Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY.

A/N: Remember to vote if you haven't! The poll will go down either at midnight after A Fox In Middleton's next (11th Ch.) update or at midnight the next day if I upload close to midnight one night.

Then it'll stay up until its 12th Ch update, and the new story will go up shortly after.

Beta: ANUBIS the god kng.

Chapter XIII.

Last Time.

"I'll barricade every door here until the snow dies down hopefully by morning." Naruto walked down the hall and to a staircase leading down. As he got to the bottom he saw a wine cellar with Qrow at the bar before sighing. "I think there's a Grimm called Apathy here Qrow."

Looking to see cellar doors that were chained Naruto took two of the bar stools and broke the legs off them to wedge in the handles before jumping back as the doors moved. "Yeah, something's here."

He then walked up to see his teammates nailing boards on the doors and bottom windows before taking more legs he broke off and threw them in the fire.

Morning.

Naruto walked out to see Oscar filling the flat tires before breaking beer and wine bottles on the floor and picking up a match.

"Why are you doing that?"

Naruto turned to Haru and used his thumb to light the match. "These people deserve a burial and I want to make sure no one stays here if they're traveling." He threw the match in and lit every room on fire as he used every alcohol bottle to douse every room.

Later, Yang pulled the trailer with Bumblebee as Naruto rode beside her on his bike before hearing Ruby ask Maria about her knowledge of not only Grimm but her silver eyes as they talked through the night as a precaution. "Isn't it obvious? I had silver eyes too."

Naruto blinked as he glanced back just as Maria's goggles squinted when she smiled.

Now.

Maria tells the story of when she was younger, under her huntress alias, "The Grimm Reaper", who was ambushed by a group of assassins after single-handedly defeating a Nevermore using her silver eyes. The leader of the assassins, a crocodile Faunus named Tock, explains that she has been ordered to kill her because of her eyes. Maria manages to kill them all, but not before Tock slashes her eyes out, blinding her.

"I went into hiding soon after."

"I can't believe it. You…"

Naruto turned to look back for a second as Qrow spoke. "You're the Grimm Reaper, you were a legend! And then you disappeared..."

"How exactly does a legend just disappear?" Oscar asks before Qrow continues.

"You never used your name, never showed your face. Lots of us thought you were just layin' low. Eventually, we just came to accept that you were probably dead. But the stories about you, I based my weapon off of yours. I wanted to be as good as the Grimm Reaper."

Maria sighs as she looks back. "Well, I'm nothing but a disappointment, so you're well on your way."

"How can you say that?" Blake asks her.

"Child, a Huntress is supposed to protect others to the bitter end. But after I lost my eyes, I only ever looked after myself. Even after my surgery, I was too afraid to fight. Afraid someone would find me again, finish what the others started. You shouldn't aspire to be like me, especially when some of you are clearly stronger already. It's… comforting, to see that your generation seems up to the task of inheriting this world. I'm just sorry I didn't do more to leave it in better shape."

"Well, maybe you can do something now. Teach me to use my powers the way you did." Ruby speaks and as Maria looks back at her, a Scroll's ringtone can be heard. Ruby pulls her Scroll out and gasps in excitement. "It's Jaune!"

Naruto and Yang stop their bikes, to look back in surprise. "How?" Weiss asks as Ruby answers her Scroll.

"Uh, hello?"

"Ruby! Oh, thank you! I've been checking my Scroll for your signal since we made it to the city!"

"The city? Wait…" Ruby looks at her Scroll, then looks at the little signal symbol under Jaune's portrait, watching it get better as she points her Scroll toward the road ahead.

The group sees a hill where the snow ends. Yang proceeds forward to drive them up the hill. At the top of the hill, the group sees a walled city in the distance along the ocean. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have arrived in Argus." She smiled before Naruto jumped past her and landed halfway down the hill to continue to the city.

At the entrance to the city of Argus, Yang inputs a code, to lock Bumblebee, Naruto's bike, and the trailer in a garage. Team RWBY, SHNN, Qrow, Oscar, and Maria take the time to admire their surroundings. Through the crowd, a certain bubbly ginger-haired girl in pink zooms in.

"Whiskers!"

Naruto was tackled by his girl forcing him back several steps before stopping as he cupped her ass under her skirt. Nora then kissed him forcing a make-out session before moaning as he griped her panty-clad ass.

Pyrrha, Jaune, and Ren also arrive. "Are you all OK?"

"Yeah," Haru replies walking as a green Natsu was lying on the ground.

Later on, the group is traveling through the city on a trolley. "It's a lot bigger than I thought it'd be," Yang said as she stood beside the bench Naruto was on as Nora sat in his lap.

"It's actually one of the largest non-capital cities in all of Remnant," Ren explains as Ruby looks over in shock.

"No way! But wait, wouldn't it be harder to settle something this big away from the main Kingdom?"

Jaune looks at her to speak. "Well, it was, until Mantle showed up. Early settlement attempts by Mistral didn't go well. But colonists from Mantle were able to help them brave the cold climate and return for goods that Solitas couldn't provide."

"The two nations worked together to create a hybrid city. While it falls under the Mistral domain, Atlas keeps a military presence here to help keep the people safe and keep trade between the two nations steady." Ren finishes as Nora sighs from her spot on Naruto.

"Well, until recently..."

The trolley makes a stop and everyone hops off. "We should probably start looking for a ship," Blake says as the trolley leaves.

"So, where have you guys been staying?" Shiki asks as Jaune chuckles nervously.

"There you are!"

They turn to see a blonde woman, holding a baby boy, in her arm is seen on the other side of the street waving to Jaune.

She's a young woman with wavy, dirty blonde hair and blue eyes. She's wearing an orange sleeveless top with a beige sleeveless vest, light brown trousers with orange stitches on each side, and dark brown boots. In addition, she has a wedding ring on her left hand and a bootlace necklace around her neck.

The baby has short black hair and brown eyes. He wears a white and blue long-sleeved shirt with denim overalls and white socks.

"Is that...?" Yang trails as Jaune waves at her.

"Hey, Saph."

Later, the group reconvenes in a living room at a home. "I can't believe I'm meeting your sister! I have so many questions." Ruby exclaims as Yang and Weiss play with the toddler.

"Oh, I can give you the rundown later!" Nora spoke from her spot on a chair.

"Will you guys knock it off?" Jaune asks as Saphron pinches his cheek.

"What? I love telling stories about my baby brother."

Jaune groaned while also flailing his arms at his elder sister. "I am not a baby! That is a baby." He says pointing at Adrian, who huffs back at him

Yang and Weiss get all wide-eyed as they fuss over Adrian. Both of them then look back at Naruto.

"No… Put him back."

"So Saphron, you're the only Arc living here?" Blake asks looking at a picture on the bookshelf of the Arc siblings all together can be seen, with the young Jaune at the center with pigtails and a deadpan expression while holding a sign that says "HELP" on it while his sisters do various crazy things around him.

Saphron nods with a smile. "Yep! Moved the second I could. Jaune and I are the only two living away from home. I guess he just wanted to be like his big sis."

"I, uh..."

"Aw, you didn't deny it!" She teased and the two siblings played fight with each other by pulling each other's cheeks.

Then, a door is heard opening. A dark-haired woman with glasses is seen walking in with bags of groceries. She has a single smooth bang that goes down her forehead and in between her eyes. She's wearing a dark navy collar shirt with a light blue cardigan, dark gray jeans, and red sneakers.

"Everyone, this is my wife, Terra Cotta."

"Why, hello there! Wow, quite a party, you weren't kidding. Hun, can I get some help please?" Terra asks before Saphron quickly runs over to help Terra in the kitchen.

Later on, Jaune, Ren, and Nora are seen preparing sandwiches for everyone. "And you're sure it's alright if we stay with you?"

Saphron nods at that. "Of course, we're happy to house Huntsmen and Huntresses."

Terra nods as well with a smile. "You all risk so much to keep people like us safe. It's the least we can do." She then looks at Qrow. "Especially for such an elite Huntsman like yourself. Although, I will say I was surprised to learn you had students helping you. Is that even… legal?"

Qrow, not paying attention, gets his arm bumped by his niece. "Uh, of course. Think of it as an extended training mission. Trust me, I was a professor. Even went to the same academy as them. Let me tell ya, these kids are way better than we were at their age." Pyrrha, Jaune, Ren, and Nora walk back into the room with plates full of sandwiches. "Well, not better than me specifically, but a lot of students-"

"Shut up, there's food!" Ruby shoots past him to said food.

Everyone eats as Saphron and Terra share a look before the latter's Scroll is heard buzzing.

"Excuse me, I'll be right back." Terra stands and answers her Scroll while walking out of the room "Hello?"

"Is everything OK?" Blake asks Saphron who nods.

"Oh, yeah, it will be. Terra's a technician for the town's relay tower. Unfortunately, the military's radar system is also housed there." She then starts making baby talk at Adrian. "Guess what's been on the fritz lately and who's getting falsely blamed."

Terra peeks back into the room at that. "Me."

"So, what's your plan for tomorrow?"

"Well... We're trying to make our way to Atlas. We'll probably start with the military base." Ruby says as Pyrrha sighs.

"That may be a problem."

Next Day.

The next day, Team RWBY and SHNN walk up to the Atlesian Military base on the island off the coast of Argus, only for the gates to abruptly close on them before they could even enter. "Come on! You didn't even hear us out!"

Yang yelled at the two identical guards. "Our orders are clear: The Mistral-Atlas border is closed!" One explains before the other speaks up.

"Please!"

"Have a good day!"

"But-"

"A good day!" Both yells as Qrow sighs.

"Hey, if you don't wanna believe that I'm friends with Ironwood-"

"General Ironwood!" The two correct as Qrow palms his face.

"Yeah, General Ironwood, then fine. But look, we have Weiss Schnee with us and we're trying to get her home safely."

Weiss looks down with reluctance upon hearing Qrow say that. Naruto grabs her hand and squeezes it to assure her as the two guards look at each other before turning their attention back to the group. "Approach!" Weiss shares a look with Naruto who nods Weiss then walks up to the gate and the two guards step up and bend down to inspect her. After a moment, both guards stand straight back up. "Very well!"

They speak before the second guard continues. "You may speak with our commanding officer!"

"We will fetch her at once!"

The two guards turn around in sync and chant "Hup hup hup" and "Atlas Atlas Atlas" as they run to get their superior.

"They were... kind of…" Blake trails off before Ruby finishes

"Super weird? Uh, yeah."

"Not the weirdest I've seen.

"What's wrong?" Oscar asks when noticing Maria looking down in thought.

"Well, I... may know this commanding officer..."

"That's good, isn't it? If she's your friend, then maybe she'd be more willing to help us." Ruby says looking down.

"I wouldn't exactly call us... "friends"," Maria replies to her.

"Acquaintances?" Weiss asks walking back to the group.

"Not quite."

Blake places a hand on her hip before speaking. "Colleagues?"

"Warmer."

"Enemies?" Yang crosses her arms at that.

Maria smiles at the busty blonde. "That's the one!"

"Wait, what?"

Maria nods and then explains. "Oh, yes. I come through here about once every ten years to get my eyes checked up in Atlas. You bring outside cashews on one flight, and suddenly you're placed on the additional screening list for life!"

"You've gotta be kidding me…" Qrow sighs at that.

"Now, now, let's not give up hope yet... Maybe she's dead!"

Suddenly, the gates open up quickly, and the two guards return. "Introducing!"

"Special operative!"

"Caroline Cordovin!"

They all hear footsteps before the guards turn to the side to reveal a short-statured elderly woman around Maria's age wearing the standard Atlesian officer uniform.

Cordovin steps forward and glares at Maria. "Witch."

"She-devil." Maria glares at her.

"Hm. I've seen you've chosen larger contraband to smuggle this time."

Maria chuckles at that. "Oh, Cordo. You know they say time changes people, but I see you've still got that stick right up your-"

"H-hello! Miss, uh, Cordovin." Ruby steps between the two. "My name is Ruby Rose, and I was wondering if you would hear us out about-!" Ruby stops as Caroline interrupts.

"I've already heard what your other little friends had to say, Miss Rose." She looks behind Ruby, noticing Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha, and Ren standing a little ways away behind the group. "What are you doing back here?! I thought I told you to leave!"

Nora tries to charge forward, only to be held back by Ren and Jaune as Pyrrha waves.

"Hello!"

"And I told you we wouldn't rest until you let us through!" Nora yells as she struggles.

"You civilians are incapable of comprehending the importance of our mission here in Argus. So allow me to say this slowly, with smaller words: This base, that relay tower, and the very safety of Argus are all gifts from the glorious Kingdom of Atlas! And it is my duty to uphold them, as only I have the wit and tenacity for such a task."

"Such wit!"

"Such tenacity!"

The guards spoke as Maria stared at Caroline. "Or maybe Atlas just wanted to get you as far from the kingdom as possible."

"You're just like the rest of these Argus ingrates! This city wouldn't even be here if it weren't for our Atlesian ancestors, and what do we get in return? The entire world is ready to put a knife to our throats!"

Ruby waved her hands at that. "Please, we know your kingdom had nothing to do with the Fall of Beacon. We were there."

"No one's happy about the Atlas borders or embargo, but I know General Ironwood is just worried. It's why we need to talk to!" Weiss was then interrupted by Caroline.

"The General is no coward! Atlas is strong. If all the kingdoms plan to make us their enemy, then so be it! Atlas will prevail!"

"Atlas will prevail!" The guards yell out as Yang crosses her arms.

"Do you guys seriously have to do that?"

"(Sigh) If Miss Schnee has truly come to her senses and wishes to return to her family, then, of course, the Atlas military will escort her home. But the kingdom will not be responsible for her "friends" of... questionable character." Caroline says then glances at Blake specifically upon saying her last statement.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Weiss asked narrowing her eyes

"It means we're done here."

The gates to the base closed quickly, leaving the group outside once again. "Hey! Open up right now!" Natsu yells as he latches onto the bars and starts screaming obscenities as Haru and Shiki pull him back.

"I don't..."

"Weiss." Ruby stops her at that. "I told you we wouldn't leave your side for a second. We'll find a way to Atlas. Together." Ruby finishes as she places a hand on Weiss' shoulder. Weiss smiles and nods back at her friend as Qrow starts to walk away. "So… where are we going now?"

"Yeah, what's the plan?" Nora asks as she and her team walk up.

"The plan? The plan just got shut in our face three times over. I'm going for a drink."

Ruby runs over to her uncle at that. "Uncle Qrow, I really think we should try and come up with something…" She trails off as Qrow walks away before she can finish. "...together."

"What's his problem? It's not your fault we can't go on." Jaune walks over to Ruby at that.

"If he's gonna be a jerk then we'll just come up with something without him. I mean, we've got Ozpin with us! He usually knows what to do."

Upon hearing this, Oscar looks down sadly, and Weiss, Blake, and Yang exchange troubled looks. "What is it?"

Saphron's Home.

Back at Saphron's home, Jaune punches the wall, leaving a very large crack in it. "Jaune!"

"Everything we did was for nothing!"

"That's not true," Blake says as Nora sighs angrily.

"Really? Cuz it sure does sound like it."

"If Salem can't be killed, then how are we supposed to win this?"

"There's always a way to stop an immortal," Naruto says as everyone looks at him. "Face one in my world.

"Look, none of this is great, we know. But we're not the bad guys here." Oscar says as Jaune looks at him.

"Are we sure about that?"

"What?"

"He's in your head, isn't he? Did you already know about this?" Jaune asks as he angrily walks over to Oscar.

Only to be stopped by Naruto. "No, he's a kid who did not ask for this."

Jaune then goes upstairs and after a moment, they hear a door opening and slamming shut. "Is he... gonna be okay?" Yang asks as Nora leaves followed by Ren.

"I think it would be best if we had some time to ourselves."

Pyrrha followed kissing Naruto on the cheek as she left. "Bit of a jerk thing to do." Natsu huffed crossing his arms.

"Later on, Ruby heads outside onto the backyard porch with her Scroll to her ear. "Come on, please…"

Ruby takes away the Scroll from her ear, looking at the screen with Qrow's portrait on it and text above it in red letters saying NO ANSWER. "Where are you?!" She asks before she throws her Scroll into the yard.

"You know, I came out here to avoid the yelling."

Ruby notices Maria sitting next to a small table with a plate of fruit on it. "Sorry. The others went to get food for tonight."

"Why not go with them?" Maria asks as Ruby sits on the ground in front of him.

"I don't know… I don't know anything... What do I tell Jaune and his team when we don't even have a plan? Qrow's out drinking, Ozpin hasn't come back and even if he did, I don't know if I could trust him. And there's always Jinn, but... we only have one more question we can ask her. I feel like I'm letting everyone down…"

"You know, you don't give yourself enough credit," Maria said to Ruby who chuckled.

"Oh... Thanks."

"That wasn't a compliment."

Ruby blinked at that. "Uh... what?"

"If I have to explain it to you, it will just defeat the purpose. But if you're tired of not knowing anything, how about we discuss those eyes of yours?"

Ruby stands up at that. "Oh! Yes, ma'am, I would be honored!"

"Sit back down, for Pete's sake." Maria sighed as Ruby sat down. "Let's start with what you do know. Tell me."

"Uh... Silver-eyed people are supposed to be legendary warriors. Or something. And at the Fall of Beacon, I turned a giant Wyvern into stone."

Maria shook her head and sighed. "Oh, boy."

"Look, if I already knew everything I wouldn't be asking for help!"

"Yelling…" Maria sighs as Ruby looks back up with a sorrowful expression on her face. "It's not your fault. I had my father to teach me, and even he didn't have all the answers. But what he told me makes sense, given what I've seen."

"Was he a Huntsman too?" Ruby asks Maria.

"It wasn't really an official title back in his day. I only knew him as an old soldier and an excellent teacher. I never attended one of those fancy academies of yours, but I scored higher on the license exam than any other Huntsman or Huntress that day."

Ruby just smiles at that. "You must've been proud."

"Heh, he would've scolded me for showing off. He'd never been able to find much information about our abilities. Just legends of warriors whose eyes shone like mirrors, reflecting the light of the world onto darkness. He found so little that it made him cautious. How could such powerful bloodlines be so rare? Unless something was actively seeking to destroy them."

"Salem…" Ruby trails off at that.

"I tried to keep my powers a secret, but as you know, it wasn't enough. I owe my life to my training and my Semblance. At the end of the day, those are still your most powerful tools."

"What is your Semblance?" Ruby asks as a drop from the tree, which Maria catches before it hits the plate of fruit.

"Preflexes"! A silly name I came up with. Hard to explain, but I can sense everything better than most and react to attacks almost before they happen. Combine that with my training and secret ability to turn Grimm to stone, blind them, or vaporize them. (Ahem!) And that's how you become the Grimm Reaper!"

"So, how do I laser beam monsters with my eyeballs?" Ruby asks with a smile.

Maria just smacks Ruby on the head with her cane. "First, you stop thinking like that! I want you to think of all the times you've triggered your powers. What did those moments have in common?"

"I... was scared, and stressed. Is it emotional? Like unlocking a Semblance?"

"It's emotional but more focused than that. Think, what is it you wanted?" Maria asks her.

"I wanted to protect my friends."

Maria nods before speaking. "Precisely! It is the desire to preserve life that fuels the light inside you. And to make no mistake, it is light. Preservation is an extension of creation, or, at the very least, an enemy of destruction. The Creatures of Grimm were made by the God of Darkness, but your light comes from his brother."

"How do you know that?" Ruby asks looking up.

"I always knew how to use the light, but never why it only worked on the Grimm. Then, Jinn showed us her vision. Were you paying attention?"

Ruby closes her eyes and thinks back to when the God of Light destroyed all the Grimm in the Land of Darkness. The God of Light transforms into his dragon form, revealing his pair of Silver Eyes. "The God of Light... His eyes! Okay, where do we start?"

"Well, not here. The light will only work in the presence of Grimm. Meaning the only practice you'll get will be a trial by fire. But, what you can do is focus on creating a state of mind that you can tap into when you need it. Don't think about your light as a means of destroying evil, but as a way to protect the people of Remnant." Maria explains to the huntress.

"But, that can't be right."

"Hm?"

Ruby walks over to explain. "You said the light only reacts to Grimm, but... I used it during our battle at Haven. It reacted to Cinder."

"Interesting... Perhaps there was something that you just weren't seeing?"

"Ruby!"

Ruby notices Yang at the door. Ruby walks back into the house to see Weiss and Blake present as well. "Oh, hey guys."

Jaune also walked into the room with Ren and Nora. "What's going on?"

"It's Oscar. He's missing." Blake explains as Ruby, Jaune, Nora, and Ren become shocked as Ruby and Jaune look at each other with concerned looks on their faces.

To Be Continued.

A/N: Thanks for reading and let me know of any mistakes.

Beta: ANUBIS the god king.

Sorry for the quality of the Ch, these two episodes were mainly backstory/exposition.

Remember to vote if you haven't! The poll will go down either at midnight after A Fox In Middleton's next (11th Ch.) update or at midnight the next day if I upload close to midnight one night.

Then it'll stay up until its 12th Ch update, and the new story will go up shortly after.

Next to be updated will be A Fox In Middleton.

Nothing else to say.

Talk To You Later,

Lone Wolf Out.🐺