The strongest are those who can get back up with the bitter taste of defeat still fresh in their mouths. Ruby and her new team are trying to save as many as they can while they wait for Cinder's next move. But Cinder has a new weapon in store for the huntsmen in training. And this weapon wears a familiar face...

Resurgence by Kraven Ergeist is a RWBY fan fiction that takes place after Volume 3 of the series. After over a year of rapid updates, it finally reached its conclusion with chapter 151.

The story picks up eight months after the end of volume 3, with Team RWBY still scattered to the winds and Cinder now ruling over the dessicated ruins of Beacon and Vale. Her plans for the kingdoms of Remnant have only just been set into motion, but with Emerald having suffered an attack of conscience during the timeskip she requires a new minion to replace her. But in claiming her newest minion Cinder inadvertently sets in motion events that will reunite Teams RWBY and JNPR and sow the seeds of her own demise.

Warning: Spoilers abound.

Abusive Parents: Chapter 122 reveals that Emerald's father was abusive, going so far as to murder her mother for standing up to him.

Adaptational Heroism: Due to Volume 4's release, many characters are notably more heroic than their canon counterparts. Examples include Mr Schnee and Raven Branwen.

All Your Powers Combined: This is Ozpin's trump card, the knowledge that he passes on to Pyrrha and her to the rest of the heroes. The in-setting term for it is aura linking, a lost art that allows two or more hunters to merge their auras into a single pool of energy and grants each linker the ability to use the semblances of everyone else in the link. There are limits to it though: it requires the users to stay somewhat close together, and it's extremely difficult to link auras with someone you don't have a close relationship with. Ruby can do it with anyone on Teams RWBY and JNPR, for instance, but Coco can only do it with Velvet. Dora reveals to Ruby that her silver eyes enable her to link with anyone, and that there's no limit to how many people she can link with at a time.

Advertisement: Cinder is seeking to claim all four Maidens' powers for herself. As of Chapter 115, she's succeeded.

Taken to extremes where Ruby links aura with all of Team RSJC and STRQ's remaining members to eradicate Salem once and for all.

Also the ultimate key to keeping peace, since the Wizard's and Witch's power are now bound as one through Qrow and Raven's bond.

Almost Kiss: Weiss and Neptune almost kiss on a date, but Ruby interrupts them. Hilarity Ensues.

Action Mom / Action Dad: During team SSSN's last stand in Havensfall, Pyrrha's parents, who are both doctors, take up arms to "die fighting." Crystal Schnee and Summer Rose also count, by virtue of both being Seasonal Maidens and the latter being a professional Huntress to boot.

Action Girl: Almost every female character in the story, OC or not.

Aloof Ally: Emerald just can't seem to get away from it all.

Dora didn't, and still doesn't want, anything to do with Shade, and the Huntsmen. She puts up with it though.

And the Adventure Continues: The story concludes with Team RSJC now on the hunt for a newly returned Roman Torchwick and Neo, leaving plenty left for the readers' interpretation.

Anger Born of Worry: Yang goes through this in chapter 27 when she finds Blake again, lifting Blake up by the collar and slamming her against the wall while demanding to know why she left... before breaking down in tears.

The Atoner: The epilogue reveals that the Nexus has remained opened, meaning Raven has the ability to leave the Netherworld. However she points out its not much of a penance if she simply leaves her post whenever she wants.

Ax-Crazy: Yang becomes this for a bit after she shoots herself in the head with Ember Celica to get an upper hand against Adam, and she beats him within an inch of his life. Blake snaps her out of it before shes able to do anything shell regret.

In Chapter 100, Mercury describes his father Marcus as such upon finding out that Marcus slaughtered everyone in Nora and Ren's hometown, including Nora's family. In his words, Marcus must have been on a hit job, and "always did have a tendency to overdo things on hired hits."

Back from the Dead: This is one of Cinder's powers given to her by Salem. Because the Maidens' power belongs to Salem, she is able to bring back anyone ever touched by that power, even Pyrrha, and ensnare their will. Cinder uses this power to revive and enslave Pyrrha's soul in one of the story's opening scenes. Penny is once again combat ready as of chapter 115.

Summer Rose as of chapter 143 thanks to Salem's powers. Brought back as a pawn to taunt and fight Qrow.

Salem continues her resurrecting of friends and family as her pawns by resurrecting Crystal to fight Weiss, Yang and Raven.

Oh, yeah, can't forget Vera and Dora. They get opponents to fight too: Neptune and Ruby, respectively.

In the epilogue, Roman Torchwick turns out to be still alive and kicking, and has wasted no time getting back to his old thieving ways.

Banging for Help: Pyrrha. Poor, poor, Pyrrha. Happens again, much later in the story, when Pyrrha hits her Rage Breaking Point, except this time she's not trying to call for help so much as trying to murder the person on the other side of the Shadowglass. After suffering so much and holding out for so long, seeing her last shred of hope for freedom murdered in front of her sets her off so goddamned hard that she drives right past the Despair Event Horizon and loops back around to Unstoppable Rage. Except this time, when she hammers on the Shadowglass it starts to crack...!

Batman Gambit: Winter does this in Chapter 123, metaphorically stabbing her father in the back in order to make Weiss the new CEO of the Schnee Dust Company. William doesn't mind, though.

Batman Grabs a Gun: As revealed in chapter 100, Ren swore off the usage of his Semblance, Nightshade , after he accidentally killed his entire family with it. He chooses to use it again in order to deal with Mercury, determined to stop him by any means necessary

Became Their Own Antithesis: It's revealed in chapter 90 that Cinder was once Ella, a member of Glynda's Huntress team during her Beacon Academy days. During that time, she was a Nice Girl who wanted to become a great Huntress like her mother... but on a mission Gone Horribly Wrong , Glynda's sister died, and Cinder was nearly killed herself; she was saved by Salem, and became the cruel villain she is now

Being Good Sucks: Not exactly played for laughs, but definitely not taken terribly seriously either. Emerald gets it into her head to warn the Vale resistance about Cinder's plans for the crashed airship, and as a result eventually winds up being forced to stow away on said airship with Team CFVY when she was trying to get away from the damn thing.

Being Tortured Makes You Evil: This is Cinder's goal for Pyrrha. By breaking her will Cinder hopes to forge Pyrrha into a harbinger of the apocalypse. It doesnt quite take.

Better to Die than Be Killed: Played with. Crystal Schnee ultimately goes out in a blaze of glory, saving Team RSJC from Cinder, but Cinder still manages to take the Winter Maiden power right before Crystal dies.

Beware the Superman: Cinder uses the stolen powers of the Fall Maiden, who along with the other Maidens is meant to protect Remnant, to cause widespread chaos and destruction for her own purposes.

Big Damn Heroes: Blake, Weiss, and Yang all show up to save Team RNJR from Adam during the Siege of Mistral. Team RWBY+JNR+CFVY coming to Team SSSN's rescue in Chapter 73 . Aboard a Big Damn Gunship, no less.

. Aboard a Big Damn Gunship, no less. Dora does this when Cinder has half of Team RSJC at her mercy.

Subverted in chapter 114 when Sun shows up to rescue Blake only to be brutally cut down by Adam. On the other hand...

Both subverted and played straight in chapter 115. Ruby tries to rush to Dora's rescue, but is too late to save her from Cinder. Penny , however, shows up just in the nick of time to save Ruby.

And finally, a mere illusion in chapter 139 on Neo's part and a gentle push from Raven ensures the death of Cinder .

The Big Damn Kiss: Pyrrha and Jaune, reunited at long last late in the story, waste very little time in picking up where they left off. Ren and Nora finally make the ship official in Chapter 92.

Chapter 94 reveals that Jaune and Pyrrha have finally made their relationship far more... intimate.

Chapter 113 has Weiss finally getting Neptune after a moment of going Tsun-Tsun on him.

Chapter 138 has Glynda giving Ironwood a big one after he breaks his own cybernetics to save her life.

Chapter 144 has Yang giving one to Blake. Bumblebee fans rejoiced.

Jaune confronts Ruby about their feelings for each other in the epilogue, with good results.

Bold Explorer: Ruby is leader of at least four teams now, and not only do they have to travel all over the world, every choice she makes has an impact on how they work, what they do, and if they'll survive.

Book Ends: Ruby lampshades this when she 'catches' Roman Torchwick, noting how their first encounter was how Ruby started her path as a Huntress at Beacon. Now she's back to chasing him again

Boomerang Bigot: In chapter 115, Cinder explains her motives for everything is purely to kill all the humans, expressing nothing but hatred for them. Both Ruby and Dora call her out on it, pointing out that Cinder herself is human.

Born-Again Immortality: In Chapter 130, it is revealed that Asha'Ella is daughter of the Wizard and the Witch. Like the Wizard, she will be constantly reborn into a new host. Unlike the Wizard, who has some agency over whom he reincarnates into, Asha'Ella is simply reborn into a random child. And regardless of who she sides with in the conflict, she is doomed to be killed by the other . As of chapter 139, Neo and Raven see to this personally.

Break Out the Museum Piece: How Pyrrha and Ozpin break out of the mirror .

. Qrow and Pyrrha use a similar, if not the same, technique to break the aura suppression collars.

Broken Bird: Neptune's traumatic experiences have hit him hard. Thankfully he's got friends and Weiss to help him out.

But for Me, It Was Tuesday: In Chapter 100, this is Mercury's reaction to the reveal that his father slaughtered Ren and Nora's hometown and family : Mercury: What can I say? The guy was an asshole. Must have been some : What can I say? The guy was an asshole. Must have been some hit job or whatever. A man's gotta eat after all, though he always did have a tendency to overdo things on hired hits. Can't say I remember that night myself, but to be fair, I would have been about six at the time.

Call-Back: The Mutant Grimm from RWBY: Grimm Eclipse make an appearance late in the story. There's also an amusing one to earlier in the story when team RWBY is seemingly under the impression Coco and Velvet are very skilled at working on vehicles and needed to repair their damaged snow vehicle because they sabotaged the hijacked Atlas ship to crash land with no casualties earlier. Which they did by smashing in the engine with Yatsuhashi's sword and survived by sheer luck.

Came Back Wrong: Cinders new minion is none other than Pyrrha, her soul bound to her headpiece upon her death by the power of the Fall Maiden. Unfortunately, shes also under Cinders thrall and almost completely helpless to resist when her body is sent to destroy her teammates and bring ruin to the kingdoms of Remnant.

Can't Live Without You: In chapter 142, Cinder takes the time to reveal to Jaune and Pyrrha that Pyrrha's life is linked to the Fall Maiden's power, which has returned to Salem; thus, if Salem dies, Pyrrha will too. In chapter 150, it turns out Remnant and the Netherworld are like this as well. Humanity's arrival threw the world out of balance which caused the Grimm to lose their food source, creating the conflict between humanity and Grimm in the first place.

Category Traitor: Adam views anyone who doesn't side with his extremist views and the White Fang as a traitor to the Faunus race, specifically telling Blake as such.

Chekhov's Gun: Pyrrha still has a tiny piece of the Fall Maiden's power that she gained from Amber. In the story's first act she communes with the essence of the other maidens through it and melds it with the rest of her soul, making it truly hers. Nearly 100 chapters later that gun is still waiting to go off... In Chapter 149, because she still has that tiny piece of power, Pyrrha is able to summon the souls of all the previous Maidens, not just Fall, and use their combined aura to unlock the Nexus. In doing so, allowing Team RSJC plus Taiyang to enter the netherworld on a mission to rescue Qrow and Ruby. However, this comes back to bite RSJC in the backside the next chapter with all the maidens being returned to the earth - Pyrrha included

Combat Pragmatist: Mercury comes fully prepared when he tries to kill Emerald. He forces her to constantly move so she can't focus her Semblance, and also sends robots after her (which she can't use said Semblance on). Unfortunately for him, Nora and Ren intervene, and he's not prepared for Ren's Nightshade Semblance.

Cosmic Plaything: Asha'ella in spades. Regardless of how many times she's reincarnated, or whom she sides with in the war between the Witch and the Wizard, she is doomed to forever die pitiful deaths. Worst still, these two clashing forces are her parents. 'Living Embodiment of Tragedy' indeed. With Yang inheriting the Daughter of Fire's power, and her mother and Uncle being the new Witch and Wizard respectively (all forces firmly on the side of good), the cycle may now have been broken.

Create Your Own Villain: As revealed in chapter 130, the first Wizard's relentless pursuit of knowledge about the Ancients' world drove his wife away in a rage, said wife pleaded to the Gods for her husband cease his relentless obsession. Unsatisfied, the Wife eventually turned to the Grimm. The Mother of the Grimm possessed her, creating Salem

Cruel and Unusual Death: Blake kills Adam in Chapter 124 by using her two new wire-swords to hang him from the arch of a bridge. But given Adam's crimes thus far, he likely deserved worse.

Cyborg: Yangs solution to being... disarmed, once she stops feeling sorry for herself, is to make a beeline for Atlas and get herself a replacement. It comes equipped with an Arm Cannon, Grappling-Hook Pistol, and a number of other fun toys. As of Chapter 105, Adam is now this in a full sense, having been rebuilt by Director Polendina (Penny's 'father'). The first thing he does after getting his augmentations? He murders the good doctor.

Daddy Had a Good Reason for Abandoning You: As revealed in Chapter 130, Raven abandoned Yang in order to carry out a long-term plan to finally destroy Salem.

Dark and Troubled Past: Chapter 100 reveals that Marcus Black (Mercury's father) murdered Nora's family and virtually everyone in their village. Ren had been orphaned at the time due to committing patricide with his Semblance, but had been taken in by Nora's family anyways. Ren avenges Nora's family (in a sense) by killing Mercury. In Chapter 122, we learn that Emerald's mother was killed for standing up to her husband. Emerald views Dora's death as similar circumstances.

Deadly Upgrade: Yang discovers a new use for her semblance, but it has its drawbacks. Shooting herself in the head with Ember Celica instantly dials her power up to its highest possible level but also gives her a concussion and drives her into a berserk state.

Defector from Decadence: In chapter 139, Neo, after previously showing disgust at Cinder's actions, especially after she kills an innocent student right in front of Glynda For the Evulz , pulls this off, helping Raven kill Cinder.

Despair Event Horizon: Several characters are made to cross it at one point or another. Neptune crossed it for a bit as a result of PTSD, but he's snapped out of it by now thanks to Weiss.

In Chapter 115, Ruby crosses this briefly after Cinder succeeds in killing Dora and claiming the last of the Maidens' powers. The return of Penny snaps her out of it by Chapter 117.

After killing Adam in Chapter 124, Blake seems almost like she's going to commit suicide afterwards, feeling as though she has nothing left to live for. Yang snaps her out of it.

Determinator: Pyrrha ultimately becomes one of these. No matter what tortures Cinder might inflict on her, Pyrrha will never rest and never stop fighting until she and all her plans have burned to ash.

Didn't See That Coming: Raven's entire plan to defeat Salem hinged on Salem leaving the netherworld and entering the mortal plane, where she can be killed. She's caught completely flat-footed when Salem instead pulls Qrow into the netherworld.

Disappears into Light: How Pyrrha ultimately dies a second time when the maiden's collective will judges her role fulfilled. This time, she gives her farewells and affirmed her love, pride and faith in her friends before she does.

Disney Villain Death: In Chapter 139, after Cinder is fatally stabbed by Neo, Raven finishes the job by pushing her off of Beacon Tower.

Doorstopper: 151 chapters upon completion and over 668000 words. Yikes.

Double Reverse Quadruple Agent: Raven appears to be this. Her most significant actions in the story thus far have been mostly to Cinder's benefit, but in a flashback chapter we're shown that she's convinced she's playing some longer game For The Greater Good and she's also done things to covertly benefit the heroes, such as snapping Yang out of her Heroic BSoD. As it turns out, everything she's done has been to allow Salem back into the world, where she can be killed. As it turns out, killing Salem was only part of her plan. Raven intended to take the Witch's powers and end the Grimm threat herself. After inheriting the powers, Raven understands their purpose and vows to warden the netherworld, firmly placing herself on the side of good.

Dramatic Unmask: Near the end of Chapter 56, Ferrous Umber unmasks himself in front of Weiss to reveal a heavily-scarred face , which he states are the result of the Schnee Dust Company's poor working conditions

The Dreaded: Cinder shows in Chapter 102 why someone with two Maidens' powers is to be rightly feared. As of Chapter 106, the Grimm Dragon is back. Oh boy

End of an Age: With the defeat of Salem, the destruction of the ancient dust crystal, and the Maidens' collective aura nurturing the netherworld, Raven declares their era at an end. Mixed with Dawn of an Era in that humanity and the Grimm finally have a chance to live in peace and balance.

Even Evil Has Standards: During the Time Skip between Volume 3 and the fic, Emerald was cast out of Cinder's group because she was starting to show disgust at Cinder's methods.

Similarly, Neo is visibly disturbed when Cinder forces Pyrrha to undergo a transformation that turns her into a humanoid Grimm she's absolutely disgusted and furious when Cinder murders an innocent student right in front of Glynda purely because she could chapter 139 shows Cinder's death at the hands of Neo and Raven .

Evil Former Friend: Cinder is revealed to be Glinda's.

Fate Worse than Death: In the finale, Pyrrha's soul is destroyed to be turned into Grimm food.

Fighting Fingerprint: In Chapter 100, Ren recognizes Mercury's fighting style and realizes he's the son of Marcus Black .

Fighting from the Inside: Both invoked and subverted. Pyrrha manages to make her body pull its blows the first time she confronts Team RNJR while under Cinder's possession, but afterwards has to avoid doing so again in order to convince Cinder that she's had her will to resist broken.

First Girl Wins: Ruby's constant support to Jaune finally pays off at the epilogue. After Pyrrha's sadly departure, Jaune decides to move on with the one person who was always there for him since the very beginning. His partner Ruby.

For the Evulz: In Chapter 127, Cinder repeatedly Mind Rapes Glynda, Professor Port, and Dr. Oobleck even after having gotten all the information she needed out of them. When Glynda demands to know why, Cinder tells her point-blank that she's doing so purely because she can, and because they're powerless to stop her. To top it all off, she murders an innocent student in front of Glynda after the latter contacts Ironwood as part of Cinder's trap for the Altesian military, despite making it look like she would spare the student if Glynda complied. Glynda discovers that Cinder is merely The Dragon to Salem, she theorizes that it's just Cinder's way of making herself feel powerful and venting her frustrations at being under Salem's thumb.

Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: In Chapter 6, Raven does this to Yang, who's still busy feeling sorry for herself... by dangling her off the roof of her house and dropping her into a snowbank. Surprisingly, it works.

Green Thumb: Played with. Cinder uses Vera's stolen powers to trap half of Team RSJC in a wall of plantlife, using vines and trees to prevent them from escaping her while she bombards them with her other powers.

Half-Breed Discrimination: As revealed in Chapter 132, human-Faunus hybrids are rejected and shunned by both humans and Faunus alike. Summer wore her hood at all times to hide her Faunus ears , and eventually had them surgically removed..

Half-Human Hybrid: It's revealed in Chapter 132 that Summer Rose was half-Faunus.

Handicapped Badass: Ren, of all people. His Semblance, Nightshade, only works against non-Grimm, manifesting as a toxin that can kill with only a tiny amount in a person's bloodstream. After accidentally killing his own family with it, Ren vowed to never use his Semblance again, though he broke said vow by using it to kill Mercury (whose father had murdered Nora's family and village). The fact that he is able to fight Grimm so well without his Semblance speaks volumes.

Happily Married: Velvet and Yatsuhashi get married after the war ends, and by the epilogue are expecting a child.

HeelFace Turn: Emerald starts to do this during the timeskip but stops short of becoming a full hero for a long time. For the most part she just wants to survive at any cost and leave all the fighting to other people, but circumstances keep pulling her back into the fray. Neo looks to be starting as well. By chapter 127, it's now certain that she'll betray Cinder after watching her execute a student. As of chapter 139, she's done so, fatally stabbing Cinder in the gut.

Heroic Second Wind: Jaune, in his final battle with the Grimm-possessed Pyrrha, manages to replenish his aura from almost nothing by linking auras with her.

Hero-Worshipper: Dora is this to Summer Rose.

He's Back: Yang manages to overcome her Heroic BSoD in Chapter 6, thanks to Raven's efforts. Amusingly, in the epilogue, Roman Torckwick returns and is back to his thieving ways, with Neo happily in tow.

Hide Your Otherness: As revealed in Chapter 132, Summer never removed her hood because she wanted to hide her Faunus ears. Eventually, she had said ears removed completely

Hoist by His Own Petard: Almost. In Chapter 138, Ironwood's Altas-made prosthetics are infected by Cinder's virus and he nearly ends up killing Glynda because of it. He stops himself by wrecking his own cybernetic half.

Hope Spot: Pyrrha's escape from Vale after the Siege of Vacuo turns out to have been a cruel illusion. Cinder let her escape with Qrow, knowing that Raven could retrieve her and place her back under Cinder's control any time she wished, and deliberately invoked this trope to break Pyrrha's will and drive her over the Despair Event Horizon . That part of the plan backfires explosively , with Pyrrha instead swearing bloody vengeance against Cinder and vowing to hold on as long as it takes to see all her plans brought to ruin.

Hot Springs Episode: Chapter 92. And it is absolutely hilarious.

Human Subspecies: As revealed in Chapter 130, the Faunus are actually an offshoot of humanity. During the war with the Grimm, humankind split into two factions: one that sought out the technology of their ancestors, and one that preferred to rely on the natural world, honing their natural abilities and eventually developing the first Semblance. Over time, their reliance on Semblance over technology, affinity to the natural world, and exposure to ancient Dust from years hence led to them developing their animal attributes.

Hypocrite: In chapter 124, Adam calls Blake out on attacking her fellow Faunus, accusing her of turning her back on her own kind completely... but he himself has no qualms against killing Faunus who don't side with him, having murdered Sun in cold blood ; Blake even point-blank calls him out over it.

; Blake even point-blank calls him out over it. In chapter 132, Raven gives off these vibes when she calls out Qrow over his abandonment of Summer, citing his inaction towards Summer during a difficult time in her life as the reason she left him. While Qrow acknowledges she's not wrong , he points out that Raven has little room to talk since she flat-out abandoned her husband and daughter when the latter was just a baby.

I Choose to Stay: Raven opts to stay in the Netherworld; both by necessity of being Salem's successor as the Witch and steward of the Netherworld, and as atonement for the actions she's taken.

I Did What I Had to Do: In Chapter 130, Raven invokes this in regard to everything she's done, such as taking Pyrrha back to Cinder and allowing Cinder to kill all the Maidens. She states outright that she isn't happy with the deaths of the Maidens, but it's the only way to ensure Salem's final defeat.

Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Sorta. Neo kills Cinder in Chapter 139 by stabbing her in the gut.

I Need a Freaking Drink: Chapter 120. After Qrow literally smashes into Ironwood's office in the middle of a meeting with Team RSJC, broken and bloodied from an off-screen encounter, he asks Ironwood for a drink before sharing his intel. Qrow's reaction to William Schnee after being expelled from the Schnee manor. Unfortunately, his time in Cinder's captivity meant his tolerance took a nose dive, so this doesn't last long until Winter finds him. He spends the next strategic meeting in the corner with an icepack to nurse a hangover.

He spends the next strategic meeting in the corner with an icepack to nurse a hangover. Qrow again in chapter 150 after being told he'll outlive nearly everyone he knows thanks to the fragment of the Witch's power he inherited from Raven. Boy does he need it. Subverted as the epilogue reveals that he's been a sober since the end of the war, though he still keeps his father's flask in his desk draw.

"I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: Attempted several times with a mind controlled Pyrrha by Jaune, Nora, and even Qrow. While it doesn't take, Pyrrha does wind up freeing herself without their help eventually.

I Want Grandkids: Blake's mother, while not unhappy about her relationship with Yang and opening an orphanage in Menagerie, defiantly wanted Blake to have kids. While the orphans are a good substitute, she insists that they refer to her as "Auntie Kali".

Just Like Robin Hood: Dora is noted to be as such in Chapter 45, following a "steal from the rich to give to the poor" motive. She's even noted by Professor Jasmine to be a local heroine.

Kick the Dog: In Chapter 127, For the Evulz. Cinder forces Glynda to give Ironwood false information in order to lure the Atlesian military into a trap, threatening to murder an innocent student if she doesn't do so. When Glynda does so, Cinder proceeds to snap the student's neck anyway

Killed Off for Real: The current major casualties include Ozpin, Sun, Dora, Vera, Crystal, Cardin, Mercury, Adam ... and in the final act, Salem and Pyrrha .

Knight in Sour Armor: Emerald repeatedly tries to bail out and leave the fighting to other people, but circumstances end up ensuring that she'll always do the right thing.

Leeroy Jenkins: Blake, of all people, is doing this in Chapter 120, stealing a Bullhead to go to Menagerie alone to kill Adam. Given how Adam murdered Sun, however, it's somewhat understandable. In Chapter 123 she rams her stolen Bullhead into the White Fang HQ.

Lipstick Lesbian: In the epilogue, Blake and Yang are officially a couple, unsurprisingly.

Living Memory: How Ozpin appears to Qrow when passing on the Wizard's Mantle. True to the trope, he states he's merely an echo and offers words of encouragement before disappearing.

Lotus-Eater Machine: Cinder uses her magic to interrogate Qrow through replaying some of his more important (and treasured) memories; which works for a time until he figures a way to circumvent her control. Cinder considers resorting to flat-out Mind Rape before she's called away.

Luke, I Am Your Father: In Chapter 132, Qrow reveals that he is Ruby's biological father.

MayflyDecember Romance: The epilogue reveals that Qrow and Winter are romantically involved, the fact that he'll outlive her by a few Millennia doesn't seem to particularly bother her.

Mentor Occupational Hazard: Ozpin helping Pyrrha led to his demise at Cinder's hands, but let Pyrrha break free of the Shadowglass (while destroying said artifact and leaving Cinder absolutely furious).

Mercy Kill: Jaune and Pyrrha find Cinder after Neo stabs her and Raven gave her a slight push . After she explains Salem to them, she ends up pissing off Jaune so much that he stabs her to death, inadvertently giving this trope. They later describe it to Ironwood as "Putting her out of her misery."

Mid-Season Upgrade: Crocea Mors turns out to have some hidden features which Weiss discovers in some old Atlas military records regarding the Arc family ancestors. This combined with Jaune's semblance, a big dose of Character Development, and being motivated to save Pyrrha helps him finally Take a Level in Badass.

Minor Injury Overreaction: Sorta. Cinder gets grazed by one of Ruby's bullets and starts bleeding from her cheek. It's the first injury she has sustained in the story, and gives her a flashback to Pyrrha's hateful warnings. Next thing you know, Cinder's pissed as all hell and basically has Teams RWBY, JNR, Qrow, Winter, and Crystal at her mercy until Dora shows up.

Missing Mom: The ultimate fate of Summer Rose is finally revealed during the Vacuo arc. The whereabouts of Crystal Schnee wind up being plot-important as well.

Mood Whiplash: Cinder is having this problem as a result of using her Maiden powers before recovering from... whatever Raven did to her. Raven seems to have maneuvered Cinder into this as a trap of sorts.

Motive Rant: In Chapter 56, Adam's Lieutenant, Ferrous Umber , gives one to Weiss in response to her demanding if he really thinks the White Fang's actions will have any positive effect on the future of the Faunus: Lieutenant: You know nothing of what we've been made to endure! You don't have a single clue what the Faunus go through every day! We've tried diplomacy! We've tried peace marches! We've tried protesting! Rallying! Picketing, unionizing, holding demonstrations... all to be ignored! deaf : You know nothing of what we've been made to endure! You don't have a single clue what the Faunus go through every day! We've tried diplomacy! We've tried peace marches! We've tried protesting! Rallying! Picketing, unionizing, holding demonstrations... all to be ignored! Humans are to the language of peace ! Especially the Schnee Dust Company! Violence is the only language you Schnees understand, the only language any of you seem to respond to... And so we must speak out loudly and clearly if we want to be heard!

Morality Chain: Raven states Qrow will be this to her to prevent the rise of another Salem should the duties of the Witch become too perilous for her to contend with.

Nice Job Fixing It, Villain!: Cinder kills Ozpin as he and Pyrrha break free of the Shadowglass, which leads to Qrow inheriting the Wizard's mantle, subsequently breaking out of his own confinement and escaping with Pyrrha. In turn, allowing them to take the Wizard's knowledge and the practice of Aura linking back to the good guys. Even Salem calls Cinder out on her stupidity. Subverted immediately as at least Pyrrha's escape turns out to be All According to Plan

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Adam murders Doctor Polendina as thanks for patching him up and turning him into a Cyborg

Not Himself: Anyone currently holding either the Maiden's powers or the Wizard's Mantle seem to have moments where they are 'possessed' by these powers, and speak in inflections uncharacteristic to the person in question. When meeting Crystal Schnee, the Wizard's persona briefly emerges from Qrow and holds a warm conversation with her. The sudden personality change completely bewilders Winter and leaves Qrow disorientated when the persona subsides.

Another example seems to occur in Chapter 115, as Cinder seems... different than usual in her mentality. It's not entirely clear as to why, but may have something to do with what Raven did to her earlier.

In the same chapter, when linking with Ruby, Dora takes on a mature, kind and almost motherly tone when speaking to Ruby before returning to her childish attitude. Ruby even lampshades this change by asking if she was still speaking to Dora.

Not So Stoic: Raven spent the majority of her present day appearances operating with a cold professional detachment. When Salem drags Qrow to the netherworld, Raven freaks the hell out and practically begs Ruby to save him regardless of her prior warnings, citing Ruby's Silver Eyes as his only chance to get out. Firstly, because her brother had just been taken by Salem and she couldn't do a damn thing about it. Secondly, because if Qrow dies in the netherworld the Wizard's aura won't be able to take a new host and will be devoured by the Grimm - meaning if Qrow dies, Remnant goes with him.

Oh, Crap!: Cinder has several moments of this while fighting Penny/Persephone, and for good reason: even with all four Maiden powers, Persephone has a counter for everything , and is capable of generating inhuman amounts of aura. A massive one in chapter 141 by Team RWBY and Raven when Salem captures and drags Qrow back to the netherworld.

On the Rebound: Jaune's relationship with Ruby in the epilogue.

Pay Evil unto Evil: In Chapter 124, Blake brutally chokes Adam to death with the monofilament wire of her weapons; considering everything Adam has done, up to and including slicing off Yang's arm and killing Sun, he more than had it coming.

Poisonous Person: As revealed in Chapter 100, Ren is one of these; his Semblance, Nightshade, while useless against Grimm, is very effective against non-Grimm, and requires only a small drop of toxin in the blood to kill .

Pre-Mortem One-Liner: In Chapter 139, Raven gives one to a mortally wounded Cinder before tossing her from Beacon Tower : Raven: Your destiny... was to fall.

Psychopathic Manchild: In Chapter 90, Glynda accuses Cinder of being one after her Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids! rant.

Pyrrhic Victory: Cinder might have all four Maiden powers by Chapter 115, but she's lost a lot of assets in the process. Mercury is killed by Ren, Neo has deserted her after having a change of heart, and Team RSJC succeeds in slaying the Grimm Dragon in Chapter 118. It's also unknown whether or not Adam and the White Fang will still associate themselves with her, so she may have lost them too. Team RSJC has had their fair share of these now. They've killed the Grimm Dragon, but not before losing Crystal, Dora and Sun, and Atlas is now crippled by the Grimm attack.

Chapter 142 reveals this will happen if Salem is killed, as Pyrrha is only alive due to the power of the Maidens, which came from Salem herself. If Salem dies, so will Pyrrha. As of chapter 150, it came to pass .

Rage Breaking Point: Cinder's efforts to break Pyrrha's will ultimately wind up pushing her past this instead of the Despair Event Horizon. Blake goes absolutely ballistic when Adam murders Sun, finally shedding her fear and reluctance to fight him in favor of murderous rage.

Ruby hits it as well when she discovers that Adam killed Sun on top of Cinder killing Dora, swearing in full Tranquil Fury mode that she will not take it anymore.

Jaune goes ballistic when a dying Cinder tells him that if Salem dies, so will Pyrrha. This results in Jaune basically eviscerating Cinder. Happens again in chapter 150 when Cinder was proven right .

Redemption Equals Death: Cardin sacrifices himself to save Glynda and the rest of his team from a horde of Mutant Grimm. Really makes up for him being a jerkass back in Volumes 1-3.

Restored My Faith in Humanity: The tale of the Wizard is revealed to be an example of this in chapter 120. After being forced to murder his reborn daughter during the initial war with the Grimm, he isolated himself from humanity and refused to help them fight any further. The visits of the four Maidens, all of whom gave him advice and gifts, convinced him that humanity was still worth protecting.

Revenge Before Reason: In chapter 120, the very minute Blake finds out where Adam currently is, she promptly takes off without authorization or waiting for the others to go after him and avenge Sun.

Screw This, I'm Outta Here!: Emerald wants to do this a lot of the time, but often gets dragged into trouble.

Sexy Discretion Shot: In Chapter 132, when Qrow is showing Yang and Ruby a vision that reveals that Summer was half-Faunus, the vision reaches a point where Qrow and Summer begin making out and fall back onto the bedsheets. At this point, Qrow cuts the vision off, telling the girls they don't need to see what happens next.

Sharing a Body: Penny comes back in Persephone's body, her 'sister'. Penny does have control, but when Persephone takes control, Penny acts as a kind of conscience . Due to the incomplete nature of her personality programming and total lack of social grace , Persephone has taken to learning from Penny and describes their circumstance as a mutually beneficial relationship.

She Will Come for Me: Inverted. Pyrrha gets a chance to use this trope towards the end of her imprisonment, taunting Cinder with the knowledge that she has united all of Remnant against her. "You... are afraid..." she muttered through a clenched throat, smiling wistfully down at her. "The Huntsmen... are gathering. My friends... are out there. They'll come for you."

Shout-Out: There's quite a few in this story to other shows and media. Blake's weapons, Cassius and Jin, are named after the two characters from "Dust: An Elysian Tail" said to have been the real-life inspiration for "The Man With Two Souls" in the series. The weapons themselves were actually inspired by the red character in dillongoo's "Project MONTY." Word of God confirmed that any resemblance they had to the 3DM Gear of Attack On Titan was coincidental.

Word of God confirmed that any resemblance they had to the 3DM Gear of Attack On Titan was coincidental. The weapons in Yang's mechanical arm are inspired by Edward Elric's automail, Barret Wallace's gun arm, and even Big O's megadeus arms.

In Chapter 139, Cinder's mental breakdown is very similar to Azula's breakdown in Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids!: In Chapter 90, Cinder gives a rather poignant, morale-shattering speech to the Vale Resistance about how their efforts as Huntsmen are all for nothing, and that they are only being used as cannon fodder so that people in command don't have to risk their lives against an inexorable darkness (the Grimm) that will, inevitably, swallow all of Remnant.

Squishy Wizard: Cinder is this. Ruby figures out that while Cinder has enormous firepower with two stolen Maiden powers, she's still as vulnerable as any other person (even considering her Aura). Ruby tries to exploit this by using ranged attacks against her, but this just ends up making Cinder mad and leads to a Curb-Stomp Battle in Cinder's favor... until Dora shows up.

Stalker with a Crush / Stalker Without A Crush: Adam towards Blake. It's unclear just how much affection he has left for her, but his obsession with her is definitely there. Though to be clear, he wants her dead by now; he just wants to make sure to hurt her first.

The Starscream: Cinder seems to want to be this to Salem. Well, Salem already knows that, and tells Cinder that much in Chapter 121, but keeps her around as she needs Cinder's power to open up the Nexus.

Summon Magic: Weiss' Semblance lets her do this, and she gets real good at it throughout the course of the story. Her current most powerful summon as of Chapter 136 is a replication of the Grimm Dragon.

Super Empowering: After inheriting the Wizard mantle from Ozpin, Qrow links his aura with Pyrrha, letting her use his Semblance to transform herself into a bird.

Sympathy for the Devil: Downplayed in Chapter 130. After learning of Asha'ella's constant fate, Yang says that she almost feels sorry for Cinder, emphasizing 'almost'. Played Straight and Justified with Qrow, who being the Wizard's current incarnation, feels the sadness and pain of watching Asha'Ella's first death, and the deaths of subsequent incarnations that followed throughout the generations.

Taking You with Me: Adam's lieutenant, Ferrous Umber, tries to take Weiss with him in a deadly fall. It doesn't work. Crystal Schnee tries to do this to Cinder by collapsing a cave on the two of them. That doesn't take either, but her Heroic Sacrifice still managed to stop Cinder from killing Team RSJC and Dora. Sadly, Cinder still takes Crystal's powers in the aftermath.

It's revealed in Chapter 142 that Pyrrha will perish if Salem is killed.

Tautological Templar: Adam gives off shades of this in Chapter 124, calling out Blake for attacking her fellow Faunus and accusing her of turning her back on her own kind completely, when he himself has been trying to kill Blake all along and personally killed Sun, both of whom are his fellow Faunus. When Blake calls him out on it, Adam simply brushes Sun off as an obstacle.

The Needs of the Many: Raven's mindset as revealed in Chapter 130. As she explains, saving the Maidens or Pyrrha may seen like the right thing, but in the end, all it does is save a single life, and everything she did was to ensure that future generations would no longer have to deal with Salem and the Grimm.

The One That Got Away: Its revealed in Chapter 132 that Summer and Qrow did engage in a brief intimate relationship which produced Ruby, however after Summer decided to have her wolf ears removed , Qrow decided that Summer needed some space to adjust to her circumstance. That combined with Raven's unexplained departure, drove Summer to Taiyang resulting in the latter pair's marriage.

"They Still Belong to Us" Lecture: When Pyrrha is recaptured by Raven and brought back to Cinder, the latter gives such a speech, informing Pyrrha that the only reason she was able to escape from Vale is because Cinder let her do so, knowing that Raven could retrieve her and place her back under Cinder's control at any time, all to in an attempt to break Pyrrha's will completely and drive her over the Despair Event Horizon . The exact opposite happens; Pyrrha is driven to an Unstoppable Rage and vows to live long enough to see Cinder's plans ruined and exact bloody vengeance on her

This Cannot Be!: In chapter 139, this is Cinder's response to being fatally stabbed by Neo, right before Raven tosses her off of Beacon Tower : Cinder : No...

Raven: Your destiny... was to fall. : No... NO! This isn't how it was supposed to end! I was supposed to have my revenge! I was supposed to rule over Remnant! This was supposed to be my destiny!: Your destiny... was to fall.

Title Drop: When Jasmine and Ironwood name the team comprised of Teams RWBY, SSSN, JNPR, and CFVY. Jasmine: RWBY, SSSN, JNPR, CFVY... R-S-J-C.

Ironwood: From this day forward, you shall be known as... Team Resurgence.

Time Master: Qrow is rapidly becoming this thanks to the Wizard's power.

Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Vera. Poor, poor Vera...

Took a Level in Badass: Jaune, after being taught some new stuff by Ruby and Weiss, and learning that his sword had some hidden features. Figuring out his Semblance really pushed him forward.

Took a Level in Kindness: More like dropping the Jerkass act, but Raven is certainly far more pleasant in the epilogue than she was during the war. Acting closer to how she used to in the past. This also extends to the Grimm too, which she happily reports to Qrow are starting to develop rudimentary writing, language and even art skills. Before long, she reports the netherworld will likely develop its own culture.

The Turret Master: Coco replaces her minigun (which Adam wrecked) with a gold pistol that can create turrets. She can control said turrets via her Scroll.

Tragic Villain: Cinder's backstory. Basically she used to be an idealistic huntress herself, but then Glinda (not wanting to damage her pride) insisted on continuing a mission even though they were outgunned. Sure enough the mission blows up and Glinda's sister and Cinder herself die (or in Cinder's case survive and get recruited by Salem.)

Tsundere: Winter seems to be acting like this toward Qrow as of late. Weiss acts like this for a moment to Neptune... right before she kisses him.

Unstoppable Force Meets Immovable Object: Invoked. Jaune's semblance, Indominance, allows him to briefly become the immovable object, and using it while in motion turns him into the unstoppable force. Both effects are very aura-intensive unless used only momentarily and covering a small area, but the resulting effect is potent enough that even Adam's Moonslice technique is powerless to break Crocea Mors. Chapter 102 shows there's a weakness to it, in that Jaune has to gain momentum first before the Unstoppable Force part kicks in. If he can't gain momentum or loses it before activating Indominance, he can't use it to gain momentum. This is exploited by Cinder, who uses vines to ensnare Jaune before he becomes unstoppable when Jaune charges recklessly at her.

Unstoppable Rage: Invoked twice. First, Adam taunts Ruby into this state by showing her Qrows scythe , intending to lure her into attacking carelessly like Yang did when she lost her arm. It very nearly works. Later in the same fight, Yang lapses into this state after supercharging her semblance and needs Blake to snap her out of it. Blake enters this state after Cyber-Adam kills Sun, but she still loses to Adam.

Vengeance Feels Empty: In Chapter 124, Blake hits this after killing Adam to avenge Sun, and nearly commits suicide, believing she has nothing more to live for, before Yang snaps her out of it.

Villain Decay: Justified. In Pyrrha's first few outings she proves to be an unstoppable menace, but the more that Pyrrha fights Cinder's control the more Cinder has to degrade her power as a villain in order to maintain that control. The primary way Cinder does this is by forcing Pyrrha to don a grimm mask that turns her into a sort of humanoid grimm and puts Pyrrha's conscious mind into a coma-like state, but it also prevents Grimm!Pyrrha from using Pyrrha's semblance and makes her vulnerable to Ruby's silver eyes.

Villain Forgot to Level Grind: Brainwashed!Pyrrha eventually gets hit with this. In her first few appearances she can take all of Team RNJR at the same time and only loses because Pyrrha begins Fighting from the Inside, but later in the story Ruby and Jaune are able to defeat her handily thanks to both training on their part and the effects covered under Villain Decay.

Villainous Breakdown: Grimhilde Narcissa in Chapter 123 has this when Winter's Batman Gambit ends up with Weiss becoming the new CEO of the SDC. In Chapter 139, Cinder has this right before she is assassinated by Neo and Raven. Salem has one in the final battle after Ruby regains her fighting spirit and goes into a Super Mode from combining with her friend's Auras. She furiously demands to know how Ruby can continue fighting even when confronted with humanity's wrongdoing and can only swarm Ruby with her gargoyles as she tries to flee.



Villain Has a Point: Salem is entirely right in pointing out that humanity is the one who started the war, and that their reckless harvesting of dust is the cause of a lot of problems. However, as Ruby points out, humans have the capacity to change and learn from their mistakes.

Wham Line: "The Winter Maiden. Where is she, mister President? Where is Crystal Schnee ?"

Wham Episode: Chapter 90. We learn that Cinder (a.k.a. Ella) was once a member of Glynda's team (which included Glynda's deceased sister, Adda) who was presumed dead after a mission gone wrong. Following the reveal, Cinder has now taken Glynda, Port, Oobleck, and about 30 or more student Huntsmen hostage, and plans to use them for when the Atlas military comes to Vale. Chapter 115. Cinder kills Dora and succeeds in obtaining all the Seasonal Maiden powers . And later, Penny is revealed to be Back from the Dead through Sharing a Body with her 'sister' Persephone.

Chapter 125. Blake becomes the new leader of the White Fang, turning them away from their path of bloodthirsty revenge and into an ally for Atlas thanks to Weiss, who abolishes all of her company's racist practices. Following all this, Qrow leads Ruby and Yang to the mysterious 'pool', where Raven is waiting for them. Shit's about to hit the fan, for sure.

Chapter 130. We learn the origins of Salem, the Wizard, and Asha'ella, the Daughter of Fire. And it is a serious headtrip.

Chapter 132. We learn that Ruby is part-Faunus, Summer was half-Faunus, and Qrow is Ruby's father. Whoa.

Chapter 150. Elysium wasn't a city, it was a city starship that shattered the moon of Remnant, Salem is the Warden of the world along with her Grimm and she is defeated, Raven's plan all along was to become the new Witch, and she now has to stay in the Netherworld to maintain balance between humanity and the Grimm... Oh boy.

What the Hell Are You?: Cinder says this almost word for word during her fight with Penny in Chapter 117, when it turns out that Penny has a countermeasure for virtually everything Cinder can throw at her.

What the Hell, Hero?: In Chapter 59, Professor Jasmine gives one to General Ironwood for his decision to lock Dora up. While Ironwood insists that they have to keep the Maidens save at all costs , Jasmine is disgusted and insists that doing something like that to a child like Dora is cruel and inhumane

Raven kidnaps Pyrrha during Chapter 94, and Yang immediately calls her out on this. Raven doesn't even react, having already beaten down Jaune and incapacitated Ruby with one strike.

Raven and Qrow's fight in chapter 100 basically sums up to this from both their points of view. Raven calls out Qrow for believing the Wizard's status quo can be preserved in these circumstances, while Qrow calls her out for believing destroying the Maidens and allowing Salem to rule is the better option.

Well-Intentioned Extremist: It's revealed in chapter 100 that Raven is in league with Salem, genuinely believing that Salem's rule will save the world. Later its revealed that Raven's entire objective was to bring Salem into this plane of existence and trick her into believing she had won the war. This plane is where she is vulnerable and can be killed, taking the Mother of Grimm with her and effectively ending the war against Grimm as a whole. She states outright that she will gladly endure any hatred and scorn given to her as a result of her actions, as long as she achieves this.

The Worf Effect: In chapter 117, Cinder, having finally acquired the powers of all four Maidens, is hit by this when Penny returns. With the various powers and upgrades of her new body, Penny not only has a countermeasure to all of Cinder's powers and tactics, but ultimately forces her on the defensive and into a tactical retreat.

Worf Had the Flu: Adam's performance in both of his encounters with Team RWBY suffer from this. The first time he shattered his sword against Jaune's newly-awakened semblance and had to fight with just his rifle for the rest of the scene, while in the second fight he had just come from a fight with Team CFVY, survived a massive airship crash, and then got shanked by Blake before fighting Yang.

Would Hurt a Child: Cinder has no qualms against fighting and trying to murder Dora, a twelve-year-old girl. In chapter 115, despite Ruby's best efforts, Cinder succeeds in killing Dora and taking her power .

Wrecked Weapon: Seems to happen a lot around Adam for some reason. First he shattered Wilt against Crocea Mors after Jaune activated his Semblance for the first time just in time to tank Adam's Moonslice technique. During the airship battle he cleaved Coco's minigun in half. Then he destroyed Gambol Shroud after Blake backstabbed him with it during the siege of Vacuo, and then he destroyed Yang's cyborg arm and half of Ember Celica in the same fight. In Chapter 115, Cinder effortlessly disintegrates Crescent Rose.

Yin-Yang Clash: The conflict between Pyrrha's soul and the tiny fragment of Fall Maiden power she gained from Amber is depicted this way, complete with a visual motif of black and gold auras straining against each other. Pyrrha's meditation and communing with the essences of the other maidens ultimately allows her to quell the conflict and turn herself into a living Yin-Yang Bomb

You Are Better Than You Think You Are: In Chapter 125, Blake gives such a speech to the entire White Fang after presenting them with the body of the recently slain Adam, pointing out how far he had fallen and that the White Fang can be a force for good just as it was before. She succeeds in rallying them to her side.