A/N: So after a little vacation, I decided to pick up my fanfiction career again, beginning with... this. Why this borderline ridiculous idea? I'm still working on that myself.

May have something to do with RWBY being a big thing in the social circles I hang out in. It may be because although I've always been fascinated with Monty Oum's creation, I've never truly gotten into it as much as I wished I have, so this is a way of addressing that interest. It definitely has something to do with the three month long Stargate marathon I subjected myself to (chosen after a coin toss between this and Battlestar Galactica, guess which series won).

Or maybe I just want to see a happy ending. So this a means to get there. Eh, who cares.

This is How-Not-To-Do-Something, and I bring you, "Not What You Expected."

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No matter what she did, she couldn't keep her eyes away from the window.

It was hardly surprising. Outside, just beyond the couple centimeters of reinforced glass, was a bright shining summer day. Not just any summer day, one of the last of the year before the oncoming fall. The temperature was warm without being stifling, the wind comfortable without being overwhelming, and there was just enough cloud cover to give some shade to those willing to go for it.

The eighteen year old student longed to go out to play, though she knew there were many things that had to be taken care of first. Later, she promised herself.

"Yo Ruby!"

Ruby Rose, Huntress-in-training (and soon to be full graduate) was snapped out of her daydream. To her mild embarrassment, she realize she had been staring out the window in the middle of the hallway.

The one who spoke, a newer student by the name of Valentine Trail, jogged up to her wearing a hopeful smile. A sixteen year old boy with a pair of brown leather pants to go with his dark jerkin, he approached her carefully, noting her thoughtful expression.

"Hey, is this a good time?" he asked quizzically. Ruby sighed, pushing her hands into her pockets. Her new outfit, similar but different to the black dress she wore in one form or another for years, was still something she had yet to get used to.

"Good a time as any. What's up?" she asked, taking off in a sedate walk away while he easily kept pace.

"I mean it, if you're busy." Valentine tried to backpedal.

"C'mon, spill it." she urged friendlily.

Ruby couldn't help comparing this kid to herself, he was practically a male version of her when she first arrived at Beacon. Young, easily excitable, gregarious, and managed to make team leader despite the odds. Team VERE was already on the road to great things in the few months since it was formed. Not to mention he was almost as big of a weapons geek as she was.

"Well, it's about professor Oobleck's last assignment..." Valentine trailed off nervously, prompting another sigh from Ruby. If he had one fault, it was his impulse to pester others for help whenever he felt he didn't get something. And there were a lot of things he didn't get.

"History of the Faunus rebellion?" Ruby probed. He nodded, giving a few other students a look. This time of day the dorms were beginning to get crowded as the students returned from a long bought of classes and training.

"Yeah. It's not a big thing, right?" he asked carefully.

"Like when I helped you adjust Foe-Smiter?" she asked, referring to his battleaxe/rifle weapon of choice.

"That wasn't hard, I just couldn't figure out how to keep the recoil down." They passed by a taped off wing of the dorm, plastered with 'DO NOT CROSS' signs. Earlier there were construction crews working on it, but they had long since left.

"Or the time I got Yang to fix Raoul's bike?"

"Well..."

"Or when I helped you with Goodwitch's class?"

Valentine dropped his head in defeat. She smiled and patted his shoulder, making him pick up with faint hope. Ruby bent over to cup her hand around her mouth.

"Meet me in the library tomorrow at ten, bring the twins." she said in a conspiratorial whisper. He beamed and nodded, taking off in a sprint to his nearby room which he shared with the other members of VERE.

Ruby started to pass the same room, but she couldn't help herself. It was stupid, it was pointless, but she had to stop. She had to stop and give the de facto home of the new students another look. A thoughtful one, similar to the outside view she admired just a few minutes back from when she left her last class of the day. But this look lack any of the positive spin the last one had.

The room made her stop for one reason, only one. She counted the current inhabitants as her friends, but she couldn't forget who had once occupied the bedroom. Four someones that, try as she might, never entirely left her mind.

She shook her head with a huff and moved on, pushing the worn thoughts from her mind. Ruby didn't blame VERE (Valentine Trail, Elise Kettu, Raoul Oro, and Erik Kettu), not one bit. With the reduced number of dorms available nowadays, it was foolish to leave a perfectly good room empty. But she couldn't forget who had once lived there.

Ruby reached her own shared room, the unofficial headquarters of Team RWBY. Without any hesitation she pushed aside the open door, discovering that she wasn't the first one there.

"Hey guys." she greeted, giving both the girls a nod.

"Hey Ruby." greeted Blake Belldonna, already changed into pajamas and busy being engrossed in a book. The black haired Faunus was perhaps the least changed since she arrived at Beacon. Not to say she was still the same; Ruby knew a corny joke involving a clown that never failed to get at least a giggle from her. Lately though, she seemed much more remote from them. She suspected (and feared) that soon she would take her leave of them, no matter how much she assured them all of the contrary.

"Did you pick up my book?" asked the third member of RWBY, Weiss Schnee. The pale heiress was changed into sleepwear as well, currently busy with a small pile of schoolwork.

"Yep." Ruby said, handing over the textbook she held under her arm for the past fifteen minutes.

The once haughty aristocrat absently snagged it, muttering a "thanks" before turning back to the work. Her brow was furrowed, her attention fixated solely on the papers. Ruby worried for her too; no matter how much Weiss downplayed it, her father and her sister were getting more and more insistent that she return to them. Soon, she would have to go back to Atlas, then she would be effectively out of her life. It was a given she would stay in touch, but it wouldn't be the same.

"Say, has anyone seen Yang?" Ruby asked suddenly, looking around the room as if the blonde was hiding.

"Said she was heading down for a snack." Weiss answered distantly.

"Probably to see that one new guy, what's his name again?" Blake shook her head and went back to her book.

Ruby frowned a little at the information. But just as she grabbed a towel in preparation of taking a shower, a series of stomps came from the direction of the hallway. The door she left open a crack was flung aside, revealing a grinning blonde by the name of Yang Xiao Long. Tall, well endowed, and bristling with enthusiasm, she proudly beheld the room with a large plate tucked under her left arm, held level by her steadying hand.

"Right there." Weiss mumbled.

"Just in time. I bring good tidings and treats." Yang, Ruby's sister and self proclaimed badass announced. She lifted the plate around, a delicious aroma wafting into the room.

All three girls stopped what they were doing to get a good long look at the large ceramic plate, blinking in surprise after a few seconds.

"Yang, where and how did you get ahold of that many muffins?" Blake asked first.

The blonde, still clad in her school uniform for the moment, didn't answer right away. In the blink of an eye and a flutter of rose petals, the red toned girl was on the other side of the room, snatching up three of the warm muffins too fast to see. Ruby took a second to savor the baked pastries in her grasp, before looking up guiltily at the dry expressions of Blake and Weiss. "Sorry."

"Anyway, where and how?" Blake repeated. Weiss stared at Ruby disapprovingly, made much worse when the leader took a bite of the first.

"A gift from Kyle Cirrus, he made these for me" Yang answered, stepping forward to hold out the plate. Weiss's stare mercifully left Ruby, allowing her to notice the book bag held over her shoulder had a bulge in it now.

"That new boyfriend of yours?" Ruby asked, finishing one muffin and moving onto the next. When Blake snagged a couple, Yang swept the plate over to the still irritated Weiss.

"I get the feeling you're using him." Blake opined.

Yang nearly jumped, moving around to face her while keeping the plate outstretched. "Blake! I'm offended that you think I'm so shallow that I'd use a man to get free food, even if he is a chef in training." she said in mock outrage.

Weiss gave in with a sigh, reaching out to take a couple herself. Taking a bite out of the first, she found them quite good.

"That wasn't a no." Blake noted.

Yang looked away, indignity sliding into evasive guilt. "Well, if he wants to make some treats and then gift them to me, then what right do I have to complain?"

"Knew it. That thing in your bag from him too?" Weiss asked neutrally.

Yang shook away her excuse to set the plate down on the nightstand, going for the bag once her hands were free. None of them stared at her right, at the misshaped hand missing a pinkie, most of her ring finger, and the first knuckle of her middle. The last especially made a rude gesture she rarely used lack the impact it once had. Though she downplayed it, they all knew how much the injury bothered her.

"Nope, it's something I've been saving for a while." Yang withdrew the object, along with a set of plastic cups.

"Ta-da!" Blake and Weiss stared blankly, while Ruby raised an eyebrow. The large bottle looked almost like-

"Wine?" the white haired girl said disbelievingly.

Yang rolled her eyes. "Yes Weiss, I bought alcohol so my sister can be more like Qrow, c'mon." she shook her head. Ruby felt it was time to approach again, maybe to grab more muffins.

"This is a brand of grape soda, they package it up like wine so kids can pretend to be socialites." Yang explained, mindful of the socialite she was speaking to.

"Really?" Ruby raised her brow. She had no idea such things existed.

"Yep. I can't get alcohol myself, at least not anything worth the effort. Anyway, that's not the point." Yang grabbed the small cups, proceeding to give one to each of her teammates.

"The point is?" Blake asked. Once there was one in all of their hands, Yang popped the top of the bottle with a small carbonated hiss.

"Symbolism." Yang poured a cup for herself first, filling up Ruby's next, followed by Blake's, and ending with a still puzzled Weiss.

"So, we're drinking grape soda because...?" Ruby trailed off, giving the cup an odd look.

"Celebration. In two weeks we graduate, then it's off to the big wide world." Yang answered cheerfully.

The red huntress wasn't fooled. She knew her sister had been making some discreet inquiries regarding the whereabouts of Adam Taurus, doing her best to keep it on the down low. Recently a lead had turned up, one she was going to check out the moment they left Beacon. Whether anyone wanted to join her was ultimately not important.

Weiss, Blake, and Yang. Her three friends, people she could count on like no one else. And soon, they would all be gone. Not permanently, but the chances of them reuniting were slim.

"And you want to drink soda to celebrate." Weiss said flatly.

"For tonight. I called in some favors, reserved a spot in that new club downtown tomorrow. I'm thinking we should have one last big bash" she proclaimed.

Rather than a chorus of "Yes!" she was expecting, her teammates and friends all looked away.

"I have to help Valentine with some schoolwork tomorrow." Ruby admitted.

"Presentation." from Blake.

"This has to be done in the next few days." Weiss stated.

Yang dropped her head and visibly deflated. "You guys are no fun." she muttered.

"We can always do it some other day." Ruby suggested. Yang picked her head up cautiously, checking the others.

"Sure, after tomorrow I'm free." Blake added.

"Once this assignment is done, my schedule is cleared." Weiss shrugged.

Yang stood back up and beamed. "So, day after tomorrow?" she asked, this time getting nods.

"Works for me. A toast then?" Blake asked.

"To what?" Weiss inquired.

"Dunno, didn't get that far." Yang admitted. Ruby looked into her glass and wondered. What should they toast to?

"To Beacon." Yang said, lifting her glass up to the middle of the room.

Weiss thought for a moment before lifting her own. "To our friendship."

"For those that couldn't be here." Blake put hers forward.

By her side, Ruby's hand folded into a fist. As much as she wanted to be sad about their parting, she found that she really couldn't. For she too was leaving.

Cinder Fall. The woman and her faction infiltrated under the guise of a festival of friendship, stealing the power of the Fall Maiden and attacking Beacon, their home. Her friends gave everything they had to stop her, and it was frankly a miracle that the academy was still standing. Wrecked, bloodied, but still there, proudly defiant in the face of destruction. At a great cost in lives however; Penny, Coco, Amber, Sun, scores of others just in the grounds, never mind the havoc wrought upon Vale itself.

So many were lost that day. Ruby vowed to find Cinder, and make her pay. Help would be appreciated, but she was fully prepared to do it alone. It didn't matter what happened to herself, as long as the woman no longer drew breath. She would make sure of it.

But that wasn't something she could bring up in front of them, even though she assumed they already knew. Later there would be vengeance, but for now...

"To the best years of our lives. Lets see if we can do better." Ruby said with a smile.

The four friends, soon to go their separate ways, brought their cups together.

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Ruby slowly awoke. Never a light sleeper, she realized to her great annoyance there was a great deal of commotion in the room. Someone was making a lot of racket, noise which dragged her out of a wonderful dream involving cookies and her friends from team-

"Let go of me!"

Her eyes snapped open, blinking her way out of the bed and into a combat stance. She needed a moment to comprehend the situation in front of her. Blake and Yang were over Weiss's bed, struggling to keep the heiress down. For some reason the white toned girl was snarling, struggling to get up. Finally she used her semblance which knocked both of them aside with a flash of glowing circles. She was out of her bed and powering to the door in no time.

Ruby was faster though, even without using her own semblance. She blocked the door defiantly, trying to understand what was going on.

"Move!" Weiss barked, rune covered circles forming around her. With her widened eyes and her chest shuddering with breath, she looked like she was in a haze.

"Weiss, stop." Ruby commanded. Behind her Yang and Blake recovered, getting ready to tackle her again.

"Get out of the way Ruby." Weiss snapped, flickering her wild gaze to the door.

"Please, what's going on?" she tried pleading, blocking the exit.

"What gives? It's three in the morning." Yang growled irritably.

"Doesn't matter, I have to go." Weiss snapped, not backing down.

"Why?" Ruby urged, desperately wishing to know what got into her friend.

"I know where they are, just have to get there now." she half snarled the answer.

"Who?" Blake probed.

"JNPR! I know where JNPR is!"

Ruby's thoughts derailed. Yang was the first to get her wits back, starting with a crisp "Huh?"

Weiss flipped her head around with a scowl. "You're not stopping me. I have to get going this instant." she barked.

"You...you know where JNPR is." Ruby repeated numbly. Her wild gaze went back to the door to give an impatient nod.

Th red huntress was slowly putting her thoughts back together, through the fog of interrupted sleep. Despite her tired mind scrambling her thoughts, she was growing more and more convinced Weiss had just uttered the words that Ruby had been waiting for since That day, almost three years ago now. What they all wanted to hear but no one had spoken.

Blake carefully raised a placating hand. "Back up. How do you know this?" she asked diplomatically. She sent a guarded look at Yang, finding her in the same state as herself.

Just behind the agitated heiress their leader's eyes were widening, emotions surging within her she hadn't experienced in so long, she had forgotten what they felt like.

"I... I..." Weiss looked away, the frenzied look in her eyes falling away.

She looked away, swaying where she stood as whatever fueled her faded. Yang felt confident enough to approach, gently taking an arm to lead her back to bed. Weiss resisted feebly, but in the end she let herself be sat down on the mattress.

"I don't know." she said quietly, her gaze dragging to the floor. Again Blake and Yang looked at each other, noting Ruby had her attention fixated on the white toned girl.

"Please, from the beginning." she said ahead of the others. Though Weiss was staring at the floor, she turned her head to the side in embarrassment.

"I... I had a dream." she shyly admitted.

"This wasn't like any dream I've ever seen from you." Yang said in concern, hovering close by.

"I know. This was...it was different. It felt so real." Weiss shook her head again, running her hands through her hair.

"But you saw JNPR." Ruby spoke with gravitas, but masking the excitement in her tone was impossible.

"I did. At least, I think I did." Weiss confirmed, not meeting their eyes yet.

"What happened in your dream?" Blake pressed.

She took a shuddering breath before speaking. "I was, well, it was like those out of body experiences you read about in the tabloids. I was there, but I wasn't. Almost like I was watching it from a scroll."

"Okay…?" Ruby gently prodded.

"There was this open field. There were a few trees, lots of grass, a blue sky, and a dirt path. Like some of the open areas in Atlas, the few that aren't Grimm infested. Nothing else though, except this enormous golden pyramid in the distance" Yang raised an eyebrow, but she ignored it. "But right by where I was, there was this weird statue. A large black circle with steps leading up to it. Never seen anything like it before."

"Go on." The red toned girl's eyes were almost glowing, to the growing concern of her unaffected friends.

"When I looked around, I saw them all. Pyrrha, Ren, Nora, and Jaune. Just like how they were the morning they vanished. They were walking side by side, going down the path. One of them, Nora I think, said something and they all broke out laughing. I didn't hear what it was though. They were walking right up to the circle, and Jaune went to this little altar nearby it. Thats t. I woke up and I just knew where they went that day." Weiss shuddered out a strained breath.

Yang approached to put a hand on her shoulder, cursing her lack of eloquence. What she was about to say was going to tear down not just the hopes of Weiss, but her sister too. The blonde wished she knew a better way to phrase it.

"Weiss, it was just a dream." she said softly, acutely aware of the way Ruby's gaze snapped to her in shock.

What she was hoping for was reluctant agreement, followed by a long consoling session which was likely to yield a lot of tears. Yang accepted the facts a long time ago, everyone else did. Her sister was the only one who refused the truth; whenever she brought it up Yang smiled and played along, just like Weiss and Blake did. Ruby had grown up a lot in the past year, but she still clung to her beliefs. None of them had the heart to tell her otherwise.

Her hopes were dashed when Weiss angrily shoved her hand away. "It wasn't. I know where to go, I've wasted enough time." she tried to get up, but Blake took over by not-so-gently grabbing her shoulders and forcing her back down. Yang inched closer to Ruby, ready to capture her in the hug she knew she was going to need.

"Weiss, please." Blake quietly pleaded. The three of them made an agreement a long time ago, a month after four of their friends were declared dead. It was done after they cemented the fact with a quiet funeral. Not the major one thousands across the Four Kingdoms attended, a simple ceremony for all four of them. It was an event Ruby was pointedly excluded from.

Weiss lifted her head, showing Blake the weary expression of her friend. "I know. I know, I know. But it was so real. They're alive. Out there, somewhere. I think-no, I'm sure, I can find them. Please." when she rose from the bed again, Blake didn't stop her. Her bloodshot eyes went to each of them in turn, showing a rare moment of weakness. Weiss looked so vulnerable as she all but begged.

"I don't want you to think I'm crazy. But I have to do this. So please, just give me a chance." she was trembling, going to each of them in turn.

Yang and Blake exchanged a look once again. In the end, one of them had to give in. Otherwise they risked tearing the team apart; it was going to happen, but not yet.

Finally the former sighed. "Not what I had in mind for the last few days of Beacon." Yang admitted. Weiss's eyes lit up, at the same time as Ruby's. Blake looked unconvinced, but after flickering her golden gaze around she gave a hesitant nod.

"Alright, lets do it." Ruby said excitedly. Weiss all but jumped in excitement.

"Great! Now c'mon, there isn't a moment to-" Yang darted over to snag her shoulders, stopping her from sprinting to the door. Weiss sent a confused look her way away as she halfheartedly struggled to no avail.

"Weiss. It is." Yang glanced at the clock on the bed stand. "Three thirty in the morning. Everyone but us is asleep. Now, at the crack of dawn we'll go searching. Until then, try to get some rest." she gently commanded.

"But-"

"No one else is up. Besides, it's been three years. I think JNPR can wait another day." Yang consoled. Weiss deflated, falling back on the bed.

"So, where are they?" Ruby asked quickly.

"I don't suppose they've been in Vacuo this whole time." Blake commented. Weiss shook her head, sighing under her breath.

"No. I don't know the specific spot, but I know it's somewhere in Forever Fall." she admitted, which made all three sigh.

"Of course. If it was that simple then why would we have to do it." Yang muttered.

"So we'll have to use one of Beacon's Bullheads. Good thing I've been taking flying lessons." Weiss brightened up.

"Hate to stop the fun here." Blake interrupted carefully, "But we can't just ask Goodwitch to borrow an airship for fun."

Weiss snapped her fingers "We have a reason. Ruby, you said before that Valentine has been falling behind with his studies?" she asked quickly, grinning with her as the red toned girl nodded excitedly.

Yang rolled her eyes. "There's no way she'll approve that."

Hours later...

"There's no way she approved this." Valentine said excitedly. Beside the teen Yang nodded moodily, still between disbelieving and amazed.

"I know right?" said the first of the diminutive twins, Erik Kettu. His ears twitched with excitement.

"This is cool." agreed the second, Elise Kettu, her own stubby triangular ears twitching in sync with is.

Ruby was in the back with them, her head flipping between the twins as they spoke. Erik and Elise Kettu, Faunus twins. Light complexioned, brownish red hair, short fox ears, matching blue shirt and jean outfits, identical light armor on the arms and thighs. At a glance, copies of each other. Despite being boy and girl, they looked almost the same. The easiest way she (most everyone really) could tell them apart was by the hair; Elise had hers at shoulder length while Erik kept his in a bowl cut.

"Yeah, cool. Raoul, what do you think?" Yang spoke up brightly, trying to distract herself from being overwhelmed by the kids. The golden toned teen grunted, never moving from his window seat in the small cabin.

The first thing most people noticed about Raoul was his size. He towered over people, looking down on almost everyone. The only one in Beacon who was taller was the current leader of team YVRF, Yatsuhashi. His preferred gear of chainmail covered clothes and a large mace only increased his intimidation. But he wasn't a bully, far from it. Raoul was taciturn, rarely speaking aloud and letting others make the decisions. He was still as brave as they come; during initiation in the Emerald Forest he allegedly took down a Deathstalker by himself. The teen's biggest falling was a quiet case of claustrophobia, hence why he stayed next to the window.

"Nice conversation." Yang said lamely.

Valentine turned to speak to Yang about something (he at least had enough sense to not ogle her while she was aware of him) but she stood up to quickly power to the cockpit, keeping her hands on the seats to steady herself. The tiny Bullhead was speedy, meant for quick trips from Beacon to the surrounding areas. This meant it was vulnerable to turbulence, as well as any prowling Nevermore.

She grabbed the back of the pilot and navigator chairs, looking out to the red forest. Blake had the controls at the moment, taking over for Weiss. Yang wanted to say it was a surprise the black haired girl knew how to fly, but she thought it really wasn't. In any case, it beat the increasingly imbalanced heiress from holding everyone's lives in her hands. After all she'd been through, Yang didn't want to meet her end in a crash. At least not with her friends with her.

"We're close." Weiss said, pointing out to a seemingly random point.

"Where do you want me to set it down?" Blake asked. In the back Valentine bellowed in laughter over some joke.

Yang furrowed her brow, scanning the horizon for a moment. After a second of looking she pointed to a flat stone mesa. "There."

Weiss frowned. "That's not it."

"But what we're looking for is in this general area, so its close enough." Yang told her, watching the girl slump into her seat.

"That's where I'm landing then." Blake shrugged off. Adjusting her grip on the controls, the bullhead gently lost altitude on its way to the designated landing spot. The stomachs of all three girls fluttered for a moment, none of them paying any attention to the feeling.

Sensing someone behind her, Yang twisted her head around. Unsurprisingly, her sister was gingerly making her way up to the cockpit, while the four underclassmen were busy checking their gear. She made room for Ruby, guessing what she intended. Once the entire Bullhead shuddered with a landing, she started to speak.

"Alright, here's how we're going to do this." Ruby said quietly, barely audible over the droning engines. Both Blake and Weiss twisted around, listening intently. "I've already told VERE this is a training mission. They think we're doing a search and destroy mission, thinning out the Grimm so they won't get overwhelmed. One of us will have to stay here to keep track of them, the rest will fan out to find JNPR. We'll alternate every four hours, break for lunch, and be back here for the night. I'll stay here first, then Yang, Blake, and Weiss last. We have three days." she explained. No sooner did a frown start to appear on their faces did she sigh.

"Any clue will work. Even if its just." she paused to take a breath. "What's left of them. Something to bury at least."

All three girls shared am uncertain look, cringing at themselves. Ruby wasn't a fool, she could see the writing on the wall just as anyone else could.

"What if we don't find anything? We didn't last time." Blake mentioned, grimacing. She remembered quite clearly combing over this same stretch of woods years ago, two months of empty promises and fruitless searching.

"I know its a long shot. But if there's a chance, I'll take it." Ruby answered plainly. A sigh left her sister, the Faunus, and the heiress at the same time.

"Lets do it." Yang agreed first. She made up her mind; even if it was just a fools errand, she would do this for her.

From the back the hatch swung open. "Hey! We doing this or what!?" Valentine called.

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A/N: And boop. I do not own a single thing in this, I'm just playing around here. The only profit I'm making is emotional satisfaction. Read, review, flame, or ignore this thing. You do what you want to do.