[RWBY] RWBY Shorts

[John Jackson]

I was rereading my favorite ASOIF fic https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/LetTheGalaxyBurn and what if we did the same thing to AJT verse and pulse everything up to 11
The Grim become a tyranid level swarm ( I'm thinking a lot of those Grim whales and Shadow battlecrabs from B5 for their ships) Salem becomes a nightmares combination of the hive mind and chaos deamon, grim hoards are almost endless, Alpha Grim are Kaiju sized, there are some grim the size of a moon
the kingdoms become multi world space empires whose mighty fleets hold back the unending grim hoard (plenty of room for expes and transplants from various sci fi)
Beacon becomes a hunter training moon, Huntsmen function like Space Marines/Helldivers/Spartans Small teams are deployed on their own small strike ships (like the JNPR and the RWBY) to go out into the cosmos and fight for peace and survival out in the far reaches of Human and Fanus Space
Atlas is basically Cadia at this point
The Valcuo is basically Arrakis
As for some the characters
Now Nick Arc is operating on a mid DBZ level of Power, so are Tia and Izzy ect
Ironwood is basically CREED
Raven is leading a space pirate fleet
Sinor Huntsman lead crusading fleets to drive back the Grim
The Maidens are wordbreakers
And that leads me to another wrinkle Aura the higher tech level lets the good guys do a lot more with it. It is the bases for all energy shielding and maybe ftl. It lets Huntmens and other aura users' power mighty war machines. That leads to replenishing aura being vital to survival, and stealing and Idea from the Dresden files it takes living to replenish the soul. like Negative emotions draw the grim positive emotions and are vital for restoring and strengthening aura. Spending time with family, preying, reading, fraking, even just touching grass ect.
That makes Jaunes semblance even more valuable if he can master it he can buff whole fleets like Jedi battle meditation. Probaly has a suit of power armor so he can tank even more
Of course that requires a buff for the other characters
Yang is like her Dad operating at DBZ level of power
Ruby's superspeed is at the low end at least Mile Teg level and at the high level she's competing with the flash. She may or may not have bulit a version of Gundam Deathsyths and named it Crescent Rose 2
Blake has Naruto leval Shadow Clone ablites
Wiess can use her glyphs to summon armies
Pyrrha is the love child of Kratos and Magneto
Nora is aproning Thor levels of power, and property damage]
Ren is Nija squared
Velvet is basic Ultra Instinct Shaggy ect
That would also apply to the Arc sisters Tanggy for example would be leading a pmc the size of the Eridani Light Hours
added hilarity because of their Aura levels the Arcs are expected to have as many children as possible so Jaune's family would be pushing the harem ending after all there plenty of room on the colony world of Radian and they need to get those population numbers up. (Izzy got away with monogamy because A she had 9 kids so far and B everybody was too afraid of her to push the issue)
thoughts?

 

[digcat]

https://www.deviantart.com/sentinel28ii/art/Dragonslayer-and-Child-1303350082

 

[Gur40]

STRQ Beacon Years

Spoiler: Twins

Do you think Raven Had Short Hair in Beacon?

How Would A Domestic Raven Act

Spoiler: Hovering Bird or Cuddle Bug

The White Glow is the anti-upskirt tech

Raven Would Tease Ruby the most?

Spoiler: Troll

---

Canon Ruby is apparently always 1 second away from snapping

Spoiler: Goddamn IT BLAKE

Train Battle

Spoiler: Stomps

WAIT A MINUTE! Ruby didn't fight Perry!

 

[John Jackson]

Some other thoughts for the Space Opera au
Nicks railgun sword now is a proper Railgun from the Ember Wars series and able to take out things in low orbit…
When Jaune went to Beacon he stole a very old suit of power armor that may have been nearly rusted
Penny is an experiment in creating a soul and a program that can move from body to body so when she gets torn apart in her normal body she can just possess a battleship or the Atlas Mech nearby
Related
Ruby's idea for a birthday present for her is a new combiner mecha body or maybe recreate this old dragon shape mech she found designs for in OZ database (can't figure out why it's controlled by a flute but)
Since Nora is now IN SPACE maybe she does have one serving blood relative who unfortunately lost touch with her before she was ophend Bjorn the Fell-Handed

 

[KarasAdamas]

There is a very easy way to facilitate a Jaune harem that isn't contrived, and uses nothing but what's already in the RWBY canon:

Blake Belladonna. She reads smutty erotica and she's a cat, so she loves to stir shit up.

She recognizes potential in Jaune as a harem protagonist, and so decides to set up her own live-action erotica with a harem ending!

Because she's a bored, mentally ill cat girl ninja princess. And this sounds like the kind of thing she might do.

Thoughts?

Click to shrink...

Yeah, this sounds about right. Especially the whole mentally ill part. But in all seriousness, I can see Blake being the one who somehow, while still keeping her "Bland Wallflower" persona intact, somehow pull the strings that her depraved mind may come up with. She's already been infected with the Horny from reading too much smut, so her obsession would only spiral her mentality downwards, to the point were the negatives double to a positive, and she somehow becomes a mastermind in creating ecchi harem scenarios.

 

[NightDranzer]

Hey Andy!!! How does it feel to know that Ruby's VA has the same thoughts about Blake that you do?

Spoiler

 

[Gur40]

RWBY Simplified

Spoiler: Every Show Has

Agree? Disagree? Why and why not?

---

Cinder at Ruby: FIGHT ME
Ruby focusing on Salem: No!

Spoiler: Jaune However

After Winter and Raven Humiliate Cinder i just want Jaune to stab her to death as a treat

---

Poor Ruby since V1 she's been struggling

Spoiler: Dammit Blake

Fang obsessed was bad enough

Gooner Blake

Spoiler: internet history

Weiss trauma from the white fang came from her fanfic replacing a threat letter!

Worse of all is 'smart' Blake

Spoiler: stratagy

if Ruby not around Yang and Weiss end up listening to Blake and that is terrifying

Hopefully Jaune cooking could help

Spoiler: French Cuisine

I Approve, Tai Qrow and Yang will not

---

FNKI meme

Spoiler: Wife and Husband Save Remnant

Apparently it's White Knight Week 2026

---

Funny Idea To Save Remnant

Spoiler: Dr Dark

RWBY flip and twist rules so Rockwoman or Bass/Forte ? Blues was the original name for Protoman so that fits Remnant

 

[AndrewJTalon]

The Beacon common room had been commandeered for another evening of ValeWatch—Beacon's guilty pleasure trash TV marathon. Blankets draped over couches, popcorn bowls balanced precariously on knees, and the big scroll screen flickering with the opening credits of the latest episode.

Weiss Schnee, who'd sworn up and down she was "above this nonsense," was wedged between Ruby and Blake, arms crossed but eyes glued to the screen. Even she couldn't resist the trainwreck.

The episode opened with dramatic music and a narrator booming about "ancient frozen warriors from Solitas's forgotten past!"

Weiss groaned first. "Vikings… frozen Vikings from Solitas. They were in an iceberg, unfroze, and attacked the city."

Yang lost it—laughing so hard she nearly rolled off the couch.

Jaune joined her, wheezing. "It's like they got a bunch of random extras to wear the worse wigs possible!"

Ruby, nose wrinkled, pointed at the screen. "Ugh… those axes and swords are all wrong! They're modern Dust-refined steel, not forged!"

Nora, mouth full of caramel popcorn, nodded vigorously. "I know, right?! My enjoyment of this episode is severely impaired!"

Ren calmly passed her the bowl. "More caramel popcorn?"

Nora beamed. "Thanks, Renny! I am appeased!"

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Well, at least Pyrrha's in this episode to—"

On screen, Pyrrha's character burst into frame—dramatic wind machine hair, cape billowing, delivering lines with the skill of a first-year drama student... On her first day.

"Hey you! Stop that! You Vikings! Are! So bad! I will defeat you!"

The room went dead silent.

Weiss stared. "…How many acting classes did you take again?"

Pyrrha—curled up beside Jaune on the floor cushions—went scarlet. "I was nervous!"

Jaune patted her shoulder. "Still, this is a great fight scene. You're the best at those, Pyr!"

Pyrrha's blush deepened, but she smiled. "I—Oh, w-well, thank you!"

Yang scowled into her popcorn. "Hmph. I could do better fight scenes…"

Jaune blinked. "Huh?"

Yang spoke louder, tossing her hair as she scooted up on Jaune's other side. "Yeah, that was basically the only saving grace of this show: cool fight scenes, hot guys and girls, and total insanity."

Weiss perked up. "Wait—was? It was canceled?!"

Jaune nodded. "Yeah. I'm guessing they brought Pyr on as a desperate Hail Mary?"

Pyrrha sighed. "Unfortunately, yes. Then they made a spin-off set in Menagerie and… well, that lasted four episodes before cancellation."

Ruby winced. "I heard the producer got thrown out a window in his office building."

Everyone stared.

Ruby waved her hands. "He was fine after!"

Nora brightened. "Oh good! That's what I was worried about!"

Yang leaned forward, grinning at Pyrrha. "So, you've gotta have all kinds of dirt from behind the scenes, Cereal Girl—right?"

Pyrrha fidgeted. "Oh, well… not really. Mr. Hoff was actually very nice. He tried to help me with acting and even gave me advice for a singing career… which I didn't go for. Not fully."

Jaune's eyes lit up. "I bet you sing great!"

Pyrrha went full tomato. "Th-thank you!"

Yang's scowl deepened. "I also sing, ya know."

Jaune turned. "Oh, I'm sorry, Yang. I'd love to hear you sing too!"

Weiss huffed. "I am literally a professional singer!"

Jaune blinked. "But I've already heard you sing, Weiss."

Weiss crossed her arms. "Hmph!"

Jaune stared at the ceiling. Women.

He cleared his throat. "Anyway! Next episode!"

Weiss leaned forward. "Please tell me this isn't as crazy as the last one?"

Yang grinned wickedly. "It totally isn't! In fact—Blake? Stop reading your smut fics and watch with us! I think you'll find it hilarious!"

Blake lowered her book, ears twitching. "I somehow doubt it."

They hit play.

Five minutes into the episode, Blake stared in absolute disbelief.

"…Let me get this straight. The straw feminist and Faunus rights activist who died an episode ago… is reincarnated as a dog."

Yang wheezed. "Eeyup!"

Jaune nodded solemnly. "Totally!"

Blake pinched her nose. "…And this episode's writer's other credits include?"

Jaune shrugged. "Mostly 'World's Blankiest Blank' kind of stuff."

Blake sighed. "Well. At least they're consistent."

Weiss smirked. "Oh, I am just loving this~."

Blake shot her a glare. "You would, racist!"

Weiss gasped. "Brat!"

"Sow!"

"Hypocrite!"

Jaune sighed as Weiss and Blake devolved into bickering. "Maybe this was a bad idea."

Yang slung an arm around his shoulders. "At least it wasn't the Cat People Episode. We'd never hear the end of it."

From the floor, Nora raised a hand. "Can we watch the Cat People Episode next?!"

Ren handed her more popcorn. "No."

Nora pouted. "Awww…"

 

[RustedSands]

Wonder what a RWBY mystery science theater would be like

 

[KarasAdamas]

Blake for her part glared hot piping hatred at Weiss's smug expression.

"I AM NOT A STEREOTYPE!"

Click to shrink...

Honestly, one of the things I always found most endearing about Blake and the faunus in general during the first two volumes of RWBY, was that they actually showed small personality traits connected to the animals they were based on. Blake's more cat-like behavior added charm and flavor to her character, and it made the world feel more cohesive and believable to me.

After Volume 3, it feels like CRWBY backed away from those traits, probably because they didn't want to suggest that stereotypes could ever be accurate. But personally, I don't think exploring stereotypes in fiction is automatically a bad thing. Stereotypes often come from recognizable patterns or shared cultural tendencies, and acknowledging them doesn't have to mean reducing people to caricatures.

For example, there are plenty of stereotypes about Swedish people, that we drink a lot of coffee, come across as reserved, or prefer not to stand out. And I relate to a lot of that myself. I drink coffee constantly throughout the day, I've been told I can seem emotionally distant even when I don't mean to, and I definitely dislike being the center of attention. None of that feels offensive to me; it just feels like recognizable traits people sometimes share.

That's why I don't see anything inherently wrong with stories playing with stereotypes, especially when they're used to add personality rather than limit it. Pointing out patterns or traits isn't the same thing as disrespecting people, and I think fiction loses some texture when it becomes afraid to explore those ideas at all.

Sorry if this came across as a rant. I just wish RWBY could have stuck with this trait with other faunus characters as well in the later volumes.

 

[TheFabulousCustodes]

From the floor, Nora raised a hand. "Can we watch the Cat People Episode next?!"

Ren handed her more popcorn. "No."

Nora pouted. "Awww…"

Click to shrink...

What about that episode where one of the cast finds and draws Excalibur from a reef, and discovers that they're the reincarnation of Jaune's grandmother?

(Who is still very much alive, and honestly quite miffed they got the sword wrong.)

 

[Gur40]

Every Timeline

Spoiler: First Hello

"Hi, this is your dad..."

---

Ruby To Her Classmates

Spoiler: Goth Teen To Huntress Legend

also Ruby

Spoiler: Nerd Dork Dunce

---

Adam did it so why doesn't everyone else?

Spoiler: Aura Control

also from FNKI
although to be honest RWBY didn't have that many W's to begin with

Roman escaped every single time and it wasn't until he got forced by his boss to get arrested that someone else arrested him, and they still didn't knew what his plan was

(Note:Merlot the villain of Grimm eclipse also escaped)

They failed to stop the train, didn't stop the Paladin from making any destruction (I think they guided it to the highway to begin with) and Roman stole all dust in the kingdom anyway

Ruby didn't defeat any named characters, Blake had to use dust to beat a man without semblance who was 1v2 her the previous volume (and some theorize he let her win because of cinder's orders) and Weiss has never beaten a named human character who actually tried to beat her

Blake and Yang got beaten by Adam in a curb stomp

Ruby couldn't beat Roman so a Grimm had to save her

And the only reason she injured Cinder was because of her eyes, otherwise she would have died like Pyrrha

Their only wins are against nameless grunts or grimm's which are cannon fodder

How can there be a Comeback if there's nowhere to go back to in the first place

Spoiler: The Comeback

The Creepy Twins and Adam dealt with the White Fang themselves!
Hazel Killed himself trying to redeem himself [HE DESERVED WORSE]
Emerald Jumped Ship
Neo atleast had he mind body and soul destroyed and remade into some thing new by an elder god [she does NOT deserve the capitalization]
Mercury going to defect and Tyrian is just a complete monster
if they screw up killing Cinder i will riot! Salem is eh_ just a thing not even a person or monster, just a corpse waiting to die no plan just going through the motions until Atlas were she did 1 speech and let her minions do all the work
Because Ozpin can out play Salem, not her forces

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Happy birthday to Jaune Arc-The closest thing to a fully realized character this show has.

 

[cavalal386]

Happy birthday to Jaune Arc-The closest thing to a fully realized character this show has.

Click to shrink...

that's a lie and you know it!!!

Zwei closest thing to a fully realized character this show has.
Jaune is the second.

 

[Sliverhero]

Did this too celebrate the release of the new resident evil game.

So lets the game begin.


The Remnant Gazette
FRAUD FOUND AT BEACON: Arc Family Disgraced as Heir's Forged Documents Revealed
Vale, 12th of Frost. In a shocking turn of events, Jaune Arc, first-year team leader of JNPR, has been summarily expelled from Beacon Academy following an investigation confirming he used falsified transcripts and recommendation letters to gain admission. The Arc family of Higanbana has issued no comment. In a move that has stunned observers, Mr. Arc's entire team, Lie Ren, Nora Valkyrie, and Pyrrha Nikos, has voluntarily withdrawn from the academy in solidarity. "Where he goes, we go," Ms. Nikos was heard stating. Headmaster Ozpin confirmed their departures, citing a breach of "fundamental trust." The whereabouts of the former team are currently unknown.



7 Years Later

The airship to Neo Glenn descended through a perpetual, sickly-yellow haze, the legacy of the Forever Fall toxins that once saturated the region. Below, the reborn city, formerly the ruin of Mountain Glenn, glittered like a cybernetic abscess. Towering, sleek buildings of black glass and polished steel, all stamped with the angular, red helix logo of Phalanx Corporation, pierced the smog. It was a monument to corporate power, a city-state where Phalanx wasn't just an employer; it was the law, the utility, the landlord, and God.

Ruby Rose, now twenty-four, pressed her forehead against the cool viewport. The cheerful, cape-wearing girl was a ghost living in this woman's reflection. Her silver eyes were hardened by years of independent hunting, her frame leaner, her expression etched with a permanent line of worry. In her hands, she clutched a worn, leather-bound journal. Flipping to a dog-eared page, her finger traced the bubbly handwriting of her past self:

"Jaune came by today. He's… different since everything happened. Quieter. Sharper. He said he's building something, a place where what happened to him won't ever happen to anyone again. He said Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren are with him, and they're doing real good! He asked if Yang wanted to come see. I think it helped, talking to someone who isn't family or Blake. He's come such a long way from the guy who faked his way into Beacon. He really wants to protect people."

A bitter smile touched her lips. That entry was three years old. A year after that, Yang Xiao Long, chasing a lead on a particularly savage White Fang splinter group, had come to Neo Glenn. She'd sent a handful of cheerful messages, talking about "big opportunities" and "seeing an old friend." Then, six months ago, the messages stopped. Blake, now a Menagerie liaison working remotely from Vale, had heard nothing. Weiss was buried in Schnee Dust Company restructuring. So, it fell to Ruby.

The airship docked with a hydraulic sigh. In the bustling terminal, a familiar shock of silver hair and a stark black uniform caught her eye. A Phalanx security officer, but his posture was all wrong, too relaxed, too predatory. As he turned, adjusting a high-tech gauntlet on his arm, recognition clicked.

"Mercury Black?"
He glanced over, grey eyes assessing her with detached curiosity. "Ruby Rose. Heard you were a big deal these days. Independent Huntress."
"What are you doing here? In that?" she asked, gesturing to the Phalanx uniform with its "Neo Glenn Peacekeeper Corps" insignia.

"First day on the job," he said, a smirk playing on his lips. "Turns out a particular skill set is valued here. Pays better than freelance thuggery. Less moral ambiguity, too." His gaze sharpened. "You're a long way from Vale. Phalanx doesn't usually invite outsiders."

"I'm not here for Phalanx. I'm looking for my sister, Yang. She was here. Then she vanished."
Mercury's smirk faded. "Missing persons? That's… not really in the Peacekeeper manual. We're more for keeping the peace between corporate departments and deterring Grimm at the perimeter. Internal affairs is a different beast." He shrugged, a gesture that seemed more habitual than genuine. "Look, I'm supposed to report to the central barracks for orientation. Walk with me. You can tell me about it. Consider it a favor for old times' sake."

Grateful for any anchor, Ruby fell into step beside him, pouring out her worries as they moved from the sterile terminal into the cavernous, neon-drenched central plaza of Neo Glenn. She told him about Yang's last messages, her mention of meeting an "old friend," the eerie silence. "It's not like her, Mercury. She's tough, but she's not careless. And she'd never just drop out of touch with Blake, not for this long."

Mercury listened, his eyes constantly scanning the orderly, silent crowds. "An old friend, huh? In this city, that could mean any..." A wet, choking cough echoed from a side alley. Then a scream, cut off into a horrible gurgle. Near the entrance to a subway tunnel marked SECTOR 7 - PHALANX R&D (CLEARANCE OMEGA), a man stumbled out. He was pale, sweating profusely, one hand clutching his stomach. He looked at a woman walking by, his eyes wide with panic and confusion. "Help… me… it… burns…" he rasped.

Then he vomited, a torrent of blackened blood. He collapsed, his body beginning to twitch and spasm violently. The woman screamed, backing away. Before anyone could react, the twitching man 'lurched' back to his feet with unnatural speed. His movements were jerky, animalistic. His eyes had filmed over with a milky white haze. With a snarl that held no human intelligence, only ravenous hunger, he lunged and sank his teeth into the screaming woman's arm.

Chaos, pure and simple, erupted. More people began to stagger from the tunnel and adjacent buildings, some shambling, some sprinting with feral grace, all turning on the uninfected with teeth and nails and a mindless, viral rage.

"What in the hell is this?!" Mercury spat, his cool demeanor shattered. He wasn't looking at trained fighters or Grimm. This was a sickness, a madness, spreading through a civilian population like fire. He slammed a fist into the comms unit on his wrist. "Central, this is Peacekeeper Black! We have a… a riot? A mass disturbance in the central plaza, Sector 7 junction! Requesting immediate backup!"

Only static hissed back, punctuated by a distant, fading scream over the channel. Ruby's weapon was already in her hands. Crescent Rose unfolded from its compact case with a series of mechanical ' clicks' and 'shrieks'. The sight of the familiar scythe was a comfort in the surreal nightmare. "They're not Grimm. They're people... but they're sick. Really, really sick."

"People who want to eat other people!" Mercury snapped, firing a shotgun blast from his boot at a sprinting infected that got too close, blowing it back. "This isn't in the contract! What is Phalanx doing down there?!"

They moved back-to-back, a reluctant alliance forged in sudden, inexplicable terror. Ruby fought with precision, using the blunt end of Crescent Rose to shove and trip, the blade only flashing out for definitive, lethal strikes when overwhelmed. Mercury was brutal and efficient, his prosthetic legs becoming blurs of devastating kinetic force.

But for every one they put down, two more seemed to shamble out of the geometric shadows of Neo Glenn.

---------------‐--------------------------------------------------------

High above the chaos, in the central, fortified spire known as the Phalanx Citadel, Jaune Arc watched his new world being born from the old one's death throes. The monitors in his dim command center painted a picture of beautiful, brutal efficiency.

On one screen, Lie Ren moved through a containment corridor like a ghost, his modified StormFlower pistols emitting soft 'thumps'. Each shot was a pinpoint cryo-round, freezing infected in mid-lunge before a gentle palm-strike shattered them into glittering, frozen viscera. Clinical. Clean.

Another feed showed Nora Valkyrie in a main thoroughfare, laughing with genuine, exuberant joy as she brought Magnhild down in a cataclysmic arc. The pavement cratered, and a shockwave of lightning Dust vaporized a charging horde. "Whoops! Strike!" she chirped, bouncing on her heels.

A third displayed Pyrrha Nikos, standing atop an overturned APC. She wasn't even breathing heavily. With a slight furrow of her brow, she exerted her Semblance. Every piece of metal in the street, lampposts, car frames, reinforcement rods, twisted and shot inward, impaling and crushing dozens of the infected into a single, grotesque sculpture of flesh and steel. She gave a small, satisfied nod. "Exemplary," Jaune murmured, a faint, proud smile touching his lips. "The vanguard of a new paradigm."

His gaze lingered on a personal feed. It showed Yang Xiao Long, smiling warmly, her golden hair seeming to glow from within. "Jaune, this is it. You were right. This power… it's a fresh start. For me, for everyone. You're giving us a chance to be more than what we were. To evolve. I'm ready for the next stage. Watch the kids for me, will you? I'll see you on the other side." She gave her signature thumbs-up and stepped back into the cylindrical incubation tube. Amber fluid, humming with genetic potential, enveloped her as her eyes closed in serene acceptance.

"Your sacrifice is the keystone, Yang," Jaune said softly to the recording. "Your strength will be the foundation of the next generation."
The soft 'hiss' of the door announced another presence. Cinder Fall glided into the room, her stride confident in a form-fitting, black and red Phalanx officer's uniform. Her gaze went past Jaune, directly to the looping image of Yang in her tube.

She didn't speak at first, simply observing. The old hunger, the desperate clawing for power that once twisted her features, was gone, replaced by a calm, settled certainty. She moved to Jaune's side, her hand coming to rest gently on his shoulder.

"She looks at peace," Cinder said, her voice softer than Ruby or any of their old foes would ever remember. "She understood the gift you offered. The purity of the transformation." She leaned down, her lips brushing his cheek in a chaste, possessive kiss. "I will make sure her child, and all of ours, are safe. That they inherit the world we're making for them." Jaune covered her hand with his own, a silent communion between architects.

Cinder straightened, her amber eyes hardening as they shifted to the tactical displays, focusing on a sector where beleaguered Phalanx Civil Police were being overrun. "I'll secure the eastern quadrants. The police need a morale boost. Or a demonstration."

She turned to leave, pausing at the doorway. A wistful, almost girlish smile, a ghost of a person long buried, flickered across her face. "Who would have thought," she mused, her voice barely a whisper, yet carrying clearly in the silent room, "that betraying Salem would taste so… sweet."

As she finished speaking, the fingers of her Grimm arm, the one given to her by the Queen she'd forsaken, clenched. The black, bony appendage swelled grotesquely for a moment, veins of molten orange pulsing under the chitinous plates, power radiating from it in a visible heat haze. It was a monstrous, terrifying limb of pure destruction. Then, with a smooth contraction, it reverted back to its normal, sleek, obsidian form.

She left without another word, the door sealing behind her, leaving Jaune alone with his screens and his plans.

His attention was finally captured by a fourth monitor, marked SECTOR 7 BREACH - CENTRAL PLAZA. The feed showed a maelstrom of rose petals and a gleaming scythe, wielded with a skill that was both familiar and dangerously refined. And beside her, fighting with brutal, prosthetic-enhanced kicks, was a new Peacekeeper recruit.

Jaune's cold, calculating smile returned, wider now, brimming with intellectual curiosity.
"Ruby Rose," he breathed, his voice a study in chilling warmth. "You always did have a talent for dramatic entrances. And you've brought a new variable. Mercury Black… how intriguing." He tapped a command into his console, isolating their struggling figures. "Let's see what the T-Virus makes of a Silver-Eyed Warrior. And let's see just how far my old friends have truly come."

Below, unaware of the eyes upon them, Ruby and Mercury fought back-to-back against the rising tide of the dead, the first sparks of resistance in Jaune Arc's flawless, monstrous new dawn.