When Ruby got the message that her brother found Blake and that they should meet next to the dockyard, she couldn't have imagined what would happen next. When her team approached the area, they were greeted by the sounds of gunfire originating from the docks. She, alongside a worried Yang and Weiss, hurried there as fast as they could. She wanted to use her speed semblance to get there faster, but Yang told her that it was better to stick together.

They soon saw an aircraft take off from amid the maze of shipping containers, and figured they would go in the direction of where it used to be. Once there she encountered a very bloody Blake crouching on a shipping container. A Blake with distinctive cat ears where her bow used to be.

"Blake?" She gasped.

Blake turned towards her team, both of her pistols now pointed at them. Her breathing was rapid and her eyes wide like that of a cornered animal.

Weiss tried to act tough, but even she was shocked at Blake's bloody and terrified appearance. She drew her rapier, "What the hell do you think you are doing?"

An explosion happened behind Blake, snapping her out of it.

"No time to explain, Violet is in danger." She turned her back on them and unleashed a torrent of automatic gunfire somewhere in the distance. At someone, she thought.

Never before did she seriously consider killing another person. It wasn't something huntresses did, really. She figured that she would simply knock out any villains she encountered. But if Blake was telling the truth, then she had to help Violet. She approached the battlefield and peeked out from cover to a grizzly scene. A massive number of dead bodies were scattered in a small clearing, the fresh corpses still leaking blood. A number of men in masks were fleeing from Blake's fire, and she was cutting them down mercilessly.

On the opposite side of the clearing, she caught a glance of Violet dashing for cover as well. She saw him drag his distinctive scythe along. A scythe she made for him. A weapon he used to kill those people. She wanted to puke at the thought of her passionate work killing someone. Beside her, Yang and Weiss were having much the same reaction.

Even so, when the men that fled started returning fire in Blake's direction she forced herself to take up her own scythe, Cresent Rose, and help her friend. She transformed it and cocked the gun. Yet she could not bring herself to kill someone, so she just started shooting in the enemy's vague direction while looking away.

Looking at Yang, she was crying while shooting her own weapons. Weiss had composed herself and channeled her ice dust to blow up one of the men hiding behind a crate. Before long the sounds of gunfire quieted down, ending with an explosion from where one of the guys fled. She could also hear the sound of police sirens in the distance now. She collected herself and aimed at where the last explosion originated, only for a tired and bloody Violet to come out.

He looked absolutely miserable as he dragged his scythe behind him. It was stained with blood and it was dragging a piece of flesh stuck on its blade. His clothing was not much better, and even his face and hair had red stains on it.

Ruby was frozen in shock. Her Cresent Rose fell to the ground unceremoniously. The image in front of her was simply not making sense. She could not reconcile her image of the caring and innocent Violet with that of a cold-blooded killer. She knew he always spoke of changing the world, of his willingness to do anything for it. But… not like this. She sank to her knees, crying.

Yang reached out to her, eyes full of pity. She hated it, "Ruby… Are you alright?"

Blake jumped down next to them. She faced Weiss, who aimed her rapier straight at her. Blake was trying her best to keep eye contact with her. "I… I'm sorry" tears were streaming down her face, "I'm sorry for lying to you all."

For her part, Weiss slowly lowered her weapon, but she was still tense. "You… Those were White Fang you were fighting."

"Yes." Violet made their way to them. Yang was looking at him with fury in her eyes. He avoided their gazes. "Let's go, the police are nearing."

Weiss was the first to respond, "What? You're running? But-"

Violet wasn't having it, "We're not certified huntsmen. We had no authority to kill them. They'll definitely arrest us."

"That's nonsense," Weiss replied. "They'll understand, it was the White Fang. They'll let us go."

"That's right." Ruby said in a shaky voice, "They'll understand we were fighting bad guys."

Blake was close to snapping, "Maybe they'll let you go Weiss, but the rest don't have such connections. That's just not how the world works." Weiss looked guilty at that and acquiesced.

Violet passed by the group, trying not to talk to anyone. Blake joined him. She turned around "Let's go, we will talk once we're safe." The rest of team RWBY reluctantly followed, their emotions barely held back for the moment.

Luckily for them, the police seemed hesitant to move in, and so they were allowed to slip by through an exit close to sea, and into a mostly deserted industrial area. Once there, they ran for another twenty minutes or so before taking shelter in an abandoned warehouse. Violet was exhausted, and he fell to the ground, breathing heavily.

The rest of the group was similarly tired, though Ruby, Yang, and Weiss were fresher. It was Yang who acted first. She grabbed Blake by the collar and shouted. "What the hell did you involve my little brother in? He had nothing to do with your murderous business! Answer me."

The answer came from Violet, "Yang. Let her go. It was my idea."

"What?" She gave him a look of betrayal.

"Come on, you know it to be true." he gave a weak smile, "I didn't intend for a battle tonight, though. Things just got… out of hand."

"Got out of hand?" Yang let go of Blake and stormed towards him. "Is that what we're calling it now?" She gave him a disgusted glare before kicking him in the stomach.

"Yang!" Ruby cried, "Please don't. He must be hurt."

"He's a murderer!"

I really wasn't that hurt, he thought. Nothing except for a few bruises. But let them think otherwise, maybe they'll leave me alone.

Weiss came to his rescue, "I understand you're angry, Yang, but… Those guys were terrorists. They killed people too."

"That's right, " Blake said, "They were shooting at port security. They killed some of them before we got there." Wewere already there, she thought, but a little lie to smooth their emotions over was necessary. God, was she a mess.

Yang calmed down, her rage slightly abated. "You could have died there, you imbecile. Never do something that reckless again, you hear me?"

Violet did not respond.

Weiss gave him a look of sympathy. She was probably the only one who fully approved of his actions. She turned to face Blake. "You have a lot of explaining to do. Were you part of the White Fang? Yes or no."

She looked away, "Yes."

Weiss' expression remained neutral, "And are you with them now?"

"No. I left a few months ago. If I wasn't against them before, I sure am now."

"And why did you join them in the first place?"

"I was born into it. I attended protests as soon as I could walk, back when they still did such things. I had family and friends in the fang." her voice was cracking, "I- I believed we were making a difference, even as they grew more and more violent. Even as he- they became more and more unhinged. Eventually, I just couldn't take it." She finally deigned herself to look at Weiss.

As for her, Weiss' poker face was perfect. After what seemed like an eternity she sighed. "Fine. I accept your apology."

Blake relaxed, sitting down on the ground next to Violet. "You look awful," she said.

"You don't say. You're not much better yourself." They both chuckled.

Blake grew serious, and whispered to him, "I never saw… I mean, how did you manage to beat all of those people?"

"I have my ways. I dedicated myself to fighting people, and that's what I do best." She didn't look convinced, but she didn't ask more questions. He was thankful for that.

"Is that so?" Ruby said with a determined voice. "You'll do that… You'll kill more people again?"

Oh great, it's Ruby now. As if it wasn't enough for everyone else to question him, now he has to face her. He raised himself up and picked up his scythe. No, he really couldn't lie to her. "Yes. Got a problem with that?"

She was on the verge of tears again. She grasped her scythe "I won't allow it. I won't let you."

"Me too." Yang was backing her up. She raised her fists, "Uncle Qrow and I taught you to fight. Ruby made your weapon. Had we known you wanted to do this, then we wouldn't have allowed you near a combat school. In fact, I don't think you should remain at Beacon."

He frowned, "You're all too soft." They stood there for a few moments before he sighed, "If you feel so strongly about it, sure. I won't bother you again." Everyone was shocked at that. They didn't expect him to fold so quickly. Their gasps of surprise turned to horror when they realized what he actually meant by those words. He turned the bloody blade of the Mordred towards himself.

"Vio?" Ruby's eyes widened.

"You're not… Stop joking around." Yang lowered her stance.

His voice was bitter, "I truly do despise this world. My entire life is nothing but concealed frustration at my inability to change it." He put his thumb on the trigger, "And now that I've clawed my way to somewhere, you mean to tear me down? If you truly do hate me so sister, I have nothing more to live for."

His hands were shaking. He wasn't sure if he could go through with it. He still loved them, yes, but he couldn't stand their hatred. He just didn't want to be here at this time. He wanted to shrink into nothingness at this very moment.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Weiss said. She wasn't very close to him, but she understood him and she likely respected him more now that he has fought against the White Fang.

Blake joined in, "Hey, you can't just threaten suicide to get out of your problems. That's not how it works."

"Please." Yang was crying. "Stop playing around Vio." she walked towards him.

"SHUT UP!" He pressed the trigger. *click* An empty chamber? Did it jam? He pulled the bolt manually. Before he could do anything else, Yang wrestled him to the ground, "Stop acting like this. This isn't you."

"Go on, Yang. Stop me. Wrap me in a straightjacket and let me rot in a padded cell."

"Let it go, Yang." Ruby was now tugging at her arm, "Let him be."

"He did nothing wrong." Weiss said. "You shouldn't feel ashamed of confronting those criminals, Violet. Even Blake agrees with me, right?"

Blake gave her a nod. At least they seemed to be back on good terms.

Yang made a grunt, but she let him go. She seized his scythe, however. Fair enough, Violet thought.

"By the way, Yang." Violet said, "You've got blood all over you." Yang looked herself over, gasping at the number of red stains she got from him.

"Yeah. We need to clean up somehow." She said.

"And there's no flights to Beacon this late. Ruby and Weiss can go buy us new clothes. In the meantime, we will wait here."

As they departed, an awkward silence fell. They did not speak much, but their emotions have calmed somewhat. Violet asked for his scythe back, which Yang gave only after emptying it of all fire dust. He went about cleaning it as much as possible. It was a mess that would require full disassembly and alcohol to get the smell out, but it was good enough for now. He transformed it back into a portable form and waited for the return of Ruby and Weiss.

When they came back, they brought with them some clothes to make them presentable. They had to wait for dawn to return to Beacon on account of no flights occurring past midnight as well as the school curfew. Violet decided that they needed to walk it off. Besides, they were still somewhat close to the crime scene.

In truth, he had an ulterior motive for that. The group separated, agreeing to meet at Beacon at 6am. He used the time to hire a taxi, asking the man to drive him to the edge of town. Once there, he paid him an extra 100 lien to drop him another ten miles ahead. If the driver was surprised at him wanting to be dropped seemingly in the middle of nowhere he didn't show it when he accepted the generous money.

Once he got off, he searched a stretch of forest he believed to be hiding the aircraft he sent away. It shouldn't be too hard, I gave him pretty exact instructions on where to land. After two hours of wondering he finally stumbled upon it.

He approached the open ramp, only to be greeted by the pilot who was pointing his gun at him. "What the hell did you do to me? Explain yourself, kid!"

"I thought I ordered you to die?" Did it wear off? It's possible the flight took longer than expected. The instructions usually last about an hour, though it can be inconsistent. And he can't use his semblance on the same person twice. What an amateur mistake.

"Ordered to die? What the hell are you?" The man was panicked, and his gun was shaking.

His aura recovered a bit, but the Mordred was not in its combat configuration. "Who am I? I am your judgment." He charged at the man, who fired wildly, missing Violet just barely before being headbutted and falling over. Violet grabbed the man's gun and shot him in the head without hesitation. He cursed himself for his idiocy before endeavoring to clean up the mess in the aircraft. After all, he was going to repurpose it as a vehicle for his new army. That, along with the dust shipment present, as well as his own funds will be the start of a new era for Vale. For Vale, and the entire world.