Chapter 10: "True Colors"
Play RWBY Music: "Lusus Naturae"
At the field, Raven glared at Crimson as the sun went down, covering it in shadows before he spoke.
"The sun has set. Now, your misery begins. But first..."
With that, Ruby stepped forward beside Crimson before getting out her double-bladed scythe as Raven scoffed.
"Gnarled and mangled
Warped, deformed"
"Really? You can't even fight me yourself?"
"Ruby and I are family. Something I wouldn't expect you to understand."
"I understand more than you think."
"Then where is your daughter, now?"
Just then, Skye spoke up.
"I'll fight in her place."
"They see nightmares
A mutant swarm"
As Raven turned to see her, Skye stepped forward before she spoke further.
"Yang is fighting for her friend. Raven knew she could handle it because this is something she needed to do for herself. So that's why I'll fight with Raven, to get Ruby back by myself!"
Ruby scoffed at her words before she asked.
"Even if it means killing me?"
Skye hesitated for a moment before she summoned a white chain blade with a blue jewel in the center of the tip as she replied.
"Only if there's no other choice."
"I see beauty underneath
I see promise in nature's freak"
"Then so be it."
With that, Crimson and Raven darted toward each other while Skye darted toward Ruby, both sides clashing their blades before Raven held back his claw with her sword before she spoke to him.
"How could you do this to us?!"
"You took away the most important person in my life. Did you really think there wouldn't be any consequences?"
"I was just trying to protect my family."
"Liar! You betrayed your family! And I'm going to make you bleed for this!"
"A mystery of blood and bone
Soulless origin unknown
Twisted devil, villain lost in time"
As Raven pushed Crimson back, Skye was dodging Ruby's scythe before she aimed to slice her from above, only for Skyr to place her chains in front of it, obstructing its path as they initiated their own dialogue.
"I can't believe you, Skye! I loved you like a sister! I should've known you'd turn on me! Just like all the others!"
"Turn?! You were my friend! I respected your purity, your conscience, your spirit, the way you never gave up!"
"That's because we have a duty, a responsibility, to use our talents in the service of others, even if they don't appreciate it. We are doing what's best for those beneath us, for you, whether you understand it or not!"
"No, Ruby! This isn't right! You were everything I wanted to be! You just threw all of it away!"
"And it's been a long time coming."
"Mindless, born of bubbling ooze
Intelligence, I will infuse
A curse upon the world, but now you're mine"
With that, Ruby thrusted Skye away before she attempted to stab her, only for the Grimmwalker to swiftly dodge it before she gripped her Crescent Rose with her chains before flinging it away. With that, she turned to Ruby before she spoke.
"You don't have to keep fighting, Ruby. You don't have a weapon."
Then, Ruby moved closer to her before using her head to hit her back before she picked her scythe back up.
"Doesn't mean I don't want to."
"I will raise you up
Design the perfect beast
Elevate the savage
Use you to bring peace"
As Ruby smirked, Skye used her aura to create a sword similar to Raider's Armageddon, only the blade was colored white as she engaged to fight her again. All the while, Raven moved in towards Crimson to attack him, only to hit his claw before he retaliated by knocking her away with it, scratching her on the chest in the process before he shouted at her.
"Quit being a coward and show me what you really are!"
This made Raven's eyes flare red before she darted toward him and swiftly swing her sword repeatedly at him before she plunged it into his arm, earning his agonized scream before he pulled back.
"Your aura arm can't protect your arm. Like half of you, it's Grimm. You turned yourself into a monster just to get revenge."
"I don't need aura to kill you."
Then, Crimson lunged at Raven before she lunged toward him, creating a massive shockwave that sent wind everywhere for 10 miles.
"They don't know
They don't understand
There's a goal
It's my master plan
These simple minded fools just see my plans abstruse
I'll give the monster's life a use"
With that, Raven used her open hand to freeze Crimson's arm, earning his snarl before she kicked him away and used her sword to slice it off of him before he yelled in pain and she covered her hand in red fire before punching him in the face to the ground farther away.
"Awaken my brood
Today you will rise
I've given you life my Lusus Naturae
Open your eyes"
End RWBY Music: "Lusus Naturae"
As Crimson panted, Raven looked at him with a sad look before she spoke.
"I'm really sorry for what happened to Summer. I was hurting, too. You didn't see that."
"I saw enough. She trusted you, and you betrayed her!"
"It's not that simple, Crimson. You don't know me. You don't know what I've done, the choices I had to make."
"I know well enough who you are. A traitor. A hypocrite. A murderer! A COWARD!"
As Crimson panted his breath, Raven held her head down.
"You're not wrong. I am all of those things you say I am... but that's not all of me. Summer was my friend, too. It's true. When I first stepped into Beacon, I had a mission to train there until I'm ready to kill Huntsmen. But instead... I had something better. Friends."
"And you threw all of it away!"
As Raven heard those words, she shed tears remembering how Summer impacted her.
"Yes. I did. And not a day goes by that I don't wish I could take it back. I haven't gotten over it. What happened to her left me weak, made me scared of my own shadow, because of the haunting memory of what I did to all of you."
As she spoke, Ruby turned to see Raven, listening to her hurt and grief revealing itself.
"I... I'm sorry. I don't know what I can do to prove it to you, but please... let it go."
As Raven tried to offer her hand to help him up, Crimson only spoke darkly.
"I'm afraid I'll have to pass. What was it Qrow said. Oh. That's right. 'Drop dead!'"
With that, Crimson's Grimm arm regenerated before slicing her eyes and earning her pained scream, much to Skye and Qrow's horror and to Ruby's surprise. As Raven put her hands over her eyes, Crimson walked over to her before sitting on top of her.
"You don't know me! You don't know what I've done! You don't know the choices I had to make! I killed millions!"
As he began punching Raven with every examples states, Skye, Lavender, Qrow, Neo, Vernal, and even Ruby began to look on in horror as Crimson beat her down.
"Humans! Faunus! Huntsmen! Vandals! Bandits! Civilians! ALL of this death just for this moment! If you thought I'd ever let your tribe go after what you put me through... you're just as foolish as my sister was!"
That made Ruby tense in anger from hearing Crimson mocking her mother before Skye spoke to her.
"See, Ruby? Crimson is no better than what you believed Raven to be. He forsook the whole reason for this and wants everyone around him to suffer like he did, enemy or not. But you're better than that. Aren't you?"
Ruby, still unsure of herself, rebuffed her words.
"W-Why should I care?"
"Despite what she did to you, at least Raven respected your mother. Crimson just called her foolish. Whose side do you want to be on?"
As Ruby looked at Crimson, he raised his claw while he spoke.
"And now, you get to die the same way she did; believing you made any difference when the truth is you've... done... NOTHING!"
As Crimson swiftly lowered his claw, he found himself blocked by a scythe before noticing Ruby in the way.
"What?! What are you doing?!"
"I'm defending my mom's honor... FROM YOU!"
With that, Ruby shoved Crimson away before looking toward Raven, who could only look at where the voice came from as she was blinded.
"Don't think this is over between us."
With that, Ruby darted toward Crimson, forcing him to guard himself as she used her semblance to slash him back and forth repeatedly. As she did this, Vernal took the opportunity to speak to the Branwen Tribe.
"Listen, everyone! You have to get out of here! We can only hold Crimson back as long as we can! You have to run!"
However, Nico spoke up to them.
"No! You can't run away. That's all you've ever done! How can you run away when your leader needs you most? If she's willing to die for you, then you need to do the same for her! Who's with me?!"
As the tribe cheered, Nico shouted to them.
"Then let's make amends for our mistakes and make things right!"
With that, the tribe joined in to fight with the White Fang soldiers surprised before they turned to Lavender.
"What do we do?"
"You heard him. Let's make things right."
As Lavender and her followers went over to the field, Jaune and Vernal ran over to Raven before they carried her out of the field while Karse charged his staff with yellow energy and turned to Cinder.
"Cinder, you must restrain her. This is a shot I can't afford to miss."
"Got it. Emerald."
Emerald nodded to her before she produced an illusion of Crimson all around her. However, Ruby saw through this rise with her red eyes as the illusions were transparent to her while the real Crimson was completely visible. With that, she continued her assault on him with her Crescent Rose as Emerald was having no luck trying to get her to stay still.
"It's not working!"
Then, Cinder summoned her swords in the colors of black and orange before charging toward Ruby and moving in to attack her before she noticed and collided her scythe with them, creating another shockwave in the process as one tried to overpower the other with no success.
"What... are you... doing?!"
"It's for your own good."
At that moment, Karse fired a yellow energy ball at her, knocking Ruby unconscious before Cinder sighed and turned to see that Crimson had lunged at her, only for her to knock him back with her sword as he snarled. As this happened, Skye was lost in the battlefield and tried to find Ruby.
"Ruby! Ruby!"
However, before she could move, Tarifa fired her web at Skye before pulling her in and got out a dagger to stab her, only for Lavender to speak from behind her.
"Wrong move."
With that, Lavender knocked her out with the blunt end of her sword before cutting the web off of her as she spoke.
"You okay?"
"Yeah. But I thought you were against the humans."
"Not all of us."
As the battle progressed, Crimson was now being pushed back by Cinder with her Maiden swords before his body began to glow dark red as he shouted.
"ENOUGH!"
With that, he made a shockwave that blew everyone back with all of them in the floor recovering before Crimson glared at Nico as he walked over to him.
"What have you done? You ruined everything. EVERYTHING!"
Before he could stab Nico with his claw, Qrow impaled him first with his Harbinger before he vanished in a white haze, leaving Qrow bewildered before he looked at Nico.
"You okay, kid?"
"I don't know. What do you think?"
Then, he turned to see Ruby unconscious as Skye spoke to Ozpin and Karse about her.
"Ruby... is she going to be okay?"
"She will be. But we must hurry. This spell would only work if she's unconscious.
"Cinder, place your Grimm arm on her."
"Okay."
As Cinder did just that, Karse spoke to Skye.
"Now, place yours on hers, Skye."
"Got it."
As their hands intertwined, Karse then pointed his staff at them before its eyes glowed red and the group noticed a dark haze coming from Ruby and coming onto Cinder before the haze turned white, thanks to Skye. What's more, Cinder's body began to change with her growing white horns on her head, her yellow amber eyes turning blue, and her back growing sharp spines. When the haze had gone, Ruby's white hair had now turned back to the standard black-red color before she groaned and opened her eyes to see her friends before Skye hugged her.
"Ruby! You're back to normal! Don't ever scare me like that again, okay?"
As Skye sobbed on her shoulder, Ruby hugged her back.
"Skye? W-What happened?"
Ozpin then explained the situation to Ruby.
"You were corrupted by the Tenebris Comet. It was thanks to Karse's quick-thinking that you're cured of its influence."
Then, Nico remembered a certain someone who's blinded.
"But what happened to Raven?"
As if to answer, Jaune spoke up to them.
"Guys. I managed to heal Raven. But... her eyes..."
Qrow has an idea where he was going before he spoke.
"I can make a guess. Thanks for trying, though, kid."
Just then, Raven walked out of her tent, her face now bearing a slash mark over her eyes and in between them as a white line went through them before Nico spoke.
"Raven. Can you... see?"
"Just barely."
"Listen. I'm... sorry for not telling you the truth. I mean, you were willing to tell me what's really going on, but me? This wouldn't have happened to you if I'd just been honest to you."
"It's okay. You were willing to help my tribe change, even if it was against my orders. The guilt you had to face through all of this is punishment enough."
"I think Yang might have a different take in the matter."
That made his eyes widen in surprise before he realized she was missing.
"Wait. Where's Yang?!"
At Menagerie, Kali and her guard were under fire from a Grimmite before she got a tray and used it as a shield, noticing the guard's look of confusion.
"You got a better idea?"
Suddenly, Randall appeared in the room with a white flash before he gripped the guardsman with a smirk.
"It's night time."
This made Kali angry as she ran towards him with a tray, much to her guard's behest.
"No, don't!"
As Randall noticed her, he shot his fingernails at her, only for Kali to use the tray as cover before attacking him as he banged it on his head repeatedly. After that, he fell unconscious before Kali looked to her guard before she spoke.
"I really need to consider doing some training."
Inside the hall, Yang spoke to Adam.
"You have no idea how long I've waited to pay you back."
"Well, I wouldn't waste your time."
"I'm serious. Do you have any idea how broken you've made me?! Every time I thought about you at home, I was scared! You made me scared of my own shadow!"
"You should be. I've made powerful friends while you were away. I think you might know one of them."
As if on cue, Crimson arrived between Adam and Illia before Blake and Yang spoke at the same time.
"Crimson. Wait, you know him?"
Crimson then gave out the details of his part of the mission.
"Bad news. Ruby and Nico betrayed me. So did your friend."
Adam growled at this, although he'd known this was gonna happen sometime.
"No matter. At the very least, I'll still lead the Faunus to a better future."
This made Yang concerned about Ruby before she remembered that he said that she betrayed him.
"What did you expect, Crimson? Did you really think she'd ever be in your side?"
Crimson growled at her before he turned to Adam.
"You better take care of this."
As he disappeared in a white haze, Adam jumped to the floor and glared at Yang.
"Don't worry. I will."
Having realized that Illia hadn't spoken in a while, Blake spoke to her.
"Did you come in here to hide?"
"I told you. I didn't want this."
"But you're still here."
"I don't have a choice."
"Of course you do!"
When she said nothing, Blake only sighed before speaking to her.
"Just stay out of my way."
As Blake turned her attention to Crimson, Illia took the opportunity to strike her down, only for her shadow copy to take the hit as it faded away before Blake was shown facing her. As Blake dodged Illia's weapon, she jumped into the air before tossing her rope at Illia's arm before pulling themselves close enough for her to kick Illia down before she clashed her weapon against hers.
"Why do you feel like you have to hurt people to get our way?"
"Because it works!"
"That doesn't make it right."
Then, Illia pushed a button that electrified her weapon before Blake exclaimed as her Gambol Shroud fell to the floor, catching Yang's attention before noticing Adam moving in towards her. As he tried to slice her, Yang ducked the sword before using her Ember Celica to perform an uppercut to send him to the ceiling. Seeing this, Yang used her weapon again to launch herself up to follow him while at the same time, Illia kicked Blake away before she was forced to retreat to underneath the table before Illia spoke.
"Stop lecturing me!"
As Illia turned out the lights, Blake stood in the light where Yang had launched Adam while she held her guard up before she found herself under attack by her weapon before shooting at her. However, Illia retreated to the cover of darkness again before she spoke.
"Why won't you just leave?!"
As Blake activated the sword function of it, she answered her.
"Because I run away too much."
Just as Illia attempted to hurt her again, Blake was ready as she dodged her weapon again before getting out a dust cartridge of fire for her weapon to fire before she spoke to herself.
"Sorry, dad."
With that, she set fire to the garden in the house above, providing necessary lighting to expose Illia before she was forced to attack Blake again. As she did, Illia knocked Blake's weapon away for a moment before she reclaimed it and countered her weapon before being pulled closer in order to slash at her, only for her to dodge it once by herself and the second time via Semblance as her shadow copy faded away. As they engaged in hand-to-hand combat, Blake put her hand down on Illia's, both holding weapons before she aimed to strike her. However, Illia avoided this before slashing at her with her weapon. When Blake dodged it again, she then fired her Gambol Shroud at Illia, who blocked the billets as she shouted to her.
"Quit taking potshots and fight me like you mean it!"
Then, Blake leaped to the upper level before Illia spoke.
"You used to see things the way I did! The way Adam did! If no ones going to do anything to stop the humans that attack us, that attack Skye, then the only choice we have left is to attack back!"
Then, Blake refilled her Gambol Shroud with her ice dust cartridge before shooting at Illia, intending for her to block it. In the process, she froze it as when she tried to attack again, it didn't move: it was stuck. Taking advantage of this, Blake used the rope part of it to pull the weapon away from Illia before leaping onto her and speaking with her.
"You're wrong. There's always another choice. Illia, please. You're a good person, but you're making all the wrong decisions!"
"SHUT UP!"
"Is this really what Skye would've wanted?!"
"I don't know what else to do!"
With that, Illia began to lightly sin before speaking again.
"I don't know what else to do..."
Then, Illia continued her sobbing as Blake felt bad for her.
Play RWBY Music: "When it Falls"
Meanwhile on the roof, Yang noticed a fire coming out from the building before she spoke.
"Great. How are you gonna explain this, Blake?"
As Yang looked for her opponent, she closed her eyes to hear footsteps before she heard them running toward her. In that moment, Yang dodged Adam's blade before she aimed to punch him. Although she managed to get him in the face, Adam used the momentum to perform an aura slash at her as he glowed red. Seeing this, Yang used her Ember Celica to launch herself upward, her robot arm barely grazed by it before she attempted to punch him. However, Adam blocked her robot arm with the blunt end of the sword before knocking her back.
"Swallowed by the darkness
Soon, the moon is bathed in black
The light of hope is taken
And discontent is the contagion"
Adam then spoke to Yang with a smirk.
"Tell me, does Blake have all of her classmates fighting for her?"
Yang replied back with a smirk of her own.
"Nah. I'm fighting you for me. As for Blake, she's got better things to do."
As expected, that infuriated Adam as he yelled while charging at her as Yang got herself ready.
"The blinding eyes
That burn a yellow flame
The embers that remain
Will light the fuse of condemnation"
Yang began to toy with Adam as she swung repeatedly at her, continuously missing his mark until he thrusted at her. This time, Yang dodged the sword before firing a wind blast from her Ember Celica at his chest, blowing him to the roof on his back before she spoke.
"Maybe a change in weapons was a good idea."
With that, Yang then ran toward him before leaping at him and firing a blast from her Ember Celica at his mask, splintering it as he went through the roof to the ground.
"Kingdoms in tatters
Hung on the brink of a war
The peace will succumb to flames"
As Blake noticed Adam falling to the ground, she then turned to see Ghira bursting through the door to see Blake on top of Illia before he spoke.
"Blake!"
Suddenly, Corsac jumped onto him and impalas him with his dagger, earning her concern before Blake called out to him.
"Dad!"
Suddenly, Illia pushed her away to the chair just as Yang got concerned for her as well.
"Blake!"
Then, Adam shouted as he tripped, Yang before reaching for his sword and aiming to stab her before Yang shot at his mask again, forcing it off of him as he exclaimed in pain while losing his sword. As Adam took his breath for a moment, Yang saw that one of his eyes were blue while the other showed that he had a grey pupil with a red iris as a scar that spelled out S.D.C. was burned over his left eye as he spoke to her.
"You'll pay for this!"
Yang only got her fists ready as she spoke.
"The check's in the mail, pal."
Then, Adam shouted as he charged at Yang before clashing his fist against hers repeatedly with no one side gaining an advantage before they engaged to push each other. As this went on, Illia watched as the conflict worsened before she heard Fennec's voice.
"Illia! What are you doing?! Fight!"
Having heard this and seeing Crimson reappear with a smirk, Yang realized this was part of his plan. As she did, Yang shoved Adam away before she tried to reason with him.
"This is not a tragedy it's not an accident
You've placed your faith in fools and now you'll smother in lament
They play the part if allies claiming peace their only goal
But once the fight for power starts, they'll eat each other whole
Their iron gloves point fingers, they'll wage a war of blame
And mankind will wilt in pain"
Break RWBY Music: "When it Falls"
"Listen, Adam! We don't have to fight!"
"I don't see why we shouldn't."
"I thought you wanted to do what's right for the Faunus. But this? This is not what's right! Do you even care what happens to them at all?!"
"I'm trying to make humanity pay for what they've done!"
"Then you're no better than Crimson! He doesn't care about anyone by himself. He's just using her name as an excuse for all the lives he's taken. Odds are, he killed the Faunus, the White Fang even, while he was at it. How long do you think it'll be before he goes after you? Maybe he's killing you already."
Adam then took a look at what's happening around him as Corsac and Fennec fought against Ghira as the latter darted toward him with his dagger as he shouted before Ghira grabbed his hand and pointed the dagger at Corsac, sending a blast of fire at him, knocking him out, catching his worry.
"BROTHER!"
At that moment, Adam saw Crimson's smile before he picked up his sword, turned to Yang, and spoke to her.
"After I finish you, he's next."
Continue RWBY Music: "When it Falls"
Then, Adam lunged at Yang, forcing her to block his sword with her robot arm before she fired an ice blast with her Ember Celica at it, coating his weapon in ice before shoving him away as Ghira noticed Yang in trouble against Adam before he spoke to Sun.
"Go help her friend!"
"You got it."
Before Sun could, however, Yang spoke out to him.
"Don't even try it! Adam is mine!"
"There'll be no rest, there'll be no love
There'll be no hero in the end who'll rise above
And when it ends the good will crawl."
As Yang forced Adam into a corner, he got out a gun from his holster before he shot bullets at her. However, Yang was using her aura to protect herself as they seemed to ricochet off of her to the pillars before she shoved Adam to the wall before Illia got her weapon out and wrapped it around Yang before electrocuting her. As this happened, Blake spoke to her with tears in her eyes.
"The shining light will sink in darkness
Victory for hate incarnate
Misery and pain for all"
"Stop! Please..."
Illia only looked at her with her head down before she spoke.
"I can't do that, Blake. I have to keep Skye alive."
"When it falls"
Hearing her name, Yang opened her red eyes before flinging her to the wall, causing the pillars to collapse underneath her as well as the platform. Seeing this, Yang ran over to her before she pointed her weapon at it and shot at the platform, causing it to explode in black dust.
End RWBY Music: "When it Falls"
This made Blake concerned greatly for her.
"YANG!"
However, as the dust cleared, Yang is seen shielding Illia with her hand up before she spoke to her.
"Are you okay?"
As Illia looked up at her in gratefulness, she responded softly.
"Y-Yes. Thank you."
Then, Crimson spoke up to her.
"As if that matters anymore. You may have been there to save your friends, but you couldn't save your own mother."
This made Yang worried about what he did to her before she spoke.
"My... my mom? What did you do to her?!"
"Same thing I'm going to do to you, sunny dragon."
As Fennec got up, Yang and Crimson spoke onward.
"So that's it. You took advantage of my wanting to help Blake just so you and the White Fang would get rid of her!"
"The White Fang was nothing more than a means to an end. As are the rest of my recruits. Your mother lost, because unlike her, I couldn't care less about my friends."
This enraged Fennec as he picked up his brother's dagger and worked up the nerve to attack before he ran to him and leaped onto him before stabbing him in the back (literally). Having earned Crimson's painful exclamation, Fennec was then tossed to the round beside Corsac before he glared at them.
"And don't think your Grimmwalker fared any better. She lacked the killer instinct. She couldn't bring herself to fight her friends, even if she wanted to. So, you can imagine how that ended for her."
This made Illia glare at Crimson as he chuckled before speaking again.
"And now, foolish child, you'll suffer their same end!"
Before Crimson could fire his fingernails at Yang, Illia trapped him in her weapon before electrocuting him before pulling him to the ground as she spoke.
"What did you do to Skye? WHAT DID YOU DO?!"
"Only what you all did to the humans: I rid the world of her."
As Crimson chuckled, Illia amped up the voltage and electrocuted him, his laughter getting worse before Blake and Yang spoke up to him.
"Illia, stop!"
"If you kill him, you'll never know what happened!"
"Didn't you hear what he said?! Skye's—"
"He's lying to you! I see it all over his face! He's just trying to get in your head, trying to make you lose control!"
As Illia looked at Crimson's maniacal face before looking to Yang, she began to feel something wasn't right before she stopped the voltage before he got confused.
"What? What are you doing?"
"I'm not going to let you use me anymore."
With Illia denying him her hate, Crimson glared as he lunged at her, only to be stopped by Adam as he stabbed through him with his sword, much to his shock.
"Adam...! What are you doing?!"
"What's right for the Faunus."
This made Crimson growl before his eyes glowed red and sent a shockwave as he made an explosion of red light before the others noticed that Crimson had gone. Looking back on what she's done up until this point, Illia broke down in tears as Sienna arrived with Kali, looking at the scene. As she cried, Yang knelt down to her before she spoke.
"It's okay. Skye's okay. I don't doubt that."
Amidst her sobs, Illia tried to ask her as clear as she could.
"And... h-how would you know?"
"I don't know. I just do."
With that, Yang turned to Blake before she smiled at her.
Later, the population of Menagerie had gathered to where the Kuo Kuana mansion burned as the guards spoke to them.
"Back! Everyone, stay back! We've got people inside doing their best."
Then, a Faunus among the crowd noticed something coming out of the smoke.
"Look!"
With that, Ghira came out with Corsac and Fennec before setting them down to the floor as Adam and Illia walked out themselves before Saber (a captain of the guardsman) spoke to another guard.
"Get in there! Search for any stragglers!"
Then, Saber turned to Ghirlandaio before he spoke with him.
"We came as soon as we got your call."
As the guards set Corsac and Fennec to their knees with Adam and Illia sitting down in the entryway, Saber walked up to them before he spoke.
"Was it worth it?"
Adam spoke honestly to him given Crimson's role in it.
"I used to. Now... I'm having second thoughts."
Then, Yang spoke up behind him.
"Well, that's news to me."
As Adam groaned, Yang spoke again to him.
"What? I'm serious. When it really mattered, you made the right choice. You saved Illia. Maybe, with enough time, maybe you won't be so bad after all."
Blake smiled at Yang before looking back to Illia, who turned her head away in shame before taking a deep breath and walking down the steps, catching Ghira's attention.
"Blake!"
Kali, however, stopped him as she continued walking down before stopping in the middle. With that, she spoke to the crowd.
"Humans didn't do this. We did this. Faunus. We did this to ourselves. We are just as capable of being manipulated into hate and violence as the humans, but I don't think any of us would jump at the chance to point that out. So, why are we letting Crimson do it for us?! By doing nothing and staying silent, we let others speak and act in our place. And if we're not proud of the choices they make, then we have no one to blame but ourselves. Even worse, you let him prove a point that taking no sides doesn't help anyone! No matter what side you're on, Crimson will kill you either way! This is the message Crimson Rose will bring to the world if no one stops him. But we can stop him! You have to understand that all of you are looking for simple answers to a very complicated problem. And I can't give that to you. I don't know how to make hate go away. I don't! But this kind of violence is not the solution. I understand that to ask you to leave your homes and protect Haven Academy is asking you to put your lives at risk... but that's what's at stake! So I'm going. And I'll stand by myself if I have to. I'll stand with you!"
This made Illia speak to her.
"If... if you'll have me."
As Blake turned to her, the crowd asked about her.
"Isn't that the White Fang girl?"
"I thought she hated the Belladonnas."
Then, Adam stood up and spoke next.
"And me too."
This caught everyone by surprise as they recognized him.
"No way. Adam Taurus?"
"He's joining her, too?"
As they tried to walk up, Saver stopped them.
"You're not going anywhere!"
"Let them come."
"Huh? You're just going to forgive them? After everything they did?!"
"I am."
As Saber looked to Yang, she spoke in favor of her.
"What? Don't look at me. I already got even."
With that, Saber then turned to Ghira as he nodded before Saber let them go down to Blake as he spoke with him.
"What does she think she's doing?"
"She's learned a lesson that evaded me until I was much older: that there is strength in forgiveness."
Then, Adam spoke to the people next as Blake nodded to him.
"Faunus of Menagerie! I have made horrible mistakes that disgrace not only the White Fang, but also my race! While I'm in no position to beg for your forgiveness, I ask you to listen to Blake Belladonna. She knows what's best for the Faunus. Her wisdom surpasses any I've ever seen, by far. And her constant strive for peace is what kept her spurring on to confront us each turn. She has done nothing but fight for you the right way! We all need to do the same. So I ask you not to join me, but to join the cause of peace. Any of my brethren who will step up and make things right is welcome."
With that, Mata, a Faunus with horns on his head that Sun spoke to earlier, stepped up.
"I'll go!"
Soon, the whole crowd, even the captured White Fang members joined in as well.
"I'll go, too!"
"I'll stand with you!"
"I'll go!"
"Yeah! Me, too!"
"Let's go!"
"Yeah, let's go!"
With that, Sun and Yang walked down the steps and joined them.
"Looks like we've got work to do."
"Thank you."
Then, Yang turned to Adam before clearing her throat.
"I think you owe me an apology for my arm, don't you think?"
As Adam turned away, he spoke.
"I don't think so."
"What?!"
"You wouldn't have gotten better as you did if I didn't cut it off."
That made Yang give a sarcastic smile to him.
"Oh. Really?"
Then, Sun spoke to the two of them.
"Okay, why don't you two lovebirds get a room?"
"We're not lovebirds."
That made Sun back up as he threw his hands up in surrender before Ghira stepped down and spoke.
"Do you think that's the last we'll see if Crimson?"
Yang face her honest opinion about him.
"I doubt it. The guy clearly wanted humanity dead. I don't think he'll leave us alone anytime soon."
Then, Ghira and Kali spoke of another matter.
"That means we're going to need shields, training, anything we can do to protect as many people as possible."
"We'll need transportation, too."
Then, Yang smiled at them.
"I think I've got a friend who can help with that."
Upon mention of it, Nico, Skye, Lavender, her followers, and Raider came through the portal as he spoke.
"Yang! Where are you?!"
"I'm fine, Nico."
Then, Nico looked to see a bunch of Faunus all lined up before he spoke to her.
"Oh. Looks like you took care of it real quick."
"Yep. What about mom?"
"Well, she was blinded for a minute, but Jaune fixed her up. So..."
Then, Illia noticed Skye as she ran to her.
"Skye!"
Then, Skye noticed her and ran towards her.
"Illia!"
With that, she threw her arms around her long lost friend before she spoke.
"What are you doing here?!"
"I was so worried about you. I thought Crimson killed you."
"I'm okay, Illia. I'm here."
Then, Raider walked down to see Blake with Adam and Yang before she spoke.
"Well, looks like you guys have been busy."
"I could say the same for you."
Then, Kali spoke to Blake.
"Well, I know how we're going to get there. But what about the rest of them?"
Then, Raider got his Armageddon out again as he made another portal adjacent to the first.
"You just leave that to me."
