Our Story

Volume IV

RWBY's Resolve

The sun rose on a beautiful day. The light shined through window and gently touch Weiss' cheeks. She opened her eyes and saw Ruby right next to her. She brushed her hair out of the way and sat up, looking down on Ruby who was still sleeping. That smile on her face and the light from the morning sun reflected off of Ruby's flawless skin gave Weiss a warm feeling inside. She kissed Ruby on the cheek and embraced her from behind.

"Hey Ruby, wake up." She didn't wake up until Weiss tightened her hold on Ruby. When she woke up, she turned to face Weiss.

"Morning Weiss, you okay?"

"Uh huh, did you sleep well?"

"Yeah." She got close to Weiss and kissed her. A knock came from the door and Weiss' butler entered.

"Morning milady, Ms. Rose, would you like me to prepare your usual breakfast?"

"Yes please, we'll be down shortly. Thank you." He bowed his head and walked out.

"Gosh, you're such a queen here. I'm jealous."

"Shut up. That's so untrue." Ruby rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, come on. Let's get ready." Ruby jumped out of bed and pulled Weiss into the bathroom where they got ready. A couple of hours later, they walked downstairs where her butler was waiting for them.

"Shortly, huh," he whispered as Weiss and Ruby walked by.

"Shut up." She pushed him out of the way and he left them alone.

"Oh, before I forget, the newspaper is on the counter for you Ms. Rose."

"Oh, why thank you." He bowed once again and left them to their breakfast. In the morning, Weiss usually pays attention to her food and Ruby reads the newspaper. "Hey Weiss, have you heard?"

"What's up?"

"JNPR is now the number 1 Huntsmen team in the world."

"Really?" Weiss dropped her fork and walked around to Ruby's side of the table. She wrapped her arms around Ruby and looked down at the newspaper.

"It says that JNPR is responsible for a lot of the White Fang resistance battles. They have been able to weaken their hold on Dust shops and companies."

"Hey, maybe that's why it seems easier at work."

"Yeah, maybe."

Still hugging Ruby, "Hey, I'm not called into work today. Do you want to go out together? It's been so long."

"Alright, where are we going?"

"We'll found out as we go along. Come on, hurry up. Let's head out."

"Alright, alright," Ruby said as she was being pulled by Weiss through the house.

Meanwhile, a couple of hours before Ruby and Weiss left their house, Yang was peacefully sleeping in her bed. Blake, on the other hand, was preparing some breakfast. Blake was always known for being an early riser; at least, compared to Yang. She put the food on the table and walked over to Yang's bed, which was in the living room. She nudged Yang to wake up, but nothing happened.

"Yang, come on. It's getting late." She didn't budge. She was still deep in sleep. "If you don't wake up, I'll mess with your hair." She still didn't wake. At this point, even Blake was surprised. Yang always responds to a threat to her hair so without hesitation, she straddled Yang's body and started to brush through Yang's hair. She started from her tips and eventually streaked her hands up to Yang's head. Out of nowhere, Yang opened her eyes, kicked her legs out from under her, and switched places with Blake.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"I, uh... I was trying to wake you up."

"And what were you doing with your hands." Blake widened her eyes for her hands were still touching Yang's hair.

"Uh, nothing." She pulled her hands into her chest as fast as she could, but Yang grabbed them before she could.

"You know, I usually have to punish the person who touches my hair." Blake was actually starting to get scared. "But lucky for you, I don't care." Yang pinned Blake's arms against the bed and kissed her on the lips until they both ran out of breath. Blake got out of Yang's hold and put her finger on Yang's lips.

"It's too early for that." Yang sat up straight and looked at Blake with a real funny face. "Come on Yang. Let's eat our breakfast. I don't want it to go to waste like last time."

"Oh, alright." Yang got up from her bed and pulled Blake out as well. With their morning antics over, they moved on to their breakfast.

"So Yang, what do you want to do today?"

"I don't know. We've been quite busy lately with all of this robbery and theft stuff going on. How about we take a break today?"

"So what's on your mind?"

"Hm. How about we go into the city? There's a place I haven't visited in a while that I think you'll enjoy."

"Okay." Blake smiled and Yang started to blush.

"Well, let's get ready." Before she could finish, Yang pulled Blake's arm and took her into the shower. Unfortunately, her food went to waste again, but she definitely enjoyed her morning. After they finished getting ready, they headed out into the city. With hands held, Blake and Yang strutted through the city without a care in the world. They visited their favorite dust shop and surprisingly, the old man was still working there. Just for kicks, Yang brought Blake along to visit her favorite night club. By this point in time, Junior had forgotten about everything and happily invited the two in for a good time. After all of their past time visits, Yang brought Blake to the place she was planning. Yang cupped her hands and covered Blake's eyes. Blake was caught off guard and brought her hands up to her eyes.

"Um, what are you doing?"

"It's a surprise, calm down. Don't worry, there shouldn't be any more big surprises." A few minutes went by and Yang finally saw the park in sight. "Okay, you ready," she asked as they stepped into the park grounds. Blake nodded with a smile and Yang slowly uncovered her eyes. It took a second for her eyes to adjust, but was happy to see the world famous park of Vale.

"Wow, I haven't been here in so long." Yang wrapped her arms around Blake's waist from behind.

"I know. This place always makes me feel good inside and I thought it would be good to come here on our day off." Blake turned her head to kiss Yang, but was interrupted by a familiar voice calling out at them.

"Blake? Yang? Is that you?" Blake and Yang turned their heads slowly to see Ruby and Weiss sitting beside the park tree, enjoying an afternoon picnic. Ruby let go of Weiss' hand and stood up. "Oh my God, it is you! Haha." Ruby opened her arms and leapt at the two girls. "I haven't seen you two in so long. You wanna join us?" Yang looked down at Weiss who didn't seem very inviting at the time.

"Thanks sis, but we don't wanna intrude on your lunch."

"No, you're fine." Ruby grabbed Blake's hand and pulled her down onto their blanket. Yang felt uncomfortable by being there, but couldn't leave Blake or Ruby so abruptly. She sat down and kept her hands to herself.

"So how have you guys been? It's been what, like 2 years since that day." Blake looked at Yang.

"Yeah, just about. What a day that was." Blake tried to hold Yang's hand, but she pulled away slowly. Blake looked at Yang who was too afraid to look her in the eye. Weiss, then, broke the silence.

"So what's been going on with you guys?" Yang wasn't going to say anything so Blake spoke out again.

"We've been working with the police to keep order in the city and it's been going pretty smoothly. What about you? Anything interesting?"

"I'm working with Weiss in her dust company and nothing big has happened ever since that day."

"All thanks to you, Ruby."

"No, you do most of the work. I just stand there and look official."

"Shut up, you dunce. You know you do way more than that." Weiss leaned over and kissed Ruby on the cheek.

"Eh, I guess." While looking at the ground, Yang caught a glimpse of Weiss' little move on Ruby and couldn't stand it. She stood up.

"I'm sorry, but we have to go. It was nice seeing you two again." Yang pulled Blake's arm and she stood up.

"Wait, where are we going?"

"Remember? We have that thing." Blake knew she was lying, but didn't want to argue. She gave her farewell to Ruby and Weiss and walked off with Yang. Yang was silent the entire time she walked with Blake and eventually, they landed back at her house. She opened the door and walked over to bed and sat down in silence. Blake, on the other hand, walked in slowly and observed Yang.

"I know this may not be the right time, but I couldn't help but realize that your aura is askew. What's going on? You can tell me." She sat down next to Yang and looked at her with great concern. "What's wrong?" Yang's face lit up and grabbed Blake's hand.

"Nothing, I'm fine."

"Come on Yang, we both know that's not true. Or am I gonna have to find out myself?" Yang grew silent. Blake sighed and grasped Yang's cheek and turned it towards her."You know, I'm always here for you. No matter what it is. If you don't wanna tell me, that's fine. I just don't want you to suffer like I did. I wasn't true to myself." Yang looked at the floor and Blake redirected her to face her again. "But I am now and that's good enough for me." Yang smiled and kissed Blake.

"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I love you."

"I love you too."

...

Back with Ruby and Weiss, they finally made it back home. For some reason, the house felt a little grim. Weiss' butler welcomed them home, but they didn't give him a response like they usually do.

"Milady, is everything alright?"

"We're fine, thank you. That'll be all for tonight." He bowed and left the main hall.

"Hey Ruby, did you notice your sister was a little off?"

"Yeah, something felt really off about her."

"Do you know what's going on with her? Like, is she alright?"

"Don't worry. Yang's a strong girl. I'm certain she's fine."

"How can you be so calm about this? I've never seen or felt this from Yang ever. It was almost like she was a different person."

"I've known Yang for a long time. There's never anything really wrong with her. She just has her moments when she's not entirely there."

"Well, I hope she's alright."

"I hope you're alright. I've never seen you care about another person this much before."

"Well Ruby, you gotta remember. She's my teammate. She always will be. She's also your sister. It's your job to worry about her from time to time."

"I guess you have a point."

After that, no words were shared for the rest of the night. They were silent and to their thoughts. Even Blake and Yang didn't say much to each other the rest of the night. As the night grew late, the town seemed to be dead silent. The sound of a pen dropping could break the silence until a familiar group arose from the roofs of the night.

"Hey, did you guys see that?"

"Wasn't that RWBY?"

"I think so. What are they doing here? I thought they retired."

"It appears they have. I hope their doing alright."

"Let's not try to preoccupy our minds on this too much. We still have a lot of work left. Come on, JNPR out!" And just like that, they disappeared into the shadows of the night.

The sun breached the horizon and Blake opened her eyes to a new day. She sat up and stretched her arms. She looked down at Yang, but she wasn't there. She stood up quickly and looked around the house. She was nowhere to be seen. She walked back into the living room and think when she looked out the window and saw some yellow sparkles floating through the sky. She walked outside and looked up at the roof where Yang was sitting quietly. Blake silently climbed up to her and sat beside her.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Yang sighed.

"Nothing."

"Come on, you gave me that yesterday. Now, you woke up before me. Something's obviously bothering you. Please tell me." Yang was still looking at the horizon and she didn't answer Blake. "Is it because you saw Ruby and how she left me for Weiss?" Yang immediately turned to face Blake and grabbed her hand.

"Of course not. Don't be ridiculous."

"Then what's wrong? It pains me to see you like this."

Yang sighed. "This may sound weird, but I was worried."

"Worried about what?"

"The day we parted at Beacon was the worst day of my life. It took me forever to find myself without you being there with me. And then, when we met again, it was almost like a light was shining towards me to follow it. I couldn't be any happier. But when I saw Ruby and Weiss together, it made me remember the day I found you in that warehouse. The day I nearly lost you forever." Blake cut her off.

"Please, Yang, we don't..."

"It gave me the thought of somehow losing you again. I never want to feel that again." She kissed Blake. "I'm sorry for worrying you. It just so suddenly came to mind and for some reason, I can't shake that thought." Tears started to roll down Yang's face. "I'm sorry Blake. I didn't want to pile this on you." Blake grasped Yang's cheek and wiped off the tears from her face.

"Yang, calm down. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere."

"Blake, I can't lose you again." Blake grabbed Yang and pulled her in for a hug.

"I'm here. I'm here, okay? It's alright. Yang, listen to me. I love you and there's nothing that'll ever separate us, okay." Yang was breathing heavy and tears were falling from her face.

"I love you too Blake." Blake pulled away and smiled.

"Come on. I'll make you some food."

...

"Alright, we've reconned their entire operation and we've been able to pinpoint their location to this warehouse. From my personal observations, I believe their leader is there as well. The one who's been causing all of the problems: Roman Torchwick."

"So are we still going with the plan?"

"Yes, we go in fighting and there will be no way for them to retaliate."

"But Jaune, we've tried this kind of thing before and it's never worked."

"I have faith in Jaune. I've done some side studying and their numbers will be very low this time. With all four of us working at our best, we'll finally be able to stop them."

"Alright then, it's settled. We'll split up and meet at the meeting in two days. Good luck everyone."

...

At the Schnee Dust Company, Ruby and Weiss were discussing their upcoming delivery. A couple of her men and her head manager was there. Their mission was to deliver a support package of dust Vacuo.

"Alright, Ms. Schnee, this is probably our biggest shipment yet. I don't want to bother you, but I recommend that you join us because White Fang incursions have been scarce, but they've been successful nearly every time."

"What do you think Ruby? You up for another trip?"

"Why not? I've been missing some action in my life. Let's do it." Weiss turned back around.

"Alright, we'll join you."

"Alrighty then, let's pack it up and get going." The room cleared and everyone went to their posts. Ruby and Weiss stayed after and examined the board they used to devise their plan. Weiss looked at the map from Vale to Vacuo and it was definitely a distance.

"Gosh, it's been forever since I went on one of these."

"I know, you haven't let me go on one of these in so long. The last time I went was..." Weiss' eyes suddenly shot open and she had a quick memory of what Ruby was talking about.

"No need to say it out loud. I think we both know why I couldn't have you come with me."

"If you're worried..."

"Ahbabababup, don't go there. Just get to the train." Ruby walked off before Weiss and as she left the room, Weiss closed her eyes and breathed slowly when she suddenly had a flashback.

...

"Ruby, where are you?" Weiss looked around the crash site, but Ruby was nowhere to be found. Weiss' vision was limited due to all of the smoke surrounding the area. Suddenly, a small voice broke through the wreckage.

"Weiss, I'm here." Weiss turned her head and Ruby was lying on the ground in pain.

"Oh my gosh, Ruby, are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine. Just flying out of the train was quite the experience."

"Well, I'm just glad you're okay." Ruby smiled, but then from behind, she saw a White Fang soldier running at Weiss.

"Weiss, m-." The soldier sliced Weiss' back and she fell to the floor. "WEISS!"

...

Weiss opened her eyes and gasped loudly. Her hand slowly pressed up against her chest and the other one reached to her back where her wound once lay.

"Hey Weiss, you coming?" Weiss quickly escaped from her trance and shook her head fiercely.

"Yeah, I'm coming."

Weiss slowly walked to the train depot where her crew was still loading. Right as she entered the port, she was stunned to see 10 seatrains of Dust being loaded onto the train. Meanwhile, Ruby was inspecting the train for any faults.

"Ah Ms. Schnee, you've made it. In a couple of minutes, we'll be able to depart." She nodded her head in silence.

"Weiss! I'm so excited to get to do this again." Weiss grew tense.

"You know Ruby, maybe it's not such a good idea for you to come."

"Are you kidding me? I'm already here, you can stop me now." Weiss sighed.

"Alright."

"Yay!" Ruby leapt at Weiss and hugged Weiss' left arm. "Let's get going." The two boarded the train and prepared for a long ride.

In the beginning, Weiss was so on-edge that she couldn't sit still. She paced through the entire train while Ruby was captivated by the view. For Ruby, this was the first time she ever went to Vacuo. For Weiss, it was just another Dust run. She would have to arrive, drop off the stuff, return. Unfortunately, it didn't feel anything like the other times. It was filled with panic, fear, and uncertainty. Finally, Ruby pulled Weiss' arm and she fell on Ruby's lap.

"You need to calm down. There's nothing to worry about. As long as both of us are here, there's nothing to worry about." While she was talking, Weiss was constantly watching the windows and everything else around her. Ruby held Weiss' cheek and turned her head. "Hey, there's nothing to worry about." Weiss shrugged her shoulder into Ruby's hand and closed her eyes.

"Alright, I'm sorry. I'm still not used to being back at work."

"It's okay, I'm here." Weiss' shoulders finally relaxed and she decided to stay in Ruby's arms. The trip from Vale to Vacuo is estimated to be a 6 hour trip. 2 hours went by and nothing strange happened. There were a couple of bumps in the tracks, but other than that, it was quite easy. 2 more hours went by and Weiss slowly started to get uneasy. In her head, she was thinking if it was really going to be this easy. She got up and made her way to the front cart as the final 2 hours winded down.

"Hello, Ms. Schnee, we're are starting our deceleration and approaching the station now."

"Good. Let's get this over with."

The train started to slow down and the station was in sight. After a couple of seconds, Ruby walked in. The door behind her closed and a message came up on the intercom.

"If this is the Schnee Dust transport, please listen. The station has been taken over. I'd advise you to return home. There are too many of them," the man said softly.

"Hey!" Suddenly, noises of struggle and fighting took place on the intercom. "Place the stoppers on the track. We can't let this one escape." Ruby's and Weiss' faces were in shock. They couldn't believe it was happening again and so late in the delivery. Ruby ran out of the room without saying anything to Weiss. She turned to look at the door.

"Ruby?" She turned back around to face the window.

"Ms. Schnee, what's our plan?" Weiss was silent for a bit.

"Keep slowing down. We are rendezvousing with that station. No more questions." And just like that, she turned to leave the room.

"Ms. Schnee?" She turned back around in frustration.

"What is it now?" When she turned around, she saw Ruby jump from the train and engage the enemy. "Ugh, Ruby." She ran to get her sword. The train finally stopped at the station and the door leading to the outside opened up to reveal a field of bodies. When Weiss looked up, she saw Ruby walking towards her with a smile on her face.

"I still got it." Weiss rolled her eyes.

"You know, you can't just jump into things like this by yourself."

"Come on Weiss, I was just trying to have fun. And plus, I handled them, didn't I?" Suddenly, a man on the ground caught Weiss' attention. She sneakily pulled out a pistol and aimed it at Ruby.

"Ruby!" She knocked Ruby out of the way and shot ice at him. On the ground, Ruby looked at the iceman and rubbed the back of her neck.

"I had a feeling I missed one." Weiss' grip on her sword loosened and walked over to Ruby and picked her up.

"Please be more careful." Her men freed the station men and the Vacuo Dust company associates and the transfer was complete. They returned to the train and headed back home. On the way back, Weiss did not budge from her stance. She stayed inside the front cart and examined everything that went by. Ruby decided to stay in the Schnee cart and sleep the way home. In the middle of the trip, Weiss looked down at her hands which were trembling. She clenched her fists and put them underneath her arms. She slowed her breathing and tried to clear her mind.

"Ms. Schnee, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"No!" Weiss eyed her eyes and sat up. Ruby woke up immediately after.

"Weiss, what's wrong?" Weiss ran her hands down her face and sighed.

"Nothing. It was just a bad dream."

"What was it about?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"Yeah, usually you're such a good sleeper so this kind of concerns me." Weiss took a deep breath.

"You remember the Vital Festival our first year?" Ruby nodded. "Well, I was watching from the sidelines when you were fighting and your opponent beat you to a pulp. We ended up taking you to the hospital and then it cut off there, but the odd thing is that that wasn't a dream. That actually happened. Ever since then, I've tried to forget about it so why did it come back so suddenly?" Ruby hugged her from the side.

"It's okay Weiss. I'm here and I'm much better than I was back then. I can fend for myself." Weiss couldn't help but let out a little chuckle.

"Ruby, do you remember that day? Do you remember anything about that year?"

"Of course. How can I forget that year? Let's see, there was the tournament, a lot of training, and oh yeah, the day you..." Ruby stopped mid-sentence.

"Yeah." Weiss said softly.

"Why'd you do it?"

"I don't know. We were so young and had no idea what was ahead of us. I decided to be the mature one and make sure that our team remained a team and luckily it did." Ruby grew saddened.

"So you didn't care for me at the time?"

"Of course I was. It was just that I couldn't let my feelings get in the way of our team's success. Back then, you showed such pride and perseverance in being a Huntress. I couldn't make that disappear. It was such a motivating factor for me, even though you probably didn't see it at the time."

"So what about when you left Beacon?" As her questions lingered on, Ruby grew more and more quiet and less enthusiastic. Weiss saw this and crawled in front of her.

"That was the saddest day of my life, but I knew in my heart that you were following the path that you always wanted. Every day I would ask myself if I did the right thing and you know what would be my answer. It was the look on your face when you first exited that air cruiser." Ruby's head dropped and nothing more could come out of her. "I'm sorry. This is my fault. If I hadn't of worried you about my stupid dream, you wouldn't feel so depressed so early in the day." Weiss crawled closer to Ruby and hugged her as tight as she could. "Are you okay Ruby," she asked as she pulled away.

Softly, "Yeah, I'm fine." Her face still had a droopy look to it.

"Hey. You wanna know the best memory I have of us two?" Ruby, finally starting to show some interest, lifted her head. Weiss started to blush. "It was the day we had our first shower together. You came in so suddenly and swept me off my feet. In my head, I was thinking that you were insane, but after awhile, all that came to mind was never leave my side." Ruby's head raised even more. She looked Weiss straight in the eye and a smiled erupted from her face. She leapt towards Weiss, causing both of them to fall off the bed and hit the ground hard. "Ah, Ruby, you gotta be careful."

"Now, that you mention, that's also one of my favorite memories of us."

"You changed moods quite quickly."

"Come on Weiss. It's me." Weiss rolled her eyes.

"Well, what about you? What happened to you after I left Beacon?"

"Uh, I don't like to talk about this."

"Come on. I shared stuff with you about me. The least you could do is answer this one question." Ruby sighed.

"Alright. Now, don't panic, but I kind of went through a depression faze." Weiss gasped and gripped Ruby's shoulders tightly.

"What?! How come I'm just hearing this now?!"

"Like I said, it's not a part of my past I'm particularly fond of. Anyway, when you and Yang left, it was just me and Blake and don't get me wrong, Blake is a phenomenal partner, it's just something was obviously missing. There would be days when I wouldn't lave my bed or room and some days where I completely neglected simple survival rules. It wasn't until Blake pulled me aside and said that she was feeling the same thing, but to a lesser degree. She told me that she understood and that she was there for me. Just like that, something inside me clicked and I returned to my normal self."

"And, um... That's when you and Blake, uh..." Ruby's face turned bright red.

"No, no, no. Of course not. It's not like that. She was simply my partner that cared for me." Weiss was starting to get a little pouty. "Weiss, you know there's only one person for me and that's you. Yeah, when Blake and I were together, we were together, but I never felt the way I did when I was with you. Blake gave me a sense of calmness. But with you, you kept me on the edge of my seat and I never felt like things were going to alright."

Weiss chuckled. "Thanks. That makes me feel great."

"You know what I mean." Ruby held Weiss' chin and looked her straight in the eye. "My heart skipped a beat or two whenever I was with you. Nothing was ever according to schedule and that's what I loved. A sense of unknowing and fear. Blake never gave that to me." Weiss grew a little smirk on her face.

"Well, when you say it like that..." Ruby leapt at Weiss again and they were knocked to ground once again. Weiss had her back on the ground and Ruby was straddled over her.

"I love you Weiss."

"I love you too Ruby." Ruby sunk down to kiss Weiss and then melted into her arms.

...

Meanwhile at Yang's house, Blake and Yang were just sitting around at home, having another lazy day. Blake was reading a book and Yang was cuddled up behind her, trying to keep up with the story she was reading. Blake was reading the newest book of the Ninjas of Love series called Shrouded in Darkness. Yang was trying her best to try and comprehend what was happening, but every time she came across some literary work, she detract her eyes from the book and start twirling Blake's hair. While Blake was reading, she came across, something that was displeasing to her eyes and mind.

"The past is something we can't forget. It's a symbol of who we are and how we'll forever be. Nothing can change the past and the future will become set in stone. The cowards are the ones who run from the truth." Suddenly, Blake looked away from her book and threw it to the ground.

"Ah, what?! I was reading that." Blake curled up into a ball and started to breath heavily. "Blake, are you okay?"

"I don't think this book is right for me."

"What?! Come on. You waited forever for this book to come out and now that you have it, you don't think it's 'right for you.'"

"Well, the story took a dark turn and I don't know if I'm ready to face it."

"Blake, there's something more to this than just the book being dark. You can tell me." Blake started to panic. The one thing she has tried to throw away from her memories was slowly starting to reoccur. Yang grabbed her head and pulled it into her chest. "If you're going through a hard time, I get it. It's totally fine. Just know that I'll always be here to hear you out."

"I don't like putting you in this situation Yang, I hope you know that, but it's about my past and the White Fang."

"Well, go ahead. They can't hurt you now. You are with me, let's not forget that."

"As you know, I've been with them ever since I could remember. However, I never told you all of it. Right as I starting participating in public events, a man approached me and asked me to follow him so I did. He was faunus so I could trust him. He told me he was going to train me, for what, I didn't know at the time. As time went on, he taught me about the White Fang and the world and started to train me as a killer. I didn't know what I was doing. He just kept telling me that it was all part of the cause so I listened. However, he was very hard on me. That's where I got all these scars. Every time we went out to stop Dust shipments or other stuff and I failed, he would slash my arms and tell me that I was born for one purpose and one purpose only and that was to serve the White Fang as a trusted associate for the rest of my life. Then one day, by some act of fate, I received a letter from Beacon saying that I was accepted. I never even applied; I didn't know what it was, but I knew I couldn't stay with him. I packed my things and left as fast as I could and thankfully, he hasn't tried to find since."

"So why are you worried, not to sound completely laid back or anything?"

"The book said that cowards from run their past even though it's the only path for them."

"That's complete crap. The past is something we all learn from. It's something that we can either hold on to or remember it as a warning for us to be better people. You're your own person and no person shouldn't be held to one thing alone their entire lives. You're the prime example. You started out in the White Fang, but you transformed into a loving and caring person you are today. If I didn't know, I definitely wouldn't think you were a part of the White Fang."

"It's just that I'm worried that those words are true. I mean, even though I try to forget that I did such terrible things, I still did them. That means I'm responsible and can never take it back." Yang grasped Blake by the shoulders.

"But you didn't know what or why you were doing it. And plus, now you know that those things are terrible and should never be carried out. You're learning and shouldn't have to be worried about the past."

"How can you be some relaxed like this?" Blake leaned into Yang's body. Yang held her in her arms and brushed through her long, black hair.

"You know I haven't always been like this."

"What do you mean," still in Yang's arms.

"I don't think I've ever told you this, but I'm actually adopted by Ruby's family. They took me in and that was, by far, the greatest day of my life. Ruby's mom was a famous Huntress who did a lot of things and sometimes, it attracted some unwanted attention. One day when she was out, this was when I was about 12 and Ruby was 10, a man broke into our house and our dad told us to go hide. We did, but when we did, I covered Ruby's ears so she wouldn't have to hear anything. On the other hand, I heard everything: Yelling, crashing, struggle. Then, it grew quiet. I told Ruby to remain in the closet and to not come outside no matter what. I went to check out what was happening and the man had killed our dad. I grew so angry that I charged him at full speed and beat him to death with my bare hands. I don't know how I did it, but I did. I then ran over to him and in his last words, he whispered, 'why the long face?' Ever since then, I vowed to never show that horrible side of me ever again."

"What about all those times you saved us from desperate situations?"

"That was just me using my aura and semblance. Trust me, you don't want to see that side of me. When it happened, all I could feel was tremendous power and that anyone in sight was my mortal enemy. I just... I can't go through that again, especially not with you. I care too much about you to risk your safety." Blake looked up at Yang's face and held her cheek.

"I guess we all have that side which we try to hide." Yang put her hand over Blake's and took a deep breath.

"Yeah, I guess so."

...

"Okay, are we all good with the plan?"

"Yep, let's do this."

"On my count: 3... 2... 1... Now!" The four members of JNPR broke into the White Fang hideout and started to surround their enemies. As planned, their numbers were low and Roman was there too. "Hold it right there, Torchwick. You're coming with us."

"Don't make any sudden moves or we'll break your legs." Out of nowhere, he started to laugh manically.

"Amateurs," he said softly. Bang. Crash. The walls of the hideout started to collapse and revealed their secret of arsenal of hundreds more men and a couple of stolen Paladins.

"Jaune, we need to go."

"Ah, I don't think so. As you can see, with the amount of firepower and sheer numbers I have, there's no way you'll make it out alive." The White Fang soldiers started to surround the members of JNPR. "Put down your weapons." They all sighed in frustration and threw down their weapons.

"You'll never get away with this." Roman smirked and lit his cigar.

Ruby and Weiss were spending their day at home and Blake and Yang decided to go into the city. Of course, nothing was on so the two were forced to watch the news just to stay up to date on what's going on in the world.

"Today, we can expect temperatures at mid- 70's. Perfect weather to go out and have some fun. We can also expect this trend for the rest of the week so get off your couches and do something. Back to you Lisa."

"Thank you Matt. Breaking news, we have a live stream connection with members of the White Fang. We are connecting to them now." Ruby let go of Weiss' hand and sat up to pay attention. As they were walking through the street, Blake and Yang passed by a TV store where the message was being broadcasted live. It was a small group of White Fang soldiers in front of a warehouse.

"Hello Vale, good afternoon. As you know, we are the White Fang and we are here to show some interesting news about your world. First off, let me just say that you're families and friends are no longer safe. No one is safe. We are starting our campaign to take control of this world. Also, don't even think about trying to stop us. Police can't do anything as you all have seen. If you think there's proof that you can stop us, why not let us show you?" They grabbed the camera and panned it up to the top of the building where the members of JNPR hanging from the roof, motionless. They kept it on them for a bit and then turned it back towards them. "So now, I hope you realize that nothing can stop us. We have convinced our leader to come to Vale to oversee our take over plan so I hope you're all prepared. Fall under the reign of the White Fang." Suddenly, men on the roof started to the light the rope, holding up JNPR, on fire. As the fire neared their bodies, the TV froze and an announcement stated that this material was inappropriate to show.

Ruby sat back in her seat in awe. She looked at Weiss who looked back at her. They were both in shock. They couldn't believe this was happening. Their beloved friends from JNPR were dead.

"Oh my God. What should we do Weiss?"

"I don't know." A slight beeping noise broke through the silence of the house.

"What's that?" They stood up and looked around the house to find where that beeping was coming from. They searched through rooms and drawers and finally found the source of the beeping. Ruby found her old touchpad from Beacon in a drawer inside Weiss' room. She pulled it out and brought to Weiss who was still downstairs.

"Weiss, it's from this." She put it in front of Weiss' face and she took it from her and opened up the message. It was from Blake. She cleared her throat.

"Did you guys see what was on the news? If you did, we need to meet up. If you didn't, we still need to meet up. Yang and I will be in the Vale park. Please meet us." She paused to get a reaction from Ruby. "So, what do you want to do?"

"I think we should meet with her. I'm guessing this will be important."

"Okay then, let's get ready." They went upstairs to get ready. Once they did, they grabbed their weapons and headed to the park where Blake and Yang were waiting. As they neared the park, Blake seemed really on edge, unlike her usual self. Yang, on the other hand, ran to Ruby and gave her a big hug while swinging her through the air.

"Glad you guys could make it."

"Of course. We're still a team, right?" Weiss looked at Blake who was still quiet. "So what's the situation Yang?"

"Oh, I have no idea. Blake called this meeting and didn't even tell until awhile ago. Thanks Blake."

"So what's up Blake?" Blake sighed and opened her mouth.

"You guys saw what happened to JNPR right?" They all nodded. "Well, that means that the White Fang is still on the rise and they are moving fast. Without JNPR, we're the only ones who stand in their way. Now, I know we haven't done this sort of thing in a long time, but I really think it's time for RWBY to reunite once more."

"I had a feeling this was what this was all about."

"You're angry, aren't you?"

"Of course not. I still believe that we are a team and an effective one too. It's just that we've gone our separate ways and I don't know if we still have that connection like we did back at Beacon." Ruby came up beside her and grabbed her waist.

"I think we can do it Weiss. What do you guys think?"

"That's the spirit Rubes." Yang grabbed everyone and pulled them in for a group hug. "Yes! The gang's back together." Blake forced her way out.

"Okay, this is great and all, but we need to come up with a plan pretty quickly."

"Well, why don't you sneak in? That's always helped us out in the past."

"I seriously doubt that's possible. I've done that so many times and it's always caused a scene to where they'd recognize me at the door." They were stumped.

"I won't be much help either because the Schnee Dust records wouldn't be able to tell me stuff about their plans. And plus, I'd think they'd want to stay under the radar if this plan is so daring." It appeared nothing was happening for them. Every time they thought something would work, someone else would step in saying how that plan wasn't possible. It seemed that all hope was lost when suddenly two random dudes walked by them and they overheard their conversation.

"So you ready for tomorrow night?"

"I don't know. I heard the boss is pretty scary."

"Oh yeah. Don't forget about her protection either. I hear she's untouchable."

"Well, it's gonna suck for anybody who goes against us. Alright man, I gotta head out. Remember, tomorrow night at the docks at 11:00." They shook each other's hands and went their separate ways. Yang brought her attention back to the group.

"Well, that solves our problems."

"Seriously, so we need to prepare for tomorrow because I'm pretty sure we're all pretty rusty on this Huntress stuff. If you want, you can come over to my house and train. There's multiple rooms for us to use."

"Nice. What do you think Blake?"

"It seems that that's the only thing we can do." They all stood up and headed back to Weiss' house. Her butler greeted them with a curious question, but Weiss simply told him that it was a little reunion with old friends. Weiss showed them the available training rooms that they could use. Blake and Yang decided to use different rooms. Ruby and Weiss shared a room, just like old times. Ruby worked on her agility and Weiss tried to get used to her weapon again. Dust users have to constantly practice or else it can wear out the body much quicker than usual. As she was working on her endurance, she kept peering over at Ruby. After a while, she stopped what she was doing and walked over to her.

"You need to lower your body more so you're more balanced, like this," she said shile holding Ruby's shoulders and lowering her to the ground.

"Weiss, I got this. We're not at Beacon anymore."

"Oh sorry, force of habit." Weiss lowered her hands and walked back to her side of the room. When she returned, she saw Ruby using her speed to jump around the room a unpredictable patterns. Weiss was still worrying about her to the point where she hadn't picked up her sword yet. As Ruby flashed around, Weiss finally lost track of her. Her head turned back and forth, but couldn't find. Finally, her head turned to the left where Ruby's lips were waiting and she kissed her. Weiss was surprised and pushed her away. "Ruby, what're you doing?"

"What?! I'm training."

"Sure you are," she said with a blush on her face.

...

Meanwhile, Blake and Yang decided to train separately. Blake was working on her strikes, making sure that they maintained the precision and power from before. The wood mannequin she was using was definitely getting a beating even though she had her sword unsheathed. However, she constantly saw images of Adam, her old master, in her head which drove her unsheathe her sword and destroy everything inside the room.

"Uh!" She threw her sword on the ground, walked over to the wall, and sat down against it; her hands running through her hair. "Come on Blake, pull it together. You can't be weak now, not when this is your chance to end the White Fang for good." She dropped her hands and looked at the ceiling.

What can I do? We've done this before and it's always resulted in the same thing: Failure. What makes this any different?

All of a sudden, Blake sensed this familiar aura coming from somewhere in the house. She grabbed her sword and followed the trail she had sensed. After a couple of seconds, the trail ended at an unfamiliar room. She slowly opened the door to see Yang channeling her aura. Blake was captivated by what she was seeing. Yang's body was glowing yet she was completely still. Usually when she does this, she's either healing someone or going super saiyan. As she watched carefully, the light from her body brighten for a few seconds and then slowed darkened, but never losing its radiant glow. Blake couldn't help herself. She walked towards Yang and hugged her from behind. Yang was shocked and turned in eagerness.

"What are you doing?"

"I needed some comfort." Yang smiled and the light finally dissipated. She wrapped her arms Blake and pulled her in for a hug.

"Sorry, you just gotta be careful. My aura can be unpredictable."

"I'm not scared." Blake snuggled into Yang's chest. Yang, on the other hand, was starting to become worried. When she was by herself, she was remembering the day her father was killed and the moment she turned into a killer.

Suddenly, the door opened and Ruby and Weiss came out from behind telling them it was time for some dinner. They followed them and tried to enjoy the rest of the night. Unfortunately, everyone had something they had on their minds that they were too afraid to share with the group.

The four members of RWBY decided that it was best to sleep in and wait for the White Fang meeting in the evening. The clock struck 9 in the morning and all across the house, the sound of the grandfather clock could be heard. Ding, dong. Although they all agreed to sleep in, no one was sleeping. They all promptly woke up at 9, but stayed in their beds. Ruby and Weiss were sleeping together and so were Blake and Yang.

Ruby was thinking about Crescent Rose. Ever since she abandoned it for Weiss, she hasn't had that strong connection like when she was at Beacon. Back then, her and Crescent Rose were one. She never needed to think. Her body and mind acted as one and everything just seemed to flow. Now, her swings are cut in half when according to power. She shot Crescent Rose, but her body told her to go another direction which caused miscommunication. All night, she couldn't get over the fact that she might not be the same girl she was when she was at Beacon and with Blake. Her greatest fears were starting to become reality, but she didn't want to believe it was true. She shut her eyes and tried to think of all the good things happening with her right now. Saving Weiss from the White Fang soldier from back then, completely eliminating the Vacuo train station of the White Fang soldiers; she was able to come up with some things, but it was no good. A tear fell from her eye. She was giving in; giving in to the fact that she might not be able to protect her friends and the person she loves.

Weiss was on edge. This was the reason why she left Beacon. She didn't want to have to deal with issues like this: Huntress issues. Even running her father's business isn't ideal, it kept her happy and somewhat happy. Unfortunately, she's brought back into this mess known as the White Fang. As she continued to think, she realized that she hasn't truly fought in a long time. Every time she had to use her weapon, it wasn't necessarily called a fight, just an incursion. Her skills have definitely waivered since then. She reached around to feel her back where the scar from that Dust transport was marked. That was the day she had realized her weakness. She wasn't at her best and she wasn't at her strongest. In her head, she was thinking about why all this was happening to her. From her memories, every time they interfered with the White Fang, something always went wrong. She was just afraid it would happen again, but at a much greater cost. She turned over to face Ruby, but her back was towards Weiss. Weiss reached her arms over Ruby's body, but Ruby immediately sat up and left the room. Weiss' eyes followed her as she left the room.

"Ruby?"

In the other room, Blake and Yang were having a similar experience. Blake was constantly thinking about what was going to happen tonight. They said their leader was coming to see the final stages of their takeover. It can't be Adam. It can't be. She shut her eyes tight and gripped the sheets. She didn't want to believe it. She hasn't seen him since the day of her departure and he's never given her any intention of looking for her. However, Blake was starting to think that she'll have to face up against. That was her nightmare. Ever since she joined Adam, he was incredibly superior to her. Now, this could lead to her demise. She turned to face Yang and snuggled into her body. Yang was awake, but she was caught off guard for she was also in her thoughts.

"Blake, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just hold me." Yang brought her free arms around Blake's body and ran her fingers through her long, black hair.

For Yang, this was her chance at redemption. She's never been successful against the White Fang because they always have luck on their side with their mysterious mercenaries and unfair numbers of soldiers, but this time, she wasn't going to let that stuff faze her. She was ready for anything. However, when Blake cowered into her arms, another thought came into mind. She had to protect Blake. For some reason, Blake has been very weak lately and Yang has noticed. Yang has been trying her best to console her, but inside, she knows that there's something stirring in Blake. She's afraid to ask because Yang can see that Blake is scared herself. This is something that she wants to rid from Blake. Whatever the costs, Yang was starting to make Blake her goal to defeat the White Fang. It was getting harder and harder for Yang to look at Blake while she falls further into the shadows.

Morning quickly turned to midday and everyone slowly rose from bed; everyone except for Ruby who had already risen awhile ago. They all headed downstairs where lunch was waiting for them. Weiss, Blake, and Yang met up at the same time, but Ruby didn't show up. No one showed great concern for they were too busy on other things. They finished up their food and separated to the far corners of the house. Meanwhile, Weiss looked all around the house for Ruby, but everywhere was empty. Why is this happening to us? Weiss was growing weak and sad. She headed to the very back of the house and pulled down a cord that led her to the upper levels of her house. This was always Weiss' thinking place. She would go here to clear her mind. She switched on the light and looked across the room to the giant window facing the front lawn of her house. However, she saw a small figure looking out the window. She walked closer and realized it was Ruby.

"Ruby, what are you doing here? How'd you know this place existed?"

"You don't remember? You told me about this place and how it always calmed you down. It definitely works." Ruby pulled her eyes away from the window and onto Weiss.

"Ruby, are you okay? You're kind of starting to worry me." Ruby walked over to Weiss and held her hands.

"I'm fine Weiss."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, of course."

"It's just that everyone has been acting quite distant and I won't us to change because of all this crap that's going on." Ruby brought Weiss' hands up to her lips and kissed them.

"I'm going to protect you Weiss. Nothing is going to change that."

"Is that what you've been so worried about?"

"I'm not going to let it happen again."

"Ruby, that wasn't your fault. The White Fang surrounded us and there wasn't anything we could do. I'm here now, aren't I?" Tears started to fall from Ruby's eyes and she dropped to the floor.

"I just can't see you in pain. Your happiness and well-being are what drive me to be the very best. If you get hurt, I don't know if I can handle that again."

"Is that why you've been forcing yourself so much?"

"I'm sorry. I just can't lose you." Small tears turned a waterfall as Ruby began to bawl. Weiss wrapped her arms around Ruby and held her close. So much has been going on inside Ruby that she was completely unaware of.

"It'll be fine Ruby. I won't let that happen. You wanna know why?" Ruby couldn't respond. She was still crying and panting hard. Weiss pushed her away and tried her best to look her in the eye. "You wanna know why?" Ruby wiped away her tears and looked at Weiss. "It's because you are my driving force. Just you being with me makes me a better fighter and a better person. The thought of fighting beside you gives me confidence that nothing can defeat me. Being with you makes me feel like the happiest person in the world. You don't have to carry this heavy burden on your own. Let me share it with you. Please." A tear fell from Weiss' eye and Ruby leapt back into Weiss' arms.

"Do you really think we'll be okay after all of this is over?" Weiss tightened her grip on Ruby. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

"I don't know, Ruby. I don't know."

Day eventually turned to night and everyone started to get ready. This time, there was no socializing at all. Everyone got ready separately and didn't speak until they left the house.

Ruby put on her clothes and tightened her boots. Last, but certainly not least, was her cape. She strapped around her neck and looked in the mirror. It was time. She took a deep breath and walked over to the dresser where Crescent Rose was waiting. She opened it up and she was waiting. Ruby carefully carried it out and held it in her arms.

"My sweetheart. Don't let me down today." She kissed it and left the room.

Not far away, Weiss was preparing to leave. She tied her bow on the combat skirt and put on her overcoat. Her rapier was waiting for her in a chest behind her. She opened it up and looked at it for awhile. Not a speck of dust could be found on it, but it seemed like this was the first time she was looking at it. She grasped the handle and lifted it out of the chest. Unfortunately, it seemed heavier for her. She placed it into her holster and made her way downstairs.

Blake was nearly ready to go. The last thing she put on were arms sleeves. On her left arm, she slid the sleeve right on along with her metal band. She picked up the string she used to cover her right arm, but before she wrapped it around, she stared at the scars that still remain. She ran her fingers along her forearm and it was still jagged to the touch. She sighed and wrapped the string around her forearm. Everything was in place and she left the room.

Yang fastened her boots and cocked her gauntlets. She was ready. She reached in her pocket and pulled out a picture of her and Blake together on their first date. This brought back so many memories that Yang did not have the time for. She kissed her fingers and then touched the picture.

"Don't worry Blake. It'll be over soon." She placed the picture on the desk and went downstairs where everyone was waiting.

"Alright, are we ready?"

"Yep, I think so."

"Good, let's head out."

"Wait, before we go, here." Weiss handed each person an ear piece which would allow them to communicate with each other during their mission. They grabbed one and placed it in their ears. Now, Weiss saw that everyone was ready so she placed her hands on the doorknobs and pushed them wide open. All four of them took one more deep breath before pursuing their long awaited enemy.

The team ran among the shadows to avoid any disturbances or unwanted attention. They quickly and silently through the night until they reached the docks. Once there, they split up and surrounded the place. Each member had a perfect vantage point of what was happening. When they got there, hundreds of White Fang soldiers were lined up in rows, waiting for something to happen.

Ruby whispered, even though no one could hear her, "So what's all this?"

"I don't know, just be patient."

"Yeah, come on Rubes. And why are you whispering?"

"Everyone shut up," Weiss exclaimed. Without another word, their intercoms were silent and they were all waiting.

A few minutes later, several ships started to come into sight. The lead ship took its descent and the others continued to fly by. Once it landed, the soldiers waiting were called to attention. The aircraft opened its doors to reveal their long awaited guess. It was Cinder, along with Roman, Emerald, and Mercury. From below, they could hear their conversations.

"Glad you could make here Ms. Fall. I see that everyone is here as well. The more, the merrier." She looked around and saw that someone was missing. She peeked into the aircraft.

"No need to be shy. Come on out."

"Should we attack," Ruby asked. Blake was prompt.

"No, wait." She sharpened her eyes and focused on the aircraft. A tall, familiar looking man exited the ship. Blake's eyes widened for she knew who that was.

"Everybody, I like to introduce to you, the newest member of my crew and my right hand man, Adam Taurus." The line of soldiers cheered and screamed.

"Blake, what do we do," Yang was insisting.

"Abort."

"What?!"

"I said fall back." No one argued. They grabbed their things and left the area. After a few minutes went by, the group met back up inside the city.

"Blake, what was that? Weren't we suppose to stop them?"

"I'm sorry. We can't."

"What do you mean we can't?"

"It's him. It's Adam. I didn't actually think he'd show up."

"Who is this guy?" Yang saw that Blake was retreating into the shadows and stepping in for her.

"Weiss, I'm pretty sure there's a reason why Blake called off the attack. She wouldn't do that unless she knew something else was happening."

"Uhh!" Weiss was angered. All this anticipation for a failed attempt. "So now what do we do?" Yang looked back at Blake in concern.

"Well, I guess we just have to..."

"Hey you, halt!"

"Halt!" They turned to see a couple of White Fang soldiers pointing at them.

"We need to get out of here, now." They packed up and ran off. The soldiers stopped and resorted to their radios.

"Attention, we have 4 Huntresses that have infiltrated the sight. Stop them at all costs." The team escaped as fast as they could, but as they were running through the streets, they saw White Fang soldiers pursuing them from all directions.

"What do we do now?"

"We need to split up. We'll meet back at Yang's house."

"What do we do if someone doesn't make it back?"

"We'll come back for them no matter what." They all nodded their heads and split off. Ruby and Blake took to the roofs of the city and Weiss and Yang looped around the inner parts of the city to confuse their pursuers.

Meanwhile, at the docks, Cinder and her company received the message.

"What do you want us to do Cinder," Emerald asked. She didn't respond. She walked over to Adam and whispered in his ear.

"Bring them back. I don't care who or how many, just do it." He nodded and stormed off without another word.

"What did you tell him?"

"It doesn't concern you child. Just stand there and look pretty." Emerald folded her arms and distanced herself from Cinder.

Moving along, Weiss and Yang were easily making their way through the city undetected. Weiss used her speed to get ahead of the soldiers and she eventually lost them. Thankfully, she was the first one to make it back to Yang's house. For Yang, it was a little bit more difficult. Instead of running away like a coward, she fought everyone who stood in her way. She didn't have any problems, but it did take some time to eliminate everyone who was chasing her. As she cleaned up the last bunch of soldiers, she saw someone emerge at the top of the building. It wasn't Ruby or Blake so she knew she had to leave now. From above, the man stared at Yang, but allowed her to escape. He looked back up and saw Ruby in the near distance. He gripped his sword and ran in her direction.

After a couple of minutes, Yang made it back to the house, but was surprised to only see Weiss there.

"How were you the first one to make it back?"

"I don't know. I was surprised myself." Yang turned on her intercom and called out for Ruby and Blake, but no one answered.

"Damn it Ruby, answer. Blake, are you there?" There was still no response. "Weiss, have you tried contacting them?"

"It's the same thing." Yang looked at Weiss who had a worried look on her face. Yang then looked back to where the docks were and knew something bad was happening.

Back at the docks, Adam was returning with two bodies over his shoulders. He approached Cinder and dropped them in front of her feet. He bowed and stepped away.

"Very good, Adam. Tie them up." The soldiers grabbed the them and tied them to a couple of polls. They were still unconscious at the time so they had no idea what was happening. Cinder walked up to the both of them and slapped them hard across the face. "Wake up!" The force of her slap awakened them from their trance. "State your names."

"Ruby Rose," she said weakly.

"Blake Belladonna."

"Hm, Ruby. Blake. Why do those names sound so familiar?" She pondered that thought for a bit. "Ah, now I remember. You were the ones who stopped our plans 8 years ago. Now I remember: Team RWBY. Where's the rest of your pathetic team?" Adam stepped in.

"They made it too far into the city for us to pursue them with ease."

"Hm, no fret. These two will do fine. I have some business to attend to. Adam, handle these pests for me while I'm gone." Without another word, she slipped away in her sultry walk along with Emerald, Mercury, and Roman. He watched them leave and turned his attention to the two girls. He approached Blake and softly embraced her cheek.

"Don't you dare touch!"

"I remember you. Blake Belladonna, the girl who ran away from me." Out of nowhere, he slashed her left thigh and she collapsed to the floor.

"Blake!" He looked at Ruby and cut her across her left cheek. He brought his sword up to his face and wiped off the remaining blood.

"Did you know that it's possible to cut a human 100 times without killing them? It's an art style that not matter people in this world can achieve. It avoids all major arteries, but delivers the worst amount of pain a human can endure. You have just experienced the first of many cuts." Like last time, he cut the back of Ruby's right arm." She gritted her teeth for she didn't want to relieve the pain she was experiencing.

"Blake."

"Oh, don't worry about her. She's too busy thinking about how she's failed me, her master."

"Nnnooo!" He slashed her right calf and Ruby fell to the floor.

"I don't need to hear you talk. This is between me and her. Now, Blake," he said while running his fingers through her hair, "why did you leave me? Was I not a good caretaker? Did I not please you?"

"Leave her alone!" He shot his gun and the butt of sheathe launched into Ruby's gut, finally silencing her.

"Blake," she said in pain.

"Why won't you answer?" He unsheathed his sword and cut directly down the middle of Blake's clothes, revealing her bra. "Mmm, you see, this is what I've missed. The sight of a beautiful young woman before my eyes." His ears twitched and her turned to see Yang flying at him. He tried to react, but she landed a huge punch to the face, sending him sailing into a far away seatrain. Yang knelt down beside Blake and held her chin.

"Blake, are you alright?"

"Yang," she asked softly.

"Don't worry. We're gonna get you outta here. Weiss!" on command, Weiss appeared out of nowhere and made her way to Ruby. She cut Ruby's hands free and Ruby hugged Weiss as tight as she could.

"It's okay Ruby. I'm here. It's alright." Yang untied Blake and she fell over as weak as could be.

"Blake please, get up. We have to get out of here."

Rustling came from across the docks, "You're not going anywhere. She's mine." Yang looked up and saw the man who was assaulting Blake. She cocked her gauntlets and slowly walked towards him.

"Weiss, get them out of here. I'll handle this guy."

"But..."

"Get out of here!" Without another word, she departed with the two girls in her arms. For Weiss, it was a struggle to escape because both Ruby and Blake were in pain and couldn't stand on their own. Weiss was able to get around the building, away from any enemies and fell to the floor.

"Guys, I'm gonna need your help or else we won't be able to get very far."

"I can't use my legs right now Weiss." The way she said it really made Weiss believe they were in true pain.

"Me either Weiss. My legs are shot." Weiss sighed.

"Well, I guess we'll stay here. Just be sure to cover my back if someone comes near here."

"Got it, partner," she said with the remaining strength she had left.

On the other side of the wall, Yang was getting pumped. Her gauntlets were ready and she was cracking her knuckles. This was just the kind of challenge she was waiting for. As her hands were warmed up, a small smirk emerged from her face. Across the way, Adam made his way closer to Yang.

"I'm not interested in you blondie. My business is with Blake."

"How interesting. If you want Blake, you're gonna have to go through me."

"I was afraid you were gonna say that." He lowered his body and gripped his sword. In an instant, his body dissipated into rose petals. To the normal eye, he vanished, but Yang knew his plan. She cocked her right gauntlet and punched right in front of her. Incredibly, his body took form right as Yang nailed him in the face. Again, the force of her punch sent him flying. While he was on his knees, he fixed his mask and focused even more. This time, his rose petals flew to the right. Yang kicked out her right leg to the right and it caught his stomach. After she affirmed contact, she brought her left hand around and launched him away. At this point, Yang was enjoying herself. She looked over at Adam who was kneeling and his mask was starting to crack.

"Hm, you're better than I expected. I guess it's time for me to get serious." He slowly brought his hand up to his face and removed his mask. To her surprise, his left eye was completed covered up as it was filled by some off-color skin makeup. It was hard to tell, but his right eye was hazy, giving the impression that he was completely blind.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm not the kind of person to hurt a handicapped person." Without saying a word, he disappeared. Yang knew where he was going. She turned around and swung her right arm, but he wasn't there. "Huh?" Suddenly, he appeared behind her and slashed her back. She dropped her body and tried to swipe at his feet, but he was already gone.

"My strength is within my speed. I embrace for its me. There's no one faster and no has ever beaten me. I want to wish you farewell in advance for this isn't going to end well for you." He disappeared again and Yang thought he was right in front of her, but he ended up over her and slashed her right shoulder. However, before she went down, she able to land another punch as he returned to the earth.

Once he distanced himself from Yang, she needed to recuperate. Her body started to glow and her wounds slowly started to disappear. She looked up at Adam and gave him a dirty smirk.

"You are quite the interesting character, but this ends here." He gripped his sword and disappeared. Yang turned and swung to the right, but he cut her left waist. She kicked behind her, but he appeared right behind her and cut her right shoulder. Her elbow blasted behind her, but her appeared in front of her and slashed her left cheek and right waist. She was running out of time. She looked up to see him attempting another blow. She got low and swung her leg around 360 degrees, but he came from above and sliced her right down the middle of her back.

"Aaahhh!" This strike compared to any other hurt like nothing she's ever experienced. She dropped to her knees and breathed heavy. Blood was running down her body and created a small puddle of blood right below her. She stared down Adam and her body lit up again. This time, when she tried to heal herself, nothing happened. The blood slowed slightly, but the pain remained and her mobility was coming to a halt.

Across the way, Adam saw that Yang was low on gas. He got up from his fighting stance and slowly walked towards Yang.

"You fought valiantly, but there's always someone better than you in this world." He unsheathed his sword and stared at its red blade. "The sword that eliminates my enemies. The sword that purifies this land. Please give me strength in this hour of need." By now, Yang was on the ground in pain. She looked up to see Adam right above her with his sword behind his back, ready to strike. Yang's eyes widened. She was in trouble, but couldn't do anything. His strikes were too affective for her to recover this quickly. "God, forgive me." He swung his sword and Yang closed her eyes. Suddenly, he sword was stopped mid-swing and yang opened her eyes. It was Weiss. She intercepted his strike just in time.

"Ruby! Blake!" Yang looked behind her to see Ruby and Blake jump into the fray. All three girls surrounded Adam, ready to attack.

"Hm, you got lucky blondie." At the same time, the girls attacked and he defended every one of their attacks. On their rebound, he jumped out of the way and escaped.

"Damn. What a coward. You guys alright?" Weiss turned to see Ruby and Blake on the ground, exhausted as could be. "Sorry about making you guys do this. I just felt something was wrong. Let's grab Yang and get her out of here." Weiss scanned the area for Yang's body, but she wasn't there. "Yang? Yang!" still on the ground, Ruby and Blake looked around as well, but saw no trace of Yang.

Weiss turned on her intercom and called for Yang. Meanwhile, on a nearby roof, Yang had the intercom in her hand. She heard the call, but didn't respond. She crushed it in her hand and ran off. Weiss was so confused. Of all people, Yang would be the one to disobey orders. Usually, she's so obedient. Weiss sighed.

"Where could she be?"

"Yang, you can't leave us," Ruby said softly as she was still on the ground. Blake scanned the area and saw a small figure above them, quite a distance away. A couple of seconds went by and it slowly vanished from sight.

"Be safe," she whispered to herself.

"Come on guys, we need to get out of here. It isn't safe here. Let's get back to Yang's house." Weiss picked up Ruby and Blake and did her best to make it back to the house. As the sun started to rise, they finally made it back, but was immediately saddened to realize that Yang wasn't there.

Ruby, Weiss, and Blake were struggling to get clear of the docks, but their wounds were just too great. Weiss did her best to carry their bodies the entire way, but she just didn't have the strength. Ruby and Blake did their best to try and walk, but it proved inefficient.

"Man, if only we had Yang right now, you guys wouldn't be so banged up."

"It's fine. We just have to concentrate on getting out of here." Slowly, but surely, they made their way their way off the immediate docks. Unfortunately, once they were clear of that, they ran into a new problem. A huge hoard of White Fang soldiers were waiting for them.

"You're efforts are in vain. We've been informed to bring you back to our leaders and we don't fail." They all unveiled their swords and guns, ready to charge. Weiss gently set Ruby and Blake on the ground and stepped forward.

"If you want to make this an unfair fight, then at least allow this. You will only fight me." Ruby reached up for Weiss' skirt.

"Weiss, what are you doing?"

"I'm not gonna let them hurt you anymore."

"But..." Weiss wiped off Ruby's hand and walked forward.

"Do we agree on those terms?"

"Ah, why the hell not? You're gonna come with us anyway. Let's get her." They raised their arms and screamed out. Weiss took a deep breath and readied her first attack. Her arm motions signaled that she was preparing an attack that they had no idea was coming. She spun her sword upside down and pierced the ground, unleashing a wall of fire that pursued them. As the wall hit the first wave of soldiers, their bodies flew into the air and they were caught off guard. Now, Weiss made her move. She brought her sword up to her face and glided right for them.

While they were still in commotion, Weiss started to slice up her enemies one by one. Their bodies were flying and dropping everywhere. None of the soldiers could keep up with Weiss' skills. By now, she had cut their force in half, but still had a ways to go. She tried to get some distance between her and her enemies so she could have some breathing room, but as she was recovering, a soldier started to run up behind her and charged up his sword. From afar, Ruby saw the guy heading for Weiss and she opened up Crescent Rose into the sniper transformation. She looked down sight and pulled the trigger. As the man neared, he started to yell which made Weiss turn to see that she was too late for a counterattack. However, his body was hit by something that packed a punch and he flew away from Weiss. She looked back to see Ruby saluting at her, telling her that she had her back. With this, she was incredibly rejuvenated.

The more she fought, the more her enemies numbers started to dwindle. Ruby only provided cover fire because she knew Weiss wanted to do most of this by herself so Ruby fired, collectively, 3 shots before Weiss was down to one last person. Before she attacked, she decided to strike up a conversation.

"Hey, weren't you the guy who said you be taking me back to your leaders?" His face grew red and he tensed up.

"Yeah, uh... And I still am." He drew his sword back and ran at Weiss. She lowered her body and smiled. In the flash of time, she ended up behind the soldier while he fell to the floor, motionless. Weiss swiped her sword to rid it of any remaining blood and walked back to Ruby and Blake.

"You guys still hurting?"

"No, I think I'm finally starting to feel my legs."

"Yeah, me too."

"Good, because I'm gonna need you guys." Weiss, out of nowhere, dropped to her knees.

"Weiss?!"

"Uh, it's fine. Just a little tired. That group was definitely a big one."

"Here, let's just rest for a bit."

"That does sound nice, but I don't think you ladies have that kind of time." The three of them looked up to see Emerald walking towards them, accompanied by a couple of White Fang soldiers. Her dual swords were out and she looked to have a sense of fight in her.

"Don't worry Weiss, I'll get her." Ruby tried to get up from the ground, but Weiss grabbed her shoulder and pulled her down.

"Don't get up. This is between her and me. Please use this time to recover. We still got more fight left for us tonight." Weiss slowly brought her body back up and stared right at Emerald.

"You know, I don't like unfair rights."

"Me either. This is between you and me."

"Oh no, I was talking about your handicap. Should I go easy on you?" Weiss gritted her teeth and charged Emerald. Emerald stepped out of the way and swatted Weiss' sword causing her to lose balance. Immediately after, Weiss spun around and was able to land a cut across Emerald's face. She jumped back and touched her cheek. "Hm, I'm impressed. Don't get too comfortable though."

...

Meanwhile, Yang found shelter deep in the nearby forest of Vale. It was a small shack that an old lady owned. Because of her condition, she allowed Yang to stay there for the time being. In this solace, Yang was able to recover and concentrate of other things. She sat in the middle of the floor, legs crossed and focused. Her body lit up and the room slowly began to heat up. She closed her eyes and pressed her fists together right in front of her chest. Her breathing grew deeper and heavier and suddenly, her wounds were starting to close. As this happened, the lgith from her body started to fade. She pressed her fists together even harder and the light quickly returned, but with more vibrancy this time. Her wounds were closing up one by one ad her hair was starting to light on fire. The old lady walked in and was immediately taken by surprise.

"Oh my God, are you alright? Should I call somebody?" Yang opened her eyes. They were red as blood and a huge grin emerged from her face.

"Perfect."

...

Back at the docks, Adam returned to Cinder's side.

"Well, how'd it go?"

"One girl is down, but the other 3 appeared. Should I continue to pursue?"

"Oh don't fret, I've got Emerald on them as we speak."

"Um, if you don't mind me asking, milady, what is your so-called master plan?"

"I'm glad you asked. With all this Dust in my possession, I plan to lay waste to this entire city."

"And what's holding you up?"

"The ship we're going to use isn't here yet. We're going to fly over Vale and I'm going to unleash my full power upon his city until it's smithereens." Adam nodded and said no more.

...

Back with Weiss, Ruby was watching the entire thing and was starting to get worried. Weiss' speed and precision were definitely not at their best. Emerald, on the other hand, was all over her. With the help of her dual swords, Weiss was put on the defensive. Whenever she was given an opening, Weiss tried to shoot ice at her, but she was too quick and dove out of the way. Weiss was running out of options and energy. This fight was getting the best of her. On the other hand, Emerald was fully focused and ready for anything, but that was it. She had to be unpredictable. All this time, Weiss only focused on one thing at a time. It was either attack or defend, but not this time. Just hit the ground with her sword and a wall of ice was constructed right in front of her.

"Aw, this is so cute. You've finally resorted to outright defense. Let's see how you fare against this." She started to run at Weiss and from behind the ice, Weiss shot fireballs that hit around Emerald. The fireballs didn't steer her off course though. It only spooked her. As she got closer, Weiss charged up her sword until it was bright red. Emerald was now just a few feet in front of her and yelled. "Aaahhhhh!" Weiss lowered her body and stabbed the ice in front of her which melted instantly.

Weiss kept her head down. All she did was wait until the felt blood drip down to her hand. Once she felt it touch her hand, she quickly pulled it back and hinged it on her skirt. Emerald put her hand over her wound and fell on her knees.

"Very clever." Her eyes slowly closed and she dropped dead.

"Get her!" Weiss turned to see the two soldiers running at her.

This was the end. She was completely out of power and couldn't move. The sound of two gunshots echoed through the air and Weiss closed her eyes. She thought she was dead, but she didn't feel anything. When she opened her eyes, she saw the two soldiers dead on the ground then suddenly, a hand gripped her shoulder.

"Don't worry Weiss, we got you." She turned to see Ruby and Blake on their feet.

"That's good news that you're finally standing." Weiss suddenly fell unconscious and lost control of her body. Ruby was able to catch her before she made contact with the ground. Ruby felt Weiss' cheek and it was scorching hot.

"She's out," she said to Blake.

"What should we do?"

"Well, we can't leave her here alone, but we have things to do."

"Not anymore, you don't." They looked up to see Mercury and Roman heading towards them. Ruby sighed for she knew this was eventually going to happen.

"You ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." Ruby stood up and readied Crescent Rose. "I'll take Roman. You get Mercury."

"Got it." She turned around once more to look at Weiss lying on the ground. "Be strong Weiss, we're almost through this."

Ruby and Blake stood side by and side, facing down Mercury and Roman. Their hands gripped to their weapons and their eyes did not venture off target. For a while, it seemed to be a stare down between the two parties, but once Mercury broke off from Roman, everything kicked off.

Ruby immediately shot behind her and flew towards Mercury. As she neared, she saw his leg kick up and ducked underneath him while using her scythe to catch him off balance. He fell to the floor, but immediately brought himself back up. After their first move, they had another stare down. Ruby examined Mercury for this was the first time she's ever faced him. His stance was very secure. His breathing was calm. She couldn't find anything to break. Out of nowhere, he charged Ruby and spun his body parallel to the ground. His speed was so surprising that Ruby didn't know what to do. By the time she saw his strategy, he kicked out his leg and shot at Ruby and all she could do was stick up Crescent Rose and take the shot.

"You know, I remember you being a lot better. What happened?"

"Nothing happened. I'm just getting warmed up."

"Hm, I hope so." This time, Ruby made the first move. Her body was flying towards him and he did a high roundhouse, but missed for Ruby redirected her body to the left and shot herself back at him, swinging her scythe and launching him back a few feet. He took the hit with his head down. When he looked back up, he saw that Ruby was gone and only rose petals remained. He smiled to himself.

"I can see you." He backhand springed and avoided Ruby's deadly slug to the floor. When he regained his platform and looked up she was gone again. This time, he ducked and punched Ruby right in the gut. Her knees dropped to the floor and he kicked her right in the face, sending her body flying the opposite direction. In her head, she was thinking,

How can he have seen that attack? No one's faster than me. From across the way, he started chuckling out loud.

"You see, I've done my research. Your semblance is speed. I discovered that no one has been able to match it. And unfortunately for you, this is a bad match up." As she kept her eye on him, he vanished and reappeared behind her and roundhouse kicked her to the right. Before she fall to the floor, he reappeared again and punched her straight across the face. This caused her to fall onto her back with blurry vision. "Something I feel I should tell you is that my semblance is also speed. Unlike you, I use my speed to judge others instead of using it as an offensive. Now, in this case, I feel that I should since you are a worthy opponent. With that being said, show me what you can do." She looked up at him and vanished. "I can still see you." He kicked to the left and nailed her in the gut. However, Ruby swung her scythe around and nailed in back. This attack caused him to retreat from his current location. After that was over, they reappeared a few feet in front of each other, both with dirty smiles on their faces.

...

Not too far away, Blake was sizing up her opponent. Her and Roman have had a history together, but her fights with him never ended the way she wanted them to. This was her chance to finally change that.

"Like what Mercury said, this isn't a good matchup for you. You've never beaten me once and after all these years, I have a chance to study your attack strategies more in depth. This is a fight you won't be able to make it out of." Blake gritted her teeth and charge Roman at full speed. As she neared him, he stuck up his cane and fired, but she teleported away and reappeared behind him. She swung at his head, but he ducked and stuck his cane up into Blake's chin and she retreated.

In her head, she was noticing that he got a lot faster and a lot smarter. Back then, he would attack willingly and defend only when he needed to. This tactical Roman was definitely proving to be a worthy opponent. This time, she teleported at him again, but did it in quicker intervals, he spun around and around, deflecting her blows and she couldn't even find an opening. When she did, she lost focus and opened herself up. Roman took this opportunity to shoot her head on and her body sailed across the way.

"You just haven't learned, have you?" while on the ground, she took a second to reexamine all of this. She realized that she's always used the same strategy, just in different orders. She's been fighting him for as long as she could remember. He's figured out her strategy and she was constantly trying to take him down. She stood up and took a deep breath. Once she calmed herself, she brought her sword up to her face and stood her ground. "Oh, you're not gonna attack. Then allow me." He started to run at her and shoot his cane at the same time. Blake tried to avoid using any unnecessary energy so she stood still and teleport jumped around the area he was shooting.

When he got closer, he swung at her head and she quickly brought her sword up to block it. With her chance at attacking, she shoved his cane out of the way and jump kicked him straight in the gut. The power of her kick and the fact that she was wearing heels pushed Roman back a few feet a little dizzy. As she watched him fall backwards, she made her next move. She teleported to his right and stuck out his fist. Quickly, she slid onto the ground and tripped him up. His body lost his footing and he was sent into the air, falling towards the ground. Then, she teleported again right in front of him and swung her sword as hard as she could. The impact sent him flying back, rolling across the floor.

As his body came to a halt, blood was starting to drip from his stomach. She had him now. He slowly stood up with his hand covering his wound.

"Alright, no more playing around." He roughly swung his cane to the ground, revealing a sword hidden inside his cane. He ran at Blake again, but as he did, it didn't even seem like was injured. As he neared, Blake tried to concentrate. He swung his sword at her head and she blocked. Immediately after, he spun around and swung at her mid section and she blocked. Unfortunately, Blake was worrying about his wound and lost focus. He kicked her in the left thigh and that brought her to her knees. The surprising pain that came with that blow left her unguarded again. He swung his sword and slashed her right down the middle of her body.

"Aaaahhhhh!" She screamed out in pain and Roman knew it was over for her. He brought his sword back and aimed for her heart. Roman's eyes could now only see blood for he was waiting for this moment forever. He thrusted his sword forward and Blake was out of options. As his sword neared her chest, she moved her body slightly to the right and grabbed his sword. His forward motion caused her hand to be cut in the process, but she brought his sword underneath her right arm and stuck her sword through his chest. Once it made it all the way in, she pulled the trigger and unleashed the rest of her clip. Roman's breathing slowly became faint and his body lost its strength. He fell onto Blake's shoulder with her sword still inside of him.

"Only the strong can prevail." She was taken by surprise. This comment was unlike Roman, and in his last seconds, why did he choose to say this? It didn't matter. She won. She pushed his body off of hers and examined her wounds. Blood was running down her body and her arms. The cut on her body wasn't too bad, but on her hand, it somehow made it pretty deep. She took off her arms cover on her left arm and tied up her hand. When she looked up, she saw Ruby still in the heat of battle.

...

Ruby and Mercury were battling it out as the fastest people. It was hard to see what was happening for their bodies were mostly a blur as they buzzed around. In the actual battle, Ruby was taking more and more hits. She tried to increase her speed even more, but when she did, Mercury just got even faster than her. Finally, the two decided to take a break and Blake was finally able to see the damage. Ruby's body was pretty beaten up and Mercury seemed fine. Ruby was only able to land a couple weak blows. The weight of Crescent Rose was definitely a disadvantage when compared to his lighter weight boots.

"You know the story of the tortoise and the hare. Ah, of course you do. And you know how the slower one ended up winning. Yeah, that's not gonna happen this time." Mercury used his speed to vanish. Ruby lost sight of him and looked around, but couldn't find him. "Boo." Suddenly, he appeared to the left of her. Unfortunately, he was too close for her to do anything affective. He kicked Ruby in the ribs and everyone could hear something break. After hearing that loud noise, he decided to retreat. When he returned, he saw Ruby on her knees and holding on to her ribs.

"Yikes, I might have went a little too overboard." She dropped Crescent Rose on the ground and her hands hit the floor. That attack might have cost her this battle. Here she was on the ground in pain while Mercury is over there nearly perfectly fine. She had to improvise. Not just for her, but for her teammates. She was all that was left. Weiss and Blake were already beat and she still had some energy left. She picked up and Crescent Rose and stood back up.

"Don't think I meager kick like that will stop me." She eyed Mercury and gave him a smile.

"You know, I gotta give you points for determination, but that won't win you the match." Before he vanished again, Ruby transformed Crescent Rose into a gun to try and lessen the lag with her strikes. He vanished before her and she scanned the area. It was quiet all around her, but then she felt something in front of her. She stuck out Crescent Rose as hard as she could, but Mercury ended up being to the left of her. "Too slow." Ruby smiled.

"Too stupid." As he was next to her gun, she transformed it back into a scythe and pulled the trigger and dove out of the way. Unable to escape, the scythe kicked backwards, slicing his body in half. When Ruby looked back up, she saw that he was still standing. He slowly turned to look at Ruby.

"Good luck." His body lost all of its strength and his two halves fell to the floor. Unable to stand up, she crawled back over to Weiss and Blake.

"Are you guys okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a few cuts. Weiss?"

"I think I'm fine now. You guys bought me some time to recover so I should be good."

"Good. We're gonna need every bit of strength we have left. There's still Adam and Cinder." From behind them, they heard a soft clapping. They turned around to see Adam walking towards them and in their heads, they were thinking that this was not good.

"You were able to eliminate our bottom 3 cohorts. Unfortunately, this is where it all ends for you ladies." He gripped her sword and lunged at them. They closed their eyes for they knew there wasn't they could. There energy was mostly gone and they weren't quick enough to dodge his attack. "This is the end."

From above the buildings, a figure flew down to them and punched Adam square in the face, sending him rolling across the way into some barrels. The 3 girls opened their eyes to see a familiar girl standing in front of them.

"Yang!"

Yang had returned. She stood in front of them with red eyes and hair on fire. She was serious this time. Nothing was going to stop her. Adam emerged from the barrels and was actually quite shocked.

"So you recovered? I'm impressed."

"You will be when I wipe the floor with your cold dead body." She sprang towards him and nailed him right in the gut, sending him flying again. When he look back up, he saw Yang's fire slowly increasing and he felt a pressure like no other.

"This should be interesting."

"Yang!" She didn't respond. Her eyes and concentration were all on Adam. She wasn't going to fail this time. Even the atmosphere was different. As they stood there and watched the battle lay out, Blake grabbed Ruby and Weiss.

"I think we should get out of here."

"What about Yang?"

"She'll be fine. She came back, didn't she? It's best that we don't get in her way. Anyway, we still have one more person to deal with."

"Blake's right, Ruby. Let's concentrate on that. Yang will be fine." Ruby turned around to look at Yang once more. Her body was still on fire and she felt tremendous pressure coming off of Yang's body. They all faced forward and left Yang alone to deal with Adam.

"So you were able to recover, huh?"

"Shut up. I didn't come here to talk. You're my enemy and I plan to finish you. You've hurt my family. I'll never forgive you."

"Haha, like that'll stop me. Huh?" Yang flew at him and slammed her fist into his face. As her fist pushed his face further back, she shot her gauntlet and sent him flying into the nearby seatrains. He angrily got out and attacked Yang. He sword swung above her head as she ducked. With him unguarded, she threw up her right fist into his gut and fired. His body was sent flying into the air. Yang then shot the ground and flew up to him. She threw a deadly right hook, but spun out of the way and cut her on the left shoulder.

As their bodies started to fall back to the earth, Yang grabbed his body and put in right in front of her, intending him to make first impact. He couldn't get out of her hold. Their speed increased and they were nearing the ground. Before they made impact, Adam elbowed Yang in the gut and she lightened her grip, allowing him to escape. He wrapped his leg around her body and put her in front of him and kicked her to the ground. She hit the ground hard, causing chunks of cement to fly all over the place. Once he landed, he looked at the crater.

"That was a valiant effort, but like I said, only the strong can survive." Out of nowhere, a chunk of cement flew at him and dodged it, but as he got distracted from the piece of debris, Yang ran around him nailed him right in the back rib cage.

"Aaahhh!" She pulled her fist out and kicked him away.

"Get off your high horse, you piece of shit." He got back up and brushed off the rubble from his clothes.

"You leave me no choice." He gripped his sword and stood there motionless. As he did, his body started to glow red and his head looked to the floor. Yang didn't like it. Her body developed more flames and charged him at full speed. She unleashed her arsenal of physical attacks onto him. However, his body didn't fidget at all. He took the hits, but nothing seemed to happen. As Yang noticed this, she jumped away to regain herself. He looked up and the his eyes were glowing red. "Try that again." She pounded her fists together and more fire was exerted from her body. She gained some energy and ran at Adam. He lunged forward before Yang could attack and pierced her right through the heart.

"Aahhhh!" Yang screamed out and rolled on the floor. Adam, still facing the opposite direction, sheathed his sword and listened for Yang's body come to a halt. When she finally was still, he turned around to still see her body in one piece.

"Hm, you should have dissipated by now." He walked over to her body which was still motionless and grabbed her by the hair and brought her up. There was no response. He chucked her across the way and watched her body roll around like a rag doll. Then suddenly,

"Don't think you've won yet," she said softly.

"So, you are still alive. My attack should have killed you, but your aura is definitely a force to be reckoned with." Within a flash, he appeared in front of Yang and kicked her to the side and watched her helpless body unable to stop herself.

"I'm alive because I'm fighting for my family," she said as she tried her best to get back on her feet.

...

Meanwhile, as the three other girls were trying to find Cinder, Blake felt this uneasiness in her chest and stopped. She put her hand over her heart and knew something was wrong.

"You guys go on ahead."

"What?! What are you doing?!"

"I have to get back to Yang!"

"You've got to be kidding?!" Ruby grabbed Weiss' hand.

"Let her go. She needs to do this and we need to handle this. Trust me." Weiss looked into Ruby's eyes and knew that she knew what she was talking about. She turned back around and continued to run and find Cinder.

...

"Your so called family is weak. You won't survive for much longer." He appeared behind her and sliced her back. She screamed out in pain and fell onto her stomach once again. "I can't stand to watch someone so weak persistently get up again and again when they stand no chance so do me favor, stay down." He heard slight rustling and turned around to see yang getting up again.

"I'll get up again and again until my enemy is dead." He unsheathed his sword and ran at Yang. His sword was charged up behind his head and he screamed out in anger.

"You're dead now, bitch!" He got closer, ready to finally strike her down, but when he did, her body lit on fire, more than it ever has been before. He didn't let this affect his attack. She swung his sword aiming for her neck, but her hand stuck out and grabbed it mid-swing. With her body still on fire, her right hand punched him in the gut and pierced through his skin.

"Aaaahhh!" As her hand got deeper inside of him, she felt his heart and shot every round she had into him. His arms and body lost strength and he fell to the floor. From above, Blake finally made it back to Yang to see her finish off Adam. However, the flames from her body immediately disappeared and she fell to the floor, completely out of energy.

"Yang!" Blake quickly made her way down to Yang. She got to Yang and rested her head on her lap. "Yang, please stay with me. Everything will be alright." She opened her eyes to see Blake hovering over her.

"Blake? Man, am I glad to see you." She coughed and blood started to drip out of her mouth.

"Yang, don't talk. Just stay calm. You'll be fine."

"Eh, I think I'm clocking out here."

"What?! Don't say things like that. You'll be fine." Yang lifted her left arm and stroked through Blake's hair.

"Blake, when I'm gone..."

"No. I'm not listening to you. Somebody will save you." Her hand trailed down to Blake's cheek and Blake quickly and grabbed a hold of it into her hands and kissed it.

"There's nothing that can be done, Blake. I used up all of my strength, aura, and semblance."

"That's impossible. You should be able to heal yourself right?"

"I could, but I lost control."

"What do you mean?"

"I used that power to stay alive until Adam was killed. I can't rest until my family is safe."

"Well we're safe for the time being, but you can't rest now. We still have our jobs to do. Please Yang, use whatever strength you have left to help us get out of this mess." Yang smiled one last time.

"May you no longer live in the shadows of life and let the light guide your way." Her arm lost its strength and fell to the floor. Her head turned slowly to the side and her eyes started to shut.

"Yang? Yang! Nnnnooooo! Don't leave me!" She set Yang's head on the ground and crawled beside her. She locked her hands together to try CPR, but when she was ready, she saw the hole in the middle of Yang's torso and knew that it was too late. She sat down beside her and picked her up into her arms.

"I'll always be with you." She brought her head up to hers and kissed her on the lips. Blake's body started to glow and dark color and it eventually transferred to Yang's body as the same color. She pulled away to see if it made a difference, but she didn't budge. She dropped her head onto Yang's chest. "Nnnnnooooooo!"

Ruby and Weiss were running aimlessly when they turned the corner to see a huge hoard of White Fang soldiers waiting for them. They were packed into 2 huge groups with an aisle separating the two. When they looked down the aisle and up a couple of stairs, they saw her. They saw Cinder, waiting for them.

"Ms. Fall, they're here." She turned around in her mysterious fashion and smiled.

"Hm, took them a little longer than I thought, but this will do quite nicely. Stand down." A man shouted and the two groups of soldiers greatened the gap between the ach other. Ruby and Weiss slowly walked into the playing field and Cinder made her way down the stairs, persistently watching the two girls. Ruby looked at Weiss.

"You ready?"

"Are you," Weiss asked while she was staring at Cinder. Ruby, for some reason, couldn't give her a response. Ruby and Weiss met Cinder in front of them a couple of feet.

"So I take it this won't be a fair match?" They didn't respond. They readied their weapons and prepared for battle. Cinder brought her hand up and took aim at Weiss. Out of nowhere, Weiss was surrounded by a black space she couldn't escape from. She banged on its wall, but nothing happened.

"Weiss!"

"Ruby, don't worry about me. Get Cinder!" She turned back to see Cinder tighten her fist. Immediately following that, Weiss screamed out in pain and Ruby was torn between attacking Cinder and trying to save Weiss. After a couple of seconds, the black space dissolved and Weiss collapsed to the ground. "Weiss, are you okay?" Weiss was in pain. Ruby put her hand on Weiss' cheek to see if she was alright.

"Ruby, you're gonna have to do this one on your own. She drained my powers."

"But I need you on this one Weiss." Weiss grabbed Ruby's hand and put it back on Crescent Rose.

"You can do it. I believe in you." Ruby got up and stood in front of Weiss.

"That was a cheap move, Cinder. You'll pay for that."

"Bring it. I've been waiting for a challenge. Maybe you'll be what I was waiting for." Ruby screamed and charged Cinder. Cinder back flipped into the air and created a bow with 3 arrows pointed at Ruby. She shot them and Ruby sliced them up into bits. When she landed, she created a wall of crystals and shot them at Ruby. Ruby shot directly in the middle of the wall destroying some of the crystals and jumped through the narrow hole. Once she made it through safely, the front of her scythe hit Cinder in the face and she jumped out of the way.

Standing apart from Ruby, she swung her arm around circles of energy started to surround Ruby. She dove out of the way and aimed her sniper at Cinder and fired, but every shot was deflected out of the air. Ruby grew troubled at not being able to hit her and lost concentration. From behind, Cinder created wall of fire at hit Ruby.

"Ruby!" Weiss tried to get up, but all of her energy was still drained. Ruby rolled all over the ground from Cinder's attack.

"Your skills disgust me. You honestly believe that your puny weapon can stand up against the powers of infused Dust." Ruby looked up and pounded her fist against the ground.

"You won't win this Cinder." She grabbed Crescent Rose and vanished into thin air, leaving behind rose petals. Cinder looked around with no concern at all for the situation at hand.

"You were able to stop me in the past, but not this time." She point her hand and an explosion circle hit Ruby and caused her to reappear and fall to the ground. "In just a few minutes, my men will deliver all the power I need to destroy your world 100 times over, but before then, I settle with you." She raised her hand and created the same black space she used on Weiss to surround Ruby.

"Ruby, get out of there!" Ruby's body was lifted off the ground and into the black space.

"Suffer and die." Cinder tightened her fist and the pain began to affect Ruby.

"Aaaahhhhh!" Ruby screamed out loud as the black space started to drain her power away. She let go of Crescent Rose and it fell out of the black space. Weiss watched as Crescent Rose slowly collapsed to the floor.

"Ruby, no," she whispered to herself. "STOP THIS NOW!" Cinder didn't listen.

"Watch as your prized hero falls." She punched her fist forward and Ruby's body was sent flying into a nearby stack of seatrains. Weiss followed Ruby until her body came to a sudden stop. Her feet touched the floor as her body dropped like a fly.

"Ruby!" She turned back around and did everything she could to stand up. "You. You'll pay for that." She ran towards Cinder and tried to punch her. Cinder grabbed Weiss' hand out of the air.

"You two just don't get." Out of nowhere, Cinder electrocuted Weiss and she screamed out in pain. "The power of world's amount of Dust is within my grasp. Don't think you'll be able to stop me the way you are now. You've still got leagues to go before you meet my standards." The electricity stopped and Cinder used her index finger and touched Weiss' chest. Immediately, Weiss was sent flying in the same direction as Ruby where she collapsed yet again.

The sound of airships were getting closer and Cinder looked up. Her transport ship carrying the final phase of the operation was here. It hovered over her location and dropped the package. To Ruby and Weiss' eyes, it appeared to be some sort of reactor. Weiss reached her hand over to Ruby's and held it tight.

"Ruby, come on. We have to stop her."

"I can't. I'm totally drained and Crescent Rose is all the way over there." With her machine finally here, she decided to do one last thing. She walked over to Crescent Rose and picked it up.

"Such a childish weapon." It didn't seem possible, but Cinder turned Ruby's weapon into ashes. As Ruby watched, she became stunned. Her weapon was gone. A tear fell from her eye and her head dropped.

"This can't be happening." Weiss turned to look at Ruby.

"Ruby, don't let this affect you. We still have to stop her."

"I can't, not without Crescent Rose."

Meanwhile, Cinder walked over to the reactor and activated it. A stick rose from the box.

"Now is the time. Time for this world to end and a new one to begin: One that eliminates weakness and idolizes the strong." She began to reach for the machine.

"Weiss, I need you to grab your weapon and muster up all the power you can. We'll only have a short time to do this."

"What are you talking about?"

"Just do it!" And just like that, Ruby vanished. Cinder stuck out her hand and reached for the stick, but Ruby appeared before her and punched her across the face. She took a step back from the hit. Another one slugged her across the other side and she took another step back. Ruby charged up another swing, but Cinder grabbed her hand before it made contact. With her other hand, she grabbed Ruby's neck and started to choke her. Ruby put her hands on Cinder's to try and stop her, but it was no use.

"Weiss," she said as loud as she could. Cinder's hand gripped her neck even tighter and Ruby was starting to lose concentration.

"How about we end this world with its first death?" She gripped Ruby's neck even tighter and Ruby closed her eyes and dropped her hands. But suddenly, a sword pierced through Cinder's chest and she dropped Ruby to the ground. Then Cinder's body started to turn to ice.

"What? How is this possible..." The ice finally encased Cinder's entire body and Weiss swung her sword to the right, breaking both the ice and Cinder. The ice from Cinder's body started to disappear and the machine she brought started to glow. After a couple of seconds, the machine imploded and exerted a huge wave of wind in all directions. The force of the wind knocked Weiss to the ground and she crawled to Ruby. She got next to Ruby and held her in her arms.

"Ruby, are you okay?" She shook Ruby's body. "Please answer me." She still didn't respond. She felt her cheek and she felt slightly colder than normal. "Come one Ruby, you're tougher than this." She set her body on the ground and tried to do CPR. She pressed against her chest and put her ear on her chest. There was no response. She then grabbed Ruby's chin and performed mouth to mouth. There was still no response. Weiss stopped for a second a dropped her head onto Ruby's chest. The impact of her head falling started up Ruby's heart once again. She brought her head back up and looked at Ruby to see her finally breathing again. She lowered her head and kissed Ruby on the lips.

After a couple of seconds, Ruby opened her eyes and grunted out loud. She pushed Weiss off of her in heavy breaths.

"Are you trying to kill me?" Weiss leapt back into her arms and hugged her.

"I'm sorry. I'm just really glad you're safe."

"Hey, we should probably get back to Yang."

"Yeah, you're right." Weiss pulled away and stood up.

"Can you carry me?"

"What?"

"I can't walk anymore."

"And you think I can with you in my arms." Ruby stuck out her arms, wishing for Weiss to pick her up. She sighed and picked up Ruby from the ground.

After a while, Ruby and Weiss made it back to Yang's location. However, when they got there, they saw Blake cradling Yang in her arms and it didn't appear that Yang was in a good condition. Weiss put Ruby on her back and ran to Blake.

"Oh my God, what happened?"

In tears, "She's dead."

"No, that can't be." Ruby crawled up to Yang. "Yang, come on. This isn't funny. Wake up." She shook her, but there was no response. "Yang!"

"It's no use, Ruby. Adam got her right in the heart and she used all of her power to stop him."

"We need to get her to a hospital now."

"What are they gonna do?"

"More than what we're doing. Come on, get up." Weiss stood up and carried Ruby on her shoulders while Blake cradled Yang in her arms. Blake took the lead with Ruby and Weiss behind her. Ruby stuck out her arm to try and reach Yang, but she was too far away. Weiss grabbed Ruby's hand out of the air and held it tight. "It's okay Ruby. She'll be alright."

After a couple of minutes, they made it back into town and made their way to the closest hospital. Inside, doctors rushed on scene because of Blake's explanation of Yang's condition. They quickly brought out a gurney and wheeled her into the back. All three girls tried to follow Yang, but the nurses had to hold them back. However, when they tried to sit down, Blake made a run for it to try and catch up to Yang. Security was called to stop Blake. They caught up to her and tackled her to the ground.

"Yang!" She reached out her arm hoping that Yang would reach back, but she did nothing. When they gurney finally reached the final door, Yang vanished into the building and Blake cried out in despair. "Please save her!" Weiss watched as Blake was being torn apart and Ruby laid her head down on Weiss' lap.

"Ruby, are you okay?"

Sniffling, "I'm fine." Weiss sighed and ran her fingers through Ruby's hair. She looked up to the ceiling and let out a deep breath.

"How much do we have to sacrifice to keep this world safe?"

Ruby, Weiss, and Blake sat anxiously in the waiting room of the hospital. The nurses knew this was a sensitive time for the three girls so they occasionally offered them snacks and other things to make the stress less evident.

The three girls didn't say much to each other. They all tried their hardest to simply listen and wait for some kind of sign. When they arrived at the hospital, it was 3 in the morning. Now, the day was approaching 7 in the morning. Ruby was laying across Weiss' lap all morning, thinking about what she could have done to change this. Weiss was concerned if she was going to make it. Blake, on the other hand, was waiting outside by herself. She stared off into the horizon, waiting for the sun to rise and end this nightmare. As time went on, a doctor finally made it to the waiting room where the three girls were all together.

He cleared his throat. "Um, who's the immediate family of a Ms. Yang Xiao Long." Ruby attempted to get up, but Weiss held her down.

"Weiss, what are you doing? I have to go."

"I know this pains you, but I think there's someone else who should see her first." Ruby looked up to see Blake following the doctor to the back of the hospital. Once they cleared the main room, he stopped her in the middle on the hallway and sighed.

"I wish... I wish I had better news for you. She hasn't responded to any of our treatments. We've placed her on the waiting list and will hold her here for another 48 hours and if we don't get a response, it means..."

"I know what it means." She looked away and started to shed some tears.

"She's right down this way if you'd like to follow me." He guided her down the hallway and took a right to Yang's room. He opened the door and let her in. "I'll give you a minute." She walked in and he closed the door behind her.

Blake walked into the room as slow as possible. She looked around the room and noticed nothing in particular. She walked around the curtain to see Yang resting on the bed. She looked down and walked next to her bed. She looked up to the screen and saw Yang's heart beat. It was inexistent. She sighed and looked back down. She grabbed a chair and slid it next to Yang where she grabbed her cold hand. Immediately, Blake started to cry. There was no sign of any warmth radiating from Yang's body.

"You can't do this Yang. We still need you. I need you. I can't live on like this without you. Please wake up." She dropped her head onto the bed and started to cry out loud. All the while, her line was still flat.

Suddenly, Blake felt some warmth on her arm and she looked up. Was it Yang? Yang's face was still blank and when she looked out the window, she saw the sun finally rise. It wasn't Yang.

"Yang, look. The sun's rising. You need to get up now. It's getting late," she said as she nudged Yang's body. There was still no response. Come on Yang. You're the one who's suppose to light up this room, not the sun. I don't care if I never see another sunrise again. I just need you with me please." Blake stood up. "I love you!" teardrops fell from her face and onto Yang's gown. Blake looked up again, but was disappointed. She dropped her head onto Yang's chest and cried out again. This time, it pained her more than it ever has. She was so close, but so far away. She lifted her head up from Yang's chest and got close to Yang's face. "If you're in there, I want you to know that you're my love, my life. I'll never be the same without you. Ever since we first met inside the ballroom of Beacon Academy, I knew there was something special about you. When we met inside Emerald Forest, a spark just happened. In my head, I was thinking that nothing could have been better than being with you. When we separated, I was torn. I was surprised I was able to keep going without you being with me. When we reunited, my heart skipped a beat for I knew that I'd get to see you again. When you saved me from Junior, I knew you were the one for me. No one else can ever replace you." She lowered her head and kissed Yang on the lips. During her few seconds of kissing Yang, she was hoping something would cause her to wake up, but when she broke away, she was still cold and her line was still flat.

She walked over to a chair on the other side of the room and picked up her scarf. She put it up to her face and it still had Yang's smell and warmth. She turned around to face Yang one more time.

"I'll never forget you, Yang." She closed her eyes to stop the tears and walked out, unable to look back.

Back in the waiting room, Ruby and Weiss stood up as Blake made her way back. They asked her how Yang was doing, but she didn't respond. She just held Yang's scarf as close to her heart as possible and walked out. Ruby and Weiss quickly ran to find Yang's doctor and her showed them to her room. They burst through the door to see Yang resting in the bed without any sign of coming to.

"No. Yang, you can't be dead. You're my sister. You're the one who taught me to be strong in any situation. What kind of example are you setting by doing this?! Wake up! Please." Ruby collapsed by Yang's bed and bawled. "I can't stand to see you like this. Wake up!" Weiss saw that Ruby was breaking down to easily. She walked over to her and picked her up from the ground and pulled her out of the room by force. "What are you doing?! Let me go! Yang!"

"I'm sorry Ruby. This pains me too, but it's better that we leave now."

"No, let me go! Yang! Yang, please come back to us!" Weiss pulled her through the halls and out of the hospital where her chauffeur was waiting to pick her up. Ruby and Weiss got in the car and drove back to Weiss' house. Throughout the car ride, Ruby screamed out and punched everything she could inside the car. Seeing Ruby like this was a rare sight for Weiss. Ruby was always the type of person to maintain her composure, but this wrecked her to the core. Weiss pulled Ruby's head into her chest and hugged her as tight as she could.

"Please stop this Ruby. It won't change anything."

"But she can't die," she screamed as she tried to get out of Weiss hold. Weiss squeezed her even tighter to make sure she didn't leave her arms.

"I know. She was an older sister to all of us and we all loved her so much. There are just some things that can't be changed." Ruby slwoly started to relax.

"Why? Why can't things change," she asked with tears running down her face.

"Everything happens for a reason. That's just the way life is. It be happy or sad. It's just the way we make it out to be," she said as a tear fell from her eye. Her chauffeur looked into the rearview mirror to see Ruby and Weiss struggling to get by and turned away quickly. For him, seeing Weiss like this was too heavy to bare.

After a couple of minutes, they arrived at her house, but something just felt off about it. It's normal glow wasn't there and it just seemed really quiet. He opened the door and the two girls got out sluggishly.

"Would you like anything else, Ms. Schnee?"

"No thank you. That'll be all." Something about that sentence was unlike anything she's ever said before. It was more sincere than anything in the world. He bowed and walked off in silence. Weiss opened the door to her house and walked in with Ruby, without turning on any lights. Her butler walked into the main hall to try and intercept Weiss, but she already made her way up the stairs with Ruby.

Ruby and Weiss both plopped on the bed and didn't speak to each other. Her butler made his way up the stairs and pressed his body against the wall next to Weiss' room. He listened in, but heard nothing so he decided to head back downstairs to not bother them. While in the bed, Ruby turned over and leaned against Weiss' body. Weiss wrapped her arm around Ruby's body and held her close.

"You okay Ruby?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She said that, but Weiss knew that Ruby was extremely troubled. Weiss brushed Ruby's hair out of her face and kissed her on the forehead.

"This may be a stupid question, but should we visit Yang tomorrow?" It took Ruby a while to answer her.

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, it won't make a difference."

"Ruby, you can't think that. Yang will make it through this." Ruby sat up and threw Weiss' arms off of her.

"No she won't. she's dead. If she hasn't came to now, what makes you think she'll come to tomorrow? She's left us and there's nothing we can do about it. Stop trying to make me feel better. I've already lost my mother. I've lost my father and now, my sister's gone too. What else do you want from me?"

"Ruby, I..." Ruby got out of bed and left the room. Weiss got up and sat on the edge of her bed.

"Oh Yang. You're sister's in trouble. I don't know if I can console her with your death still present to all of us. I... We need you to come back."

...

Meanwhile, Blake was walking around town by herself. She made her way to the Vale park and was reminded of all her times with Yang. A tear fell from her eye and she immediately wiped it away. As she walked through the park, she saw couples in every corner of the park holding each other and enjoying their time with each other. She shook her head and withdrew her eyes from the situation.

She then left the park and went to a strange place in the city. She eventually found herself in the warehouse where she was held captive by Junior. She looked around and saw burnt materials and broken glass everywhere. As she walked and looked around the place, she spotted a strange stain on the ground and quickly had a flashback of her getting stabbed. She gasped and put her hand to her heart. Immediately after, she had another flashback of Yang coming to her rescue. As she stared at the bloodstain, tears fell from her face unknowingly. She dropped to her knees and cried out loud.

"I can't believe you're gone. It's just not possible. You have a job to protect your friends and family. I know I'm being selfish, but Ruby and Weiss also need you here too. The world just isn't going to be the same if you leave." She got up and made her way back to Yang's house. She turned on the lights and entered into an empty house. "I'm home... If anyone's here."

The night was a difficult one for everyone. No one could sleep, and if they did, they had horrible visions of Yang dying over and over again. When morning came around, it was still quiet. No one spoke anything to anyone and they were all still demoralized. However, Weiss managed to get out of bed and continue with her normal morning routine of getting ready and eating breakfast. She decided not to wake up Ruby for she had an extremely hard night. She tossed and turned through constant nightmares where Weiss had to comfort her most of the night.

As she finished up her breakfast, she walked back into the main hall and looked upstairs. It was approaching 11 in the morning and Ruby still hasn't come out. She sighed and made her way back to her room. When she got there, Ruby was gone. She wasn't surprised by her disappearance though. It was completely understandable. She was just hoping that Ruby was doing anything stupid.

Meanwhile, Blake was waking up from her uneasy night. She opened her eyes and saw Yang. She cried out her name and sat up, but when she did, it was just her scarf. Blake grabbed the scarf and hugged it as tight as she could. She didn't want to let go, but all of these visions she was seeing didn't make her feel any better about the whole situation. She got ready and headed out the door to unknown places.

It was midday and Ruby made her way into the Vale Hospital where she requested to see her sister. The nurse guided her through the hospital to Yang's room where she left Ruby alone. Ruby walked in and saw that Yang was the way she left her yesterday: Cold and quiet. Ruby sat on the side of Yang's bed and grabbed her cold hand.

"Hi Yang. I hope you're feeling better. I just wanted to say that everyone really misses you. I miss you. We're all just hoping that you'll wake up and come home soon. I don't know how long we can hold without you with us. Weiss has been constantly by my side, I don't know why," she said as a tear fell from her eye. "Blake's been really distant. We haven't seen her since the night of the attack. I hope she's doing alright." Another tear fell from her eye. "I guess what I'm trying to say is... We need you back Yang! We can't do this without you! You're our final piece. You're what makes us team RWBY. Please, come back to us!" her eyes turned into waterfalls as she dropped her head onto Yang's bed. Ruby gripped Yang's sheets and yelled out in pain. "You promised you would protect me. I'm your family. This team is your family. Please." Ruby looked at Yang who was still silent, resting in her sleep. Ruby kissed her on the cheek and made her way back to the door. "I love you Yang." She looked back one more time and left the hospital.

...

Blake was walking through town by herself with nothing except Yang's scarf in hand. Everywhere she looked radiated with joy. She smiled and then an image of Yang would appear next to her and she would immediately become saddened. She didn't know why all of this was bothering her. The more she stayed in town, the more she would be reminded of Yang. It was becoming too much for her. She ran out of town and kept running until she couldn't run anymore. A couple of hours went by until Blake finally dropped to the floor out of exhaustion. When she ran out of steam, she found herself overlooking the ocean from a cliff of the bay. She looked to the horizon and saw that the sun was starting to set. As she continued to stare at the sunset, she started to cry. Not because the light was too bright, but because the light was beginning to fade; Yang's light was beginning to fade.

Back at the hospital, Yang's doctor instructed one of the nurses to check up on Yang's current conditions. She made her way through the halls and got to Yang's room. She opened the door, but was surprised to see what had occurred. Yang was gone. The nurse quickly ran to the alarm above Yang's bed and pressed it. The alarm sounded through the building and Yang's doctor eventually ran into Yang's room.

"What's the problem, nurse?" The nurse started to shed some tears as she answered him back.

"She's gone. Your patient isn't here." He walked into Yang's room and saw that her bed was empty. He looked across the room to a chair where her clothes were gone. He checked her monitor and saw that it was turned off. He quickly ran to it and turned it back on. "What are you doing sir?"

"I'm checking the recent of history of this machine."

"Why?" He didn't respond. He continued to tamper with the monitor until he found what he was looking for. He pushed the monitor in front of the nurse's face.

"This is why." She looked at the monitor and saw a regular heartbeat.

"What is this? Why are you showing me this?"

"This monitors the heart rate of its current patient and then its memory is wiped once that patient is cleared from our records. No one's been in this room today and no one has changed its settings right?" The nurse nodded her head. "This was Yang's heart rate before she disappeared." The nurse looked at the screen once more.

"So that means..."

"She's alive." He turned around and looked at the monitor again. "But how is the question?"

...

Back at Weiss' house, Ruby was breaking down on the couch in the living room. Weiss tried her hardest to comfort Ruby, but nothing seemed to work. Ruby's heart was broken and Weiss knew that it was nearly impossible to cure something like that. However, she tried even more despite the fact that Ruby rejected everything Weiss tried to do for her. Weiss made some hot chocolate and walked over to Ruby who had her face in a pillow and was crying her eyes out.

"Hey Ruby, I made you some hot chocolate if you want some." She didn't respond. She just kept on crying. Weiss put the hot chocolate on the table and sat down next to Ruby. "Ruby, I know this hard, but it's all part of life. No one's immortal and some people die for a noble cause. That's Yang did for us. She sacrificed her life so that we could keep on living for her. I know it sounds bad, but it also pains me to say it. I miss her too. Don't carry this heavy burden on your own. Let me help you." She grabbed Ruby and pulled her into her chest. "Let me help you carry this burden with you." Weiss started to cry.

"Weiss... I miss her so much." Weiss was trying to hold back the tears.

"I know. I miss her too, but she'll always be in our hearts' and minds'."

"That's not good enough. I want her here with us." Weiss sighed.

"I know. We all do."

...

The sun was starting to merge with the horizon and the night winds were starting to set in. Blake's hair and Yang's scarf started to flow through the air. Blake looked down from the sunset and onto Yang's scarf. A tear drop landed on Yang's scarf and Blake wiped her face. She stood up and looked back at the sunset.

"I love you Yang, but I can't keep going like this. You'll remain in my heart and mind forever, but I think it's time for me to let you go. You've been my light that guides me and I couldn't be more grateful. Now, rest in peace and soar the skies." Tears started to fall from her face as she lifted her arm that was holding Yang's scarf up into the air. "I'll let you go now." Her fingers started to uncurl, but were immediately closed by someone's hand.

"We'll soar together." Blake turned around slowly to see someone very familiar to her. The person pulled Blake's hand into her body and Blake's body fell towards the familiar person. Their lips met and it felt that the world was relit with a light brighter than anything the sun could produce. Blake released from the kiss and looked at the person with concentration. They had blond hair that reflected the sun's remaining light onto Blake's face.

"Yang?"

"Thanks for holding onto my scarf." Blake's lips started to tremble as she leapt into Yang's arms. Tears rolled down her face as Yang held her in her arms.

"Never leave me again, got it?"

"Got it. I'm so sorry Blake." Blake squeezed Yang even tighter and cried in joy with tears still falling from her face. As Yang continued to hug Blake, she felt that Blake's body was starting to become warm again. She closed her eyes, trying to hold back the tears. "I've missed you."

Sniffling, "I've missed you too." Blake pulled away from Yang's arms. "So how'd you do it? I mean, how are you alive?" Yang looked down at her hands.

"I don't really know. Something inside of me told me that I wasn't done yet. Like I still had something left to do. You know what I mean?" Blake nodded her head.

"I do." She slunk back into Yang's arms. "You're suppose to protect your family. That's why you're still here." Yang pondered Blake's response for a second.

"I think you're right. I don't know how, but I heard each of your voices' saying that you guys still needed me. Something inside of me made me want to wake up again. It's just too confusing to try and explain."

"There's nothing more that you need to say. I'm just glad you're safe."

"I'm glad you're safe. It seemed that you were troubled."

"Yeah I was, but right now, I think there's someone else you might need to know that you're safe and okay."

"Ruby." Blake nodded.

...

Back at Weiss' house, Ruby was still a train wreck and Weiss was still by her side. There was nothing she could do, but sit there and be there for Ruby until she calmed down. Weiss looked up at the clock and saw that it was approaching 8 at night. She's been like this all day, actually even longer. What could she do? She didn't want to see Ruby like this. It pained her to see the person she loved in turmoil and not be able to help her. Her heart was now torn from both Yang's death and Ruby's devastation. Suddenly, a knock came from the door and her butler answered.

"Um, Ms. Schnee, it's for you." She looked down at Ruby who was still laying on Weiss' lap. How could she leave her in a time like this? She started to panic. "Ms. Schnee?"

"I'm coming, just give me a second." She put her hand on top of Ruby's head. "Ruby, I'll be right back. Don't worry." She lifted up Ruby's head from her legs and stood up. Ruby's hand reached to Weiss' and tried to pull her back. "Ruby, it'll only be a second. I promise." Immediately, Ruby dropped her hand and let Weiss go. She left the living room and made her way to the door. "This better be important for I... Blake? What are you..." Blake stepped aside and Yang made her way up the steps right in front of Weiss. Weiss was speechless. She slowly walked closer to Yang with her hands reaching at Yang's face. "Is... Is that really you," she asked with a weak voice. Yang grabbed Weiss' hands out of the air.

"Yes, it's me. I'm sorry for making you guys worry." Weiss started to cry and leapt into Yang's arms.

"How could you do that Yang? We trusted you."

"I know, and I'm sorry." A couple of seconds went by and Weiss finally left the hug while she wiped away the tears.

"I'm really glad you're okay, but I think there's someone here who needs to see you." Yang nodded and entered the house. Weiss pointed her into the living room where she saw Ruby crying on the couch. "Um, Ruby, there's someone here to see you." It took her a long time, but she sat up and turned around to face the three girls.

"Ruby, I'm home." Yang opened her arms and smiled at Ruby.

"Y... Yang? Is that..."

"Yes, it's me." A tear fell from her eye. "Get over here."

"Yang," Ruby cried out as she jumped at Yang and knocked her to the ground. Once they landed, Ruby said nothing. All she did was squeeze Yang as tight as she could and didn't let go.

"I'm sorry. I made you doubt me. There's no excuse for that, but I'm here again, and I'm not going anywhere." As Ruby remained in Yang's arms, he crying finally started to subside and her breathing eventually calmed. "I really did you miss you Ruby. You're my sister. I would never leave you like." Ruby lifted her head and slapped Yang across the face.

"You better not." Ruby smiled and returned to hugging Yang until she lost her strength.

"You know Ruby, you seem tired. How about we all get some sleep? Hey Weiss, do you mind if Blake and I crash here for the night?"

"Of course not. Go right ahead."

"Alright, thank you. Okay Ruby, up and at 'em." Yang got up and lifted Ruby in her arms where she carried her upstairs and into Weiss' room. She laid Ruby on Weiss' bed and knelt down next to her.

"Good night Ruby."

"Thank you Yang, for coming back." Yang smiled and kissed her on the forehead. Weiss showed Blake and Yang to their room and after a couple of minutes, everyone went to sleep.

However, as the night grew late, Yang got out of bed and went to the giant window in front of Weiss' house and stared out the front. Weiss, also, couldn't sleep. She silently got out of bed and found Yang by herself. She walked over to her and nudged her on the shoulder.

"Too much sleeping for you?"

"Haha, yeah." Yang looked down.

"So how did you come back? Blake told me that it was something about still needing to do something or whatever. Is that true?"

"I said that to Blake so it would calm her mind, but that's nowhere near the truth. What happened was that I was being sucked into a bright light, not being able to control my own body. As I neared that light, something grabbed me and pulled me away from the light. I was confused. The thing that grabbed me was something odd, I didn't know what it was. It asked me if I wanted to keep living and I told him more than anything else. He stuck out his hand and we shook. However, when we did, I felt something leave from my body, like it was forcibly sucked out and the next thing I knew, I was inside a hospital." It took Weiss a second to finally respond to this interesting story.

"It was your semblance."

"What?"

"Whatever grabbed you from the light wanted your semblance. You can't heal yourself or others anymore, can you?"

"I don't know, but I don't want to test it out. I've already caused enough pain to you guys. Even though I was here for it, I don't want to see you guys go through something like that again. It hurt me to see Ruby the way she was before I showed up."

"Well, thank you."

"For what?"

"For returning to us. It just wouldn't be the same without you with us."

"Oh come on, it's not like..." Weiss shoved her body into Yang's and hugged her. "Weiss?"

"I couldn't show it to the others, but your death took a toll on me too. To know that someone as strong as you could fall made me worried about Ruby. I just couldn't stand to see someone like her fall." Yang closed her eyes and hugged Weiss.

"Well, we're together now. That means nothing can stop us. We're a team. We're a family." Yang looked down at Weiss and she looked up and started to cry. "You should get some sleep. I'm pretty sure it's been a long day for you. Here, I'll walk you to your bed." Yang had her arm around Weiss as they walked down the hall to her bedroom. Yang watched as Weiss slowly got into bed, next to Ruby. "Good night Weiss. Sleep well."

"I will. Good night." They said farewell with a smile and Yang left to return to Blake's side.

When she got back to her room, she saw Blake sleeping peacefully. For a second, Yang stood in the doorway and stared at Blake. She was smiling. That smile always brought Yang happiness. She walked into the room and closed the door behind her. She quietly climbed into bed, behind Blake who was on her side. Yang lifted her head over Blake's and kissed her on the cheek.

"Good night Blake." She wrapped her arm around Blake and fell asleep.

When morning came around, the light from the sun hit Yang on the face and she woke up. She opened her eyes and reached for Blake, but she wasn't there. She sat up and saw that she was alone on the bed.

"Blake?" Yang got out of bed and left the room, looking for Blake. She walked all around the house, but couldn't find her. She looked in the nearby rooms and then went up to Weiss' room, but was surprised to not find Ruby and Weiss in the room. What was going on? She walked back downstairs and made her way into the kitchen where she was greeted with a big,

"Surprise!" Ruby and Weiss exploded little confetti into the air and Blake had her hands in the air.

"What's going on?"

"It's for you."

"Me?" Yang walked into the kitchen and looked down on the counter. It was a cake that spelled, "Welcome back." "Aw, you guys didn't have to. This is too much."

"We wanted to. You brought us back together and we thought this was appropriate." Yang smiled and pulled everyone in for a hug.

"Thanks you guys. You're the best." Yang squeezed as tight as she could and the other three girls were starting to lose their breath. Ruby was trying to her best to escape, but Yang kept her in her arms.

"Yang, please. I... can't..." Yang finally let go and everyone fell to the floor, trying to regain their breath.

"Alright, let's eat."

"Yang, it's still the morning. We have to eat breakfast."

"Ah, screw that." Yang dug her hands into the cake and started to stuff her face in cake.

"Yang!" Yang turned around and threw cake in Ruby's face. Ruby clenched up and took it in the face. The other two girls gasped and Yang threw pieces of cake at them as well. They all wiped off the cake and started to throw it back at Yang. Yang was pelted by cake and took cover behind the counter. Ruby looked at Weiss and Blake.

"Get her!" They grabbed a handful of cake and leapt over the cake. However, Yang reemerged with two packets of filling.

"Boosh." Yang smiled and exploded the packets in the three girls faces'. They fell back onto their butts and were defeated.

"Hey, that's not fair."

"You never stated any rules." Yang dropped the packets and walked out of the kitchen. Then, Weiss' butler walked in on the mess.

"Excuse me Ms. Schnee, the mayor of Vale has asked for your attendance."

"Mine?"

"Team RWBY's, to be specific."

"Alright, thank you." He bowed to her and left the room. Weiss turned to face her team. "Well, you guys wanna go meet the mayor of Vale?" Their faces lit up and everyone nodded their heads. They all ran to the corners of the house to get ready and after a couple of minutes, all four girls were at the door ready to leave. They opened the door and ran to the town hall where the mayor was waiting for them.

They ran through town, ignoring every single traffic law in existence. As they ran through town, people started to cheer for them. They didn't know why, but as they got further into town, they saw signs with their faces on it with an inscription that they couldn't read because they were too focused on meeting the mayor. They cheering continued as they finally made it to the town hall. They stopped before the door out of breath and knocked on the door. Immediately, the door opened and the mayor came out in his finest apparel.

"Welcome Team RWBY!" The crowds outside the town hall gates were watching and cheering like crazy.

"Hello Mr. Mayor, you wanted to see us?" He chuckled.

"Of course I did, you saved the town and the entire world and to show my complete gratification, I'd like to present you all with this." He turned around and held something in his hands. "The key to the city. It now belongs to you." The crowds went nuts. The ground shook and the gates were rocking back and forth. On the other hand, the four girls were speechless.

"Wow, we don't know what to say."

"There's no need to say anything. Everything has been said through your valiant efforts. Oh yeah, before I forget, I have one more thing." He turned around again to grab one more thing. "Unfortunately, the president of Vale could not make it here today so he asked me to give this to one of you in his honor. Where's Yang?" She stepped forward.

"I'm here." He smiled.

"Ah, Ms. Long. You have been given the honor of receiving the Act of Valor medal. Your sacrifice for your team will be remembered as a symbol of hope in humanity." She bowed her head and he slipped the medal around her neck. "Congratulations. You've deserved it." She lifted her head back up and shook his hand.

"Thank you sir."

"Ah yes, there's even one more thing." They saw him run back into the building to grab something quite large. "On behalf of the citizens of Vale, we'd like you all to accept this check of one million gold pieces in hopes that you'll find a use for it." They grabbed the giant check and held it in their hands and raised it to the sky. Everyone cheered and they all started to tear up. They couldn't believe this was happening.

A few hours ticked away and they finally were able to return to Weiss' house. With the key to the city, a giant check, and the Act of Valor medal in hand, they dropped onto the couch and gave a sigh of relief.

"Wow, that was, um, unexpected," Yang said with her head facing the ceiling.

"Yeah, I know. It was really cool though." They sat around just idolizing the gifts they received for a bit when Weiss had a really strange idea. She called for her butler and he responded quickly.

"You called, Ms. Schnee?"

"Yes, I would like to leave this manor in the hands of yours." I no longer see the need to have ownership of this house. It belongs to you." He was speechless. The rest of her team was speechless.

"Uh, Weiss?"

They were so confused, but she let them in on her plan. They packed up their desired belongings and left the house. She told Blake and Yang to sell their current house. At first, they wanted to know why, specifically, but Weiss simply told them that it was all part of a bigger thing. They sold their house as quickly as they could like Weiss instructed. She then took her team to a nearby mountain view on the ridge of the city. Weiss dropped her things and told them that she wanted to build a house for the four of them. They were caught off guard. A house for the four of them? She explained that they had the money to do it and that she believed that it was the best thing for them to stay together and for the world to know that we are here for them. With that explanation in mind, they agreed to building the house.

It took about a year and a half to complete their project, but when it was finished, they didn't regret the decision at all. They built a 4-room, 3-bath house with a balcony that stretched around the entire house, allowing them to have a perfect view of Vale and the sunrise and sunset. They even paved a road from Vale up to their house, with a sign at the base of the road reading,

Team RWBY,

To serve and protect the people of this world.

They put their finishing touches on the house and were finally finished. They walked upstairs to the balcony and watched as the sun set on that wonderful day. Yang leaned on the railing and took in the fresh air of her new life.

"We're together once again, but this time, this will be forever." The other three girls smiled for they knew this was going to change their lives forever. Weiss grabbed Ruby by the waist and kissed her. Surprisingly, Blake grabbed Yang and kissed her. After each pair finished their kiss, they came together and held each other in their arms as the sun faded away. They said goodbye to the past and were finally ready to accept the future.

The End

Ending Note: I hope you guys enjoyed the finale of this story. I started this story a long time and I got to see everything about this story evolve. Thank you for all the support you guys have given me. It really means a lot. Also, check me out on twitter: RT_fan4life. I'll start to give you guys a more in depth gif of what I'm planning. One more thing, I was also maybe planning on making a fanfic youtube vlog. Yay or nay?