Chapter 9: "Lost"
At the main base, Barak walked over to the council in a white room with a map showing Remnant and sat in the chair in before he spoke, unaware that Terra was listening in as she walked by after having sorted out the technical problem her boss asked her to fix, again.
"I suppose you're wondering why it is I've called you to my presence. We know the people of Argus have been... insubordinate as of late. And repeated attempts to settle this peacefully have been exhausted. So, before we move forward on this 'Final Solution', I've called you here to invite you to discuss any concerns you may have. If anyone plans to object, now is the time."
For a moment there was silence before a man sat up and spoke.
"I... I think that by sending our men towards the Huntsmen, we've taken a great risk. If what you say is true, that the rebel Huntsmen have a Grimmwalker under their control, then who knows what kind of Grimm they'll have power over?"
This made Barak suspicious as he eyed him and stood up.
"Are you really concerned about the lives of these citizens? Or are you more concerned about your own life?"
This made the man hesitate a bit before he spoke again.
"Are you afraid, Sergeant?"
The sergeant didn't speak for another moment before he worked up the nerve to do so.
"Maybe... maybe I am afraid."
This made Barak furious as he slapped him in the face, frightening Terra before he spoke.
"You disgust me! If you expire serving Atlas, then you should consider yourself fortunate to have the glory of such a death! Men who are not loyal to Atlas invite shame to their families, dissension upon their kind, and the worst torture upon their children. Men who are not loyal believe Atlas to be at fault, and therefore, hate Atlas. Are you loyal, Sergeant?"
The man trembled a bit before his voice finally spoke.
"Y-Yes... I am."
With that, Barak turned to Cordoven, who was just as surprised as everyone else before he spoke.
"And you, Ms. Cordoven?"
"I am, Councilman."
"Good! I don't care if it takes one soldier or a thousand. You willfind the Relic of Knowledge and bring it to me. And when you do, we will destroy every Huntsmen Academy, and leave no trace of their students on this Earth! And to those of you who tremble in the sight of them, or the Grimm, I say this and I expect you to say it with me. ATLAS WILL PREVAIL!"
As the crowd shouted in unison those exact words, Terra began to grow weary as she walked away and had a thought of her own.
"We're in real trouble now."
At Argus, Summer walked with Qrow in the city stuck on what they should do with Cordoven at the guard.
"Honestly, I don't see how we're gonna be able to get past this, Summer. And I seriously doubt your brother would help."
This made Summer look to him before she spoke.
"Well, If he can't, I'm sure we can come up with something."
"Heh, can we?"
"What do you mean?"
"So far we've looked left and right in this city, and we haven't found one backdoor that'll take us to—"
Before he could finish, he noticed a left-open sewer gate before he spoke.
"Wait a minute. I don't think that's supposed to be left open."
Summer could easily tell where he was going with this.
"I see. Either the people here do poor jobs, or..."
"Someone's been going underground. You don't think...?"
"It wouldn't hurt to look."
With that, Summer and Qrow went inside the sewers before they unfortunately got the stink in their noses as Summer laughed it off.
"Ew, gross!"
"Honestly, I think gross would be sugar-coating it."
Suddenly, they heard footsteps in the distance before Qrow and Summer looked to the far tunnel on the left.
"What was that?"
"I don't know. But it sounded like they took the left tunnel."
"And you're sure about that?"
Summer looked to him in a smirk as she replied.
"Uh, yeah. My hearing is just about as good as..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Summer immediately felt a pain in her stomach as she began to clutch into her chest, making Qrow worried as he held her.
"Summer! Are you okay?"
Summer had a bit of labored breathing for a moment before she spoke.
"Yeah... I'm fine."
However, her pale skin said otherwise as Qrow noticed it and spoke to her again, forcing her to hide her right arm in her hooded cape.
"How long ago have you eaten anything?"
"Just last night. Why do you ask?"
"You look like you haven't eaten in a month."
"I said I'm fine, Qrow. Let's just go, okay?"
Hearing the succinct worry in her voice, Qrow knew she was hiding something, but what he didn't know was what it could be.
"You're lying, Summer. I know you are. You wouldn't be this stressed if it was anything small. So just save us both the trouble and tell me what's going on with you."
This made Summer stop in her tracks before she turned to him with a sorrowful look.
"Did you guys really think I wouldn't have come back without any conditions?"
"Conditions? What are you talking about?"
As an example, Summer then removed the cape to show her arm near transparent, making Qrow widen his eyes as she explained.
"When you all came to my grave, Ruby's tears from her silver eyes called to mine from the afterlife. I wanted so badly to see her again that Coleum came to me and... he granted my wish. But it was only meant to last for as long as she needed me with her. With everything that's happening, my time is running out and fast. I thought I never wanted to tell you because it'd only attract more Grimm, but... after seeing what Crimson is capable of, I... I realized I was scared of what'll happen when I go away again. I didn't want that to happen."
As expected, Qrow did not take the news well. At all. In fact, he began shaking his fist before he spoke.
"Let me get this straight. You're just a phantom that's only gonna stay with us as long as we needed you... and you didn't even bother to tell that to us?! How could you think that was okay?!"
Hearing the anger in his voice, Summer began to tremble her voice as she tried to speak.
"Qrow, please listen—"
"NO! YOU LISTEN! After you died, I ended up drunk and broken with ache because I was convinced that I was the one who killed you just by being near you! And now you're bringing that up to my face again by telling me you're on some time limit?! Why can't you ever stay when we really needed you?! Maybe then we never would've lost you in the first place!"
Hearing him say those words, Summer gasped at his words as she covered her mouth before Qrow realized his outburst and tried to apologize. As he did, however, Summer broke the silence with a monotone voice.
"I see. Now I know I shouldn't have come back at all. Thanks for being honest with me."
"Summer, you know I didn't mean it like that."
"It doesn't matter. You're right. And judging by how fast I'm fading... I don't see any reason to stay anymore."
"No. No, Summer, that's just not true."
"Isn't it?! If I'd stayed with Ruby instead of going after Spring, I wouldn't have died and left you all to come apart!"
As Summer shouted at her husband, she began to shed tears before Qrow tried to wipe them away.
"Summer..."
"No! Just leave me alone! Leave me alone so I can just disappear! It's what I should've done when I came back..."
With that, Summer began to run away, making Qrow worried fast as he spoke.
"Wait! Summer, stop!"
Fortunately, the chase didn't last long as Summer found herself in the presence of two Atlesian guards, their uniforms in tatters before Qrow noticed them as well.
"Huh? Are they—"
"Atlesian soldiers. But... what are they doing down here?"
One of the soldiers explained as he walked to them.
"We've been forced to run when Kazan took power."
Hearing the name of the one who robbed Maria of her eyes, Summer grew worried.
"Kazan?"
"But I thought Barak was in charge."
Then, the other soldier spoke up in reply.
"Of Atlas, yes. But in Argus, Kazan is the ruler. He overthrew the leader of the city with a Malevolent."
"And he had a glowing red sword and a blue staff."
Analyzing the descriptions, Qrow easily understood what they were talking about.
"Hold up. A glowing sword and staff? That means... no. That can't be."
"What is it, Qrow?"
"That maniac has the Relics of Creation and Destruction. He must've hit both Shade and Atlas."
As the news made Summer widen her eyes, she looked to the soldiers before she spoke.
"What else do you know?"
At the city, Skye looked around for any sign of Crimson as she crossed the street and made sure to keep her cape over her, earning several suspicious and/or confused looks from her as she had found no sign of Crimson anywhere. As if that weren't enough, the looks from the people around her were beginning to bring back painful memories. One of them included her being captured by the Atlesian military before it triggered her desire to run away with her heartbeat beating fast.
"G-Get back! Stay away from me!"
As she ran she wasn't focused on where to run off to before she ended up bumping into Ryker, who had his device in hand before both fell to the floor as Skye looked at him and spoke fast.
"I'm so sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going."
Then, the boy spoke up as he explained himself.
"No, I'm sorry. I wasn't looking, either."
As they looked at each other, Ryker felt as though she was familiar as he spoke.
"Wait... don't I know you from somewhere?"
Skye, afraid of what it meant, backed away while holding her cape close to her face.
"Uh, no. You don't. And you shouldn't."
In her panic, she made the error of showing a mark on her arm, making Ryker widen his eyes in realization as he spoke.
"It's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you."
Skye was a bit hesitant at first, given her experience but Ryker helped ease her into relief as he gently got her hand open and lifted her up from the ground before Ryker spoke.
"You're the Grimmwalker, aren't you?"
"What if I am?"
"Barak said the Grimmwalker was a very evil being bent on humanity's destruction. But you don't look evil to me."
This made Skye look at him in wonder before remembering how quickly everyone treated her because of her powers.
"That's not what everyone else believed. They thought I was a monster like them. And even before then they picked on me and teased me. They judged me before they even knew me. What proof do I have that you're not gonna do the same?"
"That doesn't always have to be a bad thing. I mean, I don't know you, but I know you're a good person."
This only earned a scoff from her before she spoke.
"How? What do you even know about me outside the obvious?"
Ryker felt it best to give his honest answer as he spoke.
"Well, nothing. But that doesn't mean I don't want to know you."
This made Skye confused as she looked to the young lad.
"All my life, when I was little, people picked on me because of my size. They never made any effort to get to know me. And that... really hurt. But then my parents told me that if they pick on me or say I'll never fit in, it's their loss. Because they don't know me the way my parents did."
Skye then held her head down, knowing how quickly her parents resorted to treating her like another beast.
"If only I was that lucky."
"You know, Salem said the same thing."
This made Skye look up at him in shock as she spoke.
"What? How do you know her?"
"Come on. I'll show you."
As Skye got dragged through the city towards a statue in the square, Skye recognized who it was as she recalled Jinn's answer.
"Whoa..."
"That's how I know her. One day, she and Ozma, the great wizard and witch, came to save Argus from a Grimm attack. And like that, the people paid their respects to them. But then, one day, her family, they... there was a fire and... now they're gone."
Knowing the truth, Skye felt hesitant to tell Ryker about her as she spoke.
"Well, what did she mean to you?"
"I think... she's way too much like my mom. Always putting others first, but... never herself. She got killed by the Grimm last time they attacked. Her and my dad. It was the worst moment I ever had to go through."
As Ryker tried to will himself not to cry, Skye placed her hand on his shoulder before she spoke.
"Sounds like they must've been good people. Your parents and... Salem."
"Yeah. They were. What's your name?"
"Oh... I'm Skye. Skye Volare. And you?"
"I'm Ryker."
This made her smile as she shook his hand.
"Well, it's nice to meet you, Ryker."
Meanwhile, Mercury was practicing outside, much to Ruby and Maria's anxiety as they were getting tired of waiting for him to be done before Emerald, who had her fair share of waiting, spoke to Mercury.
"I hate being kept in the dark like this."
"Yeah. Cinder may have been a pain in the past, but even then, at least she kept us filled in. But Oz? That's a different story."
As he practiced, Emerald spoke to him.
"Can I ask you something?"
"You're gonna."
"Why did you come with us the night Cinder and I found you?"
"Why are you asking—?"
"Just answer the question."
Seeing the seriousness in her face, Mercury played along as he continued practicing.
"It just made sense."
"It made sense?"
This made Ruby curious as she spoke.
"And what's that supposed to mean?"
"All my life, my dad trained me to be a killer, an assassin like him. And moments after I killed him, you two showed up looking for my exact skills. Just felt like it was meant to be."
This only made Emerald tense as she spoke.
"That's it?"
"Hey, what's your problem?"
"I mean there has to be something you wanted from this, right? Take Crimson for example. He was in this to get revenge on Ozpin, but what's the point of that if he's just gonna come back over and over again in different lives?"
"Yeah, well, Oz hasn't shown his face, or mind or whatever. Anyway, he's hiding now. Now that he got what he came for, he's flown the coop. I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't come back."
Then, Ruby spoke up, catching Mercury's attention.
"Why did you stay with her, knowing about Salem?"
This made him confused, considering Ruby suddenly became interested, but all the same, he replied to her.
"Well, her sob story aside, Salem promised us everything. If we win this thing for her, not Nigreos, we'd be top dogs in her new world. What more could we want?"
For Emerald, the answer was easy.
"I just... Cinder was the only family I ever had. She cared about me, taught me things. And ever since Skye did what she did to her arm, she's shown more of that than I should expect. But with what we know about Salem and her father now, add in the fact that Ozpin isn't here, I just don't feel like what we're doing is—"
Before she could finish, Mercury interrupted.
"Wake up already. Before Skye cane along, Cinder didn't care about you. She didn't care about either of us. And that goes double for Ozpin."
"You don't know what you're talking about. What proof did we have that Salem would keep her word? Maybe the truth is that she never was going to give us what she promised! Maybe we just declared war on life as we knew it for no reason! Maybe we killed those innocent people for no reason!"
Seeing her stress, Mercury tried to end it his way.
"You're in denial. I'm no more proud of what we did than you are, but if you're gonna start having a crisis of identity or some crap, keep me out of it."
This only infuriated Emerald before she began attacking Mercury out of spite, scaring Ruby as she spoke.
"Wait! Guys, stop!"
As Ruby tried to run in, Maria only stopped her with her cane before Mercury spoke to her.
"I'm sorry you didn't have a mommy that loved you, but I had a father who hated me. He never went easy on me. Every day of training was a beating. And when I unlocked my semblance, he stole it with his. 'This is a crutch. This makes you weak!' He told me I could have it back when I was strong. So I got strong, but I never got it back. I've had to work harder than anyone to get where I am. You may not like it here without Ozpin, but I think I'm right where I'm supposed to be."
As an answer, Raider spoke to Mercury as he stood out the door.
"Is that so?"
Seeing him, Mercury grew surprised as he spoke onward.
"Then why are you even staying here?"
This only made Mercury angry as he spoke.
"How long have you been standing there?"
"Honestly, I think it's sad that you lived your life full of violence and hate and now you won't even make the effort to leave it."
"You don't know anything about me!"
As Mercury tried to attack with a kick, Raider only dodged it before kicking him to the ground and summoning his Armageddon to hold it at his throat, making Emerald worried as she spoke.
"Hey!"
As she tried to stop him, Ruby took her turn to stop Emerald before the latter looked at her as she shook her head before Raider spoke.
"I know more than you think. My parents were dead and I blamed the White Fang for it, wanting the leader who murdered them dead. By the time I found out who really called the shots, he was already dead. And now that I found out that Salem was as much a victim as we are, I have no purpose. Do you have any idea what that's like?"
This made Ruby curious as she spoke.
"Wait. You were still wanting revenge? I thought you gave up on that."
"Well, I haven't. And at this point... I never will."
Maria scoffed at this as she spoke.
"And I thought Mercury was the crybaby."
This made Mercury take offense to that as Maria continued to talk down to Raider.
"Hey!"
"Listen, young man. They knew the sacrifices they had to make and they made it just so you could live. You shouldn't repay that by throwing your life away over something so petty as revenge!"
"Have you ever lost someone you cared about, Maria? Have you?!"
This only earned Maria's stomp from her cane as she spoke.
"No yelling!"
That, however, only confirmed Raider's suspicions.
"Didn't think so."
"Remember what I told you. That mindset isn't going to help you master your eyes. You mustn't think of them as destroying evil. Think of them as a way to protect Remnant."
"Remnant was already broken before we came along. How do you think it got its name?"
Ruby spoke to Raider next as she stood up.
"Maybe it is. But who's to say we can't put it back together?"
As she looked at him, Raider scoffed at her as he spoke.
"You don't even know what you're talking about. You're just a child. You don't know any better. So wake up and get it through your naive head. We've already lost the moment we started."
As he walked back inside, Ruby held her head down before Mercury spoke.
"Whoa. You weren't kidding when you said he was the crybaby."
This only earned a scoff from Emerald as she turned away before Mercury spoke again.
"What?"
In the house, Neo was sitting on the bed staring at the bowler hat Roman once had. With what she'd been told by Crimson prior to his disbanding, Neo was surprised to learn that Roman Torchwick was resurrected by the false Nigreos. This presented a dilemma for her. Now that he's returned, would she continue her current path, or would she come back to him. As she sighed at these moments, not sure what to choose, Neo heard knocking on the door before Tukson came in.
"Neo, are you alright?"
"I don't know. I'm trying to choose."
"Choose between how you're feeling?"
Neo smiled sadly at this before she spoke.
"Actually, it's a bit more complicated. You remember how I told you Roman was like a father to me?"
Having known Crimson's side of the story, Tukson then got the picture of what she's trying to decide.
"Oh. I see. You don't know if you should go back to him."
Neo only sighed at his answer, knowing he was right.
"Yep. On one hand, he took me in and helped me be the best I could be. But on the other, I have my own life now. I just... I just don't know how to choose."
"Besides the obvious?"
This made her groan before she laid her back on the bed and spoke.
"I need help. I have no idea what to do."
With that, Tukson laid down on the bed beside her, catching Neo by surprise as he spoke.
"Well, maybe you'll figure it out once we step back from the problem. It's easier to figure out that way."
This earned Neo's smile before she hugged him, catching him by surprise next.
"I'll take that in consideration. Thanks, Tukson."
"Sure thing."
Outside, Crimson walked on the road that led to the forest as he muttered to himself about how the group was following Ozpin.
"I'll show them. I'll show them all."
Suddenly, he heard growling from up ahead and saw two red eyes as it stepped forward and roared before swiping its claw at him, missing as Crimson was forced to step back and he roared back at it, lunging at it before he stabbed it with his claw and was knocked off of it before it retreated, confusing Crimson as he spoke.
"What was that?"
As if to answer, Maurice spoke up as he and Selene caught up with him.
"It meant you no harm."
As they walked toward him, Crimson was half-expecting them to follow after his attack as he spoke to the elder.
"I beg to differ."
"It was just frightened. Ursai are loners by nature and uncomfortable being close to others. Hmm, there's a bit of them in you."
"I'm no coward if that's what you think. I'm just better off doing my own business."
Selene took her turn to speak as he walked off.
"And what about your friends?"
This made Crimson stop in his tracks before he glared at her.
"Former friends. Tai had always been a coward who couldn't march out of the house to save his own spine. Raven was the one responsible for my sister's death, so it'll be a cold day in the land of darkness before I ever forgive her. Qrow is nothing but bad luck, so I'm not gonna take any chances with him. And Summer..."
Knowing how dear she was to him, Crimson only sighed reverently before he spoke.
"I love her, but... she's a child. She thought we could be decent men in an indecent time. But look at me. Does that even look like a possibility?"
Selene knew the question was rhetorical and she held her head down before he spoke onwards.
"She was wrong. She remembered a time where there were heroes and Huntsmen. So, like a child, she conflated the two. She was a fool to put her life in his hands. Ozpin keeps them weak. And if they want to be, who am I to stop them?"
Maurice sighed before he spoke of what must be done.
"True, but they won't succeed in bringing Salem to her senses without you, nor you without them."
"And how do you know that's the way it works?"
"I don't. But the Great Spirit does. Choice, Knowledge, Creation, Destruction. The most important to start is Choice. If you're to put an end to Salem's heartache, you must choose to let go of your own ache towards Ozpin and convince Salem together. This is something you can't change."
With that, Crimson took Selene and Maurice by their hands before he spoke.
"Watch me."
With that, the group disappeared in a white haze.
Meanwhile, in Argus, Team JNPR and Saphron looked for Oscar and Skye as Jaune, Pyrrha, and Nora called for them.
"Oscar!"
"Skye!"
"Oscar!"
Ren, in the meantime, felt as though it was difficult, given the locale.
"This city is enormous."
"This is all my fault. I overreacted, and I shouldn't have let Crimson do what he did to Ruby."
Saphron was still concerned out of what led it to occur to begin with.
"I still don't really understand what happened. Was it about the mission?"
Nora gave a reply to her as she grew saddened.
"It's... kind of hard to talk about."
"I know, I know. Top secret. Did he... do something wrong?"
"No, he didn't. But Crimson didn't believe that. We just got some new information, and... it's going to be a lot harder than we thought."
"Well, if it was easy, then it wouldn't be important, right?"
Ren And Jaune disagreed as they spoke.
"I think we're all unsure about what to do next."
"Which is more than we can say for Crimson. He's had a rough time with Oscar, and he blames him for everything. To get back at him, he just... punched Ruby through the wall, told him it was on his head."
"What? But that's just... wrong."
"Crimson doesn't care what's right or wrong. Not anymore."
Saphron tried to think of a way to help them as she spoke.
"You could... stay in Mistral. Get your licenses at Haven, and... come back to Argus. There's a lot of good you can do here. I know your mission is important, but it's not like you're the only ones who can do it. It's not the only mission that needs doing."
Jaune hesitated to speak the truth as he walked onward.
"It's... not that simple."
"Well... I should go pick up Adrian from daycare. I'll let Terra know what's happened, and... we'll meet you later. Good luck."
As Saphron walked away, Nora looked at Jaune and tried to alleviate the situation as she spoke.
"Hey, there's a café over here. Why don't we get something to warm up?"
Jaune, however, wasn't in the mood to do so.
"I'm okay. You guys go on ahead."
As he sat on the bench, Nora tried to check with him again as she spoke.
"You don't want anything?"
When he didn't respond, Nora and Ren looked to each other before Pyrrha spoke up.
"You guys go on ahead. I'll stay with Jaune and see where else we can look."
As the two nodded and walked away, Pyrrha sat down by Jaune as she spoke.
"You know, we could always go check with a certain someone who lives here."
"Yeah? Like who?"
Pyrrha smiled at him as she spoke.
"Well, it's going to be awkward."
Taking action, Pyrrha took Jaune with her as they walked over to a house before she knocked on the door. A moment afterwards, a red-haired girl with glasses opened the door to notice her as she spoke.
"Pyrrha?"
"Hey, mom."
Seeing her daughter after a long time, especially after what had occurred, she hugged her daughter before she invited them in. A little while after, her mother introduced herself.
"My name is Ignis Nikos."
"Hi. I'm Jaune Arc."
"You know, she trained here, in Sanctum Academy. Everyone was crushed when she chose Beacon over Haven. No one wanted to see her go, but it was where she wanted to be. I'm just glad she was surrounded by such amazing people."
Then, Jaune brought up another detail.
"Well... do you know who saved her?"
"Yes. And it's thanks to him that she's right here with me. I guess he didn't want to see her go either."
"Well, you got that right."
"But even then, she understood that she had a responsibility to try. I don't think she regretted her choice. Because a Huntress would understand that there wasn't really a choice to make. And a Huntress is what she always wanted to be."
Play RWBY Music: "Forever Fall"
As Jaune looked at at Pyrrha, who was staring out at the window before looking to him and her mother as he nodded to her before she returned the favor and he spoke to her mother again.
"After what happened to Beacon, she never got the chance to graduate. But she was a Huntress. No. She is a Huntress."
Hearing this made Ignis tear up a bit before she rubbed them off while adjusting her glasses.
"Thank you."
Suddenly, they heard Ren's voice outside as he spoke.
"Jaune! Pyrrha!"
As they walked by, Ignis spoke to her.
"Are they your friends, too?"
"Yeah, Mom. They are."
With that, Pyrrha went to the door and opened it, catching Nora and Ren's attention before she spoke.
"We're in here, guys."
As she noticed them, Nora spoke up.
"Guys, why did you—?"
Before she could finish, she gasped upon seeing Ignis in between Jaune and Pyrrha as she waved.
"Hello. You must be the rest of my daughter's team. Won't you come in?"
"Once like a dream
You looked at me
And everything felt new"
As a response, Nora widened her eyes as did her smile like a Cheshire Cat. Before she could lunge, Ren stopped her as he spoke.
"Keep it together, Nora."
As Pyrrha giggled, she realized what they were here for.
"Oh. Right, I almost forgot. Mom, did you see anyone in a blue cloak recently?"
Ignis only shook her head before she replied.
"Sorry. I don't think I've seen anyone in particular today. Why?"
Before Pyrrha could explain, Ren spoke up as she saw her walking with Ryker.
"Guys? I think I know where she is."
As Skye walked with Ryker, they heard a door open before Jaune spoke.
"Some people fall in love for life
Others never get it right
Love's fickle when it calls
One that I know for sure
Longer than our lives endure"
"Hey, Skye. We've been looking for you everywhere. Who's that?"
Skye looked at him with a smile as she spoke.
"A friend."
"You're my forever fall"
End RWBY Music: "Forever Fall"
Later, Summer and Qrow were taking in the news that the soldiers gave them before the former spoke.
"So, Kazan overthrew your leader... and no one in Argus knows about it?"
"Yes. They're not even aware of their leader's death."
This made Qrow concerned about their plans as he spoke.
"So why are you here? Don't you want to save the people in this city?"
"It's not that simple."
This made Summer tense her hand as she spoke.
"Don't give me that crap."
This made Qrow more worried as her Brady attitude is coming up more often than it should as she spoke onward.
"Come on. We'll at least find a better place for you than here."
Then, as if sending what he's trying to say, Summer turned before she spoke.
"Not... one... word."
As she walked away, Qrow held his head down before one of the soldiers spoke.
"Is she your girlfriend?"
"No. My wife."
"Oh. I still like her."
Up top, Raven and Taiyang were waiting by a house while they spoke to each other with the latter being worried.
"You don't think Crimson had anything to do with this, do you?"
"It wouldn't surprise me. He always had it out for Ozpin."
"But if he keeps reincarnating, what would be the point?"
"I don't think he cares about that. Maybe he just wanted him to suffer, like Salem did. And when you think about it, those two pretty much belong with each other."
This made Taiyang ponder over it before realizing what it fully meant, even if Raven couldn't comprehend it.
"Maybe you're right. More right than you think."
"Huh? And what's that supposed to mean, Tai?"
"Think about it. They both lost the people they cared about and blamed Ozpin. But they've gotta know that it's not working to just take him out. They're hurting."
"So what?"
"Remember what Skye told us? That she had a plan?"
"Yes, I heard. I was right in the room with you."
"Why do you think Selene should go back to her? How do you think Crimson stuck around with them the way he did?"
"Like that matters anymore. He attacked Ruby, Tai. You saw it."
"Yeah, but he didn't kill her."
As Raven looked away in disbelief, Tai spoke again.
"Look. I'm serious. We had a fair share of enemies, but Crimson. Even with what he just did, I don't think he's one of them."
"Then you're not thinking at all."
Suddenly, they heard coming behind them as Teams RWBY, CMNE, and JNPR, along with Saphron, Terra, Skye, Ryker, Logan, Adrian, Maria, Tukson, Raider, and Ignis followed them before Terra spoke.
"I'm sure this looks great to the neighbors."
This only earned a bump in the arm from Saphron before Summer and Qrow arrived with the soldiers. As they did, Ruby went up to her mother and spoke.
"Mommy!"
As she hugged him, Summer immediately saw the bandage on her face as she spoke.
"Ruby... what happened?"
"I... don't want to tell you. You'd hate it."
"Ruby. It'll be okay."
Ruby doubted this as she backed away.
"No. It's not okay. Nothing is okay."
However, this only earned an angry tone from her mother, having been rejected by Qrow after telling him the truth.
"Ruby, calm down and tell me what's going on. Now."
As she saw her anger, Qrow illustrated it clearly.
"I'd listen to her. She's not in a good mood right now."
As Ruby stared at her mother's angry face, a door opened up behind them as a familiar voice spoke up.
"Oh. I was wondering when you'd get back."
The voice belonged to Oscar, who now wore a green jacket over his white shirt before everyone who knew about his disappearance grew relieved while Summer, Qrow, and the two soldiers looked on in awe before Nora shrieked as the children charged at him, knocking Oscar to the ground before Ruby helped him up as she, Weiss, and Nora spoke to him.
"You had us worried sick."
"Are you okay?"
"What are you wearing?"
As Oscar smiled at this, Terra could smell something in the kitchen as she spoke.
"Is something... cooking?"
"Oh, uh... yeah, I thought maybe you guys would appreciate a hot meal after... spending all day looking for me, apparently."
As they smiled, Jaune walked up, feeling ashamed for what occurred back then.
"It's my fault we were all out there in the first place. Oscar, I am so sorry. For earlier. We were way, way out of line, and, and what I said..."
"No, it's okay. These past few days, I've been scared of the same things you were. I don't know how much longer I'm going to be... me. But I did some thinking. And I do know I wanna do everything I can to help with whatever time I have left."
"Good. This team isn't the same without you, Oscar."
"Besides, you're not the one who hurt Ruby."
This made Summer concerned as she spoke.
"Then who did?"
This made Oscar turn to Summer, seeing her increasingly angry face before she spoke.
"Who... hurt... my daughter?"
Before he could answer, the oven beeped before Oscar panicked.
"The casserole!"
Fortunately, Saphron filled in for him.
"We're on it, chef."
As they went to the kitchen, Oscar gave his answer, although hesitant due to her scary presence.
"Well... while you were gone, we had a disagreement. Crimson was about to hurt me when Ruby used her eyes. Then, in retaliation... Crimson assaulted her and broke her through the wall."
Hearing this, Summer tensed her hand in anger as she began to snarl.
"Crimson... did this?"
"Mom? Are you okay?"
Suddenly, Summer got her sickle out and threw it at a wall as she shouted in anger, making Adrian scared as he huddled closer to Terra.
"HE'S A DEAD MAN!"
"Summer, calm down."
"Why should I?! I don't have enough time of my life left and what happens next? My own daughter gets attacked by my brother! I don't know about you, but I am not leaving this Earth with my daughter being hurt and someone getting away with it!"
In her anger, Summer failed to realize that she let slip her greatest secret as Ruby spoke.
"What are you talking about?"
As Summer looked to her daughter, she bore a face of sadness before Ruby spoke again.
"You've got plenty of time with us. Right?"
Summer only held her head down as she spoke.
"Why would you care? Your father didn't."
As Ruby looked to him, Qrow began showing his face in shame as Ruby spoke.
"What happened to you guys?"
"Something you shouldn't know."
With that, Summer began walking up the stairs as Ruby spoke.
"And where are you going now?"
"To be alone. I just... Ive got a lot to deal with, okay?"
"You've been gone all day. Just sit with us."
Trying to prevent the situation from escalating, Qrow spoke to her daughter.
"Look, Ruby, we're glad that you guys worked out your, uh, whatever all that was, but the fact is we're not a single step closer to Atlas."
Jaune thought differently as he spoke.
"Actually, I think I have an idea."
This made everyone look to him as Ryker spoke.
"You do?"
"Yeah. But it's sort of a 'no-going-back' kind of idea."
Ruby spoke up as she looked to him.
"Well... let's hear it."
"With Cordo on watch, only Atlas airships have the clearance to leave for Solitas. So, we... steal an Atlas airship."
This made Skye and Ryker nervous as they spoke in unison.
"What?!"
This made Adrian laugh at this before Jaune glared at him and Weiss and Yang spoke.
"It's not just breaking the law. That's... that's definitely worse."
"How would we even get into the airfield?"
"That... part I haven't quite figured out yet. But, I was—"
This only made one of the soldiers speak up in defiance.
"Okay, stop. Just... stop."
This made Qrow worried as he spoke.
"Why? Don't you want to take your city back?"
"Of course we do. But if we stand up to Kazan, he will turn the Malevolent on the city."
This petrified Maria, remembering the torture he made her endure without her eyes as she spoke.
"Kazan?! The one who took my eyes?!"
"So, you know him, then. Then, you also know it's best to drop this."
This only made Summer more desperate to reason with them, stressed with having to deal with two things at once.
"Listen to yourselves. You're protecting Argus by not protecting Argus?! If we work together—"
"Then the Malevolent will kill everyone! Besides, if this plan of your friend's goes south, it's not something we can just fight our way out of. Believe you me, we tried and failed. Add in the fact that the Atlas Military is on high alert. For your sakes, all of yours, let it go. It's time to surrender, Huntsmen. No matter who wins... we lose."
Ruby then looked at the depressed faces of her friends before she put on a face of anger before she spoke.
"I want to hear him out."
"Listen, girl."
"I want to hear him out! I know you're afraid we can't do it, that you're trying to protect us, but right now, I don't really care what you think! Just because you guys don't have an idea doesn't mean we're out of options. Oz hasn't been here to tell us what to do, but we still managed to get this far anyway! We've been in bad situations before, and we didn't need an adult to come save us or reel us what to do! We just did it our way! And I say we do it our way. And if you think you can keep up with us kids, we'd be happy to have you."
This made the soldier turn to Maria before she spoke.
"Looks like you guys didn't give her enough credit either."
This made the soldier then chuckle to himself, peeving Ruby a bit as she spoke.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing. It's just... I can't tell you and that Huntress apart anymore."
Ruby then looked to see her mother in the stairs as she smiled at her.
"Why do you think? I am my mother's daughter, after all."
This made Summer smile a bit before she saddened her face again, remembering how well Qrow reacted before she spoke.
"Ruby... I need to speak with you. Alone."
With that, she walked into the room as Ruby walked up the stairs as she spoke.
"What's this about, Mom? If it's about why I tried to hide Crimson's attack from you, there's a good reason for that."
"Actually... it's because I was hiding something. And... with how your father reacted, you'll understand why I only need you here."
With that, Summer showed her transparent arm, making Ruby gasp in shock as she explained herself.
"The truth is, I'm fading because you're growing, Ruby. And... I've been meaning to tell you when I came back, but I... I wanted to see you again so badly, I forgot about it. That is, until we left for Argus. I tried hiding it so I wouldn't scare you. But apparently, I wasn't doing it well enough. When I told your father everything in the sewers, he... he was angry. He said something that hurt me so much, but it was true. If I hadn't left you for Spring... none of this would be happening."
Ruby held her head down at this before she spoke to her.
"Mom..."
"But it's okay. I know now that as bad things happened from it, good things came, too. You had your own team, you learned to use your weapon, and most importantly, you've grown up into a great Huntress. Maybe the greatest one of all. My only regret now... is how much I've missed those things. And how much I'm going to miss you again."
"It's okay. We still have some time, right?"
"I wouldn't say that."
Suddenly, Summer's arm began to disappear completely, followed by her legs making Ruby worried as she went over to her.
"No. No, no, no, no! Mom! Please don't go!"
"It's too late, Ruby. I have to go. You said it yourself. You never needed me to help you."
Ruby, watching her mother disappear, became scared and regretted her words.
"No! No, I was wrong! I needed you! I always needed you! My whole life I needed you! Please don't leave me again!"
Summer could only brush Ruby's hair back with her remaining hand as her daughter sobbed.
"I have to. But look on the bright side... at least we get to say goodbye..."
"I don't want to say goodbye! I don't!"
"Ruby... please tell Crimson he needs to let go. For me."
"Don't talk like that! I won't let you go!"
Suddenly, her cape turned into white, bright flowers as she spoke.
"I'll always love you, my little rose... goodbye."
With that, Summer had faded completely into flowers that scattered out of the window and towards the sky as Ruby watched in ache and she shed her tears, sobbing uncontrollably at her passing as Qrow walked in to see Ruby in a heartache before she noticed him.
"Dad... she's gone."
Hearing her sobs, Qrow went over to her and hugged her as she sobbed on him.
"It's okay, Ruby. At least we know there is an afterlife. And that she'll be watching over us."
Ruby didn't listen to his words as she snuggled closer to him, seeking comfort that only proved impossible to obtain. Her mother was gone again.
At Evernight Castle, Crimson, Selene, and Maurice teleported just outside the door before the first of the three knocked on the door and Salem opened the door before gasping upon seeing Selene and Maurice before her as the girl expressed a similar shock from recognizing her face from the statue in Argus before she spoke.
"Are you... Salem?"
Salem replied back breathlessly as her shock still remained.
"Yes."
At that moment, the both of them reached for the other's hands before Selene and Salem embraced each other with a hug before Salem looked to Crimson with tears in her eyes, tears that streamed down her face and dissolved the red streaks on her face until only her white face remained as she spoke.
"Thank you."
Crimson nodded to her before he spoke as the two finished their hug.
"Well, what do we do now?"
Remembering how her father ruined her life, from one tower to another, and how much he made her suffer, Salem knew it was clear what they should do.
"Whatever we need to."
This made Selene look up to her in confusion before he spoke.
"And what do we need to do?"
Salem turned to Crimson before she spoke.
"Crimson, get Tyrian and the others. We're going to end this... once and for all."