RWBY Listens to The Soundtrack

Vol. 3, Intro

     This time, the note DID say something, something rather short: "'I'm sorry in advance, btw.'"

"...uh, what does that mean?" Ruby asked.

"Nothing pleasant." Blake theorized.

Ozpin just narrowed his eyes.

[*Disturbingly Calm Music In The Face Of What's To Come*]

"...Well, this is nice." Nora declared. "What's the catch?"

"It...would appear to a rose petal falling." Ren stated the obvious.

"Oh so THAT'S what's falling!" Nora half-heartedly replied.

"Yeah, I doubt it's THAT literal." Blake deadpanned.

"...I know, just...especially after the one before the last one..." Nora muttered.

"Don't worry about it." Ruby muttered. After that one line from Sacrifice, she was thinking the same. Yang could tell, hence the subsequent glomp.

[Maybe red's like roses?
Maybe it's the pool of blood]

"Yeah okay wow, we're going full edgy on this one, huh?" Yang noted.

"I suppose it was bound to bleed over eventually..." Weiss muttered. "...Wait, no-!" Too late, Yang was smirking.

"That's...not a good sign." Pyrrha undersold, noting the Grimm trampling the flower.

"Yeah, it...wait, what's this?" Jaune asked at the transition.

"You doing good, Vomit Boy?" Yang asked.

"Kinda dizzy." Jaune replied, not realizing how that correlated.

"It...looks something like the grounds of Amity Arena." Glynda offered, remembering past Festivals.

"So the Vytal Festival is indeed in Volume 3..." Ozpin muttered. He and Glynda looked at each other. That, combined with the lyrics, was...

[The innocents]

"Definitely Amity." Glynda repeated, noting the background.

"Hey, it's us!" Ruby shouted.

"Well, you're the main characters, so duh." Nora teased.

"And you're not complaining about it this time." Blake noted.

"Yeah it's fine." Nora confirmed, crossing her arms. "I'm over it."

[Will lay in
When in]

"But not that, why are THEY in front of us?" Nora demanded.

"I...suppose that Team SSSN's more important this Volume?" Weiss asked.

Ruby's Scroll buzzed. "'Yeah you'd kinda think, huh?'" The text read. "'But no more so than CFVY.'"

"Huh, that's...kinda weird." Jaune remarked.

"I...guess they're the only people in our friend group who don't go to Beacon?" Ruby theorized. "And if this is the Vytal Festival..."

"I...suppose that makes sense?" Weiss tentatively agreed.

[The end you've
Failed to save them?]

"Ah, there we are, look how happy I am!" Nora proclaimed.

"It's an...interesting contrast with the lyrics, yes." Pyrrha added.

"This does not bode well." Ren stated the obvious. But then, to Nora it was obvious that he was rather nervous.

"Yeah, but...we got it, right?" Yang asked.

"That IS the point of this, yes." Ozpin agreed.

"How effective it will be is another matter..." Glynda muttered.

[Their dying eyes]

"Aaaaaand the bad guy shot, great." Ruby moaned.

"Huh, don't see Teammate The Fourth anywhere." Yang noted.

"Maybe she's not in on it?" Weiss offered.

"Or maybe we'd recognize her if she was around more." Blake theorized.

"She looks rather unremarkable, but..." Glynda muttered, looking at "Ebon Nightingale's" student record. It wasn't the best put together...but then, Glynda figured that it only had to last to the Festival.

"Yeesh, we get it, your name is Cinder, enough with the fire." Nora complained.

"It's a...good motif?" Pyrrha weakly offered. "And it...does fit her name."

"Which implies certain things about her plans, I suppose, though nothing we couldn't have guessed." Ren added.

"I'm more interested in her eyes glowing." Jaune admitted. "That's the second time they did something weird with her eyes."

"Perhaps it's related to her Semblance." Ozpin "theorized". Of course, he knew it was probably more related to something else, but...perhaps it was both.

[Are wide and white like snow
And now they know]

"Okay. The Grimm. And that statue..." Jaune began.

"Is...that the plan?" Ruby asked. "To get the Grimm to go after Beacon?"

"DURING the Vytal Festival?" Weiss scoffed. "When security is at its highest?"

"It all depends on your strategy." Blake explained. "A lot of the places the White Fang...well, looted thought the same."

"Yes, but...this is the Vytal Festival. When the whole world is watching." Weiss weakly retorted.

"Which, as Ms. Rose theorized, would make it the opportune moment to make...whatever statement she wishes to." Ozpin added.

"Plus, it's not like they've just been sitting around doing nothing." Yang agreed. "Hell, they've already done some damage."

"The Breach would have been SO much worse if you didn't try to stop it before it happened." Nora confirmed. "...Also, we know what?"

[The cost of trusting you 's
Obliteration]

"Oh, that's what." Nora immediately replied. "...Who are we talking about?"

"...Well, given the previous songs..." Blake began, uncertain, "...Maybe the Huntsmen Academies? Or their leadership, or..."

"...Seriously, are we suggesting that...?" Weiss asked incredulously.

"I'm not saying they're right, I'm just saying that's how they probably see it." Blake defended. "Especially with that last shot."

"...Does feel kinda Die-y." Yang agreed.

"...Yes, I suppose it fits with that." Weiss admitted. She respected the Headmasters a great deal, which admittedly may have left her a little blind, so...

"Urgh, I hate this..." Ruby muttered.

[Mirrors will shatter]

"Oh, that's...interesting. What does it mean?" Jaune asked.

"Well, is the song is like Die, then perhaps Cinder wishes to "expose" them for...something." Weiss reasoned.

"The system's not perfect, I think we're aware of that at this point." Blake continued. "And if she frames it right..."

Of course, Oz & Glynda knew that it could be about...something else. And Glynda was, admittedly, getting tired of simply thinking of those other things. This verse and the imagery just seemed to prove her point...but Ozpin just shook his head.

[Crushed by the
Weight of the world]

"Ah, I see General Ironwood's more important this time." Weiss noted. "I wonder if..."

"Yeah, him and his giant fleet." Nora dryly remarked before Weiss had the chance to finish that thought.

"'The machines of war will fuel both sides.'" Ren quoted.

"But we still don't know what that MEANS." Weiss retorted.

"I'm...more concerned about how and if the lyrics match." Blake admitted, before looking over to Oz & Glynda.

"...James has this...tendency of trying to take everything on alone." Glynda explained. "It's the other reason we're not telling him about this yet."

"It can feel...very overwhelming when you try to take on all responsibilities for yourself." Ozpin agreed. Learned THAT with the Maidens. Didn't he? After all, he still...no, that was different. How often are you going to have to tell yourself that?

[The pillars collapse]

"Hey look, you got your own little bit." Yang pointed out to Blake.

"Lucky..." Nora joked.

Blake, for her part, just started at the screen.

"Blake, are you...wait, that's Forever Fall, that's..." Yang trailed off.

[In
Shaaaaaaaaammeee!]

"...Adam." Blake finished. "It's...it's Adam." She just curled in on herself at that.

"Blake I am SO sorry, I didn't-" Yang immediately proclaimed.

"I didn't think it through, I'm an idiot-" Nora said at the same time.

"It's...not your fault." Blake assured them, though she was clearly still uncomfortable. "It's...his."

"...so, that's "Adam", then?" Weiss asked. This looked...familiar.

"Specifically, Adam Taurus, the head of the Vale Branch of the White Fang." Glynda explained.

"Wait, he's...oh, how did I not put that together before?" Weiss lamented. Blake was White Fang. The most prominent White Fang person in Vale was...of COURSE it's connected.

"...Blake, are you...?" Ruby asked, even though she knew the answer.

"...No, but I knew this was coming." Blake replied. "It was only a matter of time."

"What...WAS he to you?" Weiss asked. She recognized much of this behavior: It was similar to how she was in front of her father. How Winter was when they were younger.

"It...a lot of things, or I THOUGHT so at the time." Blake muttered. "I left because he...he didn't care about all the innocent people on the train we were robbing and looking back on it..."

"...Did he hurt you?" Yang asked, eyes flickering red.

"...Not physically. Mostly." Blake responded. Oh that tore it, Yang herself was MORE than willing to get physical with this garbage can.

"...Ms. Belladonna, again..." Ozpin began.

"Just...a minute." Blake requested. Once that minute was up, she motioned for Ruby to continue.

[There'll be no rest
There'll be no love]

"Ah, the classic charge against the unstoppable horde!" Nora declared, hoping to lighten the mood.

"The lyrics aren't very encouraging, though." Jaune muttered.

"Plus, where's the..."

[There'll be no hero in the end
Who will rise above]

"Ah, there it is." Ruby declared. "Just like last time. But, uh..."

"...We already beat Torchwick, so..." Blake reasoned. "I'd have to fight someone else. I hoped I wouldn't have to, but..."

"Also, the lyrics are wrong, you clearly are." Nora insisted.

"In the moment, perhaps, but..." Blake muttered.

"Regardless, Roman Torchwick is likely not very important to Ms. Fall's plan anymore, no." Ozpin offered. Speaking of...

[And when it ends]

"The main main hero versus the main villain, for all the marbles!" Nora declared. "So Ruby, do you think you have what it takes?"

"I mean...I hope so?" Ruby replied. "But I'm just a kid and she's...how old is she, actually?"

"The record says seventeen, but now that we have reason to doubt...she DOES look older." Glynda declared.

"Mid to late-twenties, I believe." Ozpin added. She would have to be young enough for...

"Eh, that's not so bad." Yang added. "Besides, you got us backing you up." Yang pointed to herself, Blake, & Weiss.

"And you, uh, look pretty determined." Jaune agreed. "I've been told that's...something." Pyrrha just hugged him.

Either way, Glynda knew that "main" villain wasn't an accurate descriptor. And she knew that Ozpin knew too. Honestly, she didn't really know what to make of his behavior right now. It was...a little inexplicable, if she was being honest. She understood & agreed about WANTING to keep them out...but they both knew that they couldn't, so why all of this?

[The good will crawl]

"Oh, Winter!" Weiss happily declared.

"Who?" Ruby & Jaune asked at the same time.

"Uh...Winter? My older sister? Joined the military to get away from...anyways, she's kind of a public figure." Weiss declared incredulously.

"Yeah honestly guys, what?" Nora asked.

"Yeah I never really paid attention to that stuff." Jaune admitted.

"And Blake had to tell me who YOU were when we first met." Ruby pointed out.

"...I suppose, it's just...for better or worse, most people know who we are." Weiss explained.

"Well, your names anyways." Blake responded. "But not who you are as people. What's Winter like?"

"Oh, she's...stern, yes, but she DOES care. She sees...our father...for what he is, that's why she left and...inspired me to leave."

"Well, that's neat." Nora offered.

"And...and she's the only one I know I feel positively towards..." Weiss muttered. They were all opening up, right? May as well.

"I've met Operative Schnee several times." Ozpin spoke up. "She's essentially James's second in command, so we've spoken on occasion."

"So she's like his Glynda!" Nora declared.

"I suppose." Ozpin granted while Glynda just pinched the brow of her nose.

"Hm..." Blake mumbled. Weiss had nothing but positive things to say...but she was a little inclined to distrust the Atlesian Military on average.

"Don't worry, Ms. Belladonna, she struck me as a decent sort, genuinely trying to do the right thing." Ozpin assured her before Weiss could "what's THAT supposed to mean?"

"I guess..." Blake muttered. Honestly, if Weiss said so then she trusted it, at least in those terms...but she didn't see the military as much of an escape. Those were just her own biases, of course. She'd never met her nor Ironwood. Just seen the effects.

[The shining light will sink in darkness]

"UNCIE QROW!" Ruby shouted in elation.

"Haha, awesome." Yang was more subdued, but...

"So, this is your famous uncle, then." Blake replied. "What's HE like?" They'd done it for Winter, so...

"Oh he's the best, he's super cool and snarky and awesome and if it weren't for him I wouldn't be able to...this." Ruby gushed.

"Kind of a dirty cheat when it comes to video games, though." Yang added. She wasn't bitter. "We don't see him a LOT, but...yeah other than that he's pretty cool."

"He also has something of a drinking problem..." Glynda muttered. Oh that's right, they knew him too. Weiss perked up at that.

"Eh, it's manageable." Yang defended.

"If you say so..." Weiss muttered.

"So...why don't you see him more often?" Jaune asked.

"Eh, he's always busy on missions and stuff. But he's gonna be here for the Festival! We need to get ready! For him AND Winter." Ruby told her bestie.

"That'll be fun..." Glynda muttered. Ah well, advance warning and, alcoholism aside, he WAS a...well, something.

"...Wait, so he's Yang's mom's brother and Oz said that he knows what happened to her." Nora pointed out. "And he hasn't TOLD you?"

"...Well, no one's perfect." Yang muttered. "It probably hurts him too..."

"...When he gets here, we're gonna get him to tell you." Ruby declared. "We can get Ozpin to tell him to, even. Right?" she asked the Headmaster.

"That...would be for the best I believe, yes." Ozpin agreed. It was overdue.

"Right...also, he's not actually related, y'know, biologically to Ruby, right?" Jaune asked.

"Don't care, still uncle." Ruby retorted.

"Right. Think that was my dad talking again..." Jaune muttered while Weiss looked...contemplative.

[Victory for hate incarnate]

"Woah, uh, do they not like each other?" Nora asked.

"An excellent question..." Weiss darkly muttered.

"I don't know, he's never mentioned!" Ruby panicked under Weiss's glare.

"He's...not terribly fond of the military in general." Ozpin pointed out. "And Operative Schnee is quite...rigid in terms of military discipline."

"He also kind of hates the Atlesian Elite, particularly your father." Glynda added. "They have SOMETHING of a rivalry, I suppose, even if he's old enough to be her father. It's ridiculous."

"That's understandable." Ren replied. "Well, the first part, in any event."

"Guess we have that in common, huh?" Blake muttered at the same time.

"...What's that picture?" Pyrrha asked, noticing what was flying in front.

"Looks like...a group shot?" Jaunt squinted.

"Wait, is that..." Yang began.

[Misery and pain for
Aaaaaaaaaaaallll]

"...Team STRQ." Ozpin finished. "It would seem to be."

"So are THEY important now?" Nora asked.

"It may just be that the audience learns more about them, if Qrow's showing up in person." Blake theorized.

"Kinda doubt I wouldn't have to ask him about the train..." Yang muttered.

"Hey, mom..." Ruby whispered.

"Hi dad!" Yang greeted at the same time.

"So, you have the same dad, but two different bio moms, and they were all on the same team." Nora summed up. "Poor Qrow, all left out."

"Ehhhh, maybe?" Yang replied. "I mean, I have some theories..."

"No, Yang." Ruby firmly responded. "It was probably a mutual triangle at most."

"Fiiiiiiiine." Yang acquiesced.

"...nice shot." Jaune offered as the scene shifted.

"Oh, yeah, that's Harbinger!" Ruby declared. "I based my child-I mean, weapon off of it! And HE based it off of some Huntress he really liked."

"Plus, it...kinda fits the room here, doesn't it?" Blake asked.

"That it does." Ozpin agreed. The reason for Qrow's presence was obvious: He had things to report, & it was too dangerous to do over the CCT. James may insist that it's safe, but some things are better handled...in person.

[When. It]

"Ah, the sphere's back!" Nora shouted.

"I suppose the symbolism is that the "villain's" plan is in motion?" Weiss theorized.

"Well, that is what the rest of the song's kinda saying." Yang agreed.

"But what about AFTER?" Pyrrha questioned. "If there's still at least 5 Volumes after this one...where do we go from here?"

"I mean, maybe new stuff happens and IS THAT US?" Ruby shouted.

Indeed. Teams RWBY & JNPR. Out of the sphere. "Oh, so WE'RE the ones who fall, huh?" Nora sarcastically remarked. "As if the rest of the words weren't obvious about that..."

"But we'll get back up and-" Ruby was interrupted by the finale.

[Faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalllls!]

"Yup, we're falling alright, great observation." Yang snarked.

"Very clearly, yes." Weiss agreed. "...What does it imply, exactly?"

"Well, going by the REST of the song, and the whole "give us an edge" thing, it's probably us being caught off guard by...whatever happens." Blake theorized. "It seems like...a lot."

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense and WAIT, PYRRHA!" Ruby shouted as the on-screen Pyrrha fell into the Abyss.

"Not just Pyrrha, all of us." Jaune noted at the next visual. Indeed, it was just Team RWBY now.

"Right right, main main characters." Nora griped.

"...Odd that it didn't start with Jaune, considering he's the leader." Ren pointed out.

"I'm certain it's fine." Pyrrha assured the, though she seemed unsure. "Perhaps it has something to do with when I fought Mercury."

"I suppose, since you're the "champion", they may target you first." Glynda added. Of course, there was another reason they would, she knew...

"Hm." Ozpin noted, thinking of the same. That...didn't imply good things. Still, it was hardly conclusive of ANYTHING, so judgements couldn't be made on it. At least, so the children seemed to think.

"I don't like how I'm looking there." Ruby added at the next part.

"Not do I..." Weiss muttered. Rather than the determination Ruby's onscreen counterpart had shown against Cinder, it was...fear.

"Oof, we do NOT look good." Yang remarked at the final shots. It looked kinda neat, but...

"You, Weiss, and I look...defeated." Blake analyzed. That did NOT bode well, especially with him on his way. This was just miserable. Except, as Blake then pointed out: "Except for Ruby. She's still looking up." Huh, so she was.

"Heh, don't ever change, Ruby." Yang smiled.

"What that that imply about the rest of us, however?" Weiss nervously asked.

"...We'll work it out." Ruby declared. THIS is why she was the leader. "Anyways I hated that so let's just move on to rest of the song, which iiiiiisss," she couldn't help put still do THAT, "...When It Falls."

~~~~~
I've grown Lazy, I've completely stopped with the small edits, never really mattered I suppose.

Welcome to Vol. 3

Probably. I'll explain next chapter.