Chapter 11: The Mark Has Been Made

Weiss, Blake, and Roman had forced Ruby to get some rest before they approached Ozpin with any sort of discussion, which she begrudgingly accepted. She tried to argue that she wasn't too tired, that she was able to speak with Ozpin. However, several night's of sleep deprivation, having only slept three to four hours at a time, were finally catching up to her. When she finally laid her head down on her pillow, she realized just how tired she really was. Her eyes felt heavy, and she fell asleep instantly. This caused Weiss to breathe a sigh of relief as she closed the dorm room door behind her as she exited with Blake.

Roman was waiting in the hall for the two girls, his arms crossed as he 'patiently' waited to see what they were going to do now. "Well?" he asked.

"I think we can still broach the subject to Ozpin without Ruby. She won't like it when she wakes up, but right now she needs her rest," Weiss stated. "We'll tell him that Ruby will soon be back in fighting condition, and that team RWBY is ready to begin continued operations. I also need to discuss some things with him."

"What sort of things?" Blake asked.

Weiss was about to answer, but she closed her mouth. "I don't want anyone to worry needlessly yet. It's just something I need to bring up with the professor, that's all. It's important enough to require his attention, but not enough for just everyone to know. Not yet, anyway."

Blake raised an eyebrow. "Sounds dodgy," she commented.

"It isn't," Weiss assured. Not yet, anyway, she repeated mentally. The issue of an inevitable dust shortage had weighed on her mind since last night, but she didn't want to start a panic. No, she would keep it discreet for a time.

Roman nodded. "I'm gonna get the rest of team SMMR and make sure that we're Bullhead ready. It's been a few days since we've last flown, so we need to do proper maintenance and stay alert. Just in case." He gestured with his hand a parting before turning on his heel and strolling towards the exit. Weiss wasn't entirely sure if she was right, but she felt that Roman had relaxed since they saw Ruby this morning. She didn't really notice him on edge or anything, but now that Ruby was resting peacefully he seemed more himself. I suppose Ruby really has infected him. He truly has become her friend.

Blake nudged Weiss to regain her attention. "So...we're off to Ozpin's?"

Weiss nodded. "To Ozpin's."

Melanie sat by herself. Odd for one of the Malachite twins, but she had purposely sent her younger sibling away on an errand. It was a pointless errand that would take Militia a while to work on before she figured out it was a falsehood, and Melanie felt bad about making her sister waste her time. Still, she felt it was justified. She needed to talk to a certain monkey faunus about her little sister, and said little sister couldn't be present for such an exchange.

Melanie liked to think that she was a smart young woman. Not the most intelligent, of course, but neither was she a complete moron. She believed that she had enough logic and reasoning to pick out enough details to understand situations at their most basic form. Having watched Sun and Militia interact for the last week, she was confident that there was something going on between them. Militia hadn't said anything to her, nor had Sun said anything, but Melanie wasn't a fool. The protective look that Sun gave the younger Malachite, the way Militia would gaze at him from a distance, the subtle touch of their hands and the subsequent awkward shuffle away from each other before they stood close by again; the signs were all there.

But Melanie wanted to hear the words from the monkey's mouth. She knew the truth, but one must never assume, even when the assumption is correct. She smiled, and remembered a clever phrase that Junior had once said. "When you assume, you make an ass out of you and me." It was a play on words, but an amusing one all the same.

She had sent a message to Sun, telling him to meet her in the cafeteria. It was still morning, and if this were a normal day Melanie would probably be waking up right about now, but instead she sat and silently ate breakfast while she waited. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the faunus in question enter through a set of double doors, see her, and make his way to her table. He didn't get any food, so he must have eaten breakfast already. Morning people, Melanie thought sarcastically.

Sun sat down in front of her. "You rang?" She nodded, sipping her morning coffee quietly without saying a word. "Is this really important?" Another nod, and a bite of bacon. Sun stared at her incredulously. The attitude she seemed to be giving off started to make Sun uncomfortable. "Am...am I in trouble for something?"

Melanie smiled before finally speaking, having swallowed a piece of toast. "I don't know yet." Her tone was almost menacing, and Sun gulped. "What are your intentions with my sister?"

Had sun been eating he would have started choking. "I...don't know what you're talking about." He looked away, unable to make eye contact.

"Don't start lying to me now," she said, irritated. "It's a serious question, and I want a serious answer. What are your intentions with my sister."

Sun shifted his eyes towards her before looking down to the table. "I don't know yet," he answered. "I haven't really put that much thought into it."

She raised an eyebrow. "You're not saying that you don't care for my sister as much as she cares for you, are you?"

"No! No, I'm not saying that. I'm just...wait, did she tell you something?"

Melanie shook her head. "Should she have?"

"I suppose not," he commented. "I suppose what I meant is that I haven't really planned all that far ahead."

"I see." She sipped from her coffee. "Militia hasn't told me a thing, Sun, but a blind person could see that you two are into each other. I'm not an idiot."

Sun sighed, giving up any possibility of a fight. "Yeah. I do care for Militia. Deeply. I think it might have started before...before Yang." Both looked at the table sadly. "The night that Yang died, Militia came to me. She...she was scared of losing me. And she was scared of losing you. We were both scared, really. And then...well, that's not important."

Melanie caught on. "You didn't..."

Sun looked at her with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry."

"Was it that bad?" she asked.

"No! No, it wasn't! But I'm sorry that we went behind your back. I'm sorry we didn't go about this in a more proper way."

"If you truly care for my sister, then I can't accept your apology." Sun was confused. "I don't care that you two went behind my back. What I care about is my sister's happiness, Sun. I've taken care of her for most of her life. One day, I may not be here to take care of her. Sooner or later we'll have to part ways and take our own paths in life. I can do that was ease if I know that someone else will take care of her in my stead." She finished her morning coffee before giving Sun a very lovingly look. It wasn't love for him, but love for her little sister that Sun saw. "Are you the person who will take care of her for me?"

Sun nodded. "I'll do everything in my power to make her happy."

Melanie smiled. "Good. Then I have nothing to worry about. As her older sister, Sun, you have my blessing."

Both of their scrolls beeped, signaling a message. Sun checked his first. "Roman wants us to make sure everything is ready to use. We may be doing missions again in the coming days." Melanie nodded and the two left the cafeteria. They had work to do.

"Miss Rose is resting now, you said?" Ozpin asked Weiss.

"Yes, Professor. She should be combat ready by tomorrow should she be needed," Weiss replied.

"That's good to hear. Hopefully I won't need to use her for a while, but we still need to have everyone in prime condition. How is she handling Yang's death?"

"Better than she was before, but I don't think she'll ever get over it."

"That's understandable." Ozpin gazed out of his window curiously. "You mentioned the need to plan a counter attack?" Weiss nodded, even though Ozpin couldn't see it. He still knew the answer she gave, though. "I agree. I've reviewed the notes regarding Ruby's premonition. The Grimm reproduced exponentially during the time of the comet, but that growth ceases when the comet leaves. There are still far too many Grimm to properly handle at that time, but the comet leaves fairly early in the predicted year. It's been almost three months since this problem started. We have one more month before the comet disappears, assuming that part of the premonition remains untouched. We should target that time to begin our counter attack. It will be the most effective when the growth rate of Grimm returns to its previous cycle."

"What about the acceleration of events, Professor?" Weiss asked. "Ruby said that Cerberus was four months early. Yang's death was early. Why?"

"We've altered the timeline, Weiss," Ozpin answered. "So far, Cardin and Yang are our only two casualties. Heavy losses as they are, I want you to look at this." He slid a folder across his desk to Weiss.

"What's this?" she asked.

"Read it and see."

She opened the folder and began reading. "Velvet Scarlatina. Aric Rouge. Luna Fay. Sun Wukong. Pyrrha Nikos. Peter Port. Leo Brauns. Sky Lark. What is this?" Weiss asked as she read the list of names.

"That is the list of all of the people who should be dead by now if Ruby's prediction had come to pass. We've altered the timeline, and saved most of those lives." Ozpin sipped from his mug. Weiss continued to read the list, and sure enough the last name on the list was Yang's. "Compared to where the timeline should be, we've done a pretty good job keeping our numbers up. Still, the two casualties that we have are two too many."

"Agreed," Weiss said.

"Let Miss Rose continue to rest. The day after tomorrow, we'll convene and have another meeting of team leaders to discuss our future battle plans." He turned and met Weiss's gaze. "We'll beat them back, Miss Schnee."

"Yes, sir." She was about to leave, but stopped herself. "One more thing, Proffessor. I took inventory last night. We're about to have a dust shortage on our hands. If we don't do something about it, we won't be able to fight back."

"I see," Ozpin replied. "That's disturbing. Do you propose any sort of solution?"

"I have one idea, sir," she answered confidentially. "We need to contact my father." She paused. "How to do that, I have no idea."

Ozpin smiled. "We'll figure something out, I'm sure. Dismissed." Weiss left the room, and Ozpin wrote down on a notepad the key points of their conversation.

Noon came and went while Ruby slept in a state of pseudo peace, Weiss organized the remaining dust caches, team SMMR prepared the bullheads, and Ozpin began plotting for the endgame of this war for Remnant. Noon passed, and evening creeped over Beacon silently. The sun began its descent over the horizon, and no one saw it as any other day except for the final day of mourning for Yang. The morrow would bring a new dawn, and with it a new plan of action. Everyone prepared intently, for they knew that the coming days would bring great things to each and every single one of them.

All the while, Penny stood still as a pillar on the hilltop just outside of Beacon, awaiting for the signal to make her move. I wonder how Ruby is doing? she thought cheerfully. Very few times in her life had she ever felt this excited. She was going to see her friends! This was something to celebrate, but the celebration would come after she and her master had moved into Beacon with the rest of them. That was the plan, after all.

"Penny," came her master's voice over the radio. "Begin the operation."

Penny saluted, even though there was no one present to salute. "Yes, Ma'am! Operation is a go!" Penny leapt with her enhanced strength, giving her the feeling that she was flying.

Weiss was in the courtyard discussing dust management solutions with Luna. They were trying to figure out the best way to keep from running out when Luna happened to glance up. She was about to go back to the conversation like normal, but she saw something moving that caused her to do a double take. "What's that?" she asked.

Weiss turned and looked up. At first she didn't see anything, but then a speck started to get bigger and bigger; something was falling towards them, and it was getting closer. "I...I don't know."

A second later, a blur of something moving incredibly fast struck the ground in the center of the courtyard. Dust, rocks, dirt, grass, and bits of tree went flying in every direction, causing all in the area to scatter to safety and confusion. Weiss shielded her face from the debris and began coughing as the dust settles around her. Waving her hand to clear the air around her face, Weiss slowly opened her eyes to look at the newly formed crater. As the dirt and dust settled, a figure could be seen kneeling in the center. The figure stood up, and Weiss swore she saw floating blades surrounding the individual. Waving the blades like a giant fan, the dirt and dust was forced to ground, clearing up the scene and revealing the figure in the middle.

Weiss was more confused now than she was a moment ago. "P-Penny? Is that you?"

Penny's gaze shifted around the courtyard, seemingly identifying anyone in the vicinity, before falling on Weiss. "Oh, hello Wiess! You're hair looks lovely today!" She waved energetically as she greeted the heiress. Weiss was dumbstruck beyond words, incapable of replying. "Where are the others? Ruby? Blake? Yang?"

Weiss's chest ached at the mention of Yang. "Penny...Yang...Yang is..."

"It doesn't matter," Penny interrupted. "I'll talk to you guys later. I have work to do!" She shifted her gaze to a nearby huntsmen. "I have to make room for my master!" Swinging her blades, she caught the huntsmen off guard before he could raise his aura. His head rolled to the ground a moment later, and his body followed shortly.

"Penny!" Weiss exclaimed, horrified.

Luna grabbed Weiss shoulder; her hands were shaking. "You...bitch!" she exclaimed. "You bitch! You killed Aric!" Luna drew her weapon; Blue Moon. The revolver pistol's short dagger like blade extended swiftly, forming a complete gunsword, and the blue clad girl leapt at Penny to engage her in combat.

"Aric?" Weiss asked herself, still in a state of shock. Aric Rouge! she remembered from the paper that Ozpin showed her earlier. He was supposed to have died earlier in the year, but he lived just long enough to die today. Weiss came out of her moment to see Luna fighting Penny toe to toe. Weiss sobered up and drew Myrtenaster and joined the fray, along with many of the other huntsmen present.

"Ozpin!" Glynda exlaimed. "We're under attack! A young girl landed in the courtyard and started attacking the students!"

Ozpin didn't need to be told; he was watching the events unfold from his office. He angrily punched the wall next to window. "They're not our students anymore, Glynda. They're our soldiers." He set down his mug and grabbed his cane. "Even so, I will not stand by idle and watch them be butchered." Swinging at the window, he shattered the glass and leapt out with Glynda trailing close behind.

The pair landed in the courtyard and were horrified to see that several others had died fighting this girl, but she seemed to be unharmed. Ozpin's face twisted in anger as he was about to join the battle, but an explosion erupted from the gate to the school grounds distracted him. "What!?" he exclaimed. He turned to see the gate blown away, and several White Fang soldiers began to march their way onto the campus. "The girl's a diversion! This isn't a random attack! We're under siege!"

He used his scroll to activate the emergency alarm system, and he sent a mass message to all of the huntsmen and huntresses to convene in front of the school for battle. The alarm wailed loudly, and the fight against the younger girl raged behind him as he stood there, waiting to see what would happen next.

Out of the smoke at the gates strolled a female figure; one that he thought he would never see again. His eyes narrowed. You...are you really this daft!

She walked in and gave an order to the soldier, who immediately began to attack and fight other huntsmen and huntresses, as well as setting fire to nearby buildings and gardens. She smiled, pleased that her plan was going as it should, before her gaze met Ozpin's. Her smile widened at the sight of him. "Hello, Ozpin. It's been a while."

Ozpin stood quietly for a time. "Hello, Cinder," he finally said.

Ruby woke to the sound of an alarm. Not an alarm to rouse her from sleep, but an alarm that was only used for emergencies; this was the first time she'd ever heard this particular alarm. She jumped from her bed and looked out the window to find smoke and flames, as well as the sound of battle. She shouldn't be surprised by it; everything else was starting to accelerate, so why should The Battle for Beacon be any different? She grabbed Ember Rose and left the dorm. The only thought in her mind was a single, determined phrase. I'm going to kill Cinder and stop this ridiculous battle.

One thing she didn't account for, however, was another alteration to the timeline. She didn't know that Penny was the one that started the battle this time around. Nor did she know that Cerberus was watching from the sidelines, pleased at the self induced destruction that was being caused. All he had to do now was wait for the humans and the animals to weaken themselves, and he would go in for the kill. He licked his lips, feeling the growing hunger in his belly as he thought of those delicious bodies that he would soon be feasting upon.

Song: The Mark Has Been Made-Nine Inch Nails

Author's Note

The Battle for Beacon, anyone? Shit's going down! I really like what I've done with Penny, in all honesty. Cinder's finally made a return, and Cerberus is doing his three headed dog thing. Please review, because I want to know what you guys think about it so far before the next chapter when the battle continues.

Fun Fact: Like Yang's death, I've been waiting to write this for a long time!

Till next time!