The green light was too bright that no one in Vale could have possibly missed that. Ruby Rose was no exception. As she tried to join in the fray, she, like everyone else who had witnessed it, paused at the mesmerizing sight. A pillar of light that could not have come from a mere semblance.
"What was that?" she asked. No one could answer her for there was no one around to answer.
When everything had begun to fall apart, Ruby couldn't help but blame herself for letting it go this far. She had been the one who first noticed Mercury's peculiar presence when he should have been back in Mistral with the rest of this team. When the finals match of the Vytal tournament had been announced, it took seconds for her to realize the terrible implications when Pyrrha Nikos had matched against Penny Polendina. Magnetism against metal, Ruby could still vividly remember the sight of Penny ruthlessly torn apart as something happened to Pyrrha that made her overuse her own semblance.
Ruby had been too slow. Despite her own semblance affording her great speeds, she was too slow. She couldn't stop them. She couldn't warn them and the people of Vale paid the price for it. Mercury didn't even finish her off and let her wallow in her own failures. It was only through her duties as a huntress that she had been able to keep going.
Far from the rest of her team, Ruby had been alone for much of the attack. Finding her grip on one of the Grimm, she thought of taking back one of the Atlas ships when she had been informed of their hijacking. There she met Roman Torchwick for the last time before he had perished. There was Neo as well but she didn't see where that mute criminal had gone after being taken by the Grimm.
The descent from the airship proved itself to be the most difficult thing of all. Nevermore wasn't exactly the most comfortable ride and Ruby had to roll when she landed. She groaned after she was done. Her aura reserves had taken a hit from what she could estimate. Probably in the yellow, leaning towards the red.
When she sat back up, she checked herself for any sort of damage. When she looked to the back of her hand, Ruby paused at the sight of three strange marks that appeared on her hand. There weren't there before.
"What are these?" she asked. She tried rubbing it but it did not fade. It wasn't blood, that much she was certain. It would be impossible given how it was designed but she needed a second opinion. Reality was that there were many things that were entering her mind that she needed to make sure that she wasn't hallucinating.
Ruby shook her head. Head in the game, Ruby, she thought. Head in the game. This was no time to be idling about trying to figure out whatever these tattoos are. Let Yang and dad scold her for getting a tattoo after Vale had been saved even when she didn't remember when she got it. Right now, she had people to save. There were people who needed a hero and she had sworn to be one.
Checking the state of Crescent Rose, her weapon, Ruby sought to go as close to Beacon as she could. There was that large Wyvern Grimm circling around the school and she needed to get there to help however she can. There weren't that many Grimm in her area, most were over there in Beacon.
But she didn't have to. Before Ruby could make out any other group of people, the Wyvern was being led towards the outer boundaries of Vale. With it, the other Grimm had followed suit. Squinting through her weapon's scope, Ruby could make out some kind of figure leading the Wyvern away. The figure even dealt with nearby Grimm like they were nothing; they must have been quite the professional huntsman.
Initially, Ruby had wanted to join the brave warrior that she caught a glimpse of. He was alone after all and that large Grimm had smaller ones assiting it. It was then that she saw what said warrior could do, even from this distance, that had caused her to stop and simply stare in disbelief at what was happening before her.
Beams of light emitted from the warrior's sword. Ruby was still many kilometers away and she could make out the bursts of energy and light coming from the warrior. She could only imagine how intense those must be if she were any closer. Grimm fell instantly as he did so. Still, he continued to guide the wyvern towards the borders of Vale.
It was like one of those stories that Ruby read or those shows that she watched. Fantastical heroes who fight against dragons with magical sword beams as they defended the kingdom. But those were shows, this was reality. Sure, the Grimm were horrific monsters and there were instances of huntsmen and huntresses having such fine control of aura that they could create something similar but this was of a different scale. For one, the warrior was much more liberal with the sword beams that his aura should have been spent many times over even assuming it was full. No huntsman would have reserves as massive as that.
Ruby changed her mind and cut through the Grimm closest to her. She would just have to trust that warrior that he can handle himself while she would focus on the enemies that were close. Hacked Atlas machinery were still running rampant though their numbers were low and kept lowering by the hour.
Every once in a while, Ruby would turn to catch a glimpse of the strange warrior's shrinking figure. She could see him ascend to the top of a building. It was here that Ruby stopped to stare. He went up a building that made her think his semblance was flight. But with those beams earlier, it couldn't possibly be the case. There, like he was on top of a tower, he stood tall and must have stared defiantly against the approaching Grimm.
The winds were so strong that she could see them twisting into a tornado with a green light, much more massive than the ones that came before it. The Wyvern continued to approach the warrior on that building and Ruby found herself forgetting to breathe as the Grimm had gotten closer and closer to him.
Then the massive pillar of light descended as if cutting through the skies themselves, tearing the clouds asunder. The Grimm was engulfed in it that there was no part of it that wasn't covered by that attack. Ruby's eyes sparkled at the sight that she had stopped moving. Thankfully, there were no Grimm nearby; if there were, they must have paused to stare at the light as well.
When the light had dissipated and the darkness of night returned, Ruby could make out the damage that it had caused. Rather than destroyed, it was more accurate to say that affected buildings had been erased as though they never existed in the first place. The Wyvern was nowhere to be found and she could no longer see the figure atop of that building that he stood on. He must have descended from it.
"What was that?" Ruby can't help but asking. There were many questions filling her head and she wanted answers. She wasn't about to get them sitting around though, so she continued onwards.
It had taken a while before Ruby managed to find the closest group of people. She sighed relief when the first that she had seen was the back of her partner, Weiss Schnee. Her partner appeared to be in good enough condition to move.
"Ruby!" Weiss cried out as she turned around. The two held one another in tight embrace.
"I found you!" Ruby can't help but call out. She had been worried about her. That is one team member found. Now for the other two.
Behind Weiss was Sun Wukong who also appeared to be relieved at the sight of them. He too looked well enough given the circumstances. They all looked terrible but that was better than what could have been.
There was an ongoing evacuation still. As Doctor Oobleck and Professor Port were shouting out orders for everyone to get on the Bullhead as they assured them all that a safe zone had been established in Vale's commercial district.
"Where have you—" Weiss tried to ask.
"Don't worry, I'm fine," Ruby quickly assured her. "What's going on? Is everything okay here?"
Weiss didn't meet her in the eye. If anything, the white-haired girl looked down and away from her team leader in shame. Dread and anxiety filled Ruby's heart as seconds ticked on without any answer.
"Weiss?" she asked again. "What is it?"
Still, Weiss Schnee did not answer. Instead, she moved aside, allowing Ruby to see instead. Weiss still refused to meet her eyes.
When Ruby managed to see what it was that kept her partner from answering, only did she realized as she had witnessed to the tragic sight before her. Ruby had to cover her own mouth as the tears begun to fall and blur her vision. While Weiss had been in good enough conditions, the same cannot be said about the others that lay before her.
Before her were the downed forms of her friends. Ren and Nora of team JNPR, team RWBY's sister team, were in the best state out of all of them. Injured and wounded, certainly, but they were sitting which meant that they could still move even if only a little.
Blake, one of Ruby's own team members, a faunus whose features are her cat ears that she keeps hidden by a bow, was laying down in a fetal position. Her hand was intertwined with her partner's, Yang Xiao Long, Ruby's older step-sister.
"I'm sorry," Blake repeatedly weakly. "I'm so sorry…" She covered herself, incapable of looking at her team leader. Shame filled her voice.
As for Ruby's sister, Yang was in the worst state of them all. Eyes closed and having her limb from the elbow cut off, the once joyous and adventurous older sister was there lying unconscious. Yang had already been through a lot just recently. From being accused of beating down a defeated opponent to now having lost her limb.
Ruby felt her knees shaking in weakness. The sight of her older sister in such a state was unbelievable. Yang had always been someone too strong just as she was headstrong in Ruby's eyes. One who didn't let anything get in the way of whatever it is that she wanted. Yang had always seemed so tough, so indomitably powerful in Ruby's eyes. Now here she was in a state that she still couldn't see happening. She couldn't even approach her sister; Ruby felt that if she did, her legs would simply give out and she would fall.
She could only muster a weak and sobbing "Yang…" as she reached out her hand, hoping, praying that it was just an illusion. Ruby hoped that her sister would get up somehow. Ruby couldn't say more. She couldn't even say about her strange new tattoos even though Yang totally would have scolded her for getting something like this. Ruby would rather that Yang scold her for the tattoos.
"Hey," Sun Wukong said. He was a monkey faunus and a transfer from Mistral's Haven Academy. "She's gonna be okay. The soldiers have a ship ready that will take you guys to Vale."
"But Jaune and Pyrrha are still missing!" Nora cried out. She tried to stand up only to fall back down. She didn't have the strength to get back on her knees. Nora groaned in pain.
"What?" Ruby was shocked out of her grief. Jaune and Pyrrha were still missing? Where could they be? Her heart beat faster. If they were still out there somewhere, in danger, then… No. They had to be okay. Jaune was getting stronger and he had certainly improved. Pyrrha was strong as well, a powerful fighter in her own right. There was no way that those two would be in danger.
"Look guys," Sun replied. His voice had become stern. His once carefree demeanor had been replaced with one of seriousness. "That giant Grimm may have been gone thanks to whatever light show that was and the White Fang may have been pulling back but that doesn't mean we could just leave and find them. We're all hurt here."
Sun looked down on Yang's pitiful form. His voice changed to that of somberness as he continued, "some more than others. We have to go and lick our wounds, now."
"We're not leaving—" Ren tried to get up. His attempt been better than Nora's since Ren was able to at least get on one leg before falling down. When he did fall back, he fell harder that Nora had to reach out to hold her partner. Much like his partner, Ren was groaning in that pain.
Sun shook his head. He could only look between them all. He was the most capable one there, barring Weiss and Ruby, but he was right. Ruby knew that was logical. They needed to go to Vale and recover. Their hurts and injuries needed to be tended to before they could get any worse. While the Grimm may have been mostly dealt with, that did not mean that everything was safe.
In the distance, fires were still burning some of the buildings and there was still a few smaller Grimm roaming about. Some were still running for their lives while others have sought shelter wherever they could find it.
Weiss' eyes were on the ground. She was unsure of what she should do. Jaune and Pyrrha were her friends as well but Sun had his point. They couldn't just leave them behind but they wouldn't be any safer sticking around.
It was here that Ruby made her choice, "I'll find them," she declared. "I'll find them and bring them back. I swear it." More than that, Ruby vowed to make sure that this sight before her never happens to anyone else. She came to Beacon because she wanted to be a hero. It was time that she did. Though she may not know how that was going to go, she believes that she could count on others to help her out.
Suddenly, the three marks began to glow brightly, causing everyone still conscious to move as backwards as they could. Weiss in particular backed away the farthest relative to her spot. Only Yang had no reaction being unconscious.
"Ruby?" Weiss said as she covered her eyes. Everyone did. "What's going on? What is that?"
"I…" Ruby was shaking her head. "I don't know." She couldn't see what was happening either.
"Behind you." Sun pointed. When Ruby turned, she saw a silver-colored circle with strange but intricate designs on them that were unlike Weiss' Glyphs. There was a pillar of light as well that Ruby had to step back.
"I'm not doing this," Weiss said. There wasn't any doubt that it wasn't Weiss' doing. None of them had. "What is that?"
From the circle, there was a figure that appeared. Rising from the ground was a hooded woman. Her cloak was dark in color with a shade of blue. Much of her figure was hidden as her cloak covered much of her body. From the little that they could see, her skin color was a little dark with strands of black hair poking out of the hood. She wore a mask that covered her face, preventing anyone from seeing her save for the lower jaw. But it wasn't the same as the White Fang's masks.
She must have worn a dress underneath that cloak for they could see that the ends of a long skirt that met with the boots she had worn on her feet. With that mask, Ruby was certain that the woman wasn't an enemy yet.
"Servant: Lancer," the woman said. She then looked around her and at the sight of the others, she turned to face Ruby alone. There was a pause. Ruby couldn't tell what expression she wore beneath that mask. "For now, simply call me Silver, or simply Lancer. I've come in response to your summons, Master."
"Uh, what?" Ruby asked. Why was this woman looking towards her as if she had any answers? If anything it was she who was supposed to be giving them.
It was Weiss who filled her in. "You're a familiar." She shook her head. "But Ruby doesn't have a summoning semblance. How are you—"
"You know something about this?" Ruby showed the three marks on her hand. Lancer nodded and said nothing more. "Alright, we'll deal with this later. Right now, we need to find Jaune and Pyrrha. Can you help us?"
Lancer bowed her head. "If that is what my Master wants."
Ruby wanted to ask more. It was a strange thing to be called Master. But that is not important. Right now, she needed to find those two.
"Wait, Ruby," Weiss called out. "We'll find them together." She then turned to face Sun, Ren, and Nora. "Watch over Yang and Blake, we'll be right back."
Ruby and Weiss then ran off while Lancer dematerialized. Ruby had to pause as she wondered where did Lancer go.
"Right here, kid." Ruby heard her voice. She wasn't as formal as she was before. Was she speaking in her mind? "Be careful, I sense another Servant. We might get company."
Right now? What more could they face now that the Grimm, White Fang, and Atlas machinery had just caused destruction on much of Vale, Beacon especially. Ruby shook her head. This Servant thing can wait until after they found Jaune and Pyrrha.
"Ugh." Sun groaned. "You'd better be. Idiots." He shook his head.
As Weiss and Ruby ran towards Beacon, neither side had really spoke much. Their focus was on scanning the area around them for any sign of their friends. They didn't find any nor did they see anyone else who would still be here. Instead, they saw broken shards of glass littered everywhere, massive cracks and holes in the ground, and fallen machinery and people that never got out in time.
Ruby's steps slowed as she saw the dead. Lives lost. Lives that she had failed to save.
"Hey," Weiss said, sensing her partner's distress. "It's not your fault. It's whoever did this."
"I wasn't fast enough, Weiss," Ruby reasoned. "How many could we have saved had I been faster to warn everyone?"
"Let's not think about that now," Weiss assured her. "There are still people who need us now."
Ruby paused before responding. "You're right," she eventually said. "I just hope that they're okay."
"Come on now, Ruby. Pyrrha can take care of herself. Jaune… well, he's certainly improved so I'm sure he'll be alright. I doubt Pyrrha would let anything happen to him."
"Yeah." Ruby chuckled weakly. "Pyrrha wouldn't let anything happen to Jaune."
"Master." Lancer entered the conversation. Though Weiss clearly didn't hear it. "There are people over there."
As Ruby scanned the area, she caught sight of the professors Ozpin and Goodwitch. With them was General Ironwood and her Uncle Qrow.
At first, both Ruby and Weiss hurried their steps as Weiss called out to them. However, their expressions were not that of physical exhaustion but rather something more emotional. One that could only really come from the experiences of age.
"Miss Rose," Professor Goodwitch said when she saw them. She hastily composed herself. "What are you both doing here?"
"We were looking for Jaune and Pyrrha, professor," Ruby quickly explained. "We heard that they were still missing. Were they here? Did you find them?"
At the mention of their names, Glynda Goodwitch closed her eyes tightly and bit her lip a little. She shook her head and muttered something to herself. Ruby was able to catch the "damn it" in the deputy headmistress' voice. She doesn't normally curse. Not in front of the students if she ever does.
Uncle Qrow must have heard Ruby's pleas as well for he took out his flask and took a long sip. "Too sober for this. Hate my semblance."
"Is this really the time for you to be drinking, Qrow?" Ironwood asked. He sounded frustrated, almost reprimanding Ruby's uncle for such behavior.
"If you want to be the one to tell them, Jimmy," her uncle retorted. "Be my guest. I know I can't do this. Never could."
Ruby and Weiss could look only at one another and each of the professors. Headmaster Ozpin was the only one who said nothing. His eyes were still staring at something that they could not see, hidden behind the locker. General Ironwood bit his lip as he seemingly tried to find some kind of rebuttal. Uncle Qrow kept drinking while professor Goodwitch could only shake her head, praying above for some kind of answer that would never come.
"W-what's going on?" Ruby asked. Her lips were trembling and her hands her shaking. "What happened to our friends?" She nearly stammered.
Sighing, it was Professor Goodwitch that mustered enough courage to speak. "Miss Rose." Her voice was as gentle as she could make it. "Miss Nikos is as alright as she can be. She is here with us at the moment, behind that locker, actually."
Ruby's expression grew lighter. Yes! That means that Pyrrha is alright. That only leaves Jaune, her best friend. Knowing that vomit boy, he would be with his partner. Why he wasn't with his partner, she didn't know. But that doesn't mean he would be far. Probably somewhere in the chaos, blocking Grimm attacks, being the hero that he can be. He had improved so much.
For a moment, professor Goodwitch's expression turned dreadful at Ruby's elation. "Mister Arc, however…" she pressed on and continued. Ruby's heart sank as her head shook left and right. Jaune was alright. He had to be. They just didn't find him yet. He was just somewhere else, probably lost his way like they both did at the start of the school year.
"If you would like, miss Nikos," Ozpin finally spoke as he got up. He had ignored them all thus far. Ruby could see the traces of Pyrrha's sash as she also got up. "I could have someone else take this burden from you. This… is my fault. My failure."
"No, sir," Pyrrha replied. Her voice was weak and she sounded so defeated, so unlike the Invincible Girl that Ruby had come to call friend. "Jaune wa—is—my partner. I'll face them. I'll face every single one of them if I have to."
As more of Pyrrha's figure could be seen, she caught sight of Pyrrha's tear-stained face. Ozpin was taking deep breaths, an attempt at calming himself. But the tightening of his jaw betrayed him.
"Ruby," Pyrrha said to her. It was like that she had just noticed Ruby and Weiss' presence. Pyrrha couldn't even look at them. "I…I…I'm sorry. I… I tried to help him…but Cinder…"
Weiss could only gasp as both she and Ruby saw what it was that Pyrrha was carrying. The same jeans. The shoes that had left and right written on the soles. The family heirloom that consisted a sword and shield, and the pieces of armor that decorated his person. The blonde hair may have covered his face but Ruby could see that Jaune's eyes were closed.
As Pyrrha moved, Jaune's arms and legs dangled in the air, not moving except along the momentum of his carrier's movements. He was unresponsive. His chest did not rise nor fall.
"Ruby…" Weiss placed a hand on her partner's shoulders. Her hands were cold and shaking.
Ruby, in the meanwhile, froze in place. There were no tears, her expression was blank. Jaune was just unconscious, right? Her first friend in Beacon, who had helped her up when she had caused an explosion, was just resting, right? He had to be. He had to Beacon to become a hero like she did. Like Ruby following in her mother's footsteps, Jaune wanted to be that hero like his own ancestors. They were fellow leaders and had their own classes and thusly shared a lot of time together. Surely, when all this is over, they would go back to that in some way, right? They would go back to reading comic books together, right? There was no way that Jaune was gone, right? Not after what happened with Penny and Yang, that would be too much.
"J-Jaune…" Ruby refused to believe the sight before her. "Come on… t-this isn't funny." She looked around her for something. Anything. Right, Weiss. Jaune likes Weiss, right? He wanted to impress her, right? "Weiss doesn't like this sort of prank. Right, Weiss?"
"Ruby…" Weiss could only say. There, see? Weiss wouldn't like that. She certainly wouldn't give him a chance if this kept up. Not even Yang would come up with a prank like this!
"There, s-see?" Ruby's breathing was getting heavier. "So come on. Give her a sign that you're alright. You're alright, r-right?" Her voice was getting desperate.
"Ruby," Pyrrha said. She was wrong. The professors were wrong too. It can't be. It just can't be.
"What about Pyrrha?" Ruby kept going. Of course! He probably moved on from Weiss. Silly Ruby. "You did complain about how hard she pushes you sometimes during training. Y-you can't use this as an excuse to—"
It was her uncle Qrow that interrupted her, shouting, "Ruby!" Her uncle looked pained at having to raise his voice. When he did, he shook his head and looked away.
Ruby had been shocked into stopping. He doesn't shout. Uncle Qrow never shouts. When it did, she failed to speak. Still, the same lifeless form of Jaune Arc continued to be unresponsive. Her head shaking only intensified.
"N-no," Ruby said. "No. No. Please! Jaune!" She rushed to his side as she held her best friend's cold hand. "Jaune. Come on! Please, Jaune! Please! I'm sorry I wasn't fast enough. I'm sorry for being too slow to warn everyone. Please! Please! Please! I'll make it up to you! Please!"
"Ruby." Pyrrha shook her head. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
"No! no! no!" Ruby kept repeating, her voice rising with every word. "Didn't we lose enough already? I promised Ren and Nora that I'd find you two. I promised them that you would both be alright. I promised them. I promised…"
"Miss Rose." Ozpin struck the ground with his cane. His voice was stern but had concern sprinkled in. One of his hands was raised as if commanding the others to stay back. "Calm yourself."
"I promised them." Ruby ignored them. Her eyes had begun to hurt. Was the hand getting warmer? It was wet, her tears. "I promised them. I promised…"
"Ruby!" Ozpin shouted. He made a move to approach her but paused when a sound was heard coming from behind her.
The last thing Ruby felt was a smack to the head as darkness took her.
/-/
Lancer materialized and held her Master as she fell backwards. "Sorry, Master," she said. It was still awkward for her, being this formal and all. But if she were to guess, this was before her Master unlocked it. Still too young, kid needs to learn to control her powers, she thought.
"What did you do?" Weiss demanded.
"I saved your lives is what I did," Lancer replied. Bah, formalities can go jump out of a window. "Silver eyes may be potent against the Grimm but that doesn't mean it can't do some serious harm against people."
"Silver eyes? What are you talking abo—"
"I will explain everything, Miss Schnee," Ironwood interrupted. "Along with your sister, if that is alright with you Ozpin."
Initially, Ozpin hesitated. Then, he nodded his head. "Alright, but keep the circle as small as you could."
"Of course. Winter knows the importance of top-secret information, after all."
Lancer then felt a sudden presence. Appearing before them all with a superhero landing was another Servant.
"Saber," Ozpin said. So, this one was Saber. Not an opponent for now. "Excellent work."
"Thank you, my Master," Saber responded formally. He then turned to face her. "So, this must be the other Servant."
"I'm afraid so," Ozpin replied. "Which means that miss Rose is a Master, along with miss Nikos."
Lancer turned to face the girl called Pyrrha Nikos. It was hard to tell given that her hand had been covered by her glove. However, she could tell that the glove on one hand was neatly arranged when compared to the other. That glove had been removed and placed back. Had the girl summoned her Servant yet? Probably not by the looks of it.
"We can handle the summoning another time," Ozpin said. "For now, we must tend to the wounded and pay our respects to the departed."
The professors then proceeded towards the docking bay. Weiss Schnee followed them from behind. Pyrrha Nikos, carrying Jaune Arc, was in the middle of the group. Lancer carried her Master.
She'll need some help, Lancer thought. She'll need a mentor for her Silver eyes. Lancer nodded to herself. She'll be that mentor. She herself was one after all. Looking around her, she could see traces of familiarity here in Vale. Perhaps it hadn't been that long ago for her in this one, if she had been here at all. In another life, she might have lived long enough to help the kids. That wasn't the case for this Maria Calavera, the Grimm Reaper. One of a number of Heroic Spirits that bear the name of "Silver-Eyed Warrior." She only got here because of that status.
She turned to face the other Servant in the group. Saber, apparently. Perhaps someday, she would be able to clash with him. But right now, her Master needed aid and they were allies.
I think, Lancer thought. I'm ready for another adventure.
This Maria Calavera didn't have a glorious nor tragic end. Age simply claimed her eventually. But now? She's back in the game.
AN: Silver-Eyed Warriors were initially approached in a similar vein as that of the Hassans in that there are many of them. Differences here are that Silver-Eyed Servants could (probably) qualify for different classes since the defining trait are the eyes.
Young Maria Calavera being representative of them here is basically me cheating so that I have more to work with rather than working from the ground up (By that, I mean making a Servant out of Warrior in the Woods).
The other option had been Summer Rose but considering the other Servant that has yet to show up (we already know who that is, I'm not going to pretend otherwise), I chose against it.