Neopolitan x M!Reader Finale

        "Yang Xiao Long, prepare your kingdom for battle!" Ruby exclaimed, dramatically pointing to her sister.

        Yang, not to be outdone, made a threatening fist. "Bring it on!"

        The two girls continued their banter as Ruby's boyfriend, known as the Mimic, rolled his eyes playfully. He looked around the library and took in the sight of Team RWBY playing Remnant: The Game together and Team JNPR sitting at a table nearby. His own team, Team MOBI was also there. Orchid was sitting with JNPR, reading a thick book with her trademark scowl on her face. Barry was watching RWBY's game intently, clearly rooting for Yang to win. And Isabelle was sitting in a seat hugging her beloved girlfriend Maria, who was sitting in her lap.

        "Those two girls really get into this game, don't they?" Mimic asked no one in particular. He wasn't expecting a response, but he actually got one.

        "Yeah, we used to play it a lot when we were back on Patch." a feminine voice answered. Mimic turned around to see Orenji, along with the Charcoal, entering the library.

        Charcoal waved to Yang. "Hey firecracker!"

        Yang looked up and gave him a quick "Hey, Hot Stuff!" before returning to the game. The leader of Team CHKO laughed at his girlfriend's focus on the game, and plopped down in a seat next to her.

        Orenji sat in between Mimic and the seat that held both Isabelle and Maria. "Adorable as always, Maribelle!" she complimented the sweet couple.

        Maria smiled brightly. "Thank you, Orenji! I know Isabelle is adorable! The most adorable girl on Remnant!"

        Isabelle wrapped her arms around her girlfriend tighter. "Nonono, sugar! Don't go spreading lies! You're the most adorable girl on Remnant by a long shot!" Everyone groaned as Isabelle and Maria resumed their eternal argument about which of them is the perfect girl. Isabelle believed intensely that Maria was the most perfect human being ever created, and Maria felt exactly the same way about Isabelle.

        "Really, Orenji? You had to get them going again?" Barry asked with a groan.

        The orange-haired girl giggled. "Sorry! It's just adorable watching them compliment each other endlessly." Barry rolled his eyes and attempted to return his attention to the game, ignoring the now-ongoing debate between Maria and her precious girlfriend.

        That was when someone caught Barry's eye. "Hey, Ness! Come join us!" He was talking to Ness, a shark faunus boy standing partway across the library looking at a book. Ness looked up from it and saw Barry, then smiled. He put the book back, the approached his fellow faunus, giving him a high five.

        "Barry, my man!" Ness exclaimed.

        Barry smiled and pulled a seat up for Ness. "I didn't know you were here! What brings you to our crazy neck of the woods?" Blake noticed that Ness was present, and smiled just slightly, turning away from the game.

        "I haven't been around much, because things are kind of crazy what with getting my team and everything." the shark faunus responded.

        Blake nodded. "I can imagine. The whole situation with your team is unusual."

        Charcoal tilted his head confusedly. "What's up with your team?"

        "It's basically an international team with one member from each kingdom. I'm the leader of Team NGHT. And to answer your question, Barry, I'm here because I wanted to learn more about my body." Crickets were heard chirping at the awkward silence that followed. "N-Not like that! It's because of my semblance and stuff."

        Everyone seemed to understand, and the conversation returned to its origin as Mimic turned to Orenji. "So you were saying that you used to play Remnant: The Game a lot?" he asked.

        Orenji nodded enthusiastically. "Yep! It was always me, Rubes, Yang, and...and (Y/N)." Her enthusiasm died quickly when she mentioned your name. "(Y/N)... always won. He was a master at the game." Mimic put his arm around Orenji comfortingly. He had heard the story of your disappearance from Ruby and Yang, and he knew that it was a sore subject for all three girls.

        Ness quietly muttered "Damn...it's so depressing now..."

        "I'm sorry for reminding you, Orenji." Mimic apologized.

        She shook her head. "No...it's okay. We miss him, but that doesn't mean we can't remember all the good times we had. (Y/N) was such a sweet and intelligent person, and wherever he is, he'd want us to think about him positively." Ruby and Yang, who had been listening to the conversation after Yang decimated Weiss' army with a trap card, were listening to the exchange.

        Ruby spoke up. "We'll find him! Eventually..." Mimic could hear the sadness in his girlfriend's voice, and walked up to her before hugging her closely.

        "We will, sweetheart. I know it." Ruby hugged him back as she remembered all the time she, Yang, and Orenji spent looking for you after her father informed them about your disappearance. They checked all the hospitals in Vale, and none of them had information about the three paramedics that took you from Taiyang. They concluded that they must have been kidnappers, and that you could have been taken anywhere on Remnant. "I don't know how or when, but we will find him, sweetheart. I promise." Mimic swore to Ruby.

        Yang was pretty shaken up about talking about you, too. Charcoal wrapped his arm around her lovingly, and reassured her. "Mimic's right, Firecracker! We're gonna find him, no matter what it takes!" His confidence was infectious, and Yang couldn't help but smile.

        "You're right, Hot Stuff! Whether it takes three weeks or three years, we're gonna find (Y/N)!" Everyone was cheering, besides Blake, who seemed to have not been paying attention to the exchange at all.

        However, this changed when the other half of Team CHKO, Ventus and Kosai, entered the library. "Hello, everyone!" the innocent Schnee girl exclaimed, unaware of the serious conversations that had just taken place.

        Ventus walked up to Blake. "What are you doing?" he asked her with little emotion in his voice. He was looking at the board with a mix of curiosity and disdain in his eyes.

        The black-haired cat faunus stood up. "Playing a game, but I think I'm done. I'll see everyone later." She marched away from the table, ignoring everyone who was staring at her exit.

        The awkward silence was broken by Barry. "Well...that was a cat-astrophe." Everyone groaned loudly.

Three Days Later

        Your eyes slowly blinked open, as you felt lips embrace yours. You immediately saw your beloved girlfriend, Neo, hugging you tightly and kissing you lovingly. You smiled at this and ran your hand through her hair as you kissed back. "Morning, ice cream cone." you muttered sleepily, always happy to be awakened by your favorite person in the entire world. Sometimes you had trouble reconciling the sugary sweet girl who woke you with a kiss every morning with the ruthless killer you knew her to be, but you loved both sides of her unconditionally.

        She brightly smiled that smile that made you fall in love with her so quickly and completely, and you couldn't help but reciprocate. You hugged her tightly, holding her close to yourself lovingly. "I love you, ice cream cone..." you muttered, still waking up. She silently giggled and pecked you on the forehead before she climbed out of bed, revealing that she was wearing only her underwear. You blushed at this and looked away, but you felt a finger under your chin as Neo turned your head back toward her. Obviously you already knew that she was gorgeous, but every time you saw her like this took your breath away. She was literally your image of a perfect model human being, and you loved her with every singular fiber of your being.

        You rolled out of bed and hugged her. "Did my favorite girl sleep well?" you asked. She nodded enthusiastically as she pulled some clothes on. "Good. I did as well, but that may have had a lot to do with you being there." She smiled and pecked you on the lips sweetly as you began to dress yourself as well. Soon, both of you were ready for the day, and you exited the room you shared with your beloved girlfriend. The two of you made your way to the briefing room, because Cinder had told you that there was going to be new instructions for the day. When you got there, you saw that Emerald was already leaning against the wall, and that Roman was standing by an interest, smoking a cigar.

        "Good to see that the kids are up and about. She drag you out of that lovenest, (Y/N)?" he asked with a smirk.

        You rolled your eyes at his teasing. "Something like that." Neo just nodded gleefully as she hugged your side. You wrapped an arm around her as you both took seats waiting for Cinder to arrive and give instructions. Neo rested her head on your shoulder as you did this, and it wasn't long before Mercury showed up with the boss.

        Cinder stood in the front of the room before speaking. "We have a lot to do in the next few days. Roman, (Y/N), and Neo will be attending a White Fang meeting to recruit some work for our operation in Mountain Glenn." You nodded, having expected something like this to be the case. You had been sent on several minor missions since the completion of your training, such as passing on orders to White Fang goons, guarding areas of interest, or even assisting in some of Roman's Dust shop robberies. Speaking of which, you had completely taken over in the planning of those, as your experience playing Remnant: The Game made you a surprisingly effective strategist.

        "Got it, boss." you responded with a nod. She went on to give Emerald and Mercury their orders, but you were hardly paying attention. Neo smiled at you, and you grinned back, pecking her on the lips. When Cinder finished with her orders, you and your girlfriend spoke with Roman to discuss the night.

        "There's gonna be a lot of faunus there, so just say a bunch of junk about hating humanity. Always gets them riled up." You rolled your eyes at this likely truth, and looked back at Neo, who was clinging to your arm adorably.

        You got an idea. "Any chance we could go out and get some ice cream? Before the mission tonight, I mean." Neo's beautiful pink and brown eyes lit up with excitement, and Roman rolled his own eyes.

        "You two kids are such a handful... Go ahead. Just make sure Neo's hiding you with her semblance." He said this with derision, but you smiled nevertheless.

        "Thanks, Roman. We'll be back for the mission." Neo nodded enthusiastically, still holding onto your arm. She changed both of you to look nothing like yourselves, and you set out to the nearest ice cream parlor, which you knew by heart to be only a twenty-minute walk away.

Timeskip

        When you reached the ice cream parlor, you held the door open for your beautiful girlfriend, who smiled as she entered before you. The two of you waited in line behind a few random people before the girl behind the counter got to you. "I'll have a large vanilla, please." you asked. She looked at Neo, who grinned at you before you ordered for her as well. "And she'll have seven large neapolitans." The girl gave you a strange look before you added "Yes, seven. She's eating light today." Neo gave you a playful glare before smiling and nodding to the girl happily.

        When the ice cream came out, you took yours and gladly helped Neo by carrying three of hers, as well. The two of you sat down and she adorably snuggled close to you before she tucked into her sweet treats. "You're so cute, you know that?" you asked with a smile. She quickly nodded, but didn't even look up from her bowl of ice cream. You laughed, because you knew better than to get in between your girlfriend and her ice cream. Sometimes, you thought she loved it more than she loved you, but you were honestly fine with that. You were fairly confident that Neo wasn't going to leave you for a frozen dairy dessert.

        You were taking a bite of your own ice cream when you saw the door to the parlor open. You noticed this because you had gotten used to taking in every person you saw to gauge if they were a threat. You realistically knew that you weren't going to end up fighting anyone at an ice cream parlor, but it was something that Roman and Emerald had ingrained in your mind over the course of your training. Through the door came two girls, hand in hand. One of them was tall, and had long silver hair that reached her lower back. The other was very short, had braided hair, and was wearing...a maid outfit? That wasn't something you saw every day.

        They were excitedly talking about something or another, but the building was very crowded, so you couldn't hear what they were saying. They got their ice cream, then looked for open seats, but the only ones available were...right across from you and Neo. You glanced at your girlfriend, who was too busy demolishing her fourth bowl of ice cream to notice any of this, then back at the girls who were already making their way to the seats. "Hello! Can we sit here?" the taller girl asked, a smile on her face.

        "Sure! Go right ahead." you responded, knowing that any other answer would be suspicious. Neo looked up at them for only a second before she pulled another bowl of ice cream closer to herself.

        The shorter girl smiled. "Thank you! I see your friend likes her ice cream." They two girls sat across from you, both still holding hands.

        You chuckled. "That's an understatement. My girlfriend love ice cream more than life itself."

        "That's...both impressive and disturbing." the taller girl remarked to her partner's approval. "Oh! We haven't introduced ourselves! I'm Isabelle Colt!" She gave a peace sign when she gave her name.

        "And I'm Maria Wijak! The girlfriend of this amazing, beautiful, perfect girl!" She hugged Isabelle when she said this, prompting the silver-haired girl to hug back. Suddenly, the two girls began arguing rather adorably over which of the two was more perfect, ignoring you and Neo entirely. You just shrugged and turned to your girlfriend, who had just finished her seventh and final bowl of ice cream. Like always, she didn't look full or uncomfortable in the slightest, and she was still the adorable bundle of energy that you fell in love with. She grabbed your face and pressed her lips against yours, either completely oblivious to or in spite of Isabelle and Maria sitting right across from you. Knowing Neo, it was almost certainly the latter. Of course you kissed back, tasting ice cream on her lips, along with Neo's naturally sweet self.

        You both sunk into the kiss as you slowly pulled her out of the booth and into your arms. She smiled as her lips separated from yours for a moment. "It was nice meeting you, Isabelle and Maria, but my girlfriend and I have to go." you told them, though they were too busy comparing each other to various sweet foods to even bother hearing you. You just shrugged slightly and kissed Neo again, holding her close to yourself. The two of you exited the ice cream parlor like this, and you walked all the way back to the hideout with your precious girlfriend in your arms.

Timeskip

        "I thought that class would never end." Blake bemoaned, adjusting her outfit, which was different from her normal huntress garb. In fact, all of Team RWBY had donned new gear for the outing.

        Ruby bounced off of her bed as the door to the dorm opened. "Alright, guys, today's the day the investigation begins!" In the door came Ness, as well as Teams MOBI and CHKO, although Ventus was noticeably absent. Like Team RWBY, their outfits were different. Mimic was wearing a darker green, black, and tan outfit with a scarf that matched Ruby's outfit very well. Orchid had a dark purple dress that seemed to be both stylish and functional, though it certainly wasn't chosen for defense. Barry had a long trench coat that covered most of his body very well, and he was noticeably lacking his signature baseball cap, instead wearing nothing on his head. Isabelle's outfit was somewhat similar to her normal attire, still showing her midriff and generally allowing her to move freely, but the colors were more understated and dark. Charcoal seemed underdressed compared to everyone else, and merely wore a red t-shirt with red pants. Kosai was wearing a pale white overcoat, hiding her normal outfit beneath. Orenji had an orange tank top that showed quite a bit of skin. Ness had a green tank top that exposed his arms, as well as a pair of black jeans and a belt.

        "Alright, everyone! Today's the day we finally begin our investigation!" Mimic exclaimed to the group of eleven. Weiss and Orchid shook their heads at his excitement, but Ruby smiled and hugged him.

        "Yeah! We'll find (Y/N), we'll find Roman, we'll find out everything we need to know! Does everyone remember their roles?" she asked, looking around the room.

        Kosai was the first to respond. "Yes! You, my sister, Mimic, and I are going to head to the CCT and check the Schnee records for Dust robberies and inconsistencies, as well as police files about possible sightings of (Y/N)."

        Blake was next, and glanced at Ness before answering. "The White Fang has regular faction meetings to hand out orders and recruit new members. If Barry, Ness, and I can get in, we can hopefully find out what they're planning."

        At that, the pun-loving wolf faunus grinned and wrapped his arm around Blake, much to her dismay. "It'll be a cinch! We'll be as stealthy as cat burglars!

        Blake moved away from Barry, getting closer to her boyfriend instead. "Don't touch me like that again."

        Orchid rolled her eyes at her teammate's antics as Yang spoke up. "I have a friend on the shady side of town that typically knows everything going on in Vale. Hot Stuff, Orchid, and I can get the info we need out of him!"

        "And Orenji and I will scour the city for clues from the rooftops!" Isabelle exclaimed, a wide smile on her face.

        Suddenly, a voice spoke into each of their ears. "And I will be communicating with everyone over their earpieces." It was Ventus, who was currently sitting in an abandoned apartment building with a monitor hooked up wirelessly to earpieces that all of the others were wearing. It was his job to facilitate communication between everyone, and to assure that if anything important or dangerous happened, everyone could be alerted and come to the rescue.

        "Are you sure this is what you want to be doing, Ventus?" Barry asked, remembering that Ventus had volunteered to perform this role.

        "Yes." was the simple response he got.

        Barry shrugged. "Whatever floats your boat!"

        Charcoal smiled at that. "Questioning Ventus is kind of pointless. If he wants you to know something, he'll tell you. If he doesn't, no amount of asking will change his mind. Trust me, I've spent too much time trying!" Orenji laughed in response, as she knew just what Charcoal meant.

        "I think it's okay to not be talkative." Kosai added, obviously defending Ventus.

        Isabelle giggled and put a hand on Kosai's shoulder. "You would think that, Kosai!"

        The innocent Schnee blushed slightly. "A-And what is that supposed to mean?"

        Isabelle tapped her earpiece, then silently mouthed the words 'Your obvious crush.' Kosai's slight blush exploded into her entire face being blood red.

        "C-Can we just...go?" she asked, praying that Ventus couldn't tell what they were talking about. Given the stoic boy's lack of a comment to any of this, she assumed (correctly) that he couldn't.

        "Yes. Before this gets any more awkward." Weiss agreed.

Timeskip

        You were standing in the front of a vast room of White Fang members and their potential brethren. Your eyes were scanning the crowd for threats or other things you needed to be alert about, but they kept darting back to Neo, who was doing the same from the back of the room. Roman was speaking adamantly next to you, and was riling them all up very well. "And they're all pests that need to be dealt with! Fortunately, I'm the best exterminator around...no offence to any rodents in the room."

        The curtain behind you fell away to reveal a shining new Atlesian Paladin-290 with the only alteration being an obvious White Fang symbol drawn on the side. The crowd went wild with excitement, and you looked over them, your surprised face hidden by your mask. You were completely unaware of this weapon...and you kind of wanted to try it out. "As some of you may have heard, this right here..." He tapped his cane on the mech. "Is Atlas' newest defense against all the scary things in the world. And thanks to my employer, we've managed to snag a few before they...uh...hit the shelves."

        After another cheer from the crowd, Roman gestured to you with his cane, and you stepped forward. "Many of your brethren have decided to join our operation in the southeast. There's no pressure to do the same...but if really want to get back at the dirty humans who pushed you down, that's where we need you!" You gestured to a couple of White Fang lieutenants, who began marching the new recruits up to the stage with you. You glanced at Roman, whose eyes were fixated on the crowd. You followed his gaze and saw a cat faunus girl with long black hair, a guy in a green hoodie who didn't seem to have any obvious faunus traits, and a wolf faunus boy who looked...slightly familiar.

        You were about to ask him what was wrong when the cat faunus suddenly drew a weapon and shot at a junction box on the wall, immediately putting out the lights and plunging the room into darkness. "Don't let them get away!" Roman shouted before grabbing you by the arm and dragging you to the Atlesian Paladin. You heard glass crash as the machine powered on, Roman at the controls. "You're coming with me, kiddo. Grab your girlfriend and call the boss for backup! If this is who I think it is, we're gonna need it." Sensing his urgency, you nodded and extended your arm out of the mech, grabbing the hand of Neo, who had sprinted toward the moving target.

        You pulled her into the mech, and she landed comfortably in your lap. She smirked at this, and wrapped her arms around you sweetly as you pulled out your scroll and called Cinder. She picked up immediately, and you began talking. "Boss, we have an issue. The meeting was hijacked by..." You glanced at the three faunus, who were jumping from rooftop to rooftop as your mech followed them on the street. "Three people. Roman seems to know who they are. He says we need backup."

        Cinder sighed, then responded. "Why is it that I can never trust him to do even the simplest tasks? Very well...Emerald and Mercury are on their way to your position." She ended the call, and you put your scroll away before pecking Neo on the lips.

        "Em and Merc are coming." you informed Roman.

        He rolled his eyes, still focusing on the targets, who were now jumping on cars to escape the mech. Wait...was there five of them now!? There was! Now, a girl who was too far ahead of you to see was present, as well as...Isabelle!? Indeed, the girl who you'd met at the ice cream parlor on a date with her girlfriend was one of the four running away from the Atlesian Paladin. Just as you were about to say something about this, however, a yellow and black motorcycle pulled up alongside the mech, and your heart stopped.

        You would recognize that ride anywhere. And sure enough, driving the motorcycle in front of a guy with spiky hair wearing red and a girl with long purple twintails in a dress, was Yang Xiao Long. The blonde girl who you considered to be one of your three closest friends for so long before she abandoned you was less than fifty feet away, though she was focused on driving Bumblebee, not on you, thankfully. You began to take deep breaths, your mind not knowing how to process seeing Yang again. Neo immediately noticed this, and hugged you closer, knowing everything about your past and who Yang was. You buried your head in her shoulder, tears in your eyes as you remembered what she, Ruby, and Orenji did to you.

        "Th-Thanks, ice cream c-cone..." you stuttered out, not entirely sure what else to say. Your mind was racing with the implications of seeing Yang. Did this mean Orenji and Ruby were here too!? Maybe, but there was no way to know for sure...unless you saw them face-to-face. You wiped away your tears and stared into Neo's gorgeous eyes for a few seconds, silently thanking her again for comforting you, before you called out to Roman. "We've got more to the side! Think you can shake 'em off!?"

        The gangster glanced toward Yang and her friends before crashing into several cars with the mech, sending them flying toward Bumblebee and its three riders. Yang frowned and did a fancy maneuver to dodge the projective cars, then the girl in the purple dress and the guy in red jumped off of the bike and onto the mech you were riding in! The girl drew a greatsword that was even larger than herself and plunged it into the mech, prompting Roman to shake them off rapidly. Yang swooped in on Bumblebee and picked them up again, but before you could even process any of this, two new girls dropped right in front of the mech, both looking very similar, and both wielding weapons.

        They shouted something, then plunged their rapiers into the ground as soon as they were about to be ran down, and ice immediately covered the ground around them, making the mech lose its traction and fall off of the highway. You clung to Neo as this happened, and all three of you in the mech felt the heavy thud as it hit the ground. But you felt something far worse than a thud when you looked up and saw two people standing in front of the mech. One was a guy with glasses wearing dark green. The other...was Ruby Rose. She had Crescent Rose drawn, and looked ready to fight. You fought back tears, then looked Neo in the eyes, seeing a nod from your beloved girlfriend before you turned to Roman.

        "We're going out there. We can fight them hand-to-hand while you take as many down with this big thing as possible." You knocked on the mech's wall.

        Roman sighed. "I know you have a grudge against Little Red and her friends, so don't let that get to you." You nodded, then kissed Neo one last time before the two of you hopped out of the mech and faced your opponents directly. Your mask hid your face from Ruby, so she didn't recognize you, but soon more people dropped from above. Yang, her friends from Bumblebee, the girls in white, the three faunus from the meeting, Isabelle, and...Orenji. Of course she was here, too. By the looks of it, there were three teams here. Though, they were all still huntsmen and huntresses in training, so perhaps you stood a chance.

        "Who are you!?" The guy in green next to Ruby demanded. "If you're with Roman, I'm afraid we're going to have to take you in."

        You chuckled from beneath your mask, despite the overpowering mix of sadness, anger, and betrayal that were welling in side of you. "It hardly matters, but if you insist, you can call me Metal Mask." You extended your arms wide, attempting to look confident and not at all terrified, like you actually were.

        All twelve of them stood quietly for a few seconds, and the one you knew as Isabelle raised her finger to her ear, drawing your attention to the earpieces that all of them were wearing. There must be a thirteenth, in a chair somewhere far away talking to them remotely. "We don't care what kind of ridiculous codename you have, all we want to know is whether or not we need to teach you and little miss parasol here a lesson." the girl in the purple dress scoffed, her critical eyes on you and Neo.

        "You could try...but I'm afraid I already know everything I need to know." you taunted, to the purple girl's chagrin.

        The guy in red who was riding Bumblebee with Yang stepped forward. "So you're with Roman, huh? In that case, you're going down! Even with the oversized bucket of bolts, it's twelve to three! You don't stand a chance!" He seemed absolutely confident in the victory of him and his friends, so you couldn't help but chuckle slightly.

        "Oh really? How sure are you about that?" Suddenly, at a suspiciously convenient time, a bullhead flew above all of you, and two figures dropped to the ground: Emerald and Mercury. The green-haired master of stealth and diversion drew her weapons as your fighting mentor dropped to a combat stance. "Twelve to five." you corrected. "I'm afraid the odds are stacked against you."

        Almost at the exact same time, everyone rushed forward at each other. Both girls in white, as well as two of the faunus from the meeting, faced off against Roman in the Atlesian mech, chipping at it with group attacks, even though your gangster of a boss wasn't slowing down any time soon. The third, the guy in the green hoodie, was about to join them, when the cat girl called to him. "Ness! Get back to Ventus! He's all alone!" The boy, apparently named Ness, hesitated a second before nodding and running away from the fight. You figured Ventus had to be the person everyone was listening to over their earpieces, and considered following Ness, but decided against it. Your fight was here.

        Emerald swung her weapons at Isabelle and the girl in purple, who both dodged smoothly, them rushed towards her together. They seemed comfortable fighting as a duo, and you heard Isabelle yell "Now, Orchid!" once before an attack, confirming one more name for you. As Emerald fended these two off, Mercury stepped in and engaged Yang, sweeping her feet to start the fight, just as he taught you to do.

        As you and Neo stepped forward to take care of the other four, your eyes darted around the environment, looking for Orenji. She had disappeared in the chaos of the fight, and you knew from your time on Patch with her that she was an absolutely flawless shot with her sniper rifle. You quickly spotted her climbing up a support beam to reach a higher vantage point, and you pointed her out to Neo. "Watch out for cover fire from above." you advised, before rushing toward the guy in red, who had drawn a large black sword.

        He swung it at you in a wide arc, hoping to gain enough momentum to knock you silly, but he was in for a surprise when you turned your arm to metal and caught the sword in your grip. "Not particularly impressive." you taunted, trying to not look at or think about Yang fighting Mercury, or Orenji taking her shots from above, or even Ruby, who was fighting Neo alongside the guy in green.

        Your opponent growled and yelled loudly before his sword caught on fire, forcing you to immediately let go. "You impressed now!?" he demanded, swinging it at you again, this time with more speed. You ducked below it and swept his feet, moving quick and often to avoid his strikes.

        When he fell to the ground, you heard Yang shout "Charcoal!" from her fight with Mercury, and you took a mental note of your opponent's name. You moved to stomp on Charcoal, but he rolled out of the way and jumped up to his feet, hitting you with a vicious side thrust that made you stagger back. He capitalized on this, and swung for your face. Luckily, you were able to move your head mostly in time, but unluckily...he knocked your mask clean off of your face, revealing your identity.

        He immediately stopped moving, and stared at you with his eyes wide open. Clearly, he had seen a picture of you at some point, which would make sense, given that he seems to be friends with your former friends. Ruby also stopped fighting Neo, leaving your girlfriend to only deal with the guy in green. "(Y/N)? Is...Is that y-you?" Ruby asked, a soft and confused sound to her voice. There were tears in her eyes, and you were sure yours matched, though your mouth was turned into a fierce scowl at looking at one of the girls who had abandoned you so thoroughly.

        You spat on the ground and looked at her, attempting to seem tough. "Yes. Not that you'd care at all, traitor!" Ruby gave you an extremely hurt look, and you spotted Orenji looking up from her sniper rifle from her vantage point, clearly seeing your face as well.

        "Wh-What do you mean, (Y/N)? I'm Ruby! You're one of my best friends! Where were you!?" She was straight-up crying at this point, but still gripping Crescent Rose tightly.

        "I mean you abandoned me, Ruby! All three of you monsters abandoned me!" Your voice was laden with rage and betrayal, and your face showed every ounce of the emotion you were feeling by looking at your former friends. "When I was at my lowest...when I needed you the most...you left. You left your best friend! You left the boy whose entire life was defined by people leaving him!"

        Ruby took a step back, clearly incredibly hurt and confused. There were still several fights going on around you, but Ruby and Charcoal were the only people you could focus on at the moment. "I...I'm sorry!" she yelled. You scoffed at her apology, but you would be lying if you said that some part of you, deep deep down, didn't wish she were telling the truth.

        "Don't lie to me, Ruby. You've already done enough!" You turned your arm to metal and swung at her, only for her to dodge and for Charcoal to block your attack with his sword.

        He slashed at you, prompting you to retract your arm. "I don't know what you think Ruby did to you...or what your beef is with Ji and my girlfriend." His arms began to burn with fire. "But I'm not going to let you stand there and threaten them!" He took an offensive approach, and you began systematically blocking his sword strikes with metal arms.

        "Your girlfriend, huh? Sad to see she lured another guy into her web." You taunted, referencing Yang's betrayal of you. "Spoiler alert: she doesn't care about you! She doesn't care about anyone! None of them do!" You punctuated these words with a kick to the chest, which he only barely managed to block. "But I wouldn't expect you to understand. You're just another disposable huntsman." Despite what you were saying, there was a part of you that winced at how harsh you were being, a part that was...happy that Yang had found someone. But you smothered this part of yourself. Yang deserved no sympathy after what she did.

        Charcoal looked at you with an angry look on his face. "Don't you dare say that about her! She was your friend once! Ruby and Orenji were your friends once! Don't you feel any scrap of your bond with them!?"

        You responded with a forcibly blank stare. "No." you lied. He yelled and his body was covered with flames as he charged at you. You turned your body to metal, and met him shot for shot, the two of you seemingly evenly matched in most capacities. Ruby was just watching in horror, still in disbelief that you were the same (Y/N) that she knew so long ago. "I...must admit...you have a lot of talent..." you complimented, pushing against his blade with your metal hands.

        "So do you, (Y/N)...I just wish...you didn't use it for evil..." he responded, some form of respect in his voice. "Do you honestly think that what you're doing is right!? That you aren't helping criminals hurt innocent people!?" He swept your legs in a move that you weren't expecting from him, and he pinned you down to the ground, holding his sword close to your face.

        "Of course not." you responded, that fake smirk was still on your face, even in this position, but you could tell that it was far from convincing. "But this is my family. They're the only people who took me in in a world that rejected me! I'm not fighting for crime, Charcoal. I'm fighting for the girl who accepted me and loved me when no one else gave a damn!" You headbutted the sword away from your face and jumped to your feet, noticing that your beloved Neo was still fighting the guy in green, who seemed to be holding his own better than expected.

        "So you're fighting for your girlfriend? I guess we're not as different as I thought." Charcoal gripped his sword tightly and swung it at you again, and your epic fight resumed.

Ten Minutes Later

        You were bruised, battered, and your aura was barely holding up. Luckily, however, Charcoal was in a very similar condition. Some of the battles around you had likely reached a conclusion-you didn't hear Roman's mech anymore-but you hadn't had the time or energy to check. Charcoal was absolutely relentless, and you offered the same tenacity to him.

        "Why...are you still...fighting!?" you demanded.

        Your adversary looked at you and quietly responded. "Because it's the right thing to do...and because your friends believe in you."

        That caught you off guard. "Wh-What are you talking about!?"

        Charcoal swung viciously and knocked you to the ground again, and this time you didn't have the strength to summon your semblance and fight back. "Ruby believes in you, (Y/N). Yang believes in you. Orenji believes in you. Even I believe in you! I can tell by how you fight that you're not an evil person, you were just the victim of tragedy, and it pushed you over the edge!"

        You struggled to get free as your eyes darted around the battlefield. The mech was gone, and you had no idea where Roman had gone. Isabelle and her friend in purple were proving too much for Emerald, who grabbed Mercury by the arm and escaped without even looking your way. Neo was still fighting the guy in green, but saw that you were in trouble, and allowed herself to be hit by his whip, and she shattered into pieces before reappearing on her way to you. Yang, Ruby, and even Orenji were all making their way to you as well, and they joined Charcoal in standing over you.

        "Why did you do it, (Y/N)...? You were such a sweet person! You're still such a sweet person! I know it!" Orenji exclaimed, tears in her eyes.

        "We didn't abandon you! We were just chasing our dreams, and we would never leave you behind! You were our best friend!" Yang added, emotion pouring from her voice.

        You looked to the ground, your mind swirling with thoughts. What if they were telling the truth? What if...they never abandoned you? You could feel the tears streaming down your face, and then suddenly the loving arms of Neo wrapping around you. She wasn't fighting the huntsmen or trying to get you out of there, she was just...comforting you. Loving you when you needed love, just like she always did. You looked into her beautiful eyes and saw the love and support she held for you, then you knew what you needed to do.

        Neo nodded, clearly knowing you well enough to read your intentions. "I...I...I'M SO SORRY!" You covered your face with your hands, sobbing openly as your three childhood friends and Charcoal joined the hug.

        "It's okay, (Y/N)..." Yang said, holding you close.

        Ruby was crying too, but it seemed to be tears of joy. "We don't hold anything against you!"

        You sank into the group hug, smiling slightly at being with your best friends again. "I...I'll never be able to atone for what I've done...for taking out my problems on my best friends..." you muttered between sobs. "But I'm back...I'm back where I belong." There were smiles all around as the hug continued for a few more minutes.

        When you all eventually released, you shakilt stood up, holding Neo's hand. "I...I'd like to introduce you to Neo." Your endlessly adorable girlfriend curtsied, smiling sweetly. "She's my girlfriend, and...the most important person in my life." She smiled brightly at this introduction, and pecked you on the cheek.

        "Trust me...we've been acquainted." you heard a voice say. You looked around to see the guy in green walking toward your group, a small smile on his face. "She sure packs a punch...and a really fun semblance." Neo smirked at this, and you couldn't help but laugh. He introduced himself as Mimic, and he was actually Ruby's boyfriend!

        "Really, Rubes? Aren't you a little young for that?" you teased.

        She blushed and held onto Mimic's arm. "Nope! I found my love, and I'm sticking to him!" This prompted a laugh from some of the others.

        Charcoal stepped forward and offered his hand. "I should probably introduce myself for real, huh? I'm Charcoal Ignis, Yang's boyfriend!"

        You shook it, and smiled as you responded, "(Y/N) (L/N). And I have to say...you seem like exactly Yang's type."

        Yang laughed and wrapped an arm around him. "You've got that right!"

        After you met everyone, the girl you now knew as Weiss spoke up. "So what are we doing with you two? We can't just let you go free."

        Suddenly, they all quieted down as the person on the other end of the earpiece, presumably Ventus, said something to them that you obviously couldn't hear. "Ventus says he can get you two enrolled at Beacon if you agree to cooperate with Ozpin's and his investigations." Mimic told you, looking you in the eye.

        You glanced at Neo, who once again nodded. "We would love to. Anything we can do to help, and we would both love going to Beacon." Mimic nodded at this, and Orenji smiled widely.

        "You're going to love it at Beacon, (Y/N)! All four of us will finally be together again! And I can introduce you to my awesome girlfriend, Velvet!" You hugged her, thankful to be back with your excitable orange-haired best friend.

        "I would love to meet her, Ji. And being back with the three of you again...is something I never thought I could even dream about again. This is incredible!" you admitted.

        The thirteen of you began to head to Beacon, and Neo nudged you as you walked. You turned to her, only for her to jump into your arms with that gorgeous smile. You matched it, and held her close to you as you made your way to your future. "I love you so much, Neo...and I will never be able to thank you enough for joining me." She just kissed you sweetly in response, and you knew that she was saying all she needed was you to be happy. You continued walking alongside your best friends and your new friends, on the path you were meant to tread with the perfect girl snuggled in your arms. Life was good.