"Ruby, we're on our w-"

"It'll be too late!" Ruby said emphatically into her scroll. "Listen, we've got them on the run, and they're headed for the resort. Neopolitan is with us, and we've got my dad and Raven. We know at least Hazel and Mercury are here, and who knows how many grimm. We have to strike now."

Nora was silent for a moment before speaking slowly in an uncharacteristically calm voice.

"Ruby. Listen to me. If what you're saying is true, they could all be waiting for you. This could be a trap. They might be ready for the number of hunters you're bringing. We can't afford to go in half-cocked, even if it looks like we have an advantage. Torchwick's team hasn't met any resistance yet, so let us call the professors and do this strategically. We'll be there in…"

"…several hours," Ren chimed in. "I'm going as fast as I can. We aren't going to camp tonight. We're headed straight for you, a-"

"Ren," Ruby interrupted before taking a deep breath. "I hear you. I love you both. But… they're running. I can handle any grimm. We've got Ozpin with us. If things look dire, we'll pull out. We will do this strategically. I can handle it."

"…I don't like this," Nora said softly. "I appreciate you keeping us in the loop, but I… Ruby, this isn't right. Something's off. You know it, too. I know you do."

"Nora…" Ruby began, rubbing at her forehead. "Just… I'm your leader. We're doing this. Get here when you can."

"Excuse me?" Nora asked.

"You heard me," Ruby insisted. "All of you have trusted me up to this point, even when I was questioning whether or not I felt like I knew what I was doing. You've been trying for weeks to boost me back up and convince me that I can handle the responsibility… so let me handle it. We're done running scared. I'm done moping. I'm going in, and anything that shouldn't be there is going to be wiped out."

"There's a difference between being a leader and thinking you're invincible," Nora reminded. "There is no such thing as a 'chosen one'. I know I can't stop you, but… be careful. Pyrrha went in thinking she had to go fight then and there, too."

Ruby took another deep breath, something uncomfortable and unpleasant bubbling in her chest.

"…you don't know that. Don't put words in her mouth when she isn't here to tell us how she felt at that moment."

"I just don't want to lose another friend!" Nora tried.

"And I don't want to lose any more ground," Ruby countered. "This is war. What we feel doesn't matter anymore. We need to get this done. I'll see you soon."

Ruby could feel Neopolitan's gaze upon her as she ended the call. Upon looking to the side, she found the girl's mismatched eyes to be completely unreadable.

"What?" Ruby asked, sounding exasperated.

Neopolitan merely looked off to the side and out the window as she cupped her chin in her hand.

"We're… here," Taiyang said, his voice full of dread. "Oh, shit, I don't know about this…"

Ruby turned her attention forward and let out an audible gasp. The entirety of the outside of the hotel was spiderwebbed with pulsating black liquid. Only a few hundred feet away, the parking lot was swarming with grimm, and oily corruption was visibly spreading across the landscape via slow, creeping tendrils. Twisted totems of jagged bone had broken through the concrete and grass in front of the building, and even the lake behind the resort had begun to stain a dark and unnatural color.

Raven was the first to open her door, though she looked back at Ruby as she lingered in the vehicle.

"…fear can be a useful tool, or a crippling disadvantage. Use it to drive you. Use it to make decisions that keep you safe. Do not give in to it… like I did. We need to stand together, now more than any other time."

"We do," Ruby agreed as she popped open her door and jumped to the ground.

Crescent Rose transformed and locked into its bladed configuration as she snatched the weapon from her belt and held it out in front of her. Several beowulves turned in her direction as the sounds of several car doors opening and closing rang out, and for a moment, everything was still as the hunters each touched down on the corrupted concrete.

"Form up," Oscar ordered in a commanding tone as he walked forward to Ruby's side. "While we need to strike now, we cannot afford to have everyone rush in blindly. We need to watch our flanks and secure a path of retreat. Caution is paramount to success."

"Fox and I will clean up outside and clear an exit path," Coco offered as the barrel of her gun began to softly hum and whirr. "Give us one or two more, and we can have this place secured and surrounded so long as it's just small grimm."

Neopolitan gave the building a bit of side eye before moving to stand next to Coco and her teammate. Taiyang gave Raven a questioning look as she spun the swords within her scabbard, locking in on a purple blade.

"Go," Raven said. "You're just getting back into the fight. You may not be ready for what's inside."

"Ouch," Taiyang said with a smirk. "But you're probably right. You've got this, Ruby."

Ruby locked eyes with a beowulf as a team of Oscar, Cardin, and Raven assembled at her sides.

"…Cardin," Oscar said softly. "This is a fight unlike any other you have experienced. Whatever is lying in wait for us withi-"

"I'm ready," Cardin interrupted as he adjusted his grip upon his mace. "I don't need the lecture. They've killed too many of ours, my team included. It's time to return the favor."

"Kid's got spunk," Coco acknowledged. "Good luck in there… and if you need us, call us. We'll join you inside as soon as we've got things clean out here."

A harsh wind whipped up while the grimm in the parking lot started to approach the party. Trails of flames burst forth from the sides of Raven's eyes as the sudden crack of thunder rang out and the sky darkened. Gentle rain began to fall while Raven walked forward, drawing her blade with a resounding metallic scrape.

"On me."

Ruby, Cardin, and Oscar began to walk behind Raven as electricity crackled along her steel. Errant bolts jumped from the blade and left scorch marks in the concrete. As the teens broke into a run, a wave of five beowulves began to sprint for the Spring Maiden. She swung her blade in a wide arc, letting a bolt of lighting jump forth and sear straight through the leaping beasts, bisecting them in midair. As the grimm fodder burst into ashes, the party of four started a mad dash for the front door of the hotel.

"Ruby," Oscar said very seriously as he ran alongside the girl. "In the event of an emergency… I have a contingency plan. I need you to trust me."

"You've held back a lot of information," Ruby accused as she swept into a spin, cleaving a charging boarbatusk in half. "I trust us as a group, and I trust in what we can do together."

"I need your acknowledgement that if it comes down to it, I can get all of you out," Oscar warned as the rain began to fall harder. "Remember everything I've taught you."

"Why are you talking like this is the end?" Ruby questioned as she beelined for the glass doors. "We're going to get through this. All of us."

"I very much hope that you are correct," Oscar considered. "But stay on your toes."

"Enough chatter," Raven commanded. "We move. Cardin- keep the door secured while we enter and sweep the lobby."

"…fine," Cardin agreed. "But once it's cleared and Coco's team is available, I'm coming in."

"Stay close," Raven ordered as she extended a hand. The metallic framing on the doors jittered momentarily before they were ripped straight out of the building, flying past the group and into a crowd of grimm. "If Hazel and Mercury are here, we show no mercy."

Ruby and Oscar moved to walk alongside Raven with their weapons aloft as Cardin turned around and stood in the gap where the doors used to be. No lights shone from within, and the air was cold and dry. The carpeting interlaced with drying black ooze squished and stretched beneath heavy footfalls, and a foul odor permeated the air inside of the hotel. Ruby held her breath as she caught sight of an odd orange light pulsing from somewhere inside, and soon enough, the source became visible.

Up against a wall was a throbbing cocoon standing taller than even Hazel Rainart, who was positioned on one side of the structure opposite Tyrian Callows. With every pulsation, the cocoon glowed a sickening orange and yellow from within, where an odd, dark silhouette was suspended. Spots of black armor pocked the surface of the membrane, giving the entire cocoon the appearance of a rapidly cracking black egg. Another peal of thunder echoed through the area as the sounds of rain beat down upon the roof of the hotel. Ruby, Raven, and Oscar fanned out into a line, staring down their targets.

"Well, well, well," Tyrian began as he spread his arms wide, the katars attached to his wrists glittering in the semidarkness. "So this is how it is to end. What a beautiful lamp you have there, Miss Rose. I would very much like to see it up close…"

"Come and get it," Ruby taunted as she shifted to one side, hiding the fake relic from Tyrian's view. "If you're willing to put your life on the line."

Hazel stepped forward, putting himself between Tyrian and the younger crowd as he pulled several dust crystals from his pockets.

"Enough. Hand over the lamp, or this escalates. You'll have to get through me before you c-"

Without warning, a crackle of lightning flew across the room from Raven's sword and crashed into Hazel. The man flew backwards and into the wall, just barely missing the chrysalis. Tyrian immediately rushed forward only to clash with Ruby's scythe as he crossed his arms in front of himself to block her overhead swing. Ruby fired off a shot for the man's head, and he narrowly avoided the projectile while letting out a manic laugh.

"Nothing about this is funny!" Ruby roared as she retracted the blade of the scythe, pulling Tyrian toward her and reaching out with a palm strike to the man's nose. His aura rippled a furious violet as he stumbled backward, looking surprised. "I'm so sick of this! You nearly killed my uncle!"

"Rein in your emotions!" Oscar interrupted before Tyrian could reply. The boy was upon the faunus in a flash, stabbing forth with his cane and trying to create openings for Ruby. "Raven! Destroy that pod!"

Raven sheathed her sword and took a step backward, the flames around her eyes flaring with added intensity as arcs of blue and white electricity leapt all around the metal of Omen's scabbard. Hazel dragged himself up from the rubble and put himself between Raven and the chrysalis as he reached into a pocket. Just as Raven struck out with another arc of lightning, Hazel thrust his palm forward, revealing a purple crystal embedded within the flesh. All of the energy coalesced around the crystal in his hand, and the man clenched his teeth and fist before driving his knuckles down into the floor with a forceful blow, dissipating the electricity. Hazel let out a snort as he watched Raven calmly rotate the blades within her sheath in response to his efforts, settling upon an icy blue.

"You won't be able to stop me," Raven said calmly. "You know that."

"I won't have to," Hazel retorted as the sounds of clashing weaponry and gunshots echoed within and outside of the hotel. "But the more of your power I can waste, the better."

Ruby snapped her head to the side at the man's words and raked her scythe across the space where Tyrian's head had been seconds before. As Oscar moved in to keep the faunus occupied, she knelt down and took aim while anchoring her blade into the floor. Before Hazel took notice of her clear trajectory, Ruby fired off several rounds into the chrysalis, punching large holes into the thick membrane. Blood and a viscous yellow pus began to drain from the large sack before another bullet caused the membrane to burst entirely, sending a torrent of unnatural and pungent liquid flooding across the carpet. A figure collapsed to the floor within the rumpled, bullet-ridden shell, and for a moment, all eyes turned to behold the early birth of a grimm unlike any Ruby had ever seen.

Though she had only heard fragmented tales before that moment, she knew exactly what she was looking at even before it fully emerged, and the realization caused her heart to momentarily stop.

A slender hand not of bone, fur, or sinewy grimm, but of pallid flesh reached out through the opening of the fallen membrane and pushed it aside. From within the divide arose a figure that looked very much human, and yet, not quite. The tall woman's naked form was a blinding white crisscrossed with bulging red blood vessels running the length of her body, from which mixed fluid from the cocoon dripped to the floor as she stood up. Her long white hair was unbound and matted to her shoulders and breasts by the liquid as she rose with a rattling breath partially choked by thick fluid. As she opened her deep red eyes backed by black sclera, they locked onto Ruby's equally unnatural silvers. In that moment, Ruby understood her situation perfectly.

Before her stood the most dangerous predator in Remnant, and she had become prey.

"No," Ruby choked out in a strained whisper. "No, this c-"

After taking only one more fluid filled breath and clearing her lungs, Salem rocketed across the room to close the distance between herself and Ruby. The smaller girl's eyes flashed rapidly and brightly, doing everything she could to slow down the grimm queen's approach as she seemed to almost teleport forward between each attempt. In a split second, Ruby felt herself being lifted from the ground by the neck as Salem stared into her eyes, unblinking. She was vaguely aware of the lamp being taken from her side as black tendrils wormed their way up Salem's flesh to form a flowing garment, but she couldn't take her attention off the woman's face.

"I want you to hear this answer before you die," Salem said sweetly as she held the replica lamp aloft with her other hand and turned her attention to the orb. "Jinn- where is Summer Rose hiding?"

Author's Note:

Since we're not doing canon volume adaptations anymore, let's say "The War Volume" has officially begun.

-RD