Thanks to Spartacus400 on /r/RWBY for beta reading.

Disclaimer: RWBY is a product of Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC. All characters are owned by Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC.

Come and See the World

"I'm sorry, Doctor Oobleck," Yang shook her head, "The what?"

"The Arctic Wolf Initiative!" Oobleck threw his arms up into the air, praising the title as if it was something everybody had stitched into their brain. "And want I you, Yang Xiao Long, to be a part of it! You and your partner, Blake Belladonna."

The blonde tilted her, "Doctor Oobleck, I don't even know what it is?"

"The arctic wolf, Yang! Lives in cold environments? Is sometimes a scavenger?" The hyper professor inclined.

"I'm...still not following…"

"The Arctic Wolf Initiative is two teams, comprised of eight people each, that are sent to the surface to scavenge for all sorts of metal." Oobleck explained with his many hand gestures.

This confused Yang even more, "But, I thought the surface is going to be frozen over in a few days."

"Well, Darling!" Bartholomew zipped a finger up into the air, "We managed to collect some old astronaut suits and we stripped them of a whole lot of unnecessary parts! We just need people in them! Strong, hard-willed people!"

"And…" Yang thought for a second, "You want me and Blake to do this?"

"Of course! Think about it, Yang! You'd get out of here every week or so. You'd see the surface again! You'd see all of Vale and possibly more," The girl froze and her eyebrows shot up as Oobleck continued talking, "But, if you don't want to do this. It is perfectly fine!"

She had an idea; an idea that might help her sister, "I'll do it."

"Great! I will check with Miss Bell-"

"But only on one condition," Yang cut off and pointed to her little sister building up a wall, "You recruit her instead of Blake."

Oobleck fixed his glasses, and speaking in a much more calmer tone said, "Yang, I don't quite see-"

"Doctor Oobleck," She sounded like she was begging, "Ruby...she's been off since this whole things started. And she's really depressed about staying down here for who knows how long. I... I'm her big sister," Yang pointed to herself, "I can let her be like that…"

The ex-teacher scratched his chin, contemplating his next decision.

"Please, Doctor Oobleck...She's strong,...and a leader,...She's my sister…"

After a tense moment, Oobleck finally nodded, "Alright. I see it's for the best. You should have letters come to you soon, they'll give more in depth information about the initiative."

Yang smiled and nodded, "Okay…" She swallowed her emotions, "Thank you…"

"Its my pleasure, darling. Bye now…" He gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder then threw the overseer a polite wave. They just grunted in disapproval and motioned for him to get away from the area now.

Yang let out a relieved sigh and spun on her heel. A smile found its way across her lips as she made her way to her sister. She dropped down onto her knees and grabbed a brick. She playfully nudged Ruby with her elbow, though the brunette just ignored it. But Yang did it again. Then again.

"What do you want, Yang?" Ruby sounded agitated.

"I got good news!" The blonde cheered.

Ruby rubbed her forehead, "What?" She said with an uninterested tone.

"We aren't going to be stuck down here!"

Ruby nearly dropped a brick, "What."

Yang patted her siblings back, "We're gonna be able to get up on the surface soon! We can see the world, Sis!"

Ruby just sort of sat there, looking over her sister, still registering what she had said. She felt her spirit give a kick, trying to bring itself back to life. Yang's smile was somewhat fading as Ruby was still expressionless. Yang wondered if this was a wrong decision, that maybe she should have let Oobleck take Blake with them instead. But then finally Ruby smiled. Oh, she smiled.

It felt like the world was let off Yang's shoulders. Ruby was smiling. Ruby was happy. Ruby was alive. It was all that matters. It was the primary objective in Yang's life. Protect her precious sister. Keep her the pure, innocent girl she knew. Ruby's posture perked up, she got a twinkle in her silver eyes, she was back. She laid down her brick and let out a friendly laugh. She was nearly crying tears of joy.

In a matter of a day she had gone from the most depressed she had ever been since her mother and rebounded back to her normal jovial state. Maybe the end of the world as you know it has the tendency to drag you down into those dark pits quite quickly. Ruby's soul had climbed out of the deep crevices of her mind that she never wanted to return to. She was now basking in the light of her mind, excited for the new adventures that waited for her just up that elevator. The more she thought about reaching the surface, the faster she worked at stacking the concrete, overtaking Yang's progress.

Yang watched over her sister as a parent would watch their youngling play with a toy for their very first time. And that, made her content.

After what seemed like hours, the first floor of the complex was complete and the work day was winding down. The soldiers had delivered a rough, military-grade cot to each of the refugees in the cavern. The overseer had finally let half the workers off their shift and take a rest. In another two hours the overseer would wake up the others and switch their roles with the labor force.

Blake watched Ruby from afar; both her and Yang as they began work on the inner walls and pillars. The two exchanged a small laugh, probably reminiscing about some happy past. She let out a sort of relieved sigh and turned to the person laying next to her, who was still wide awake. Weiss just blankly looked up at the cavern ceiling, being nearly impossible to read. Was she anxious? Was she angry? Or was she just...thinking?

"Blake."

The sudden calling of her name made her jump and refocus on the reality, "W-What?" She shook her head.

"I'm sorry…" Weiss was still staring at the stalactites.

Blake tilted her head, "For what?"

"Being an…,"Weiss paused, "...insensitive little girl…as you once called it..."

"Why are you apologizing now?"

The ex-heiress swallowed hard and let her head fall to look at Blake, "I've just been thinking...about the...future of our predicament here…and…" She trailed off.

Blake shimmered closer to the other girl, "And what?"

Weiss took a sharp inhale of air, "And I think we're going...to spend the rest of our lives down here...that we'll never see the light of day again…" Blake was silent, "And in a case like this, where the world as we know it has literally ended...we have to change...we have to adapt...to make living here as best as we can make it. We have to try and...give up our past perceptions and prejudices. And adopt a new life."

The faunus laid there, a little shocked as she processed Weiss' words, "Weiss...that's...very…"

"'Unlike me?'" Weiss finished

"No...No…" Blake searched for string a words, "I know you've been trying to get better at accepting the faunus and such...but the process...was still slow. I don't know why just now, you're trying to quit cold turkey… even with the end of the world and all…" Blake chewed on her teeth, "You were always one to stand firm with your beliefs…" She added

"You know I'm a reasonable being, Blake…" Weiss said. Blake looked over at her with a raised brow, "Okay, most of the time I am one…" She admitted, "But what I mean is that...I… will do things with good reasons, I don't just perform meaningless actions. There is always something behind my actions, no matter how small they are."

"What's your point, Weiss?"

Weiss glanced up at the ceiling, "It means I will change if I have to." Her eyes then met Blake's in a serious gaze, "But can you?"

"O-Of course I can...I was the first one to and start building…"

Weiss shook her head.

"What?"

"Blake, back there," Weiss looked over at her other teammates working, "You didn't change…You were trying to distract yourself, as if you're running from something..."

Blake's eyes sunk a little into her head, trying to retreat. She opened her mouth to respond, but Weiss stopped her before she had even began.

"Don't even try to make an excuse, Blake. After being in our team for so long and many years of experience in therapy...It's becoming easier to pick out the little things…" Again, Blake tried to say something, though she was yet again interrupted, "And Blake, I'm not going to force you to say anything. It's just that you had the same look on your face…" Weiss sighed, "The same look that was on your face when we found out something about you that you didn't want anyone to know...When we found out you were a faunus…"

"W-Weiss, I don't-"

"You don't have to say anything, Blake. I just want you to know, it might be a rougher route, but it'll be an easier one in the long run if you let us know what it is..."

There was silence between the two. The only sounds were bricks beings moved and random coughs from the surrounding refugees. Blake stared, not really with an emotion, just blankly stared at Weiss. Weiss hoped she'd let on at least something.

Finally she said, "Wake me when our shifts are up," And she rolled over, facing away from Weiss.

Weiss tightened her fists and sighed, looking up the stalactite directly above her, "Whenever you're ready..."

Ironwood rubbed the bridge of his nose, feeling the stress melt away slightly. This was was going to be a long day...or month...or however long this was going to be. He grabbed a nearby bottle and uncapped it, pouring out the dark liquid into a small shot glass.

He sighed, "Bottoms up…" He tossed his head back. His fist tightened slightly as he felt the burn of the alcohol.

The man sighed and chewed on the edges of his teeth. His scroll beeped in his pocket, alerting him to an incoming call. Ironwood reached into his coat and pulled it out, checking it to see who was ringing him. Reading off the caller's name in his head, he leaned back in his chair.

"Maybe the lab boys will have some good news…" He said, not putting much faith into his words. He tapped the answer button and the scroll expanded, displaying a man's face, who looked like he was ready for a trip to the arctic, "Tell me something…" The General asked.

The scientist adjusted his glasses, "We have found evidence supporting our original claim…"

He gently swirled around his empty shot glass, "Lay it on me…"

"Well, Sir, the constellations. They aren't correct; to any season. Some constellations are still their places, though they're slightly altered, but most of the constellations are not correct. Which would indicate that…-"

"I know, I know," Ironwood poured himself another drink, "We've moved." He took the shot, relishing in the burning sensation.

The scientist thanked another person off screen as he was handed something, "General Ironwood, we have an update on the star and our sun."

"Go ahead." The General rubbed his eyes.

"The star we're now currently orbiting is a red dwarf, though that is quite obvious just by looking at it. But, if you would like the specifics…" The scientist flipped through some papers and fixed his glasses, "It's a somewhat large dwarf, around point thirty-five solar masses, thirty-five hundred degrees kelvin, and four hundred and three thousand kilometers in diameter. Now, Sir, I don't know how up to date you are on your stars and constellations, but with the shifted constellations in the sky and this information, we can confirm we're in the Waagen constellation, orbiting the star Verurteilt."

James pressed his thumb into his palm, "Your point, Salvai?"

"My point, Sir, is that we now know where to look for our sun. And...well…"

"Yes, Salvai?" The General was growing annoyed

"It's uh…" Salvai scratched the back of his head, "uh..."

Ironwood tightened his grip on his shot glass, "What. Salvai."

"Gone. Sir. The Sun it's either gone...or out…"

"How...is any of this possible?"

Salvai flipped through his data, "We believe it was some sort of quantum teleportation because... we don't have any other way to explain it. Nothing on this planet, that we know off, could perform such a task as to teleporting a planet twenty light years..."

James sunk into his chair, silently chewing on the edges of his teeth. His fingers tapped his mostly barren desk.

The scientist blinked, "Uh...Sir?"

"That is all, Salvai."

"Oh-Uh, Y-Yes, Sir…" The scroll quickly compacted itself. Ironwood tossed the device onto his desk. He stared at it for a few minutes, thinking to himself about his current issue. There was no possible way he could get hands on with this problem. He couldn't even fathom the current issue. What can one do when their planet is abandoned in orbit of another star? How do you fix that? Where do you begin?

In a fit of anger and aggravation, the General roared and shoved everything off his desk. He grunted and recoiled when a splinter had made its way into his finger. He examined the tiny wound before looking down at his scroll, name plate, pens, and a few picture frames down at the scroll. A long crack stretched across the glass of one of the frames, over the picture of his old light-blonde companion. He sighed and fell back into his chair, rubbing his temples with his uninjured hand.

What was he going to do? What were they going to do?

I hope you liked this chapter! Tell me what you thought of it in the reviews

Love,

~Vox