Chapter Five

And By My Shoulder, Protect Thee


/-\ Blake Belladonna /-\


Yang was the first to awake in the morning. Ironic that the first of the familiar faces I'd seen was the one I knew I could never see again, even if I somehow got back home. She seemed surprised I was able to get on top of the awning – I quickly donned my beanie and jumped down again, which made her even more surprised. I just reminded her that I'd fallen from much higher and received no injuries from that either. She seemed bewildered, but ultimately let that subject be, instead stretching out her joints – using the same motions that my partner always used, because of course she did.

I left her to it, climbing into the truckbed and stretching out my own legs as I waited for the others to awaken. I watched a pair of songbirds dance in the early morning air, simply turning my brain off as I watched nature do its thing. After far too short a time, I was interrupted by Yang waving her hand in front of my face, saying the others were already up and we were ready to go. Rolling my shoulders, I climbed back into the truck – the normal way this time, now that people were actually awake and I didn't have to squeeze through the back window.

Jaune actually offered me his seat, since I'd sat on the floor the entire ride over. I initially refused, saying I was fine, but he insisted. When I was in the motions of sitting down, my foot hit something metal, making a clang. Instinctively, I looked down to see if I'd broken anything, but then my breath hitched.

Right there, before my eyes, was my symbol – the white stylized belladonna flower.

Immediately, I reached down and extracted Gambol Shroud in all its glory from its place hidden under the seats. I held it up in the cabin, running a hand along its length as if to check it was actually real. I checked over every nook and cranny, finding nothing awry to a basal inspection. A quick swipe with an aura-protected finger even revealed that the monomolecular edge still held true.

A clear of the throat brought me out of my little reverie and I came back to the mortal realm. The others all gave me various looks of concern, Qrow's hand even on his pistol. "U- Umm," Jaune started. "What'cha find?"

"My weapon," I said. "Where did you find this? I… I thought I'd never see it again."

"It was in the ship, just like you were," Yang said. "I used it on the stone guy who did that to Ruby." She motioned to her arm, which was still in its brace.

I blinked. "You… actually used it?" I asked. Before she could respond, I continued. "That's extremely dangerous. If you even grabbed this the wrong way… it's sharp enough to cut steel in half, let alone your entire hand." I looked down to where it was stored and was completely unsurprised to find damage there. "Even just the weight of this sliding around has cut most of the way through one side of the seat mounting points – good thing the scabbard is only sharp on one side or the seat would be completely detached."

"Huh?!" Yang shouted, diving down for a closer inspection. I had to move my weapon out of her way, making me frown. "What the- you're right! How the fuck?! How?! It looks like someone took a hacksaw to it!" She came back up, eyes narrowed in anger. "How the fuck is anybody supposed to store that thing?! How the fuck am I supposed to fix this?! All my tools were at my house and they don't even make these things anymore!"

I held up my other hand. "Just… do you have some rope? I can rig up something in the back so this doesn't destroy anything else," I said. And then I realized that the magazine was still in the weapon. If they didn't even secure it properly… I dropped the mag, finding it was, indeed, full of rounds, and then cleared the chamber, catching the live round that was in there the entire time. "Really?"

Ruby sighed. "In our defense, there was a medical emergency," she said, eyeing Yang's arm which was also in a sling. "Two medical emergencies."

I sighed. "Just get me some rope."

Thankfully, Yang had some under the other seat. I tied a makeshift harness around Gambol Shroud, properly securing it under the same seat which it had been previously – though Yang still glared at me through the whole ordeal. Only when I demonstrated that it was not going to move unless someone undid the ropes was she satisfied. Soon after, we hit the road again, stopping for breakfast at some fast food restaurant that specialized in pancakes. I kept to myself just how much I thought Nora would love it… and probably commit armed robbery of the batter if she were here. I hope she made it out of Beacon alright, I thought, mid-chew. I hope all of JNPR did. Hell, even CRDL, the dicks that they are, didn't deserve to die there.

After the meal, we hit the road again. Apparently there was still a long ways to go. We hadn't even made it out of their home 'state' – which was a confusing conversation to have on what that was – and we still had to traverse several more states. When I just simply didn't understand, Jaune pulled out his primitive scroll and accessed a map. He showed where we started, where we were, and just how far we had to go.

I nodded. "Okay, that's a bit of a trip, but nothing I haven't done before, when are we stopping for supplies?" I asked.

They all looked at me strangely. "Supplies?" Qrow asked. "Why would we need to do that? We're not going on a camping trip; we can just get stuff from a store."

"If we come across one, yeah," I said. "But it'll be days before that. Roads aren't the best the further you get from a Kingdom; it just comes with the territory of being far out."

Another strange look was sent my way before Qrow laughed. "Kid, we ain't been a Kingdom since seventeen-seventy-six – er, 'bout two-hundred-fifty years. Besides that, though, the roads're fine. GPS says it's a nineteen-hour drive – another half-hour if we crossed Lake Michigan and went into Canada – we could do that in a day if we really had to. Won't, though – probably be two or maybe three. 'Sides, the quicker route goes through lots of big cities – Winona, Madison, Chicago, Toledo, Cleveland, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, goes by Albany, and has about a thousand smaller towns along the way, I'm sure."

I blinked. "...are those… big cities?"

He shrugged. "Eh, Winona's not, really. Big for Southern Minnesota, but I doubt many people outside the general area have heard of it. The others, though? Last I checked, Chicago had two-and-a-half million in it. The others aren't quite that big, but they ain't small, either."

"...what…" I let out. "That's- that's bigger than Argus – the largest non-capital city on the planet." I just couldn't help it – I was still making comparisons to home, despite knowing just how little they'd help me here. As we flew over a pothole, another question came to mind. "You said there are… fifty of these 'states', right? How many people are in your… not-kingdom?"

"It's called a country, and 'bout three-hundred million. Give or take."

"Three hundred- that's twice as many as the most optimistic estimates for all of Remnant!" I shouted.

"Well if ya think that's a lot, we're not even the country with the most people!" Qrow said, laughing. "The world's got seven-and-a-half billion people on it, aaaaaallll singin' kumbaya. 'Cept the guys in the Balkans, probably."

I barely even registered whatever he said after the number. Seven. And a half. Billion. All Human, save for the lone Faunus. There might be more people alive here than ever lived on Remnant. Not at any one time, simply ever. I curled up into myself once more, tuning out their voices. I… had to think on this. I had to think on this a lot.

And I did. I stared mutely out the window as the countryside passed by. I kept expecting the signs of civilization to disappear – to be greeted by bare plains or heavy woods – but every time the familiar, untamed wilderness appeared, it was quickly snatched away by fields or towns. And all along the way, there wasn't a single Grimm in sight. We were very far from alone on the road, the monsters would've been all over us had we been on Remnant. It would be a constant, impossible battle to keep something like this four-lane highway open. But here, it was business as usual. The only thing even resembling guards that we saw in several hours was a single police car, parked behind an overpass and looking for speeders.

The others made conversation, or at least tried with me, but I was just too overwhelmed. I gave the answers I could before returning my attention to the outside. On the first day, we passed several of the large cities Qrow had mentioned, including Chicago. We'd actually stopped there for a bit of a break, as we'd already been on the road for about six hours. We strode up to a park after grabbing a couple pizzas – the concept of a… captive slice of nature was odd to me. Sure, Remnant had a few zoos that held mundane animals or an acre of forest for students of Combat Schools who grew up in the city to acclimate to, but there just simply wasn't space inside the walls of any city for something like… this.

Though they admitted it was a large park, to me, it just seemed monstrous. It was a complete forest – an entire ecosystem – encased on all sides by skyscrapers and pavement. They hadn't even heard of aura, what possible use could these be? They had a map that measured distances in miles! There was a sizable lake, even!

As we sat down on a bench and ate our pizzas, I simply let my mind wander. Though it wasn't my typical genre, I'd read a couple speculative fiction books on what a world would look like without Grimm – just about every bibliophile had. Even my limited time here had shown them to be… wrong. Each waking moment I spent here, I was made more and more aware at just how out of my depth I truly was. What can a huntress do without Grimm to fight? I thought. Maybe, maybe there was something I could do here, but it would take time to figure that out. Neglecting the obvious fact that they'd found me in a flying saucer – and had clearly attacked said flying saucer after their house got flattened – even that lead was suspect, as I had no idea if it was a one-off or if there was some war I wasn't seeing. Besides, I thought. What can a single huntress-in-training do that seven-and-a-half billion people can't?

With that thought, I turned to the others. Though they were at the same table, I still felt separated from them; distant. I could register that they were talking, but their words just… slipped off; their meanings just didn't register. I took a deep breath, focusing my mind. After a few minutes of effort, their conversations finally came into focus. It was a… sporadic thing, talking about someone named Tai – a few more sentences clarified that he was Ruby and Yang's father. They were sharing fond memories of him. I had something to say, but knew better than to just butt-in on this sort of conversation. So I just ate the pizza, waiting until the topic sufficiently turned.

Eventually, it did, and I spoke up. "I… um," I let out, simply to gain their attention. "If… the offer's still there, I'd… like to stay with you guys."

Qrow hummed, swallowing his bite of pizza. "Figured," he said. "Be a bit of a headache to tell the government you exist, but I know a guy." He took another bite of pizza, reclining a bit and resting his back against a tree. "Least I could do, considering what you did for Ruby."

I nodded. "Thank you. It's… well, I couldn't just do nothing either," I said, turning to Ruby. "How… is the arm, by the way? I've been… out of it."

She chuckled. "We could tell. But the arm… it kinda stings a bit, but it's nothing some Tylenol won't cure." She ate another bite, eyes staring off into the distance. "I know you didn't know him, but… he brought us here, once. Back when I was really into submarines, he took me to see that German one in the Museum of Science and Industry."

Yang nodded, a sad smile on her face. "Yeah, I remember that. Mom took me to Wrigley Field while you were off doing your nerd shit." She shook her head. "Good times."

"Never know when you're in 'em, till they're gone," Qrow said.

"So why don't we make good times?" Ruby said. The rest of the group turned to her, questioning gazes all around. "I- I know it's… fresh, but… we've all been down for months now. Ever since-" she paused, taking in a breath. "Ever since Mom and Penny." Qrow and Yang looked away, shamefully. "Yang, you've been going to that Fight Club ever since they disappeared. Qrow, I've never seen you drink so much and I'm genuinely surprised you're still alive. And I…" she sighed. "I never really got back to all those projects we were building, did I?" She shook her head. "Not like I can do that now, so how's about something new? Blake, you said you had to teach me how to use this aura thing, right? How's about we get a head start?"

I blinked. For just a moment, the image of this blue-eyed, sweater-wearing Ruby was replaced by my more familiar silver-eyed one, wolf tail eagerly wagging behind her. This is why she got picked, isn't it? I thought. Ozpin could see it before anyone else could. I nodded. "I like the enthusiasm, but maybe we should go off the beaten path a little?" I nodded to a car passing on a nearby road. "If aura is completely new to this place… well, people might get the wrong idea."

She looked around, noticing the car and several people within the large clearing the picnic table was sat in. She agreed and we set off for the treeline. We followed a trail on a map for a few minutes until coming across a very small clearing – it was only a dozen feet wide, but it was also devoid of bushes, ferns, and other random foliage. "So, what do I do?" she asked.

Letting out a hum, I scanned the trees. After only a few moments, I found what I was looking for – a dead branch. It was quite high up, though – the groundskeepers obviously did their jobs well, keeping these things out of sight. However, I had aura. As such, it was child's play to leap between branches, scale others, and even swing across the entire clearing once. With pinpoint precision, I slammed into the dead branch, my bodyweight snapping it in half. I grabbed the trailing edge and leaped off a different tree to arrest my momentum. From there, it was simply up to gravity. I didn't technically need a landing strategy, given the small height, but I still landed in a roll – old habits. So there I was, standing in front of a gobsmacked Ruby holding a tree branch.

"You want me to do that?!" she shouted.

I laughed. "Oh, Gods no, you'd kill yourself," I said, breaking off a foot-long chunk of the dead branch. "No, we're going to do aura reinforcement." I pumped some aura into the smaller chunk. "To demonstrate, I'm sure you know how to break a tree branch. So, try to break this one." I held it out for her.

She looked at me like I was crazy, then eyed the quarter-inch-thick chunk, reached up with her good hand, and snapped upwards. Only the branch didn't bend. She frowned, trying harder, only for it to still not budge. She grunted, trying once more with all her might, but the stick had clearly won this battle. She sighed. "Okay, I give, how do I do that?"

"First, you have to take the stick," I said, handing it to her. "The next is that you have to feel your aura and push it into the stick with the intention to make it strong – unbreakably, impossibly strong."

"Ooooh-kay, how do I do that?"

"That's the hard part," I said. "Everyone uses aura just a little differently. Because everyone is unique, their aura tends to pool in different areas of the body, and each of those pools respond differently to instructions. Because of this, different people are better at different things; their auric capabilities are simply different. This exercise is to just scratch the surface of what's possible, and so we can measurably test how far you're coming by breaking a stick instead of you."

She blinked. "...okay, great, but I still have literally no idea where to start."

I sighed. "Okay, close your eyes." She did so. "Now, find your heartbeat – there's always at least a little aura there." I waited until her face turned to one of confusion, just as basically every nascent aura user's did when finding that unfamiliar ring amongst the thumping of their heart. "We'll be here a while, so concentrate on that feeling. Not your heartbeat, the other thing that's right next to it. I want you to follow it, figure out where that feeling is the strongest in your body…"

All in all, we were there for a while. I simply stood there, giving advice as Ruby mapped herself out. Occasionally, flashes of red lightning would appear over her body, signs she was concentrating there with her exploration. But all in all, I simply stood by, answering the odd question whenever it came up. I kept an eye on the time, too – didn't want to be out too long and worry the others. Just as I realized we'd never actually set a time or place to meet up again, I heard the faint sound of footsteps on the path – just one set, though.

"Hey, Ruby, get back to us," I whispered.

"Huh, wha-?" she said, eyes snapping open.

"Just company. Don't want them to think anything's weird here," I said, taking a seat on the grass and picking at the random branch I was still holding. Nothing to see here, I thought. Just a couple girls hanging out in the park. A moment after I sat down, Ruby followed suit, pulling out her primitive scroll and typing away at it.

I seemed completely oblivious as the man – even with my ears covered, they worked well enough to tell me these were the heavy footsteps of a man – approached. I didn't even look his way, simply picking away at my branch. Just as he reached the clearing, he stopped.

My back was towards him, so I was free to frown. Come on, I thought. Move along already. Don't you have somewhere to be? I heard the stretching of leather, but no more footfalls. Ruby looked up and gasped.

"Ah, ah, ah," the man said. "Don't make any noise."

Now I felt the need to turn around, and I was face-to-face with a man wielding a gun. Black pistol; a small one. The rest of his clothes were fairly unassuming; grey sweater, blue jeans, neon green plastic sunglasses. "Seriously?" I let out, already knowing what he wanted. Some things transcend planets, apparently.

"Just give me your money, and you can go. Real quick-like," he said.

I gave him a slow blink, opening my mouth to explain to him that I was a huntress and this was a really stupid decision. Of course, I then remembered I wasn't on Remnant anymore and that would mean nothing to him. "I'm going to give you one chance to walk away," I said instead. I hoped he took the opportunity – Ruby may have aura now, but she was only just beginning her training. For all intents and purposes, she was still a civilian – one under my care.

He chuckled. "I don't think you understand how this works, girlie. Last chance; better be seein' some Benjamins."

The second he made his intentions clear, there was only one way this was ever going to end. In a flash, I was on him. I grabbed his arm and forced it sideways, pointing groundward, before kneeing him in the crotch. He'd only started to squeal when I broke his arm and ripped the gun from his grasp. With my free hand, I grabbed his shirt, hoisted him up, and slammed him down on the ground. He howled in pain, tears leaking freely all over his speckled face. "Look at me, look at me," I said. "This? This stops. No more mugging people in the park. Do you understand?"

He simply stared at me, continuing to whimper.

I stomped on his chest – not hard, but enough to knock the wind out of him. "Do you understand?!"

"Yes!" he wheezed. "Oh God, yes! Please! Please, just let me go!"

Humming, I glanced towards his gun. I released the mag, popped the round in the chamber, and then squeezed. The empty gun deformed in my hand – well, the metal did; the plastic parts simply shattered. "You won't need that anymore." I glanced towards Ruby, who was watching in horror. "C'mon, let's get out of here."

We turned and ran back towards where we came, the mugger's screams of pain gradually fading into the distance. Soon, however, running was the last thing on my mind. I thought of the blood leaking from his arm, the terror on his face, the terror on Ruby's face. My breath quickened as I came to a realization.

That's exactly what he would have done.

After all, I'd even gone right for the arm. Just like he did to Yang.


/-\ Ruby Xiao Long /-\


I stared at the girl across from me, knowing that if she wanted to, she could kill everyone in this truck and we couldn't do anything about it.

And yet, she looked like she was much more likely to hurt herself than any of us, what with her burying her face in her knees. Only her distant and unfocused eyes were visible, the rest hidden by either her beanie or knees. She stayed that way for hours, sitting in her seat in the most uncomfortable way I've ever seen, just staring at nothing. The same girl who heard the mugger coming before it seemed even possible, now didn't even notice when we stopped for food – Jaune had to shake her arm to get her attention, and even then she didn't want any food despite an audibly growling stomach.

We ignored what she said and got her some food. She only ate a couple fries before setting the bag underneath her seat, saying she'll save it for later. She stayed that way for hours on end, until we arrived at an AirBNB that Qrow booked on the far side of Cleveland. Only after we got her moving did she finally admit to her hunger and eat the now longcold meal, though she did so without complaint.

She awoke the next day in a somewhat better mood – she was at least eating when prompted, now – but she still seemed distant. After breakfast and a round of much appreciated showers, we set off again, though we were only on the road long enough to get to a clothing store. Obviously we hadn't had time to pack for this impromptu trip and Blake didn't have any clothes to speak of, save for Yang's fighting clothes. Given we were essentially rebuilding four entire wardrobes from scratch, we stuck to a budget store. Even so, Blake seemed confused on how high the prices were, though eventually concluded that a Lee-en – whatever that was – must've been worth more than a Dollar, though she also embarrassed herself a little by calling it a 'Benjamin'.

In about two or three hours, I had another hoodie – red, of course – a bunch of jeans and plain shirts of various colors. Yang – very much not spoiled for choice – got a similar selection. Blake was disappointed at how flimsy everything was, saying she was used to huntress-grade clothing. Combined with the lack of and/or the pathetic excuses for pockets in the store, she eventually wandered over to the men's section out of desperation. She came back with a pile of stuff she clearly didn't like, but said was 'acceptably durable'. The boys also got what they were looking for, but, like me, it was just jeans and plain shirts.

The rest of the day passed by slowly as we drove from the edge of Lake Erie all the way to the Vermont woodlands. Yang remembered she had a job and called her boss, to which he responded that he thought she was dead. I called my own boss and got the same reaction. We both told our superiors that we had to move to Vermont and that it obviously wasn't going to work – they were both surprisingly understanding. Qrow's boss… wasn't, when he called. Soon after, we stopped for another meal, this time at a dive bar. We ate up, and it was pretty good, too, but not all that memorable.

Aside from the fact that I could've sworn I saw a very familiar fiery red ponytail on my return-trip from the bathroom.

I'd walked past her, but immediately looked back. When I did so, there was nobody there. I blinked a few times, rubbing my eyes with my good hand, but still saw nothing. After a moment, I shook my head and continued back to the truck. Strangely enough, there was that sensation of being watched, yet again…

No further incidents happened on the way to the cabin. Instead, it was just a calm and boring drive through the forest. I thought about what I saw, but eventually reasoned it was just a trick of the light or something – people didn't magically appear or disappear. At about hour three, I asked Blake if there was anything I should be doing with the whole aura thing. She said to just keep feeling things out, so that's what I did for the rest of the time, mostly focusing on that instead of my surroundings.

Still, I couldn't help but notice she was still quite distant. I wanted to talk to her, ask what was wrong, but something told me that she wouldn't answer me; at least not here with so many people around. I knew she said she was some kind of badass Warrior of Humanity or something, but seeing it firsthand – and against another person, no less – was quite different from hearing stories. I got shivers every time I thought about it, but they were more because he'd suffered an injury almost exactly like his; not because I was afraid I'd end up in a similar position at her hands. In the end, I let sleeping dogs lie and simply sat back for the rest of the trip.

We arrived at Qrow's cabin just before dark – enough time to get settled in before bed. Speaking of, there weren't enough bedrooms for everyone – only three – and on top of that, each bedroom only had one bed, of which, two were twin-sized. Yang not-so-subtly suggested that her and Jaune get the Master Bedroom "just until he left". Qrow stared at her for an uncomfortably long time, told her that there were condoms in the nightstand and to wash the sheets. Jaune and Yang, both completely red in the face, simply agreed and started moving their things in. Blake and I would each get our own bedrooms while Qrow slept on the couch – he'd get another bed delivered for what will become Yang and I's shared room once Jaune left.

In the morning, we'd need to make a grocery run, since there was nothing here save for a few cans of beans and corn. But that was tomorrow's problem. By the time we'd gotten settled in, it was dark out and I was extremely tired, despite not having done all that much today. Just about the only good news was that my arm didn't hurt that much when I changed my bandages before bed. Moving my arm had been getting steadily less painful throughout the day – I hoped that tomorrow, I could finally be pain-free.

As I laid down, something just didn't quite seem right. I tossed and turned, but something was just missing. After an embarrassingly long time, I finally realized what it was. Pulling out my phone and hooking it to the charger, I scrolled through my picture gallery. Eventually, I found the one I was looking for and I leaned my phone against the wall; it would serve until I could get a picture frame.

I went to bed, safe in the knowledge that my family were watching over me. When I awoke in the morning, one of the first things I saw was that picture of our family. The last one we'd ever have.

I only allowed myself to stare at Mom, Dad, and Penny for a few moments.

There was work to do, after all…


On A Planet Far, Far Away

/-\ Ruby Rose /-\


I cinched my last bag tight and tied it to my backpack. Throwing it over my shoulder, I stepped outside, knowing the others would already be waiting for me. They all wore grim faces; grim, but determined.

"Hey," a kind voice said.

"…Hey Jaune," I returned, approaching him. "Haven's a long way to go…"

He nodded. "I know. But… it's the only lead we have."

"And you're sure you wanna go?" I asked. "We can manage, I'm sure. I know you have other people to-"

Jaune held up a hand. "I'm sure, Ruby. We're sure."

Ren nodded from his place beside Nora. "The journey will be perilous, and whether we find answers at the end is entirely uncertain."

"But we wouldn't be here if we weren't up for it." Nora said.

The door creaked open just long enough for one last member of our team to slip out. I glanced backwards. "And you're sure too? You know we wouldn't blame you if you stayed behind."

Yang took a steadying breath, running her sole remaining hand through her golden hair. "I already lost my partner; I'm not losing my sister too."

I nodded. "Then let's get started…" I said, turning away from the house and walking down the snow-covered path. We began on our journey – walking all the way to Mistral. Those responsible for Beacon had to be stopped, not only to make them pay for what they did, but also so no one else could be hurt.

As I walked, my thumb brushed against the black ribbon encircling my opposite arm. We hadn't found her body, just like there wasn't anything left of Pyrrha to find either.

I hoped both of them were finally at peace.


(A/N) And the Remnant people are off to Haven! With an addition, too! I'm sure this won't have consequences, nope! In all seriousness, I didn't change the initial Remnant PoVs all that much from the originals barring some slight face-lifts (and giving Ruby a wolf tail instead of wolf ears), so yeah, there's one more of those same Remnant scenes before we get to the new new stuff, but imo it's still the strongest of the originals. That and there wasn't really any major problems with the Remnant PoVs, so I'm fine not changing the few that the original had.

Anyways, Blake! She did a thing! I just had to make a Chiraq joke here; they get mugged the second they enter the city. But Blake to the rescue and just deserts are had! Live by the sword, die by the sword, and all that. But yeah, this kinda hit her right in the Adam Trauma, which won't exactly be an isolated incident in this fic. It's almost like the Bully Boy was a major topic she needed to heal from in canon V4 and V5.

So, this is about when I planned on announcing the fic would now switch to weekly updates on Mondays (because 4 chapters a week is NOT sustainable, even with the amount of backlog I've got), but I've had an idea: if I finish two chapters in any specific week, I'll drop a bonus chapter on Thursday or Friday. And that's all I had! Here's a link to my Discord if you wanna chat 3jf9w8u and I'll see ya next week! Or maybe sooner if I get into the Canopus Writing Powder