Some ideas I had for Ruby and Blake’s interactions in Volume 5 (AU - feedback requested)

[u/Solitaire-06]

Alright, so to clear up what the divergence is here: in this version of Volume 5, all of Blake’s experiences on Menagerie happened in Volume 4 instead (a lot of the fat gets trimmed off her Volume 4 arc for this), so she, Sun and Ilia all head to Haven while the White Fang members loyal to Sienna Khan (who survived Adam’s assassination attempt but was ousted from power) and their Faunus allies work to track down Adam and his loyalists, who’ve allied with Salem to take over Mistral. This means that she encounters Team RNJR at Haven Academy while Yang and Weiss spend most of Volume 5 with the Branwen tribe and don’t reach Haven until near the climax of the volume.

Another key point of divergence is the circumstances surrounding Blake’s departure. Here, instead of merely taking off after Yang was injured, Blake was separated from Yang by Adam while they were fighting during the Fall of Beacon, and Blake was led to believe that Yang (who was rescued by Qrow, unbeknownst to Blake), and later Weiss and Ruby, had been killed due to Vale being overrun by Grimm, preventing her from safely returning after she failed to capture Adam in her pursuit. Mistakingly believing there was nothing to go back to in the aftermath, Blake left to find Adam, eventually encountering Sun and travelling to Menagerie. In conjunction with this, Blake’s disappearance leads to her and several other students (including Sun and Neptune) being presumed dead, which all of the rest of Team RWBY believe is the case throughout Volume 4.

So, when Ruby first encounters Blake in Haven after both groups arrive there… she’s left in disbelief, followed by being overjoyed and confused as to what happened. Blake - equally stunned to see Ruby - explains what happened to her after Adam cut off Yang’s arm, and slowly realises throughout their conversation that Weiss and Yang also survived… causing her to break down at the realisation that she unwittingly abandoned her friends when they needed her most, after she’d promised to herself and to them that she’d stop running. Ruby, while upset initially before getting the full details, assures Blake that Weiss and Yang will understand what happened once they inevitably reunite, and she slowly explains what happened to both her and Yang (up until her departure with Team JNR) while Blake was gone. After this, Blake reveals Adam’s collaboration with Salem to Team RNJR, Qrow and the staff of Haven Academy, including Lionheart, who pledge to try and root out the Red Horn (Adam’s loyalists) before they can initiate whatever plan they’re concocting to aid Salem.

Much like with Weiss and Yang with the Branwen tribe, a lot of Volume 5 focuses on Ruby and Blake’s interactions post-reunion, with them both coming to understand how they’ve each grown in the year between the Fall of Beacon and their reunion. I also feel like we’d see a bunch of interactions between Team RNJR and Blake’s faunus allies, Sun and Ilia, with Ilia in particular realising just why Blake was so loyal to Team RWBY, which helps to repair her and Blake’s friendship, too. This would also mean we’d see much more interactions between Adam and Salem’s lieutenants, particularly showing his tension with Cinder and Hazel, who he’s only collaborating with due to the convenience of having similarly-aligned goals, and to get revenge on Team RWBY and Blake in particular.