The first thing that they would need to accomplish is a base camp, something to operate out of. It had to be somewhere in Mistral that they could move about in, yet out of the way and not somewhere that Cinder could find them. After the incident at Beacon, no one really knows what happened to Cinder, but the fact that Qrow didn't see any bodies at the top of the tower couldn't possibly bode well.
Haven was an academy, and a profound one at that. Home to Team ABRN and Team SSSN, which included Blake Belladonna's friend Sun Wukong. Team RNJR had done a bit of research with Qrow on any notable people that he met on his journeys, but not much was available. To the team, the real hope in this came in trying to find someone who was from the kingdom that they knew.
Jaune suggested Sun Wukong. Sun was a monkey Faunus of dire repute. Not exactly the definition of trustworthy, he had his moments of cleverness, which could prove invaluable to the effort. Ruby chimed in with agreement, stating that Sun knows Blake, and therefore almost proves Blake might also have info about Haven, or at least Mistral. In order to make a move into the kingdom, they would need to find at least one of them.
"Team, have we decided on which subject we should be finding first?" Ruby spoke now with command authority, her usual self changed with the terrible occurrences she laid witness to; two deaths and a maimed sister truly affected the young girl. Her psyche was still the same old Ruby, but she now brought this air of seriousness with her previously unheard of. It worried Jaune the most, previously relying on he bubbly personality in order to maintain a self-esteem and confidence in himself, now to see this new war have an effect on even her.
And it was a new war. With Cinder's actions, kingdoms no longer trust Vale and its policies. Vale in turn blamed Mistral for the allowance of a terrorist to not only attend their finest academy, but to bring such destruction into Vale. Mistral, finally, blaming Atlas for not being able to provide sufficient security and allowing this attack after making an oath to keep the Vytal festival totally secure. Cinder seemingly teaming up with the Grimm just added insult to injury, and that meant now more than ever the kingdoms would need to cooperate and form a democratized council, but alas, that wasn't the case.
Ruby Rose knew they weren't alone on all of this. There were a lot of routes available to them, many avenues to explore and ideas to uncover, and their plan had little substance to it. The main idea here was that they needed Blake or Sun, hopefully both, for information about the academy and Mistral as a whole in order to formulate another plan, this time on where they can hold out, places of interest, government status.
But in the end, they were all children. Ruby was still 15, leading 17 year olds into the fray, a suicide mission by some standards. There was just no way they could accomplish this mission on their own, if at all. Ozpin himself had barely landed any hits on Cinder during a fight, and once his flurry ended, did no more damage. Ozpin's Group were professionals, and some of the most effective, world-class hunters that Remnant has ever seen.
But Ruby knew her legacy. The Roses have a trait, in their silver eyes, born to her and her mother and an unknown amount before them, possibly, that gave them unbelievable strength, and the will of a warrior. The need to fight, and the willingness as well. Dire need makes concrete out of putty, and she knew her fate now. With the blinding light, her eyes were opened, figuratively and literally, and she now saw the world through a more mature lens. Being a huntress was no longer fun and games. To Ruby, it was a privilege.
"The last we saw of Sun, he was fighting alongside the other teams." Ren noted. Him and Nora hadn't remembered much. It wasn't a whole lot to go on, so they would be forced to head to Mistral on their own, and see if they can pick up any clues.
"If we run into Blake, she'll know where Sun is. Assuming she cooperates." Ruby's words were tart as the disdain was felt amongst the group. Blake was another touchy subject. She had run away after the battle, leaving Yang with the others, not in one piece, either. She held her hand until right before she ran off, but no one could guess why she did. Regret? Anger? It was hard to say, but it happened this way, and assumptions could only get you so far.
They still weren't sure the extent of the damage the comms tower being brought down had. See, Mistral was an ocean over, and swimming wasn't about to happen. If they were able to get onboard a ship of some sort, they could likely cross. The public airships couldn't be used, but maybe someone else had a craft?
Ruby nodded as she led her team into the town. The Xiao Longs live in the part of the forest opposite the city, with Summer's grave on a cliff facing it, so it would be a bit of a walk to go around the edge of the cliff. Grimm were scarce to nonexistent in these woods, so they shouldn't be expecting a fight; any Grimm at all would likely be alone or in a mating pair.
Jaune walked beside Ruby the entire way out of the forest, while Ren and Nora brought up the rear, casually glancing around and getting in the view. They hadn't been to the city since they entered the forest, so it would take a bit to adjust, and it could be awhile before they see forest again. Upon arrival at the city, things were clear that rebuilding this town would take a lot longer than they thought.
Debris everywhere, people trying to clear ship parts from roadways, and amateur hunters and huntresses standing guard over the civilians. Some alumni from Beacon and Signal, and a few wannabes with brooms and kitchen knives, anything really. And a walk deeper showed the true danger behind it all. There was a large perimeter around the main road, where hunters and huntresses with increasingly more intimidating weapons guarded. Beyond them, Grimm.
Grimm of a massive following were walking along the main road, off in the distance visible but not in ear shot. Ursas and Beowolves and even Goliaths were crossing to get into the school, with smaller Nevermore flying above. They all followed that same path, not digressing from the path, as the proud school these students attended only a short time ago was now covered in pitch black at all the Grimm lining the buildings and spires of Beacon. Ruby opened her mouth wide at the site, in sheer disbelief that this is the result. Her school. RNJRs school. RWBY and JNPRs school. There in the distance, pitch black in the late morning sun.
Ruby began to tear up at the idea. Jaune held her shoulder as he covered his eyes from the sun, bowing his head. Ren and Nora were shoulder to shoulder, heads downcast in distress. The four stood with heavy hearts at the wanton destruction, the loss of their school, all of Vale coming together as one to bring their city, no, kingdom back.
It hit like a homecoming to Jaune. To see his home destroyed like this and see his teammates with their faces downward, tears at the rims of their eyes and pout to their lips. The pure emotion of this entire moment hit Jaune right to his very soul. His carefree eyes and light smile shifted to a look of anger and regret, as he raised his sword in anger, and shouted toward the sky:
"Let's make this bastard pay!" His eyes watered as he lowered his weapon, wiping his face and adjusting his disheveled hair. Ruby nodded her head in agreement, turning to the others to give instruction. "We need to do this for us, and for each other. But most importantly, for Beacon." Ren and Nora nodded as well, lifting their chins up and began moving eastward. Ruby and Jaune began asking the hunters at the perimeter if they knew of any transport that could get them to Haven. After a few conversations, a huntress mentioned a few helicopters on their way to Atlas, but that was mostly for the soldiers. Ruby told them they had no choice, and that even if they couldn't get to Haven, even Atlas would be a better place than here. Maybe they had transport between Atlas and Mistral, right?
Ruby swallowed hard as she ran for the departure zone, a park near the east of the city, right near the perimeter. The remainder of Team RNJR followed closely, intent on bringing the fight to Cinder.