The 3rd Volume of RWBY saw the fall of Beacon Academy due to a large Grimm attack orchestrated by the White Fang and Salem. As a result, Pyrrha Nikos and Ozpin were killed and Yang, during a battle, lost her arm. With the fall of Beacon the students were sent home, while the 3 other regions began to address the growing threat that is slowly plotting to throw their world into chaos. 6 to 8 months after this, a now scattered Team RWBY begins to pick up the pieces as they head to Mistral. For Ruby, she has joined with Nora, Jaune, and Ren (now known as Team RNJR) and they are heading to Mistral to find answers to why Beacon fell. Along the way they discover several villages destroyed by Grimm, only to learn from a soldier that after the Grimm attacked several bandits killed the remaining villagers. While in these villages Ren recognizes a foot print of a Grimm and tells his teammates that it is not safe for them to be there. Meanwhile, as team RNJR is getting closer to Mistral they are being followed and are attacked by Tyrian, a scorpion Faunus, who’s mission from Salem is to capture Ruby. Qrow, who has been following Team RNJR, interferes with the fight resulting in a high-speed fight to occur between the two men. Despite being told not to interfere, Ruby gets involved resulting in Qrow saving her, but getting hit by Tyrian’s stringer, which Ruby cuts it off. This forces Tyrian to retreat, while Qrow begins to answer Team RNJR’s question about the four maidens and the history of Remnant. While answering their question, Qrow becomes weakened due to being stung by Tyrian, forcing Team RNJR to carry him for the rest of the trip. Nora proposes a plan that Ren and her rush through the mountains, as Ren wants to avoid the village Kuroyuri, while Jaune and Ruby go a different route. While going through the mountains, Ren discovers a small cave that has his villages. He realizes that the Grimm, the Nuckelavee, that attacked his village is still alive. With this realization, he rushes toward Ruby and Jaune in the Kuroyuri village to discover they are safe, right as the Nuckelavee emerges. A battle is on their hands and Team RNJR struggles against the Nuckelavee. They develop a plan that allows Ren to execute the Grimm creature, which avenges his parents and his village. While this fighting is occurring two military airships notice the battle and take Team RNJR to Mistral where Qrow receives medical attention. Once in Haven, Team RNJR has a meeting with a compromised Professor Lionheart who has reduced the security around the relic due to Salem’s influence.
While Ruby is on her journey Weiss has returned and is staying in Atlas. Weiss is order to go to her father’s study, but before she can go she is confronted by her younger brother, Whitley, who wishes her luck after praising their older sister Winter, who he dislikes. Before entering her father’s study, she hears him arguing with Ironwood about the ban on all exports of dust to other kingdoms until he can be certain that there will not be a war. Upon Weiss entering the study he leaves, at which point Weiss’s father, Jacque, asks her to perform at a charity event as a means to boost his company’s image. After giving a great performance, Weiss attends the after party where she witnesses the people of Atlas only caring about themselves. While accusing them of this she summons a creature, which Ironwood quickly guns. Resulting in him saying that she is the only one who is making sense around here. Due to this incident Jacques scolds, grounds, and disinherits her from the family business. Having very few options she begins planning her escape from Atlas as she asks her Butler Klein to help her out. Klein leads her to a secret passage and she eventually bribes a cargo ship to take her out of Atlas as she is heading toward Mistral.
The third member of Team RWBY, Blake, has decided she wants to return to her home on Menagerie. While traveling on a boat she throws her bow, which is covering her Faunus ears, into the sea. The ship is attacked by a Grimm sea dragon, which is killed by Blake and Sun, who followed her and decides that he will accompany her back home. Once back home Blake approaches her home nervously, where her mother, Kali, and father, Ghira, are happy to see her. During this reunion two members of the White Fang, Corsac and Fennec Albain, visit Ghira, the chieftain of Menagerie, to tell him that a splinter group under Adam is responsible for the Fall of Beacon. This reassures Ghira and makes Blake leave angrily. After being politely dismissed Corsac and Fennec agree to inform Adam of Blake’s return. Following this, while talking to her father, Sun and Blake discover and chase a White Fang spy. Upon cornering her the spy is revealed to be Ilia Amitola, a former acquaintance, who injures Sun before fleeing. Sun, who has been sleeping due to the injuries, wakes up to an upset Blake who reveals she didn’t want to be away from her friends, she just didn’t want them to get hurt. Sun replies that her friends fight for her not because they wanted to, because they had to, and by acting the way she did only hurts them. Kali and Ghira reveal the scroll Lilia left behind containing Adam’s plan to overthrown the White Fang and attack Haven. Blake puts a stop to this before the attack is carried out.
The final member of Team Ruby Yang begins to pick up the pieces of her life since Adam cut off her arm. This begins as Ironwood has sent a special bionic arm for Yang to try. She is hesitant to do so and doesn’t begin to try it until her father’s friends Port and Oobleck come to visit. This prompts a discussion about coming into adulthood and acting as an adult. Following this meeting she learns that her father didn’t go after Ruby because he needed to be there for her, which is the impetus for her trying on the bionic arm. After weeks of training with her father, he advises her to start thinking more during battles and not to rely on her powers too much. At the same time, he also begins to talk more about Raven and the positive qualities he sees in his daughter’s personality. With both of these pieces of advice Yang eventually beats her father in a practice fight, thus confirming that she is starting to return to the state that she was once in. Yang spray-paints her bionic arm and prepares her motorcycle and is ready to leave with her father asking if she is going after her sister or mother. It is later revealed that Yang is in Mistral looking for her mother, Raven.
The members of Team RWBY are not the only characters to go through changes as a young farm boy Oscar Pine, after finishing his chores, hears Ozpin’s voice. Oscar, who has never met any of the people Ozpin knows, is having a hard time accepting what has occurred to him. Even though Ozpin explains that their souls and Aura have merged allowing them to have shared memories. Ozpin convinces Oscar to travel to Haven where he knows Qrow will meet him. While on this journey Oscar/Ozpin runs into a man named Hazel, who Ozpin knowns from his past. Hazel does not recognize the boy and helps him get on the correct train to Haven. Hazel unknowingly helps Oscar’s train arrive in Mistral where he meets with Qrow asking for his cane back. Oscar joins Qrow and Team RNJR as they plan their next move in Haven in locating the Spring Maiden.
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