A/N: Apologies for not updating in a while. You may have a lot of questions but just wait until we get to the end of the chapter. For now let's begin
Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fan-based homage. Transformers is owned by Hasbro. RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late Monty Oum. Please support the official release.
History is a strange thing. When first written it is not contested. The accounts will be revised but in the end, history fades into legend or as some call it, fairy tales. How easily they forget. Worlds dismissing their past out of fear for what they are. Worlds like the ones I helped forge; worlds like Remnant.
I was there when they first crawled from the dirt of their world. I was there when they built their lavish cities of order and light. I watched as they warred with each other and slaughtered those that oppressed them. I was there when she asked for my help and when we wiped them out as she stood there demanding things from her new master as we left.
Yet, they too forget. So I must remind them. I will make them remember the history of chaos they so desperately wish to forget. A history that remembers their true nature. First, however, others must prepare the people.
Jaune stood bound and chained with energy cuffs before the Quintesson Judge enthroned above. He had been brought aboard their vessel for interrogation. His friends and teammates, Nora, Pyrrha, and Ren were right behind him and were chained to a spherical device that kept them shackled. He stared indignantly back at the Judge. His face of wit stared down back at him. Off to the side, the Quintesson Prosecutor hovered and his tentacles swayed slowly. The Prosecutor turned to the Judge.
"The defendant is ready for your ears." he said.
The Judge's body spinned his five faces and it switched to his face of wisdom.
"Good" the Judge said.
The Judge hovered down the stairs, looking at the defendant as he drew closer. Then, when he was only a few steps away from the bottom, the Judge stopped. He stared at his face. The Judge stared at Jaune's eyes. His short blonde hair and white armor on his chest and shoulders caught his attention. He turned to a Quintesson Bailiff that stood to the side of his charge.
"Bailiff, hand me the device the defendant used to communicate with his fellow rebels." requested the Quintesson.
The Bailiff took the defendant's scroll and handed it to the Judge.
"We're not rebels." The Judge looked at the scroll's owner who muttered the words he quietly heard. He glared at the Judge who glared back at him. He looked at the bailiff who poked his charge with the tip of his staff. Immediately the defendant felt immense pain and screamed in response to it.
"Jaune!" his team shouted. Pyrrha began to look for a way to break the energy chains on their wrists while Ren looked around his shackles and the platform for something he could use to break them free. Nora, meanwhile, simply kicked at the node creating the beams of energy for the chains. It was then that three Allicons emerged from behind them and grabbed them to keep them restrained. The three were then left helpless to watch the Bailiff torture their leader as the Quintesson Judge analyzed Jaune's scroll.
The Judge used his green tentacles to turn on the scroll and read what he saw. App by app, he studied its contents until he stumbled upon his Beacon ID. The Quintesson Judge raised his tentacle, signaling the Bailiff to stop. The Bailiff did and the defendant fell much to the concern and horror of his team. The Bailiff then forcefully lifted the weakened defendant to face the Judge.
"You are the leader of Team JNPR, are you not?" the Judge asked.
Jaune looked up at the Judge.
"I am." he replied. In response, the Quintesson switched faces again. This time, the Judge switched to his face of wrath.
"Are you aware of the ramifications of your crimes?" the Judge asked.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Jaune answered.
"You and your team are affiliated with a rebellion against the Quintessons. This rebellion was crushed when we conquered your nation-states. You are now unified under our rule and yet there are those that still remain. You organic are one of them." the Judge replied.
The Quintesson Prosecutor hovered down to the Judge's side.
"Yes, honorable magistrate?" the Quintesson Prosecutor said.
"Read the charges." declared the Judge.
A hard light panel with text appeared next to the Prosecutor read allowed.
"Defendants in the Court of the Quintessons," he began.
"You are hereby charged with treason against the empire and aiding and abetting known fugitives."
The Prosecutor finished speaking and the hard light panel disappeared. The Judge switched to his face of wit.
"These are serious charges, human and while we would send you to trial immediately, I am not so eager. Especially given the circumstances of you and your team's capture." the Judge said.
"How so?" Jaune asked
"You turned yourselves in. Most are not as courageous as you. Therefore, I will ask you one question. Should what you say please me, I will be willing to offer mercy." the Judge replied.
The Quintesson then wrapped his tentacles around his neck and yanked Jaune up to his face as the Judge switched back to his face of wrath and asked one question.
"Where is this Team RWBY?"
Weiss concentrated on the panel and kept her head down while her friends bashed some Quintesson heads in. It was not supposed to go this way. It was supposed to be a simple plan so they could steal a Quintesson ship and escape the planet to find help. The first part of the plan was both the easiest and riskiest part. Team JNPR would turn themselves in to draw defenses away. Fortunately, the unarmed Team JNPR was brought into their citadel as they had hoped and they took their weapons as they hoped. Team RWBY was then able to sneak inside using the blueprints of the citadel that some of their friends were able to snag from the building a few days prior that included the design of the technology inside. Sadly, not everyone made it back. Now, the plan had to work. Their friends' sacrifices would not be in vain. Team RWBY had to move fast so JNPR could also get out. The others were waiting for both teams.
Their trip down the corridors was easy. Team RWBY was able to avoid detection and slip past the few guards they met unnoticed. They had a few close calls but Ruby and Weiss were able to quickly diffuse the situation before they raised any alarms. By the time they reached their destination, the four huntresses-in-training had recovered their friend's weapons and reached the electrical room. They were amazed by the room they saw once inside. The Quintesson citadel's private power grid was massive. Various, alien and organic computer systems and power regulators were lined parallel to each other with rows forming columns to organize the systems of the building. All of the system columns were lined in front of a cylindrical power reactor at the other end of the room. Team RWBY approached the reactor.
"Jackpot, now we just need to blow this thing and then we can get out of here." Yang said. She approached the core and prepared to fire Ember Celica. She reeled back her fist but Blake grabbed her arm.
"Wait, we can't just go and destroy the core. Remember what happened last time?" Blake asked. Yang rolled her eyes.
"How was I supposed to know about the backup generators? They didn't look like much anyways." Yang groaned.
"Blake is right though. If we want to shut off the power, we need to overload the backup generators along with the main reactor." Weiss said.
"And how do you\u suppose we do that?" Yang asked. Weiss then took out her scroll. The heiress then swiped through images.
"We rewire the core so it sends double the amount of energy to the backup generators." Weiss said as she searched through her scrolls photos.
"We do that and I feed the reactor core a power cell of the ship's energy source to overload the main reactor and then we run." Weiss finished.
She then showed a blueprint of the reactor and pulled out a hand-sized battery full of a pinkish-purple substance. Ruby smiled while Blake and Yang looked at Weiss with surprise.
Weiss looked back at the pair in confusion.
"What?" asked the heiress
"How did you even get those?" Blake asked.
Weiss looked away before speaking.
"I… may have asked our friends to get the schematics for this when they came here before and also relieved one of those floating heads of the power cell a while back." she said.
Blake smirked. Ruby's jaw dropped. Yang giggled.
"Who are you and what have you done with Weiss?" Ruby said accusingly
"Never figured you'd be the one to steal." Blake remarked
"You might say you put it… on ice." Yang joked.
That killed the mood.
"Eh? Eh? Guys?" Yang asked.
The rest of Team RWBY groaned or looked around in disappointment or annoyance at Yang's joke.
"Let's just get this done. Weiss, you overload the generators so we can shut down the reactor. Blake, sis, we watch Weiss's back." Ruby said.
Her teammates and sister nodded. Weiss walked up to the reactor, set down her scroll next to her, and opened a panel near the bottom. Weiss began to unplug and replug fuel lines so they slowly began to route towards the generators. Ruby, Blake, and Yang, meanwhile, stood behind her and huddled around her defensively. Ruby held Crescent Rose in its scythe form, Blake unsheathed the blade of Gambol Shroud from her weapons sheathe/cleaver, and Yang activated Ember Celica which transformed from twin yellow and black bracelets to a pair of shotgun gauntlets.
The room remained silent for some time until Blake's cat ears suddenly twitched under her blackbow. She immediately steadied herself.
"Someone's coming." Blake said.
Yang and Ruby took their respective battle stances. Ruby looked back.
"You almost done back there, Weiss?" Ruby asked.
"Not yet, I need more time to get the last few generators hooked up."
"Well you better hurry up. They're here." Yang said
Weiss turned around and saw a group of Quintesson Executors arrive and upon seeing Blake at the open panel, they knew what the girls were up to. The group recognized the Executors immediately. These were a new breed of Quintessons. The Executors were humanoid, man-sized Quintessons. They were of a muscular build bearing a skeletal design with open gaps in arms and legs. The Executors had skull-like heads with shark jaws for mouths and both clawed hands and feet. Upon seeing the huntresses, the Executors revealed wrist blades in their forearms or pulled out alien rifles strapped to their backs and attacked. Ruby blocked and deflected any shots she could and turned to Blake.
"Finish the rewiring, Weiss. We'll hold these things off." Ruby ordered.
"You don't have to tell me twice." Weiss said.
Ruby and Yang went on the offensive almost immediately. Ruby used her semblance, Petal Burst, to rush the Executors and dodge their fire. Ruby spun Crescent Rose and bisected one Executor with the main blade of the scythe and impaling another with the smaller blade at the bottom of the weapon's shaft causing it to slide through one of the natural gaps. Just as she planned. She then swung her weapon and with the momentum through the stuck Quintesson into another of its comrades. The stunned Executor staggered and fired several shots at nearby servers causing sparks to fly and Blake to cover her face with her arms as she ran into the fray.
Blake swung Gambol Shroud and pushed through several Executors. She blocked an Executor's wrist blade. Another Executor jumped in and attempted to slash at Blake's torso. The Faunus used Shadow to create a clone as she lept back and turned the smaller blade of Gambol Shroud into its pistol form and fired several shots at the two Quintessons which simply tanked the shots and charged. Blake then took the ribbon on her weapon and swung towards the two machines and slashed one across the chest and lodged her weapon's blade in its spine. Blake pulled the Ribbon and readied her cleaver as she flew toward the Executor before swinging her cleaver and beheaded the Quintesson and pulled out her pistol from its spine. She then pulled back as two more Executors opened fire on her. Blake used her semblance to buy time and duck behind one of the computer systems for cover. Blake sheathed her cleaver and turned around and fired at her attackers. One was hit in the eye and the other was disarmed. Blake took the chance and ran out and tossed her weapon in pistol form and grabbed it by the ribbon. She fired a shot to increase her weapon's speed and it tore through the two machines like butter. She had her weapons strike and tear chunks of the Executors a few more times before they fell on the ground, lifeless.
Yang was engaged in a fist fight with several Executors. Two would attempt to strike at the blond huntress. At one point, Yang was able to flip back as one fired several shots at Yang which she blocked with her gauntlets. She charged forward, her golden hair blazing like fire for a brief moment, and punched one square in the chest. The Executor was immediately torn to shreds by the blast. Yang turned just in time to grab one of the Executors arms as it leapt into the air and threatened to stab Yang through the skull. Using one arm, Yang held back the Quintesson's wrist blade. She turned around to see the other one aiming to fire. The sun dragon then took both hands and swung herself around as the Executor opened fire. The shots pierced and hit her opponent before it fell on the ground lifeless. Yang looked at the Executor in front of her and smirked.
"Got to hand it to you, you almost had me but it will take a lot more to.-" Yang said.
However, she noticed something slowly fall down. She recognized its golden glow and immediately grew angry. The Executor had done the unthinkable, the inexcusable. It had cut a piece of her hair. Yang's eyes went from lilac to red in an instant and she smashed her armored fists together as her hair glowed like fire.
"You are so dead!" Yang shouted and charged the Executor who blocked Yang's initial attack with its rifle. A rifle that Yang's attack quickly tore to pieces. The Quintesson then activated its wrist blades only for both of its arms to be blown off as one at a time by the visibly Yang who then reeled back her fist and struck the Executor in the jaw. The force of the punch caused the Executor's head to literally spin as its lower jaw fell off shortly after the head stopped spinning and was turned almost completely around before falling.
Weiss meanwhile fixed a few more wires and fuel lines and stood up and inserted the power cell. The reactor began to hum and glow brighter as Weiss ran away from the reactor.
"It's done! We need to go now!" Weiss declared.
Ruby, Blake, and Yang turned to see the reactor begin to spark and glow even brighter. Knowing what was about to happen, the three girls followed Weiss as they made their way out of the room and down the hall to hide before an explosion of blue and purple destroyed the room and took the Executors with it.
Then, the hallway went dark.
The courtroom went dark almost immediately as the doors opened and both Jaune and his team's shackles came off and fell to the ground. Pyrrha immediately used her semblance to push back and force the Allicon guards into the wall. The Judge switched his face from wrath to doubt and looked around with worry having heard the commotion.
"What? What is this?" The judge said.
Feeling the Judge loosen his grip, Jaune kicked him in the face and sent him tumbling into the Quintesson Prosecutor. The two aliens then fell to the ground in a daze as Jaune rejoined his team.
"Let's go." Jaune told his teammates.
They rushed out the open door. The Judge and Prosecutor got back up. The Judge switched to his face of Wrath and shouted in rage.
"Mobilize our forces in the citadel and capture Team JNPR! It seems Team RWBY is closer than we think." The Quintesson Judge ordered. He and then gave chase Quintesson Prosecutor went to the Allicons who began to break free of the wall and gave them one single order
"Prepare the Marshals."
Team JNPR ran down the corridor as they made a break for it. They were meeting up with Team RWBY soon and they had to hurry. While Team JNPR could roam freely thanks to the outage, it also meant that the Quintessons could too. They then turned the corner and Jaune immediately ran into Ruby.
Ruby and Jaune landed on their butts after they crashed into each other. Both teams quickly panicked and Weiss, Blake, and Yang readied their weapons but quickly lowered them as Jaune and Ruby shook their heads and got back on their feet.
"Ruby!"
"Jaune!"
The two leaders hugged each other with the rest joining in. They soon broke back into their teams.
"Boy, are we glad to see you." Nora said.
"Likewise, hopefully things get out of hand in there while we turned off the lights."
"Well…" Jaune trailed off while rubbing his neck nervously. Team RWBY grew worried but a gloved hand grabbed Jaune's shoulder and its owner spoke.
"Let's just say we were cutting it close." Pyrrha said.
"Sorry about that, not much we could do while under fire." Yang said
"We can talk about it later." Ren said.
"Ren's right, we need to get to the ship and meet up with the others." Jaune said.
Ruby's eyes widened.
"Oh, before we do…" Ruby began.
The Red cloaked huntress then pulled out Crocea Mors with the sword sheathed in its white and yellow scabbard and gave it to Jaune. The rest of Team RWBY followed suit with Weiss pulling out Magnhild for Nora, Blake gave Pyrrha Miló and Akoúo̱, and Yang gave Ren Stormflower.
"I believe these belong to you." Ruby said.
Jaune and his teammates took their weapons.
"Come to momma!" Nora said as she took Magnhild into her hands in its grenade launcher form.
"Glad to have these back." Ren said as he held the green and black pistol daggers of Stormflower.
"Thank you for getting this back." Pyrrha replied as she gripped Miló in it xiphos form and strapped her Dipylon shield, Akoúo̱, on her left arm.
Jaune took Crocea Mors and put it on his left forearm and drew the sword before his scabbard expanded into a white Heater shield with an emblem of a pair of yellow crescents stacked on top of each other. Jaune and Ruby looked at each other and nodded. The two teams then started to run together. Both teams had one goal and they intended to accomplish it. The time had come to do so. The time to fight was over.
The time had come to leave Remnant.
The others were waiting.
The Quintesson ship was under siege. Four huntsmen were giving it their all to keep the newly activated Quintesson Marshals. There was not much to them but, disturbingly, these Quintessons were more animalistic and bore a striking resemblance to the bear-like Grimm, Ursai. They were mostly silver with tubes of purble but the black fur, white boney spikes, and sickly yellow eyes remained. The Marshals opened fire with their shoulder mounted cannons. The shells were flying towards the ship. It was only when a being of sunlight leapt up and took the hit that kept the ship safe.
Two more of these constructs appeared and began to wrestle the Marshal to the ground. This was followed by Sun leaping into the air and impaling the Marshal with the staff form of Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang. The organic bits and spiky protrusions dissolved leaving the machinery and weapons behind. Sun then split his weapon into its twin nunchuck form and blocked another Marshals claw. He swung his shotgun nunchucks left and right and with every strike, would pull the built in trigger to his weapons. The nunchucks would then fire a shot directly at the Marshal causing it to stagger. The monkey Faunus then pointed the built-in shotguns at the Marshal and fired directly at its head. The Marshal fell and its organics disintegrated.
Sun smiled. Another Marshal charged behind him and opened its jaw but three bolts of blue energy hit the side of its head and was followed by a rope dart. Sun turned around in time to see the rope dart return to its owner, Arslan who stood side by side with Neptune who kept shooting various Marshals. Sun then turned to the sound of a humming sound.
A blur of black green zipped past Sun, startling him until more flew around but never harming him. Sun turned to see Penny using Floating Array as she ran around and slew more of the Quintesson-Grimm hybrids and stood in the center of the storm of blades her weapon(s) unleashed. The swarm of blades and guns slashing, stabbing, and shooting any Quintessons that got too close not just to her, but to the ship as well.
The four of them fought hard and gave it their all. When the Quintesson forces got too close, the group would push them back. This back and forth went on for an hour and by then, the makeshift team of four was at their limit.
"Is it just me or do they seem to be getting faster and not to mention more numerous everytime?" Sun jokingly asked.
"No, I believe that they are not getting faster but we are getting slower and they are becoming more numerous." Penny answered.
The Marshals readied themselves for their next attack but just as they were about to strike. They paused. Some began to look around. Then, they heard it. The faint sound of a motorbike rose in the distance. The Grimm-Quintessons attempted to reorganize themselves but were stopped from doing so when Yang, riding her bike with Ruby riding with her, ran it over. This was followed by a pair of HVB Rhinos with one carrying Blake, Weiss, and Pyrrha while the other carried Jaune, Nora, and Ren.
They cut down numerous Marshals in their wake with their attacks, reducing the Grimm half of the Marshals to ash. Yang then looped around and stopped her bike behind Sun and his group right in front of the ramp to the ship before she and her sister dismounted. Yang immediately got her bike onboard shortly after with the rest of Team RWBY and Team JNPR landing their hover bikes soon after and running up to their friends.
"Glad you guys made it. We were beginning to worry." Neptune said.
"And leave you all high and dry like that? Not a chance." Nora said.
"Where's everyone else? Are the rest of your teams inside?" Blake asked.
"There alright. They've been getting the ship ready while we held the fort down out here." Arslan said.
Ruby was about to speak but was immediately tackled into a bear hug by Penny.
"Oof!" Ruby said, landing on her back.
"I'm so glad you could make it friend Ruby." Penny said.
"I'm glad to see you too, Penny." Ruby replied.
Penny then got up and put her hands behind her back with a smile on her face. Ruby stood back up.
"I hate to break up the reunion but we can't stay here." Arslan said.
"Right, is the ship fully fueled?" Weiss asked.
"Sure is, we were just holding down the fort so no one crashed the party for when you came back." Sun said
"Good, now let's on board and take off." Ruby said. The group nodded in agreement and began to run for the ramp.
"You have yet to receive the verdict of your trial." a voice called out.
The group paused when they heard the voice. They knew that voice. They all turned around and saw the Marshals had parted and made way for the Quintesson Prosecutor and Quintesson Judge with its face of wrath. They were flanked by their new Executors and a legion of Sharkticons.
"Before the honorable magistrate delivers his verdict, would you like to beg for your lives? It sometimes helps but not often." said the Quintesson Prosecutor.
Blake leaned to Sun.
"Get Neptune and the others inside and man the guns, we'll hold out as long as we can." Blake said.
"On it." Sun replied.
Sun then led Neptune, Arslan, and Penny up the ramp. A Marshal fired a shot at the group and hit the ramp. Sun's group was able to dodge it but barely and they continued to go up.
Blake saw what was happening and shot at the Marshal that was attacking.
"Lower your weapon or you will be executed where you stand." ordered the Judge.
"We'd rather die than be subjected to your kangaroo court." Ruby declared.
There was a long silence. The Quintessons wanted to finish the trial. They believed that the ship would be taken after all was said and done. The turrets on the ship began to turn and take aim at the Quintessons.
"Has the honorable magistrate reached a verdict?" asked the Prosecutor.
The judge then switched to his face of wit.
"I have." the Judge answered.
The guns began to charge up.
"Guilty or innocent?" asked the Prosecutor.
The Quintesson then switched his face again to the face that the huntsmen remembered all too well. The face that the Quintesson showed to declare their annexation and conquest of Remnant. The Quintesson Judge switched to his face of death.
The judge said one word.
"Innocent."
With that the Prosecutor turned.
"Execute them and destroy the ship." the Quintesson ordered.
The army lunged forward. Teams RWBY and JNPR readied themselves and prepared for the attack. It was then that a beam of blue energy came down and crashed into the oncoming Quintesson. The two teams looked up to see the ship's cannons shooting at the Quintesson army.
"Sun did it. He got the cannons up. We need to leave now." Blake said.
"Right, Team RWBY, Team JNPR, get to the ship and ready for launch!" Ruby ordered.
The two teams then turned and ran up the ramp. It was a mad dash for the top. Despite the cannons on the ship, several Quintesson Marshals and Executors along with a handful of Sharkticons managed to get through and ran up the ramp. Nora looked back and saw their pursuers.
"Don't look now guys but we have company and they are mad and ugly." Nora said.
"We can't stop and fight them, it'll take too long and we won't get to the ship in time." Weiss said.
"Then we take shots as we run." Yang said. She turned around and fired several rocket rounds from Ember Celica. The shots were able to take down some Executors and disorient the nearby Marshals.
Nora followed suit and fired several volleys with Magnhild before turning back around while Pyrrha transformed Miló into its rifle form and opened fire for a few seconds. Ren was next and fired Stormflower and released a flurry of bullets that hit their pursuers. The Executors were downed and the Marshal toppled off the ramp as a result of the shot while the Sharkticons remained undaunted and picked up speed.
The group then made it up the ramp and got onto the ship. Ruby turned Crescent Rose into its war scythe form and cut the ramp clean off causing it to collapse. A couple of Sharkticons jumped and transformed into their robot forms to attack. However, Nora activated Magnhild hammer form while Yang readied her gauntlets and, combined with Pyrrha's semblance of Polarity, punched, smacked, and pushed the Sharkticons away. Jaune then closed the door.
"Alright, now let's get out of here." Jaune said.
Everyone ran to the cockpit. Blake meanwhile paused and looked back at the closed door. Worried for the world and people she was leaving behind.
"Get onboard that ship!" the Judge ordered.
The Quintessons' forces continued their attempt to advance on the ship but with the ramp severed, the conventional attack was pointless and the cannons continued to fire on their forces' dwindling numbers.
"They cannot stay inside the ship forever. Sooner or later, we will reclaim it." declared the Prosecutor.
Then the ground began to shake. The Quintessons began to either stumble around to keep balance or tumble into each other. The Quintesson Judge switched to his face of doubt and looked on in horror at what was happening. The platform on the ship was parting and the engines to the Quintesson spacecraft roared to life as the cannons ceased their fire. The Judge turned to his forces.
"Shoot the ship down before it reaches the atmosphere! Execute them as they head to the sky!" demanded the judge.
"Wait, your honor the ship is-." the Prosecutor started but the Quintessons began to fire on the ship to no avail as a faint blue ring appeared and disappeared with every shot that protected the ship. They were now helpless as the ship soared into the sky and left the world of Remnant behind.
"No!"
The Judge switched to his face of wrath.
"NO!"
The ship traveled to the stars
"NNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" bellowed the Judge.
He then turned to the Prosecutor.
"Prepare a fleet to surround the planet. From now on, no one comes to or leaves this world." the Judge ordered.
"What about the fugitives?" asked the Prosecutor.
The judge turned to the smoke trail left by the ship and shifted to his face of death.
"We will get them in time. Soon, they will receive their penalty and the Sharkticons shall feed on their entrails." said the Judge.
The Judge then laughed to himself at the thought of when the Quintessons caught up with them and finally enacted their "justice".
The ship exited the atmosphere as blue turned to gray. Then gray turned to black. The past five months of fighting felt worth it. Well, almost worth it. They fought to free their home from the Quintessons and now they were fleeing it. Ruby reflected on how this might not have happened. Thanks to Penny, they were able to understand the Quintessons' language quickly and she was able to get them up in the air since she was the only one who knew it.
Ruby then left her seat and left for a window. Penny plugged in a set of coordinates, put the ship into autopilot, and joined Ruby as she went to a nearby window. The rest of the group went to the window. Teams RWBY, JNPR, CRDL, SSSN, and ABRN stood in front of the window with Penny joining them soon after. They all stood and watched as their world got smaller. They watched as the shattered moon they had known for so long disappeared behind the planet's horizon. The planet grew smaller as they flew away.
"You know, I always wondered what Remnant looked like from up here." Weiss stated.
"It's actually quite beautiful." Yang said.
They all looked at the planet as they flew further away from the world they once called home.
"It's just sad we get to see like this." Nora said.
"You think we'll see it again?" Blake asked.
Ruby stared at the planet. It pained her to leave home but she understood why Ozpin wanted them to do this. This was only the first move in their last bid to save their world. Ruby was determined to do that.
"We will." Ruby said and turned around.
"We have to." Ruby looked at the group.
"Alright, then let's hang here, get stronger, and then come back and give them the beatdown." Carding said while punching his palm. The rest of his team smiled and nodded.
"That's not enough. Even if we get stronger, they still have the numbers and we can't forget what they did to the Grimm; let alone what they did to our friends and families." Ruby began.
Blake lowered her head and held her arm as she remembered what happened at Menagerie.
"We need to find help. We can't be the only ones to have faced these guys. If we can find more people who faced the Quintessons' we have to convince them to help us. The only way we can stop them is together." Ruby said.
Cardin scoffed.
"So that's it, we just hide in a hole somewhere and beg for help from people who got their butts handed to them too?" Cardin remarked.
"We don't have a-" Ruby started but Russel interrupted.
"I think Cardin's got a point. We can't just leave, we need to go back and soon!" Russel demanded.
"I fail to see the logic behind just rushing back in with our current numbers. We barely escaped the Quintessons before we launched. Do you think we'll stand a better chance if we turn back a few days later?" Penny asked.
"I don't know, but Cardin and his team have a point. We can't just hope we aren't the only ones to face the Quintessons'. We may not even find anyone who has faced them and won." Arslan said.
"But if go back before we even try to find out if there is or was someone to face them then it's suicide." Reese answered.
"But we can't just leave everyone behind." Scarlet said.
"And we can't just go back and hope for the best either." Sun replied.
"Like you're one to talk. You barely even stick around long enough to lead this team." Scarlet retorted sharply.
Sun turned to face Scarlet.
"Look, I know I'm not the best leader but I'm also not going to let you guys get yourselves killed either. We have to think. Ruby's right, we can't be the only planet to have faced them. I won't let you guys get hurt." Sun replied.
Scarlet then stood right in front of his team leader and looked him in the eye.
"Like you let Team BRNZ get 'hurt'?" Scarlet answered.
Something just snapped inside of Sun Wukong at that moment. The Faunus then pushed on Scarlet hard and he stumbled back. Scarlet then went to attack Sun and they began to fight. Most of the group soon joined in as Team CRDL, ABRN, and SSSN all began fighting each other. Penny tried to break up the brawl and team JNPR and most of Team RWBY joined to help stop the violence.
Ruby meanwhile stood and watched as everyone on board fought each other. Sun brawled with Scarlet, Carding with Dove, Arslan with Reese, and Sage with Russel, to name a few. The chaos unfolded before her eyes. Ruby lowered her head and her eyes grew wide as she heard the sounds of the brawl. She then began to recall memories of the past fifteen years of her life.
She remembered when she heard Yang got accepted into Beacon.
Her eyes began to water.
She remembered when Ozpin moved her up two academic years.
Ruby's breathing grew heavy.
She remembered Zwei, her home, her father, her mother's grave.
Tears began to fall from her eyes and her face contorted with anger.
She remembered the last time she saw her mom.
Her eyes began to glow a silvery white.
She remembered the sight of Beacon in ruins, Menagerie on fire, remains of the crashed Amity coliseum into Atlas and Mantle.
Ruby remembered the Quintessons as they laughed through their face of death as Remnant burned.
The laughter grew louder and louder as it drowned out the sound of the infighting. Then she looked up as her eyes were engulfed in light and her face filled with righteous anger.
"ENOUGH!" Ruby shouted. Her silver eyes flashed white for a brief moment and all eyes were on her. Ruby's face was tear stained from the pain of her memories and the loss of her home.
"We are NOT. Running. Away." Ruby said.
"We will come back. We have to. We HaVe To!" she shouted, her voice breaking from fear and sadness.
Everyone reacted differently to Ruby's outburst. Some were surprised, others were pained, and some were just sympathetic. Ruby then looked at Cardin.
"We will get stronger BUT, I won't bring us back just to get us all KILLED!" Ruby said.
Carding looked away slowly and rubbed the back of his head. Ruby then looked at Scarlet, his face bruised and bloodied from the fight.
"And you…" Ruby began.
She gave a saddened and pained laugh.
"We've all lost… so much to those five-faced monsters and I want to give them payback as much as you do." Ruby said.
Scarlet looked down.
"But we can't let that loss and anger keep us from doing what we know needs to be done."
Scarlet looked away, ashamed at his actions. Ruby then wiped her eyes and looked at the group
"We are going to find help. We aren't the only ones they've faced. We have to find a way and we will." Ruby said.
The red cloaked huntress then turned back to the now distant planet of Remnant.
"We will get stronger. We will come back. We will find help. We will save Remnant. We have to because there's no other way." Ruby said.
Ruby then turned and walked to Penny.
"Penny, did you find a place for us to start?" Ruby asked
"Absolutely, friend Ruby. It will be our first destination." Penny replied.
"Good, get the ship and order and meet up with us when you're done." Ruby said.
Penny nodded and went off to get things ready. Ruby turned to the rest of the group.
"Everyone else, get to the pods. We don't know how long the trip will take so we need to be sure we're able to begin our search." Ruby ordered. Teams CRDL, SSSN, and ABRN did as they were told and left for the stasis pods. Team JNPR and the rest of Ruby's team stayed looking at her.
She looked right back at them.
"What?" Ruby asked.
"Ruby, are you okay? You've never snapped like that." Yang replied.
"How can I be? We just lost our home, we lost a lot of our friends, the academies are gone, Atlas is in ruins, we saw continents burn, and all in three freaking months! How can I still be okay after all of THAT?!" Ruby angrily replied.
No one dared answer her to avoid coming off as callous.
"I just… this has to work. We have to find someone, anyone. Or we won't come back at all and I do not want to not come back." Ruby continued.
"Ruby…" Weiss began.
The heiress walked towards her teammate and friend. Yang followed beside her.
"Do you really think we can?" Weiss asked.
Ruby looked out the window one last time as a metal door began to close the window.
"I don't know." she answered.
The group began to worry.
"But this I do know." Ruby continued.
She then looked at her friends.
"We either find help to stop the Quintessons or we die trying. Because the only other choice is to lose what we have left back home. We will find a way, we have to. Not just for us, but for everyone the Quintessons' have taken from us." Ruby said.
With that Ruby walked down the hall with a determined expression. Her friends soon followed.
They reached the onboard stasis pods soon after the fight and everyone was getting ready to enter their individual pods for the duration of the journey. It was an emotional site to see as everyone said what may be their final goodbyes. Each one hoping this was not the last time they would see each other.
"Well, here's to hoping this doesn't become our tombs." Sky Lark told his teammates who let out a dry chuckle.
One by one, Team CRDL entered their pods and the glass doors closed.
"See you on the other side, Neptune." Sun replied.
Neptune looked back and laughed softly.
"You too, Sun. Till we meet again." Neptune replied.
Neptune reached out his fist and Sun returned with a fist bump. Neptune entered his pod. Sun then turned to Scarlet and Sage as they prepared to enter theirs.
"Hey," Sun called.
Sage and Scarlet turned to look at Sun.
"I'm sorry about what happened back there. I didn't mean for things to go that way." the monkey Faunus said.
"Sure you did." Scarlet remarked as he entered his pod and the door closed. Sun looked down. The memory of what happened was still fresh in his mind.
"Sun," Sage answered.
Sun looked up at him.
"Give him some time, okay." Sage said.
"Okay," Sun answered.
Sun then began to enter his stasis pod.
"By the way…" Sage called out.
Sun turned to look at his teammate again.
"For what it's worth, I don't blame you for what happened to BRNZ. No one could have predicted what happened." Sage answered.
Sun sighed.
"Yeah, I know. But I still let Neptune lead them to get the specs on that power core." Sun said.
"Still, without it, I don't think we would have Team JNPR with us." Sage said.
Sage then entered his pod. He then looked at Wukong one last time.
"Some things are just out of our control." Sage said.
Sage's pod closed up.
"Yeah, they are." Sun said to himself.
He then began to enter his pod again and turned around to see Blake standing in front of the pod.
"Oh, hey Blake." he said
"Hey, Sun." she replied.
The pair looked at each other for a brief moment of silence.
"Listen, if this is about the fight between me and Scarlet I ju-" Sun started.
"Sun." Blake interrupted.
She then walked up to him and embraced him warmly. Sun was surprised at first but soon wrapped his arms around her.
"I'll miss you." Blake said.
"I'll miss you too." Sun answered.
The two then pulled back and looked at each other.
"When we wake up, you better be out there helping me and our friends search." Blake said.
Sun smiled.
"No problemo, Blakey. Plus, if you need anything, I'll be there in a heartbeat." Sun said.
Blake smiled.
"Knowing you, you'd be there in half a heartbeat." she joked.
Sun laughed.
"True, true." he said.
Blake and Sun stood in silence again before hugging each other one more time.
"I'll see you soon." Sun said.
"I know you will." Blake replied.
Sun then entered his pod and Blake stood and watched as the door to his pod closed. Blake then returned to her pod.
Yang smiled at Blake who looked left and right nervously as a result.
"What?" Blake asked.
"Nothing, just enjoying the sight of you two being yourselves." Yang replied.
Blake blushed, earning a laugh and soft punch to the shoulder from Yang.
"Relax, I won't tell. Besides, I think it's cute." the blonde bombshell said
"Really?" Blake asked.
"Yeah, just make sure you don't miss the chance to tell him." Yang answered as she entered her pod.
Blake blushed even more at Yang's words.
"I'll… think about it." Blake said.
"Suit yourself." Yang said.
She then went over and hugged Blake who returned her hug soon after.
"Don't die on me in there, okay?" Yang told Blake.
Blake smiled.
"I won't." she replied.
Yang smiled and let go. She then entered her pod and its door closed. Blake then turned to see team JNPR entering their pods. She then turned to see Penny saying goodbye to Ruby before she left for her pod.
Blake then approached her team leader.
"Ruby…" Blake said.
Ruby looked at Blake.
"Yes," Ruby replied.
Blake grew nervous, looked down and fidgeted with her hand before looking back up at the silver-eyed huntress.
"About the Executors, do you…" Blake paused
"Mhmm?" Ruby hummed.
"Do you think we'll be able to help them some day?" Blake asked.
Ruby paused and looked away to think.
She wondered what to do about the Executors. Everyone was aware of what they once were and Ruby knew Blake wanted to find a way to undo the damage done to them before they became what they were today. Still, it was something Ruby also felt was possible. It had to be. They weren't always Quintessons and if they could be converted into Quintesson Executors, then who's to say that it was possible to reverse the process, if not completely undo the conversion process all together. Maybe there was a way to save them. Maybe they could be restored. Ruby looked back at Blake.
"Yes, I believe we can." Ruby said.
Blake looked relieved at Ruby's words and smiled.
"Thanks, Ruby. I needed that." Blake replied.
"No, problem. Besides, if there's one way to do it, there is also a way to reverse it." Ruby answered.
Blake smiled as she entered her pod. Ruby did the same.
The last two pod doors closed with Blake's closing first as she closed her eyes. As for Ruby, she took one last look around the room and all the pods as they slowly fogged up and blurred the outline of the various occupants.
She smiled, hoping that this wasn't where their stories ended. Hoping that this was just the beginning of a new chapter. Hoping that they would find a way to win. She then laid back as the door to her pod sealed shut and began to put her into stasis. She silently hoped that they would see each other again soon.
Ruby's pod put her into stasis as she joined the rest of the twenty-two occupants all safely in their pods.
The ship entered faster than light travel and soon came upon a world similar to Remnant. The biggest difference was that its moon was whole and if you looked closely, one could make out the outline of various spacecraft or pieces of spacecraft long since departed the planetary satellite. The plane was blue with land masses mixed with green and brown and the top and bottom of the planet was coated in a sheet of white.
The Quintesson spacecraft began to enter the planet's atmosphere and slowly drifted downward. The gravitational pull of the planet pulled it closer and closer and it began to accelerate as a wave of red and orange began to cover the ship.
Pieces of metal began to fall off the ship and as the ship fell faster, it directed itself towards an arid desert region of the planet as the flames dissipated as the ground came into view. It came in at an angle as the ship hit the ground hard. The ship split in two as the back half broke apart and tumbled on the desert sands. The front half bounced briefly before sliding for a few minutes before coming to a complete stop.
The front half was riddled with holes as sparks lit up the craft and light glitched between on and off. The area was silent for about 5 minutes before movement disturbed the interior of the ship. Then someone walked out of the ship. His mostly black clothing made him difficult to distinguish. However, the red on his attire made it apparent he was real. His bull horns stuck out of his head as he stared out at the night sky through his white and red mask with Wilt in hand as its red blade reflected the moonlight with Blush on his side in sheath form gripped by his other hand. He smiled, sheathing Wilt before walking out into the cool night air of the Mojave Desert. He said no words. He didn't need to. The Quintessons took his brothers and sisters from him. He would rebuild the White Fang here.
Adam smiled as he envisioned the new White Fang that he alone would forge.
A/N: Well this is not how I expected things to go. Personally, I would have liked to do this after I finished the Legend of RWBY Part 1 but I was itching to get this out there. Anyway, consider this a preview of my latest work. Please note that the preview will be the only chapter here on this form until I finish the first part of this story. Still, let me introduce you to Exiles of Remnant. Inspired by the likes of Hunter of Justice and Remnant's Mightiest Heroes with my own personal twist. Basically, this is my answer to the Justice League and the Avengers crossovers of the same concept except I'm doing the Hasbro version. This will be my biggest fanfic ever. Please note that I intend to complete this and LoR but it may be a while before I upload again. It has been a difficult few months as I have been looking for a full-time job at this point but I am still going to finish these stories. Once I upload Chapter 5 for LoR I'll give more info on that series going forward as there have been some major changes to how I'm going to write that story after part 1 is complete.
Until then, God bless you and live life to the fullest.