Darkest Nights: a RWBY Story

Chapter 18: Return To Beacon/Blackest Night

The small group of six trudged up the hill towards the ruins of beacon academy. It was early in the morning, the day after their arrival in Vlae, and the chill of early spring was still in the air. Jayne, Nora, Ren and Oscar had all gone into what was left of the town to restock on supplies, leaving Ruby, Weiss, Yang, Talia, Jason and Blake the climb the long, sloping hill from the edge of the forest to what had been the academy's front entrance.
"Remind me exactly what we're looking for again."
Yang said as the reached the level ground at the top of the hill.
"A short, one handed spear, probably about two feet long, maybe a little shorter. Jet black but lined with gold. Gold handle wrappings. It's the lat missing weapon of the Guardian.
"And you're sure it's here?"
Ruby said, looking at the remains of the academy that loomed ahead of them.
Jason nodded.
"Definitely. It's a Guardian rellic, I can just feel it's close by. I talked to Oscar this morning and he told me that Ozpin knew it was in the academy, just not where it was. With any luck, some idiot won't have found it and wondered off with it, not knowing what it is. But as I said, I can feel that it's here."
They stopped in what had been Beacon's main courtyard.
The stone slabs set into the ground were heavily cracked, and large chunks were missing here and there.
The building itself wasn't much better. A large portion of it had been reduced to rubble. The parts of the building that had managed to stay upright weren't exactly in the best of shape either. Cracks spread up the wall of what had been the dining hall, which had had one end torn completely away. Shattered glass was strewn everywhere. The Battle Of Beacon and the year an a half since hadn't been kind to the once proud school.
"We should split up."
Talia said.
"If anyone finds the spear, contact the rest of us and we'll meet up."
They all nodded as they split into smaller groups.
Talia and Yang headed for what had been the old dorms, while Ruby and Weiss began looking through the rubble along the perimeter.
Jason, with Blake leading the way, made his way carefully through the gaping hole in the side of the dining hall.
'You know,"
Blake said as they entered the building,
"I honestly never expected to be back here again."
Then her tone shifted to a deeper, sadder one.
"Not after the battle anyway."
She put a hand gently on the scar she had received during the battle, the memory of adam standing over her painfully fresh in her mind. Jason, seeing this, put a hand on her shoulder.
"Remember, he's gone now. He can't hurt you, or anyone else, ever again."
Blake nodded,
"I know, just bad memories."
They began to search the rubble in the dining hall. No spear. They made their way towards the old library, checking every possible space along the way.
The large room was a mess when they got there, most of the books having been taken after the academy was abandoned.
Blake reached down and picked up what appeared to be a very battered text book.
𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗜𝗻 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗔𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁 𝗚𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗺 was printed in faded lettering on the cover.
Blake tossed it back onto the floor near what remained of a large painting.
"I'm guessing you used to spend a lot of time in here?"
Jason asked with a small smile.
Blake nodded, grinning a little.
"When you're on a team with people as high-energy as Ruby and Yang, you need a quiet place to unwind.
They spent the next hour searching the room, looking everywhere, all to no avail.
Blake kicked a book in frustration, causing to explode into a flurry of pages.
"When you were here, do you remember anything about where valuable, aincient weapons would have been kept?"
Something in Jason's sentence caused a jog in her memory.
"Any display cases or something?"
Blake stopped dead in her tracks as a piece of her memory clicked into place. Aincient weapons. Historical weapons. A display case.
Blake took off at a run, Jason right behind her.
"I think I might know where that spear is."
Blake said as she ran.
"Or at least, I know where it should be."
After a minute she pulled up outside the door of an old classroom. Rows of seats lined the walls. With a cracked stage in the center. Blake walked through the center of the room, past a smashed teacher's desk to an old, oak wood door set into one wall.
Hanging from the door at an odd angle, was a small golden plack.
𝗗𝗿. 𝗢𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗰𝗸, 𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆.
She reached out and tried the door. It wouldn't budge. The lock must have gotten stuck.
"Stand back."
Jason said, and shoulder barged the door. One, two, three times. With the third slam the lock gave in as the door was wrenched from its hinges, hitting the floor with a bang as Jason, followed by Blake, entered the small office.
The once tidy room was a mess. Smashed glass and papers were strewn all over the floor, amongst the wreckage of several filing cabinets. But that's not what caught Jason's eye.
Hanging, on an oak display stand, above a smashed desk, was a short gold and black spear.
"That's it."
Jason said, his voice echoing in the small room.
"Blackest Night. The last missing weapon of the Guardian, last wielded by Sienna Kahn before it disappeared."
Blake called the other two groups and, within minutes, they were all together in the small room.
Jason, together with Blake, lifted the spear down from the wall.
"That's it."
Talia said.
"The final missing weapon. You've done it."
Jason felt the power of the spear in his hand. Light and dark.
"Somethings wrong."
He said, looking at Talia.
"This is Blackest Night. It's the right spear but something feels-"
Before he could finish his sentence however, a loud noise split the air like a cannon blast. A harsh laugh, almost metallic in sound, seemed to fill the room, sending a cold shiver of fear through everyone present.
Ruby's silver eyes were wide with terror.
"Salem."
She said, her gaze now focused intently on the spear that Jason and Blake were still holding.
Then the whole room seemed to shake as there was a loud cracking sound and the spear, Jason and Blake, disappeared.