January 13, 2021

On this cold Wednesday morning, Weiss was once again at the firehouse, this time with Jaune. Him and her were both researching on a computer in the officer's room about the gang Pyrrha had talked to Weiss about, although Jaune had been told that a threatening note had been left at her doorstep instead since Weiss did not want anyone knowing about the whole "ghost Pyrrha" deal. She had also explained the note away by saying she had found it amongst Pyrrha's belongings on her body shortly after she was killed in the car accident in 2019.

"Hey Weiss," Jaune said as he brought a stack of freshly-printed papers. "I found some really interesting shit online about them."

Weiss replied, "Why thank you." She then grabbed the papers and began reading them. They were news articles on alleged mob hits in the city. One thing that always kept popping up from alleged hits in the past 2 years was that the suspect was brown-haired, short-haired, and spoke in a female voice, though they appeared to be a man. They appeared to be no more than 18 when the first hit they allegedly did occurred in 2018. "Huh... This one hitman in particular seems to be odd..."

Suddenly, they heard screams coming from outside. Jaune said, "What the hell is that?"

They both got up and ran outside as several other firefighters in the station walked out to see what was going on. As Weiss and Jaune looked out, gunshots suddenly rang out, and they both drew self-defence pistols they had been issued by the Hunting Corps.

They appeared to come from a building across the street, a 4-storey mixed-use building with a bakery on the first floor. Weiss said to the other firefighters behind her, "Stand back! Whoever's in there has a gun!"

Suddenly, a man wearing a bloodied white t-shirt and jeans came out. Weiss yelled, "Drop your weapon!"

"Put the gun down," yelled Jaune. Then, the man charged at them, his gun aimed right at them.

Neither of them wasted any time pulling the trigger and firing at the charging man, pelting his body with 7 bullets as 2 police cars sped up to the scene. Weiss and Jaune quickly put their pistols back into their holsters as 4 police officers stepped out and ran into the bakery.

However, one of them suddenly stopped as he looked at the face of the man who had apparently shot up the bakery. She said, "Holy fucking shit, this guy's one of our own!"

Weiss, confused, said, "What?! He shot up that bakery!"

Then, 3 more police cars pulled up. As more officers arrived, the firefighters from Vigilant ran out, carrying EMS gear as the pager and siren tones went out for 4 companies and the assistant district chief for a mass casualty box alarm.

Jaune said to himself, "What the everloving fuck just happened?"

"At 9:45 A.M.," a newscaster announced on VNN on a T.V. at the Fire Alarm Office, where Blake was working the telephones. "Shots rang out at a bakery near the Vigilant Fire Company station. We first broke the news at 9:49, and it is currently 11:28." The screen then flashed to an impending press conference. "As you can see, a press conference by the Commissioner of the VCPD is about to begin."

The Commissioner of the Vale City Police Department, Cordovan DeLaney, a 31-year-veteran of the department, began by saying, "It is with a heavy heart that I announce the deaths of 8 people at this tragic event, including the shooter and an off-duty police officer. We also have 5 injured persons being treated at local hospitals at this time." He then sighed. "Today, we got the shock of our lives here at the Vale City Police Department when we found out that the shooter was one of our own." Visible gasps echoed through the audience of journalists.

Blake, shocked, said, watching the T.V., "No way..."

"His name was Daniel Claret. He was an 8-year veteran of the force. He was on 1-month paid medical leave due to high levels of stress and emotional discomfort due to the deaths of several police officers that he knew last year. He did not use his service weapon in this attack. He used a privately owned and legally purchased handgun he had bought 5 years prior for his wife."

A journalist in the audience said, "Do you have any idea what the motive is at this point?"

"Well, we did find a note on his body. I will not get into too much detail yet, but in general terms, we believe the shooter may have targeted the bakery because it was owned by and frequented by faunus. Due to Officer Claret's psychological and mental problems stemming from last years's incidents, we can deduce that he may have snapped and either began planning this out, or he did it on the fly."

"Has he visited this bakery before, either on the job or off-duty?"

"That, we do not know at this time."

"What is the identity of the off-duty officer who was shot, and were they a faunus?"

"The off-duty officer shot by Officer Claret was Officer Ryan Hanes, and yes, he was a bear-eared faunus. He was a 4-year veteran of the force. According to witnesses, he did unholster his service weapon that he kept with him, but he was shot before he could fire at Officer Claret."

As the press conference continued on, Blake said, "Oh my God... The White Fang is finally getting what it wants: A war between police and faunus."

Another dispatcher, a human, said, "So this is how progress in race relations dies..."

Later that night, the weekly meeting was held as scheduled, but before the meeting, a moment of silence was held for the victims of the attack.

"Let's begin," Captain Alfred Kirkridge said to start off the meeting. "Company President, you may begin."

"Thank you," Michael Kirkridge, Alfred's son, replied. "First order of business... We have no new applicants for membership..." He then sifted through papers. "We have a..."

As he continued on, Weiss looked around the room and noticed Ruby was not present, something that was very unusual for the girl to do. "Huh," the heiress thought to herself. "She's always here. Where is she?" She then stood up and quietly said to her father next to her, "I gotta run." She then folded up her chair, put it back, and walked downstairs. Yang and Blake wondered where she was going.

Yang poked Blake and whispered, "Where's Weiss going?"

"No idea," the fanus whispered back. "But for some reason, Ruby isn't here."

"That is odd... Don't worry, she'll be fine."

As she walked out of the firehouse, she got a call on her cellphone. When she looked at the number, she was confused as to who it was. She decided to answer it anyways and said, "Hello, this is Weiss Schnee."

"This is the King of Vale," the voice said on the other end of the line.

"Delwyn? What's going on?"

"I'm at Ruby's apartment," Delwyn replied. "She kinda needs someone to talk to."

Weiss paused for a second before saying, "I'll be right over." She then quickly hung up and ran to the apartment building where they all lived.

After running up a flight of stairs, she ran down a hallway and stopped right at Ruby, Yang, and as of recently, George's apartment. She used a key she had to open the door, running in and yelling, "Ruby!"

Delwyn said from Ruby's bedroom, "In here, Weiss!"

The heiress quickly ran to Ruby's room and saw Ruby sitting on the bed next to Delwyn, her eyes red and her nose sniffling. She said, "Weiss..."

"Ruby, what the hell is going on?!" Weiss got down on her knees in front of Ruby and held her hands, deeply concerned.

"I had... I had a breakdown..." Ruby suddenly began crying again, her head buried into Delwyn's chest.

The King, now having to deal with Ruby's personal issues and the issues facing Vale, said, "She called me about 45 minutes ago, crying and saying she needed someone to talk to because something happened."

"What's up? What happened?" Weiss then got adamant. "Tell me, Ruby! Please!"

"Raven... Raven Branwen is dead..." Ruby then began crying again.

Weiss stood up, silent and shocked. She then said to herself, "Raven... Dead..." She then realized something. "What happened to her?!"

Delwyn replied, "Ruby's dad found her severed head at the Patch Life Squad station with a note. Taiyang called Ruby first before calling the police. He said the note was from the Mistralian Mob or something. It mentioned you, in fact, Weiss, and it mentioned your boyfriend Jaune too."

Weiss then worryingly said, "Oh no... They're coming for us..." She then began dialing Yang on her phone. "I'm calling Yang first. She deserves to know about her mother's death."

About 3 hours later, Team RWBY, Team JNR, Delwyn plus 2 bodyguards, Sun, and George arrived at Taiyang's house. The rest of the gang left Ruby, Yang and Taiyang in his bedroom alone to let them mourn Raven's death. Sun said to the rest of the gang, "This has been a wild night."

"More like a wild day," Blake replied. "I had to work the phones for that shooting earlier today. That was NOT fun, let's just say that."

Delwyn then said to his bodyguards, "You 2 can stand outside the house. Thank you."

They both nodded and left. Jaune then said, "So, Weiss, should we tell them?"

"We might as well." Weiss then sighed and held Jaune's hand. "Guys, I found a note on Pyrrha's body in the car accident. It has details on the locations of several high-ranks in the Mistralian Mob in Vale. Her uncle was murdered by them back in Mistral, and she wanted revenge before she was killed." She then grabbed the note from her pocket. "It is blood-stained, but legible."

Ren said, "Then let's go hunt these mobsters down." Nora nodded in agreement.

Delwyn said, "Listen, technically, as your King and Sovereign and all that shit, I'm supposed to report any criminal activity, buuut... Since my girlfriend was so hurt by this, I'll let you all go on some vigilante justice without me ratting you all out."

"Same here," George replied. "Hell, I'll join in. I'd love to bash some skulls in after what this did to Yang." One could tell George was angered by the brutal murder.

Then, the door opened, and Yang stepped out, her eyes reddened, her pupils red, and her shirt stained with tears. She said, "The police have recovered what they think is the rest of her body near the Signal Fire Company firehouse. Uncle Qrow is coming back early from a deployment and will be here tomorrow." She then sniffled. "Does anyone, ANYONE, have any info on the people who did this to my mother?"

Weiss held up the note, saying, "Pyrrha had this on her when she died in 2019. Her uncle was murdered by the Mistralian Mob when she was a young girl. That was the reason why she became a huntress." She then put the note down on a nearby table. "She wanted to go after the people on that note so badly for her entire teenage life and beyond. Now, we are going to take on the job."

"For her," Jaune said. "For Raven, and for everyone this mob has hurt."

Delwyn then spoke up, saying, "Remember, you will all be doing this clandestinely. Nobody in law enforcement can hear about this."

Ruby and Taiyang then both stepped out and said, "We're in."

Nora said, "Alright team, let's break some legs."

Delwyn then walked up to Ruby and held her hands, saying, "Ruby, I will do everything in my power to make sure these assholes are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law if you leave any of them alive when you're done. I'll also make sure to clear your names." They then kissed. "I love you, Ruby Rose."

Ruby began crying again, saying, "I love you..." Delwyn hugged her, holding her head to his chest.

Sun said to Blake, "Ready to take down another criminal mastermind and organization?"

"Of course," Blake eagerly replied before the 2 of them fist-bumped. "We got 1 down for the count, and we can definitely make it 2."

Taiyang then thought to himself, "My daughters are growing up so fast. Summer would be so proud. I know Raven was."

The night before



Taiyang and Raven fell back into bed after just finishing a passionate sex session. They both smiled and laughed. Taiyang said to Raven, "That was fantastic as always."

"My God," Raven replied. "I remember when we practically fucked each other's brains out in Beacon." She then sighed. "God, I miss those days in many ways. Shit was so much simpler, Tai, sooooo much simpler."

"Yeah, it sure was." The sweaty Taiyang then paused. "Should we tell Ruby and Yang about us?"

Raven's expression suddenly turned from happy to concerned. "Wait, what?"

"Should we tell them, Ray?" Taiyang then sat up and looked at his ex-wife. "I mean, we've been back together for like 2 months now without telling a soul apart from Qrow, and he took it pretty well."

"But... Ruby and Yang are different than my brother," Raven replied, also sitting up and looking at Taiyang. "I've been back in my daughter's life and starting to get into my stepdaughter's life ever since that Battle of Beacon shit happened. It was a rocky road at first, but we managed to repair the damage." She then sighed. "I practically walked out on my own daughter in divorce court when she was literally a year and a half old. To top it off, I got a job in intelligence that required me to stay away from my family. I mean, I don't regret divorcing you back then, no offense."

"None taken," Taiyang replied before giving Raven a quick kiss on the lips.

She then laughed before continuing, "But I deeply regret the fact that I decided to sign away everything I had to do with Yang and my family. I mean, I did leave it all in great hands, no doubt. Summer was an awesome step-mother, and you have some very big balls to successfully raise 2 daughters on your own after she died." She then sighed. "I just... I wish I had the capability to be there more for them, including Ruby. I had to miss out on so much because Remnant can't get its shit together." She then began to tear up. "I missed birthdays, graduations, battles, family gatherings, everything." She then began to cry.

"Ray, please," Taiyang said to her. "You were dealt a piece of shit hand of cards, and you did what you could. Without you, both of my daughters would be dead right now. Besides, all that is in the past. We're gonna work towards a new future, a future where the Branwen family, the Xiao Long family, and the Rose family will all live in harmony." He then hugged Raven tight.

"Thanks," Raven replied. "You know, I need to rejoin Patch First Aid and Signal Fire." The 2 of them then laughed. "I wonder if they both still have my old gear. God, I haven't used it since like 98 or 99." They both then laughed. "I'm proud of Ruby and Yang. They're just like us: They're damn good at hunting grimm and fighting fire, Tai."

"You got that right, Ray. You got that right."