly before running to the blonde-haired Huntress's side, sobbing quietly as she clung to her desperately. "Yang, you can't go! I know we've had our issues lately but that doesn't mean you have to leave us all!"
Yang would smile and gently stroke the crimsonette's hair fondly, kneeling down and placing her hands on the young woman's shoulders in a motherly fashion as her lilac eyes stared into silver pools of sadness, it was rare for the blonde to see her younger sibling in doubt. "Rubes I'm not leaving Beacon because of this mess with Bálor, as a matter of fact that's the last thing I have to worry about..and do you know why?"
The red hood would shake her head curiously, noticing a change in her sister as she watched her move over to help out the masked swordswoman, there was a clarity in those lilac eyes that hadn't been present on the day of the malicious prank.
"It's because I know that when I leave here, he'll be in the best possible hands I could possibly hope for: Yours."
Ruby's eyes would widen at her words once they slowly sank in, her small fist slowly clenching as she had a feeling of déjà vu from the previous times she had said those words. Yang would see this and shake her head with a cocky smile at Ruby's salty reaction before helping her friend to her feet. "I told you that I was leaving him in your hands sis, this isn't a write-off." The brawler would walk over to her hooded little sister with a satisfied look upon her face. "This is a passing of the torch Ruby."
Qrow would slam his fist down on Ozpin's desk indignantly as the pair of Huntsman watched on the camera feed to the infirmary as Yang described her actions as a 'Passing of the Torch', their uncle was beyond livid as Ozpin finally cut the feed and stared at Qrow with what little patience he could muster.
"Do you understand now, those two are not the same little girls you and Taiyang coddled back on Patch: Yang's become something akin to a proud lioness who sees the world of Remnant as her own personal savannah in which she bears dominion over, while Ruby has begun to bloom and become-" Qrow had finally heard enough from his former ally as he leaned forward with a steely-eyed gaze, surprisingly analytical for someone who had endured a vicious armbar from his niece not ten minutes ago.
"Enough Ozpin, I intend on taking Ruby back to Patch and giving her mind and body time to recover and purge herself of this silver-maned sickness that's befallen her." The instructor from Signal would heft himself to his feet and shake his head in disgust as his nieces continued to talk amidst a sleeping wolf and his exhausted sister. "You may be right about the boy Oz and the curse of Jaggerjack may bypass this generation entirely, but Ruby is my family and I'll be damned if I let yet another wolf piss in our garden." He would sigh and dig into his pocket to see a folded up picture of himself with his old team:
Himself, with his weapon hefted over his shoulder and looking very stern, then there was Raven with her back to him but looking out into the distance with a fierce but quiet determination. Then there was the girls' father: Taiyang Xiao Long, a handsome pugilist with a penchant for bad puns that had been successfully passed on from father to daughter, he had been a fierce detractor to the original demon's ambitions towards his second wife and Ruby's mother Summer Rose, who stood off on the far end of the photo with a shy but angelic smile that was well hidden within her white cloak. He had been there for the birth of both of the future Huntresses and had thus been as proud as the parents themselves upon their entrance into the world of Remnant, and had quietly resolved to watch over them to the best of his abilities.
"Somewhere along the way I failed you miserably Summer, and now the demon's progeny has managed to make his way into the hearts of both of your daughters." Qrow would calmly fold the picture and place it back in his coat pocket before staring at the door before him, seeing it as the gateway to the next step in their family's perilous journey's with a demonic wolf breathing down their back. Jack had fallen with a little help from his own personal demons (and from what he remembered of the rumors in Vacuo, a rarely occurring sinkhole that appeared in the deserts.) but this boy was a different kind of beast altogether: He was cunning enough to make himself appear as either a completely annoying but lovable goofball or some apathetic loner who hated everything. Both approaches were enough to at least attract the more curious of individuals to his social gravitation, but to snag both the wild and overly boisterous Yang and the shy but lovable Ruby to his attention was nothing short of malefic intervention and Qrow knew he had to put a stop to it before the mistakes of their generation were repeated once more.
"Qrow, you do realize that she won't go quietly with you back to Patch, there's a fire inside of her that's driving her instinct to protect him. She will not leave his side by choice, and if you do decide on using force than an armbar will be the least of your worries."
The veteran scythe-wielder would chuckle grimly as he laid his hand upon the handle of the Headmaster's door, knowing that the reports of a 'Black Queen' manipulating the strife behind the scenes were upsetting enough.
"Ozpin, trust me when I say that by the time Raven and I return from our separate tasks you won't recognize the Huntresses who are accompanying us." He would look back at the bespectacled man with a cocky grin as he finally opened the door and made his way out. "But of course, you already knew that." The door would close behind him, leaving Ozpin alone with his thoughts and the hint of a smile crossing his face.
"He has no clue of what lies ahead of him in that department, women in love never tend to go silently into the night and I imagine Ruby will scratch and claw to keep Bálor at her side no matter what Qrow has planned for the two of them." The headmaster would bring up a diagram of all the major players in this upcoming storm of madness: Sure enough himself, Qrow, and Raven were the ones leading the charge, with Ironwood and the soldiers of Atlas being listed as 'tentative allies'. "I want to believe that you have our best intentions at heart James, but you also answer to the back and call of weak-minded bureaucrats who have yet to see the bigger picture." He frowned, looking upon the grayed out displays of Bartholomew Oobleck and Glynda Goodwitch who had been forced to be taken out of play due to their participation in Yang's malicious prank, however with enough time they would eventually be brought back into the game despite whatever personal malice the had towards the wolf Faunus. "Whether they like him or not, the situation requires a combined effort from all parties to bring down the oncoming storm." And that brought him to his group of players and pieces that resided in the halls of Beacon Academy, unfortunately the lynchpin of this entire unit Team RWBY was now completely in shambles. "This is an absolute disaster, RWBY was supposed to be on the frontlines of these upcoming battles and yet now because of the actions of one man…we could be at a major disadvantage before the battle even starts, if not defeated outright."
Ozpin would scroll over to the final page where only a few faces remained outside his virtual board.
The first was the aforementioned wolf Faunus himself, his actions had always been a source of major confusion for the headmaster, despite his best attempts to keep the young man out of harm's way the young demon had forged ahead with whatever personal agenda he had in mind.
"Perhaps I should have let some of Glynda's punishments pass unabated, he turned into a willful train wreck…not unlike his father." Ozpin looked at the young man's photo before marking him as a "tentative enemy" and leaving a note that the boy be monitored closely in light of physical and mental duress. "Prove me wrong son…prove me wrong." That left only two pieces to be properly put into place: The first was a certain spiky-haired Keybearer and his furry companion, currently running around the city of Vale trying to do right by the citizens despite clearly not being from here. Never mind the fact that he was running around with a dog that belonged to one of his best students, the fact that the boy appeared from seemingly nowhere a few months ago was disconcerting to Ozpin, a man who had always had his finger on the pulse of things happening in the city of Vale and his appearance had been one of the few happenings he could not freely predict. The other being the sudden invasion of Grimm by Vale, luckily everyone had banded together to repel the attack.
"Perhaps I should find this young man and question him, it seemed to work out quite well with Ruby."
His thoughts would be interrupted by a video call prompt appearing in the bottom right of his screen, the contact information was labeled as "Restricted" meaning the last piece of his puzzle was now in place as he brought up the caller's scrambled face with a sigh.
"I was wondering when you'd finally make contact, though I was hoping we could finally at least see one another's faces on this occasion.
Bálor would finally come to with an audible groan, not recognizing that effectively half his world view was lost to him, and that his right hand was pulsing with short bursts of agony when he tried to form a fist.
"What in Dust's name?" The wolf Faunus would immediately feel panic start to seep into his bones, not realizing that the earlier skirmish with his now-ex sweetheart had left him a maimed wreck of his former self. "Stop it Moonlight, get a grip! Try to remember what happened back in that room." The amber-eyed young man would force himself into a passive state as he tried to piece together what few memories he could find: Confronting Yang in the hallway, getting viciously egged and battered by mysterious freaks in dragon masks and being reduced to a whimpering mess before someone began to beat on him viciously, and finally himself and Ruby hurtling through the air on a collision course with a building and yet somehow finding the time to tell her that he loved her.
"Wait, why would I say that? Ruby and I…aren't…" His mind would flash back on the happier times alongside his little Rose, the two of them entertaining crowds of "Amazing Ruby Red and Burly B" better known as the Vaudevillains of the Vale Promenade, although their antics belied their villainous name as children smiled in approval at Ruby's acrobatic antics while the older folks marveled at his feats of manly strength. "She actually made it work, oh dear God don't tell me-" He would immediately use his other hand to feel around his chin and face for any signs of facial hair, sighing in relief when he found none. "Hah! I told her she wouldn't be able to make me grow a moustache!" For a moment he would feel triumphant at the fact that he wasn't a complete ripoff of Simon Gotch, before he remembered that for all intents and purposes he was now in some sort of a relationship with his best friend. "Why can't I remember it all, it feels like there are huge gaps in my memory. What happened to me?" Bálor would grasp his head with one whole hand and one heavily bandaged stump as a migraine tore through his skull and crying out in agony.
Ruby would gasp suddenly, interrupting the long-winded spiel that her uncle Qrow had been on. It was as if she could hear his cries of agony from outside in the courtyard, her instincts were telling her to run back to his side immediately as the doctors had warned her that there was a good chance that he would be in shock upon waking and that it was probably for the best that there be a friendly face to greet him.
"Ruby! Are you listening?" Qrow would sigh as he tried to keep his antsy young niece in place, clearly she was upset at being separated from her silver-haired demon and such a reaction worried him deeply. It was one thing for a person to be worried for their friend's safety, but this was becoming downright annoying as she continued to struggle against his grip. "Calm down, he's comatose and even if he wasn't he's in no shape to go anywhere. Now, since I'm being forced to repeat myself: I'm going to temporarily remove you from Beacon and take you home to Patch!"
This would pique her interest as she stopped trying to escape and instead turned to face the veteran Huntsman with her silver eyes wide in surprise. "Y-you're pulling me out of Beacon?" Ruby would pull away from her uncle with a look of shock, not knowing what to say in response to the older man's words before disappearing in a flurry of petals and speeding back to the RWBY dorm as fast as her Semblance could take her. When she had finally arrived she was stunned to fight that not only had her older sister already finished packing her belonging, her friends were in the midst of doing the same (which meant a complete luggage cart taking up a good portion of the room in order to accommodate for the heiress's many, many luggage cases.)
"Not you guys too!" The three Huntresses would pause in what they were doing and turn to face their leader: their faces would be a mix of trepidation, sadness, and anger as all three girls had their own individual gripes with the crimsonette over her current actions.
"Girls, this isn't the time for Team RWBY to be breaking apart! W-we still have to deal with the White Fang, there are Grimm everywhere and-" Blake would hold up her hand as she sighed heavily, mulling over her next words carefully. "Ruby, I understand that you don't want us to split up but-" Weiss would be the one to keep her kitten from stammering onward any further as she glared at her partner and now former team leader, her jaw clenched as she wanted to completely blow up at the red hooded reaper.
"Allow me to be the voice of sanity here: Ruby, for the last two years together we've followed you because despite your glaring lack of maturity in comparison to the rest of us you were always the one to lead us forward in the fields and in life with a level head." The heiress would sigh as she stepped closer to the silver-eyed young woman, wincing internally at the heartbroken look in her eyes but standing firm regardless. "But recently you've lost your damn marbles, I understand that first loves can be engrossing..you honestly believe that together the two of you can take on the world as long as you stand together." Ruby would shake her head and try to counter the pale-haired Huntress's arguments but Weiss would silence her again, this time with a finger atop her lips leaving her partner to blush visibly while Blake bristled silently in the background. "But this is bordering on the lines of scary. Ruby, there's more to the world then looking after your precious wolf and I hope that one day you can see him for what he truly is: Just a guy with some very shady motives, and a lot of blanks that need to be filled in." She would finally step back with a frown, knowing that she had kept her more heated barbs to herself along with a plea for her to come back to the more rational side of reality.
Ruby would see their team photo in her mind's eye, only now there were cracks beginning to form as the heiress stated her case. The crimsonette would turn to Blake with an eyebrow of curiosity raised. "What about you Blake, what were you going to say before Weiss dropped in her two lien?" She hadn't meant to be confrontational towards the feline, but judging by the way her eyes narrowed there was something in the younger woman's voice that tipped her off.
"I don't trust him Ruby, I've never trusted that mutt as far as I could throw him: The poem he left me, his actions towards Weiss and myself in general, what he put Yang through." Blake would look to her golden-haired partner with some concern, only to have it be returned with a quiet, smoldering resolve. "Those aren't the actions of someone who has your best interests at heart, merely his own goals who just happens to need a gullible sacrifice to-" She would stop upon feeling the heat radiating from the back of the room, she had pissed off the brawler to the point that her Semblance kicked in. "That's quite the surprising reaction coming from you Yang, thought you said you were done trying to housebreak the little doggy."
Yang would look to her partner with a sour expression upon her face, her hair glowing a pale gold as she stepped away from anything flammable and closer to the raven-haired feline.
"I'm leaving B in Ruby's hands, so any issues you have with him can be dealt with through her at a later date." The now red-eyed Huntress would grasp the former White Fang member's shoulder with a firmness she usually reserved for her enemies. "But don't even begin to think I won't knock you out for comparing my sister to some sacrificial pawn, Ruby's made her choice and like a proper sibling should I'll back her play..for better or worse."
Blake would smile wickedly before breaking free of the brawler's grasp, she knew her partner could be somewhat stubborn when it came to looking out for those she cared for. She had proved as much back when the feline Faunus had been obsessively hunting for any news of the White Fang following the incident at the docks in Vale, often forgoing sleep and only eating the bare minimum as she scoured the net for any hint of a lead. It was until a day before the annual school dance that Yang had more or less dragged Blake into an empty classroom where the two finally had a proper talk, the former expressing her worries for Blake's obsessive quest and how it was affecting her adversely while the Faunus tried to defend her actions by stating that it was in Vale's best interest that the group of renegade Faunus be stopped (or at the very least, dissuaded from their current path of violence.) sooner rather than later. It wasn't until Yang revealed her own personal quest to find her mother along with a story that involved the sisters in their younger days nearly being killed by Grimm while out chasing a lead, if it hadn't been for the timely intervention of their uncle Qrow than neither woman would have been there at Beacon today.
"It's not your sister that I'm insulting here Yang, it's the flea-ridden company she insists on keeping! Bálor's shown time and time again how completely unstable he is upstairs yet Ruby keeps coddling him and enabling further bad acts!"
Yang would sigh as her hair returned to its more passive golden color, her eyes however would remain red as she faced down her cat-eared friend.
"You're not entirely wrong in that respect Blake, but the lot of us screaming to the rafters at her to snap out of it won't play out here." The older Huntress would look to her younger sibling with a frown upon her face. "She needs to see for herself what the real Bálor Moonlight is like, even if it means taking the both of them outside of Beacon for a while."
Blake would mull over her partner's words carefully, she had expected Yang to join her side of the argument following her great prank. Instead, gone was the malicious mindset of a vengeful ex-girlfriend and instead was a woman who saw her actions with 20/20 hindsight. Hating him and getting revenge had soothed the wound temporarily, but it was through understanding and patience that she had learned why it had hurt so much and perhaps even how to mend it.
"So, you're saying we NEED to break up Team RWBY? I don't understand why we can't just work through this and not break up the team, why can't we just talk it out?" Ruby would be heartbroken as the reality of her team's demise, and the friendship that accompanied it were becoming more and more of a reality with each passing minute.
Weiss would tiptoe past the pair of embittered women who were simply staring at one another and approach the young Ruby. Her own icy heart beginning to crack as the tears began to well up in the red hood's silver eyes, taking her by the hand she would lead the crimsonette outside and onto the balcony, closing the door for the sake of privacy.
"Ruby, I know it feels like the world is crumbling down around you right now but you need to understand that this is a necessary evil. Team RWBY would've broken up eventually, if not now than most certainly following graduation." The heiress frowned as the first of what was assuredly many tears slid down her partner's cheek, reaching into the breast pocket of her jacket for a monogrammed handkerchef and gently wiping the tear away. "This is not goodbye by any stretch of the imagination, I do intend to return back here and hopefully reform Team RWBY with Blake and the rest of you whenever you've finished what it is you've had to do."
Ruby would sniffle, trying to keep a stiff upper lip in much the same fashion as the heiress was, but failing to do so as the sobbing began in earnest and the crimsonette clung to her partner for comfort.
"But- but what if I come back and Bálor's still with me, then team RWBY will never come back together again!" She would look up to Weiss for confirmation of her statement, only to see her pale-blue eyes soften somewhat.
"Maybe that's true, but the Ruby I know would never leave any friend high and dry just for the sake of keeping things the same. I know you'll find someway to make things work between us all, but for right now I'm definitely needed back at the SDC."
This would pique the crimsonette's curiosity as she felt herself being firmly detached from the hug she had Weiss locked in. "You're going back to your family's company? What for?" Ruby had always known her partner as someone who wanted to avoid working behind a desk back in Atlas, to have to go back meant that something was seriously amiss in the Schnee Dust Company.
"Something just seems very off with how Torchwick and the White Fang got their hands on that Paladin a while back and it's never sat right with me." The pale-haired young woman would look out at the grounds of Beacon Academy while the crimsonette did the same, the two would sit in silence for a few minutes just appreciating one another's company.
Eventually Weiss would sigh quietly as she closed her eyes in preparation of what she was about to say.
"Ruby, about the things I said a while back..where I said that I loved you." The heiress would go quiet as she saw her partner freeze up at the mention of that moment amd she didn't blame her for that reaction, the pale-haired woman wasn't exactly in the best frame of mind that particular day and how she had acted towards Ruby herself still left her feeling very guilty even at that particular moment. "I've found someone else."
The crimsonette would raise her eyebrow curiously at the not-so sudden revelation of her partner being off the market, she was beautiful for a Huntress and thanks to being born a Schnee she was beyond well off in terms of finances.
"So, you and Neptune finally made things official did ya?" Ruby would smile as she had spent a decent amount of time listening to Blake and Weiss comparing their respective partners in any and all ways conceivable.
Weiss would sigh and shake her head as she thought about the last time she had seen hide or hair of the azure-haired playboy, in a sense she did miss the cocky non-dancing dunce but they had ended things on a sour note and since then the heirest had resolved herself to finding someone of substance and loyalty. "It's not Neptune, we broke up the day before Team SSSN got called back to Vacuo."
The crimsonette would frown in thought, as she gestured for Weiss to go and reveal more of the situation. "Well, who is the lucky guy to claim the golden challace that is the heart of the fair Princess Schnee?" She would use her best carnival barker impersonation that she usually reserved for Vaudevillain related situations. "Come on who is he? Who is he? Who-" Her incessant queries would finally be muffled by Weiss's hand covering her mouth with a heated glare upon her face.
"It's not a guy at all you dunce! Now I want to tell you who it is but you need to stay absolutely calm do you understand?" The heiress would wait until the red hood quietly nodded her affirmation to the demand as Weiss carefully pulled her hand away from the girl's mouth. "I-I'm with Blake now…" Her cheeks would flush upon finally saying it outright as she watched Ruby's face for any sort of reaction from her partner. "Well, come on…say something you dolt!"
The reaper would stare at the pale-haired Huntress curiously, as if looking for something that she just couldn't voice while Weiss just waited impatiently for some sort of reaction from her. "You…really like girls don't you Weiss?" Ruby would smile as the heiress's blush deepened in response to the crimsonette's basic and clear cut question. "It's okay, I've got nothing against it. I think you and Blake will make a great couple down the road." The silver-eyed young woman would sigh happily as she looked out at the setting sun with a blush of her own, thoughts of her long and crazy road with the amber-eyed wolf passing through her mind. "You ever think that somewhere there's another version of us that didn't go through all this insanity?"
Weiss would sigh as she looked over at the setting sun with a pout as she mulled over Ruby's question, it was out of left field (as most of her questions were) and left the heiress feeling curious herself.
"Well, if there is an alternate version of Remnant somewhere in the universe…I envy that world's Team RWBY." The two of them would go quiet as they continued to stare out at the sunset.
Bálor would be sitting alone in the infirmary as the sounds of his heart monitor beeped quietly in a steady rhytmn as he stared down at the mysterious charm he had found in his jacket pocket after the nurses finally cajoled him into removing it.
"I don't even know where to begin with this thing." He would gently run his remaining fingers over the strange wolf-shaped charm, it seemed like something a person would find in a roadside curio shop thought one would buy for a friend on the way back from a long trip. However the one strange and most outstanding detail were the strange golden threads that were carefully wrapped around its tail, they were strangely soft to the touch and radiated a warmth that felt strangely familiar to him. "Something's telling me to hold onto this..thing." His ears would perk up quickly, hearing footsteps coming down the hallway as he hurriedly stashed the charm underneath his pillow.
"So, you're the little bastard that's messed with my nieces." A strange, somewhat wobbling dark-haired man would be standing in the wolf's doorway with a stonefaced glare. "You must really think you're hot shit don't'cha ya little puke!"
"Nieces?" The amber-eyed Faunus would sniff the air calmly, noticing a sour scent hitting the air, one he recognized well from his time laying in his adopted sister's lap in his beginning days at the barracks in Vacuo. "Whiskey, and it's cheap." Bálor would smirk slightly, seeing that this intruder was clearly off of his game and too soused to realize just where he was. "Look buddy, I don't know who you are but the bars are back in Vale. I'm just waiting for my girlfriend to come back through here, she's a badass Huntress prodigy so I suggest you get to step-" His insult would stop short as the man suddenly had his weapon positioned at Bálor's throat, the edge gleaming as its edge shone brightly causing his amber eyes to widen in shock. "How the hell did he move so fast, the only one to ever catch me off guard like this is Ruby!"
The newcomer would smirk in triumph as he pulled his sword back from the wolf and resheathing it while still somehow stinking of alcohol. "Ozpin really overestimated your abilities boy, if you can't even overcome a drunk like me then I really have to question anything written in your dossier." He would look off to the side, seeing a familiar white cloak floating outside the window and frown in annoyance. "Really? You've come all the way out here to lecture me at this particular moment?"
Bálor would frown as the man continued to look out at the empty window and argue with the view of nothing outside. "This guy's so loaded he's seeing shit!" The wolf would slowly scan the room looking for objects to defend himself with, although it quickly became apparent that thanks to his earlier suicide attempt the room had been stripped of anything that one could even consider using as a weapon. "I honestly should have seen this coming, mom was in a mental asylum and they wouldn't even let her bring her hairbrush with her."
"I know damn well who this kid is Summer, you seem to have forgotten though..or has the sweet release of death made you lose a few brain cells!" The drunkard would continue to glare at the white cloak who seemed to answer his queries silently. "Oh you've always had your issues with Jack, even after what he tried to do to you, you insisted he could be changed!" The use of Ruby's mother's name as well as his own father's name set off alarm bells in his head, there was no way in Hell that the Demon of Vacuo would ever associate with outsiders.
"Uncle Qrow..who are you talking to?" Ruby's voice would break through the long winded diatribe Qrow was apparently lost in as the wolf averted his gaze entirely as he tried to hide the slight blush that was rising up his cheeks.
"Ruby, when did you show up?" He would watch his young ward cross the room over to the silver-haired Faunus's bedside and gently taking his hand in hers with a loving smile, his mind would flash back to a past moment where son and daughter were replaced by father and mother respectively. "It's as if the whole mess is repeating itself again, how long before this boy tries to harm Ruby the way the bestard's father did?"
Bálor would frown under the heated gaze of the drunkard he now knew as Ruby's uncle Qrow, even as she was telling him of what was essentially Team RWBY's last group meeting his skin would not stop crawling as he felt fear for the first time since he watched his sister, the lynx Faunus sniper known as Strawberry Asada. "Make him go away." He would glance over at the veteran scythe-wielder quickly, wilting further as Qrow's gaze became more pointed, before shaking his head in disgust.
"Bálor, it's just my uncle..sure he may be a bit of a grump but he means well, I'm sure he's just worried about you as a fellow Huntsman, right?" The silver-eyed young woman would look to the older man for some sort of confirmation, only to see the wolf starting to tremble visibly.
"So this is the son of the great Demon of the Sands. I'll give you some credit, you getting one over on Ruby takes some doing." Qrow would remove the sword on his back and spin it about lazily, reveling at the young man's every flinch as the sword's edge pointed his way. "Jack would spit on you if he saw the way you're acting right now, a weak pathetic coward like you-"
The amber-eyed demon would snarl as anger started to override fear and his need to prove himself to this veteran grew larger, only to feel Ruby's grip on his remaining hand tighten in response to what could have been the start of a fight.
"Then again, maybe you do need a moment to cool off Uncle Qrow." She would face her uncle with a firm resolve, she knew that despite her training (and his less than optimal state.) that a straight up fight wasn't the best option.
Not for her, and especially not for him.
"Ruby, you really have fallen far from what I'd hoped you would become..all the training we went through on Patch, with your father watching over you.!" Qrow would glare at the bed-ridden young Faunus with even more contempt in his heart for the name 'Moonlight' than when he'd arrived in Vale. "If you won't see this abomination for who he really is, than perhaps isn't the place we should be heading to..No, perhaps we should return the mutt back to his own personal sandbox: The Hole located in Blackvale Prison!"
That was the last straw, the last bit of prodding that he could possibly stand before finally snapping outright.
Lunging out of the hospital bed with nothing to aid him but a bloody stump, some telekinetically lifted pillows and a heart burning with rage and desperation not to be thrown back into that foreboding Hell, the wolf would set his sights on Qrow with the intent to spill blood. However he would find his path of attack cut off by a familiar red hood and a florish of rose petals as Ruby wrapped her arms around the injured young man tightly, unknowingly doing as her older sister would have done by keeping him from falling to the ground.
"Please Bálor, you don't have to fight anymore!" The crimsonette would struggle to keep the angered Faunus standing upright before sighing and lowering the both of them to a seated position while looking over at her uncle with fire in her silver eyes. "Uncle Qrow, I made a promise that I would do my best to keep Bálor from ever having to be so afraid that he would kill! Let me keep that promise!"
The older Huntsman would sigh as he shook his head firmly, stowing his weapon back in its sheath before facing the two teenagers: Ruby had her mothers courage and the conviction to keep her friend safe, but she lacked the wisdom that Summer had obtained through life experience.
"You can't possibly hope to keep someone from experiencing fear Ruby, it's an aspect of life that guides not only the Huntsman and Huntresses forward in their journeys but all of humanity as well." Qrow would groan and drag the young man to his feet by his hair, ignoring the Faunus's hiss of pain as the amber-eyed young man stared daggers at him. "If you truly wish to be of any use to this mongrel, than stop shielding him from his fears and instead help him face them." He would feel his scroll vibrate in his pocket and nod quietly as he looked down at the young woman he helped train only a few short years ago, she had become stronger physically that much was certain, but there was still one very important trial that the crimsonette had yet to overcome. "Ruby, I'd like you to accompany me back to the deserts of Vacuo. There's an old friend of the family there that I have business with, and I think that meeting him will benefit the both of you greatly." The two younger Huntsman would stare at Qrow in confusion at the man's suggestion, but Ruby would be the one to voice their feelings as the silver-haired Faunus was too spent to speak properly.
"I don't understand what you mean, how can meeting this "friend of the family" help us? Bálor needs rest and time to recover, not a trip to desert on some…thingy!" Ruby would take note of her dear Faunus's exhausted and strained expression, wishing she were a more stronger individual and not a child being scolded by family. "Why do you want him to return to the place that broke his spirit?"
"Because that is where you'll be able to find what you need to be able to fix his spirit." Ozpin's voice would interrupt the trio's tense standoff as he merely stood in the doorway of the infirmary room. "After all, you can't fix a broken puzzle just by mashing different pieces together in the hopes that they all fit now can you Miss Rose? Sometimes in order to find what is truly lost we sometimes have to head back to the basics, for mister Moonlight that would be the deserts of Vacuo just as the island of Patch would be your path back to the start of it all."
The crimsonette would begin to protest once more, only for Bálor to begin laughing quietly as something finally clicked in the young man's head.
"Of course you would say that, you always seem to know what the next move in your grand chess match Ozpin." He would snarl and kick at Qrow's ankle to get himself free while hissing from the loss of a few stray hairs while glaring at the bespectacled Headmaster. "Well I'm tired of being your chess piece goddammit, I have my own aspirations and dreams to chase!" He would growl and point his bloodied stump towards the shocked crimsonette Huntress who had saved his life merely days ago. "Chief among them being the one involving my future with Ruby, I'd become the second coming of Jaggerjack himself just to see her smiling and happy as she walks the road of a Huntress!"
Ozpin and Qrow would exchange a silent glare at the upstart wolf's outburst even as Ruby was left a blushing but smiling young woman as she basically watched her beloved friend declare that he'd give everything he had left in order to help her achieve her dreams first and foremost.
"Then let's go, not to the prisons of Vacuo or back home to Patch. Let's go back to your home Bálor, I wanna see the place where you grew up." She would slowly make her way over to the riled-up wolf's side, gently taking his remaining hand in hers once more with an earnest smile. "Will you take me there?"
The next day would be an important one for the ladies of Team RWBY as they had all set upon separate goals for themselves: Ruby had decided to join her beloved wolf as he set to get back to basics and find himself, a journey that her uncle had insisted would cause them to cross paths with an old family friend and help them grow as individuals. Weiss and Blake would return to Atlas to further investigate the shady underbelly of the Schnee Dust Company in an effort to discover just how the White Fang had gotten a hold of Atleasian Paladin's and other mechanized weapons that were usually given to the military and others who fought the creatures of Grimm.
Yang hadn't exactly let it slip what it was that she had in mind for her future, only insisting that when she returned from her travels, she would be strong enough to crush the "darkness" that was headed their way.
But regardless of whatever motives were driving them on, the four of them would be standing in the center of their dorm with their hands on top of one another and a look of resolve in their eyes.
"One year girls, no matter what we do along the way..we meet up back here next year!" Ruby would grin sheepishly as the others nodded in agreement as they kept their hands in formation, it was one of those rare times where words weren't needed for their feelings to be expressed to one another.
"You do realize that there's a good chance that some of us might bring back an extra companions, after all most of us aren't traveling by ourselves ya know?" Weiss would say this bluntly before cracking a smile and looking toward her cat-eared traveling companion.
"But nonetheless we're going to meet up once again, even it means we're dragging an army with us when we get here!"
Blake would nod in agreement while staring into Ruby's silver eyes in cold silence, as much as the feline had hoped the heiress would talk the reaper out of her blind loyalty to the silver-maned demon it was clear that she was dead set on following through on her shaky road. "No matter what perils befall us, we will stand as one!"
Yang would close her eyes and keeping a toothy grin upon her face, she would pump her free fist as a sign of resolve in her secret goal before looking to her sister and nodding in silent agreement as the proverbial torch had been passed.
"Well ladies, this is where we part for now..but rest assured that Team RWBY will rise again! So don't go running off and getting yourselves killed you got it!" The crimsonette would grin as they finally broke their formation as they gathered their belongings and headed out one by one, Ruby being the last to leave as she stared back at the empty dorm room as the ghosts of happier times past played out before her.
"We'll get back to those times someday; these Ghosts in Us will never be forgotten, and we will stand together as a team one day." She would sigh as she felt a familiar hand rest upon her shoulder, causing her to smile happily and lean into her wolf's embrace while shedding a few tears for the loss of these golden days at Beacon.
"Your speech was amazing my dear, I have to admit that even I got a little revved up listening to you all declare..whatever it was you were declaring." He would blush in embarassment as the crimsonette kicked him lightly in jest, earning his laughter as he held her close to himself. "Honestly Ruby, you were born to be a Huntress and a leader. If you could inspire four very different minded individuals to stand together in order to reach a common goal, then you really are someone amazing." The amber eyed Faunus would look down at his little Rose, seeing more than the cookie loving, weapon obsessed young woman that he had met in the beginning.
There was a light around her that brought tears to his eyes, she was going to be the best of them all when this was all said and done. And as they began to make their way out to the Bullwark that would take them (and a less than happy Qrow) to Vacuo, Bálor made his own silent declaration to the young woman who was now holding his hand.
"Ruby, I don't care if I end up becoming the devil itself…I will become strong enough to help you realize your dream of being one of those storybook heroines." He would shut his eyes tightly as the sun shone down on the pair of them, the road ahead of them was bound to be a perilous one but he had resolved himself to that path out of love for the crimsonette now standing beside him. And maybe with a little luck from the strange wolf charm now hanging around his neck, they would make it back to Beacon in one year's time as stronger Hunters and more seasoned people.
Geez, this was a mess to get written out in a timely manner thanks to the previously aforementioned issues, so if the ending feels kinda wonky..not really sorry.
Thanks to this debacle I'm going to step away from writing for a few days but if you really need to read my stuff then it's all there. In the meantime there's a poll up on the profile page that'll let you the people decide the next fic I work on.
Addiction: The Schnee sisters are summoned home by a dying papa Schnee in order to compete in a series of ordeals that'll determine which woman will carry the mantle.
Mmm Gorgeous: A CFVY-centric fic that sees Coco grapple with trying to change the Academy uniform, a womanizing playboy in Fox, and a Holiday away from Beacon to worry about.
Machinations of Darkness: A RWBY/Kingdom Hearts crossover that sees Master Xehanort and Cinder Fall team up to bring Remnant into the darkness before stabbing one another in the back like all cheap villain team ups.
Peaches and Blood: An AU take on Conversations that sees our heroic wolf turn into a rampaging psychopath (not because of a busted monitor) and sees to bring down the hammer of "I will make your lives Hell" to JNPR
Silent Aria: Neo sets out to paint the streets of Vale with blood and it doesn't matter what your alignment is, you're gonna get got!
Fan's Choice: Since you folks seem to think the way I do things? Fine! You set the rules and I'll write it out to completion!
In the meantime, I'm going to bed- STINGER!
Ozpin would watch on as the four members of Team RWBY all took their separate Bullwarks to wherever the winds of fate took them, forgetting that he was in the midst of a very important call to Vacuo.
"-zpin! Ozpin are you there?!" The voice on the other end would be rather impatient as the headmaster watched his students leave knowing that despite the fact that RWBY's separation was necessary to their growth, the timing for these journeys of self-discovery was absolutely abysmal.
And cue the Volume 3 opener.
"I'm here Miliardo...I trust you have things set up over there in Vacuo?" The bespectacled man would silently sipped from his coffee mug as he pondered his enemy's next move.
"Yes, I have the individual you requested me to find in my custody, as well as the boy with the Key you mentioned. You were wrong about the spiky hair though."
This would shock him somewhat as he had not planned for a second Keybearer to land in Remnant, nonetheless he had landed in allied hands and that made for another very useful piece to add to their side of the board. "So I was, keep them nearby old friend..you'll have guests very shortly."