"Come on! We have to find shelter!" Qrow exclaimed whilst carrying an unconscious Jaune over his shoulder. The three ran as fast and as long as they could into the woods. The explosions from the endless rain of missiles roared behind them. Blazing fires were scattered everywhere and smoke was beginning to fog the forest.

The Atlesian air fleet took them by surprise. Qrow blamed himself for not spotting the clues that led to the threat. The smoke he saw approaching from the north shielded the ships from all eyes. When the Atlesians were close enough, they fired their missiles to destroy Fort Varyon.

The fate of Adam and Storm remained a mystery as the missiles had thrown everybody off of their feet. Qrow saw that Adam was trying to cut the missiles before they impacted with his sword and make time for everyone to escape. As for Storm, Qrow had no clue as to his fate.

Once they found a cave, the three took a moment to rest after surviving the deadly attack. Qrow placed Jaune against the cave wall to allow Ren to care for him. Nora was on the opposite side, panting heavily. Qrow himself was out of breath after living through the attack and was still surprised that he was still standing. His hand shook when he looked at them.

As the sound of explosions were heard in the distance, Qrow decided to leave the cave to scout the area. He wanted to survey the area so as to get a better hold of things. Without hesitation, he leaped off the ground and turned into a crow and flew off into the gray sky.

Upon breaching through the clouds, he was met with the massive hull of a ship that was inches from his face. Gazing around, Qrow saw that there were over fifty frigates soaring above the clouds in formation. His eyes then caught the bulky build of a humongous ship, presumably the Atlesian Flagship, The Hyperborean. At that moment, Qrow knew that Ironwood was inside it.

Flying through the sky full of ships, barely avoiding their engines and wings, Qrow was able to infiltrate the Hyperborean through its vents. Once inside, he navigated his way through to the bridge. Qrow gazed around to find Ironwood but he was absent. Instead, he focused on the screens that were facing him.

From what he could piece together from what had happened and what he currently saw, Atlas had gained ground in Vale and Mistral. Vacuo seemed to be holding strong. Their desserts remained unconquered while their greener lands were under Atlas's control. Now Atlas had an influx of resources from the conquered lands ruling out Oobleck's suggestion of a war of attrition. Qrow felt that guerrilla was the only tactic. But was there any other way?

Then, Ironwood's voice boomed as he walked into the room. Everyone's head snapped to his direction as he furiously stomped down a glass and metal walkway.

"Operation Avalanche begins in four months and you tell me that the Eastern Front is falling?" Ironwood's rage echoed throughout the room.

"General, we've already sent six armies to Mistral. That's two sevenths of our forces. If we divert the rest of our reserve to the Eastern Front, we'd have no support left for our southern and western forces." An officer behind him informed.

"Divert the fourth fleet east. As soon as we take Vale, we head west and the sixth fleet will take our position." Ironwood ordered.

"But Commander Jack's already on course to Vacuo, Sir. Wouldn't it be better if we head east?"

"Are you questioning my authority, Lieutenant?" Ironwood stomped toward the officer and looked down on him with eyes that burned with rage. A moment of silence was heard within the room.

"No sir."

After that, everyone carried on with their duties as if nothing had happened. Qrow saw the fear in the officer's eyes when Ironwood stared him down and when he walked away, he visibly shivered. Qrow always thought that Atlas was a well oiled machine. Their success in the war was evident of this. Though Qrow never had a liking for them, he could not deny their might.

Thinking he had seen and heard enough, Qrow got out and flew back to the group. When he was out of the ship, he saw that much time had passed. It was morning when they arrived at Fort Varyon. The skies that were blue then were now a dim orange.

When he returned to the group, he saw that they were not alone. Alongside the three were other surviving soldiers from the fort. What was surprising was that Adam stood with them. But as Qrow got a closer look, he could see that the left side of his face had been scarred and burnt. It was now a mess of black, burnt flesh.

"How many survived?" Qrow asked.

"Unknown. But we have a more pressing matter at hand." Qrow folded his arms in curiosity. "We're on the northern side of Vale, deep in Atlesian territory. If we're to survive, we need to move north. South is not an option as most of the Atlesian military would be there. If we head north, we'll be faced with little resistance as Atlas would have to focus most of their troops on the fronts. Hopefully, we'll find a ship in a supply base and fly back to Vale undetected."

"I don't even need to ask about Storm do I?"

"He won the battle of Iron Falls didn't he? What can't he survive?"

Following Adam's plan, the small group of soldiers and Huntsmen rested for the night. In the morning, they would make the journey north.

When Qrow returned from a second scout of the area, he saw that Adam was not resting but was taking the first watch. Seeing as he too could not sleep, Qrow took a seat beside him.

"Most of us we'll be gone by the time this war ends. No more four kingdoms, the Academies would be disbanded and the Huntsmen will be lost to legend." Adam said.

"But the future generations will have a lesson to learn from all this. How war is not the way to decide, protect or earn." Taking another sip of his flask, Qrow started to feel weary from the day's events. "As long as there's people alive to tell about it, its good enough for me. I've always tried to protect and save as many lives as I could in exchange for the lives of a few. That's been my code."

"I've always tried to protect and save lives by eliminating the threat. But if this war is gonna make me kill more than I save, I guess its time I change. That was what Storm told me. But tell me, what are you fighting for? You said that war was not the way to protect or earn or decide. What about you? Are you fighting to protect, earn or decide?"

"Survival. The only reward war gives to those who see the end of it."