A/N: Chapter 9, on time this time! Woohoo! Enjoy!

Clouds on the Horizon

"Be careful, alright?"

"We'll try our best, Ruby, but I don't really think our team's been known for being careful," Ren commented with a wince as Nora abruptly changed Magnhild's form, startling Jaune and causing him to stumble backward. Pyrrha caught him before he could trip, fortunately, but still, the sight did not instill confidence.

Ruby giggled and Yang shook her head before remarking, "Sometimes I wonder how people consider your team equal to ours."

"Hey!" Jaune cried. "We lasted the longest against you guys in the tournament last year! And Pyrrha came second in the individuals!"

"But you came in fifteenth," Weiss said dismissively, causing the young man to hang his head in shame.

Ren smiled lightly and rested a hand on his friend's shoulder. Jaune looked at him exasperatedly before shaking his head. "Anyway, don't worry about us. We'll take down Roman and be back before you know it."

Nora bounced happily in agreement while Pyrrha nodded with a smile.

"Again, just be careful. We need you guys to come back safe and sound."

"Yes," Blake suddenly spoke up, an odd note in her voice. "It would be a shame if anything happened to our…friends," she said the last word while glancing between Ruby and Ren, something which neither teen missed. Ruby blushed heavily while Ren coughed, avoiding the faunus' gaze.

Ruby's face only got redder as she remembered the discovery her teammate had made earlier that morning.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?" Ruby stirred, eyes clenching tighter to try and shut out the interruption to her peaceful slumber. "Ruby," the voice purred. "It's time to get up."

The red-head blinked her eyes openly blearily. "Hmm?" She yawned widely and turned to face who had spoken. "Blake?" Her faunus teammate was wearing a smirk and there was a gleam in her eyes that made Ruby mildly uncomfortable. "What? Where's everyone else?"

"Back in the room, still asleep. I woke up before everyone else and decided to track down my MIA leader. I'd really like to know why you decided leaving in the middle of the night and not coming back was a good idea, but before that," Blake pointed a finger over Ruby's shoulder. "I understand that his lap might be comfortable, Ruby, but I think it's about time to move, don't you?"

Ruby's brow furrowed at Blake, before she glanced behind her. She froze upon seeing the sleeping face of Ren, his head leaning back against the wall. She was resting on his chest, firmly situated between his legs.

She gave a small yelp of surprise and bolted across the window seat, nearly running face first into the opposite wall. "Wh-wh-wh-what?" she stammered, heart hammering ferociously in her chest as her faced burned. Her eyes widened as the previous night came back to her. Her nightmares, leaving the dorm room, running into Ren, sharing their pasts with each other, and then crawling into his lap. She hadn't meant to fall asleep there! It had just been so damn nice, and she had slept so well.

She buried her face in her hands as Ren began to stir, awakened by the commotion of Ruby's panicked retreat. His magenta orbs opened slowly, taking in the pale morning light from the window without flinching. He looked up, and noticed Ruby's state.

"Ruby?" She shook her head violently, glancing slightly to the side. He followed her gaze, freezing whenever he saw Blake. The faunus could almost see him put two and two together, and had to stifle a laugh as horrified realization dawned on his face. "Oh..." was the only thing he could muster.

"Quite."

"Blake."

"Yes, Ruby?"

"Please don't tell anyone about this."

Blake laughed. "I think I promised you yesterday that I wouldn't tell anyone."

"Yesterday?"

She turned to Ren. "Yes, yesterday whenever I figured out that Ruby has-"

The smaller girl darted forward and slapped a hand over her teammate's mouth. "Nothing!" she said breathlessly, wordlessly trying to get Blake to understand with her eyes. "Ruby has nothing!"

He raised his eyebrows, but Ren refrained from commenting on the odd behavior. Ruby tended to get very flustered whenever she was embarrassed.

"Anyway," Blake said, rolling her eyes before firmly tugging Ruby's hands away from her face, "you two should really get back. Weiss and Yang are going to be up soon, and I'm pretty sure I heard at least one of team JNPR moving about on my way out."

Ren pinched his brow and sighed. "I hope it was Pyrrha. I don't think I could deal with Nora's curiosity or Jaune's floundering about where I've been." He shook his head before sliding to his feet. "I'll see you two later. I'm glad you're feeling better, Ruby," he said with a smile before departing down the hallway.

Blake eyed her as Ren disappeared around a corner. "Feeling better?"

Ruby waved away the question before hopping off of the seat and stretching. "C'mon, let's get back. I don't want to get chewed out by Weiss."

They had fortunately managed to get back before either of their teammates had woken, so Ruby had managed to avoid a scolding and/or teasing, but even so, she got the feeling that Blake wasn't going to let her live this down for a long time. At the very least, she hoped that she wouldn't let Yang know. Her sister would hold it over her head for the rest of her life.

"I think we're ready to go," Jaune's voice brought Ruby out of her reverie. She glanced up at her friends, and indeed all four looked prepared.

"You guys got your supplies?"

Ren adjusted the small pack slung across his back that matched those worn by his teammates and nodded.

Weiss strode forward and held out her hand toward Pyrrha. A small vial of something silvery rested in her palm. Pyrrha gave her a questioning look before reaching out a hesitant hand and picking up the small glass bottle. She held it up and inspected it.

"It's pure, refined healing Dust. Use it on any fatal wound, and it will at least stabilize the injured."

Pyrrha gasped lightly. "Weiss, I couldn't-"

"You can and you will. I have another. It's only effective when used immediately, so keep it close." There was a hint of sadness in her voice that struck home for Pyrrha. She was sure the young Heiress was blaming herself for not having one with her the day of the first attack.

The warrior nodded and stored the phial in the pouch on her belt. She reached forward and grasped Weiss' still out-stretched hand in between both of hers. "Thank you, Weiss."

The heiress nodded. "Come back safe. All of you," she added, glancing at the others.

Nora saluted and Jaune smiled. "We'll be back safe and sound before you know it."

"You remember the plan?" Ruby asked.

"Of course. We sneak out, heading down the cliffs," the blond motioned toward the sheer drop they stood near that fell into the sparkling blue waters far below, "to avoid being spotted by the Grimm force on the other side. We'll make our way to Vale as quickly as we can, and once we're there, find Roman and subdue him."

"And then we break his legs!"

"No, Nora," Ren said with a sigh, "we're not going to break his legs. We're going to offer him a trade, his safety and freedom for Vale."

Nora pouted, "But what if he refuses the deal?"

"Then maybe we'll break a leg or two," Pyrrha said with a sly smirk.

Nora threw up her hands in triumph while Ren sighed again. "Pyrrha, please, do not encourage her."

Pyrrha just shrugged. "Sorry, Ren," voice clearly implying she was anything but.

"I think it's time you depart," Blake commented, glancing toward the horizon, where the sun had just risen in full. "The longer you wait, the harder it will be to utilize the shadows."

"Right, well, don't wait up for us." Jaune gave a small smirk at his own cheeky comment.

Blake nodded. "Stay hidden and move quickly."

"Give 'em hell," Yang commanded with a feral smile.

"Stay safe."

Ruby swallowed and, suppressing the roiling anxiety in her stomach, offered them a parting smile. "We'll see you guys soon." She locked eyes with Ren one last time, and then JNPR turned and walked out of the Aura bubble. The shield rippled around them as they exited.

The four teammates walked to the edge of the cliff and lowered themselves over, and they were gone. Team JNPR was on their own.

Ruby chewed on her lip as she watched the spot where they had disappeared. It has been primarily her idea to retake Vale. If anything happened to her friends while they were out there...

Yang, noticing her sister's distress, walked over and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. "They're gonna be fine, Ruby. They can handle themselves."

"I know."

She patted the younger girl on the back. "C'mon, let's go get some breakfast. I need my coffee!"

Ruby smiled gently and turned from the cliff. "Alright, let's go."

Ozpin took a sip from his mug, not even tasting the hot liquid as it coursed down his throat. He glared over his glasses at the window pane before him as the rain pounded the other side of it. His left hand, resting on his cane, tightened as a flash of lightning lit the cloud-darkened sky. His reflection briefly came into view, eyes sunken and shadowed, but was quickly lost as a peal of thunder shook the room.

He had been an idiot. He should have planned to leave early the previous day, rather than late. They may have beaten the sudden monsoon that had appeared out of nowhere. Instead, they were now trapped in Vacuo, forced to wait out the storm to make their way home.

While it was true that the extra time had let him gather a sufficient number of reinforcements to confront the enemy force gathered at Beacon, it had cost him precious time that he could not afford. It didn't matter how many reinforcements he brought if there was nothing to defend when they got there. Every hour they wasted waiting out this storm was another hour in which his students were in danger. The Aura barrier may be activated, but it was not designed to last forever. Eventually it would exhaust the supply of Aura that had been stored, though it still had a few more days before that would happen. That didn't mean something couldn't go wrong though; as a defense, Aura shields were far from infallible.

There was a soft knock on the door, and the person on the other side opened it without even waiting for a response. He knew who it was. Light flooded the otherwise dark room, and Professor Goodwitch stepped in, looking up from her scroll as she did so.

"Really, Professor Ozpin," she said with a sigh, "I understand your displeasure, but that's no reason to sit in the dark." She reached over and flipped on the light switch, the bulbs above them bursting to life.

Ozpin blinked twice, letting his eyes adjust to the change in light level, before turning to face her. "Good evening, Professor Goodwitch." He walked forward, motioning toward the table set in the corner of the room. "Please, have a seat. Is there anything I can get you? I just brewed a fresh pot of coffee, and the committee has kindly provided me with a fully furnished wine and liquor cabinet."

Glynda opened her mouth to say something, but seemed to reconsider, and closed it again, brow furrowing over her piercing green eyes. "Actually...I think I could do with a glass of red." She slid into a seat and set her scroll on the table.

Ozpin nodded, walked over to the large cabinet recessed into the wall while Glynda pulled the tie from her hair, letting it fall to her shoulders. She unzipped and removed her boots as he pulled open the door, retrieved a bottle of wine and a glass from the drawers beneath and made his way to the table. He uncorked the bottle with ease and poured a sizeable glass for her. He handed it to her, and they clinked their respective cups together gently. Glynda took a large gulp, sighing as she felt the alcohol hit her stomach and create a small pit of warmth. Ozpin merely took a small sip from his mug, preferring to gently swirl the dark liquid around the glass.

"I have made sure that everyone will be ready to depart the instant the storm ends."

Ozpin 'hmmed' and took another sip. "Do we have any idea when that will be yet?"

"They're saying that it should be over tonight. If we leave immediately, we should be able to reach Beacon by early evening tomorrow, barring any more delays."

"There won't be any more delays. I'll make sure of that." She didn't even ask how he was going to do that, just took him at his word. She had learned long ago not to doubt Ozpin. There was a stretch of contemplative silence between them as they each enjoyed their drinks. The rain continued to lash the windows, another rumble of thunder had just quieted whenever Ozpin spoke quietly, "What do you make of all of this, Glynda?"

She pursed her lips and set her glass down. "I think someone went to great lengths to ensure that Beacon would be relatively defenseless. Someone planned this out very meticulously." Ozpin made a soft sound of agreement. "It's a good thing they didn't know about that Aura shield," she added, "or else they probably would have disabled that before the students could activate it as well."

"I have attempted to keep it a secret for just such a situation."

"I know." There was another moment of silence, this time broken by Glynda. "Professor...Oscar," she started hesitantly, "do you think we'll make it in time?"

Ozpin glanced out the window and raised his mug to his lips. He tilted it back to drink, but suddenly found he didn't want to. He rested the glass back on the table and sighed, and Glynda could swear he got older before her eyes. "I certainly hope so, Glynda," he said in a heavy voice. "I certainly hope so." Outside the window, another flash of lightning lit the sky.

"This is such bullshit," Cardin muttered under his breath, grating his teeth together in frustration. "How the hell did we get wrapped up in this guard nonsense?" He glanced left and right, but his teammates were spaced too far along the walls to talk to. He could see them well enough, but unless he wanted to shout himself hoarse, a conversation was out of question.

So he was left to fume to himself about the injustices. He couldn't believe that red-cloaked bitch had had the gall to actually put team CRDL on the sentry duty list. He thought they had made it perfectly clear that they wanted no part of anything they managed to come up with at the group meeting. He and his team had stayed away for a reason.

God, this was a fucking nightmare. The worst part was, he saw no way out. That's all Cardin wanted, some way out of this mess. He had come to this school to get stronger and secure himself a nice and cozy future. He had seen his father do it, and his grandfather before him. He had idolized and emulated them. And so he had come to Beacon, just like them.

But this, this wasn't what he had signed up for. He hadn't come here to end up fighting for his life, to go down in a blaze of glory with his classmates. He hadn't come here to watch his partner get sliced nearly clean in half by those massive claws. Hadn't come here to try and hold in his best friend's organs while the light left his eyes.

Cardin shook his head. No, this isn't what he had wanted when he came to this school. If he had known that it would come to all of this then he never would have applied in the first place. But he did, and here he was. Now that he was, all he wanted was a way to escape. But short of dying or sitting still with his thumb up his ass waiting on help that may never come, he didn't really have a whole lot of options. He couldn't just upright leave, there were Grimm everywhere, and he had nowhere to go outside of Beacon. His home was over in Mistral, and he sincerely doubt he could make it that far without supplies.

He turned, growling angrily at his predicament, and caught movement in the distance, towards the backend of Beacon, at the airship docks. He rotated and watched more closely, and was soon able to discern eight individuals gathered together. Cardin didn't need to guess who they were. He knew. Teams RWBY and JNPR. The golden children. He spat. He hated them. They acted so fucking high and mighty and goody-goody and he just wanted to strangle them. His partner had died and they still put him on guard duty. Fucking bitches.

As he watched, JNPR turned and departed, walking through the Aura shield and over to the cliff, where they disappeared off the side.

"Idiots," Cardin breathed. "Fucking idiots. You're all going to die, simply because you had to go be all heroic and shit. Let the city fend for its fucking self." He kicked a loose stone in anger, sending it crashing through a dormitory window. He didn't really care. He yanked his scroll from his pocket, hoping to find something on it to distract his attention from the rage that pulsed through his system. He remembered he had installed some basic game apps before, but couldn't remember if he had deleted them or not.

He punched at the screen furiously, not really paying attention to where his finger landed, and was momentarily blinded by a bright light that blared into existence. He cursed and raised a hand to block the offending glare. "The hell?" he murmured, glancing down at his scroll and tapping a few buttons. The light shut off when he pressed one shaped like a triangle.

He experimentally pressed it again, and the light returned. He pushed it once more, and the light responded by switching back off. He looked around himself again, making sure no one saw him or noticed, and, satisfied no one was observing, continued to play with the light. A plan began to grow in his mind, and with it, a smirk spread across his face.

He turned hard blue eyes toward the airship docks, where team RWBY was on their way back to the central area of campus.

"Maybe there is a way out," he murmured. He looked back to his scroll. He had three hours left in his shift and a lot of work to do. He had better get to it.

A/N: Heheheh, so what's Cardin up to

Not gonna lie, I actually really enjoyed this chapter. There's some setup and I just liked jumping to different characters in different situations and how they all deal with it. Anyway, please drop me a review, let me know what you think

To all of you who have favorited, followed, and reviewed this story, I FUCKING LOVE YOU! Seriously, your support and enjoyment of this story is what keeps me writing it (that and I cannot WAIT for Book 2, you guys are gonna hate me for what's in store for the one character) Please, continue to be the coolest people ever :D

I think that should just about do it for this chapter. Things are beginning to move, in case you couldn't tell. Next chapter will probably include a bit of action, and I know that the chapter after that definitely will. The end is definitely in sight now, three or four more chapters, I would say, though it could pan out to be more.

Anyway, I'll stop talking now. Don't forget to review (please)! See you next time

edit: minor grammatical/typo fixes