Chapter 8: Stranger Than Fiction

Nik was genuinely impressed by the headmaster's display of combat prowess. It was rare for a mortal such as Ozpin to possess such attuned abilities, and Nik himself could only think of two other mortals that were just as impressive. Solstice and Darkstar, he thought, remembering them during the war against Crim over a year ago. He smiled at the imagery.

Solstice had been so agile that he single handedly fought off over a hundred crusading warriors, and not a single scratch was upon his pale, flawless flesh by the end of it. Darkstar suffered some injury during the conflict, but he alone also fought off over a hundred enemy soldiers; it made it even more impressive that he had lost his eyesight in a previous engagement and still managed to hold his own on the battlefield.

Those were the thoughts that Ozpin's display brought forth in Nik's mind. He was so tactful that he must have had the next four steps of his battle already plotted out in his mind, while at the same time he had the skill to improvise and effortlessly dispatch his foes. For he had done so effortlessly. No single bead of sweat broke out onto Ozpin's face. Yet there was still a doubt in Nik's heart. Something about the man didn't add up. What are you? he thought.

Forcing the thought from his mind for the moment, Nik addressed his scrollwork to see how Ozpin had fared in his magical algorithm. A man such as he would fit right into the Council without any trouble. Nik scanned the parchment once and found himself stumbling to find Ozpin's name. Perhaps I overlooked it. Again, he scanned the long list of names in search of the headmaster. Once more, and another, and after five times he came to a discovery; Ozpin's name was no longer on the list. He had been eliminated from the possible pool of candidates. Why? Everything he's done should have increased his chances.

Brom, the elderly historian to Nik's right, gave him a coy smile. "Oh, I do love it when your eyebrows make that posture. Something's stumped you and you can't figure out what it is."

"Hm," Nik said, aggravated by the old man. "What of it?"

"You're a genius, Nik," Brok said bluntly. "No one member of our organization will ever claim otherwise. However, you have a flaw. You're aware of your intelligence. So, when you can't figure something out, it gets under your skin." He laughed a harsh chuckle. "Frankly, I enjoy watching you fail to meet your own expectations. It's humbling. Something more of us need to experience."

Nik glared at him. "Don't you have a battle to write about, old man?"

Snapping his fingers, Brom pointed at the massive tome that levitated in front of him; the pen was floating and writing everything down that needed to be said about the events. "Don't patronize me, boy. As I said, you may be a genius, but I'm ten thousand years older than you. I've witnessed and documented more battles than you've ever even heard of. This isn't my first time acting out my role as a historian. You'd do well to pay attention; you might learn something."

Nik resisted the urge to retaliate and simply agreed. He was going to pay attention. What are you, Ozpin?

Ruby was impatient. She wasn't going to sit idly by and let Cinder have her way. Events may have played out differently than in her nightmare, but there wasn't a chance in Heaven, Hell, or Remnant that it was a coincidence that she knew who Cinder was and what she was planning. Her only regret was that she discovered this knowledge too late to prevent her.

Her face was a thin layer of serenity, with a raging storm of rage resting beneath it. She was ready to put an end to this conflict and make it as brief as possible. She felt the Bullhead she was riding in was too slow. I can run faster than this, she thought wildly. "How far away are we from landing?" she asked.

"Half a mile," the pilot answered quickly. "Two minutes out at the least."

"Tch," Ruby spat. "Two minutes too long." She turned to Weiss. "Catch me," was all she said as she leapt from the drop ship's open side door.

"Ruby!" Weiss and Yang yelled simultaneously, with Blake's eyes shooting widely in silent shock. Dashing to the open door and pointed her fingers downward, channeling her semblance to catch Ruby in a Glyph. Landing softly in the white glow of the heiress's semblance, Ruby took up a running posture and took off faster than she'd ever run before. Weiss watched in awe as the brunette overtook the Bullhead and maintained her speed and momentum so well that she ran straight up the plateau to Beacon's entrance. "Was she always that fast?" Weiss asked.

Yang shook her head silently with worry. "She never liked to use that much of her semblance. It can potentially destroy the muscles in her legs."

"She must really want to jump into this battle," the pilot commented. "We'll be landing in just a moment. Get ready, ladies."

Looking ahead, Weiss saw that Ruby was already engaged with White Fang agents. "At least we won't have to look for her," she said dryly, holding Myrtenaster at the ready. The Bullhead came to a stop, and the remainder of team RWBY leapt out to join their leader on the battlefield.

"What do you mean they're in the school?" Asimov yelled angrily at the guards. "You and the rest of General Ironwood's troops are supposed to safeguard this school, as well as us!" He gestured towards Penny to emphasize his words.

"W-we're sorry, Doctor Asimov. It was a highly coordinated strike. No one was able to predict it," on guard said in his defense.

Asimov began to worriedly pace about the makeshift lab. "This is insane! What if they find Penny? She's not ready for this kind of combat!"

Penny stared at him, concerned. "Father..."

"I can't lose my daughter," he ranted, not able to hear what was around him.

"Father."

"I spent my whole life pursuing advanced robotics. I won't let them take that from me!"

Penny's advanced robotic hearing picked up a sound from just outside the door. "Father, look out!" she yelled.

The door burst open, and four White Fang agents charged into the room. Quick bursts of rifle fire eliminated the Atlesian guards before they had a chance to fire back. "There's the scientist!" one of the agents yelled. "Kill him!" In a flash, a floating blade sliced through him. "Aaugh!" was the last sound he made as his body fell limp.

"What?" Asimov asked. Turning, he saw Penny standing menacingly.

"Don't worry, Father," she said confidently. "I'm combat ready!"

To his surprise, she quickly and expertly dispatched the remaining agents with such skill that he never knew she had. "How...how did you get so strong?" he asked.

Smiling, she turned to her father. "You made me, father. I'm only as strong as you intended." Turning to face the door, she started to walk out. "Please hide, father. I must go and help my friends."

As he figure faded into the hallway, Asimov felt a tear of pride trickle down his cheek. "You've grown up, Penny." He bent over and picked up one of the White Fang rifles and did as his daughter instructed; he found a place to hide and defend himself.

"Where to now?" Yang asked as she dusted off her hands, trying to catch her breath.

"I say we head into the atrium," Weiss suggested. "It's the central hub of the school. Shouldn't be too hard to run into members of the White Fang in there."

"Agreed," Ruby said as she reloaded Crescent Rose. "We may run into some familiar faces."

"Roman and Neo?" Yang asked, and Ruby nodded her affirmation. "Good. That heterochromatic bitch knocked me out on the train. I'd like to return to favor."

The four of them readied their weapons and started to make their way inward. "Wait!" Professor Goodwitch cried. "Where do you think you're going? We need to regroup!"

"We don't have time to regroup," Ruby retorted. "Our objective is simple; retake Beacon and defend what's left of it." With those words, the girls ignored Glynda's further warnings.

A few moments later, the four of them were standing in Beacon's central atrium. It was pristine and devoid of conflict; the battle hadn't made its way here yet. "Nothing's here," Weiss commented.

"Wait," Blake chimed in. Her faunus ears twitched rapidly. "I hear something." She looked around for a moment. "Behind the South wall."

The others followed her gaze and saw the wall in question. Upon it was a mural of an epic battle between Huntresses, Huntsmen, and Grimm. A beautiful piece of art, the origin of which none knew. There was a figure on it that looked similar to Ozpin, but it was so faded that it was hard to tell. Otherwise, the wall was ordinary, and the others could hear no sound. "I don't see anything," Yang said.

"Shh," Blake said harshly, her ears listening intently. After a moment, her eyes widened. "It's a bomb. They're planting a bomb."

"You sure?"

The subsequent blast answered the question. Bits of stone and dust flew through the air violently; Weiss barely had enough time to raise up protective glyphs around herself and the others. "Yeah," Blake added sarcastically. "Pretty sure."

Laughter could be heard from behind the dust cloud. "Sir, was that really neccesary? There are plenty of doors into the room," came an unknown voice.

The voice that answered, still laughing, was very familiar. "Live a little! I'm here to do whatever the fuck I want while Cinder does her thing. I intend to enjoy my time, and if I want to use explosives to blow a hole in a wall, then God damn it I will!" Stepping through the dust as it settled came the figure of Roman. His smile spread widely upon his lips until he saw team RWBY. Upon seeing them, his smile faded.

"More huntresses!" cried a voice, and several White Fang agents came rushing out of the hole and aimed their weapons at the girls. "Prepare to fire!"

"Hold!" Roman yelled, raising his hand. "Hold your fire."

"B-but sir!"

"But nothing! I said don't shoot, and if any of you do shoot, I will kill you myself! You got that?" Nodding, the agents lowered their weapons.

Yang glowered in disgust. "How nice of you, Roman. But, It's not like their guns could really hurt us. Just who the hell do you think we are?"

Roman met her gaze. "I didn't stop them as a mercy. I did it out of courtesy. It would be rude of me to attack you without saying a few words, now wouldn't it?"

The blond brawler spat. "You can keep your fucking courtesy."

"It wasn't for you, Blondie." His gaze shifted to Ruby. "It's for your sister." Yang looked shocked as she continued to glare at Roman. She could have sworn that she saw sadness in his eyes.

Ruby stepped forward. "Hello, Roman." An amused smile spread across her lips before she teased, "Fancy meeting you here."

"Yeah. Nice to see you too, Red," he replied sadly. "I really didn't want us to meet like this. After everything we've gone through as enemies...all of our conversations as friends...I really hoped that the last time we parted ways peacefully would be the last we'd ever see of each other."

Ruby shook her head. "You knew it would come to this. I'm a huntress, after all. It's my job." She smiled. "I suppose we did have some fun while it lasted, though."

"Yeah," Roman agreed.

Yang approached Ruby, confused. "Ruby, what are you talking about?"

"There are things that I haven't told you, Yang. Even I keep secrets from time to time," Ruby said.

Roman stepped away from his troops, with Neo not far behind him. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a pair of cigars. "I...I know you don't like them, Red. But, I kind of hoped that if we did meet like this, you'd share one last one with me."

Nodding, Ruby began to approach him. "My sister doesn't smoke, asshole!"

"Sis," Ruby interrupted. "Let me have this moment." Her words sounded calm, but Yang could see the sadness in Ruby's face. "I don't see the harm in smoking one more. One way or another, this will be the last time we ever see each other. I'd like to have on final good memory with him."

"Sis...what are you...?"

"Ruby," Weiss added. "What are you talking about? You're acting like...like you're friends with him."

Ruby stopped and turned to face her team. "I am." Ignoring the shock on her team's faces, she stood next to Roman and accepted the cigar.

Pulling out his lighter, he lit both his own and Ruby's cigar. Though the smoke was still harsh on her, she noted a difference between this cigar and the last one she had smoked with Roman. This one was chocolate flavored, and thus brought a smile to her face. The two inhaled and exhaled at the same time, savoring the sweet aroma of the flavored tobacco. Roman smiled at the younger girl. "I tried to warn you."

"That you did," she agreed. "But you can ask any of my teachers; I'm a terrible listener."

He sighed. "I suppose this is good bye, Red."

Ruby nodded, and the two parted and returned to their respective groups, still puffing lightly on their cigars. The rest of team RWBY watched their leader in awe. Turning, the younger girl faced Roman from across the room. "Roman," she said, gaining his attention. "My name...it's not Red."

He nodded sadly. "I know. You're right, of course. I'm sorry...Ruby."

They each dropped their cigars, and the fight broke out before they ever reached the floor. They rested on the floor, surrounded by war. Two lonely cigars, barely lit, their cherry red tips slowly faded, leaving naught but ash.

Song: Stranger Than Fiction - Five Finger Death Punch

Author's Note

Hey guys! What do you think? I'm trying my hardest here to write these stories, but my work schedule has just completely fucked me over! Still, I'm quite happy with this chapter. If you've read The Longest Night¸ then you probably recognize the end of this chapter. Now here's the real question...

Was I planning this all along, or did I simply decide to reuse that little bit of story?

The world may never know.

I'll try to get another chapter out soonish. I'm getting closer and closer to the end and its killing me that we haven't gotten there yet!

Fun Fact: this chapter was almost longer. I was about to continue and tell the battle between Roman and RWBY and end it with Mercury, Emerald, and Cinder showing up, but I feel like we can start the next chapter with the battle and still get the message across. Ending this chapter on the two cigars on the floor just seemed like a more powerful idea to me.

Fun Fact 2.0: My mom got married over the weekend, and is currently in Florida for her honey moon. Apparently she and my step dad went to the Kennedy Space Center (before anyone asks...I did make an Armageddon joke when she called me and told me that.) As silly as it sounds, they bought me a souvenir apparently. I am now the proud owner...of a NASA coffee mug. Can't wait to get it...and watch Armageddon with a hot cup of coffee.

Till next time, when it gets more tempting! (I should stop making these stupid "teaser" puns...they're not good.)