RWBY S

by J.S. Everest

After a night of complete despair, Ruby Rose was given the opportunity to enter Beacon Academy so that she could turn her life around. But her decision to accept had slowly put her into something much bigger than anything she could have ever imagined. Now she and her ragtag allies are pursued by spies, the kingdoms, the world's secrets, and her own painful past.

12. Train Attack

Cale! Where are you?! Cale!

Ruby woke up with a headache and a tight feeling on her chest. She just had a nightmare of that awful night in Patch, and the morning light provided no comfort.

It had been a while since she had this. The last time she did, she locked herself in a room for a month, eating little and sleeping poorly… Trying not to think too much of it, Ruby slowly sat up from bed, rubbing her head with her right hand, while she embraced her pillow using her left. Noticing she was alone, Ruby then caught herself wishing for Cale to be with her again, just like that time when she teleported into the mountains.

But Ruby knew better than that. Wearing the pajamas that Cale bought for her, Ruby tried to shake off the effects of her nightmare by focusing on something productive instead, like her Hunter job.

Only two days had passed since their graduation, and she and her teammates had already completed two missions; a folder covering a lengthy report detailing those missions was beside her, which she just finished right before sleeping. Their first one was a simple job assigned by Beacon for new Hunters, which in their case was to escort a cargo transport, which went along fine without problems, and Ruby supposed their friendliness prompted the client to give them a nice bonus. Or maybe their client calling them pretty had something to do with it. On second thought, maybe it really was the latter. She would have laughed at the memory of being called pretty, if only her body didn't hurt.

Their second mission yesterday was a routine night patrol of Vale's outskirts also assigned by Beacon, tasked to kill any Grimm that penetrated a designated buffer zone. This one was much more eventful. A horde of beowolves and redcaps suddenly attacked them at the southern area where they were sent, but they managed to defeat the Grimm wave, with Ruby's careful use of her teleports proving integral to their success. Having done some brief training beforehand, Ruby supposed she was lucky she only got a sore shoulder after using her new power only twice, but the pain was worth the reward. It was good that she could still use her old blitzes to preserve her stamina, but blinking her team to advantageous positions or to save them from danger much faster than a blitz was a game changer both tactically and strategically, and she received no shortage of praise for it.

That reminded Ruby of her mission report, which was needed to ensure that they got paid. And as the leader of Team RWBY – that was what their unit was called – it was important that she sent this today, as last night's events gave credence to a lingering rumor that the Grimm were becoming bolder for unknown reasons. She would have to do that a bit later, though. Her team was currently in Beacon resting in their old dorm room, so the headmaster's office was only a short walk away, but Ruby still had her body aches to take care of first.

Ruby, wait!

I'm really tired, Weiss. Just let me sleep.

Wait…

No, Weiss…

But Ruby–

I said shut up, Weiss! Go away! Damnit, get a hint why don't you?! I don't want to talk!

…

I… I'm sorry… That didn't come out right.

…no, it's ok, Ruby.

Weiss, I'm really sorry, I shouldn't have said that.

Yeah, you really should go to sleep. It's ok, I'm not mad. Maybe next time, ok?

Well, more than just her body aches.

She recalled what happened during their graduation night. A lot could be said in so few words; Ruby regretted being so awful to Weiss when she was only trying to help, just like how Ruby tried to help Weiss when they first met. They kept the incident to themselves, not sharing anything to Blake and Yang, and Ruby hoped she would patch things up quickly, but the missions didn't really give her any time to talk…

She heard someone enter the room.

"Oh, you're awake. Good morning, Ruby. Blake and Yang left a while ago to check for missions and get some training, and I just went for a short walk. How are you?"

"Good morning…" Ruby gulped as she saw that familiar white hair and those pale blue eyes. "…I'm ok."

"I know that look," Weiss said as she stood there, looking at Ruby. "Don't worry about it, ok? There's nothing to forgive."

"I'm sorry for ruining our graduation night."

Weiss shook her head. "Nah, don't think about it anymore. It's all good."

"Is it, though?" Biting her lip, Ruby paused for a few moments before continuing. "There's a lot I want to say…"

"I can tell."

"I wanted to be brave like you were when you talked about your past, but I screwed it up." Ruby took a deep breath. "I'm sorry for taking things out on you. I shouldn't have done that."

"I guess a lot really has happened to both of us," Weiss replied. "I appreciate you realizing it was hard for me, and I know you want to share your story too, but…" Weiss then had a concerned look. "…you ok, Ruby? You're holding your head."

"I didn't sleep very well." Rubbing her forehead, Ruby's headache was still there, along with that tightness on her chest, but they were easing up bit by bit. "But I'll be ok. I'm more concerned about us, to be honest. We haven't been talking for a while, and…"

"We've been busy."

"Well, yeah, but…"

"You still think I'm mad at you?"

"…are you?"

"Oh, Ruby…" Weiss shook her head again. "I'm not angry or anything like that. Everything's good… We were just busy the past two days, and that's all there is to it." Weiss had a wistful look on her face. "And why would I hold a grudge against you? Did you forget what happened when we first met? You were kind to me when I needed it the most."

"And you're being kind to me right now too." Ruby fell silent for a while. "You, Blake, and Yang… What would I do without you guys?"

"You'd have a much quieter life, for one thing. Remember that time Yang got hit on at the library?"

"Ok, that wasn't what I meant…" Ruby couldn't help but chuckle, if only briefly; she then cleared her throat. "No, really, I'm serious…"

"So what's on your mind right now?"

"A lot of things…" Ruby paused to gulp, feeling uncertain. It wasn't like Weiss was asking her directly, but at the same time Ruby knew she owed Weiss an answer… Was this even the right way to start? "I've been in a dark place for a long while now, and…"

"It's incredibly hard, I know. I've been in a dark place myself."

"I don't know where to begin… I don't want to change…"

"I see…" Weiss slowly nodded, which made Ruby think if she had said too much. No, she couldn't have. But if Weiss did realize something, she didn't show any hint of it. "Then take your time, it doesn't have to be now. You'll know when you're ready. And when you are, I'll be there for you, simple as that."

Ruby nodded back. "…thanks, Weiss."

"Rest well for the meantime, ok?" Sighing, Weiss put her hands on her hips. "You're doing better at controlling your blinks, but I don't want you to push yourself like last time… You have a bad habit of forcing things. As the leader, you should know better. Don't let me catch you do another heroic sacrifice."

"Don't worry, you won't." Ruby smiled sheepishly. Now that they were on a different topic, she knew she had to have better control on her emotions as well; she didn't want to repeat what she did at the graduation ball. "I'm not going to sacrifice myself like before, I promise."

"Thank you, Ruby." Weiss took a deep breath, then crossed her arms. "Which reminds me, I texted Blake and Yang if they saw any good missions for today, but I haven't heard anything from them yet. Which most likely means they got beaten to the easy missions…"

"Sounds like it's going to be a Dust mining operation for us tonight."

"Ugh…" Weiss didn't bother hiding the disappointment in her voice; she shrugged. "Can't win them all, I guess."

"Eh, it could be worse. It's not the messiest job out there, and a team still has to do it. But I can stop by the mission terminal later just to make sure. I need to send this report to Ozpin later anyways." Ruby understood Weiss's point. Their third mission was different; this was one of those days of a Hunter's work week when they had the freedom to choose what assignment they could take instead of being given one by the academy, so there was lots of incentive to take the easiest, most profitable mission available, preferably one that put Hunters in nice accommodations rather than dirty quarries. But any mission would do for Ruby. Even with her aches and pains, she needed to get as much combat experience as possible so that she could better wield her evolved Semblance. "I'll text you guys if I get a good one."

"Alright." Weiss slowly nodded. "But let me check out the offered missions myself first, and get us some breakfast while I'm at it. Eating should help with your headache, and I'm sure the cafeteria has at least some of your favorites. Knowing you, your stomach will be growling by the time I get back."

"Well…" Ruby remembered the times when her friends heard her belly grumbling, and she soon suppressed a guilty smile. "…yeah, that would be great, thanks."

"No problem, I'll see you later." Weiss turned to leave, but not before looking at Ruby one more time as she held the doorknob. "Those are some nice pajamas, by the way. Haven't seen you wear them before. You should wear it more often, it suits you a lot."

"…oh, thanks."

Weiss then closed the door, and Ruby lied down in bed in a fetal position, hugging her pillow tight. She felt her chest hurt more upon hearing what Weiss said, knowing the reason why she had avoided wearing these pajamas for the longest time; it was just a spur of the moment that made her finally wear it last night. Ruby didn't blame Weiss for asking, of course. If anything, it just meant she really needed to rest, and so she did. Imagining her pillow was Cale, Ruby remembered their love, and waited for the memories to dull her aches and bring her to sleep.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The midday sun shone its warm light on the container port where Leon was – Vale's Port of Providence, located at the western side of the kingdom – and he carefully skulked into a corner where he could hide in the shade. Doing so was a shame, as he loved Vale's weather compared to Atlas's, but he simply couldn't afford to be seen in broad daylight right now, and so he did everything he could to keep himself on a low profile after what just happened.

But being injured on his right leg didn't help things at all; it was a huge effort to walk without raising suspicion from random people. But now that he was alone and hidden, he allowed himself to growl, even if only for a few moments, and he winced at the sharp pain that coursed through his limb.

Hello there, how can I help you gentlemen?

Hey, old man. Took you long enough to acknowledge us. Finally got the hint?

You two are very persistent in getting my attention, I'll say that much.

Stop delaying. It doesn't matter where we're from. Now hand it over.

I only have around a thousand lien here, but I'm sure that's more than enough for a nice meal for the two of you, right?

Hmph, very funny. But you're only making this more painful for yourself with your jokes, old man.

…I see. A shame, we're so close to port too. Is there really no way we can talk about this?

One last chance, you geezer. Give it to us peacefully, or you'll end up in a body bag and we'll have what we want anyways.

Is that so? Well, we'll just see about that.

Two men with Semblances had attacked him – even after he wore the drabbest clothing too, just to make himself as inconspicuous as possible – but if only they had done so just to mug him for his money, then he would have given them every penny he had in an instant. But they somehow knew about what he took from Atlas… And while Leon was victorious, keeping the data in a backup drive, it came at the cost of the rest of his gear, including losing every device he had to contact anyone, his first aid that could have helped him manage his leg injury, and even his dustmetal weapon Stalwart, thrown overboard into the ocean. Leon grimaced; that fight was way too close for comfort.

Just who were they? He was so careful too, after everything he went through to get into Vale by ship. How did those faunus find him, and who were they working for? Those two had training, that much Leon was sure, but there was no way those faunus worked for Atlas directly. Their methods were too confrontational, too brazen, quite unlike how a kingdom agent would be trained to do things. What group would…

Leon shook his head. He would worry about that some other time. Right now, the pressing danger was that his route had been compromised. Those faunus could easily have backup even here in Vale, and with no way to contact Ozpin securely, he had no choice but to change course, which was easier said than done. Admittedly Leon had luck on his side when he disposed of his attackers – he didn't have to deal with witnesses, while being on a ship no less – but he didn't want to tempt fate any further than he already had. Even in a container port as big as the Port of Providence, he still had to find a way to slink out of here without rousing suspicion, and…

"Don't tell me our operation will be jeopardized because of those goddamned border guards."

Leon turned to the sound of that voice, and saw two men walking, approaching somewhat close to where he hid. They wore the uniforms of those who worked here in the container port, and they even looked somewhat similar, but the only thing that mattered to him was that they didn't notice his presence, as the two seemed to be busy discussing something of importance.

"Don't remind me," said the other guy, who was a bit taller than the first. "How were we supposed to know that Vale would increase their security? And because of the Grimm of all things… Like who even thinks of those monsters nowadays?"

"But we've come this far. We can't be stopped just because of this."

"Then we'll send a mission request to the Hunters, that's our best option at this point. I'll pay everything with my share if their fee bothers you. Whatever's happening out there, we might as well make the most of it."

Leon's eyes narrowed. What were these two talking about?

"What do you mean?"

"We can make a detour by shipping our cargo to the western villages first, then end at the south, where we make our actual delivery to our contacts there. In the meantime, we can use the Grimm as an excuse to hire two Hunter teams… They'll make for good cover. Soldiers tend not to ask a lot of questions when it comes to Hunters, especially when it comes to multiples of them. In fact, I've heard rumors of Hunters being in cahoots with some secret government work."

"Wait, you've heard about that?"

"Who the hell hasn't?" The taller guy laughed. "Everyone's doing it, not just Vale. Not everything's as rosy as it looks, even though it's peacetime."

There was a lot of truth to that; Ozpin's work was one thing, and Atlas was proof of the other side of the coin. Leon kept listening.

"Tell me what you know then."

"The hell would I know? If I knew anything, then we wouldn't be doing this, you get me?"

"Pfft, you know shit."

"You have a better idea on how to get our plan going?"

"Tch, fine, whatever. Just tell me what you have in mind."

The man shook his head and cleared his throat. "Anyways, this'll still be risky, but having eight to deal with is much better than being searched by a platoon for contraband." The man then stopped to glance behind them, and Leon was quick to notice it. But with the faunus hidden in the dark corners of crates and boxes – and keeping silent despite the pain he felt – Leon had no worries about being discovered. "I'll send the mission request asap, and I should be done by nightfall," the man continued. "I can think of some excuses to stop the Hunters from looking too deep in our cargo. In any case, our 'documents' and 'products' should suffice. Just make sure our Dust shipment goes through customs as planned. Use whatever train we can get, I don't care what it is or how many passengers it has. Spare no expense."

"Alright, consider the shipments taken care of. What else do you have?"

Leon continued to listen to the men further discuss their plan; these two were in fact smugglers transporting contraband Dust from Vacuo to resell at much higher rates here in Vale. Many such cases. But this was the first time he learned beforehand how the smugglers would have their cargo put in the train, and knowing that made it much easier for him to do a stowaway trick, even in his condition. This way of getting to Ozpin would have to do, as Leon also heard that these guys were prepared to leave as soon as their mission was accepted by Hunters, so he couldn't afford to be picky. But things weren't all that bad; with some luck, he might even make to him before Ozpin even realized that he wasn't there in their rendezvous point.

The faunus stifled a grunt as another sharp pain ran through his leg, and memories of his life flashed in his mind, however briefly. He had always thought about the state of the world even as a child, and what he could do to make it a better place. But his sentiments were only realized under Ozpin's leadership. It was an honor to work with that man, who saw the same problems Leon did about the kingdoms, and how the world worked… Their group sacrificed much, and on his part, he wasn't about to let his chance of escape slip because of some pain; remembering Summer, only outright death could stop him now.

Leon waited patiently as he watched the two leave, and gathered his remaining strength to walk to where they would be loading their smuggled cargo. Arresting those criminals would just have to wait. Recalling what he discovered in Atlas, delivering the data he gathered to Ozpin and their team was of the utmost importance.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Glad to hear you and Pyrrha are hitting it off," Ruby said. "Nice one, Jaune. You should be happy!"

"I'm happy that we're together, believe me." Jaune scratched his head. "But we were kind of caught up in the moment too, and I'm wondering if I said the right things."

"You think you're not going to live up to your promise?" Sitting on a bench together with Jaune at Beacon's plaza, Ruby looked at the orange afternoon sky, and at the setting sun; only a few hours left before nightfall. The scenery reminded her of a memory in Patch. "You shouldn't sell yourself short. I think you're better than that."

"I try my best," Jaune said. "…you think Pyrrha's thinking the same? She doesn't talk much about things for two days now, but we still enjoy each other's company… We spend time as much as we can, especially after missions."

"You guys just sit together and snuggle?"

"Wait, how did you know that?"

"Just a wild guess, that's all." Ruby looked up to see the much taller Jaune eye to eye. "But it's a good sign that Pyrrha wants to be with you every time, so don't take it the wrong way when she's quiet."

"But she's been through some tough times, and I worry about that… I can't help but think I need to be doing more."

"I understand that it's a private thing between you two, and I'm not going to pry about it, but I think you just have to give Pyrrha some space. Maybe that's why she doesn't talk much, because she's probably wondering how she'll live up to what she said to you as well, especially when you guys are on the same team. And besides, it's not like she's avoiding you, right?" Ruby suddenly remembered what Weiss told her; it was all too appropriate. "When she's ready, I'm sure that's when she'll talk."

"You really think so?"

"Someone once told me that words have weight," Recalling another memory, Ruby turned to look at the sunset again. "I think Pyrrha wants to keep her promise to you, she's just thinking of how she's going to do it. I think that's her way of caring. The wrong words said can never be unsaid, so I think the last thing she wants is to disappoint. You just have to trust her on this, just like how I'm sure she trusts you."

"Thanks for the advice." Jaune laughed a bit, and he also looked at the sunset. "A big guy like me probably don't strike you as someone who stresses over these kinds of things, but it really does, and I appreciate your help."

"I didn't expect you to tell me all this out of the blue, that's for sure."

"Completely different from the time we met during the Hunter trials, huh?"

"Tell me about it." After a nap, Ruby went out in the afternoon to check on what missions were available; after failing to find anything good to pick, she then submitted her report, and just so happened to meet up with Jaune doing the same thing, doing his part as the leader of his own unit, Team JNPR. A few greetings and some talk about missions was all Ruby expected; not once did she think that Jaune would be so straightforward in admitting that he and Pyrrha were in a relationship, and making her his confidant to boot. "Don't get me wrong, I appreciate you trusting me on this, but–"

"You really want me to talk to Nora and Ren about this? Those guys can't even be honest with themselves."

"They're that bad, huh? I guess you're right then." Ruby totally forgot about those two; Jaune raised a good point there. "I'm glad to have helped you out."

"Thanks for talking to me about this. I still have to repay you for what you did to help all of us at the trials, don't think I forgot about that… Just know if you need a shield, I'm there." Jaune smiled at seeing Ruby, who had a shy 'don't mention it' look all over her face. "To be honest, I didn't really plan on being so direct about this to you," he continued. "…I was just fishing for answers, asking general questions."

"They were pretty obvious, at least to me. I mean, that whole 'you know, I have a friend, and I was wondering…' thing? I kind of saw through that."

"Yeah, I should have figured." Chuckling, Jaune shook his head. "But you gave me good advice in return, so it's fine. It'll be difficult to do, but it makes a lot of sense."

"The right things often are."

"You sound like you have a lot of experience."

"…you could say that."

"Hm? Is something wrong?"

"…no, it's nothing." Ruby shook her head, trying to erase any hint of wistfulness on her that Jaune might have noticed. The topic was about his relationship, so now wasn't the time to be sentimental about her own past. "Anyways, you sure you're ok with the report you submitted?" Ruby asked, changing the subject. "You looked kind of unsure when you dropped it off."

"Ah, you probably just saw me second guessing my documents. But don't sweat it, I'm good. I just didn't think that being the leader of a team meant doing lots of paperwork, you know?"

"I didn't think it would be this bad either." They went to Ozpin's office at the old lighthouse to submit their reports about the missions their respective teams handled, but they only found Glynda there. She told them that Ozpin was at a meeting, so they left their documents on his desk at Glynda's behest. "The rising cases of Grimm activity don't help."

"You think there's something really going on? The Grimm have been very aggressive lately, unlike in the past years."

Ruby paused for a moment, knowing exactly what Jaune meant, and what happened in her past. "The danger never left," she said simply, and left it at that.

There was a brief pause, as the two looked at the sunset.

"Then it's time to do something about it," Jaune said, breaking the silence; he stood up and stretched his arms. "It's only an hour before the deadline, so I think we should lock in our missions for the night shift. We've sat here stalling long enough."

"Yeah, I know."

"Let me guess, your teammates aren't big fans of going in Dust mines? Because mine aren't either."

"Things could be better, but us Hunters can't be choosers." They passed by the mission terminal after leaving the old lighthouse; 98 missions were still available the last time she looked, which were all grueling and uninteresting. Normally Ruby would have picked a mission already, right after she tried her luck at the mission terminal earlier before submitting her documents. With the Grimm becoming bolder with their attacks, now wasn't the time to be picky to the point of shirking missions…

"You don't look like you're giving up though, huh Ruby?"

"I think we should try our luck one more time." But recalling how she treated Weiss, it felt only right to still find a good mission for her team; it was the least she could do to make up for her mistake. Ruby also stood up. "Let's go back to the terminal, look for missions for thirty minutes tops, and see what pops up. Besides, what do we have to lose at this point?"

"Other than time in clicking buttons and staring closely at a computer monitor?" Jaune shrugged. "Sure, why not? Not that I think we have a chance this late, but let's see what happens."

The two walked towards the mission terminal, which was inside a building only a short distance away from where they hung out at the plaza. There were no other Hunters around when they arrived; apparently everyone else had accepted what was available, and were most likely preparing for their missions right now. With the sun sinking into the horizon, Ruby and Jaune went to scour and refresh the mission list… To no success.

"Going down in Dust mines isn't so bad," Jaune said as he continued to search; a few minutes in, his expression told Ruby he had basically given up. "Hey, looks like there's one here for a party of eight. If you want, my team and yours can join up, and maybe being underground will be less miserable for everyone that way. And it's not like our teams don't work well together either. You never know when a tombstalker would pop out of the ground…"

"The more the merrier, right?" Ruby pressed the button to refresh the mission list once more, and gave Jaune a glance. "But at this rate… Yeah, I guess I can't wait either."

"I got to say, you're holding up hope a lot longer than I expected."

"My teammate wanted something nicer, that's all." Ruby replied, then she looked at her monitor again. "I just thought it would be nice to find–"

Ruby suddenly couldn't finish her next words, her eyes widening at what she saw.

10-17-2040 Mission #99: Escort Train

Client: Dunn and Matte Looney

Reward: 100,000 lien

Operation start point: Port of Providence

Mission start time: 21:00

Maximum Hunters: 8

=====Mission Briefing=====

Greetings, Hunters of Vale.

Our company delivers mechanical goods to villages across Vale for various purposes such as farming and transportation on a routine basis. However, due to recent Grimm activity, the kingdom of Vale has increased their security measures, and this is currently impeding our shipment of our goods to our customers down at the south.

This is the first time this has happened to us, but in line with our company policy, we choose not to be dissuaded by this. We wish to continue our delivery as scheduled, so we ask that Hunters protect our train in case of any Grimm attacks, as unlikely as they may be. Rest assured we will reward everyone handsomely for their efforts. The lead car of the train is the highest priority, but if all the train cars are safe by the end of the mission, we will include an additional 40,000 lien as a token of thanks.

We're counting on you, Hunters. Please accept our mission request as soon as you can. Thank you for your help.

"100,000 lien with a bonus?!" Jaune whispered as he went towards her to look at her screen, noticing her reaction. But his tone had shock all over it, and his eyes also widened. "No way, is this for real? This much for an escort mission?"

"I'm on it!" Ruby whispered back, making sure that no one overhead them, and she quickly made the reservation; she knew exactly what Jaune had in mind, so Ruby made it for eight Hunters, for both her team and his. "There, it's done! We're in."

"I don't know what kind of ritual you made before we went here…" Jaune breathed a sigh of relief. "But that's damned good luck if I ever saw one. It's less than an hour before before the deadline too… No wonder you weren't giving up. And the mission's on a train… Did the briefing mention if it was a luxury one? Man, I'd be all over the moon if the client served us crêpes."

Ruby couldn't help but smile. This was just pure luck, with no rituals whatsoever, and she said as much to Jaune, telling him that even she didn't expect something as good as this, much less with crêpes. Escort missions were easy enough – their first mission sure was – but to get one that paid for this much? Everything seemed to check out too, as she validated the client's history. What a windfall…

"Looks like we only have a few hours to set up, so let's get to it. My team will meet yours at the departure area." Jaune gave Ruby a thumbs up. "Nice to be working with you again, Ruby. Hopefully this time we don't get to fight any Class Two Grimm, but if we do, then I've got your back."

"Something tells me we're not going to meet any Class Two Grimm on this mission, Jaune. We'll be lucky if we even meet any Class Ones."

"But it never hurts to be careful. I mean, what if your team and mine get separated for some reason? Trust me, I'm accounting for every possible situation." He beat his chest with a clenched right hand. "So I guess what I'm trying to say is… You can count on me and my team. We haven't forgotten about Jade Forest."

Ruby smiled softly. "You can count on me and my team too, Jaune." She had wanted to tell him not to worry too much about repaying her, but upon realizing that Jaune was serious about this, let the topic go and mentally prepared herself for the assignment instead. Weiss was sure to be surprised once she heard about this.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Driving a rented blue sedan, Cale kept changing radio stations to find some good background music to ease his mind, given what happened this morning. With a sinking sun as a backdrop, and with wide countryside fields on both sides of the road, he was far away from Pharos at this point – or any other city actually – heading towards Patch by himself.

Hey kid, headquarters called me just now. I know we've been here in Pharos for a few days now, but I was just ordered to be here for a month to finish more reports. Sorry about that.

…oh.

This isn't something I can ignore, so you can go ahead and leave if you want. You know I can't force you to stay. You've been patient with me long enough.

…I didn't think we'll part ways like this.

Me neither.

But it feels wrong not being able to repay you for your help.

No, it's alright. Here, take this… No, don't give me that look, you need the money. I can't let you roam in public hauling a huge case, so this should be more than enough to rent a car and buy a phone… You can't go without a phone nowadays. And maybe you need to spend a few nights somewhere too…

Sienna…

Go and find whatever it is that you're trying to find, kid. And don't drag this out and make things sappy. I'm doing this for you pro bono… I don't expect any rewards.

But I…

It's been fun, Cale.

…you're calling me by my name now?

I have to start somewhere, don't I?

But I'd settle being called a kid, if it meant that you get to stay with me.

Heh, that's a nice line.

I wasn't being…

But you should save it for someone you love.

Geez Sienna, you know what I mean.

And you know what I mean too. So go now, I'll see you when I see you. If fate wills it, then we'll see each other again soon enough.

You really think so?

To be honest, something tells me we'll see each other eventually. So take care of yourself until then. And try not to eat so much food, ok?

That last part was awkward to recall. Last night Cale was hit by a pang of hunger so severe – he remembered doubling over from feeling it – that he ate all the food Sienna bought. He was only briefly scolded for that; she even seemed hesitant to do so. But Cale was so embarrassed that he didn't have the heart to tell her that he was in pain the whole time, and that he wasn't sated by what he did.

Cale had a hard time believing that scenario even now. The first time he ate Sienna's food was one thing, but to eat so much and still not satisfy his stomach pangs… He was ok now, but he recalled how hungry he was last night, trying his best to sleep it through, with an abnormal itch all over his body to boot.

Using the rearview mirror, Cale glanced at his large metal case, placed as best as one could on the rear seat, and right at that moment, he felt a sharp ache in his stomach.

Goddamnit… This was a lot more painful than he expected. It was as if he had an ulcer despite all the food he ate. Cale struggled to make sense of it. He didn't know what was going on with him, but he was this far out in his travels, and he wasn't about to turn back, not when Patch couldn't be more than an hour away from where he was.

Keep it together, Cale.

Cale frowned at the thought. It's you again. He still couldn't recall who this guy was, but Cale was sure that he met him after the night in Patch; he recalled everything else about his life, except this one. He followed the voice's advice of keeping the case safe, but it gave him no help in return… It still hadn't told him what was inside the case, instead saying vague promises while he hungered last night.

He then felt a throbbing headache.

What the hell… Cale instinctively pulled over, and shook his head, hoping that his body wouldn't be hurting any more than it already was. It was almost nightfall too; he didn't want to be in pain in the middle of the night by himself and risk an accident. The pain was much stronger than what he experienced last time too, and so he winced and curled in his seat.

Tell me again who is the most important person in your life, Cale. I want to hear it from you, so that you don't forget.

Ruby… The scar on his chest began to itch, much worse than before. Three episodes of escalating pain since he woke up on a beach and met Sienna, and he still had no clue what was happening to him. Was he going to have to bear this like last time? Then what about future episodes? The last thing he wanted was for Ruby to worry about him, or worse…

Stifling a dull fear, he thought of going to a hospital, even though he was so far out into the countryside already. Night had all but arrived, and Cale heard crickets chirping in the darkness.

No, Ruby had to come first. That was the only reason why he was even here driving alone in the first place. And so Cale shook his head, clenching his fists, and did his best to power through the pain.

Respite fortunately followed.

Cale took deep breaths as he wiped his sweat. He felt fine now, which was all he needed. He should be able to handle the pain as long as it didn't worsen any further; he had to focus in finding Ruby for the meantime. Once he found her – and he would move mountains to do so – then he could worry about himself.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I'm not sure what else to tell you," Ruby said to Blake. The faunus had a look of deep thought on her for some time now – barely hiding it from the clients during their meeting, she was not like her usual calm self – and Ruby figured she should point it out, especially when Blake wasn't eating the food their clients offered. "Don't be like that, I sent you a copy of the mission details and everything."

"Don't mind me," Blake said. The four of them were on a large cabin – the whole railcar was their cabin actually, which they had all to themselves – while sitting on nice leather couches, with food on the table for them to eat. Blake had yet to touch her order though. "I already read what you sent, and I'm fine with it. I'm just thinking about other things."

"It's funny that something like this can get such a reaction from you, Blake." Yang also had a smile on her face as she helped herself to some dumplings. "You didn't react nearly as much to anything else other than the Hunter trials, so don't be surprised if we think you're just being overly suspicious about this job." She then took a drink of her green tea. "I mean, you were there when we checked out those Looney dudes, right? We did everything we were trained to do to vet those guys. What, you don't like their ugly mugs? Ok, I don't like those guys either, but still."

"You can ask Jaune at the other railcar," Ruby added, finishing the last of her burgers. "I'm sure he's trying his best to explain this to his team too… Heh, maybe he's having better luck at it."

Blake frowned slightly, her cat ears twitching. "I already said it's not about this mission."

"Then go back to your deadpan expression already." Weiss shook her head, then took a bite of her fishbuns. "Just relax. Seeing you so agitated like this is just weird."

"Hmph, fine." Blake then gave herself a calm and dispassionate look, the one she almost always had. "There, better?"

"That's the Blake we know," Weiss said. "Now c'mon, eat with us. You haven't even touched your surf and turf yet."

"Alright." Sighing, Blake began to help herself with her food. "…it tastes ok," she added after taking a forkful. "Could be a lot worse."

Ruby just nodded. This was fine, coming from Blake, and at least she was starting to eat. But it wasn't like she had no reason to be suspicious of this job, to be honest. Getting a mission like this was one thing, but the clients themselves were another story. The Looney brothers looked honest enough, but the circumstances of their situation – how they got a luxury train instead of a normal freight train, the quality and spacious area of their long railcar cabin, and the food they served on the table under their dime – were far from the normal. Not to mention that they were unusually terse, answering questions only if necessary. Not that this situation had never happened before with other Hunters, but then again…

Ruby shook her head. Yang was right. They did everything by the book, and the Looney brothers checked out. Jaune didn't find anything weird either, so speculating like this wouldn't do them any good. Already done with dinner, she felt like standing up, so she did, and walked towards a window to observe the outside. She began to think of their mission directives. Having left Port of Providence a while ago, they passed through the countryside at what she supposed was around 50km per hour – a good sightseeing speed – with the shattered moon illuminating the vast fields.

"So you decided to mull over stuff yourself too?" Blake's cat ears twitched again after saying that.

"…yeah, pretty much." Noting the irony with a small smile, Ruby stretched her arms, and she recalled their meeting with the clients. With teams RWBY and JNPR working as one unit for this mission, all they had to do was tell the guards stationed at each drop off point that the Looney brothers were protected from the Grimm, and thus allow them to unload their cargo. It was as easy as it sounded. With everyone experiencing no issues at the villages they visited earlier, this job could almost be considered as a night off.

"What's the next village again?" Yang asked.

Ruby turned to face Yang. But whatever her teammates thought of this assignment, this could never be a night off for Ruby, not one bit. "Patch is our next stop."

"Alright." Yang drank more of her green tea, and Ruby noticed everyone's abrupt silence, most likely because her teammates knew that she came from Patch, along with what happened recently there. As if realizing this as well, Yang tapped at her empty bowl. "…tsk, I knew I should have ordered more congee."

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "You're still hungry?"

"It wouldn't be fair if Ruby's the only one who's eating for three people, right?"

Ruby shrugged. "Guess I'm still growing."

"Clearly Yang wants to grow in the right areas too," Blake said.

"Very funny." Yang rolled her eyes at her smiling teammates. "Anyways, the clients wanted us to eat to our heart's content, so might as well go make the most of it. I mean, the food's their treat, and I was wondering if you guys wanted anything else. Drinks, maybe? A little hard stuff won't hurt anyone."

Ruby shook her head. "Don't push it. As easy as this job is, we still have to be professional."

"Pfft, so I take it none of you guys want anything?"

"I think the three of us are good." Weiss wiped her fingers with a napkin after finishing her own meal. "But you can go ahead, don't let us get in the way of your comfort food. I suppose congee reminds you of home?"

"I'd rather it didn't, honestly." Yang paused awkwardly, but only for a moment; she smiled quickly. "But congee tastes really good, so I'll be right back."

"Are you really going to bring Embercleave with you like that?" Ruby asked, noting that Yang had just grabbed her weapon and placed it on her shoulder, as she often did. "I mean, you're just going to get some food, not fight some battle."

"It's fine, I like having it with me. I like people thinking I'm a Hunter for real, not just some blonde." Yang then looked like she said too much again, and Ruby realized there were many moments when Yang had this kind of reaction. "…anyways, I'll be seeing you guys." Clearing her throat, Yang stood up and went on her way, closing the door that led to the next railcars in a somewhat loud manner.

Then a loud groan was heard in the room a few minutes after Yang left, and the three girls immediately went on guard. The sound came from the cabin's closet, just a few feet from where Ruby was.

"What the…" Ruby instinctively went for Crescent Rose, a hair away from unsheathing it and embracing her Semblance. That was a person's voice, no doubt about it. "…uh, hello? Anyone there?"

No response. Ruby looked at her teammates, who were also ready to unsheathe their dustmetal weapons; Weiss had a confused look on her face, but Blake was quite different. With her cat ears on full alert, she carefully went towards the closet herself.

"Blake…"

"Let me handle this," she whispered to Ruby. Then, in a much louder voice, she said to whoever was in the closet, "Sounds like you've been cooped up there for a while. Do you mind if we talked?"

Still no response, even after a few knocks from Blake. Her ears twitching again, she abruptly opened the closet.

A faunus man in his middle years was revealed, sitting awkwardly in the closet's otherwise empty space so he could nurse his injured leg.

Ruby stifled a gasp. How long had this man been hiding here? Normally they would have taken this potential stalker down in an instant, but the man was clearly no threat to anyone, looking very much the worse for wear; his injured leg wasn't doing him any favors.

"…I'm Leonardo Lionheart," the man said weakly as he raised his hands slightly up. Looking at each of the girls, the faunus was sweating as he struggled to speak. "You can call me Leon. Please listen, I hid myself here for good reason, and I mean no harm to anyone. I'm a Hunter from Beacon Academy, and I'm a friend of Ozpin Levert, the headmaster there…" He groaned again, and he quickly held his injured leg. "Tch, I might have underestimated this wound of mine…"

"Ozpin?" Ruby said. "You know him?"

"How did you get in here?" Blake demanded. "And what happened to you? Who did you get into a fight with?"

"When you grow old like me, you get to learn a few tricks here and there… But unfortunately, age takes a toll on your combat skills as well." Leon wiped his sweat with a trembling hand. "…I'll tell you all about what happened, but keep me hidden here from those clients of yours first, I don't want any complications for your group. Just finish your mission for the night… I'll discuss matters with you all outside afterwards. Here, just in case you don't believe me…" Leon then took out a card from his wallet, which Blake inspected. Ruby and Weiss went to look at it as well; it was a Beacon Academy ID. "…I'm sorry, I don't have anything else with me, but I hope that will suffice…"

"We understand," Ruby said. Looking at her teammates, it seemed they were on the same page as she was, which was all well and good. They still had no idea what this Leon person was doing hiding in their cabin's closet, but knowing where the man was from allayed some of their concerns at least, so for now, they had to address his need for medical attention. She knelt to look at Leon eye to eye. "My name's Ruby Rose. Me and my team are Hunters from Beacon too, so we can help you get to Ozpin. We can have our friend Jaune heal your leg. Once this train stops, I'll–"

"Wait a minute… Young girl, you're Ruby Rose?"

Suddenly there was an explosion that rocked the train, and everyone fell to the floor from the violent shock.

"…what the hell?!" Ruby cried out. Their dinner plates were thrown in a dozen directions, with some breaking upon impact with the floor. The train shook so badly she thought they would be derailed from the tracks right then and there, and the few passengers along with them for this ride could be heard screaming in shock.

Did she need to teleport people out to safety? Ruby doubted she had the strength to blink out everyone here, even after training with her new Semblance, but she was ready to attempt it nonetheless, as a Hunter should. Her heart pumping hard, she unsheathed Crescent Rose, and her rose petals once again floated in the air.

She waited for a few crucial moments. Fortunately their side of the train stopped shaking and kept itself on the tracks, which was welcome news. Then came the grinding sound of metal against metal; the brakes on the train were activated.

Ruby breathed deep, calming herself. All well and good, she wouldn't have to teleport unnecessarily. They would have been in an awful scenario otherwise. Getting back on her feet, Ruby's first thought was to do reconnaissance, but Weiss was already on it, rushing to the window to check the outside.

"Ruby… The railcars behind us… They've been disconnected!"

"…Jaune!" Her heartbeat racing once again, Ruby went to look out the window, and saw the smoldering railcar that was rapidly being left behind by the train; it had to be the sight of the explosion. Ruby was sure Team JNPR wasn't in that particular railcar, but they were certainly around the rear area of the train, and already she could see the other railcars crashing on each other like dominos, with awful sounds going along with it. She desperately hoped Jaune's team was ok, because it was the only thing she could do.

"Damnit, there's no sign of the Grimm anywhere!" Weiss shouted.

Ruby joined Weiss in searching, but she too couldn't see anything. Even though it was nighttime, the Grimm's cries and distinctive red eyes would have given them away, but there was no hint or sign of those monsters anywhere. But how?! And not only that, if it wasn't the Grimm… No, that couldn't be. Ruby knew that everyone checked the train earlier and found nothing wrong. But could they have missed something? She shuddered just thinking about it, failing to discover a sabotage in the works, or an assassination attempt at their clients.

But the thoughts had to be set aside for now; thinking fast, Ruby made a command. "Keep calm, Weiss. Keep looking for any sign of the Grimm, I'll check to see if anyone on this train's hurt."

"Alright."

Looking behind her, Ruby planned to go directly to the train control car and ascertain what exactly was going on here, but from the corner of her eye she noticed that Blake was helping Leon, who lay sprawled on the floor, shaken out of the closet by the explosion and clutching his injured leg.

"Ruby, wait…"

"Are you ok, Leon?" Ruby went towards the injured man, whose breathing was more labored than before; his leg wound stained his pants a dark red. Ruby knelt to meet Blake eye to eye. She was about to issue a command for the faunus too, but her helping passengers was as good of a goal as any. "How is he?"

"His wound's hurting him badly, but I think he'll still pull through," Blake replied. "And where's Yang? Did she call you?"

"Not yet, but I'm sure Yang's fine, since the kitchen was at the opposite side of the explosion. She should be on her way back here right about now." Having said that, Ruby gave Leon a reassuring look. "I'll look for something in this train that can help with your wound. But if there isn't any, then I'll just have to teleport Jaune here as soon as I can. It'll all be ok, he has a healing Semblance."

"Wait, you can teleport?"

"I know, right? I can hardly believe it myself." Ruby smiled softly at Leon's surprise. "Yes, I can teleport, but it's a long story… Just be assured that everything will be alright. As the leader of our group, you have my word on that. We Hunters will protect you tonight."

"…I understand, thank you." Leon nodded, his surprise briefly hiding his pain. "…amazing. You surely must be the first one in the world that can blink. Ozpin didn't tell me anything about you though, much less that you're in Beacon."

"Well, I don't think I'm that amazing, even with my blink…" Ruby replied. "There's a lot of Hunters in Vale, and I'm just some country girl in the south."

"You're being much too humble…" Leon smiled back, even if only weakly. "You remind me so much of someone…"

"I do, huh?" Ruby chuckled a bit at that. "And who would that be?"

"Later, I'll tell you." Ruby then felt a hand on her shoulder; it was Blake.

"You're going to teleport, aren't you?"

"Don't worry, I'll be careful." There was no other way. Ruby had no choice but to teleport to where Team JNPR was stranded and help them – it might take her multiple attempts, but she was sure she would get to them eventually – though the way back was a different story, depending on what was going on outside as well as her own stamina. But Ruby would just have to worry about that later. "Just make sure everyone gets out of here once this train finally stops, right after you bring Leon to safety."

"Understood. Just be careful out there, and don't push yourself. We don't want a repeat of the trials."

The train had been slowing down significantly while they were talking, but now it had come to a complete stop, so it should only be a few moments before people could disembark safely. Alright then… Ruby looked at Weiss, who was still trying to look outside through the window for anything amiss. "Any Grimm sightings?"

Weiss turned and shook her head; she went towards Ruby. "Still nothing."

"That's ok. Keep looking at the surrounding area and keep our backs covered… Tell Yang to help you out on that once she arrives, she should be here anytime now. Meanwhile Blake will be looking out for any civilians that might need help, while I'll teleport to check on Jaune and the others."

Weiss nodded. "Got it."

That should cover everything. With her commands issued, Ruby knew it was time for her to teleport. But before she could even stand up, one of their cabin doors opened.

Ruby would have expected to see Yang – angry and confused, but otherwise fine and ready to help – except this door was the one opposite where Yang left, which meant it was the one that led to the explosion. And true enough, the door didn't reveal Yang at all, but rather three strangers: a guy in gray with a nonchalant expression, a woman clad in black wearing an eyepatch, and a girl with green hair, dark skin, and bright red eyes, wearing white biker attire, with a dark look on her face…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Yang smiled as she made her way back to their cabin. She couldn't wait to have a taste again of the chicken congee she had in hand. If anything good reminded her of home at Mistral, it was this one, and it was well worth the trouble of going to the kitchen for this. Though in retrospect she really should have left Embercleave behind; carrying her weapon was the only thing stopping her from taking a spoonful of her food right now. Oh well… Her friends really should have asked her to bring something for them though, especially Ruby. With the variety of food present in this luxury train, it would be a waste to just limit oneself to burgers and–

Suddenly an explosion rocked Yang off her feet, making her drop both Embercleave and her congee, with the latter making a mess as the bowl broke upon contact with the floor. But losing her food was the least thing on her mind. On instinct, Yang unwrapped Embercleave and embraced her Semblance, her now red eyes darting left and right for any sign of an attack, just as how they were trained.

Yang's phone rang. Picking it up, she found one of the Looney brothers on the line. "Was that an explosion that just happened? What the hell is going on?!"

"I don't know, but we're on it. Just follow standard operating procedures and make sure to keep everyone calm. Yes, of course that means activating the emergency brakes, an explosion just happened! Haven't you guys operated a train before?!" That made Yang recall what Blake said earlier, but now definitely wasn't the time for that. "Tell everyone to evacuate as soon as the train comes to a complete stop. Can I count on you two to lead the evacuation? Alright, good." Yang breathed a sigh of relief. "We'll take care of things here. I'll update you as soon as I can."

Hanging up and putting her phone back into her pocket, Yang let a few moments pass; there was no follow up to the explosion, which was good. Her greatsword still blazing with flame, Yang then slowly stood up and looked out a nearby window to check what was going on, and her eyes widened.

A burning railcar all but told her that it was the sight of the explosion that detached it from the train, and Yang could see that the railcars further behind it were crashing on each other… That part of the train was where that Jaune guy and his team were! A scowl formed on Yang's face. There was nothing she could do for them when she was way over here; she could only hope that they were ok.

Then came the screeching sound of metal grinding against itself. Took those guys long enough to use the emergency brakes. Once it came to a halt, the passengers should be able to make their escape… But what kind of Grimm could be capable of blowing up a railcar like that? A putrefax, maybe? But despite her best efforts, Yang couldn't find any trace of the Grimm anywhere outside.

The train finally went to a stop. Whatever it was that caused the explosion, Yang was at least assured that the clients would take care of the passengers, which meant that she could now focus on the immediate danger at hand. Not wanting to waste any more time, Yang rushed towards Ruby and the others.

Yang sprinted to their railcar cabin, and opened the door with a hard slam. "Hey guys, what's going on out there?! I was–"

The sight of her friends shaking and trembling on the floor stopped Yang's words cold.

"Why…" Weiss said in between soft sobs. "Why did you leave me? Why did you have to go and fight? I was only trying to save you…"

"My name's Blake Belladonna…" Blake mumbled, clutching her head, her amber eyes staring at the ceiling. Oddly, she kept repeating herself, almost like her words were a rehearsed line. "My name's Blake Belladonna… My name's Blake Belladonna… My name's Blake Belladonna… My name's Blake Belladonna…"

Then there was Ruby, who was a bawling wreck, her arms hugging herself for dear life. "Cale! I didn't mean to! Oh god… Please, don't look at me like that… I'm so sorry… I'll never doubt you again!" Ruby was crying her eyes out, flinching in a fetal position. "Please come back! Don't leave me! I'm really sorry, I'll do anything, just come back to me! Please, Cale! I'm begging you! I love you… I love you so much!"

Ruby… Yang was about to reach out for the poor girl, but with her senses on full alert, she quickly realized that there were other people in the cabin; she turned to face them.

Right beside a faunus man, groaning in pain with his clothes ripped off, stood three people: one of them was a girl with green hair and dark skin, wielding two oversized shotels and clearly embracing a Semblance, but whose red eyes were wide with shock as she stared at Yang, while her two other companions – a guy with gray hair and gray clothes, and a woman with black hair wearing an eyepatch and black attire, whose heeled boot was on the faunus's chest – only had raised eyebrows for expressions. But none of that changed the fact that they were total strangers to Yang, so she responded accordingly. "Who the hell are you guys?!" Yang snapped, the flame of her sword blazing brighter. "What did you do to my friends?!"

"Wait, you're not affected?!"

Huh? Affected with what? Yang had no idea what this girl with the green hair was talking about, but it could just be a ruse to put her off guard, so she ignored it as she assessed her situation. Clearly the man on the floor was no threat to anyone, but the other three…

The girl's large shotels came crashing down on Yang an instant later, meant to cut off the blonde's arms clean off their sockets, forcing Yang to parry with Embercleave and get herself into a sword bind.

"You must be the last Hunter member of this team. Nice to meet you." It was the guy in gray who said that, who was calm and collected as he observed the fight. "Interesting how she's shrugging it off though… I suppose we shouldn't expect even your Semblance to handle things perfectly moving forward."

"Shut up!" the girl shrieked, trying her hardest to power her way through, though Yang could tell she could win her duel against this girl without too much trouble, even on a somewhat limited space as a railcar cabin, all while controlling her flames so that she didn't burn the train and her friends. But as strong as she was, a 3v1 against unknown forces wasn't something Yang wanted – and taking the bandages off her right arm in this confined space without Blake was out of the question! – so she held herself back to keep an eye on the other two and avoid being blindsided.

"It's fine, don't get flustered. We won't take this against you." Chuckling, the guy put his hands on the back of his head, but not before ruffling his gray hair. "I know this is pissing you off, but calm down, and don't try so hard against the blondie there. I can tell she's much stronger than you are, so calm down. You've done more than enough already, not bad for your first time… Good work."

Grunting, the girl seemed to realize this too, so she broke off from their duel, falling back to her comrades. She made a visible effort to calm herself, but her red eyes were still locked straight at Yang. "But why? Why isn't it working on you?!"

"You little shit, why don't you stop what you're doing to my teammates first, huh?!" Yang's friends were still on the floor, including the faunus man, at the mercy of whatever nightmare afflicted them, and Yang was sure this girl had something to do with it. She thought of seizing the initiative and start her own attack – if she burned this girl alive, then that should save everyone – but the opportunity wasn't there yet, so she remained defensive stance instead, focusing on her three opponents, her flames still burning hot.

As if sensing this, the guy shook his head. "Yeah, that's right. Don't try it, or you'll really be in over your head."

"You're not going to introduce me to her?" The woman in black looked at the guy with a wry smile on her face. "I made that explosion earlier, by the way. It's not something any average Hunter can do, much less survive a direct hit from it."

"You of all people don't need an introduction," the guy in gray replied with a shrug. "You can take on a whole team solo, and then some."

"Good to hear that from you at least." Seemingly satisfied, the woman turned her eyes at Yang. "Sorry, but you Hunters are too late as always. We got what we needed from this old man, and it was all too easy."

"…Summer!" the old man suddenly gasped from his silence, as if putting all his strength just to utter his words. "I'm sorry… We didn't mean to… We did the best we could!"

"Asking for forgiveness now, Leon?" Giving a sharp glare at the faunus – and with her boot still on him – the woman took out her dustmetal weapon from behind her waist, and unsheathed it into a black scythe of great size. An alternate sniper form was evident in its construction, and the autumn leaves drifting around her indicated that she had embraced her Semblance. Notably the woman did all this with only her right hand, as her left arm was still hidden within a black cape that covered her left side.

"I see you're cleaning up," the guy in gray said. "But whatever happened to not taking out Tale's End as a handicap?"

"I changed my mind."

"Heh, figures. Then again… After everything you talked about with him, I guess I can't blame you, huh?"

"Summer!" the faunus cried out again, his eyes fixed at the ceiling. "…I'm so sorry!"

The woman smirked. "Tell that to her yourself."

Yang's body tensed up; she knew what was about to happen next.

"We didn't know, and that's why Qrow never forgave us. I'm sorry, I couldn't do anything!" the faunus man continued on with his ramblings, with this one being much louder, and all three looked at the man briefly because of it.

But here it was; the opportunity Yang was looking for. Gripping Embercleave tight, she prepared to launch a blade beam of fire straight at them as a diversion, and hopefully cause enough confusion to land a good attack on that girl…

"I already told you not to do it, didn't I?"

Yang gasped as the guy in gray took out his own dustmetal weapon – an onyx axe with a black flame motif – and launched an attack so swift that Yang had to cancel her own just to block his.

"We've accomplished what we set out to do here, but I can't let you just do what you want." The guy in gray shook his head. "I can play along with you for a little while, though. You're a pretty blonde with a nice body, and quite interesting too, so why not?"

"Sorry, but you're not my type! Now get off me!" Yang grunted as she felt the guy's strength; he was far stronger than anyone she fought since leaving Mistral! And he wasn't even using his Semblance either, even though he had a grayish black aura around him, ready to use at a moment's notice. Was he holding back against her?! The mere thought of it infuriated Yang… And for whatever reason, she began to feel a tingling sensation around her right arm too, right when he started his attack…

"I knew it," he whispered to her. "This explains a lot… You're sensing it too, aren't you?"

"…the hell?"

"You're unusually strong for a Hunter, yes… But don't think I don't know your secret."

"Tell me your ramblings after I shove your face into the floor, why don't you?!"

He chuckled. "Nice sense of humor, girl. But did you just say you have no clue? Don't tell me you're one of 'them'…"

"Are you deaf or something?" Yang growled. "I said get off me already!"

Then, from the corner of her eye, Yang saw the girl with the green hair launch her own attack, forcing the blonde to fall back.

"Didn't I tell you to retreat?" the guy in gray said as he looked at the girl, but her frantic expression spoke volumes; he sighed. "She got you that spooked, huh?" He then laughed as if it was even funny. "Ok, fine. I can't let you go by yourself, now can I?"

"I'm not exactly into you either, girl!" Yang was used to being double teamed during training, but the addition of this girl worsened an already hard fight with the guy in gray, and she found herself slowly losing ground against the two.

"I'd stop quipping and start running away if I were you." The woman laughed at the sight of it all as she played with her scythe. "You're already sweating."

"What are you guys doing here anyways?!" Yang yelled. "Are you here for our clients?!"

"Oh please, we don't give a damn about your clients, or any of the passengers here for that matter. We don't know who they are, and we don't care." The woman scoffed. "Leon just had something we needed, so we took it. But I'm not surprised at all that you don't know about he carried. Keeping secrets this deep… Ozpin never did take care of his bad habits."

Ozpin? The Beacon headmaster? What did he have to do with this? "I swear, if you as much touch anyone of us here…"

"You'll do what? You Hunters are all bark. You can't even stop a simple explosion from happening. And stop giving me that look, you have no idea who you're dealing with. Because if you don't, who knows what'll happen to your friends after I deal with Leon… Whatever their names are."

"Damn you!" Yang wanted to cut off the woman's head for that remark, but her two opponents simply wouldn't give her any space; the girl with green hair in particular was clearly out for her blood.

"See? You can't do anything. And since you're dumb enough to stay and fight, then I might as well let you watch." Twirling her scythe with her right hand one more time, the woman then stabbed the faunus man's heart with her scythe, killing him instantly. There was no hesitation at all from her; it was as if it was as natural to her as breathing, even as his blood stained the floor and her clothes. "Goodbye, Leon," she said to him. "I'll send your regards to Ozpin soon enough."

Yang grimaced upon seeing what just happened.

"Tch… Damnit, I lost track?!" the girl with the green hair muttered under her breath; her red eyes began to lose their brightness.

"It's alright, we forget every now and then." the guy in gray replied, and right at that moment, the slowing train finally came to a complete stop. "But be more careful about it next time, ok? We've got company, after all."

The two then retreated to the woman with the eyepatch, right as a gush of ice went crashing towards where they once stood, which hit the railcar wall instead.

"You're awake!" Yang breathed a sigh of relief.

"Tell me about it…" Staying by Yang's left side, Weiss looked as if she was trying to get rid of a headache, her stance still somewhat wobbly. "…sorry for being late."

"Thanks for the nightmare, assholes."

A powerful beam of light was fired straight towards the three, which forced the one with the eyepatch to block it… With her own wall of ice. Now this was an unwelcome surprise; Yang heard Weiss utter curses under her breath.

Blake approached Yang's right side and gave her a pat on the shoulder, which soon became a crutch for the faunus as she struggled to stay steady on her feet.

"You guys ok?" Yang asked.

"…I think we're fine," Blake replied. "Good thing you didn't get caught in a psychic attack like us." She then whispered, "What nonsense was I saying?"

"…huh?"

"Never mind…" Blake grimaced upon seeing an awful sight. "Damnit, they killed Leon while we were out."

Yang shook her head. "…sorry, I couldn't save him."

"It's ok, we're not blaming you. It can't be helped. Whoever these guys are, they're dangerous and they're not fooling around."

"I know," Weiss added, frowning as she did, then pointed Myrtenaster straight at their enemies, its sleek blade gleaming under the cabin's light. "It's over for you three! You think we'll let you get away with this? You'll all pay for what you did! Murder and torturing Hunters will put you the three of you behind bars for the rest of your lives!"

"Oh really?" The woman's smirk was visible despite the ice wall in front of her. "So you think you have the upper hand now, hm? Should we be on our knees, begging for mercy?"

"Surrender and tell us who you work for, and maybe we can reduce your sentence to three centuries instead!"

"How merciful of you. But is that the best offer you have for us? You're going to have to do better than that."

The distinct smell of roses filled the cabin.

"How's everyone?"

Yang looked to where that strained voice came from, and found Ruby making her way towards Weiss left side. "Ruby! You're awake!"

"Yeah…" Yang could tell Ruby had trouble standing straight, but the girl did her best to hide that fact. "Guess I can't go help Jaune and the others just yet by the looks of things… Who are these guys? And did they…" Ruby winced. "Oh god, they just killed Leon…"

"I killed him myself," the woman replied. "So what are you going to do about it?"

"Don't get riled up," Yang said to Ruby. "I don't know who they are, but be careful, that girl with the green hair was the one who put you in a nightmare, I'm sure of it."

"So she was the one…" Yang saw Ruby look at the girl, who just sneered in response.

"So everyone's waking up…" The guy in gray shrugged. "Oh well, we've had enough fun for today." Poking his axe to the ceiling, he then activated his Semblance; pitch black fire – a very unusual elemental Semblance mutation as far as Yang knew – melted the steel ceiling and opened a big hole. "Time to go."

"…Ruby?" the woman's eyes widened in shock. "…Ruby Rose? So Leon was…" Looking at Ruby intently, the woman's smirk then turned into hysterical laughter, a cackle that took everyone's attention, to the point that it bothered even the girl with the green hair. "Can it really be… And at a place like this… I can't believe it! Who would have guessed?!"

"Ruby, hm?" The guy in gray seemed to note this too, raising an eyebrow upon hearing Ruby's name. Then his face became confused as he looked at the laughing woman, though it seemed it wasn't because he was disturbed by her actions. "Well, what about her? Who is she?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"This is the first time I've seen you like this."

"Well, if you're that curious… Ruby's someone who's very important to me, I'll put it that way."

"…is that so?"

"You two go ahead, I'll stay with these Hunters for a bit." Getting a hold of herself, the woman then waved her hand at her comrades in a flippant manner. "Keep our ride on standby, I won't be long."

"Are you sure about that?" He shook his head. "I know what you're thinking, but you have a habit of… Going overboard."

"I already said I won't be long. Do you really want to argue with me about this?"

"Alright, alright. If you say so." Dropping the subject, he then turned to the girl with the green hair. "You heard her. Don't ask questions, we're leaving." And without further ado, the guy in gray was the first to make his escape out the train, followed by the girl, though she made sure to give Yang a glare right before making her exit.

"Four against one?" Weiss went into an attacking stance with Myrtenaster. "You really are insane. Time to lock you up in an asylum!"

"Wait, stop!" Ruby put her right hand in front of Weiss, much to the latter's surprise. "…something's up!"

"Hello, Ruby." Ignoring Weiss completely, the woman had her focus all on Ruby as she twirled her scythe; her weapon had an uncanny semblance to Ruby's Crescent Rose, now that Yang looked at it. "The name's Cinder Fall. I'm very glad that I met you here. I've been so busy recently that I thought a few more years would pass before I got to see you. But it looks like fate had other plans for us." Cinder had a wicked smile on her face. "I'll make this well worth your time, don't you worry. I have so much to tell you."

Cinder snapped her fingers, and her ice wall shattered.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Finally, no more distractions." Standing smugly on top of the railcar, the woman called Cinder twirled her scythe in a casual manner, her weapon's blade shining under the light of the shattered moon. "You're mine, Ruby. Mine and mine alone. Don't worry, I'll make sure to kill your friends later right in front of you. But for now, let's talk without being interrupted."

Ruby groaned as she tried to pick herself up from the railcar roof. The four of them against only one person, and they were still losing? Even now it was hard for Ruby to believe it. Working together as a team, they should have been able to take down Cinder – or any lone Hunter, really – without any problems, even with the woman's expert use of her ice elemental Semblance… Except they couldn't.

"By the way, you guys haven't hit me at all, not even once."

Ruby grimaced. That was true, because Cinder didn't only have her ice. Incredibly, this woman had Ruby's blitz and Yang's fire as well – seeing Cinder move while having both fire and ice swirl on her scythe's blade was quite something to behold – and she made quick work of them, combining her abilities in unbelievable ways, as if having three Semblances was even believable in the first place. And what made things worse was that Ruby could tell that Cinder was holding back… Their fight went to great lengths, but ultimately Cinder threw her three teammates back down to the railcar cabin below through the hole the guy in gray made, leaving just the two of them on the roof.

"But I very much liked how you blinked around your friends, teleporting three times to protect them." Having said that, Cinder slowly walked towards Ruby. "Not only do I see you here, but you manage to surprise me with such a unique Semblance as well… Very good, Ruby. This is a fateful night indeed for the both of us."

Ruby's heart pumped wildly. Just who was this woman? Sabotaging the train and killing Leon was bad enough – it hurt to remember that last part, especially after promising Leon that everything would be ok – but why did Cinder have to be fixated on her like this?! Laughing while fighting, as if remembering something funny in the past, the woman never attacked Ruby directly, and it was unsettling that Cinder defeated the others while only using one hand to wield her scythe.

"But can you really handle the full potential of your evolved Semblance?" Chuckling, Cinder shrugged. "Many theories have been made through the years as to whether it was even possible for a person to teleport, but none have been able to prove them conclusively… Until now, that is. I have no doubt that you're the first person in the world to have it, I'll bet my life on it." Cinder suddenly laughed, her unpatched eye widening. "So how do you plan to use your blinks against me, Ruby? Go ahead, attack me with it, let me see you in action. I'll even lower my guard for you. Show me more…"

"What the hell do you want from me?!" Ruby put as much strength in her voice as she could, because in truth she was already tired from teleporting thrice, and she also hadn't recovered yet from the horrors she experienced. Thoughts of Cale and the night in Patch still lingered in her head, thoughts that threatened to put her in a pitiful state if she stayed too long in them. But she had to persevere; Ruby managed to stand firm, while making sure Crescent Rose didn't slip from her hand. "Why did you have to kill Leon? What did he ever do to you?"

"Leon had it coming," Cinder said levelly. "And as for what I want from you? Well, I have many things to get off my chest, and you're the only one I want to talk to about them."

With an effort, Ruby went into a stance. She didn't know how long her friends would get back on their feet – fortunately the passengers had long escaped safely by themselves – but for the meantime, it was just her and Cinder, and she could sense the killing intent in the woman, waiting to be unleashed. Ruby had to distract this woman somehow, think of new tactics once her teammates were back on their feet, and find a way to turn this situation around.

"You looked familiar when I first saw you, but I didn't think much of it until that blonde said your name, and that's when I was elated to know who you really were. But I still had to make sure, of course. And after I saw you fight, that's when I was certain." Cinder sighed in satisfaction. "You're from Beacon Academy, aren't you? Of course you are, your eyes give it away. You really are Summer's child."

That caught Ruby completely by surprise; she almost dropped her stance because of it. "…how did you–"

"Summer Rose, Hunter of Beacon Academy. Worked with her husband Qrow Branwen, who she loved very much, even though she didn't take up his last name. Both under Ozpin Levert's watchful eye, tasked with observing the kingdoms as part of Vale's security measures against them." Cinder took her time in approaching Ruby, and seemed to take delight in her monologue. "They moonlighted as Vale's spies in other words, and Leon was one of them. All working under Ozpin's little group, which I'll bet he never told you about."

"How do you know that?" Ruby's parents never said anything about this to her, and neither did Ozpin. She had no reason to believe any of this, but this was also an opportunity to stall for time, so she reluctantly had to humor Cinder as much as she could.

"There are five kingdoms in a world where the Grimm are under control, but with none of them being the clear superpower to fill the power vacuum. What, did you think the story would end there? Did you think that our current 'peaceful' situation would last forever? Surely it crossed your mind that the kingdoms would want to keep tabs on each other at least? But it goes much deeper than that. It's hard enough already to read people's minds, much more entire territories… Not so different from wild animals, in a way." Cinder chuckled. "So why not rein them in the moment you can, just like the Grimm?"

Ruby frowned. "What are you talking about? People have worked together to defeat the Grimm for centuries, and peace has lasted this long under the Dust Revolution, so why would the kingdoms fight each other for power now? Not to mention the treaties they have signed–"

"Those treaties are ancient. They're relics made in a bygone age. They don't cover what people can do today, and I assure you the kingdoms are abusing that as we speak. Or else Leon wouldn't have been sneaking around Atlas under Ozpin's orders, and I wouldn't have obtained what he worked so hard to steal." Cinder smiled at seeing Ruby's reaction. "Did Summer raise you right? How can you be this wet behind the ears? Did you just graduate, is that it? Ah, now that would make a lot of sense. But did you wish to become a Hunter so badly that you've turned a blind eye on everything else that's happening in this world?"

"The treaties may be old, but that's still no reason why the kingdoms would just ignore it all and threaten war!"

"Do you really believe that?"

"What's your point here? Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I used to work for Ozpin too, back in Beacon Academy. I had a different name and look back then, but I'm sure he'll recognize me at first sight." Cinder twirled her black scythe again; it seemed to be a habit of hers. "Unfortunately, he and Summer never understood me. Even though we worked to protect Vale, they always shot down my ideas, and they made sure that I was silenced during our meetings. So much so that I wondered if Vale was even worth protecting if it was under their thumb. For one thing, Summer was unbearably naïve, just like you."

"She always had Vale's interest at heart!" Being insulted and fed dubious info about the world was one thing, but Ruby couldn't hold herself back from what Cinder just said. "Don't talk about my mom as if she's a fool!"

"You obviously don't know your mother very well."

"She's not a murderer like you!" Ruby snapped back. "She's more of a Hunter than you ever were, if you were even one to begin with!"

"With allies like Summer, who needs enemies?" Cinder shrugged, not batting an eye at Ruby's response. "But then a day arrived when I found someone who would take the world's problems seriously. That's when I left Ozpin, faking my death during a mission in the process… It made for perfect cover, because I'm not the first to have died under that man's watch. What, you thought that old fool was as competent as he looked? Leaving his group was the best decision I've made in a long time, Ruby. With my new employer's help, I put my beliefs to the test, and I came out all the better for it."

Cinder then pulled back her black cape, revealing her left arm. Except it wasn't a human's arm at all, but a Grimm's; bony and jet black, darker than the night. And with her clawed fingers, she removed her eyepatch, which unveiled a Grimm's eye, flaming red, one that looked like it was grafted straight into her eye socket.

"What the…"

"Time passed, and the day came when Summer was investigating the activity my group had been making here in Vale. That fool Ozpin didn't know what he was getting into, but he still went ahead and ordered your mother to proceed, and she got too close for comfort for my group to ignore. She had to be taken care of… And I was only too happy to do it." Cinder breathed deep. "Do you know what I mean, Ruby?"

Ruby was stunned, her initial fear of Cinder's monstrous form now completely overridden. She knew what she just heard, but…

"Do you understand what I did to her?"

The girl felt something awful well up in her heart. "Did you…"

"Do you really have to ask?"

Ruby fell silent.

"Yes, Ruby. That's right…" Cinder cackled as she snapped her Grimm fingers, and ice and fire formed around the palm of her monstrous left hand. "I killed Summer, and she died like a dog at my feet!"

"…"

"What, cat got your tongue?"

"…"

"Aw, don't be like that. Surely you have more to say?"

"…"

"You think I'm making this all up, don't you? That nothing I told you is even close to the truth? Well then, what more can I say to make you believe and get a nice reaction from you?" Cinder grinned. "I'm sure Beacon told you something about Summer dying due to Grimm. But in truth it's the stock answer they give to every death they want to sweep under the rug to cover up botched missions. Those pathetic fools… They don't even know I killed Summer. But let me give you the full story of what really happened. About how your mother cried and begged me to spare her life, because she had a family to take care of…"

Ruby teleported towards Cinder, fueled by a fury she had never felt before, overriding the fatigue that plagued her since waking from her nightmares.

"Ah, yes. That's exactly what your mother would do, if she had your powers."

A primal instinct took over Ruby. In an instant Crescent Rose's blade was swung straight at Cinder's neck, her rose petals mingling with the woman's autumn leaves.

"But just like her, you're not good enough."

The next thing Ruby knew, Cinder had used her two Grimm fingers to block Crescent Rose's blade, which stopped Ruby's attack right when it was just inches away from Cinder's neck.

Ruby gasped as she found herself unable to power through. Though it wasn't because her Grimm flesh was uncuttable; rather, she saw Cinder's fingers constantly regenerating in response to the force she put in her swing, and Ruby's eyes widened at the sight.

A kick to Ruby's torso came next, and the girl was sent tumbling hard on the railcar roof.

Groaning, Ruby managed to slowly stand up, only to find Cinder waiting for her, not moving an inch from where she stood, with a look of smug enjoyment on her face.

"That was your best shot at me, wasn't it? Oh, you poor thing… So ignorant and weak."

Ruby grit her teeth. Only the anger in her heart was keeping her from falling to her knees, to not use her scythe as a makeshift pole to support herself, even as her body ached from blinking four times. She couldn't let Cinder get away with what she just admitted, because how the hell could she? Her mother Summer, the one she always thought as a hero… Ruby remembered how painful it was that her mother died, how hard it was to move on. But now that she knew that her mother was in fact assassinated…

"If they had told you the truth from the start, then this would be easier for you to digest, and perhaps you'd fare a bit better against me. Oh, well. Blame Ozpin and the system for feeding you garbage. Which you seem to be all too willing to lap up, by the way. I'm sure you never doubted any of it."

"Shut your mouth! I'll kill you!"

"I'm sure you want to," Cinder said, twirling her scythe again. "By the way, how's your father Qrow? It's sad not to see him protect his child. Is he drinking again? He's not as awful as Summer, but he still supported her at the end of the day, so don't worry, I'll kill him the moment I find him, once my schedule opens up…"

Even her dad too?! Overwhelmed by rage, Ruby blinked towards Cinder once again, intent on cutting her head clean off.

"Teleporting so soon? What do you think I am, some stupid beowolf?"

Cinder blocked Ruby's attack, this time with her own black scythe.

"We both know your blitzes are too slow, but you really shouldn't push yourself."

So saying, Cinder whacked Ruby's head with the blunt end of her scythe, and the girl crashed face first into the railcar roof.

"But don't get me wrong, I know why you can't help yourself. It's because you hate me with all your heart, and that's just perfect. Your rage will keep you going, trust me. I know it all too well, and so should you."

Cinder then grabbed Ruby and threw her back to her starting point, the girl landing with a thud.

"I like that look you have right now… You have a very nice expression. I'm sure you have so much to curse me with, but save it for later. Let me tell you one thing first."

Ruby tried to stand up, but she was far too slow; she managed to look at Cinder right as she was hit by a torrent of ice more violent, but at the same time more calculated, than anything Ruby had seen from Weiss. The attack didn't harm her, only trapping her arms and legs instead, but it was more than enough to make her drop Crescent Rose, her weapon falling like a rock on the railcar roof, and that of course meant that she lost access to her Semblance.

"For all the fear people have about the Grimm, they've forgotten another beast, just hiding in the shadows. Those civilized people you claim to protect? Guess what? They're monsters themselves."

Cinder punched Ruby's stomach with a clenched Grimm fist, and the girl felt like she was on the verge of passing out.

"Oh, don't act like they're not. I know they are, I've seen it myself with my own eyes. No one can even begin to understand what I've been through, and how I worked myself to the bone to escape it. And when I finally escaped that life to become a Hunter, the last thing I needed was for someone like Summer to remind me of my past, every single day…"

Cinder then grabbed Ruby's head with her Grimm hand, forcing the girl to really look at her, flaming Grimm eye and everything.

"Summer never understood anything, unable to wrap her head around what really mattered, and she acted so high and mighty too while we worked. But I promised her nonetheless that the world will become a better place once I'm done, and I intend to keep that promise." Cinder smirked. "Because believe it or not, I'm not a monster, even when I look like this. I'm just a harbinger of what the stars have mandated to humanity, centuries ago."

"You won't…"

"What's that?"

"You…" Ruby gasped for air, drool falling down her lips – and some blood too – but she still managed to glare at the woman, fueled by the anger boiling inside. "You won't get away… I'll kill you!"

"Hmph. Summer always did look down on me with her silver eyes. Just like what you're doing now."

Cinder then grabbed Ruby by the neck, her grotesque fingers digging into Ruby's skin, and she began to squeeze; Ruby struggled for breath.

"But what are you going to do? Tell Qrow and Ozpin? They don't even know where to start looking for me. You have no clues to give them other than the name Cinder Fall, which for all you know, I just made up that name right now." Cinder beamed; there was a crazy look in her eyes. "I want to keep you alive, Ruby. I don't want to kill you… What would I do without you? I want to take you with me, make you suffer every day, and force you to be there with me at the very end, to witness my vindication."

Cinder squeezed harder, and Ruby felt her strength fade rapidly. No longer able to breathe – much less reflect on anything, enraged as she was – the pressure on her neck became too painful to bear…

"But when you look so much like Summer, I just can't help myself from strangling you…"

Suddenly a wave of ice crashed straight at Cinder, and the woman countered it with a pillar of fire using her scythe. But then a powerful cone of flame was hurled at her as well, and Cinder was forced to let go of Ruby's neck to protect herself, summoning an ice wall with her Grimm arm.

Then a girl went up to Ruby, moving swiftly with a feline grace, and set her free from her icy prison using a black naginata she held in her hands. "Ruby, are you ok?" she whispered, holding Ruby's body so that the girl didn't fall on her knees.

"I'm ok… Thanks…" Ruby coughed and gasped for air as she caressed her neck. It was Blake who held her, and the ones that threw ice and fire at Cinder to keep her pinned had to be Weiss and Yang; her friends woke up just in time. And so Ruby forced herself to get back on her feet, powering through her pain. "…what took you guys so long?"

"This Cinder woman got us good," Blake said. "Sorry about that."

"It's ok… She's a monster after all…" Still coughing, Ruby grabbed Crescent Rose, and once again embraced her Semblance, her rose petals swirling again, just as Weiss and Yang walked closer to Cinder to maintain their attack. "And like any Grimm, we have to kill her… Just give me a sec, and I'll cut her head off…"

"A rematch? Or are you all just queuing up again for me?" Cinder laughed at the four of them, even as she defended against Weiss and Yang. "But don't think I'm ignorant of what you're planning, I can see right through your tactics." The autumn leaves floating around Cinder suddenly quickened, as if being blown away by a storm. "But I guess you stopped me from getting ahead of myself with Ruby, so why don't I humor your efforts for a while as thanks? It's the least I can do…"

Cinder cackled as she blitzed towards Yang, her scythe gleaming in the moonlight.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Blake grunted as she realized just how horrible their situation was. Cinder blitzing and having the ability to use both ice and fire was already difficult to deal with, but seeing how she just tanked Yang's blow just a few seconds ago, it was clear that the woman could regenerate as well, and that was just too much.

She had the most insane Semblance Blake had ever seen, able to wield four abilities in one body, something Blake was sure had never been seen before in the world, as impossible as Ruby's teleports. And with how the woman toyed with them, shrugging off all their attacks like it was nothing… Cinder was a walking army in every sense of the word. Not that Blake needed any more proof than the obvious; the Grimm appendage Cinder had for a left arm told Blake everything she needed to know.

Blake shook her head. The battle plan Weiss came up with earlier wasn't going well at all. And without Jaune and his team backing them up… Forget about beating Cinder, then. Escape was increasingly becoming their best shot at this point. But making one right now on the fly wasn't so easy to do; even without civilians left on the train to be worried about, they would still be allowing a criminal to run free if they did try to escape, not to mention taking the risk of turning their backs at a complete monster like Cinder.

She looked again at Ruby. The girl fired bullets with Crescent Rose, shooting in tandem with Blake's aura shots to cover Weiss and Yang as they tried to double team Cinder. There was a killing intent in Ruby's silver eyes that Blake had never seen before, as if she was waiting for the right moment to blink in and kill the woman herself. And it was of note that Cinder seemed quite fixated on Ruby as well…

She then heard the howl of a beowolf from far away, but Blake ignored it, focusing on the fight.

Then suddenly two figures came crashing in their direction – it was Weiss and Yang being thrown at them! – which prompted Ruby and Blake to stop their attacks to catch their teammates; Blake was the one who caught Weiss.

"Damnit…" Battered and bruised, Weiss was panting hard, and her eyes blankly stared into space. Blake could still feel Weiss's fighting spirit, but the girl struggled to even hold Myrtenaster in her hand, which meant that she was basically out of the fight.

"Thanks again for stopping me from killing Ruby," Cinder said, walking towards them with a confident stride, twirling her scythe. "But it seems this is the extent of your powers. I even left your faunus friend alone, and still none of you could scratch me. Tch, a shame. I think I'm done playing with you three. I might as well just focus on Ruby at this point."

"Leave them out of this!" Ruby shouted, going so far as to step forward, acting like a shield for her friends. "You think you're so tough? You can't even take me down!"

"Trash talk doesn't suit you." Cinder rolled her eyes. "Hmph, how cute to see you so bad at lying. Just look at yourself, who do you think you're fooling? You've been teleporting so much that you almost failed to catch your blonde friend."

"Say that right to my face again, I dare you!"

"I know you don't want to admit it, but you're exhausted, Ruby. No wonder you were missing your shots at me. So why don't you just sit this one out like a good little girl, hm?"

That last part was true, as Ruby looked far too tired for someone without a scratch on their body. The girl could barely even keep her legs from giving out, much less move her body to cut Cinder down. But Ruby gave Cinder a death stare nonetheless; the burning hatred in the girl's eyes hadn't dimmed one bit.

Suddenly Yang began to remove the bandages from her right arm, which made Blake grab on to Yang's hands to stop her outright.

"Why are you stopping me?! She's asking for it!" Yang winced; she was badly wounded and bruised herself, and had a desperate look in her face. "…I'll burn her to ash!"

"It's not going to work, trust me!" Blake was all too familiar with the dangers in doing that stunt again – she told Yang never to use it without her express approval – and she had no plans of revisiting it anytime soon, for very good reasons. "A true hybrid like her will see it a mile away!"

"A what now?! What did you say?!"

"Damnit, just don't!"

Yang scowled, but said nothing.

"Aha, looks like the term really is getting around. See, Ruby? Things have been going on behind the scenes for much longer than you think." Cinder chuckled as she turned her sights from Ruby to Yang. "But did you just imply that you're holding back all this time? That's a bold claim…" Cinder's Grimm eye flared. "You think I'm giving it my all here? Why don't I melt the three of you into glass instead?"

There was another howl from a beowolf, which Blake once again ignored; had to be some random Grimm that wandered too close to the walls.

Then something descended from the clouds, the wind blowing down on everyone as it did, and its presence along with its deep groans quickly caught everyone's attention. It was a huge black thing, with red eyes and stony markings…

"Enough, Cinder!"

The voice sounded familiar enough; it was the guy in gray that was with Cinder earlier, reaching out for her while suspended in midair by holding on to long rope that touched the railcar roof, like what soldiers would do while using a helicopter. Except the thing up in the air was a monstrous flying whale, which was supposed to be impossible to appear around these parts, but here it was nonetheless. Incredibly, the guy's rope was connected to the mouth of a doomgape, a Class Two Grimm!

"Headquarters called!" he shouted. "Sorry to break up the party, but we've been ordered to go back, and that means no more playing around! Hey, don't blame me. We tried to wait for you, but you were having too much fun!"

"Did I really take that long?" Cinder sighed as she shrugged. "Alright, fine."

She then grabbed the rope, and the guy in gray made a hollering sound; soon after that the two were carried off, as the doomgape made a slow rising motion towards the clouds.

"Running away?!" Acted if she hadn't noticed the doomgape at all, Ruby aimed at Cinder with Crescent Rose. But her strength suddenly failed, and she fell to her knees alongside Weiss; the latter was still trying to recover. Blake and Yang covered them on instinct, but neither followed it up with an attack, which was all well and good. The escape plan Blake thought of had just materialized in the form of Cinder's whimsy, and it was fortunate that Yang was finally on the same wavelength.

"Not running away from you at all, Ruby!" Cinder yelled. "It's just that my employer is looking for me, so I must cut our time short. But we'll see each other again soon enough, and I look forward to it! For the meantime, I'll let your friends live for the time being as a parting gift to you, so treasure them while you can. It'll make breaking you all the sweeter once I do finish them off!"

"Get back here, Cinder!" Ruby's eyes were wide like saucers now, much like that of an animal desperately trying to escape its chain. Her rose petals were swirling wildly now. "I'll kill you!"

"Ha! As if you can!" Cinder cackled loudly as she made her escape, with the guy in gray shaking his head as if having to endure a mischievous child, all while the doomgape ululated a slow, soft dirge. "Goodbye, Ruby! Why don't you wallow in your weakness until we meet again… We'll settle things soon enough!"

The doomgape was far up in the air now, out of reach of any of their weapons; Cinder had made her escape, which a win for them as far as Blake was concerned; she breathed a small sigh of relief. But as a precaution, Blake observed the surroundings to make sure that there were no tricks up Cinder's sleeve – just in case she decided to give them a new parting gift of the more explosive kind – and she saw Yang do the same.

Well, everything seemed good so far. Then Blake noticed that Ruby was still gripping her weapon tight…

"…you won't get away…"

"…Ruby!" Weiss gasped, who was only now starting to come around; shock was all over her face. "…no, don't force it!"

Blake's eyes widened. She realized what Ruby was trying to do, and so she reached out her hand, with Yang not far behind.

But it was too late.

Ruby was gone in a flash, leaving only rose petals in her wake…

And there was no sign of the girl anywhere.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ruby groaned as she opened her eyes. Feeling dirt and leaves on top of her body, she found herself under a tree, and far away from civilization; only the shattered moon and the stars gave her light.

She knew exactly what happened. In her rage she thought she would teleport right next to Cinder, even at the height the woman was at, but instead she had done it again. She had blinked one too many times, and paid the price for it; she was beside thick vegetation in the middle of nowhere, at best somewhere miles away from Patch.

Cinder… I swear I'll kill you…

Ruby felt the end part of Crescent Rose right at her fingertips, but she didn't have the strength to grab it and embrace her Semblance again. She then took her phone from her pocket – unlike the trials, Hunters carried ways to communicate with others – but feeling its cracked screen and unresponsiveness to her touch told her it was of no more use.

But I'll probably kill myself first at this rate.

She had moved on from her mother's death with Cale's help, painful as that was, but now that Cale was… Ruby winced, feeling tears fall down her cheek, remembering the nightmares she received. Ruby could never forgive Cinder for killing her mother, and reopening an old wound in her heart, right alongside the other one she had.

Ruby tried to stand up, but her fatigue – along with aches in both her head and chest – were just too much; she slumped back to where she was, reduced to just wiping the blood off from her lips. While her hatred of Cinder was still there, her will to keep fighting was gone, replaced only by a wish to sleep despite being exposed to the elements.

I just wanted to avenge you, Mom… Cinder killed you, and she threatened to kill Dad too… I couldn't let her get away with it.

Then something clicked in her mind, like a jigsaw piece being fit.

Ruby realized that Ozpin enrolled her into Beacon as penance for her mom's death, but at the same time he decided that she didn't deserve to hear the truth. That had to be it; there could be no other explanation. A new wave of anger bubbled up in Ruby's heart. How could he do this to her? He had every opportunity to tell her, but he still chose to keep her in the dark?! Choice words formed in her mind, ready to be spit out at Ozpin the moment Ruby saw his face…

The funny thing is, I'm not even angry at Signal or my parents. They signed something, and at the end of the day they died protecting Vale. It's part of a system that has served humanity well and I'm not about to upset that, especially when I'm not the only one who's suffered like this.

Congratulations again on being a Hunter. I'm glad that we met that night in the forest, and I'm happy that you decided to be here in Beacon. You'll do well, and you'll make both your parents proud.

Ruby recalled Cale telling her that his parents died under the same circumstances, and that she promised that she would change the system. But having focused so much on being a Hunter – and trying to forget the night in Patch – Ruby had completely forgotten all about that other promise of hers; feeling ashamed, her anger at Ozpin dissipated right then and there. Because if Cale could understand, then she should too, especially when she knew deep down, regardless of his reasons for taking her into Beacon, that Ozpin still cared about protecting others.

Ruby wiped away her tears. She wasn't in a good frame of mind at all, and it hurt to admit that Cinder got inside her head. Didn't she just promise herself that she would better control her emotions? And look where it brought her; her teammates must be worried sick.

Sorry for dropping the ball again, guys. I can't do anything right.

Ruby breathed deep, saving as much strength as she could. She was becoming a liability to everyone at this point. She had to do better. She couldn't afford to make this same mistake in a mission again. She would apologize to her friends for her recklessness…

But she had to get out of here first, which was next to impossible in her state. She would have to wait for help, but would she even survive the night?

Mom, Cale…

The foliage around her suddenly rustled, and a distinct snarl broke the quietness.

Ruby was shocked to hear it, knowing what that sound was, and fear gripped her heart, realizing that it snuck up on her so easily, defenseless as she was.

Under the moonlight, Ruby saw a lone Grimm come out of the vegetation, a beowolf with the archetypal red eyes and bony armor.

But even in her fear, she was quick to notice that there was something very unusual about this one. No, not just its more wolflike gait and its bluish fur instead of a Grimm's shadowy skin, but that this beowolf carried a massive greatsword with only one clawed hand. A steel blue blade that could only be described as a window into the galaxies of space, the weapon smoking with nebula… An evolved Grimm, like how it was discussed in class? Whatever it was, Ruby had never seen anything like it.

But the beowolf didn't give her any time to react, much less to pray. With a deep growl, the Grimm approached Ruby with an unusual grace belying its size, and reached for her with its other clawed hand, its fangs bared.