(Author's Note: Hey y'all, apologies for the delay on the release of this chapter. This chapter especially took me a bit to figure out how I want to go about doing some certain things. Just as a heads up this is where some changes will have to take place in order for my story to still work the way I envision, the main difference being that of Raiden and Yang already having an established relationship within this story. So uh, I apologize to all of the Bumblebee shippers and lovers, to be completely honestly I wasn't expecting it to actually become a thing in the show back when I first made this story around the time of Season 4 first coming out. In retrospect, if I had known this would actually become a thing I likely would've kept Raiden and Yang apart after his return buuuuut too late now. Regardless, it shouldn't hold too much significant weight on this fanfic considering this story revolves around primarily the Chronicle and Ruby rather than their siblings. I recognize that for later seasons that working my way around this will become more difficult for obvious reasons but I'll do the best with what I've got. Peace y'all)

RWBY (Volume 6) Chapter 9: Harrowing Thoughts

After a rather lengthy discussion and brainstorming session with everyone it seems you've all gotten a pretty solid idea for a plan that is honestly quite insane if you say so yourself, but considering all this group has gone through, it's to be expected at this point. You've split off into three teams, one consists of Weiss feigning that she's heading back home to Atlas while secretly actually having Maria be smuggled into her luggage. It was an idea that you came up with yourself from old spy movies you used to watch buuuut Maria was certainly not happy with the idea as she once again attempted to commit first degree homicide on you for the second time this week. 

Regardless, while they go and attempt to steal an Atlas airship from the Atlesian military base, Blake, Yang and Raiden all have headed to the comms tower and with Terra's guidance to help disable the radar. Meanwhile you, Ruby and the rest of the gang are all waiting by the coastline a few miles away from Argus. You initially had wanted to be a more involved part of the plan, hoping that you could use your warping abilities to attempt to sneak onto an Atlesian airship but you quickly realized with Solar's growing influence you should try to keep warping to an absolute minimum. You're all now waiting by a steep cliffside as Ruby, standing right next to you, begins to try to contact Weiss over the earpiece she had been given.

Ruby: "Is everything okay?"  

Maria(Earpiece): "-Call me heavy... It's all muscle! I'll show them a thing or two about heavy!" You just barely manage to hear the muffled voice of Maria in the background. You chuckle softly

Weiss(Earpiece): "We're on board." You and Ruby both breathe with a slight bit of relief hearing that it seems like everything went okay, the whole plan would have quickly fallen apart if they had gotten caught. Ruby gives you a hopeful look as you give her a small thumbs up. Ruby turns around to look at the rest of the team, you do so as well. You notice that Qrow's been an irritable mood, especially with you. You aren't sure if he's learned about what's been happening with you and Solar but it certainly feels like he did with how nearly hostile he's been. His eyes remained locked peering at you, with narrowed eyes.

Ruby: "Alright, we'll all watch our scrolls. The second Weiss is out of range of the comm tower, that'll mean she's out of range of the radar too." Sophie seems a bit nervous, but she noticeably looks calmer and more confident when near Oscar. They both flash a small smile at one another as you feel happy for your little sis.

Yang (Earpiece): "And that's when Blake steps in. We're almost at the drop off."

(Raiden's POV)

Currently I am rapidly tossing my weapon and warping to it from tree to tree, a long trail of crimson particles are left behind from my travelling. I feel myself starting to slow down just a little as this amount of warping in such a short amount of time can really start to drain me. Right now, I'm a reasonably long distance away from both Blake and Yang, they're currently using Yang's Bumblebee to race them towards the communications tower. I would've come with them on her bike but Bumblebee can really only hold two people at once, or...three really small children. Regardless, I hear Ruby's and Yang's voices in my earpiece. 

Yang (Earpiece): "Rai, how we lookin' back there?"

Raiden: "As of right now, we are clear of any Grimm and Atlesian patrols. I'll keep my distance for now and give you guys a heads up if anything changes." I stop along a large branch as I catch my breath for a few seconds, my crimson flames flicker, they grow weaker without my control for a moment as I glance down. It's rather strange, I once used to constantly feel like I'd need to be on guard ever since Solar's influence on me was dampened by Yang's help. But ever since the time at the farm that nearly completely caused (F) to be overwhelmed by Solar I've felt whatever lingering power within me simply growing weaker quite quickly too...I used to be able to just warp based on how far I could see but THAT'S getting difficult too, tossing my weapon is helping me focus on where exactly I want to warp too but it's not nearly as powerful as it used to be. This development is especially concerning considering I've technically never discovered what my Semblance is so if whatever lingering power from the Leviathan and Serpent fully fades away... what happens then?

Yang (Earpiece): "Sounds good, keep us safe, handsome." I snap out of my inner thoughts as I nod to myself, I watch as Bumblebee drives out of sight. I feel a call coming from my Scroll, glancing down seeing it's just Yang, I answer.

Raiden: "Yang it has not even been 5 seconds, miss me that much?" It's a video call, she's calling and driving. Doesn't seem necessarily safe but considering our first date resulted in a rather pricey fine to the amusement park we went to because someone couldn't hold back her strength at the whack-a-grimm, I've learned to just deal with it. I watch as she rolls her eyes playfully with a smirk, still paying attention to the road.

Yang (Scroll): "Oh shuddup. I figured you should probably listen in on this." She then passes her Scroll back so that Blake holds it. Blake seems a bit confused as I can see that now she's just holding two Scrolls in her hands. The other Scroll is currently on another video call with Terra.

Terra (Scroll): "Okay, remember: one, the radar box is separate from the rest of the communications equipment. So if you disconnect it properly, it won't take out comms for the rest of the city. Two, this conversation never happened." Terra scares me just a little bit, obviously she's taking a huge risk by helping us like this but her deadpan expression along with her somewhat intense tone just cuts right through me.

Blake: "Don't worry, this isn't the first time I've disabled Atlas security." She rolls her eyes as I smirk smugly, Terra only glares back with a quite unamused look on her face. I think to myself for a moment.

Raiden: "Technically so did I, back when I worked with Torchwi-"

Terra (Scroll): "Never. Happened." She quickly cuts me off. The video call with Terra ends as I hear the screeching of Bumblebee's tires. Soon after, the video call with me also ends as it seems like Yang and Blake have arrived at the drop off point. With a deep breath, I begin to once again begin to warp closer to where the drop off point is, I can just barely make out the outlines of Yang's vibrant blonde hair against the snowy backdrop along with her bike. My right eye bursts with crimson flames once again, trying to hone in on their conversation. Even if my senses aren't what they used to be I can still do my best to attempt to listen in to make sure they're safe. Eventually, I can faintly pick up the voices of Yang and Blake

Yang: "You sure I shouldn't come with?" I can just barely hear Yang say, I decide to warp just a bit closer, noticeably feeling my head begin to hurt slightly. If I keep this up, my eye is likely gonna start hurting too and it won't be long till it starts bleeding. I should probably keep the warping to a minimum for a bit. At least now I can clearly make out that Blake is now walking away from Yang in the direction of the drop off point.

Blake: "More intruders means we're more likely to be seen. Besides, stealth isn't exactly your, um..." I observe to see that Blake turns to look back at Yang, her eyes widening as I watch Yang crossing her arms. While it's more difficult to see, I can tell just from her body language that wasn't exactly the smartest thing to say to Yang. Blake quickly becoming embarrassed "I-I mean, you're great! And I'll hurry back!"

Yang: Her body language relaxes just a bit, tilting her head slightly. "Go." I smile softly, seeing Blake smiling back at her before she turns and begins to run towards the communications tower. It isn't long before I hear Blake through my earpiece.

Blake (Earpiece): " Heading in on foot. Won't be long." I sit down against the branch I've landed on. Leaning back against it, hopefully this plan goes without a hitch, I'm just about to disperse the flames coursing around my eye when for just a moment I hear a tree branch snap off in the distance. My eyes narrow, glancing over in the direction where I heard it...strange, after not hearing anything for a few moments I just shake it off, in a forest this big it was likely just an animal of some kind.

(Your POV)

Jaune: "Yes! It's all going to plan!" Jaune fists bumps the air with excitement, a bright smile going over his face. It's comforting to see after all this time Jaune still remains ever the dork you first met at Beacon. He quickly realizes he's being looked at by Ren and Nora with some rather unamused half-smirks on their faces. He clears his throat before pressing his finger up to his ear. "I mean, uh... roger."  Ren and Nora exchange a brief glance before rolling their eyes, you glance over at Ruby to see that she's still looking over at her uncle, she's understandably been quite worried about him this whole time, can't help but feel you somewhat added onto the ever growing list of worries that both Qrow and Ruby have but there's not much you can really do about it. 

Oscar: "Hey, this is gonna work." You glance over to see that Oscar is looking over at Ruby with a warm smile. You place your hand on Ruby's shoulder with a reassuring smirk on your face. She looks back at you with a slight smirk you can tell was rather forced.

Ruby: "Yeah." She shortly states looking over towards the cliffside once again. Ruby seems quite stressed out from this plan

You: "It'll be a few minutes before they can get far enough from the comms tower to be out of range. We should-" You stop speaking as you feel a hand on your shoulder, glancing back to see Qrow standing over you, his eyes narrowed looking at you

Qrow: "We need to talk." You look at him confused as he gestures with his head to follow him, he walks with his typical slumped over back and hands in his pockets. You get a feeling this won't be a particularly pleasant talk with him. You look back at Ruby as her Silver eyes seem overwhelmed with worry

You: "It'll be fine uh...just warn us when Weiss gets out of range." You force a smirk on your face to try to ease her worries but you can tell she just sees right through it. You tooootally aren't freaking out right now, not oooonnnee bit.

Ruby: "...Alright, be safe..." She says with a concerned, mellow tone. She crosses her arms as she watched both you and Qrow head behind a few trees.

Qrow stops walking suddenly in the forest as you come to a swift halt as well. You feel your anxieties growing as he remains silent for a increasingly more concerning amount of time. He then reels his head back, rubbing his worn-out eyes and scratching the scruff of his chin before looking back to look at you.

Qrow: "Look, I'm gonna make this short considering we don't have much time. Raiden filled me in on what's been going on with you." Your eyes glance down as you definitely imagined that was the reasoning behind his attitude with him recently "I can't say I'm particularly surprised, I came to that conclusion myself the instant I saw that blown up section of the forest that was spattered with those damned purple flames."

You: "Right...Qrow I'm sorry I didn't-" Qrow raises his hand, his eyes closed as you sigh and stop speaking

Qrow: "I don't care for your apologies. That's not why I brought you here, away from everyone else." The tension in the air is palpable as Qrow's weary eyes are locked against yours, a bead of sweat rolls down your back.

You: "Then...why did you bring me back here...you're not gonna like try to kill me here, right?" You say with a slight half joking tone with a small laugh, Qrow seems deadly serious as your laugh quickly trails off "...R-right???"

Qrow: "Do you have any idea just how dangerous you'd be if Solar took over? The power of a fully realized Chronicle merged with the strength that the Serpent is capable of?" Your curl your hand into a fist as you continue to stare into his ever intense eyes.

You: "I...I know, Qrow. But that WON'T happen." 

Qrow: "(F), I'd like nothing better than for that to be the truth..." He sighs and once again rubs his sunken in eyes, holding his hand there for a few moments before glancing back up at you "But you and I both know that just won't be the case, will it?"

You remain silent, his words peering deep into whatever false exterior and shell you've put on. While you may not even outwardly state it, even with the team's help and their support...how long will you really have until your own thoughts are warped by hers? She may have said back in your Soul that she would stop her rampant advancement, that now it was your decision to ever decide to call upon her power but can you really trust a literal snake to keep her word?

Qrow: "I know just how deeply you care for Ruby...for all of them. Is that something you really want to put them through?" You still remain silent, just absorbing everything he's telling you, it takes you more than a few moments to reply.

You: "No, I don't." You shortly mumble, your words trailing off as it feels like every spiraled thought you once believed you had conquered is now back with a burning vengeance to remind you just how vulnerable you truly are.

Qrow: "Then you know what you have to do....right? If you feel yourself reaching the edge...to the point where you KNOW there's no return." His eyes look at you with a burning intensity, his tone shifting to one of no remorse, nor resentment. "You'd better take that trident and bury it through your own heart." Your eyes widen at his statement, like a feral punch to the gut, you feel your throat tighten as the only sounds you can hear is that of your own unsteady breathing and trees rustling from the slight breeze around you.

You: "...And if I don't?" Qrow places his hand on the hilt of his Harbinger. You can feel your heartbeat intensifying as you study his every micromovement.

Qrow: "Then it's my scythe that'll end up doing the trick or worse. It'll be my niece that will be the one having to finish the job...and I think we both know, that's something we don't ever want to happen." Just that simple thought makes your skin crawl. To even entertain the notion that Ruby may need to be the one who would have to put you down if you really went past the point of no return is a haunting thought to say the least.

You: "I...understand then." Qrow closes his eyes while shaking his head slowly, you can tell from his facial expressions that this isn't a talk he wanted to have with you. A look of genuine remorse now slowly appearing on his face as he begins to slowly walk past you. He places a hand on your shoulder before stopping.

Qrow: "Kid...I genuinely couldn't have thought of anyone better for Ruby to have ended up with. Make the most of what time you have left with her, will ya?" He begins to walk back, leaving you alone there as your eyes are blankly staring down at your feet and the snow covered ground underneath you. Your vision feels hazy and it almost feels like this moment isn't even really happening...but you know it's just your head trying its best to shut out the sweltering whirlwind of emotions you're feeling right now.

You(Subconscious): "...You heard him, Cole?"

Cole(Sub): "Indeed, Chronicle. He brings up a unique idea to say the least...to deny Solar and by extension, Salem the access to the power you wield...It would cause a major setback in her plans." His words trail off, you may not be able to see the ancient king, but you can certainly hear the pain in his voice for even needing to confirm this suggestion. 

You(Sub): "So...maybe I really do have to end it all if all else fails, huh?" A moment passes in utter silence as the gentle words of Luna are sorely missed at this moment.

Cole (Sub): "While it should certainly be the absolute final option...we shouldn't necessarily close our hearts on that idea..." As if being told that from Qrow wasn't stressful enough, now even your own ancestor is telling you this might have to happen. 

You feel yourself growing numb, both in part from the cold and your body's increasingly normal tendency to collapse in on itself when spikes of stress begin to overwhelm you, left to toil within your own thoughts before hearing Ruby's voice yank you out of it.

Ruby (Distant): "(F)! Get back over here, Weiss is about to get out of range!" You immediately stop your thoughts dead in its tracks before giving a quick sigh before briskly walking out of the forest. You watch as Ruby has a slight look of relief on her face seeing that you're in fact still alive. You glance over at Qrow as he is now just leaning back against the same tree he was at earlier.

You: "Sorry about that, Qrow and I were just uh... strategizing" You say with a extremely forced smile, looking back at Qrow with a small thumbs up, his eyes trail away unable to maintain eye contact with you. Ruby just stares at you with those big Silver Eyes of hers, her eyes sifting back and forth between you and Qrow. She looks about ready to say something but she looks down at her Scroll. You glance over her shoulder to see that Weiss' signal range just now went out of range

Ruby: "Alright guys, this is it." She says glancing back at the rest of team before placing her finger up to her ear "Blake, you're up." You both listen for a few moments, noticing that there's no response from her as you clench your hands into fists, her lack of reply is getting you anxious "Blake?" Once again there's no response as Ruby looks back at you, clear distress in her eyes and glancing back at the team as you watch as they're all growing increasingly worried.

(Raiden's POV)

Something is starting to not sit quite right here, despite me not seeing anything out of the ordinary from where I am, I'm looking towards the tower and see no sign of Blake. I hear Ruby in my earpiece once again, I glance down to see that Yang is just sitting on the ground next to Bumblebee.

Ruby (Earpiece): "Yang, Raiden, what's going on?" I notice Yang swiftly get off of the ground, looking over to the relay tower as I do the same, nothing's changed.

Yang(Earpiece): "I don't know..." This seems like a wonderful sign...I begin to warp off of the tree I'm currently perched on as I quickly begin making my way towards Yang. She glances over at me, a worried look on her lilac eyes.

Raiden: "We need to go check on Blake, now." Yang nods with determination on her face as we both begin to hop onto her Bumblebee.

(Your POV)

You've been impatiently stepping back and forth, waiting for any sort of reply from either Blake or Weiss for a few minutes now as you're itching to have your Ultrix back in your hand but you can't take that risk. Finally she begins to speak.

Weiss(Earpiece): "Ruby, we're in trouble. Cordo's onto us, and Maria isn't helping!" You can hear cackling in the background as you can only imagine what that crazy old lady did to rouse up suspicion "Why is the radar still up?!"

Ruby: "We don't know, Blake isn't responding!" Oscar begins to walk up behind her, the sense of dread filling the air. 

Oscar: "What do we do?!"

Yang(Earpiece):  "Keep the ship in one piece." 

Raiden (Earpiece): "We'll go get our girl." They both shortly state before you hear the sound of Bumblebee revving up through the earpiece.

Nora: "Maybe we should fly over to help Yang, Blake and Raiden first?" Your eyes dart along the ground attempting to think of anything that could potentially help the group. You feel a tug in your heart as a bad idea goes through your mind, but perhaps a necessary one. You'd use your Tempest mode but that could potentially be too straining for Cole's barrier in your Soul so maybe... 

You: "I could try warping over to them as fast as I can, I could get to them within a few-." You begin to walk towards the forest, your eye begins to burst with Sapphire flames, tiny trickles of Amethyst embedded in the core of the flames sputtering in and out. You feel a hand on your shoulder as you watch Ruby's holding you back, the rest of the team looking at you.

Jaune: "We can't let you risk that with Solar's influence over you." Sophie walks up to you as well, gripping your arm tightly as you glance down.

You: "But if I just use the bare minimum I could-"

Qrow: "That's enough (F)! Damn it!" You all turn to look over at Qrow "Even if we let you go, Cordo's gonna scramble her fighters. We've got maybe ninety seconds before they're in the air, and all over Weiss and Maria. This is all my fault..." 

Jaune: "What are you talking about? Y-Your Semblance?" 

Qrow: "Every choice I've ever made has led me here, and I've dragged you along with me. Oz, myself, the others... We're responsible for the mess the world's in now. I shouldn't have come, shouldn't have let any of you come... What was I thinking?!" He yells while his eyes widen in rampant anger, curling his hands into tight fists as trembles in anger. There's an uneasy silence with only the soft crashing of the waves deep below the cliff face you're all on being heard.

Ruby: "We're all in this together, and we're all going to do the best we can. That's all anyone can do." She begins to walk towards her uncle, looking up at him "And I know it's what you've always aimed for. We would've come whether or not you'd let us, so stop talking like we're your responsibility! We're not! But we could still use Qrow Branwen on our side." A few moments of silence goes by as you all watch in anticipation.

Qrow: "Hmph... How did you grow up so fast?" 

Ruby: I had good role models." The two share a smile as you breathe a sigh of relief. But that relief is quickly stifled looking back into the forest, you fear for your brother and the others.

Weiss(Earpiece): "Guys? She's not sending fighters..." You all glance at one another confused, in the distance you can hear...something MASSIVE approaching, it's faint but you can hear the booming voice of Cordovin speaking

Cordovin(Speaker): "Clearly the people have forgotten that they live in peace thanks to the awesome might of Atlas!" Her voice echoes and booms across the entire area as you all look around with confused looks on your faces.

Weiss (Earpiece): "Is Cordovin... piloting that?" From where you all are you can't see exactly what's happening but judging from Weiss' reaction, it's likely nothing good.

You: "...Piloting wha-" 

Cordovin(Speaker): Consider this a reminder!" Again none of you see anything just yet, but you are all getting increasingly worried as you can hear the burst of something really powerful firing.

Weiss(Earpiece): "Are you okay?"

Maria(Earpiece): "I am, but she's clearly lost her mind!"

Cordovin(Speaker): "And that was merely a warning shot! All Atlas personnel standby, and watch how your leader maintains order!" You watch Ruby turn and begin to walk closer to the cliff edge as you glance over to the direction she's heading. Your eyes narrowing as in the distance you can see the airship Weiss and Maria are piloting. Your gaze quickly shifting over at the now ever apparent MASSIVE MECH trudging its way through the ocean with enormous stomps with one of its mechanical arms being a massive cannon.  "It's time you asked yourselves, children... Do you truly wish to defy me?" It stomps and stops in its tracks as you all watch completely in shock. After a few moments in silent nervousness Ruby places her hand up to her ear again.

Ruby: "Hurry back, Weiss. I need you on the ground if we're gonna take this thing down." Ookkaaayyy nothing like having to stop a colossal mech thousands of times your size, no big deal, totally aren't FREAKING OUT RIGHT NOW. 

Weiss(Earpiece): "Why is the radar still up?!"

Ruby: "We don't know! Blake's isn't responding!" You can only hope that Raiden is faring better than you at this moment, You grit your teeth as you watch the enormous mech slowly make its way to you

(Raiden's POV)

I hear the revving of Bumblebee's engine, Yang has been quiet this whole time as I cling onto her back tightly to prevent myself from falling off as we're racing through the trees as we're still quite a distance away from the comms tower. I hear Yang groan, clearly distressed as she's going as fast as she can.

Yang: "Raiden, this may be a lot to ask but is there anyway you can get there faster!" She frantically glances back at me. I look up at the tower, I conjure my Vindicta, unsteadily beginning to stand ontop the back of the bike as I take a deep breath, the staff glows with its embedded Dust as I focus with all of my might to fling my staff, it explodes out of my hand with a violent burst of Fire Dust that causes it to rocket towards the tower, a trail of Crimson particles is left behind. I give Yang a quick nod as I immediately warp to where my weapon ended up getting rocketed towards. I glance around to see that I've made it to the Comms tower.

Raiden: "I see no sign of Blak-" I say beginning to look around before I see blood stained against the snow, my eyes open in shock as I quickly see that there's dead Atlesian soldiers on the ground.  "Yang, you need to get over here NOW! Something bad happened here, I still haven't found Blake and there's dead guards everywhere!"

Yang(Earpiece): "Damn it! Warp up top, see if you can find anything!" I nod, glancing up as I toss my weapon with considerable force, a trail of crimson particles going with it as it reaches above the tower, focusing my power as I warp up to it leaving crimson particles where I once stood. I land on top of the tower, it very quickly becomes apparent that a fight took place here, I can see slash marks and bullet holes along the top, my eyes glance around at the edge of the platform I'm on, looking down into the vast forest underneath me. I see flashes of lights, a blur of red and black going back and forth violently.

Raiden: "I think I see her! I think she's fighting someone, I can't tell who it is from here! She's in the forest, north of the comms tower, try making your way there!" I say, sticking my finger up to my ear into the earpiece. I once again fling my weapon as it lingers directly above between the two clashing figures, I warp down as I land on the ground harshly, one knee hitting the ground as I slowly look up.

Blake: "Raiden!" I look over to my left to see Blake standing there, a relieved look on her face, she holds onto her Gambol Shroud shakily. Her entire body trembling slightly as I can simply FEEL how terrified she is, who the hell could scare someone like her so badly.

???: "You..." My eyes widen as I hear that damned familiar voice. I feel my heart quickening, a guttural anger building within me as my eyes hesitantly look over to my right as my suspicions have been realized. The one who hurt MY Yang is standing there, his crimson blade slightly glowing as he holds it low to the ground. Adam Taurus, stands before me, I immediately switch my Vindicta as it hisses and morphs to its dual bladed naginata form, the blades hum with a dim red lighting that nearly matches his own.

Raiden(Rageful): "YOU!" I ferally screech out with hate, it grows as I begin to heave as that bastard simply chuckles and cocks his head to the side

Adam: "I was wondering when you would show up." My eye flares with violent crimson flames as crimson particles flare around me,  Adam dashes at me with incredible speed as I ready myself and fling my weapon over to him, our weapons clash violently. I warp over to my weapon as we've now locked our weapons against each other, sparks of light scrapping of the interlocked blades, this is it. This is the moment where I can make the one who hurt Yang pay for what he did.