(The following are quotes taken from several, unidentified interviewees to study current world relations, requested by a non-profit educational agency. The majority are inflammatory remarks and should not be taken at face value.) Pt. 2
Vale
●Mistral: "I love their culture!!! Art, animation, music, food, they have everything! Although, I guess they can be too conservative for their own good sometimes."
●Atlas: "They're basically the bad guys of world history. They're also a bunch of rich jerks!"
●Vacuo: "They were our ally during the Great War, but now they don't contribute to Remnant society... Although, I guess they didn't have civilization before Atlas colonized them."
Mistral
●Vale: "They constantly disrespect our culture. Probably because they do not have a culture."
●Atlas: "They act like they know better than us when we are the elder kingdom. Without Mistral, Atlas would not have any allies left."
●Vacuo: "Nothing but a filthy faunus pit."
Atlas
●Vale: "Valish act like we are 'the evil kingdom' just because we refuse to allow them to make choices for us. Newsflash: NOBODY likes you guys either!"
●Mistral: "We are Mistral's only true ally, but the Mistrali act like we are, we are... they act like we are Vale!"
●Vacuo: "We gave them cities, education, technology, and they STAB us in the back all for some fake sense of free-DUMB where you can not walk outside the door without being shot at! That is the thanks that Atlas always gets from the other kingdoms."
Vacuo
●Vale: "Ok, picture the most annoying 'good person' in your head... Vale is worse."
●Mistral: "Don't let the fancy clothes fool you, Mistral has the best gangsters in the world!"
●Atlas: "If it fell out of the sky tomorrow, we would clap."
●Literally just the entirety of the V4 Ruby trailer with the only changes being that Ruby goes into her SEW Form after jumping through that window (she eats the Gorilla) and then of course Jaune is swapped out with Pyrrha for obvious reasons (he's dead).
●Cut to the next day
●"I'm just saying," Nora says to Ren as the two walk through a spacious, yet extremely dark forest with building size trees.
●"there's more members of JNPR in this team than RWBY. It just makes sense that one of us would be the leader."
●"But, none of us were leaders." Ren responds
●"Ugh, how can I make this more clear?"
●Nora then runs in front of Ren and stops while holding up all of the fingers of her hands.
●"10 times! That's how many times Pyrrha has won the Sanctum Regional Tournament!"
●"But travelling to Haven to find more information about Cinder Fall was Ruby's idea, so wouldn't she be the leader?"
●"Ahem." Pyrrha, who has been walking in front of the duo the entire time, speaks up, "We need to focus."
●Having said that, a rumble is heard thoughout the dark woods. "They're here, get into your positions!" Pyrrha orders Ren & Nora who follow.
●In front of the group, a mass of boulders with a Grimm mask for a face charges through the woods before stopping and spinning. The huge creature easily knocks down and snaps the towering trees around it, causing bright sunlight to spill down into the forest.
●Suddenly, the sun is blocked by something again... Ruby, who begins firing away at the Grimm's "body" with Crescent Rose, which proves useless. Ruby then dives down while using her semblance, buzzing around the Grimm as a trail of rose petals that it fails hit with each swing of it's arms.
●Ruby then flies upward and shifts back into human form to fire at the creature again. "I COULD USE SOME HELP!!!" Ruby screams at the of her lungs. The Grimm swings at her again, which causes Ruby to shatter into rose petals that fly around it again.
●"HELP INCOMING!!!' Nora screams at the top of her lungs from a tree branch as she fires all of her rockets in a heart shape formation at the Grimm.
●The monster is staggered by the attack, which gives Ren the perfect oppurtunity to strike; from the ground, he runs up the Grimm's body and jumps off his back. As he falls, he spins while slashing with his weapons at the Grimm's body. Before it can react, Ruby carries Ren away from it and drops him on Nora's tree branch before rengaging the Grimm.
●"My blades don't hurt him!" Ren yells into a comm
●"And neither do Ruby's bullets," Pyrrha responds while hiding behind a tree trunk, "I can't believe I let you all convince me to drop off my weapons at the village!"
●"THEY NEEDED A WASH!!!" Ruby screams as she flies past Pyrrha and continues to circle the monster.
●"That's it! I'm going in!!" Nora yells as she leaps from the branch and strikes at the Grimm's "arm", shattering the boulder to pieces.
●The Grimm then turns it's attention away from Ruby and to Nora, which it again tries and fails to hit.
●The Grimm's armless shoulder gains a glowing red circle with a symbol of an eye in the middle. The circle spins, and then a black, elongated arm with clawed fingers emerges from it. The arm rears back. The Grimm shoves its new arm into the broken tree trunk Pyrrha was leaning against and lifts it from the ground.
●"That's not good..." Pyrrha whispers to herself
●"Big mistake!" Ruby quips in mid air as she fires a round of Burn Dust from Crescent Rose, the recoil launching her onto a tree branch that she narrowly lands on.
●The Grimm's tree arm catches fire, but doesn't fall apart. It then starts waving the arm around which causes the surrounding wood to also catch fire.
●"Big mistake!!" Pyrrha yells as she jumps out of the way of an incoming swipe from the burning tree arm. Instead of falling down, Pyrrha levitates in the air by using her semblance on her armor.
●The Grimm attempts to swipe at Pyrrha, but is staggered by Stormflower cutting it's mask, which causes it to fall.
●The group then comes together on the ground to discuss a course of action. Pyrrha berates Ruby for being reckless enough to set the forest on fire, but Ren breaks up the argument as they have more pressing matters. Ruby adds that she put out the fire. Nora then asks how are they supposed to kill this Grimm when it keeps adding new body parts after they knock them off. Ruby brings up that Weiss killed something like this a long time ago by piercing it's body, but Ren retorts that none of their weapons are sharp or strong enough to do that. Pyrrha then realizes that they could force the Grimm out of it's body by breaking all of it's limbs at once.
●The group then comes up with a plan to kill the Giest: Ren, Pyrrha, and Ruby will distract it while Nora will use the new upgrade on her weapon, a charge function. When Nora's read, Ruby will fly towards her and carry her towards the Giest so she can break all of it's limbs with one hammer swing.
●The plan works perfectly, and once the Giest is immobolized it flies out of the boulder and attempts to flee the group.
●BANG
●Ruby smirks after sniping the Grimm in it's eye.
●"Looks like another victory for team RNPR!" Ruby cheers. (Pronounced Cornpone because I literally could not think of something better lol)
●"We still need to discuss about your reckless behavior, Ruby." Pyrrha chides her, which causes the smile to fall from Ruby's face.
●Hard cut to that Village
●"What do you mean we're no longer welcome here???" Nora yells out loud. Team RNPR are standing outside the walls of the village that they have been resting in for about a day or two. On the other side of that wall is the city's Mayor and two armed guards, all of them with angry faces.
●"Exactly what I meant." The mayor coldly responds to Nora.
●"This isn't right, you said you would pay us for hunting the Geist." Ren cuts in
●"That was before we realized that you decieved us about your identities. You told us you were traveling Huntsmen, not Valish soliders."
●"That's completely ridiculous." Pyrrha says
●"So says you, but that girl," the Mayor then points to Ruby, who is picking her ear before she suddenly stops, "was the leader of the Valish Huntsman team that assulted a Mistrali student, I've even heard it was her sister! And even worse, their are those rumors that she isn't even human!"
●"You are out of-" before Pyrrha can finish telling this guy off, Ruby cuts her off.
●"Guys, let's go." She orders with her head held down.
●"What, but they're being completely unfair!" Pyrrha responds
●Ruby then holds her head up and smiles, "Really, it's no big deal! If the villagers are scared of us, then let's leave them in peace. C'mon, I heard the next village was close by!" Ruby says as she turns to leave.
●The rest share one last glare at the mayor, before they turn to leave as well. Behind their backs, the mayor breathes a sigh of relife and almost collapses from exhuastion.
●"This treatment is a violation of sacred hospitality." Ren angrily mumbles
●"Well, times change." Nora offhandedly responds. Ren shoots her a bad look.
●As RNPR make their way down the rode, they hear someone call them.
●They turn around and spot a darkskin bull faunus wearing blacksmith clothes running towards them.
●"Ms. Nikos, you forgot these." He says as he hands Pyrrha her weapons, Miló & Akoúo, which are shinier than usual.
●"Oh, I forgot all about these!" Pyrrha says as she takes both weapons.
●"Well it looks like at least somebody was a good host today." Ren comments
●"You are really hung up on that hospitality thing, huh" Nora responds.
●"I apologize for my fellow villagers today, one of the little ones showed the old man a video of the last Vytal Festival and it worked him up into a frenzy!" The Blacksmith tells the group.
●"You don't have to apologize for actions that aren't your own. You've already done more than enough by upholding our deal." Pyrrha respectfully responds.
●"I insist. And a word of advice, our mayor was being nice by simply casting you out. People really don't take too kindly to folks from Vale these days."
●"Only one of us is from Vale." Ren responds
●"Could have fooled me." The Blacksmith responds while staring at Nora.
●"Oh no, I was born in Mistral I swear! But I've been told my parent's are from Vale so I can totally see how that's confusing!"
●"Your clothes."
●"Oooh, yes this is Vale Couture! I got it just before the shop blew up!! Literally. Anyway, thanks again for all the help, literally could never do it with out you, but say, what's all this nonsense about Ruby being a Grimm eating terror that's flying around?" Nora inquires while changing the subject.
●"Oh that, hahah! It's just stories the little ones tell to scare themselves. My own son swears he saw a strange woman stalking the town at night, but it's nothing. Say, you all didn't get paid?"
●The Blacksmith takes out a bag full of coins from his apron and hands it to Pyrrha.
●"Oh no! We can't ask for this!"
●"I insist! Even if the mayor had to banish you, he should had upheld his end of the deal."
●"Thank you so much." Ruby says as she accepts the cash.
●"Really, it's no ha-... you-your eyes are silver?"
●Everyone freezes
●"Uh, well then it's getting late so time for me to go home!" The Blacksmith says as he dashes off faster than he came.
●Beat
●"Well, that happened." Ren quips
●"Come to think of it, why didn't you change into that super scary monster when we we're fighting the Geist?" Nora asks Ruby.
●"I can't do it when I'm full." Ruby responds
●"Ok, well no more wasting time. We planned to go to Shion Village because they have an airship and a local Huntsman, so let's move forward." Pyrrha says as she takes charge.
●"I'm a little worried tho. I know the signal out here is weak, but we haven't been able to get a message out to Shion since we've been here." Nora thinks aloud.
●Ren grimaces to himself.
●"Have something to say, Ren?" Ruby asks.
●"... no, let's proceed." Ren responds as he walks ahead of the rest of the group in silence.
●Ren's respinse worries Nora.
●With that, the group follow the yellow paved road back into the Forests of Hinoki.
[End of the first episode]
●The episode begins in darkness, the only sounds being Jaune and Cinder's voices. Suddenly, a still imagine of Cinder right before she set a wounded Jaune on fire comes to life, right before Ruby screams Jaune's name as everything flashes a bright silver light.
●With a gasp, Ruby opens her eyes. She's lying in a red sleeping bag on a clearing in the woods. Nora and Lie are also in sleeping bags around a long burned-out campfire. Ruby sits up and looks around. She then puts her hand to the side of her head and sighs as though she's in pain.
●All four members of team RNPR walk down the yellow paved road, which seems to glow within the shadowy forest. Pyrrha is in front, looking at a map.
●"According to this, we should arrive at Shion any minute now." She informs the group.
●"Man, I did not miss Hinoki growing up and I won't miss it now! This place gives me the creeps!" Nora complains aloud.
●"Well, I find the sea of trees quite soothing. The atmosphere absorbs outside noises, and the trees block out burning sunlight." Ren replies.
●"Seriously Ren? 'Burning' sunlight??"
●"Well, maybe you would appreciate this place more if you spent more time outside the city."
●"Ah, don't tell me you're still hung up on me not joining the monestary on the mountain! That was almost ten years ago!"
●"I'm not the one who brought it up."
●Ruby speaks up, mostly to break up the fight, "Wow, I feel like I've never seen you two fight before."
●"Don't be ridiculous, Ruby! Even couples as perfect as me and Ren have our moments, right Ren." Nora says as she drags him into a hug.
●Ren quickly pushes her aside, which angers Nora.
●"Could you all please focus?" Pyrrha almost yells at her teammates behind her. ""We're not here talk about our love lives, we're on an extremely important miss-"
●Pyrrha turns her head and stops, raising her hands to her lips as her eyes widen.
●"What's wro-" before Ruby can finish, she finally sees what Pyrrha sees: In front of them is a desolated village. The open sky is gray and two columns of smoke rise in the air. An active fire is burning on the remains of a wooden airship. A gazebo has a broken tower and lampposts are askew from the ground. At least one dead body can be seen on the side of the road approaching the town.
●The map is dropped and all four rush forward. They briskly move into the town, looking around. Ren tosses his backpack on the ground and moves ahead while the other three gather in the middle of a road.
●"There could be survivors!" Ruby says
●"Over here!" Ren exclaims
●The other three rush to where Ren is leading them. On the ground, sitting propped against a broken building wall is... Arslan Altan. She breathes heavily and holds her hand against a bleeding wound in her abdomen. Ren drops by her side and puts his hand on her shoulder.
●"Arslan?!" Ruby shrieks. She can hardly believe seeing the familiar face here, and dying.
●"What happened? Where's the rest of Team ABRN?" Pyrrha asks her.
●Arslan coughs blood, and then says, "Branwen. The whole tribe... and my teammates..." Arslan starts crying. "Then, the panic..." Arslan begins starts cough repeatedly and harshly.
●"Grimm." Ren finishes her thought for her.
●Ren stands and walks a few paces away, placing his hands atop his head. Ruby, Pyrrha, and Nora step away to confer.
●"We can get her to the next village and try to find a doctor there!" Ruby tells her teammates
●"Yes, Nora and I could take turns carrying her there." Pyrrha agrees with Ruby's idea.
●"I don't know if she'll make it." Nora says in a quiet, withdrawn voice she's never used before.
●"She will! Let's stop wasting time and take her no-" before Pyrrha can finish
●"Guys." Ren addresses the group in monotone.
●The other three turn and discover that Arslan has already died.
●"Should we bury her?" Nora asks
●Ren walks right past them without a backward glance.
●"We should go. It's not safe here." Ren tells everyone as he marches forward.
●"Ren..." Nora says as she turns and follows him
●Ruby puts her hand on Pyrrha's arm. She is looking stressed and sad.
●"It'll be ok." Ruby attempts to reassure her
●"I'm just tired of losing everyone." Pyrrha responds.
●Ren stops and looks at something on the ground, his eyes widening. A cloven hoofprint is impressed into the ground. Nora comes up to his side. She sees the same mark and her eyes also widen in recognition. The two of them silently make eye contact.
●The scene changes to the same blackness that was seen earlier before Ruby woke up.
●"Pyrrha." Jaune's voice calls out in the dark as the growl of a monster is heard.
●"Pyrrha! Pyrrha!!" Jaune's voice yells out frantically as the unseen monster begins to rip and tear and munch at something unseen. Cinder's voice can be heard screaming.
●Ruby open's her eyes breathing fast. She looks at her hands... and they are glowing claws.
●Ruby realizes she's in her other form.
●Ruby closes her eyes and relaxes. In a flash, she shifts back to her normal self. She looks around to see if anyone's noticed, and finds Ren and Nora sleeping soundly in their bags.
●"Pyrrha!" Jaune's voice calls out, which startles the awake Ruby.
●She follows the sound it it's source: Pyrrha sitting on a stump, listening to a recording from when everyone celebrated Jaune's birthday.
●"It's amazing! Thank you say much!!" Jaune's recording says.
●Pyrrha, both the recording and the real one, say "Don't thank me. I'm just happy to be apart of your life. I'll always be there for you, Jaune." Pyrrha starts to cry.
●Ruby watches the scene unfold from behind a nearby tree trunk, before she decides to turn away and head back to bed.
●Pyrrha replays the recording, her sobs growing louder.
[End of the second episode]
●The episode begins on the path through the woods, Team RNPR moves forward with Ruby looking at a map.
●"Come on, guys! If we pick up the pace, we can hit the next town before sunset!"
●"Assuming it's still there." Pyrrha grimly responds to Ruby.
●"Of course it'll be there. This one's supposed to be pretty big! Hee-gan...bayn-a."
●"Higanbana," Ren corrects Ruby, "It's a well protected village with a popular inn."
●"Which means, no camping in the creepy woods!" Nora cheers
●"See Pyrrha? Everything's going to be fine!" Ruby say
●"We've had many misfortunes on our journey. But I suppose the situation could be worse. I had assumed that we would encounter more Grimm." Pyrrha says
●The scene then changes to Team RNJR being viewed from above, a rocky outcropping just on the edge of the view.
●A Beowolf stomps into view and growls at the four kids. Just as it is about to leap, it is stabbed through by Qrow.
●Three disintegrating bodies of other Beowolves are just behind him.
●A black raven caws from a tree branch on eye level with Qrow, catching his attention. He looks at it and it flies off, following RNJR.
●Qrow scoffs, "Luck."
●It's raining on the village of Higanbana. Through the window of an inn, the four kids are shown silently discussing with the proprietor. A backward zooms brings the visual out into the street, and through yet another window being viewed from the inside of a tavern. Qrow sits at a table, watching.
●A waitress sets a glass with liquor and ice in front of him.
●"Oh, I didn't o—"
●The waitress cuts him off, "From the woman upstairs. Red eyes. Said you wouldn't mind bottom shelf."
●Qrow turns and looks up. An overhead shot shows the spacious lower level of the tavern and its several round tables, while the edge of a balcony is just visible. Qrow turns back.
●"Thanks." he says to the waitress
●"But I went ahead and gave you top." The waitress says while winking at Qrow, "Lucky you."
●With a pleased smirk, Qrow watches the waitress as she walks away. After she is gone, he looks through the two windows to see no one visible in the lobby of the inn.
●He takes his glass and heads upstairs. Raven Branwen waits for him at one of the tables, her mask atop it.
●"Hello brother." Raven says in her 'kindest' voice.
●Qrow glares at her from the top of the stairs for a moment before moving to her.
●He pulls the chair that's beside her and drags it to a position across from her instead. With his hand on the back of the chair, he simply looks at her expectantly. Raven rolls her eyes and moves her mask to the side. Qrow sits down.
●"Raven... are you following her?"
●"Following who?"
●"Ruby."
●"Why would I do that?"
●"Are You-"
●"Sigh, no. I forgot how boneheaded you could be, Summer's kid would had been dead by now if I was tracking her."
●Qrow glares at Raven, which causes her to laugh.
●"You of all people can't take a joke?"
●"What do you want, Raven?"
●"A girl can't just catch up with her family?"
●"She can, but you're not. Now how 'bout we get on with it? Unless you plan on keeping these comin'."
●"Does she have it?"
●"Did you know Yang lost her arm?"
●"That's not-"
●"Rhetorical question, I know you know. It's just obnoxious that you'd bring up family and then carry on like your own daughter doesn't exist."
●"I saved her."
●"Once. Because that was your rule, right? Real "Mom of the Year" material, sis."
●Raven leans forward and grabs Qrow by the forearm, stilling his sarcastic, nonchalant motions. The view slowly spins above their heads as she speaks intently to him.
●"I told you Beacon would fall and it did. I told you Ozpin would fail and he has. Now you tell me. Does. Salem. Have it?"
●"I thought you weren't interested in all of that."
●"I just want to know what we are up against."
●"And which we are you referring to?"
●Raven glares and finally lets go of her brother and sits back down with a noise of disgust.
●"... You should come back, Raven. The only way we'd beat her is by working together. All of us."
●"You're the one who left. The tribe raised us, and you turned your back on them."
●"They were killers and thieves."
●"They were your family."
●"You have a very skewed perception of that word."
●Raven stands up, upset.
●"I lead our people now. And as leader, I will do everything in my power to ensure our survival."
●"I saw. The people of Shion saw, too."
●"The weak die, the strong live. Those are the rules."
●"Well, you've certainly got someone strong on your side. I've seen the damage."
●"... We couldn't have known the Grimm would set in as quickly as they did." Raven says as she turns away from Qrow
●"I'm not talking about the Grimm."
●Still not facing Qrow, Raven looks up, eyes widening slightly at his words.
●"And I'm not talking about you, either."
●"If you don't know where the Relic is, then we have nothing left to talk about."
●As she reaches for her mask, Qrow grabs onto the top of it.
●"I don't know where the Spring Maiden is, either, but if you do, I need you to tell me."
●"And why would I do that?" Raven says as she pulls her mask out of Qrow's grasp.
●"Because without her, we're all going to die!"
●"And which "we" are you referring to?"
●Qrow grimaces as Raven walks away. The sound of her sword getting unsheathed is heard and he looks up, unhappy. Raven walks into her red portal and disappears. There's the sound of breaking glass and a gasp. Qrow turns to see the waitress, trembling at the sight of Raven disappearing. She takes a cautious step backward as she looks sideways at Qrow.
●Qrow then looks up at the waitress while gesturing towards his glass.
●"Make this one a double?"
●The next day, team RNPR say their goodbyes as they leave the Inn and head back on the road.
●From within the Tavern, Qrow watches the young huntsmen make their leave.
●"Ya know, if I didn't think you were cute I would have never let you sleep in here." The waitress sasses Qrow.
●"Well then, maybe I can find some way to repay your generosity..."
●"When you're not drunk."
●Qrow shrugs his shoulders at the comment and moves to leave.
●"My name's Fujiko by the way." The waitress says as Qrow opens the door.
●"Heh... Qrow." he says as he finally leaves.
●Hours go by, and Fujiko is seen scrubbing the floor of the Tavern when the bell of the front door being opened rings.
●"We're closed right now." Fujiko says without breaking eye contact with the floor.
●"My apologies, fair maiden, but I require a different service before I will be on my way."
●"What is-" Fujiko stops herself when she finally looks into the eyes of the man in her Tavern. They are blacker than night.
●"I was only hoping that you would help me find someone..." Tyrian says before flashing a smile at the camera, which causes the scene to cut to black.
[End of the third episode]
●The episode begins on a cloudy day, and RNPR is following a mossy stone tile path through the dark woods. While walking, Nora stretches her arms up wide.
●"Another day, another adventure!"
●Beside her, Pyrrha reads the map while Ruby and Ren continue alongside them.
●They walk for a while longer. And longer. And longer.
●With a sigh, Ruby says, "Haven is a lot farther than I thought. We've been at this for three months now!"
●"Ruby... how long did you think this journey was going to take?" Ren asks her
●"I don't know! I grew up in a small area; I've never been this far away from home!"
●"Yes but," Pyrrha cuts in, "how long?"
●"Maybe like, uh... two weeks?"
●"What?"
●"Okay, fine! Three or something! Look, whatever."
●Ruby looks up again after a beat and notices something ahead.
●"Hey, what's that?"
●The group stumble upon what appears to be a village. Pyrrha notes how strange it is that a village wasn't on this part of the map. When Nora notices that the buildings are damaged, Pyrrha orders the team to search for survivors.
●They discover the town to be empty. Ruby lifts a fallen plank of wood to find only plant outgrowth underneath. As they search longer and longer, Ren slowly realizes the true nature of this place.
●"Hey, I think I found something!" Nora shouts offscreen.
●Ruby turns and rushes over. Nora, Pyrrha and Ren are looking at a town sign. Nora moves the ivy growing over it to the side to read what it says.
●"Oniyuri? Never heard of it." Nora says
●"Neither have I." Pyrrha responds
●"I have." Ren says
●The other three look at him, surprise on Nora and Ruby's faces.
●"You might think of it as Anima's Mountain Glenn, had it never been completed. Years ago, the old Aristocrats of Mistral feared that crime families were gaining too much power. Frustrated with the council's corruption, they pooled their resources together to build their own city, with their own laws. They hoped that one day, it could maybe even replace Mistral. Many thought it would be the future. I know my parents did."
●Ren then walks away from the other three.
●"What happened?" Ruby asks.
●He brushes some dirt off of the stone border of a low wall to reveal claw marks.
●"What always happens."
●"The Grimm." Pyrrha says
●Ren tightens his hands into fists.
●"Not just any, one."
●Ruby briefly faces Nora in confusion, but Nora doesn't move her concerned gaze away from Ren. Ruby turns back to him.
●"One?"
●Several small black birds take off from a tree outside Oniyuri's wall. They fly over the village and the four travelers.
●"The matter is settled. We aren't needed here, so let's continue on our quest. Besides, this place... has a bad vibe." Pyrrha says
●She turns and leaves, soon followed by Nora. Ren lingers for a few moments, seemingly in thought, then follows. Ruby is the last to move as she looks over the empty village. Leaves blow through behind her after she follows her friends.
●The same time as Team RNPR head out of Oniyuri, the POV of an unknown character rushes down the stony path that leads to the city.
●Ren's eyes widen. He stops in front of his friend's and holds up his hand.
●"Pyrrha do you sense that?" Ren talks quickly
●Pyrrha presses her fingers to her forehead and her eyes suddenly snap wide open as if from shock. "Everyone, weapons now!"
●As order, every member of RNPR draw their weapons and form a defensive circle, their backs to each other as they scan the enviroment.
●A moment passes. Ruby suddenly looks up at a clocktower that borders the city wall...
●Tyrian jumps through the clocktower, collapsing the entire building, and dives toward Ruby as he screeches.
●Ruby has zero time to think before she, Nora, and Ren are pushed aside by Pyrrha's semblance as she takes her place.
●Tyrian lands on Pyrrha's shield, the force of which knocks her down and causes her to slide along the ground.
●Pyrrha glares at Tyrian as he rides her, and she performs a flip kick that sends him flying through a nearby building as she rights herself.
●Tyrian then flashes behind Pyrrha.
●Before the man can backstab her, Ren rushes to Pyrrha's side and blocks the hit with an Aura Forcefield. Ren's aura flashes from the impact.
●Pyrrha then steps in and uses the full force of her semblance to blast Tyrian away using his metal weapons.
●As Tyrian flies through the air, he suddenly dissappears. He then reappears behind Ruby.
●Tyrian slashes through Ruby's body with enough force that it destroys the building behind her. It would have defeated her instantly, had Ruby not used her semblance to dodge it.
●Ruby appears behind Tyrian and attempts to slash at him, but he easily dodges her attack.
●Ruby then uses the gun function of her weapin to move away from the man while also firing at him, but Tyrian dodges every shot and is always close by no matter how far she moves.
●Tyrian closes the distance, forcing Ruby to block his assult with her weapon. He nearly swipes Crescent Rose out of her hands as he then finally gets a clear hit on her, which causes her Aura to flash.
●Before Tyrian can get another hit on her, Pyrrha flies at him and hit Tyrian with her shield, dragging him away from Ruby.
●As the two fly away from Ruby, Tyrian gets a good look at Pyrrha with his ink black eyes.
●"It's you." He says to her, which causes Pyrrha momentary confusion.
●Pyrrha stops moving in front of Nora, who swings at Tyrian with her hammer, but Tyrian just leaps from the shield to her hammer and up through the top story of a narrow, rectangular building. Holding himself up with his feet on wooden frames to either side of him, Tyrian looks down at Team RNPR.
●"What do you want from us?!" Pyrrha yells at him.
●"Who are you?!" Ren yells.
●Tyrian leans forward, drops from the tower, does a front flip, and lands on his feet in front of them.
●"I am but a dark crusader sent on a mission by her holiness for one reason only: kill the child of The Burning One." Tyrian says while pointing at Ruby. This causes RNPR to look at each other in confusion.
●"This guy's nut!" Nora tells her friends.
●"Foolish daughter of Shade! If you had any sense, then you," he point's to Nora, "and you," he point's to Ren, "and... Pyrrha," he says pointing at her, which shocks everyone, "would abandon this moonlit demon in child's skin."
●"You're with Cinder aren't you?!" Pyrrha accuses the man.
●Tyrian laughs in response, "Just the latest princess pawn of my mistress. A proposition, fellow childen of Shade: leave the silver eyed girl, and I promise that you may leave here with your lives."
●"And what if we say no?" Nora says as she walks defensively in front of Ruby.
●Tyrian closes his eyes and inhales through his teeth. His eyes slowly open, and he happily growls a single word with a dark grin.
●"Good."
●Delighted that they're willing to fight, Tyrian moves fast to attack Pyrrha from behind.
●Ren deliberately shoots Pyrrha's shield so that the ricochet hits Tyrian. Tyrian covers his eyes with his arm and then cartwheels onto the shield, using his claw blades to spin in the air against it. Ruby steps in to face Tyrian on his descent, but he just kicks her to the side. She regains her ground by using Crescent Rose to steady herself. Pyrrha swings her sword at Tyrian, but he simply dodges and kicks her away as well.
●His next move is to run toward Nora. From across the way, Ruby grins and shoots Nora with Shock Dust. It passes just over Tyrian's left shoulder, and he turns as he senses it. Nora gets knocked down when the bolt makes contact, dropping Magnhild in the process.
●Mistaking the move for an error on Ruby's part, Tyrian gives Nora a baffled stare and laughs while Ren, Pyrrha and Ruby simply watch and wait.
●"Well, if that isn't ironic."
●He senses something is up and loses his mirth. With a determined, satisfied grin, a now upright and supercharged Nora rushes Tyrian from behind, moving over his right shoulder and coming before him just in time to hit him with Magnhild. The blast from the contact has the other three covering their eyes from the backwash of dust and air, Pyrrha actually taking cover behind her shield.
●The air clears to reveal a perfectly fine Tyrian in a crouch, using his now unveiled scorpion tail to block Magnhild. He giggles and curls his fingers at Nora.
●"Surprise."
●Tyrian then back flips to kick at Nora, sending the redhead backwards.
●Suddenly, a bright light fills the scene as Ruby attempts to use her silver eyes. Tyrian groans in discomfort as he takes a knee, the Mark of Shade on his back made momentarily visable.
●"Leave my friends alone!!!" Ruby screams at him as her whole body slowly begins to glow as well.
●"Ugh, that's it Burning child! Cast, erm, cast away your disguise and devour me like the monster you are! Show your friend's the truth before you devour them too!!" Tyrian rants at Ruby through the pain.
●Ruby then hears other groans of pain as well. She looks around herself and realizes that her friends are being damaged by her eyes as well, their Aura shields already broken from the light.
●Ruby turns off her power with a blink, and Tyrian and dissapears again.
●Ruby is then knocked down hard by a hit to the back of her head. As she lands on the ground, her Aura shield shatters.
●Tyrian approaches Ruby on the ground and raises his stinger, which begins to glow and leak a purple fluid. Nora, Ren, and Pyrrha look on in horror.
●Laughing, Tyrian is about to strike with his scorpion tail when Qrow bursts through a building and inserts himself between them, holding his weapon behind his back. There's a metallic noise as Tyrian's stinger hits against Qrow's weapon and clips into the blade. He lets out a nervous giggle of surprise while Ruby and Qrow make eye contact and smile at each other.
●"Hey." Qrow says to Ruby.
●[Insert the entire fight scene between Qrow & Tyrian here]
[End of the fourth episode]
●The episode begins within the dark woods, illuminated by glowing mushrooms and will-o-wisps. Team RNPR, and an injuried Qrow, sit around in a circle. He has just finished revealing the truth of the world to them.
●"Ok so, let me get this straight," Nora speaks up for her teammates, "Ruby already told... well, showed us about the freaky Silver Eyed people thing, no offense Ruby."
●Ruby says none taken, but when she looks away her face is downcast
●"Pyrrha already told us about your super secret conspiracy cult that's been covering magic and seasonal maidens and by the way I just realized the reason Pyrrha was feeling so down back at the Vytal Festival was because of that, huh?" As Nora says that, Pyrrha begins to glare at Qrow.
●"And NOW you're telling us that the Grimm have a leader who is a literal evil witch and she's Cinder's boss???"
●"Yep, you've got it straight." Qrow says before he takes another swig from his alcohol vial. It's obvious that he's in a lot of pain.
●"You haven't told them everything." Pyrrha speaks up, a noteable edge in her voice. She then glances at her friend's before continuing
●"Ozpin was spying on me. He'd been spying on me since before I even went to Beacon. He wanted me to be his perfect maiden before I even met him."
●"Well, you did say yes."
●"You didn't tell me everything!! I made my choice without knowing about Salem or silver eyed warriors!"
●"Would knowing that had really changed your decision Pyrrha?" Qrow asks her, which stuns her into silence. Pyrrha knows that she would have still said yes to being a maiden anyway because the responsibility was too great to ignore.
●"Hey, let's not fight right now. I know we're all on edge because this is a lot to take in, but-"Ruby's attempt to put everyone at ease is cut short by Pyrrha.
●"It wasn't just me, was it?" She says, a sudden realization dawning on her, "Ruby, the silver eyed warrior that just happened to come to Beacon? Weiss Schnee, world famous singer and legacy huntress, chose Beacon over Atlas or Haven? Blake Belladonna, secret ex-White Fang member? They all happened to go to Beacon at the same time, NO Ozpin set this up, didn't he? What, were they spare Fall Maidens in case I said no?"
●"Funny thing is, Ozpin had assumed that RWBY was a creation of our enemy." Qrow's response shocks Pyrrha, and Ruby.
●"But he was wrong, you girls were just a happy accident."
●"But team JNPR was constructed by Ozpin?"
●"... yes."
●Silence.
●Ren breaks it, "The man, Tyrian, talked like a religious zealot. He called Salem his goddess, so-"
●"So is Salem a goddess? Hell no!" Qrow laughs a bit wincing in pain. He then continues
●"As I'm sure you kids were taught at Beacon, about 200 years the the church of the Light God split in half over the debate of if the Devil has equal power to him. Embarrassing as it is for us Ruby, the Northerners got it right."
●"Wait," Pyrrha perks up, "you mean the Northern Orthodoxy?"
●"Well if I were you Miss Invincible, I wouldn't get a big head. You're folks got plenty of stuff wrong too." This quiets her, causing Pyrrha to ruminate about something.
●Qrow continues, "They were two brothers. The older sibling, the God of Light, found joy in creating forces of life. Meanwhile, the younger brother, the God of Darkness, spent his time creating forces of destruction. As you can imagine, they both had pretty different ideas about how things should go. The older one would spend his days creating water, plants, wildlife. And at night, his brother would wake to see all the things that the elder had made and become disgusted. To counteract his brother's creations, the God of Darkness brought drought, fire, famine, all he could do to rid Remnant of life. Life always returned. So one night, the younger brother went and made something - something that shared his innate desire to destroy anything and everything."
●"The creatures of Grimm." Ruby answers
●"You guessed it. The older brother finally had enough. Knowing that their feud couldn't last like this forever, he proposed that they make one final creation... together, something that they could both be proud of, their masterpiece. The younger brother agreed. This last great creation would be given the power to both create and destroy. It would be given the gift of knowledge, so that it could learn about itself and the world around it. And most importantly, it would be given the power to choose, to have free will to take everything it had learned and decide which path to follow - the path of light or the path of darkness. And that is how Humanity came to be."
●"If you had told that to my grandparents, they would have called you a heretic." Pyrrha plainly says.
●"Like I said, your folks got plenty of stuff wrong too. Well, that's the kicker. See, the four gifts to mankind - knowledge, creation, destruction and choice - aren't just metaphorical. Each of them exists in a physical form, left behind by the Gods before they abandoned Remnant, and each of them is extraordinarily powerful. If someone were to collect all four, they'd be able to change the world. That's exactly what the enemy wants. The Huntsman Academies were created to train generations of Humanity's protectors, but they also serve another purpose - guarding the Relics. When Ozpin's predecessor founded the schools, he built them around the Relics to act as a fortress. Not only would they be easier to defend, but they would constantly be surrounded by trained warriors. The hope was that hiding them would keep mankind from using them against itself... and, of course, keeping them out of Salem's reach."
●"There's another thing you're not telling us." Pyrrha says as she suddenly stands up.
●"Which is?"
●"Ozpin wasn't a human being, was he?" Her question causes the rest eyes to widen. Nora covers her gaping mouth with her hands.
●Qrow takes another swig from his flask, "And here I thought the really crazy stuff would have to wait! But to your credit Pyrrha, you are half right: Ozpin used to be human, but he hasn't been a normal one in a very long time. I believe that Ren here is familiar with the concept of reincarnation?"
●"When we die, our souls transfer to a new body according to the karma we developed in our previous life. When we reincarnate, we lose all the memories we gained from our last life." Ren quickly answers
●"Yeah, well, Ozpin was something like that, but he got to keep the memories from his previous lives. And he lived a lot of them." Qrow says dryly.
●"Okay, so, now we can add super mcguffins and our teacher is a reincarnating old wizard to the growing list of crazy things we learned about today!" Nora says
●"Has Ozpin already reincarnated again? Is he the one that sent you to follow us?" Pyrrha accuses more than ask
●"Believe it or not, I don't know everything. And to answer your second question, I followed you kids to make sure my niece was safe. I haven't heard a 'thank you' by the way."
●"Thank you." Ruby says as she suddenly stands up, "This is a lot to take in, and it all sounds crazy, but... I'm willing to do whatever I can to help because I trust you. But why couldn't you trust me? Why couldn't you just travel with us, instead of this secrecy, and, and,"
●"Look, this has nothing to do with trust. I-- It's a long story, okay?"
●"It's not a long story." Pyrrha says as she walks over to Ruby. "You're cursed."
●"What?" Ruby asks dumbfounded
●Qrow sits in silence before speaking, "Well that isn't the nicest way of putting it, although it's one I've heard before."
●Pyrrha, holding Ruby's hands, begins to instruct her, "Ruby, close your eyes. There's something you need to see that is beyond sight." Ruby does as told, but sees nothing.
●"Focus on your Aura, on your soul." Ruby continues to do as she's told, digging into the deepest parts of herself... and then she sees with her eyes closed. Around Pyrrha is a red aura. Surrounding Nora and Ren are pink and green auras. And above Qrow... is a dark red storm cloud that constantly strikes at everything around it with lightning. One of the strikes hits a tree branch above, causing it to nearly hit Ruby before she dodges it and opens her eyes.
●She stares at her uncle in horror, who can only turn his head away on shame.
●"A passive semblance that brings misfortune to everyone and thing around you," Pyrrha starts talking, "if anyone was wondering why he and his bandit sister don't get along, it's most likely because his tribe cast him out."
●"Pyrrha." Nora stops her, knowing that she's taking things too far.
●"You're wrong." Qrow says as he stands up.
●"I left them behind." He walks away from the camp, slowly.
●"Where are you going?" Ren asks
●"Taking a walk."
●"There's nothing else you want to tell us?"
●A red-eyed raven lands on a tree branch with a quiet caw. Qrow looks at it, and it cocks its head, looking at him.
●"Not tonight."
●He continues his slow walk away, leaving the four teenagers to themselves for a bit. The log he had prodded earlier rolls out of the campfire. Ruby watches Qrow, concerned.
●It is morning time at the campsite, and the birds are a-tweeting. All four teenagers are in their sleeping bags. Qrow sits up against the base of a tree, facing the group. Ren sits up with a sigh.
●"We should probably get moving."
●"Of course." Pyrrha says as she sits up.
●Both turn at the sound of Qrow coughing, which grows louder and sounds worse with each cough. Nora and Ruby sit up, and Ruby quickly goes to her uncle's side.
●Purple staining is visible on Qrow's bandage, which he is holding his right hand over. He lifts his left hand to his mouth as he continues to cough. A cuckoo bird joins its call to the rest of the morning birds. Qrow pulls his hand away with a groan, and the whole palm, including up over the wrist and his fingers, is covered in the purple stain.
●Ruby's eyes grow wide, and she gasps. Qrow looks at his hand.
●"Well... that's unfortunate."
●With a groan, he lowers his hand and head before going still. The cuckoo finally stops and the screen cuts to black.
[End of the fifth episode]
●The episode begins with a cold open, Ruby & Pyrrha carrying Qrow's limp body uphill with Ren & Nora close behind. It's raining hard, hard enough to penatrate the canopy of the dark forest.
●Team RNPR stop when they reach an old wooden sign post atop the hill, a crossroads. On the right path, it's a road that leads straight to Mistral City and Haven, but it's a treacherous mountain path that contains thousands of steps and ladders that snake around the mountain. Ren & Nora are familiar with the road because they've been on it before... and they know that Qrow won't survive long enough to take it.
●Pyrrha then suggests the left path, the name on the sign crossed out but can still be read... Kuroyuri.
●Ren tells the group that they can't go there: Kuroyuri was abandoned nearly a decade ago and it's in the opposite direction of Mistral. It would be better to use the right path because that way they might come across fellow travelers or even airships that could help them.
●Pyrrha tells him that the chances that might happen, in a storm like this, are next to none. Ruby then suggests that Kuroyuri might have spare medicine or supplies they could give to Qrow, and at least they could find shelter so they could stay out of the rain.
●Just before an argument between Ren and Pyrrha can break out, Nora suggests the group split up: Nora & Ren have been up the mountain before, so they can get to Mistral faster. Nora then tells Ruby & Pyrrha to take Qrow to Kuroyuri, which is a lot closer than Mistral, so they can find medicine or at least get Qrow out of the rain.
●Ren & Pyrrha both object, but Nora tells them that they are running out of time and whatever they are going to do, they hace to do it fast. The two relent, and RNPR split to complete their objectives.
●"Look Pyrrha, it's not raining over there!" Ruby says as she and the rest make it to Kuroyuri.
●Much like Oniyuri, Kuroyuri is a desolated village that the two girls can only imagine how beautiful it must have been in it's hayday. Compared to Oniyuri though, Kuroyuri has more signs of vegetation, both wildgrowths and dead gardens, in every corner.
●Ruby & Pyrrha take Qrow to a dead tree in the center of the village and set him down. Ruby then tell's Pyrrha to watch over Qrow before she uses her semblance to fly throughout the ghost town, looking for any sign of medicine that they could possibly give Qrow.
●When Ruby leaves, Pyrrha kneels next to Qrow and checks his vitals: his heart-rate is extremely slow, his breathing labored.
●"I don't know if you can hear me right now... but I'm sorry for what I said earlier." Pyrrha tells the poisoned man. She then looks up at the sky, which is clear over the village, but storming harshly everywhere else...
●Up the mountain, Ren & Nora have been nonstop climbing and are still than a quarter of the way up.
●Nora tells Ren that he should have told Ruby & Pyrrha the real reason why he didn't want to go to Kuroyuri. Ren responds that now isn't the time. Nora counters that it's never the time with him, he never wants to talk about his feelings even when it's killing him and everyone else inside.
●Ren is befuddled that Nora wants to talk about feelings at a time like this, and she responds that if she and all her friends are about to die then she might as well.
●The duo finish climbing a ladder soaked with rain when Nora finally pops the question: does Ren love her? Ren says of course he cares about Nora, but Nora presses the issue with the question, "Do you want to be in a romantic relationship with me?"
●Ren then, extremely reluctantly, says that he isn't sure if he wants to be with anyone. Nora responds with a blunt "Ok." Ren is surpised that she isn't angry, to which Nora admits that she is a little, but what really make her mad is when Ren can't be honest with her. He is her bestfriend, girlfriend or not, and she's always going to be their for him because he was there for her.
●Before Ren can respond to Nora's heartfelt speech, a flag hits him in the face. He holds up the flag and realizes that it's Shion's flag. Nora quickly points out that the flag came from a nearby cave and the two investigate.
●The space inside the cave is larger than a house, and littered with items. Nora finds other objects from Shion, and then finds objects from Oniyuri which worries her. Ren, wordlessly, holds up a bow. He tells Nora that it belonged to his father, which shocks Nora into silence.
●The two then hear a sound like thunder. Rens says that *that* isn't thunder, and points out a section of the dark woods shaking from something massive moving within before saying that they need to get back to Ruby & Pyrrha.
●Back in Kuroyuri, Ruby returns to Pyrrha and Qrow with, the only medicine she found being completely rotten and more likely to make Qrow worse.
●Pyrrha stops Ruby while she's explaining herself and tells her to look up.
●Ruby does, and what she sees shakes her: the eye of the storm is a perfect geometric triangle, and the rain outside of Kuroyuri is so thick that from that outside it looks like a wall of water. Pyrrha then tells Ruby that the weather is attempting to trap them, and they need to leave.
●Suddenly, the two teens hear the same thunderous sound that Ren & Nora heard on the mountain. Ruby tells Pyrrha to take Qrow and hide in one of the buildins so she can deal with whatever is after them. Pyrrha refuses, whatever happens, they'll face it together.
●Before the two can continue arguing, a pink shooting star crash lands in front of them. The smoke clears, revealing Nora & Ren within the crater. Nora bemoans that causing a Dust explosion to launch them into the city was a horrible idea and that her back is going to hurt for a week.
●"We're too late." Ren says aloud. As he does, the thunderous sound is louder and more frequent, sounding less and less like a storm and more and more like footsteps.
●"It's already here." Ren says as his face contorts in rage. The footsteps are clearer than ever, and the feet & hooves of a massive Grimm are visable underneath a building out in the corner. The Grimm turns the corner, a massive black horse with *something* on it's back. Looking at the creature, Ren's rage grows. The camera then zooms into his eyes...
●"...it's your big day, Ren!" A motherly voice tells Ren, who is now a child. The voice is none other than Ren's mother, Lie An, who wears her bright pink hair in a neat bun with emerald hair pins. The woman is currently getting Ren dressed in his room with the help of an expensive mirror.
●"I'm still not sure if I'm ready to give a speech in front of everyone." Ren tells his mother. She playfully shushes him.
●"You are the son of our village's mayor, everyone here respects you! You just need to respect yourself." When she finishes putting Ren's jacket on, she tell's him that she's missing some ingredients to make her green juice and needs him to run to the market for her.
●"Do I have to?" Ren asks
●"Yes!" An puts her foot down. She then laughs at the situation and hugs Ren before sending him off.
●The flashback transitions to Ren walking through the streets of Kuroyuri, which are filled with Chocolate, Tiger, and Spider lilies. As he walks by, many of the townsfolk warmly greet him, proving his mother's words correct.
●Ren finally reaches the market where the vendor gives him the ingredients for free, reasoning that he refuses to force Ren to pay on his own 10th birthday.
●Ren thanks the man and hurries off before a nearby falling lotus flower catches his attention. Ren follows the flower down an alleyway where three boys loom over a strange girl.
●"Thief! We won't let you go!!" One of the boys says as he corners the girl and kicks her. She curls into a ball.
●"Look at her clothes, she's not one of us!" Another boys jeers and points at the girl. Her face is filthy, and her eyes full of fear.
●"Hey look, it's Ren!" The last boy points out. They all smile at him, waiting for him to join in. Ren stands frozen, unsure of what to do.
●"Shameful young men!" A powerful male voice calls out behind Ren, "Did your elder's teach you to abuse the weak? To break the hospitality our village holds sacred??"
●"N-no, mister Lie!"
●"Leave!!!" As commanded, the three boys flee the scene.
●The man then walks past Ren and towards the girl, who flees in terror. He sighs, he only wanted to help her. The man then turns to face Ren. Ren knows him well, his father Lie Li.
●"You dissapoint me today, Ren. Our family used to be advisor's to the Emperor of Mistral, yet you would refuse to use your words to guide other's to thr right path? Shame on you."
●"Father, I was just, just..."
●"Just what?"
●Ren falls silent, betraying that he wasn't going to do anything.
●Li kneels down and places a hand on Ren's shoulder, "Sometimes the worst course of action, is no action at all."
●Suddenly, a group of townsfolk come up to the father & son. The group tells Li that a wave of Grimm were sighted in the dark woods. One if the villagers suggests that they evacuate the village, but Li tells them that they will not: Kuroyuri is the last part of Mistral that remains pure and uncorrupted and he refuses to abandon it. He advises the the group to form a militia of the strongest villagers and to hide everyone else in their homes. Li then tells Ren to go back home now.
●Ren runs and runs, and the longer he does the more darker the scene becomes. Warning bells begin to ring, the daylit sky turns dark as night, and eventually only one word can be heard by heard among the people... Grimm.
●Ren then gets snatched off the street by An, who carries him in her arms. She tells him not to worry, that everything will be all right.
●Black
●Ren wakes up, and he finds himself being carried in his father's arms. His mother is nowhere in sight.
●Li then sets Ren down and draws his bow.
●"You have to be brave now, Ren. Make the right choices, and never be afraid to take action." Li then hand's Ren his dagger.
●Ren can just barely make sense of what is happening.
●"Your mother and I will always be with you, Ren." His lastly tells Ren before telling him to go.
●The foot of the horse grimm stomps next to Li, who attacks the creature.
●Ren runs and runs, the flashback slowly ending...
●Back in the present, team RNPR face down the strange Grimm.
●Suddenly, a figure resembling a person rises from the horse's back. It's horned head twitches and jerks, and then it snaps open it's sewn mouth to scream. The sound is the worse thing Ruby's heard in her life.
●Team RNPR engage the monster; Ruby zooms around while slashing at it; Nora pellets it with all of the ammo she has; Pyrrha uses her semblance to fly and attack with her weapons at long range, and Ren wrecklessly throws himself at it.
●Nothing works. The Grimm shrugs off all of their attacks. The horseman than rotates it's shoulders while extending it's arms, knocking down all of then Huntsmen.
●Ren gets back up and throws himself at the creature, which knocks him around with it's extending arms. Ren throws himself at the creature again, using force palm strikes to do damage, but the horse part kicks Ren with it's hindlegs. Ren then throws himself at the creature again, and again, and again
●"Ren, what are you doing?!" Pyrrha yells at him, but Ren cannot hear her.
●The Grimm pins Ren to a wall. It attempts to strike at him with it's other arm, but Nora blocks it with her hammer... which ends up pinned to the wall.
●The Grimm then knocks Nora around and batters her until her Aura shield is broken. In response, Ren attacks the creature until it lets him go, but it strikes him down which brakes his shield too.
●On the ground, Ren attempts to throw himself at the creature again, but Nora drags him underneath a building.
●Ren tells Nora that he has to go back out there, and Nora slaps him in response. Ren then takes a deep look into Nora's eyes, which start another flashback.
●In the past, Nora hides underneath a building in Kuroyuri as the village is destroyed by Grimm. She then hears footsteps, and sees the hooves of the Nuckelavee coming closer and closer.
●"Boop." Nora hears a voice say behind her. She turns and sees the boy from earlier, the son of the big man.
●"Take my hand!" The boy says while holding out his hand. Nora hesitates a moment, but takes it. When she does, she feels her fear and pain melt away. The Nuckelavee slowly walks away from the building, thinking that nothing's there.
●"My name's Ren." he tells Nora. She stares at him in awe, the first person to ever do anything nice for her.
●Ren then grabs a toy hammer and gives it to Nora, "Let's protect each other!"
●"I won't let you throw your life away, Ren," Nora tells Ren in the present, "we protect each other."
●Ren smiles.
●The two then crawl closer to the edge of the building, Ruby and Pyrrha are still fighting the Nuckelavee, but losing.
●"How do we stop this thing?" Nora asks aloud.
●Ren's eyes grow as he comes to a sudden realization. He then screams, "It's arms! You have to pin it's arms!!!"
●Having heard what he said, Ruby dodges another one of the Nuckelavee's swings before pinning the arm underneath her Crescent Rose.
●Pyrrha then uses her semblance to pull the weapons and arrows out of the Nuckelavee's back, causing it to scream in pain. It swings at her, and she avoids it by flying upward. She then rains the weapons down at the creatures wrist, before sending herself down and pinning the arm with her spear as well.
●Nora then runs out from underneath the building and grabs her weapon. She spins around as she runs, before throwing it at the Horse's head, the force of which knocks it clean off.
●Ren slow walks towards the trapped beast, which writhes in pain.
●"For my mother."
●He cuts off the Grimm's left arm.
●"For my father."
●He cuts off the Grimm's right arm.
●"For all those that you've slain."
●He strikes a gash into the flailing torso. He then closes his eyes.
●"For myself!"
●He opens his eyes and swings with the knife, beheading the grimm. The rain surrounding the village dissappears, and the Nuckelavee dies in a pillar of black smoke. Ren drops the knife and breathes out a sigh of relief only to be tackled by a giggling, triumphant Nora. He hugs her back and gives a single laugh.
●The sound of multiple airships soon rings out, and they begin to descend into the village.
●"Oh! Qrow!!!" Ruby says as she rushes to check on her uncle, who she hid in an alleyway during the battle. He is motionless.
●Pause
●"Ugh, could you turn off the noise? Im trying to sleep a little." Qrow mumbles to Ruby.
●Ruby sighs in relife.
●The scene then transitions to Qrow and all members of RNPR aboard the antique airship, as it makes way towards it's final destination of Mistral City.
Brainstorming a Atlas Arc Ruby redesign under the cut
Pic 1: My redesign of Ruby's Atlas design with my AU!Ruby's skin color
Pic 2: Trace reference
Notes I made before completing the design: Hoodwinked inspired fit (Red hood is always on, Black short sleeve outer shirt and Grey long sleeve under shirt, Red belt, Black jeans, Red boots)
Thoughts after completing this:
Dear God, canon Ruby's waist is snatched! I was halfway done tracing her torso and thought I was making a sex kitten, and that was after I decreased her boob size (those things have to be D cups or something wtf). Ruby's belt is doing a good job of hiding the fact that she has no organs in there and it becomes really obvious when you put her in a more casual outfit like I did.
Ruby's grey sleeves look like her skin even when she's brown; because I made her brown I took the liberty to make them white and have her match her belt
Speaking of her belt, I wasn't going to put her in a skirt originally but decided that her red skirts are too iconic to not have on her. I made her belt white so it still breaks up her torso from her legs
She is wearing regular red shoes instead of boots. I also made her shoelaces yellow so she would have her sister's color in her design
Can you tell that I wanted Ruby to have a more minimalist design, but then awkwardly backtracked after making it too minimalist? Her shirt and pants were blank originally, which made her look literally unfinished. I put a cross pattern at the bottom on her jeans and put a wolf on her shirt. I still think she looks unfinished and plain lol
All in all, while I think the color pallete on my design is a bit better (less different colors, more saturation), I went too hard in making Ruby look like a regular teenager instead of a sexed up anime huntress like the official design.
And despite having her head covered full time, my Ruby looks less warm than canon cuz she has less layers and clothes that look thinner (If I knew how to do textures...).
Closing thoughts: My Ruby design looks more like something she would wear around Patch then Atlas lol. Cool shirt tho
MFW Monty had a plan for a beach episode in Volume 3 that would actually be plot focused and build up Ren as a character but since I already finished V3 of my rewrite I can't really add it:
The Four Maidens are Pan-Remnant female dieties of the four seasons. Modern Archeologists trace their origins to central Anima, where the cult of worship then spread out to the rest of the known world. Below is a record of the oldest mention of the Four Maidens.
"Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring
Wash, Quake, Burn, and Breeze
West, South, North, and East
Always four, and never three
Maiden Zima creates the freeze
Maiden Vasantha knows the trees
Maiden Shemu burns all things
Maiden Zahuãni brings the breeze
Create anything you need
Know that there are 4 of all things
Destroy obstacles within your path
Make Choices and decide your path
The Four Maidens rest in thee
So you must decide your destiny."
This record was discovered on a stone tablet within a ruined city located in the deserts of Anima. It's contents are connected to themes of the passage of time, the rule of 4, and changing one's fate. Curiously, each of their names are linguistically desperate, which has led to countless theories of a Prehistory Interconnected-Remnant.
Maiden Zima
The Winter Maiden, also known as the Creatrix, is depicted as a pale woman from the north (in modern day retellings, Solitas) with snow white hair and a variable eye color (usually sky blue). Her entire body is covered by clothing except for her head, and her long hair is styled in a bun[source?]. In pop culture, she is commanly compared to world famous singer Weiss Schnee visually.
She carries with her a magical staff that has the power to create anything, including new animals. In most stories, she uses her staff to individually create each snowflake, which is why no two snowflakes are exactly alike. In some versions, she is associated with the genesis of Semblances.
Maiden Vasantha
The maiden of Springtime, A.K.A. the Oracle, is often visualized as the youngest maiden, and having blonde hair and a dark complexion with bright green eyes. Her epithet comes from her ability to answer any question asked of her. She also posesess the magical ability to control plant growth, and is said to be responsible for which plants bloom during Springtime.
In her earliest depictions, she carries with her a small lanturn that she uses to navigate during the night. This lanturn is associated with her Omniscience.
Maiden Shemu
The Summer Maiden, also called the warrior, the destroyer, the lioness, etc, is envisioned as a brown woman with bright red hair, little clothing, and weilding a silver sword. Her sword is said to kill any life that touches the blade, which is why she is always depicted with silver guantlets. In all of her older depictions, Shemu is using her sword to kill Grimm, which are also susceptable to the power of her sword.
Unlike the other maidens, Shemu's association with Summer is secondary to her role as a the mythical First Huntress. The cause of summer is from the light reflected from Shemu's silver sword, which is said to be so bright that it turns night into day.
Maiden Zahuãni
Lady Fall is said to be a normal looking woman, when she is described at all. She is often regarded as the most mysterious maiden by virture of the lack of information surrounding her when compared to the other maidens. However, she is known to have the ability to speak to the dead, and is sometimes regarded as a Psychopomp.
Within the Southeastern region of Eastern Sanus/Vale's surrounding territory, there exists a maiden tradition where Zahuãni is centered. In this rural tradition, Zahuãni is casted as a princess of a hidden civilization within the jungle and she noticably wears a crown that tells her right from wrong. Her eyes, and the eyes of every person from her kingdom, are said to be the same color as Maiden Shemu's silver sword. In this version, Zahuãni is the leader of the maidens and, after she dies, her spirit chooses a new maiden worthy of her power to carry on the mantle, repeating the cycle.
Every time I think I like this design I end up finding something I don't like lol.
The original idea was to do a reverse of Jaune's Mistral Arc design where, instead of him taking design cues from Pyrrha, Pyrrha would take design cues from Jaune (the Bob hairstyle, the yellow outline on the armor, the pants). At first, I was also going to give Pyrrha a Pumpkin Pete's hoodie under her armor like Jaune, but the design ended up looking so hideous that I had to axe it. I also took a lot of inspiration from Pyrrha's prototype sketch that Monty made which this final design resembles a lot.
The thematic idea of this design is that Pyrrha is still grieving Jaune V3 finale onwards which makes her act out of character. This is reflected in her having more Yellow (Jaune's color) and a dull Army Green than her own color of Red. The Yellow on Pyrrha's chest specefically is symbollic of her holding Jaune close to her heart. The Green was inspired by fanart of Pyrrha wearing bronze armor that had been oxidized (the thing where copper/copper alloys turns Green). Pyrrha is in a type of deppression and she isn't taking care of her armor anymore, nor does she wear her tiara anymore because she doesn't want to sell herself in that regal warrior way anymore.
I gave up trying to draw her tail sash after doing it the first time lol.
●After the opening, the scene shows the darkened corridor of the Vault under Beacon. Only flashes of olive green and vermilion are illuminated in the darkness.
●More flashes are shown as Ozpin Wismen and Cinder Fall clash against each other.
●After a blow, Cinder slides back, using her hand to melt the floor below her, and crafts glass crystals from the newly-formed substance, hurling them towards Ozpin.
●Ozpin deflects them all by moving at fast motion, and then darts forward and delivers a bunch of strikes at Cinder with his cane, with the last blow launching her back.
●Cinder then floats mid air by unleashing her Maiden power. Ozpin then slams his cane into the floor, forming a spherical force-field around him. Cinder then unleashes a powerful fire blast, with Ozpin leaping into the attack with the barrier protecting him. As he closes in on her, the screen fades to white.
●The screen then fades out to the docks outside of Beacon. Air Ambulences are seen picking up the the wounded students... and the bodies. Bartholomew Oobleck oversees the evacuation.
●"This is a mandatory evacuation! A safe zone has been established in Patch! Please, remain calm and listen to Atlas personnel!" Oobleck calls out using a loud speaker. He is notably the only on duty Huntsman overseeing the evac.
●Weiss Schnee stares at what is in front of her, in disbelief. As Ruby Rose comes running down the path, Zwei barks to alert Weiss to her leader's presence, and Weiss turns around to greet her.
●"Ruby?" Weiss responds as if asking a question
●"Oh, I found you! I'm glad to see you ok and-"
●"Ruby..." Weiss can barely make out the words as tears flow from her face.
●"What's wrong... is Blake hurt?! Where's Yang??"
●Weiss steps aside, giving Ruby a clear view of Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long lying on the ground.
●Blake is heavily crying, and has a bandage wrapped around her waist. She holds Yang's hand, and on her other arm, wrapped in red bandages...
●"I'm sorry..." Blake whimpers
●Ruby's eyes grow wide, and for a split second, she sees her mother wrapped in a blood red blanket where Yang should be. She doesn't do or say anything, merely starring at her sister she was unable to save.
●"I'm so sorry!" Blake shrieks as she becomes a sobbing mess.
●"Yang..."
●"Hey." Sun says as he casually walks over with the rest of his team. "She's gonna be okay. The soldiers have a ship ready to take you guys to Patch."
●"Jaune and Pyrrha are missing!!!" Nora screams as she carries an injured Ren over towards the group.
●When Nora arrives, she collapses on the spot from exhaustion.
●"What???" Ruby snaps out of her inner conflict at the sight of her friends.
●"Look, guys, that giant Grimm is circling the school! Even the White Fang are pulling out! We all have to go, now!" Sun tries to convince his peers.
●"We're not... leaving!" Ren attempts to say as he stands up. He then collapses on his own weight while grunting in pain.
●The gang exchange worried looks with each other. Ruby does not.
●"I'll find them!!! I'll find them, and I'll bring them back. I won't let anyone else die today."
●"No!" Weiss shouts... "We will find them. You guys watch after Blake and Yang. We'll be back."
●With that said, the best friends run off together to save their friends.
●Sun calls out as they leave, "You better be... Idiots."
●The camera pans down the front of Beacon Tower as Jaune and Pyrrha run out of the front door. The muffled sounds of Ozpin and Cinder's fight can be heard.
●"Okay, I have a bunch of Huntsman tools from when we were down there. Let's call Glynda and... oh, where's my scroll?"
●Pyrrha turns and stares silently at Beacon Tower. Jaune's voice soon breaks her concentration.
●"Pyrrha? When did Ozpin show you all of that stuff?"
●"I-"
●Their conversation is interrupted by an explosion, followed by Cinder using fire to fly up through the elevator shaft. The two teens stare at the tower in surprise.
●"But... Ozpin..." Jaune whispers
●Pyrrha then shakes her head in fierce determination, "There's no time." She then turns to Jaune, "Go. Get to safety and call for help."
●"Huh? What are you gonna do?"
●Pyrrha slowly turns her head to stare up at the top of Beacon Tower. Following her gaze, Jaune realizes what she plans to do.
●"No! You saw how powerful she is Pyrrha! You can't beat her alone!"
●Not moving her gaze at the tower, Pyrrha responds "I think I can Jaune. When I was in that machine, I felt a... connection, with Amber. And now I feel that same connection coming from her. I'm the only person who can stop her now, this is what Ozpin wanted."
●"And Ozpin told me to protect you! If your going, then we'll fight together!!!"
●Suddenly, Pyrrha grabs Jaune's head in both hands and silences him with a long kiss on the lips. After a moment of hesitation, he gently pulls her in and returns the kiss, while Pyrrha slightly raises her foot behind her. She then pulls away, ending the kiss, and stares into his eyes, her hands wrapped around his hips.
●"I'm sorry." Pyrrha sadly says.
●"I'm sorry too." Jaune says as the click of a lock is heard from behind his back.
●Jaune then ducks out of Pyrrha's hold and knocks her into a nearby locker that he shuts close. When Pyrrha attempts to get up again, she realizes that special Aura Suppressing Handcuffs are locked around her wrists.
●"JAUNE, NO!!!" Pyrrha screams as she realizes what the blonde is doing. "DON'T DO THIS!!!"
●While Pyrrha pleads, Jaune walks over to the locker and begins typing coordinates into it.
●"It's my destiny to save Remnant by protecting you." He says as he looks into her eyes one last time, before stepping back and watching the locker fly away.
●Once it vanishes into the distance, he clenches his fists and adopts a determined demeanor as he runs toward the tower.
●Once he steps through the entrance, he runs to the nearest elevator and prys it open using Aura to enhance his strength. Inside, she finds that Cinder has left a large hole in the floor and roof of the elevator on her way up.
●Jaune thinks to himself about what to do next, before an idea suddenly comes to him. He reaches into his pocket and finds spare vial of Shock Dust. He then breaks open the elevator's circutry and cuts the wires.
●"Hope this works." Jaune mutters to himself as he shuts the doors and jumpstarts the elevator, causing it to launch towards the top of the tower.
●Meanwhile, Ruby and Weiss are on their way back to Beacon campus, when Weiss' Scroll begins ringing.
●"It's Pyrrha!" Weiss says as she quickly answers the call, "Where are you?"
●"Weiss! Please, you have to stop him!"
●"What?"
●"Jaune! He's going to fight Cinder Fall at Beacon Tower!! He doesn't stand a chance!!!"
●"O-ok, where are you?"
●"Forget about me! Please, you have to save Jaune."
●"We will. Are you safe?"
●The sound of a scroll cracking is the last thing Weiss hears as the call is canceled.
●"Pyrrha? Pyrrha!?"
●The ground shakes, alerting Ruby and Weiss to the danger that approaches them. The Wyvern flies into view, circling Beacon Tower with black ooze dripping from it. It perches on one of the arches stemming from the tower and utters a screech. Ruby draws Crescent Rose, shifting it into its scythe form in preparation for the Grimm spawning from the ooze.
●"I have a plan." Ruby tells Weiss
●"You always do" she responds as she draws Myrtenaster.
●At the top of the tower, in Ozpin's office, a large amount of smoke flows out from the elevator, masking the entrance of Cinder Fall. She confidently strides to the window across the room, a smirk on her face.
●Sensing her presence, the Wyvern climbs up to the top, peers at her through the window, and screeches.
●"Shhhh... We've almost won, my pet."
●The Wyvern stares at her and utters a shorter, quieter screech. Cinder backs away from the window and holds her hand out to the side, creating a Sigil of Salem above her palm. The sound of sparks catches her attention, and she stops her magic to look over her shoulder at the elevator.
●After a few moments, the sparks come to a stop, and immediately upon the elevator doors' opening, a golden Blade Beam flies toward Cinder, who casually leans to her right to dodge with a frown on her face.
●The Beam is soon followed by Jaune's shield, backed by Jaune himself, and Cinder puts her arms up, blocking it and pushing it away. While Cinder hovers in the air, Jaune's shield flies back to him while covered in a golden glow as he stares down his opponent.
●"You Shouldn't Be Here." Cinder coldly remarks at Jaune as the Wyvern shrieks from outside.
●"I'll let you hurt Pyrrha over my DEAD body!!!" Jaune screams at the woman.
●Cinder's frown turns into a smirk.
●A fire glows around Cinder's eyes and she swipes her hand through the air, attacking Jaune with an arc of fire which he blocks with his shield. She then shoots a stream of fire, which Jaune dives over.
●Cinder then sends another streak of fire toward Jaune, who barely avoids it. As six small fireballs surround Cinder, she combines them into a flamethrower that she unleashes at the Blonde.
●Jaune blocks it with his shield. He leaps toward Cinder, powering through the flame, and as soon as the fire stops, he spins around and slashes Cinder's arm with his sword. However, Cinder catches the blade and pulls, turning Jaune around. Cinder slams her palm into Jaune's stomach, and fire bursts forth, blasting Jaune away.
●Jaune slams into a wall and falls to his hands and knees. He then stands back up and faces Cinder, who propels herself forward with flames jetting from her hands, smirking once again. She attempts to slam into Jaune, but Jaune leaps into the air above her and wraps his arm around Cinder's. As Cinder slows to a stop, Jaune positions himself to place his feet on the wall behind him and pushes off, flipping himself over Cinder. He uses the momentum to flip and toss Cinder across the floor.
●As Cinder flies through the air, she performs a back-handspring to get back to her feet. Her smirk turns into a look of slight concern upon the sight of Jaune charging forward to slam his shield into Cinder. As she stumbles backwards, Jaune assults Cinder using swordsman ship nearly identical to Pyrrha.
●Cinder kicks with fire while backflipping at Jaune, launching the blonde into the air. He quickly rights himself and fires another Blade Beam at Cinder. Six fireballs appear around Cinder again, but they dissipate when Cinder backhands the Beam away. Jaune's shield then flies toward her, and she hits it away, as well. After being momentarily distracted by the shield, Cinder returns her attention to Jaune and gains a look of slight surprise, then annoyance.
●Jaune launched himself toward Cinder and tackles her. The two turn each other in mid-air, fighting to be the one on top. Upon their landing, the room fills with a white cloud. When the dust settles, Jaune has Cinder in a choke hold, and Cinder is barely managing to hold Jaune's sword away from her neck. The Wyvern flies away, and Cinder's eyes begin glowing as she applies heat to the sword in her hands. Her grip tightens as she heats the sword more and more, staring over her shoulder at Jaune.
●Upon hearing a loud screech, Cinder turns her gaze ahead and smirks, while Jaune gains a look of fear. While Jaune sets her focus on the Wyvern that is flying toward the tower, Cinder finally snaps the sword's melted blade into pieces. Just before the Wyvern slams its wing into the roof of Ozpin's office, Cinder elbows Jaune in the stomach. The room fills with a green glow as the windows shatter and Jaune goes flying across the room. Giant cogs and debris come crashing down in the office, and the structure containing the CCT's transmitter falls to the ground outside, in pieces.
●Jaune crawls toward his shield, while Cinder watches on from her position levitating off the floor with flame jetting from her feet. While glaring at Cinder, Jaune's eyes begin to glow a soft yellow as starts begins overclocking his Semblance, boosting his Aura to legendary levels.
●Jaune reaches out his hand and creates shining golden shield, created from his Aura, in the air behind Cinder. He tgen quickly swipes his arms, causing the shield of light to ram into Cinder and knock her out of the air.
●He then quickly grabs his real shield and rolls across the floor, sitting up on his knees and holding the shield up. With a burst of flame, Cinder rises into the air again.
●Jaune rolls out of the way of two streams of fire that Cinder sends his way and attempts to block a third. However, the force of the third sends Jaune tumbling backward, and the floor momentarily catches fire while Jaune rolls to his feet. From behind the wall of flame, Jaune throws his shield at Cinder, who confidently backhands it away. She then looks up in surprise to see a multitude of shining shields of light floating in the air around her. Using his Aura to control it, Jaune directs his shield to knock Cinder's feet from beneath her and then slams a light shield down on Cinder to pin her to the floor. He calls his shield back to his arm, then brings the light shields together into a pile on top of Cinder. However, Cinder blasts them away with a powerful burst of fire, sending out waves of flame in all directions. One of the flames shoots toward Jaune, who raises his shield to block, in vain. The force of the impact slams him into the remains of a wall, taking away the last of his Aura.
●On the ground below, Ruby and Weiss fight off Grimm.
●"We've gotta hurry" Ruby says
●Weiss looks around for a moment, before casting a series of glyphs up the side of the tower.
●"You can do this!"
●With determination, Ruby runs forward, then uses her Semblance to propel herself up to the first glyph. She then sprints up the wall, the glyphs propelling her forward and keeping her from falling off.
●Cinder forms an obsidian bow in her hand. As she raises it up and draws back an obsidian arrow, Jaune charges forward, spins, and throws his shield at her. Cinder looses the arrow, which glows blood orange as it nears Jaune's spinning shield. On impact, the arrow melts every part of the shield it comes into contact with, continuing on its path directly into Jaune's shoulder. Jaune collapses in pain. He attempts to pull himself to her feet, but the pain is too much. Both ends of the arrow break off, making removal impossible. He turns over onto his hands and knees as Cinder moves to stand in front of him.
●"You truly exceeded my expectations for you in that fight, I'm actually impressed." Cinder says as she kneels down to meet Jaune.
●She then lifts Jaune's chin, starring into his eyes as she smiles, "If only I had gotten to you sooner. But take comfort in knowing that you achieved more in you insignificant life than most maggots ever do."
●Jaune, starring right back into Cinder's eyes, asks a question.
●"Do you believe in destiny?"
●"... yes."
●Cinder stands back and reaches out a hand as it begins to smoke, and her eyes blaze with power.
●Ruby finally reaches the top of the tower, landing in a kneeling position. She looks upon the scene, seeing Jaune sitting with his eyes open, fearing the fate that awaits him.
●At the snap of Cinder's fingers, the trademarked hiss of one of her explosions begins under Jaune's feet. But instead of an blasting him away, Jaune is set on fire.
●Ruby watches in horror as Jaune screams in pain, his pale skin slowly burnt until it's black as coal.
●Cinder slow walks toward the body of what used to be Jaune and places a hand on it's head, which causes the mass of ashes to fly away with the wind.
●This scene is reflected in Ruby's silver eyes, which widen in despair and become filled with tears. Ruby clenches her fists, curls her arms to her body, and then suddenly flings her arms out to the sides, beginning to levitate slightly off the ground. Brilliant white light flows from her eyes as she screams out the name of her dear friend.
●"JAAAAAAUNE!!!!"
●The white light envelopes her, spreading out to the Wyvern and Cinder.
●...
●Suddenly, the scene snaps to a small pool of blood on the ground, the only sound is Cinder's labored breathing.
●The camera pans to over to Cinder who, for the first time since her introduction, has a complete look of fear upon her face.
●Cinder lifts her left arm, and she (& the audience) realize that it has been ripped off from her body as orange flakes of Aura pour out from where it used to be. Cinder's breathing intensifies when she realizes this.
●The sound of flesh being eaten forces Cinder to look away from herself and at the culprit of her situation...
●... standing on all fours, a creature... no, a devil made from light and roses munches away at Cinder's arm until not a trace of it remains in this world.
●The roses adorning the devil are redder than blood... the glow of the devil's body is brighter than the midday sun... it's teeth and it's eyes are more silver than moonlight...
●The devil suddenly looks upon Cinder. It then pounces. It's the last thing Cinder sees out of her left eye...
●WHITE
●"...'s alright... got ya, kid... I got ya."
●...
●"Nothing..."
●"Just... it off...out the CCT... no point."
●"Communication down... no way... contact... world... Ozpin's dead."
●...
●"This... bad, Qrow"
●"... this is bad."
●The scene cuts to Ruby asleep in an unfamiliar bed, wearing gray pajamas. Birds are tweeting and sunlight is streaming onto the wall behind the bed's headboard. After a few seconds, she wakes up and looks over to see her father asleep in a chair. She sits up and sighs quietly, causing Taiyang to stir awake.
●"Ruby! You're awake!" Taiyang exclaims
●"Ugh... what happened?"
●"Your uncle Qrow found you, unconscious. He got you out of there, though, and brought you home safe."
●Ruby thinks for a second, and then asks, "Wait! Yang! Is she alright!?"
●"Uh... She's uh... she's gonna be alright. I think she's just... I think it's just gonna take some time for her to get used to things. She's too strong to let this stop her... I'm just glad to have my girls back at home."
●"What happened to the school?! And Vale?! Were they able to clear out the Grimm?"
●"Things at Vale are under control, but the school... It's... it's not that simple. That thing, whatever it is, doesn't seem to be dead. Don't get me wrong, you did a number on it. But it's not disappearing. It's... kind of... frozen. I know that doesn't sound too bad, but it keeps attracting more Grimm to the school."
●"I did... what?"
●"Hmm?"
●"You said I did a number on it. What do you mean?"
●Taiyang looks away for a moment and sighs, before turning back and saying, "I wish your mom was here to have this talk with you... Ruby, your mother was special, and I'm not just saying that because I love her but, I mean she was different from everyone else which makes you different from everyone else... but that's OK and I still love you as your father Ruby, and nothing in the world will ever change that!!"
●Ruby and Taiyang look to see Qrow standing in the room, near the door. He finishes off the contents of his flask before continuing.
●"Mind if we have a minute?"
●"She just woke up, Qrow! She's not ready-"
●"Dad," Ruby says as she squeezes her father's hand, "please. I can take it."
●Taiyang melts from Ruby's expression, and relents. He stands up, places a kiss on Ruby's forehead, and heads for the door.
●"I'm glad your ok, Ruby. I'll go make us some cookies."
●As Taiyang moves through the door, he brushes Qrow's shoulder and whispers to him "Don't Call Her A Monster." Taiyang glares at Qrow on the way out, but the latter doesn't appear to care. As Qrow approaches Ruby's bed, he grabs the chair and drags it with him. He then spins it around to face the bed and sits in it with a significant slouch, crossing one leg over the other.
●"So, how you feeling?"
●"Um... I kind of hurt... all over."
●"Hehe, That makes sense, after what you did."
●"You guys keep saying that! That I did something! What are you talking about?!"
●"What's the last thing you remember?"
●"I ran up the side of the tower, and when I got to the top, I..." Ruby then gasps in shock as she recalls what happens and asks, "please, tell me I was dreaming the last part...?"
●Qrow stares at Ruby with all the silence of a grave
●Tears fall down Ruby's eyes as she recounts, "I... I... I got to the top... and I saw Jaune..." Ruby then cries tears of rage, "and Cinder... and then everything went white!"
●"Anything else?"
●"I remember... my head hurting... and then I felt full..."
●"The night you met Ozpin, what was the first thing he said to you?"
●"I... I don't know. I think it was something about..."
●"Silver eyes. That's an extremely rare trait."
●"So?"
●"Remnant's full of legends and stories, some of them true, some made up. But there's one Oz told me from a very long time ago. Back before Huntsmen, before Kingdoms, it was said that those born with silver eyes were angels unaware. You see, they protected humanity from the Grimm in secret, devouring them the same way the Grimm devoured people. They were terrifying. It was even said that those Silver Eyed Warriors ate bad people for acting like the Grimm. Heh. It's a ridiculous story."
●"But... you think that I might be..."
●"Heh, Well, I wouldn't think it if I didn't meet your mom."
●He gets to his feet and walks over to a window, leaning on the sill and staring outside.
●"Wait, wait, how did you know what Ozpin said to me... the night we met?"
●"All those missions I go on... all the times I'm away in some far-off place... it's been for Ozpin. But he's... missing now. Something's been set in motion. With Oz gone, I'll have to pick up where he left off."
●"Then what can I do? If I'm so terrifying, then I can help, right?"
●"You really wanna help? Get some rest. You're in no condition to go anywhere right now." Qrow starts heading to the door when he stops and says, "Besides, our enemy's trail leads all the way to Haven. That'd be quite a trip for a pipsqueak like you. Catch ya later, kiddo." Qrow then knowingly winks at Ruby as he exits the room.
●Ruby sits alone for a while. She looks at the window, then stares at herself in a mirror hanging on the wall across from her bed.
●Yang sits alone in a spare bedroom, staring out a window. Her remaining piece of Ember Celica rests on the nightstand next to the bed. Ruby stands in the doorway.
●"Yang?"
●A moment that feels like an eternity passes before Yang finally answers.
●"Ruby." Yang says as she looks up at her sister with tears in her eyes.
●Ruby runs over and hugs her, "I'm so glad you're okay!"
●"But I'm not."
●Ruby frowns and releases the hug.
●"It's all gone - the school, Penny, Velvet, Jaune, and..." Yang then looks at her severed arm.
●"Yang, where are Weiss and Blake?"
●"Weiss' dad... took her away."
●"What? What do you mean?"
●"I saw it happen: Weiss' dad came in a big airship with more guards than I can count. He told Weiss that Vale isn't safe for her anymore, and he's taking her back to Atlas. Weiss tried to fight back Ruby, she really did, but her Dad... got her to backdown. We tried to help her, but there was just too many goons. I'm sorry Ruby, she's gone."
●"Oh." Ruby thinks about the info Yang just shared for a long time, and sheds a single tear. She then asks another question.
●"Well, what about-"
●"And Blake ran! Sun saw her go. After we got to the city, she just... ran!"
●"But... why!?"
●"I don't know... and I don't care."
●"Maybe there's a reason-"
●"No, there doesn't! Sometimes bad things just happen, Ruby!"
●"So, what do we do now?"
●"We, do nothing. We aren't the heros of the story anymore."
●"Yang..."
●"I want to be alone right now."
●Ruby slowly leaves the room, but she pauses in the doorway, looking over her shoulder to say one last thing.
●"I love you."
●A leaf falls from the tree outside Yang's window and slowly drifts to the ground. Over time, the ground becomes covered in snow.
●Ruby steps outside, wearing a backpack, and quietly shuts the front door.
●"Greetings." Pyrrha says as she, Ren, and Nora approach Ruby.
●"Hey, Pyrrha. Haven's a long way to go."
●"It's the only way we have."
●"Are you sure you want to come along?"
●"You realize you're talking to three people from Anima? You're the one that's tagging along here." Ren states
●"Don't mind them Ruby, we're all just a little on edge after... y'know. But we wouldn't be here if we weren't up for it." Nora lifts everyone's spirits
●"Then let's get started."
●The four begin their long trek, down the road leading away from Taiyang's home.
●A smaller, more honest soul... It's true that a simple spark can ignite hope, breathe fire into the hearts of the weary. The ability to derive strength from hope is undoubtedly mankind's greatest attribute. Which is why I will focus all of my power... to snuff it out.
●How does it feel, knowing that all of your time and effort has been for nothing? That your guardians have failed you? That everything you've built will be torn down before your very eyes? Your faith in mankind was not misplaced. When banded together, unified by a common enemy, they are a noticeable threat. But divide them, place doubt into their minds, and any semblance of power they once had will wash away.
●Of course, they won't realize it at first. Like you, they'll cling to their fleeting hope, their aspirations. But this is merely the first move.
●So you send your guardians, your Huntsmen and Huntresses, and when they fail and you turn to your smaller soul, know that you send her to the same pitiful demise.
●As the above is spoken, the scene then shifts revealing an ominous-looking stone stairway lined with dark, purple crystals. The camera pans up revealing a figure in black overlooking a barren wasteland.
●"This is the beginning of the end, Ozma..." She turns her head towards the audience, "And I can't wait to watch you burn."
●Her eyes glow ominously as she grins, before the screen cuts to black and the end credits roll.
●The End of the Beginning.
●
●
●
●After the credits, Qrow is seen watching Ruby and her friends continuing on their journey. He then holds up Ozpin's cane, before jumping from the cliff. A crow takes his place and flies towards Ruby's group.
