Yo Peeps, GMG here with chapter. This arc is almost done! What this means is that we go back to any changes I make for overall plot and the inevitable pairing of Ebony Snipers. With the current poll as it is, it would take a hell of a shift in votes to change this. Approximately 50 to 30 in favor of May joining the dork squad.

Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY...

Without a word to Weiss or Yang, nor even a glance at Oobleck, Blake leapt into the hole. She was not about to leave her beloved sniper alone below with the White Fang that were surely to be found. The air whiffling past her, she readjusted herself, poised perfectly as her feet reached the ground. She crouched into an immediate roll, using her momentum to push up into a hand stand and thrusting her up and into a graceful flip, landing in a crouch. Aside from the ruffling of fabric and the quiet clacking of her heeled boots, she landed silently.

A quick scan of the area revealed no one in the immediate vicinity. Inhaling through her nose, she caught the familiar rose scent of Ruby and a growl rose in her throat. The lingering of other scents in the area made it apparent the cloaked girl was met with company. Her golden eyes narrowed into slits; the threat to her mate pulling at the more primal instincts within Blake. Following the scents, she prowled quietly along.

Coming upon a door, she noticed two guards keeping watch. With deft movement, she dashed forward, making use of the shadows to hide her movement as long as they could. As she leapt out, neither guard got an opportunity to yell for help as she knocked them out with flats of Gambol Shroud's blades. Reaching for the door, she hissed when an arm pulled her back.

Whirling around, she hissed threateningly at... Yang? Lilac eyes widened in surprise, the arm holding Blake releasing her. Blake sobered up quickly when she saw the fearful look on Weiss' face. Cursing herself for letting her emotions get out of hand, she felt her body ease out of its high stress state. "Sorry, but they have Ruby. I let myself get out of hand."

She looked at Oobleck who regarded her seriously. "While I should condone you for jeopardizing our mission over Ruby, I won't." He gave her a small smile. "The things we'd do for our love ones is merely something that defines us as who we are. Personal histories are something others will never fully understand, so it's hard to rationalize to others."

"While your talk is nice and all," Yang cut in. "We still need to find Ruby. My Sis is still down here."

Weiss nodded her assent. "While sneaking may be more effective, we might not have the time for discretion." She glanced at their professor. "We have a huntsman and now may be the time for brute forcing our way to find her."

Yang pumped her fist in excitement. "I hoped you'd say that!"

Looking at Yang's grin, one rose to Blake's face. "Let's do it."

XXXGMGXXX

When Ruby heard the explosions and saw White Fang members fleeing towards the tracks, she grinned. Her team had come to save her. Jumping Roman, she pushed his hat over his eyes and made a run for it. She got a good distance before she heard a click and a hiss behind her, causing her to look. She saw the handle of Melodic Cudgel racing after her. By the time she saw it, she couldn't avoid it hoped her semblance would listen to her for once.

It did. Passing through her cloak harmlessly, the handle smacked into the ground before Roman recalled it. Looking up, she saw her team and Oobleck emerge. She threw herself into Blake's arms, laughing in relief as the older girl's arms curled around her protectively. A rather hard pat on the back had her pulling back, only to hug her sister. After they parted, she was returned her weapon and the team watched as the train kicked into motion.

Without a spoken command, the five peeled off after the train. They managed to keep pace, but the train was steadily picking up speed. Oobleck surged ahead, leaping onto the train with ease and motioning for the girls to hurry.

"Ladybug! Freezerburn!" Ruby called. Hooking her arms around Blake's waist, she grimaced in pain before both launched forward in a great burst of speed. As she passed Oobleck, Ruby gave out and fell, Blake got her feet underneath her and landed, keeping Ruby up, the girl draping from her waist. The cloaked girl let her head rest against Blake, not knowing exactly she was pressed against.

Blake gasped at the pressure before yanking Ruby up and away. The girl swayed a bit, but managed to finally regain her footing. "There we go. You okay, Ruby?"

Ruby nodded. "Yeah, just a bit woozy. I still need to work on that."

Behind them, Weiss and Yang landed with much more grace. The heiress' glyphs made it much easier for the other couple. Oobleck nodded at the four before lifting a hatch on the roof of the train car, revealing the cargo below. "No..."

"What is it?" Ruby asked, looking at the glowing matrix of wires around the large structure. Her silver eyes widened. "Oh, that doesn't look good at all."

Oobleck hopped onto the next car, opening its hatch and shaking his head in disbelief. Checking a few more cars, his frown deepened. "No, no, no, NO!" He looked at RWBY. "THEY'RE ALL BOMBS!"

The astonishing statement was hammered in with a loud click as the caboose disengaged from the train. Catching up with Oobleck, they all made a mad dash for the front of the train. They were soon met with resistance as White Fang members poured out of the cars ahead. As the four girls managed to handle the first wave, they caught sight of two Paladins. One had been enough trouble, but now two?

"You girls head below," Oobleck spoke. "I'll handle things up here!"

Dropping into the car below, the four started systematically clearing each car of its occupants. After a handful of clean ups, they gave pause at the sight of a certain ice-cream colored minion of Roman. Bowing at them, Neo smirked easily. Yang growled low in her throat. "You girls go on ahead, I'll deal with her. "

Blake nodded, heading forward, only for Weiss to stop her and hand her a clip that looked like it belonged to Gambol Shroud. Nodding in thanks, she and Ruby passed Neo and into the next car. Weiss, bumped Yang's shoulder playfully before settling into her stance, Myrtenaster held at the ready. "Not alone."

Yang grinned. "Never."

Both turned serious. "Freezerburn!"

Neo was forced into a corner immediately at the combined assault. Yang was a relentless barrage of fists. The blonde's temper and rash style were easy enough to avoid, something she'd have been able to completely avoid in a one-on-one fight. Weiss' glyphs made it all the more difficult, whether it was helping position Yang or throwing Neo off balance. Still, training under Roman had taught her how to deal with some insane odds. The man may have talked her ear off, but he had an uncanny ability to evade.

Her dangerous dance was complex, but it had the desired effect of inciting in both short-tempered girls. The potency of the glyphs was weakening with the loss in concentration, while Yang was growing sloppy. Rolling under another punch, she jabbed her parasol into Yang's midsection, opening it and sending the girl crashing into Weiss.

Not wasting time, she pulled her blade from the handle and went for the downed pair. A hasty swing was suddenly blocked by a long red blade. Her dichromatic eyes caught sight of the Grimm mask the woman wore and she stepped back from the red garbed warrior. In a flicker of light, Neo fled in a teleport.

Meanwhile, Ruby and Blake had proceeded to the next car, only to find it empty. The one after greeted them with the sight of their goal, the door leading to the control room, and an obstacle, in the form of a certain red headed thief.

"You two," he grunted before smiling with false cheer. "You know, we should really stop meeting up like this." Swinging his cane with a flourish, he smirked. "People will talk."

Neither said a word, only lifting their weapons in response. No one moved for a moment, but Ruby's impatience finally got to her and she launched forward, spinning her blade in a tight and clean arc, right at his head. Melodic Cudgel came up, knocking back the blow with ease, while Roman stepped back to avoid the swipe of Gambol Shroud aimed at his mid section, before leaning back to avoid the second blade of the multiform weapon.

Even though he was outnumbered, he settled on riling the two up. If he had learned anything as a master criminal, it was that angry opponents were much easier to beat. Holding his cane in a two handed grip, he batted another swipe from Ruby aside. "Hey batter, batter." Turning, he knocked another one from Blake aside. "Swing!"

It was then he realized something. He had potentially angered two women, who's skills alone gave him some trouble, and he had forgotten what their semblances did. Ruby, while not mad at all, still started incorporating her speed more, making it harder for him to block the large arcing strikes of her scythe.

Then, Blake's various shadows were becoming a pest as she slammed a new clip into Gambol. Ruby noted what was happening as soon as the first clone had caught Roman's weapon in ice. Skipping back, she let Blake handle the thief. Roman, for his part, managed to free his weapon in time to block her next strike, groaning as it shattered into rock, showering him with dust and rubble. "Wonderful," he remarked sarcastically. "I just got this cleaned. Again."

He heard a sound above him and fired a shot upwards without looking... only to be doused in water. Growling, his eyes latched onto Blake and he swung, catching her in the head. His eyes widened as the girl's form shimmered and turned into electricity. He, the makeshift lightning rod, had just made a shocking discovery. In fact, one might say it was enlightening.

Jerking from the shock to his system, he stumbled back, twitching and fried. He glared at the two, who laughed at his expression. His zapped hair certainly made him look rather odd and it ruined any attempt to intimidate. As they laughed, he lashed out at the cause of his pain, trying one last time to silence the Faunus who had done this.

He realized another thing that day. She wasn't easily caught by surprise. Another clone and this one was a being of fire that exploded with an immediate burst of energy, launching him back and slamming him against a wall. He crumpled against the metal and slid down, coughing and twitching. The duo walked passed him, Blake only paying attention to him long enough to knock him unconscious with a strike to the back of the head.

The next room revealed the controls of the train. Behind them the door opened, and Yang and Weiss sidled in. Ruby took one look out the window before shooting the hatch above open. "We need to get out. This is a death trap waiting to happen."

Once on the roof, Weiss saw why. Ahead of them, approaching fast was a metal wall. Switching to the correct dust chamber, she stabbed Myrtenaster down, ice bursting forth from the impact site and surrounding the four in a formation of the cold material. "Hold on!"

The train barreled head long into the metal wall, demolishing it, while the front end of the vessel crunched under the pressure. The ice block was launched forward and out of the whole, cracking as it tumbled along the ground before it broke and sent the girls sprawling along the ground. It took them a moment to get their bearings, but when they did, the Grimm started pouring out of the hole behind them.

Ruby noted a raised platform from Atlas' occasional presentations about new technology before sweeping her eyes around to watch the people fleeing. Turning to her team, she motioned towards the stage. "We need to get the higher ground, come on!"

They made a run for it, only a few Grimm between them and it, so getting there was the easy part. Once on the platform, Ruby shifted Crescent Rose into its sniper form and began picking off Grimm. "Aim for the ones going after the people. Yang, Blake, keep them off of Weiss and I!"

The brawler nodded, sending a grin at Blake. "You heard her. Let's kick some Grimm tail."

Ruby, still taking out the various Creeps and Beowulves, called to Weiss. "Contact Beacon, we need back up!"

"Right!" Weiss pulled up her scroll, calling the first professor she saw on her contacts... Peter Port. The video feed pulled up and before he could start speaking, his eyes caught sight of what Weiss was showing him. "We need help in downtown Vale, sir. Grimm have invaded and we're not sure how long we can hold this area."

All sense of his usual cheer was gone as he nodded. "Right. I'll pass the message along to the headmaster as I make my way there. Luckily, I have a team here to bring with me. Team CFVY and I will be there momentarily. The alarm had gone off and we were unsure of exact location, so thank you for this information, Miss Schnee." With that, the feed cut.

Ruby swapped clips, sighing when she saw that the closest civilians had cleared the area. She was glad they managed to get away, but now came the hard part. Calling out for a new formation, RWBY shifted to a more defensive stance, each girl facing out towards the Grimm surrounding them, backs to one another. Glancing at the massive numbers of Grimm, she frowned. "We need to split up. This platform wont be big enough for us to fight effectively all clumped together. Blake and I will split one way, you two go the other. We just need to hold out long enough for reinforcements."

Yang cracked her knuckled before saluting playfully. Tossing her hair back, she turned before running into the amassed grin, Weiss on her heels. "Banzai!"

Blake and Ruby shared a quick smile before Running the other way, their voices calling out too with, "Banzai!"

A flurry of rose petals kicked up as they descended upon a small pack of Beowulves. Ruby struck the front one hard, severing its torso before spinning into another strike at the one to her left, felling the second beast. Adjusting her grip, she grunted as Blake jumped onto the flat of Crescent's blade before jumping up and over the pack, firing shots down with Gambol.

Landing in the middle of the pack, she lashed out in large sweeps of her scabbard's edge, dropping into a spinning crouch, slicing the katana blade through the creatures knees and effectively dropping the Wulves surrounding her. Rising, she fell into pattern with Ruby, dancing about the other girl's strikes into the horde and adding her own in any openings that were left.

Yang and Weiss fight was vastly different. It was more a game of protect the queen and Yang did a damn fine job of it. She knew that some of the heiress' glyphs took precious time that wasn't readily available on the field of battle, so Yang resolved to get her that time. Batting aside Creeps and Ursa alike, she found her efforts well spent went a large ethereal blade swept into the mass of creatures, killing them swiftly. She hadn't seen the spell often, but that didn't detract from how impressive it was.

A grinding sound ripped into the air and Yang turned to see a Boarbatusk spinning in its signature attack, peeling after her. Dodging meant it hitting Weiss, so the only option was to block it. And block it she did, getting launched by the sheer momentum and force of the strike and flying into the air. Feeling a bit helpless about leaving her girlfriend to the Grimm, she fired a few last shots into them, gritting her teeth as she watched them surround Weiss.

Her grim expression shifted into a smile when the rapport of gunfire was heard and the massive collection of Grimm was cut down. Two Bullheads dropped in, with Team JNPR jumping from one and Port and CFVY dropping from the other. The influx of huntsman and huntresses in training allowed Team RWBY to regroup and fight as a unit once again, with the benefit of having more free room to maneuver in.

The reinforcing deployment was especially appreciated as larger Grimm escaped from the tunnel. A pair of King Taijitu slithered out, one heading for JNPR, while the other engaged team RWBY. The four stared at it determinedly, waiting for it's initial strike, but maintaining the proper positioning to avoid it coiling around their position. A loud concussion of sound surprised them, when one of the Taijitu's head's exploded violently. Ruby's silver eyes followed the trajectory, eyes catching the flash of a muzzle as another loud clap of gunfire marked the end of the second head. Down one of the streets, her gaze landed on a sniper garbed in a red coat, with a beanie on their head.

One of the foreign students, perhaps? She thought. Looking around at the quickly dwindling number of Grimm, she noted that they were almost done. The final nail in the coffin came when Atlas's air ships arrived on the scene and the Atlesian Knights were deployed, the last of the Grimm being swiftly slain. It officially ended, however, when Glynda Goodwitch arrived and closed the tunnel with her magic.

And so, they caught their breath. Roman was arrested soon after, looking none too pleased about it, while the students gathered up. Except for Ruby and Blake. Ruby had jogged down the street, Blake following out of curiosity of what her girlfriend was up to. When she noticed a woman sitting on a sidewalk, with a sniper in hand, it clicked. This was the one who had helped them.

Ruby walked up and held her hand out in greeting. "Hello! My name is Ruby and I wanted to thank you for the help back there." She motioned to Blake. "This is my girlfriend and teammate Blake."

The sniper shook Ruby's hand before nodding politely at Blake, speaking with a soft voice. "May Zedong. It's nice to meet you both and it was hardly any trouble."

"Your sniper is super powerful!" Ruby said, lifting her own weapon. "Crescent Rose can't use higher caliber shells or the movement would be to jerky and it'd tear her apart."

May nodded. "That's the issue with trying to include a customizable high-impact sniper rifle into another weapon. You have to sacrifice some of the raw power for versatility or the shift has the be something minor so that the main constituents can handle the recoil. More parts means a lowered threshold for recoil and I'm surprised it can handle the power I noticed earlier."

Noting Blake's annoyed expression, she laughed. "Sorry about that." She smiled nervously. "It was nice to meet you two. I need to head on down to the bookstore for something, so maybe I'll see you two around?"

Blake's expression softened. Another person who actually enjoyed books, finally. And she thought Ruby was the only one. Jaune and his comics, certainly did NOT count. "Perhaps," she affirmed. Twining her hand with Ruby, she waved goodbye and pulled Ruby back to where their friends were.

Ruby leaned against Blake, both out of exhaustion and to be playful. "Well, she seems nice."

"Yeah."

XXXGMGXXX

Later that night saw May in Team NDGO's dorm, speaking with the four girls. Her team held a fairly strong friendship with NDGO and while she'd love to speak to her teammates about some matters, those of the heart were not exactly at the top of the list to explain to three men. "That's the problem, though, Nebula. They're super pretty and really nice, but they're together!" So, perhaps the sniper was crushing on two members of Team RWBY, but none of the girls around her could blame her.

There was no denying the Bellabooty. Even if Blake was unaware, the topic of her family's women and their rears were the stuff of urban legend in Remnant.

On the flip side, Nebula thought it rather cute to see May so worked up over the situation. It undeniably adorable to see the girl crushing on someone finally, let alone two someones. Oum knows that she tried to get the girl to open up about love before, but May wasn't interested in what NDGO had.

Which Nebula understood. It was a bit odd that her team was basically a love party, but the four of them had clicked so well and it hadn't exactly surprised her that they had ended up as both a strong fighting force and a relationship in one go. Looking back at May, she pat the girl's shoulder reassuringly. "Just go for it, May. You've seen the four of us, so you must understand it's quite possible they'll accept you."

May looked away. "Yeah, but it's just as likely they'll think I'm weird," she bit back.

Dew sighed from behind Nebula. "You should still try, May. Besides, we'll be heading back to Shade after the tournament, so a negative response isn't the end of the world."

Groaning, May flopped down one the ground. "Not helping."

Well, maybe it was... a little.

End...

Another chapter down. LONGER than what I thought it'd be, but since I managed to get this included the Poll is now over. May is going to join the pairing. As for exact votes:

27(+3) for Yes

22 for Potato Salad (Also a Yes Vote)

21(+1, -1) for No

13 for Lasagna (Also a No Vote)

The numbers in parentheses are votes cast by review or the PM asking me to count their accidental No vote as a Yes one, thus the -1 you see.

Also, we have a few very active people in the Kik chat and I would sincerely hope you Peeps will join us. We talk about the episodes, story ideas, and I even share some funny little quips and ideas that pop up into my head. We also have various pictures we share and it's usually a pretty good time.

I will be closing the poll as I post this, so I hope y'all will look forward to the poll I raise with next chapter. Adieu for now!