Chapter 45: War Vault

The Warmind's patterns pulsed across the monitors, flashing in sequences that shifted and reconfigured with increasing speed—a digital representation of calculations beyond human comprehension. Yet despite the rapid processing, no response came. The silence from the machine intelligence spoke volumes.

Jaune exhaled sharply, a bitter smile touching the corner of his mouth. "That's what I thought."

The tension in the room was suffocating, centuries of buried resentment brought suddenly to the surface. Ana looked between the ancient Guardians and the Warmind's displays, her expression conflicted as she witnessed this unexpected confrontation between legends she had only read about in fragmented archives.

Without warning, a deep mechanical groan echoed through the chamber as massive doors at the far end began to slide apart. The heavy sections of reinforced metal retreated into the walls, revealing a cavernous space beyond—a secure vault that had remained sealed since the Collapse.

Inside, illuminated by slowly activating lights, stood a circular platform surrounded by complex machinery. At its center, projected in shimmering holographic detail, rotated the image of a javelin-like weapon, its design both elegant and lethal, pulsing with the unmistakable geometric patterns of Warmind technology.

"By the Traveler," Adam whispered, momentarily forgetting the tension as he took in the sight.

Ana's eyes widened with recognition and something close to reverence. "The Valkyrie Protocol," she breathed, stepping forward. "I've only seen references to it in the deepest Bray archives. I never thought it actually existed."

"What is it?" Yang asked, eyeing the projected weapon with cautious interest.

Ana approached the platform, her Ghost scanning the surrounding systems. "The Valkyrie was designed as Rasputin's ultimate offensive measure against paracausal threats—a weaponized construct of pure Warmind energy that can be wielded by a Guardian." She looked up at the projection with undisguised awe. "It's said to channel the full defensive capabilities of a Warmind subnode directly into a physical form."

Ruby studied the hologram with the practiced eye of someone who had witnessed centuries of warfare. "Rasputin's contingency," she observed quietly. "Designed to fight threats beyond our understanding."

Yang took a step toward the vault, then hesitated, glancing back at Jaune and Oscar. "So... do we use it?" The question carried more weight than its simple wording suggested.

Oscar's face was unreadable as he stared at the projection. The ancient wisdom in his eyes seemed to be calculating not just tactical advantages, but moral costs. "That weapon was built with the same protocols that justified sacrificing the Iron Lords," he said, his voice low. "The same cold logic that values objectives over lives."

"But it might be our only chance against Xol," Blake pointed out, her practical nature cutting through the emotional undercurrents.

The vault trembled again as another violent tremor shook the facility. On the monitors, the surface sensors showed catastrophic damage spreading across Hellas Basin as Xol's massive form continued to emerge.

Jaune stood motionless, conflict evident in every line of his body. His centuries-old hatred of Rasputin warred with his duty as a Guardian to protect humanity, regardless of the cost to himself. His hand rested on Mountaintop, fingers rhythmically tightening and relaxing as he processed the impossible choice before them.

"We could fight without the Valkyrie," Pyrrha suggested gently, moving to Jaune's side. "We have our Light."

"Light alone won't be enough," Adam countered, his tone matter-of-fact. "Not against something like Xol."

Ana stepped forward, her fingers tracing symbols in the air as her Ghost projected additional data streams. "The Valkyrie isn't just a weapon—it's specifically tuned to disrupt Hive biological structures at their most fundamental level. It was designed with entities like Xol in mind." She hesitated, meeting Jaune's hostile gaze. "Rasputin created it as a defense for humanity, not just for himself."

"Machines don't protect," Jaune said flatly. "They preserve what they're programmed to value."

"Neither do gods," Oscar replied, surprising everyone. He gestured toward the monitors showing Xol's emergence. "That creature has existed since before humanity drew breath. It feels no remorse, no hesitation—only hunger and purpose." He turned to Jaune, centuries of comradeship between them. "Which is the greater evil? The machine that killed our friends, or the god that will devour everything if we fail?"

The question hung in the air, weighted with impossible choices.

Ruby turned to face Oscar and Jaune directly, centuries of shared battles giving her words additional weight. "I understand your hatred. I was there for the aftermath, remember? I saw what Rasputin did to your friends." Her silver eyes held a compassion that transcended time. "But right now, the Valkyrie might be the difference between Mars surviving and being consumed."

Penny approached the holographic projection, examining the intricate design with her synthetic eyes. "The energy signature is remarkable. The way it interfaces with Light is unlike anything I've encountered." She caught herself, glancing back at the two ancient Guardians with apologetic understanding. "But I recognize that using it comes with significant emotional cost."

Jaune closed his eyes briefly, his hatred of Rasputin battling against his commitment to humanity's survival. When he opened them again, determination had replaced the rage, though the pain remained.

"We use the Valkyrie," he said finally, each word clearly costing him. "But not because I forgive or trust. Because duty demands it." He looked directly at the central console where Rasputin's presence was strongest. "And when this is over, Warmind, we still have accounts to settle."

The monitors pulsed once in acknowledgment, and data streams began flowing across every screen, detailing the Valkyrie's capabilities and optimal deployment strategies against the emerging threat.

Oscar nodded slowly, acceptance rather than agreement in his ancient eyes. "For now, we are allies of necessity." He moved toward the platform, his steps measured and deliberate. "But never forget, Rasputin—Guardians have long memories."

The tension in the room eased slightly as the immediate question was resolved, though the underlying conflict remained. Yang, Blake, and Weiss exchanged glances, witnessing yet another layer of complexity in the history of these ancient Guardians they had once known.

The holographic projection of the Valkyrie intensified, shifting from blueprint to materialization protocols as Rasputin began the process of forging the actual weapon.

Ana approached the console. "The Valkyrie requires a specific attunement to the wielder. It was designed to be used by someone with exceptional Light compatibility." She looked around the room, her eyes eventually settling on Ruby. "Given your experience and Light signature, you might be the optimal candidate."

Ruby stepped toward the platform, her leadership reasserting itself. "We need to move quickly. These tremors are getting worse, which means Xol is getting closer to the surface."

As the team began to mobilize, preparing to face the god beneath Mars, the weight of centuries hung in the air—old hatreds temporarily set aside, but not forgotten, in service to a greater purpose.

Adam paused beside Jaune as they moved toward the platform. "The hatred doesn't go away," he said quietly, unexpected understanding in his voice. "But sometimes we fight alongside those we despise because the alternative is worse."

Jaune glanced at him, recognizing a kindred spirit in ways he hadn't before. "Voice of experience?"

Adam's eyes briefly found Ruby across the room before returning to Jaune. "More than you know."

Together, they approached the platform where the Valkyrie would soon materialize, prepared to wield the weapon of an enemy to face a greater threat—united in purpose if not in perfect trust.

The holographic projections of Mars' surface filled the center of Rasputin's vault, displaying real-time seismic data as Xol continued its emergence. Ruby studied the tactical readouts, her centuries of battle experience evident in her measured assessment of the situation.

"Two threats," she said finally, looking up from the projections. "Xol is the primary danger—a Worm God with enough power to consume the entire planet. But Nokris is the immediate problem. He's facilitating Xol's awakening through Hive rituals, and he'll certainly defend his god when we make our move."

Ana nodded, her Ghost expanding its shell as it interfaced with Rasputin's systems. "The Warmind's sensors confirm that. Nokris has established a ritual circle here," she pointed to a glowing nexus northeast of their position, "that's accelerating Xol's emergence. If we can disrupt those rituals, we might buy enough time to deploy the Valkyrie effectively."

"So we need to split our forces," Blake observed, her tactical mind immediately grasping the strategy.

Ruby nodded. "Two teams. One to confront Nokris and disrupt his rituals, the other to prepare for Xol with the Valkyrie."

"Who goes where?" Yang asked, reloading her Monte Carlo with practiced efficiency.

Ruby's silver eyes swept across the assembled Guardians, calculating strengths, weaknesses, and combat synergies with the precision that centuries of leadership had honed.

"Weiss, Blake, Yang—you'll come with me after Nokris," she said finally. "Our team dynamics may be rusty, but they're still there. We've worked together before; we'll do it again."

The three younger Guardians exchanged surprised glances. After weeks of Ruby keeping them at arm's length, none had expected to be chosen for direct combat alongside her.

"The rest of you," Ruby continued, turning to Oscar, Jaune, Penny, Pyrrha, and Adam, "will prepare to engage Xol directly. Oscar, you have the most experience with Hive gods. Jaune, your tactical oversight will be essential. Penny, your aerial capabilities give you maneuverability against a target that size. Pyrrha and Adam, your precision will be crucial for targeting vulnerable points once they're identified."

Jaune stepped forward, his earlier anger at Rasputin temporarily set aside. "Are you sure about this split? Nokris isn't some ordinary Hive prince—he's utilizing necromancy, something forbidden even by their own Sword Logic."

Ruby's expression remained firm. "I'm counting on it. His heretical powers will make him overconfident. We'll use that against him."

Oscar studied her for a moment, ancient understanding passing between them. "This isn't just about tactical efficiency, is it?" he asked quietly.

Ruby met his gaze steadily. "No," she admitted. "It's also about trust. About reconnection." Her eyes briefly found Yang, Blake, and Weiss. "We have unfinished business."

"In the middle of a planetary crisis?" Adam questioned, though there was no judgment in his tone—only recognition of a pattern he'd seen before.

"Sometimes a crisis is exactly when you find clarity," Ruby replied simply.

Ana approached the central platform where the Valkyrie projection continued to rotate. "According to Rasputin's analysis, the optimal time to deploy the Valkyrie will be when Xol reaches approximately 87% emergence. At that point, its core will be exposed but it won't yet have achieved full mobility."

"That gives Ruby's team approximately twenty minutes to disrupt Nokris's ritual," Oscar calculated. "After that, whether they've succeeded or not, we'll need to move against Xol directly."

Jaune studied the map, his tactical mind already formulating contingencies. "We'll need elevated positions for Pyrrha and Adam. Penny can provide aerial reconnaissance. Oscar and I will coordinate the Valkyrie deployment with Rasputin's targeting systems."

Ruby nodded in approval. "And we'll keep Nokris and his forces occupied, preventing them from interfering with your strike on Xol."

The vault shuddered as another tremor shook the facility, more violent than before. Dust rained from the ceiling, and several auxiliary systems temporarily lost power before emergency protocols reactivated them.

"Time's running out," Ana warned, her fingers flying across the console as she coordinated with Rasputin. "The surface is becoming increasingly unstable. If you're going after Nokris, you need to move now."

Ruby turned to her team—her original team—with a newfound resolution. "Weiss, Blake, Yang... it's been centuries for me, months for you. I know I've been distant, and there's a reason for that we'll discuss later. But right now, I need to know: are you with me? One more time, like on Remnant?"

Yang was the first to step forward, her lilac eyes meeting Ruby's silver ones without hesitation. "Always, sis. Always."

Blake nodded, Nightfang gleaming with Void energy at her hip. "Whatever comes next, we face it together."

Weiss chambered a round in Randy's Throwing Knife, her expression resolute. "Team RWBY, back in action."

For the briefest moment, something of the old Ruby—the young, optimistic leader from Remnant—flickered across her otherwise ancient features. Then it was gone, replaced by the confident determination of a Guardian who had fought across centuries.

"Rasputin," she addressed the Warmind directly, "we need a way back to the surface that bypasses the main facility. Nokris will have that area heavily fortified by now."

The holographic display shifted, highlighting an auxiliary transport shaft that led to a service exit approximately half a kilometer from Nokris's ritual site.

"Perfect." Ruby turned to the other team. "Be ready. When we engage Nokris, you'll have your window against Xol. Don't waste it."

Oscar stepped forward, briefly clasping Ruby's shoulder in a gesture of solidarity that carried the weight of shared centuries. "Be careful. Nokris has powers unlike any Hive we've encountered before."

"So do we," Ruby replied, a hint of her old confidence breaking through.

As Team RWBY prepared to depart, Yang caught Ruby in a moment of privacy. "Hey," she said quietly, "when this is over, we need to talk. About whatever's been keeping you away from us."

Ruby met her sister's gaze, conflict evident in her silver eyes. "I know. And we will. I promise."

The two teams moved toward their respective missions, united in purpose despite the complex emotions that ran beneath the surface. The fate of Mars—and perhaps much more—hung in the balance as they prepared to face two aspects of an ancient darkness that had slumbered far too long.

The auxiliary transport shaft hummed with ancient Golden Age technology as Team RWBY ascended toward the surface. Ruby stood at the front of the platform, her Arc Scythe dematerialized but ready to form at a moment's notice. Behind her, Weiss, Blake, and Yang checked their weapons one final time, the familiar routine creating a sense of déjà vu that transcended centuries.

"The exit point is approximately two hundred meters from Nokris's ritual site," Ruby explained, her voice carrying the weight of countless battlefield briefings. "We'll emerge in a maintenance tunnel that should provide initial cover. From there, we move quickly and quietly until we identify the exact ritual configuration."

"And then?" Yang asked, ejecting and reloading her Monte Carlo's magazine with practiced efficiency.

"And then we disrupt it," Ruby replied simply. "Violently."

Weiss studied Ruby's profile, noting the subtle differences centuries had wrought—not in her physical appearance, which remained unchanged thanks to her Ghost's Light, but in her bearing, her expressions, the way she held herself. This Ruby carried herself with the gravitas of someone who had commanded armies and witnessed the rise and fall of civilizations.

"What's the plan for Nokris himself?" Weiss asked, adjusting her grip on Randy's Throwing Knife. "His power seems... unconventional."

A ghost of a smile touched Ruby's lips. "Unconventional is putting it mildly. Necromancy is heresy among the Hive—it violates their most fundamental principle of Sword Logic. By their laws, one must earn strength through killing, never by giving it freely." Her silver eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "That makes Nokris powerful, but also vulnerable. He exists outside the Hive's cosmic hierarchy. No protection from higher powers, no tribute from lesser ones."

"So we can hurt him," Blake concluded.

Ruby nodded. "We can hurt him."

The transport shuddered as it neared the surface, damaged systems struggling against Mars' increasingly unstable geological activity. Through small viewport slits, they glimpsed flashes of the chaos outside—fissures spreading across the red landscape, structures collapsing, and an eerie orange glow pulsing from beneath the fractured ground.

"We're almost there," Ruby announced, her hand instinctively moving to the pendant at her throat—a habit Yang immediately recognized from their childhood, though the pendant itself was unfamiliar. "Remember, our priority is disrupting the ritual. We engage Nokris only if necessary."

The transport lurched to a halt, emergency lights flashing as auxiliary power took over. The door slid open with a hydraulic hiss, revealing a dimly lit maintenance tunnel. The air carried the metallic tang of ancient machinery and the distinctive sulfurous scent of Hive corruption.

"I'll take point," Ruby said, materializing her scythe in a crackling display of Arc energy. "Blake, watch our six. Weiss, Yang—flanking positions, five meters spread."

The formation came naturally to them despite centuries of separation for Ruby and months of adjustment for the others. As they moved through the tunnel, Yang couldn't help but feel a strange disconnect—the familiarity of fighting alongside her sister overlaid with the stark realization that this Ruby had lived lifetimes since they last fought together on Remnant.

"Approaching the exit," Ruby whispered after several minutes of careful progress. "I can sense heavy Hive presence beyond. Prepare for immediate engagement."

The maintenance tunnel ended at a partially collapsed doorway, beyond which lay a scene from a nightmare. The Martian landscape had been transformed into a Hive breeding ground—flesh-like growths pulsated along makeshift structures, luminous green runes floated in geometric patterns above ritual circles, and crystalline formations erupted from the ground like malignant growths.

At the center of this corruption stood Nokris, his skeletal form hovering above a massive ritual circle inscribed with symbols that hurt the eyes to look upon directly. The air around him shimmered with necromantic energy as he chanted in the ancient tongue of the Hive, each syllable causing the ground to tremble slightly.

Surrounding him were dozens of Hive entities—Knights with ornate armor bearing the same heretical runes as their master, Wizards whose songs harmonized with Nokris's chant, and countless Thrall that moved with unnatural stillness, awaiting commands.

"The primary focus of the ritual is there," Weiss whispered, pointing to five crystalline spires arranged in a pentagon around Nokris. Each spire pulsed with sickly light that fed into a central column connecting to the fissure below. "They're channeling energy directly to Xol."

Ruby studied the arrangement, centuries of tactical assessment evident in her measured gaze. "Good eye. Those spires are the key. Destroy them, and the ritual collapses." She turned to her team, her expression focused. "Weiss, your Queenbreaker has the precision we need. Target the junction points where the energy feeds into the central column. Blake, use your shadow-step to get close to the eastern spires—plant your void charges there. Yang and I will create a diversion to draw attention away from both of you."

Blake nodded, already loading void-infused explosives into small charges. "How long do we need to hold them off?"

"Two minutes for positioning, another minute for synchronized detonation," Ruby replied with the precision of someone who had timed countless operations. "Once the charges are placed, fall back to the ridgeline to the west. That's our extraction point."

Yang rolled her shoulders, Solar light beginning to flicker around her fists. "Just like old times, huh? Team RWBY against impossible odds."

For the briefest moment, something softened in Ruby's ancient eyes—a flicker of the sister Yang remembered. "Some things never change," she said quietly, before the warrior reasserted itself. "On my mark... three, two, one—mark!"

They burst from the maintenance tunnel entrance with perfect coordination. Blake immediately vanished into shadow, her Void-infused form barely visible as she darted toward the eastern spires. Weiss slipped behind a collapsed structure, deploying a bipod for her Queenbreaker with efficient precision.

Ruby and Yang erupted directly into the Hive gathering, their Light blazing like twin suns against the darkness. Yang's shotgun roared, each blast punctuated by a Solar-charged punch that sent Hive flying backward in flames. Beside her, Ruby's scythe carved impossible patterns through the air, Arc energy chaining between enemies as she moved with the fluid grace of centuries of practice.

The diversion worked—perhaps too well. As Thrall and Knights converged on the sisters, Nokris himself turned his attention toward them, interrupting his chant. His elongated skull tilted with something approaching curiosity as he studied Ruby.

"The ancient Light-bearer," he hissed, malevolent recognition evident in his multi-toned voice. "How interesting that you still persist, after so many centuries. The Deep has whispered of your deeds."

Ruby didn't break stride, her scythe cleaving through three Acolytes in a single swing. "The darkness has a tendency to exaggerate."

Nokris raised his staff, green energy coalescing at its tip. "Perhaps. But I sense what you are. What you truly are beneath that shell of Light." The energy discharged, not toward Ruby but at the ground beneath her, fracturing the Martian soil into a rapidly collapsing sinkhole.

Ruby shadow-stepped away just as the ground gave way, reappearing beside Yang, who was grappling with a massive Knight.

"A little help here?" Yang grunted, her arms locked with the Knight's as they struggled for dominance.

Ruby's scythe flashed, separating the Knight's head from its shoulders in a clean arc. "Keep him talking," she whispered to Yang as the Knight's body collapsed. "Blake needs more time."

Yang nodded almost imperceptibly before turning to face Nokris directly. "Hey, bone-face!" she called out, drawing his attention. "Your dad must have been really disappointed to have a heretic for a son. What'd he do, ground you for a few millennia?"

The taunt struck a nerve. Nokris's form shimmered with barely contained rage, the air around him distorting with necromantic energy.

"You know nothing of exile," he snarled, abandoning his position to float toward Yang, his staff pulsing with malevolent light. "Nothing of true isolation!"

Yang stood her ground, Solar light intensifying around her as she prepared to absorb the incoming attack. "Try me," she challenged.

Nokris unleashed a torrent of corrupted energy that would have annihilated an ordinary Guardian. Yang's Light flared in response, her inherent ability to absorb and redirect damage transforming the attack into fuel for her own power. She staggered backward several steps but remained standing, her eyes shifting from lilac to burning red as her hair ignited with Solar flame.

"My turn," she growled, launching herself at Nokris with explosive force.

Meanwhile, from her concealed position, Weiss lined up her shots with methodical precision. The Queenbreaker hummed with building charge as she targeted the first junction point where energy flowed into the central column. The linear fusion rifle discharged with a distinctive electronic whine, its Arc-infused bolt severing the connection in a shower of disrupted energy.

Across the ritual site, Blake moved like a shadow among the crystalline spires, her void charges placed with strategic care. Two minutes—exactly as Ruby had calculated—was all she needed to position the explosives at optimal points along the eastern structures.

Nokris and Yang clashed in a spectacular display of Light versus Darkness, their battle drawing the attention of every Hive entity in the vicinity. It allowed Ruby to systematically eliminate any who might notice what Blake and Weiss were doing, her scythe rendering her almost untouchable as she danced through the battlefield.

"Charges set," Blake's voice came through their secure channel. "Moving to secondary position."

"First junction severed," Weiss confirmed, already repositioning for her next shot. "Three more to go."

Ruby acknowledged with a simple, "Proceed," as she cut down a Wizard that had strayed too close to Weiss's position. Her movements were a stark contrast to how Team RWBY remembered her fighting on Remnant—gone was the occasional impulsiveness, replaced by ruthless efficiency and economy of motion. Every swing, every step was precisely calculated for maximum effect with minimum exposure.

Yang, meanwhile, found herself being gradually overwhelmed by Nokris despite her incredible resilience. The Hive prince's staff lashed out, connecting with her shoulder and sending her skidding across the ruined landscape.

"Yang!" Weiss called out, momentarily distracted from her targeting.

"I'm fine!" Yang shouted back, rolling to her feet with a grimace. "Just keep shooting those junction things!"

Nokris turned his skeletal face toward Weiss's position, suddenly aware of what she was doing. "The ritual!" he shrieked, raising his staff to target her.

Ruby appeared between them in a flash of speed, her scythe intercepting the blast of dark energy. The impact sent her sliding backward, boots carving furrows in the Martian soil, but she held her ground.

"You'll have to go through me first," she stated, her silver eyes gleaming with dangerous light.

Nokris tilted his head, studying her with newfound interest. "Gladly," he replied, and gestured with his free hand. The ground around Ruby erupted as undead Thrall clawed their way to the surface, grasping at her legs with deathly cold hands.

As Ruby fought to free herself, Nokris raised his staff again, dark energy coalescing for a killing blow. Before he could release it, a Solar-infused fist connected with the back of his elongated skull, staggering him forward.

"Don't forget about me," Yang taunted, her hair blazing with renewed intensity. The distraction gave Ruby the moment she needed to free herself, Arc energy disintegrating the undead Thrall around her.

Across the battlefield, Weiss lined up her third shot, the Queenbreaker's charge building as she compensated for the increased Hive activity around the remaining junctions. Blake had successfully placed all her charges and was now providing covering fire with precise bursts from her Red Death, each three-round burst dropping an Acolyte before they could reach Weiss's position.

"Sixty seconds to synchronized detonation," Blake reported, her voice calm despite the chaos.

"We need to clear the blast radius," Ruby commanded, her scythe cutting a path through a group of Knights that had formed a protective circle around one of the remaining junctions. "Yang, start falling back toward the extraction point. Blake, cover Weiss until she makes her final shot."

Yang hesitated, clearly reluctant to leave Ruby facing Nokris alone. "But—"

"That's an order," Ruby cut her off, her tone brooking no argument. "I'll be right behind you."

With visible reluctance, Yang began fighting her way toward the designated extraction point, her Solar abilities creating a blazing path through the Hive forces. Blake shadow-stepped to Weiss's position, Nightfang drawn and humming with Void energy as she kept encroaching enemies at bay.

Weiss lined up her final shot, exhaling slowly as she squeezed the trigger. The Queenbreaker discharged, its Arc bolt severing the last junction in a spectacular display of electrical disruption. "Final junction severed," she reported. "The ritual's energy flow is compromised."

"Fall back now," Ruby ordered, engaging Nokris directly to draw his attention away from her retreating teammates. "Thirty seconds to detonation."

Nokris seemed to realize the danger too late. His skeletal features contorted with rage as he witnessed his ritual being systematically dismantled. "What have you done?" he howled, abandoning his fight with Ruby to float rapidly toward the compromised spires.

Ruby shadow-stepped to intercept him, her scythe slicing through the air in a devastating arc that caught him across his midsection. Dark ichor sprayed from the wound as Nokris reeled backward, his staff automatically raising to defend against Ruby's follow-up strike.

"The same thing we always do," Ruby replied, her voice carrying an unexpected echo of her younger self. "Stopping monsters like you."

Behind her, Weiss, Blake, and Yang had reached the extraction point, taking up defensive positions as they provided covering fire for Ruby's retreat. The timer on Blake's charges counted down relentlessly—fifteen seconds, ten, five...

"Ruby, move!" Yang shouted, genuine fear in her voice as her sister remained engaged with Nokris, seemingly too close to the imminent explosion.

At the last possible moment, Ruby disengaged, using her shadow-step ability to cover the distance to the extraction point in the blink of an eye. She materialized beside her team just as Blake's charges detonated in perfect synchronization with the weakened junction points Weiss had targeted.

The explosion was spectacular—a chain reaction of Void energy and Arc disruption that consumed the ritual site in a maelstrom of conflicting energies. The crystalline spires shattered, their fragments dissolving into ash as the carefully constructed ritual circle collapsed. The central column of energy destabilized, releasing a shockwave that knocked the team off their feet despite their protected position.

When the dust settled, the ritual site was a smoldering crater, the carefully constructed Hive structures reduced to rubble. Of Nokris, there was no immediate sign—only a massive tunnel leading deeper into the fractured Martian landscape where he had apparently retreated.

"Did we... did we get him?" Yang asked, pushing herself back to her feet.

Ruby shook her head, already scanning the area for potential threats. "Not sure. We don't know if he still had a Throne World; either way, he was down for a while. More importantly, we've disrupted his connection to Xol, which should slow the Worm God's emergence."

Weiss checked her Ghost's readings. "The energy signatures are destabilizing all across this region. We may have bought Jaune's team the time they need to deploy the Valkyrie."

Blake's ears twitched beneath her helmet as she detected movement from the crater. "We've got company," she warned, raising her Red Death.

From the smoking ruins of the ritual site, figures began to emerge—not Nokris himself, but dozens of his reanimated servants, their bodies twisted and deformed by the ritual's collapse. They moved with unnatural jerking motions, as if the strings controlling them were being pulled by an increasingly desperate puppeteer.

"He's trying to reform the ritual," Ruby realized, her scythe materializing once more. "Using his remaining forces as conduits."

"So much for our clean getaway," Yang muttered, chambering a fresh round in her shotgun.

Ruby surveyed the approaching horde, making rapid calculations based on centuries of combat experience. "We don't need to destroy them all—just keep them from establishing a new ritual pattern until Jaune's team is ready." She activated her comm. "Ruby to Jaune team. Ritual disrupted, but Nokris is attempting to reestablish. What's your status?"

Jaune's voice came through, strained but determined. "Valkyrie at 84% materialization. Xol's emergence has slowed but not stopped. We need three more minutes."

"Copy that," Ruby acknowledged. "We'll hold this position and keep Nokris occupied." She turned to her team, silver eyes gleaming with reflected light from the burning crater. "Three minutes. Just like old times."

"Except with space zombies," Yang quipped, Solar energy gathering around her fists.

For the briefest moment, the corner of Ruby's mouth quirked upward in a smile that transported the others back to Remnant—to simpler times, when they were just students facing their first challenges together. Then the warrior reasserted itself, and Ruby Rose, veteran of countless battles across centuries, readied herself for yet another stand against the darkness.

"Team RWBY," she commanded, her voice carrying both authority and a hint of something they hadn't heard from her since their resurrection—something almost like joy in their reunion. "Let's finish this."

When it comes to the original personalities of the Remant characters, you have to remember that for them to be here reforged in light, they had to have died. Peek behind the curtain, who is to say that they actually remember everything from their past lives or that even though they have those memories, they are not still changed? Similar to Crow and Urldern, Crow did not become Uldern again when he got his memories back. My goal has also been to have the remnant guardians show uniqueness in the way they use light, specifically their supers, this fic is more about how the remnant characters can be adapted into the Destiny Universe

Final thought: I have noticed no one has mentioned how the 3 characters' most noticeable physical characteristics aren't present, and none of the characters have mentioned it, almost like memories are weird things.
-

-Final Final thought: the power scaling between Sol and Remnat isn't even close; a Raid-sized fireteam could probably figure out how to wipe out Armies of the Grim and deal with Salem; interesting idea for another day