Chapter 6: Remnants

Smoke covered the city of Vale. Thankfully, most of the civilians had evacuated to Fort Stein, so casualties were low, but the city still echoed of ghosts that weren't there; it was an empty shell of its former glory. Like a page straight from a horror story, the streets were empty and devoid of natural life, save for the skulking Grimm that lurked about, hunting for anything or anyone to feast upon.

It was here in the streets of Vale that Ren found himself. Separated from the rest of team JNPR, he remained stoic and cool during his trying ordeal. Jaune and Pyrrha were nearby, as they had holed up in a nearby department store to wait for Ren and Nora to return. Nora was also nearby. Their separation was unintentional, but worked out in the end; the two friends had found separate sources of what they came for.

Food and water was hidden all over Vale where the people had just abandoned it in their frenzy to evacuate. Beacon wasn't terribly low on the necessities, but it was always a good idea to stock up every so often to make sure that you never ran out. Team JNPR volunteered for the job, as well as team LNER and the remnants of team CRDL.

A crackling noise came over Ren's headset, causing him to wince in discomfort. "LNER and CRDL are out of the city; SMMR returning to dust off JNPR. Be ready, kiddos!" said the voice of Roman Torchwick. While many people didn't like Roman, Ren had to respect him in the sense that Roman was able to maintain a very strong and calming attitude during these trying days. Sure, he was a jerk, and 'calming' would usually the last adjective one would use to describe him, but it seemed like he was one of the few people who could still act like himself in the face of this cataclysm. Cynical, sarcastic, and narcissistic, but still interesting, sociable, and intelligent.

"You heard him, guys," Jaune said over the radio next. "Get to the extraction zone immediately. We'll meet you there. Ren, Nora, you catch that?"

"Yeah~!" Nora cheered next, causing Ren's ear to ache. "On my way!"

"I'll be there," was all Ren said. Storm Flower at the ready, Ren began to carefully make his way to the extraction point; the very rooftop where Ruby and Roman had first fought. It was far too quiet to Ren's liking, which is impressive considering how quiet he usually was. Perhaps he was used to Nora's incessant babbling, or Jaune's constant inquisitions for assistance from whoever was willing? No, that couldn't be it. Those noises were always nice, but he enjoyed quiet from them at times. No, this silence wasn't a lack of Nora or anyone else in particular; it was a lack of everything. Even the electrical hum of streetlights was absent due to the fact that it was mid day.

In short, Ren found total and complete silence to be quite disturbing. He glanced up into the blue sky and saw the source of the nightmare that resided all around him; the black comet. Many people from beacon had called it different things; Black Rose because Ruby 'discovered' it, Darkstar because it was very bright in spite of its black color, and even Grimm's Comet, but Ren only called it one thing. Ruby never felt the need to name it, but she knew what it was just as much as he did; it was a messenger of destruction, a prophet of death, and a courier of fate. Ren called it Harbinger.

Ren looked up upon hearing the sound of jet engines; Roman's Bullhead flew over his head as it raced towards to extraction point. Time to hurry, he thought. Storm Flower in his hands, he began to run after the drop ship. He overlooked the group of Grimm that spotted him as he ran, and they gave chase.

Minutes later, Roman touched down, waiting "patiently" for the two teams to arrive. Team LNER had already arrived and were waiting in the Bullhead, and three of the members of team JNPR were walking towards to drop ship. "Where's Ren?" Nora asked.

"He said he was on his way," Jaune replied, sounding unsure.

"I hope he's okay," Pyrrha added. "Maybe we should go look for him?"

The sound of gunfire drew their attention. "I think you found him," Roman said sarcastically. The three members of team JNPR turned towards the sound and saw Ren running as fast as he could, firing Storm Flower behind himself at the Beowolves and Ursa that chased him.

"Ren!" Nora exclaimed. She drew Magnhild in hammer form and raced to help her friend.

"Nora, get back!" Ren exclaimed, discharging his firearms in rapid succession. She ignored him and swung viciously at her foes, killing two Beowolves in a single swing. An Ursa took a swipe at Nora, who couldn't move her hammer fast enough to block. Frantic, Ren stepped in front of the claws and blocked with his weapons; the left pistol shattered, shocking himself and Nora.

He tossed the remains of the weapon to the ground; it was useless and beyond repair. With his now free left hand he grabbed Nora and evaded the Ursa's next attack and raced to the Bullhead. "C'mon!" Sun exclaimed as he hung out of the door and forced all of team JNPR into the aircraft. "Let's go, Torch!"

"Got it!" Roman replied, immediately taking off.

The teams were safe in the air, heading back to Beacon. "Ren," Nora said sadly. "Your gun."

Ren nodded, looking down at his remaining pistol. "Gun's can be replaced, Nora," he said after a long pause. "You can't be." For the first time that Nora could ever recall, Ren initiated a hug. "You're more valuable than Storm Flower."

Nora felt tears well up in her eyes as she returned the hug. "You're valuable to me too, Ren."

"Good God, just kiss already!" Roman yelled from the cockpit.

Sun laughed. "Way to ruin the mood," he said.

"Honestly," Roman whispered. "This a drop ship, not a love boat."

Ruby stood on the rooftop of her dorm, overlooking the work taking place below. By her recollection, several others should have died by now; Cardin was still Beacon's only casualty. She decided that Roman must have been right; by telling everyone her dream she had changed the many outcomes that she thought may have been predetermined. The number of survivors gave her confidence and strength in herself and those around her; they were going to outlast this cataclysm.

Below in the courtyards between the buildings, her fellow huntsmen and huntresses scurried about, organizing supplies, heading out or returning from recon missions, and helping anyone who may be wounded. She could see some of the watchers on the wall around the school as well, and she was beginning to notice that the Grimm's howling wasn't coming from the Emerald Forest anymore. It seemed as though most of the Grimm had moved on, or had made their abode in the ghost town that was Vale.

Though, in spite of the incredible survival rate that was being displayed, Ruby still felt sadened by the events that had transpired. Smoke constantly rose from somewhere in Vale; likely where fires had been set either intentionally or accidentally in a panic to escape the Grimm. The black comet still dominated the sky, casting a shadow over the world in the light of day. If her memory of the dream was correct, it would pass out of Remnant's view in another week or so, but the Grimm menace would stay. The comet had given them strength and numbers, and there wasn't much to eliminate their numbers at this point. As long as the Grimm population outnumbered humanity like it was currently, the human race would be at a constant disadvantage.

A Bullhead came into Ruby's view; Roman's. I guess they're back, she thought. She stayed a few minutes longer to make sure that her friends from JNPR and LNER had made it back in one piece; thankfully, no one seemed to be hurt. Although, she did notice that Nora had her arm locked around Ren's. Not a terribly strange sight, per se, but interesting all the same. It actually made Ruby smile. She looked at her scroll to check the time. "I guess it's dinner time."

"No, you idiot! That goes over to that pile with the rest of the canned food. It goes into storage! Perishables go to the kitchen to be eaten as soon as possible!" Weiss exclaimed wildly as she directed the traffic of supplies throughout the courtyard. "Honestly, do you want frozen meat to sit for longer than it already has? We'll be lucky if it's still edible at all right now!"

"You look to be having fun," said a girl's voice. Weiss turned to adress whomever it was. She saw a girl about her age with short black hair, a blue coat, and a gunblade strapped across her back. Weiss didn't remember her name, but she knew that she was the leader of team LNER.

"May I help you, er..."

"Luna," she finished for Weiss. "I just wanted to tell you that we brought some stuff back from Vale that's still on the Bullhead."

"Oh. Well, thank you, Luna. I'll send someone to pack it away immediatly." She pointed at a young man. "You! Get the supplies recovered by team LNER right away!"

He nodded and booked it to the Bullhead; Weiss as a supervisor was rough, hard, and efficient. No doubt this was a trait she picked up from her family. Luna laughed quietly. "Also, I wanted to tell you that I think you're doing a fantastic job."

This confused Weiss. "Well, thank you, but why feel the need to tell me so?"

"It's a tough job, managing others. I feel like I can barely lead my three team mates at times. I love them well enough, but it's a stressful job. Yet, look at you. You're not even a team leader, but you're doing an amazing job of organizing everyone here."

Weiss smiled. "Yeah, I suppose you're right. I kind of feel bad that I used to want Ruby to relinquish her leadership to me, but that was before I knew how stressful it could be. Now, I just want to make things easier on her."

Luna laughed. "That's the way teams should be." She gave a polite bow. "Have a nice day, Weiss."

"You too," the heiress replied as Luna walked away. She sighed. "Back to work, I suppose."

Sun stood awkwardly in the courtyard. Sitting on a nearby bench, taking a break from the day's hard work, was Melanie and Militia. The three of them had been working together for a couple of weeks at this point, and Sun didn't like working with people he knew nothing about. However, he didn't dislike the twins at all; he was just wasn't privy to any information about them. He intended to change that.

He just didn't know how.

Up until now, team SMMR had been swamped with work; maintaining constant contact with any recon teams, extracting those that were injured, and transporting supplies was hard work; harder work than Sun ever could have imagined, even. Even today, in spite of how little he did physically on the Bullhead, the chaos around him and the unpredictable nature of the missions made him break into sweat and become dehydrated; just as if he'd done hours upon hours of manual labor. He did notice that the twins seemed to react the same way, and this gave him an idea.

He ran over to a nearby cooler that was being used by the supply movers and grabbed three bottles of water. He calmly and briskly approached the Malachite sisters. "Hey," he greeted casually, his dry throat causing his voice to crack. "You two want some water?"

Militia seemed hesitant, but Melanie nodded immediately and gratefully accepted two of the bottles. She opened one for her sister first before opening her own, and both sisters happily drank. "Thank you, Sun," Melanie said.

He nodded, unable to speak due to having a mouthful of cold, crystal clear water. He inhaled deeply after swallowing. "Don't mention it," he finally answered. He motioned at the bench. "Room for one more?" Melanie scooted over some to bridge a small gap between herself and her sister, opening up a space for Sun to sit. "Thanks."

He seated himself, careful not to bump into the sisters. "You know, we haven't really talked since we first met, have we?"

Sun shook his head. "Too busy to stop and talk. The Bullhead team is nothing but work, work, work. Barely had enough free time to start learning how to fly the damn thing myself." Sun looked at the two sisters and flashed them a million lien smile. "Seems like now's a good time to catch up, eh?"

Militia bashfully returned the smile, but made no comment. Melanie nodded. "I don't see why not."

"Alright! I've got a question; why did you guys look like you were going to kill me when we first met?"

Melanie laughed. "We saw a faunus running towards us with no plausible reason. Mind you, we aren't like...some other people out there who automatically assume that all faunus are criminals, but it's kind of hard to picture one as anything else when they're in a full sprint in our direction." She paused. "No offense."

This made Sun laugh. "None taken. I wasn't exactly a law abiding citizen before all of this anyway. I mean, I wasn't Roman, but I did steal food and money whenever I needed it. And I only ever took what I needed. I'm not greedy." He looked between the two sisters. "How about you? What was life like before the Grimm?" His eyes focused on Militia, expecting her to add to the conversation.

"Don't mind her," Melanie added. "She's just a little shy at first. She'll open up in a little while."

"Oh. Well, that's fine."

"Right. Now, about what we did before all of this..."

Ruby had returned to standing upon the rooftop after she had eaten. She had no real reason to be up there, but she felt that the gentle breeze felt nice this high up. She liked the view all around her, and the sound of her comrades working below. It gave her a sense of peacefulness in the midst of the nightmare that was closing in around them.

"Hey, Red," came the voice of Roman.

Ruby sighed, her mood almost ruined by that nickname. Almost. "That's not my name, Roman," she replied.

She turned to see Roman laugh. "You'll always be Red to me. Or would you rather have me start to call you 'Little Girl', or something else of that sort?" She was about to retaliate when Roman threw a box at her. "There. A present from me to you."

She caught the box and looked at it; packaged cookies. Ruby smiled. "When did you become so sweet?"

Roman would have denied it if Ruby had pointed it out, but he felt his face grow warm. "I figured it was the least I could do. So many people are alive right now thanks to your vision. I know I'm not usually one to really care about others, but without them I wouldn't survive either."

"That's almost a compliment when you say it, Roman." She dropped her smile and looked back down at the courtyard. "So, what happened out there today?"

Roman nodded. He knew that she was going to ask about earlier that day. "Team LNER completed their sweep and returned for extraction. JNPR was split up and were trying to regroup. Ren was attacked and chased by Grimm all the way back to the Bullhead. Nora tried to help him and needlessly put herself into harm's way; Ren could have been seriously hurt by doing what he did."

"What happened?" she asked again.

He hesitated. "Nora was reckless. She was wide open to be flayed by an Ursa. Ren blocked the Ursa with his weapons; one of them was completely destroyed."

Ruby nodded. "So, Ren is down to one gun. That's gonna put him at a disadvantage."

"I'm sure he can build another. We have the parts and the tools lying around now, after all." Roman sighed. "Why are you so worried about them? They all know what was going to happen, and they've changed accordingly to avoid that fate."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Ruby answered. "Now I don't know what's going to happen fully. There are bits here and there that I'm sure will stay somewhat similar to before, but there is now so much that I don't know because of the changes."

"Isn't that a good thing? I mean, I can see how it wouldn't be good, but on the other hand, you've saved countless lives already. How many more were supposed to die before today?"

Ruby looked to the ground in though. "I...I don't know. I never counted."

"How many have died since Cardin?"

"None."

"Then that's a win in my book. And we're still winning." Roman smiled. "Lighten up, Red. We're gonna make it through this."

Ruby turned and met his gaze "What if things start to go back to the way they were supposed to be? What if everyone dies anyway?"

Roman's smile faded. "Remember how you asked if it was possible for us to be friends?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Here's my new answer to that question, Red; if things go south, and everyone that has been saved dies anyway, then I hope you're little prophecy about me surviving doesn't come true."

Ruby's eyes went wide. "W-what?"

"I...I can't believe I'm saying this, but I've come to like some of these people. I've come to trust them. I've come to trust you. I would rather die than lose all of that."

Ruby began to tear up. Out of all of the people she knew, Roman was the last person she ever expected to say something so profound. He sighed. "Come here," he said, almost irritated. Ruby, unsure, complied and approached him and was unexpectedly grabbed in a tight embrace; he was hugging her. "You breathe a word of this to anyone, and big sister will hear all about your underage tobacco habit. Got it, Red?"

Ruby laughed. "You practically forced me to smoke that cigar." She paused, trying to fight back her smile. "How many times do I have to tell you that my name isn't Red?"

"Remind me all you like," he teased. "I'm never gonna stop."

What an irritating...friend, she thought.

Yang, like Weiss, was helping in the courtyard for most of the day. While Weiss was taking care of the organizational duties, Yang was far more partial to partaking in the heavy lifting side of things. She may appear to be a delicate beauty to those who didn't know her, but she was just as strong as her fighting style implied.

It was now, after hours of exhausting manual labor, that she was finally able to take a break and sit down. She sighed loudly in contentment upon sitting down on the nearby bench. Weiss approached and sat down next to her team mate with a bottle of cold water in hand. She sipped from it and offered it to Yang. "Thanks, princess," Yang said gratefully, drinking happily from the water bottle.

Weiss smiled. "Anytime." She looked around. "I'm glad you were helping move the supplies. It would have been a nightmare otherwise."

"Aw, don't be like that. Everyone involved did a good job."

"Maybe, but you were the most efficient."

Yang shrugged. "I just wanted to get it done right, and get it done fast. I'd rather be maintaining Ember Celica right now. Haven't cleaned it since our last recon, and if I don't keep it clean it could jam on me."

Weiss nodded. "I agree, actually. If Myrtenaster isn't polished regularly, it could get covered in rust. That would compromise the integrity of the sword, and it'd likely break in half."

Howls erupted from the city of Vale, causing Weiss and Yang to look in the city's direction. "When's the next recon?"

Weiss pulled out her scroll. Ozpin had posted all of the current recon team listings where all of the students could access them via their scrolls. "Teams VLVT, HOLY, ARCR (Archer), and LNER are set to go into the city tomorrow morning to gauge the number of Grimm in the Industrial and Market districts."

"Is...is anyone going to recon the forest?"

"No one is scheduled to do so right now. We know that the majority of the Grimm have migrated to the city in search of food, so the forest must be relatively empty right now."

Yang turned her gaze to the Emerald Forest, her face masked with unease. "I don't know why, but I have a bad feeling about it."

Weiss looked at her with confusion before following her gaze. "How so?"

"It's...it's like the calm before the storm, you know? Everything feels fine, but then the sky gets darker and you get that sinking feeling in your gut."

"You've got that sinking feeling?"

"Yeah," Yang answered quietly. "And I don't like it." I...I have a terrible feeling about that forest, she thought, repeating mentally what she had already told Weiss. "We need to know what's really in there."

Weiss continued to stare at the forest. "I...I think you may be right. I mean, I'm sure that most of the Grimm have left it...but it can't be a bad idea to make sure."

Yang nodded. "If you see Ruby, tell her I went to see Ozpin." She stood up, returned Weiss's water to her half empty, and strolled towards the building that Ozpin made his office in.

Ozpin had tried to keep his appearance neat and clean these last few days, but the importance of maintaining the huntsmen and huntresses by reviewing all of their reports had become a much greater cause. He still kept clean, of course, but his five o'clock shadow was now very prominent, and his hair seemed somewhat unkempt; he'd been staying up late to finish whatever work he had.

He smiled. "We have enough supplies to fuel an army for over a year, and we have much less than an average army. It's almost time for humanity's first real counter attack." A knock came from his door. "Enter!" he called.

Yang entered. "Sorry for intruding, sir," she said politely.

"Not at all, Ms. Xiao Long. How may I help you?"

"Sir...I understand that I'm not the leader of my team, nor do I want to be the leader of team RWBY, but I have a request to make."

He arched an eyebrow in interest. "Oh?"

Yang nodded. "Most of us think that the Grimm have almost completely migrated to the City of Vale, and the forest has been silent as the grave for a while now. I...I don't like it."

Ozpin smiled. "I'm glad I'm not the only one who's been 'paranoid' about that. Grimm may be monsters, but they aren't stupid. They know that we're here, and they're seemingly abandoning their haven for the city...I never thought that it made any sense for all of them to have moved."

"I agree. I think we should recon the Emerald Forest and go as deep as we can to see if the Grimm have truly left the forest, or if some are hiding."

"And your request?" Ozpin inquired.

"I think team RWBY should do it. We're all quick, and we're all strong; Ruby especially so."

Ozpin sighed. He walked around his desk and placed a hand on Yang's shoulder. "You remember, right? Those were almost the same words that Cardin spoke to me the day he died. At least, it was the very same request he made."

Yang winced at the memory of Cardin. "I...I know, sir."

"Are you perhaps doing this not only for those of us who need to know what's out there, but also for Cardin's sake? Are you wanting to exact some form of revenge?"

"I..." Yang doubted her own ability to answer for a moment. "That's not my primary goal, professor...but if I can send as many of those monsters to hell as I can, then it'll be a bonus."

Ozpin felt impressed to an extent. "Send them to hell?" he asked.

Yang nodded. "After all, my semblance is fire. I'm the only one who truly knows what it means to burn! That makes me the perfect escort for those monsters. With my guidance, they'll find the gates of hell in no time at all." She felt her aura flare and the room grow warmer. She took a deep breath to calm herself. "But as I said, that's not my primary goal. My first thoughts go to our fellow teams, teachers, and such. We need to know what's out there."

Ozpin smiled. He picked up a scroll and tapped away at it. "Do apologize to Ruby for volunteering your team in her stead. Team RWBY is scheduled to recon the Emerald Forest the day after tomorrow. Be ready, Ms. Xiao Long."

"Yes, sir!" She thanked him and left, prepared to tell the news to her sister and her friends. Yang felt that things were about to get more interesting; for better or for worse, and she didn't know which.

Songs: Remnants and Asylum - Disturbed

Author's Notes

Oh man! Oh man, oh man, oh MAN! I am getting closer and closer to one of the chapters that I've been oh so looking forward to writing! It won't be the next chapter, but it should be the one after it. There are so many things that I want to tell you guys! Oh, you have NO idea how badly I wish I could just tell you how this story will flow from here. Alas, I must abide by the rules of literature, and make you wait to read it yourself.

In regards to this chapter, it's more filler; I wish I could make each chapter an action packed plot developer, but we've got to have some breathing space in between those moments. Like a fine wine, we've got to let it breath from time to time, you know?

Also, I apologize for taking so long with writing this one. I would have finished days ago, but like I said in the previous chapter, I'm no longer unemployed and I'm working for my town's Street Department again. Speaking of which, it's time for another...

Fun Fact: It never stopped raining in my town today! I spent all day unclogging storm drains with a shovel while the sky pissed on me. I was soaking wet by the time I got home...and yet, I love my job.

Till next time!