"We were more than a little reckless. To tell the truth, I was afraid for all of us. But with Violet, the fear was of a slightly different nature" - Yang Xiao-Long

When Ruby got the message that her brother had found Blake and that they should meet next to the dockyard, she couldn't have imagined anything close to what would happen next. When her team approached the area, they were greeted by the sounds of gunfire originating from the docks.

She, alongside a worried Yang and Weiss, hurried there as fast as they could. She wanted to use her speed semblance to get there faster, but Yang told her that it was better to stick together.

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

"Blake?" She gasped.

Blake turned towards her team, both of her pistols now pointed at them. Her breathing was rapid and her eyes were wild. Much as she disliked that particular phrase, her facial expression screamed 'cornered animal.'

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

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

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

Never before did she seriously consider killing another person. It wasn't something huntresses did, really. She figured that she would simply get so good that she could knock out any villain she encountered.

But if Blake was telling the truth, then she had to help Violet in any way she could. She approached the battlefield and peeked out from cover to a grizzly scene. A massive number of dead bodies were scattered in a small clearing, the corpses still leaking blood. A number of men in masks were fleeing from Blake's fire, and she was cutting them down mercilessly.

On the opposite side of the clearing, she caught a glance of Violet dashing for cover as well, while opening his distinctive scythe. A scythe she made for him. A weapon he used to kill those people. It was just a glimpse, but she did not miss the glimmer of red on him. No, how could she think that, it could have very well been his blood. Would that be better or worse? But there were so many corpses, and he was in the middle of it.

She wanted to puke at the thought of her passionate work killing someone. Beside her, Yang and Weiss were having a similar reaction.

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

Looking at Yang instead, she saw how she was crying while shooting her own weapons. Weiss seemed to be the only half-composed person, and she channeled her ice dust to blow up one of the men hiding behind a crate.

Before long, the sounds of gunfire quieted down, ending with an explosion from near where one of the guys fled. She could now hear the feint sound of police sirens from the distance. It filled her with dread the last time, and the situation was way worse now since there were actual bodies now. She collected herself and aimed at where the last explosion originated, only to see a tired and bloody Violet appear in front of her scope.

He looked absolutely miserable as he dragged his scythe behind him. It was stained with blood and some entrails were stuck on the blade. His clothing did not fare much better, and even his face and hair had red stains on it.

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

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

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

For her part, Weiss relaxed Myrtenaster, but it was still held in the air and pointed towards her. "You… Those were White Fang you were fighting."

"Yes." Violet made their way to them. Yang looked at him with fury in her eyes. He did his best to avoid their gazes. "Let's go, the police are nearing."

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

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

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

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

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

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

Luckily for them, the police seemed hesitant to move in and so they were allowed to escape through an exit close to sea. They slipped into a mostly deserted industrial area, and they continued running for another fifteen minutes or so before taking shelter in an abandoned warehouse. Violet was utterly exhausted, and he fell to the ground, breathing heavily.

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

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

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

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

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

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

"He's a murderer!"

I really wasn't that hurt. A few bruises here and there. If it makes them leave me alone, though…

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

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

Yang calmed down, if only a little, "You could have died there, you imbecile. Never do something that reckless again, you hear me?"

Violet did not respond.

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

She looked away, "Yes."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Vio?" Ruby's eyes widened.

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

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

His hands were shaking. He wasn't sure if he could go through with it. He still loved them, yes, but he couldn't stand their hatred. He just didn't want to be here at this time. At this very moment he wanted nothing more than to shrink into nothingness.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Blake gave her a nod. If nothing, at least they seemed to be back on good terms.

Yang made a grunt, but she let him go. She seized his scythe, however. Violet couldn't really complain.

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

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

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

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

He was beyond thankful when they came back with a change of clothes, he figured he would have gone insane if he had to spend another second in the awkward silence.

They had to wait for dawn to return to Beacon on account of no flights occurring past midnight, as well as the school curfew. Violet decided that they needed to walk it off. Besides, they were still somewhat close to the crime scene.

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

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

The first sign of something being off was the open ramp. The second was the gun against his temple, "What the hell did you do to me? Explain yourself, kid!"

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

"Ordered to die? I've never heard of such a semblance. What the hell are you?" The man was panicked, and his gun was shaking.

His aura recovered a bit, but the Mordred was not in its combat configuration. "Who am I? I am justice incarnate, come to smite you." He got out of the gun's way and tackled the man, who fired wildly, missing him just barely before falling over.

Violet managed to grab his gun, and he shot him in the head without hesitation. He cursed himself for his recklessness before going to inspect the aircraft. After all, he was going to repurpose it as a vehicle for his new army. That, along with the dust shipment present, as well as his own funds and gathered friends, will be enough to start of a new era for Vale. For Vale, and the entire world.