RWBY: A Thorn in My Heart
Chapter 17: Life
Glynda walked through the halls of Beacon, her stern and punctual look exuding an air of professionalism that made her seem unapproachable to many. Little did anyone else know, she secretly wished someone would. In the week Team RWBY and JNPR left things have been unbearably quite. She was a strict disciplinarian, but had grown accustomed to the chaos brought by their hyper activeness and destructive fights that usually forced her to repair damage to the school. Her riding crop shuddered at the thought of being unable to smack some bratty children like she was use to and that put her in an especially bad mood.
"When are those kids gonna get back already?" She sighed with frustration.
She decided to relieve some stress by checking on a place that would certainly have some loud noise going on.
Before her was a door blocking the brunt of a lot of little voices screaming, which began to act as her medicine. It was Beacon's newest installment, a daycare for Hunters children. Glynda's relief was soon replaced with an uneasy realization that brought her happiness and sadness.
Ruby who suffered a horrible rape and had a son she initially didn't want, ironically, had inspired this new daycare program. This was due to her being one of the few students to keep their children after pregnancy and needed support. Ozpin had taken her suggestion to help not just students but many Patch hunter parents as well get a place where they could drop off children while on mission's. She was a little proud of Ruby for taking her son with her rather than leave him alone with them for weeks, but wanted to see the adorable infant so badly. She decided to open the door and get her fill of cuteness from the sight of the rabbit faunus girl playing with little kids.
"Hello Velvet, how are the little angels today?" Glynda said with a warm smile that took the rabbit girl off-guard. Though she was a nurse in training, Velvet was still a student and felt nervous around faculty, especially the usually stern professor Goodwitch.
"Oh, uh, o-okay Professor. Just keeping them entertained, OW!" she said nervously before wincing in pain from one kid tugging her ears. She turned to give the 2-year old a stern glare.
"Josh! We don't grab people's ears." She sternly lectured him while forcing her ear out of his tiny hands. Her friend Ruby inspired her to stand up for herself during through the war. If Ruby could fight while pregnant, Velvet could stop people like Cardin or a playful boy from violating her personal space. The boy whimpered a little from the yell, Glynda readied her crop with a bit of excitement at the thought of lecturing Velvet too. To a mix of her disappointment and pride, the boy was quickly soothed by a hug from Velvet.
"We ask for these instead silly." Said Velvet as she hugged him with a smile, instantly eliciting a giggle from him as she put him down to play with toy grim with the other children.
"You really do make a great children's nurse, I bet you'd make an even better doctor for them than a huntress." Glynda complimented her proudly.
Velvet smiled from this, she had initially thought of being a reporter or a children's photo taker for a living and was only learning basic self-defense at Beacon. But the war's fighting taught her that people, especially children like Ruby, would need someone to comfort them when hurt so she resolved to be that person. That's why she transferred into medical classes to become a children's doctor, she wanted to safeguard the future.
"I just wish I could see that cute little Thorn Rose, he was always my favorite patient." She squealed.
"Yeah, too bad with Ruby gone with him, things are so quite lately, I'd give anything for a little fireworks display like in the Cafeteria last year." Glynda replied.
As if fate heard her sarcastic request, everyone was shocked and nearly fell to the floor by a massive earthquake followed by a green flash of light near the windows.
"You and your big mouth!" Velvet sarcastically said as she rushed to support up some crying toddlers who fell on their faces or hurt their knees and were throwing tantrums of pain.
Glynda ignored her inner habit to admonish a student for disrespect to check on the source of that green light. Her heart sank as she saw out the window Ozpin's office exuding smoke.
"The headmaster's in trouble! Velvet stay here and guard the children with your life, don't let anyone in or out till I get back!" she ordered the nurse in training who nodded in response.
"Damnit Ozpin, what mess did you get into now?" she thought as she ran to his office, determined to help him no matter what. Her pride as a teacher and friend depended on it.
Ozpin's office
Ozpin stood firm, as he refused to flinch from the green shine emitted by his cane. This explosion of magic was surely powerful enough to stagger even a pain-deprived brute like Hazel and would make enough noise to gather the headmaster's needed backup. Emerald winced as she closed her glowing red eye's, unable to keep the illusion in his office that blocked all sound from the outside. Hazel grunted in anger as he felt extreme force pushing his entire body away from his target. He was so close to getting his revenge for his daughter's death yet was so far.
"I won't fall here, If I do you'll never pay for taking Gretchan from me!" he roared.
Ozpin frowned in disappointment, not towards Hazel, but with himself. As he pondered these words, Ozpin saw more than just a green flash before him, he saw that day shine before him.
"Come on everyone! We got to catch whoever's killing those workers in that mine." Gretchan said to Ozpin and his team. It consisted of a younger Hazel and Salem, the latter who had blond hair and blue eyes rather than the pale white hair and red that would soon replace them. He felt his heart sink seeing the brown haired maiden and her mouther so young and healthy again. He knew that wouldn't be the case for long since this was "that day".
"Easy kiddo, its your first mission so no need to rush. You wouldn't want it to be over in no time right?" A younger Hazel (without his brown beard) said teasingly. Ozpin remembered her parent's had reservations about bringing their daughter on their mission instead of Ironwood, but knew the general was too busy to investigate the dust mine. They conceded they needed a student to replace him for now and this would be a good experience for their daughter.
"We need to proceed carefully in these mines, its cramp and full of raw dust which could prove very volatile." Ozpin sternly said, he wanted discretion here especially. Gretchen frowned as she tried her hardest to calm down.
"Yes sir" she mumbled in disappointment.
As they headed further down the mine, blood and stench filled the air and disgusted them as they saw corpses of miner's that hadn't been recovered filled the halls.
"Whoever, or whatever did this, sure was thorough." Hazel said, unsettled by the piles of maimed dead bodies surrounding them; he realized non of the team of miners had survived. The sight of his daughter gagging into her mouth further unsettled him.
"Oh god this stench, this gore, it's awful!" she yelled, earning a shush from her mother.
"Sweetie, keep your voiced down, a grim might have caused this and could be lurking nearby!" Salem whispered.
No sooner than she said this, they heard a hissing sound from deeper into the caves that sent chills down their spines. They readied their weapons, Ozpin's staff with a blade, Salem's riding crop, Hazel's dust gauntlets, and Gretchan's custom sword that held a gun to it's hilt. Gretchan especially was on alert, not from fear, but by the thrill of a battle to get her mind of the dead bodies around her.
"Well lets take care of that problem then!" she yelled as she ran down the mine. Ozpin and Salem, being shorter frames than Hazel, were quicker to react to her reckless charge and quickly ran to aide her.
Hazel suddenly collected himself from his fear and shock and began to follow, but a rumbling sound stopped him dead in his tracks as he soon saw the roof above him begin to crack.
"Oz, Honey!" he said to them as they turned around to see too late the roof above them crack open, revealing some beuwolves. They jumped forward just in time to avoid the black claws stained with blood as well as the boulders from the roof they brought with them that formed a barrier between them and Hazel. The two breathed heavily as they collected themselves. They had almost been both sliced and crushed in one go. They were shocked out of this thought by the sight of the grim pushing the rubble off them and the sound of Hazel from behind the wall of rocks.
"Guys! Can you hear me say something!" he yelled, fearful of their state. He was always the type to get nervous when not in control of the situation.
"Little busy but were okay honey!" Salem yelled at the top of her lungs as her riding crop formed a yellow glyph to summon an orb of light energy. Hazel sighed with relief at his wife's voice while Ozpin also sighed in relief to see her attack. Her power to manipulate light was a perfect counter to grim and he knew he was in safe hands. Speaking of hands, his were feeling heavy having to grip his staff tightly and his blade pierced a wolf's neck, eliciting a screech from it as it died painfully. It was soon followed by it's two teammates who were impaled by swords of light and one had it's head disintegrated by a ball of light from Salem. The duo of Ozpin and Salem smiled to each other as they felt assured of their victory before recalling in terror Hazel was behind the wall.
"Hazel, don't worry, well get this rock out of the way!" Salem said as she prepared to summon more light energy, before a panicking Ozpin grabbed her crop.
"Don't! If you use that on the wall you might bring the whole mine down on our heads!" he said, cold sweat of fear dripping down his face.
Salem grunted in frustration. She felt helpless to aid her husband or escape.
"He's right Salem, don't worry about me, I'll take down this wall with my bare hands its safer, you go check on Gretchan!" Hazel yelled.
Ozpin and Salem gasped; they had forgotten her and the fact there might be more grim around to ambush her. They instantly complied to his request and darted deeper into the mine to find her while Hazel grunted as he removed one boulder from the wall at a time. This was going to take a while for him, but he had to prepare an exit.
As they ran deeper into the cave, they saw what was once pitch darkness fade into a green light at the end. Their jaws dropped in awe at the sight before them. A huge mine filled with green dust and a huge crystal with a strange green water-like substance flowing within it.
"Mom, Oz, check it out." Gretchan said, alerting their attention to her. They were astonished to see her floating in the air
This crystal has some strange energy within it, when a stabbed my sword into it to try and absorb it with my semblance, it gave me a huge rush of energy, now I can fly!." She yelled with excitement.
Ozpin and Salem looked at the crystal in awe, they could soon feel its power overflow their senses as they collapsed on their knees.
"Don't worry, I felt the same way at first, just stick your weapon or arm into the crystal and it gives you this magical energy!" she yelled.
Salem soon winced in shock.
"Did you say magical energy? Sweetie that stuff's only been mentioned in books. Magic was said to have been lost since the first human's forged from dust died. It's the stuff of legends!" Salem yelled in astonishment. Ozpin's mind could barely process the event unfolding before him. A chance to have the power of his ancestors lost to time right before him; he knew he had to have it. Salem thought the same thing as they did as Gretchan said and touched the crystal, its magic flowing into his staff and her arm. Their bodies glowed as they felt a rush of energy, before hearing a scream of terror from Gretchan that caused them to cease the process and look anxiously at the source.
A pair of fangs lodged in Gretchan's shoulder from a giant snake grim. It's eyes glowed red as her eye's winced in horror from the realization of her predicament. She felt her shoulder burn as blood slowly oozed into the serpents mouth. She tried to summon the power to raise her other arm and use her magic to pummel the snake, but her mind raced as another serpent head soon closed its mouth around her fist and her glow soon faded as she screamed in pain. Salem had a similar look of despair seeing her daughter in danger. She took her arm out of the crystal, ignoring the cuts it made on her arm and charged at the beast in anger and fear.
"Let her go now!" she screamed as she tried to summon a ball of light from her hand. To her and Ozpin's astonishment, it instead fired an orange beam of energy that disintegrated on head of the snake. The other head dropped Gretchan to the ground as it shrieked from the damage. Salem didn't see her daughter move an inch and feared the worse. Her fear was soon replaced with hope as she saw Ozpin rush towards her daughter to check on her and pushed forward to try and kill the snake.
Ozpin however, felt his hope evaporate at the sight before him. Gretchan wasn't losing blood; her wound on her skin was instead closing and now forming a hazy black color. Her emerald eyes began to change into the same color of grims as she began convulsing and her arm began to turn into a grim-like arm. Ozpin began to hyperventilate, he had never seen a situation like this, Gretchan was beginning to transform into a grim!
Before he could think of what to do, he was snapped out of his shock by the sound of the snake grim shrieking. It's headless stump was oozing water as a new head replaced it, only to have horns on its head. Salem simply tried to blow it up again, but that time caused two more heads to regenerate, each with more horns and eyes than the first head. Ozpin realized this was actually something worse than a snake, this grim was a hydra.
"Salem! That's a hydra, it absorbs energy with its fangs and regenerates stronger unless its core is destroyed! you gotta…" he couldn't even finish his explanation as Salem simply screamed in anger as she continued her reckless attacks. Ozpin could tell she had lost herself to her anger from the sight of her daughter hurt. She was always a vengeful type, but this time was the worst possible scenario. He knew the core of the Hydra was in its chest, but Salem kept striking the heads and mouths of that beast because its where the attack on her daughter came from. He had to blast the core to destroy it, but its scale are too strong for his staff blade. Soon he saw the horns and fangs of the beast slice some flesh off Salem's arms. Her eyes soon began to glow the same color's as Gretchan. Ozpin realized this grimm was infecting her too, if he didn't destroy it soon and get out of here they might not stand a chance of being cured, if even possible. He then felt a surge of power emit from it, as he realized he had another mean to fight with it.
"Salem! Get out of the way or you'll be caught up in my attack!" he said as he charged the cane's energy for a blast. He wanted to obliterate the core, but didn't want to hit Salem. Seeing her ignore him again, and seeing the area around them begin to crack, Ozpin realized he had to risk her health if they wanted to escape this monster. But as much as he wanted to, he couldn't escape a hurtful thought in his mind.
"I-I couldn't really risk killing her, could I?" he thought to himself. As a leader he always knew he had to make tough decisions, like abandoning mountain Glenn when it was already ransacked by grim and bandits and was a lost cause. He never thought he would have to make such a decision like this in his life…. No, he merely hoped to never have to. It was a nightmare come true having seen one of his teammates dying and other may die at his hands. He always treasured the lives of those around him, now he might end them. Gretchan's convulsion's and groans as her transformation worsened snapped him out of this state, as he solemnly looked on her. His heart hardened as he prepared his next move, he knew Hazel would be furious and pummel him for this.
"Salem, everyone, please forgive me." He said to himself. Present Ozpin closed his eyes, but couldn't unsee his memory of what came next. His cane had fired a beam of green energy that evaporated the hydra. Salem screamed as she passed out from and fell to the floor unconscious. Her infection soon began to cease as the black marks on her arm stopped spreading, but the present day Ozpin remembered it was only temporary as that venom eventually infected her and turned her pink skin into the white monstrosity she eventually became. The past Ozpin sighed in relief, as he was grateful she was still alive. His attention turned to his arm as he felt Gretchan grasp it firmly despite her condition.
"O-Oz… you go… go to." She weakly stated, her eyes flickering between her own color and grim colors.
"Got to what?" he meekly replied, he was afraid of what she was going to say, as if guessing it already.
"Kill… me." She replied. Ozpin's eyes widen in horror. He thought he just avoided that scenario and now it was being demanded.
"I-I don't want to be a grim, but…. I can feel it…happen." She said as she turned her head towards her mom. She didn't want to live as one of those monsters that hurt her. She cried as she gritted her teeth and grabbed her blade and placed it in a gasping Ozpin's hand.
"Please" was all she said before her voice changed to a darker tone, one with a deeper sound that was similar to a grim. Ozpin's heart sank as he saw her convulse again and begin growling in pain and anger. He knew there was no hope, all he could do was put her out of her misery.
"I-I'm so sorry!" he yelled as he raised the blade.
Hazel rushed through the tunnel, panting in exhaustion from his labor as his hands were covered in dirt and blood. He heard the shrieks and knew something dangerous was in the cave. He had to save them, or die trying. He prepares some dust to inject into his arms to fight, he didn't care about a possible overdose, and he needed to be as strong as possible to save them.
As he entered the cavern, he saw only the image of his wife unconscious, and his daughter with a blade stabbed through her heart. Ozpin cried in agony as the latter act happened.
"Wha-What happened? WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO!" Hazel roared as rage burned in his heart seeing his daughter's destroyed.
Ozpin merely looked at him, sobbing and mucus oozing from his nose. He couldn't give a response as he was too upset and Hazel soon charged at him with dust imbedded in his fists, ready to crush his leaders head.
"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!" He screamed, but before his fist connected, Ozpin's body glowed green and shined again in reaction. Hazel was pushed away towards his wife as the energy knocked him away. As he stood up, he saw Ozpin gone and roared in anger over his daughter's killer getting away.
"YOU CAN'T RUN FOREVOR, I'LL HUNT YOU DOWN!" he screamed as he began to pick up his wife.
Ozpin cried as he limped out of the cave in a hurry. His leg was hurt badly, blood drizzling into his sock, making it wet and he had to get it treated somewhere safe soon. He knew Hazel would follow through with that threat, but all he could do was get away from the scene. He couldn't stand the smell of blood, Gretchan's blood to be exact anymore.
Present
Ozpin opened his eyes as he finished recollecting that bitter memory, on his back in exhaustion from the aura he used up to guard that explosion. Hazel's vengeful words rang in his ears like a drum as he saw the man, carrying an passed out Emerald on his shoulder despite his wounds. His flesh was covered in green glowing burns and his fingernails were bleeding profusely. Despite the strain, he was still advancing towards Ozpin, growling as he crushed one more dust diamond into his other hand that was wrapped in flames. He was going to finish his target off once and for all.
"I told you, I would kill you someday." He venomously stated. Ozpin merely closed his eyes and exhaled in exhaustion as he laid there, prepared to meet his end. He didn't care about revealing the truth about Gretchan anymore.
"Just get it over with already, I am so done trying to talk sense into you." He calmly said.
Before Hazel could pummel Ozpin with his fire fist, his back was suddenly propelled to the now reformed wall of the office. Gravity was keeping him in place as he felt dumbbells were pressed on him as he noticed a purple glyph on the once destroyed wall and realized what happened.
"Glynda you bitch!" he yelled in anger. Glynda had finally arrived to Ozpin's relief as he smiled and drifted off into peaceful slumber.
"Seriously, Oz, you can't call for backup? She said as she placed herself before the fallen headmaster with her crop turned purple. She fixed the wall to help keep Hazel and emerald in place, she couldn't let up despite her aura steadily drain. With his body empowered by dust, one strike from Hazel would end them and she knew it.
"Your not going anywhere Hazel but a cell block." She sternly told him.
Hazel merely grinned as he used all his strength to press a button in his pocket.
"That's what you think!" he replied.
Meanwhile…
Cinder, wearing a black cloak, hid in the hallways shadows as she saw Glynda and several faculty rush towards Ozpin's office and the campus dorms to alert students. She smirked with pleasure as she managed to avoid the "best hunstmans in the worlds" detection.
She soon used one of the many semblances she stole over the war to her advantage, Hawk Eye. Her eyes shined a little as it noticed a hidden staircase behind a library bookcase. She entered the room to see the librarian and a few student's reading at a table near it. She smiled evilly as she used her new grim arm to summon vines and ensnare them. She ignored their muffled screams of terror as the vines absorbed their aura and blood, turning them into shallow husks almost like zombies. She used her fire to burn the bookcase and enter the hidden room. She soon saw the target of her mission, a case containing an ancient scroll. After using hawk eye and seeing no traps, she couldn't help but scoff how easy the task was.
"Ozpin really prefers discretion to a pathetic degree." She scoffed.
She then opened the case to see the scroll's contents and smiled, happy to have completed her mission.
"Maybe this will get the old man off my ass." She said to herself before her communicator glowed red.
"Well speak of the devil" she groaned as she realized he needed her help. She then summoned a portal to teleport to Hazel's location. She smirked as she saw the unconscious Ozpin protected by Glynda but was even more pleased to see her father's banged up body.
"You've looked better old man." She laughed, ignoring his demands to get him out of the area and back to base. Now was the perfect time for her true objective.
"A little tip, treat your daughter's better in your next life." She coldly said as she summoned another vine and absorbed his semblance. Hazel's mouth was covered so she couldn't hear his screams, to her displeasure. As much as she enjoyed her payback for years of abuse, she had to finish this quickly and retreat with Emerald, she couldn't risk him telling Glynda their plans out of spite or the scroll getting damaged.
"No you don't!" Glynda yelled as she tried to force Cinder down with gravity, but the witch merely summoned a portal and moved to another location to dodge. While the portal was still opened, another black vine grabbed Emerald and forced her through the portal while the other finished absorbing Hazel, making him a shallow husk as well.
"G-Gretchan" was the last words a mummified Hazel said before collapsing to the floor dead as the portal closed.
Glynda grunted in frustration over missing her chance to stop Cinder. Her frustration soon turned to anxiety as she heard children scream outside and ran to the window to see the commotion. Her eyes widened as she saw a horde of grim outside the school gates, smashing the fences to try and bust In. A few bears and corvids had already snuck in and were biting student's.
"Why did I ask was for chaos? Why?" she cursed herself internally for wanting excitement.
Blake's talk
Blake sat beside Ruby, showing a empathetic look of sadness on her face as she tenderly wiped the tears of her lovers face.
"I want to tell you something important." She said softly.
"What, you want me to give up and be a stay at home mom too?" Ruby bitterly said, her voice still raspy from crying and yelling earlier for her mother.
"No! I'd never make you give up your dream. My dad and I did that once, and we regretted it ever since." Blake quickly replied. She felt bitterness in her heart as she recalled how she and her father ran away from the White Fang. That's why she was here right now, she had to make sure Ruby didn't make that same mistake. As much as Blake wanted to avoid this, she knew she had to tell Ruby her mother's story. It was one that filled her with dread every time she recalled it, but she saw Summer's grave behind Ruby and it gave her hope she could comfort her daughter.
"Ruby, my mom was… murdered too." She stammered. Ruby's eyes widen as she remained silent, hardly believing what she had just heard..
"When the White Fang was starting out as a peaceful civil rights group, my parents were its leaders. They had a dream to unite humans and faunus peacefully. But one day, they had a protest outside the Schnee dust company. Adam was one of their first members; he was about my age and with them. The company bribed some police to attack them." She sorrowfully stated.
Ruby recoiled. She knew from experience in Menagerie not all police or huntsman were moralistic like the one's mom had taught her in those children book's growing up, but it still hurt experiencing that reality. She decided to contain herself and listen to Blake as she saw her shudder, knowing her girlfriend was feeling just as bad recalling this.
"Nobody around them cared when those police started beating us. After all, we were just a small group of faunus that weren't even worth any "humans" time." Ruby was horrified her girlfriend revealed her parents were attacked like that. Her emphasis on the term human especially stabbed her heart as she recalled sometimes fearing Blake held resentment towards all humans for her treatment when hearing her argue with Weiss. Blake could see her lover's scared demeanor and guessed what she was thinking.
"Don't get me wrong!" she said in panic, trying to clarify. "I don't blame you or Weiss for that, those cops chose their own actions. Thing is, Adam felt otherwise. He decided our dream was pointless and we should give up, and it especially became obvious he felt that way when the police beat my mom despite her carrying me on a baby scarf. My dad got us away to safety, but not before the damage was done." She said bitterly. From what Adam told her, it was not a pretty sight and she was honestly surprised her dad didn't hate humans after seeing them beat her mom while she protected Blake in her arms.
"Adam killed them, and tried to help my mom, but she couldn't move. She gave me to Adam and asked him to protect Dad and me before she died. Dad took him in as one of us, but he couldn't let go of his anger towards humans and that company. The media didn't care about mom and peace either; it portrayed Adam and Dad as warmongers and killers instead for what happened to the Schnee's cops. It made him give up our dream and become a criminal, to get revenge. For a time I joined him, thinking we could get back at Weiss's family and company for what happened. But that was wrong, unfortunately Adam didn't realize that until he got you hurt" She finished explaining.
Ruby breathed heavily as she processed this information. Basically, Blake was saying Adam torturing her a year ago was Weiss's family fault for hurting her mother. She was uneasy, wondering if she should be mad at Weiss or sorry for Blake despite her brother hurting her that night.
"Ruby, I get your overwhelmed right now, but don't even think about giving up like Adam did. Remember what you told me at Beacon!" Blake said, gathering Ruby's attention as she recalled their first talk.
"Even if things can't always be like the stories your mom read you, it was your dream to save people and help them such happier lives. You could never be wrong for wanting to make that dream a reality, just like my mom and dad weren't wrong!" she firmly said as she grasped Ruby's shoulders.
Ruby felt tears sting her eyes as she heard her lover's encouraging words.
"But what if I leave Thorn like mom left me?" she tearfully asked, her anxiety causing thorns to protrude from her skin.
"I promise if something happens I'll watch over him, but that's not happening. I'll protect you, him, and your dream everyone will. You aren't alone in this!" she said before giving Ruby a kiss. Ruby closed her eyes as she embraced Blake, finally feeling warmth replace her tension as her thorns receded into her body.
"You promise?" Ruby asked.
"Cross my heart…" Blake said as she made the gesture on her chest.
"Don't say "hope to die" I don't even want to go there." Ruby chuckled as she cut her off.
The two shared a laugh and one more kiss before finally getting back on their feet. They patted their clothes to get dirt and leaves off before deciding to head back home.
"It's not gonna be easy convincing dad though huh?" Ruby asked with a glum tone.
"Wasn't easy convincing you either, your family sure can be stubborn you know." Blake teased. Ruby chuckled as she held Blake's hand and they walked back to her house. She was determined to face even her father to keep her dream alive. As long as she had Blake and everyone else's support, she knew she could live the life she always wanted. She could have her happily ever after.
While they walked off, they failed to notice Summer's spirit behind her tombstone watching them.
"Thank you Blake, she can be a handful but it's worth it trust me." Summer said quitly with a smile. She heard her daughter's pleas and willed herself to come despite the strain, but was glad it wasn't necessary. She became satisfied she had someone to help look over her daughter before fading back into oblivion.
Shocking Development
Ruby took a deep breath. Every step towards her house felt heavier then the next. The only thing keeping her up right now was Blake's hand, that the cat faunus refused to loosen.
"Just stay strong, we'll get through this." She said to Ruby, who exhaled in response, preparing herself for her inevitable confrontation with her Father.
"He's just worried about me I know, but I can't back down no matter what." She said to herself, trying to find the will to go into the house.
With a final kiss on the cheek from Blake, Ruby found her resolve strengthen and clasped the doorknob and pushed it open.
"Dad, we need to talk!" Ruby announced as she ran into the house with Blake.
To her surprise, everyone including her father was watching TV with a deadpan expression. Weiss had a hand over her mouth as her expression was much more unsettling. Blake let down her cat ears in anxiousness; she could tell something bad has happened. Her suspicions were proven true as she heard a startling announcement from the TV.
"Recaping the events of last nights break in at the Schnee Dust Warehouse, 3 employees of the company were found stabbed to death and a large amount of dust crates were reported stolen." A news anchor said, instantly alerting Blake and Ruby to what was troubling Weiss.
"Weiss, are you gonna be…" Ruby said before she was cut-off by a shush from the Heiress, who simply pointed a finger at the TV. As they turned to see what she was pointing at, Blake's eyes widen and became bloodshot at the sight before her. Adam was lying on a floor at the warehouse covered in large cuts and bleeding profusely.
"The murder suspect is a bull Faunus belonging to Beacon Academies faculty, a Mr. Adam Taurus. He was once a member of the White Fang and was given a position at the school for aiding them in the war, but now police are suspecting he might have…" Blake instantly muted out any sound from the announcer or the others, even Ruby couldn't budge her as she stared dead-eyed at the screen showing Adam's corpse.
"Adams… dead?" she said to herself, unable to comprehend the reality before her. She began to feel light-headed, but was kept upright by Ruby.
Qrow clenched his teeth at this announcement, he had always doubted the man, but didn't think he would steal dust. It made no sense considering he could simply buy it now that he was a professor at Beacon. Someone else had to be behind this, no way someone as skilled as Adam could be killed by 3 measly guards.
"Cinder must be behind this, it's the only explanation." Qrow said out-loud gathering everyone's attention.
"Your right, professor Taurus helped us, he helped me during the war, there's no way he'd betray Beacon to the White Fang, Cinder had to have done it!" Ruby said confidently, trying to keep a despondent Blake stable, who merely soon collapsed in tears into her chest. Ruby petted her head as she pondered how to comfort her girlfriend like she did for her.
"Wait a minute… Beacon… Oh no!" Tai said as he realized what Cinder was after. With Adam, a professor at beacon who seemingly betrayed everyone, dead it would certainly inspire panic and distrust in the school.
Tai's realization came to late as a new announcement was made on TV.
"We have breaking news! We just received confirmation that an army of Grim is attacking Beacon Academy as we speak already 3 student's are reported dead and others severely injured!" the anchorman said.
Qrow groaned as he saw the image of the grim clashing with students and faculty at the school and saw the frightful faces of them and his kids around him.
"Damnit! So much for a peaceful vacation" he groaned as he gripped his scythe, ready for another annoying battle.
"Life" in this chapter refers to the wish to preserve it and the horrible impact losing it can have on someone. It destroyed Hazel (or rather Cinder did like Salem) and tore Ozpin apart spiritually when he had to mercy kill Gretcan. Ruby's fears of losing her son or herself and putting her family through that dread are comforted by Blake who experienced it when she learned her mother's death and now again when finding out Adam was killed. Like in Canon, many students are about to die at Beacon as it gets taken over by Grim. Can team RWBY and JNPR stop Cinder's plan this time, or will Beacon fall again. Next time in CH 18: Battle for Beacon part 1.