A strong wind blows snow across the cloudy sky while three Mantas fly together.
"All right, gather 'round. Our mission today is to secure the launch site for the Amity Communications Tower." Clover said.
Sometime prior to flying in the Mantas, Clover stands in front of the central table in James Ironwood's office, looking at a hologram screen that displays mission details.
"The designated area is an abandoned Dust mine. Since its closure, the Grimm have moved in."
The screen displays a mission overview, a photograph of Huntsmen battling a Geist, a menu, a map of an area in the Kingdom of Atlas, a list of Active Huntsmen and a list of Ace Operatives. The mission overview says:
"Reported Petra Gigas near Huntsman Post North. Huntsmen secured area but were unable to eliminate Petra Gigas. The Grimm was seen retreating to abandoned SDC Mines No. 2 located in Zone 3. No casualties were reported, three Huntsmen suffered minor injuries.
Recommended Course of Action: Send in ACE Operatives to clear SDC mine No. 2."
The menu options are "Open Case Reports", "Mission Board", "Personnel Files", "Zoning Details", "Ace Operatives" and "Atlas Huntsmen".
The map displays that "Zone 1", in the very south of the map, is cleared. "Zone 2" is in the southwestern portion of the map, with "Huntsman Post West" located in its northeastern area. "Zone 3" is the northern section of the map. "Huntsman Post North" is located slightly southeast from "SDC Mines 2", and to the northeast of the mines is "Aurora Pass".
The Active Huntsmen listed are the members of Team RWBY and Team JNR. Just below that list are two more names. (Y/n) Copper and Penelope Sweet.
Two more copies of this screen are hovering above the table, being viewed by Qrow, Ruby and Jaune.
Clover spoke again "The good news is all that untouched Dust is still down there, too. Science team says they'll need it for the first phase of their launch."
---
"Apologies for the mess and for holding onto your weapons for so long."
Pietro enters a laboratory, followed by Teams RWBY and JNR.
"The upgrades you requested were, uh… well, they were more than I anticipated."
---
"Atlas military Huntsmen are already hard at work clearing out the surrounding tundra. But recon has identified a powerful Geist that's managed to evade destruction and take several lives." Clover said
Uniformed Huntsmen are seen gunning down Grimm while the three Mantas fly past overhead.
"After we increased our numbers, the Geist was smart enough to retreat into the mine itself, meaning it's old and extremely dangerous."
Clover withdraws a compact Scroll and presses a button, causing the photograph of Huntsmen battling the Petra Gigas to take up the entirety of each screen.
"This is our target."
---
"Your new weapons and armor should be as requested, but I also took the liberty of reviewing your combat footage from the Vytal Festival Tournament." Pietro says
Teams RWBY and JNR stand in front of a series of narrow shelves, each of which have cases on them. Nora bounces eagerly on her feet, letting out an excited giggle as she snatches up her case. Everyone else calmly picks up their cases.
"There's some additional enhancements I'd like to suggest. Oh, but for now, these should serve you well enough."
Ruby opens her case and smiles. Nora opens her case and looks amazed, pupils dilating and eyes shimmering from her excitement. Jaune opens his case, and his eyes widen
---
The hologram screens above Ironwood's table have been replaced with a 3D hologram map displaying the SDC mine.
"The mine was a labyrinth back in the day. There's all sorts of tunnels and chambers the Geist can move between, so if we're gonna kill this thing, we'll have to split up and corner it."
---
Jaune sits on a bed, looking at his open case before sadly looking down at a scrap of red fabric in his hands. He caresses the fabric with his thumb and sighs. As he hangs his head, a few locks of hair move in front of his eye, and he brushes them away with a frown.
"General Ironwood says you've seen your fair share of combat." Clover said
Yang puts on her upgraded and repaired prosthetic arm and makes a fist, grinning confidently.
Blake runs her hand through her hair.
"I trust that man with my life, so tomorrow, I'll be trusting you all, too." Clover said
Inside Ruby's case is a neatly folded outfit. She happily pulls out the new cloak that rests on top of the stack. As she does so, Oscar enters the dorm room.
"Hey… Ruby?"
---
(Y/n) and Penelope walk through a long corridor as a few atlas soldiers pass by them. "So I know this is your home, and I know you've probably met every single gunsmith in atlas, AND I know that nobody will ever be as good as your grandma"
Penelope skipped beside (y/n) as he walked with a smile beside her. His left hand it his pocket "your point?" He asked.
"There's this new guy Ironwood got a few months ago, he's really good!" Penelope said as they reached a double door.
(Y/n) chuckled as he flicked his nose with his thumb "I'll be the judge of that" with a smirk (y/n) pushed the doors open "Guess who's back Bitches!"
---
The whole room stopped as many atlas soldiers looked at him. They all said nothing as they got back to work checking guns and weapons.
"Jeez" I said. "I used to be a big deal around here" but nobody cares. "Eh." I shrugged "so who's this new guy?" I ask. Penelope giggled "he's right over here"
Penelope grabbed my hand and practically dragged me over to a weapons desk. God I missed this girl so much.
Penelope brought me over to a gun desk with a man wearing a grey suit a clean haircut.
"(Y/n) this is Michael DeSanta, he's the best gunsmith we have here!" I smiled as I held my hand out "Mr. DeSanta, I've heard about you, sent you from Vacuo?"
He smiled and shook my head "You got that right, but atlas pays more so here I am" I chuckle "I didn't know the unemployment rate was down" Michael laughed "Trust me kid it's not at all"
With a laugh from both of us Penelope poked my chest as she held her hands behind her back and bent over "Welllllll I'm gonna leave you two boys alone, I'll be with The other in the briefing room"
I nod "Please be careful Penelope" she giggled "I'm a cyborg now chief, I'm a robotic badass" I shake my head as she turned and skipped back out the door.
Some.guy wearing a black suit followed after her "Oh!" Michael said "have a good day Mr. Wick"
"Mr. Wick" nodded as he walked out "yea"
"Who's that guy?" I ask "Just another atlas agent." Michael answered "anyway, what can I do for you" he asked. "I need a tasting" michale smiled "Well, let's see what we have for appetizers"
---
Michael reached under the desk and drew Two dual Handguns. "I know I'm not your grandmother but I can assure you what I have here is too quality, I also understand your a fan of Two?" I nod "I feel naked without my guns."
He nodded "it's unfortunate you lost them back in Argus, hopefully these will suffice" he set them down on the counters as I picked one up and looked at it.
Michael then began to talk. The FN Five-Seven handgun is a custom classic. 4.803 barrel length at a weight of 0.4495'. the total length is 0' 8". Manufactured at FN Herstal in Mistral it has been in service for the atlas military since the early 2000's."
I nod as I flip it over and check the magazine
"Semi-Automatic trigger action for focused accuracy at the cost of speed, it's muzzle velocity is 762 m/s. And it's Calibur is 5.7×28mm BUT if your looking for the NATO rounds then I advise the 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge, commonly used in submachine guns"
I nod as I spin it around in my hand "Custom paint?" He nodded "of course" I smile "Perfect, not my grandma's work but very well made indeed" michael nodded "Thank you"
I slide the guns off to the side. "Entre" he smiled. And reached on the wall behind him. "I know Your shield is a little Outdated." I look at my gauntlet on my left arm "idk. Got it fixed back in Mistral" michael nodded "Outdated"
I slipped it off my arm as he set down a new gauntlet in front of me. "The Bavarium Tether" he said. "What's it do?" I ask.
He picked it up and held it with one hand as he motioned to it with his other "The Bavarium Tether is a prototype device atlas created recently, it fires a grappling hook that can go up to 300 meters, and with new gravity dust implementation you can now "tether" two to four objects, vehicle or people together"
I smile "oooh" he continued "this Grapple glove also give you the ability to hack into basic electrical devices untill we update the software for better access, as well as an upgraded hardlight shield, allowing you to create a generated field around yourself in a full 360 degree bubble shield, just a standard shield like your beacon days, or you can be like the legendary atlesian warrior Reinhart and form a shield that ckveres a wider range." He paused
"There is also a retractable blade located under the glove at the wrist, for your more...secret jobs"
I smile as I look at it "yes please" he chuckled "glad you enjoy it" I set it down with the guns. "The main course" I say. He smiled "I hope your hungry" I nod "very"
He then reached under the table "How's your eyesight?" I shrugg "don't need glasses" he nodded as he set down a small earpiece on the table. "This is our new Tactical Lenses. The earpiece folds out into a miniature display screen for your left eye when you need to exam data or go over plans on a mission, view texts between you and your team Via the briefing optics."
I nod as I look at it before setting it down with the other stuff. I then looked him in the eye "Dessert" he smile "dessert"
He pulled Legacy from under the counter "Pietro told me of the current enhancements, however there were several things I had to change"
I nod "like what?" He slid his hand over the blade "First I engraved the blade with Titanite, one of the strongest steels around, also giving it that platinum shine almost chrome" I smile "sweet"
He then turned it around and went over the hilt "The handguard now offers better protection as well as a sturdier grip for those Grimm who like to..hold on" I chuckle "your keychain has also been changed, I really just polished it"
"Oh well thank you" he then set it down and clicked a button in the hilt "I must say there was a strange request, magic?" I rubbed my neck " yea back after the train crash we met this woman. She uh...told us a story, and magic was involved" he nodded.
"Well since we don't have real magic I did my best. You now have 6 types of dust infused into your blade with Twinkling Titanite as well as the ability to pull your sword in half straight down the middle for a.more dual wielding experience"
I clapped my hands "Nicely done Mr. DeSanta" he bowed "nothing special" he then set the sword down as well as a new pair of clothes (again, whatever you as the reader wanna wear)
"Dude I'm gonna cream my pants" he Laughed "that's exactly how you know I am a good gunsmith"
I gather all my things and set them on my new clothes "the changing room is in the back if you wish to change now" he said "oh absolutely" I smiled.
---
Ironwood stood with clover and winter, and penny, and everyone else in the main hall as we got ready for the ceremony, getting our official Huntsmen liscence. However one person was late.
"Where is he?" Weiss asked. Penelope rubbed her back "Just waiiiiiit" suddenly the doors open as (y/n) walks in wearing his new clothes, his guns on his waist, his sword on his back and his grapple/shield on his arm.
--
A super hero pose i stood in. "Ta da!!!!" Penelope said as she held her arms out and faced me. "Looking good (y/n) Jaune said as I walked towards them all "please please no flash photography" I said. Ruby blushed deeply "wow b-babe. You clean up real well"
I quickly grabbed her, held her by the waist and dipped her, looking down into her eyes as I smirked "Ma douce rose, tu es très sexy" I spoke french as she quivers.
"Ahhhhh~" she said as her legs shook and she fanned herself. I helped her back up as I looked at everyone "Good to see we all got some damn good upgrades" Ironwood smiled
"Now that your here we can begin"
---
Everyone stood in a line at attention as Ironwood paced back and fourth in front of them.
"You fought for your school and your friends at Beacon. You fought for the world and the innocent at Haven Academy and beyond. You faced down terrors people can’t even fathom. That’s not the behavior of students. It’s the behavior… of Huntsmen and Huntresses."
He looks over at Penny, who happily begins humming and walking past JNPR and RWBY, stopping in front of each person to tap on her Scroll. With each tap, her Scroll emits a beep and someone else’s Scroll buzzes.
Ren’s Scroll is the first to buzz, and he removes it from his pocket and opens it, checking the screen. It displays his student license, which displays a photograph of him in his new outfit with his emblem in the top left corner and a barcode below the photo.
The Vale symbol is in the background behind the license information. The license says:
STUDENT LICENSE BEACON
Name: Ren, Lie
LN: 63700 - 16778 - 13563
Place of Issue: Vale
Authority: Beacon Academy
Restrictions: Class C
The screen blinks, and the license suddenly changes. The Kingdom of Atlas symbol is now in the background behind the information. The new license says:
HUNTSMAN LICENSE Atlas
Name: Ren, Lie
LN: 63700 - 16778 - 13563
Place of Issue: Atlas
Authority: Atlas Academy
Restrictions: Class C
"Wait... what is this?" Ren asks
Everyone else checks their Scrolls as Penny continues tapping hers.
"You are being granted your Huntsman licenses, today." Winter replies. "REALLY?!" I ask as she smiles. I turn to Weiss as she giggled. I giggle too as we both zip to eachother as we both bounce up and down.
We both squealed "eeeeek!" You might call us school girls. Fuck off. "Weiss it's happening!" She giggled "I know I'm so excited!" Penelope out her hand on my shoulder "Calm down chief"
I looked at her "arnt you excited?!" She held out her scroll. With the same screen as us
HUNTRESS LICENSE Atlas
Name: Sweet, Penelope
LN: 64902 - 51725 - 43729
Place of Issue: Atlas
Authority: Atlas Academy
Restrictions: Class C
"You already have yours?" "I got it when I recovered" I sighed "And you wait till now to tell me?" She shrugged "get over it" I cross my arms "we are a team! We do everything together!"
She giggled "boo hoo"
"I know this is coming a little ahead of schedule, but Brothers know you deserve it. I only regret that I couldn’t do something a little more ceremonious for the occasion." Ironwood said.
Ruby stares in awe at her license.
Ruby: I- We… we’re honored, General Ironwood. But you really don’t have to do th-"
"Please. With the threat of Salem still out there and tensions rising in our kingdom, I certainly could use more trustworthy fighters by my side."
As Ironwood walks away from them, Team RWBY look at each other. Yang and Weiss’ faint smiles fade, and Blake’s cat ears drop.
"I should be so lucky to have all of you." He stops for a moment, then looks at Team RWBY and smiles.
"It’s okay. It’s a big moment. And what better way than to celebrate here? When this tower is ready and communications are back up and running, we’ll tell the world about Salem and face down whatever comes at us after that, together."
RWBY and JNPR stand in silence.
Ironwood sighed "That’s… just about all the pomp I have in me" he adjusted his tie "If you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to running this operation. Um… Well, then. Enjoy the cake."
Ironwood walks away, with Winter following. Penny pops up with a hand raised in the air.
"Your speech outros are improving, sir!" RWBY and JNPR look at their licenses.
"After everything we’ve been through, I almost forgot this is what I wanted in the first place."
"When Beacon fell, I didn’t think this would even be possible."
"SHUT UP GUYS! WE CAN LEGALLY KICK ASS NOW!!!!" I said as I smiled
"Geez, guys, lighten up a little. Enjoy yourselves for a change. You’ve earned it." Qrow said
"Finally! Someone said it. Let’s kill some cake, huh?" Nora said. Nora moves forward, throwing a fist in the air.
"Because I can eat two slices before Ren even eats one. Who says I can’t? Who says it, huh!?"
Ren chuckled "Nora, nobody is arguing with you"
---
A little bit later everyone is seen eating cake. Penny talks with yang, Weiss and Blake catch up, eventually the Ace ops even came in.
(Y/n) stands alone looking down at an object in his hands. "Ok...here goes" he says to himself as he takes a sharp breath, and exhales slowly. Collecting his thoughts and gathering Courage.
"Everyone! I uh...would like your attention" he calls out to everyone. Blake,yang, Ruby, jaune, Ren, everyone even the ace ops all look at him.
---
"I uh...planned this a while ago I just...never had the right time" I nervously chuckled. "What's up kid?" Elm said.
"So. All of us here right now, happy, celebrating" I looked at everyone as I scanned the room "No problems, no fighting, no worries"
I settle my gaze on Ruby. I begin to walk to her "You all are my best friends" I say as I look at them, stopping in front of Ruby.
"I can't say how happy I am to have made it this far, from our first meetings in beacon, to now. We've all grown so much, we've lost friends..." I said.
"But we've made new friends during our journey, and after all the hardship, we made it home" I say as I smile at Weiss.
Everyone stayed silent as they watched "But, I realized. None of this matters, none of it. My power, my friends, my skills, my journey, my life itself. Nothing matters..." I look at Ruby as I take both her hands in mine
"Without you" I say to her and she blushed as she smiles, the cutest and most love filled smile I've ever seen.
"Ruby, I met you at beacon 2 years ago" she giggled "you were, a crazy weapon obsessed girl who didn't know what "make a plan" meant"
She nodded "still don't" I chuckled. I slowly began to get down. On one knee. "And now, your this strong, confident, brave, smart, beautiful woman" I got on one knee as I took a breath.
Weiss gasped. Penelope shushed her.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out a ring. An encrusted ring, a golden band with a small but bright red Ruby, in the shape of a rose resting on top.
"If I can't have you, then nothing matters" I say "Ruby, I'm lost without you, I'm nothing without you, if I lost you, I'd travel to the ends of the world to find you" she gasped when she saw the ring.
I took another breath. Then I looked up at her "Ruby Rose. I love you with everything I have, nothing will ever change that. So will you make me the happiest man in all of Remnant?" I ask.
I hold up the ring "Ruby, will you marry me?" I ask.
You could physically sense and feel the tension in the room. Not a word was said after, nobody breathed.
Ruby took a few moments before tears ran down her face. "Y-yes" she said. "W-what?" I ask "Yes!" Ruby says again "really?!" I say with a smile as I stand up "Yes! Yes! Yes I will marry you! A hundred times over Yes!"
I smile brightly and cry a little as I pull her into a kiss. She kisses back with equal passion as everyone cheers
"WOOOOOO!" yang cheers "WAY TO GO BOSS!!!!!" Penelope claps "oh dear" weiss fanned herself to stop the tears "oh god" she sniffled Blake quietly smiled and clapped.
Qrow held his hands in his pockets but nodded "heh. Bout time kid" he whispered.
"CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!" Penny cheered as jaune clapped "ALRIGHT!!!!!" Ren clapped as Nora held her arms out "FINALLY!!!!!!!"
After what felt like a long time me and Ruby pulled away as we both looked down at her finger as I slid the ring onto it. She held it up in front of her face and smiled as she looked at it.
I hugged her again as she hugged me back "I love you" i say.
"I love you Too" she says back without hesitation. "Mrs. Ruby Copper" I said as she giggled, trying to stop her tears "I like that name" I laugh as I pull away and kiss her again, to which she responds.
"I love you"