January 13th
Beacon Academy Vault
10:07 PM
"Roz!" Ozpin exclaimed, happily taking her into his arms despite the fear around them. "You're alright, you -"
"I know, I know…I was coming down here but I saw Elizabeth running and we split -"
"I was already coming," Elizabeth reminded her, her gun in hand, and Rose sighed, looking towards the pod that, despite Amber having been long since dead, was still on. "So then what -"
An arrow suddenly flew through the small partition in the long corridor between the three of them and shattered the glass of Amber's pod while Cinder lowered her bow and glared at all of them though she smirked when she saw Elizabeth. Tightening her handle on her gun, Elizabeth raises it to attempt to shoot her but Cinder dissipates the bullet with a slight flick of her wrist. Elizabeth lowered her gun, knowing it to be no use, and began to shake in fear as she knew that she was no match for the woman. Cursing herself for going after Mercury again earlier, Elizabeth rolled her ankle but let out a scream of pain in response to the sharp kick he had sent at her when she had attempted to shoot him again. With Ruby not there, she had been left to his mercy and he continued to kick her until she fell to the ground and was struggling to get up. Shortly after that she had run after Emmett through the pain that she had processed as numbness at the time but had now shifted into what it really was.
Looking to both of them, Ozpin then set his gaze to his wife. "Rose! Get out of here! Find Glynda! James! Qrow! Bring them here right away! The tower can not fall!"
"No!" Rose exclaimed, meeting his gaze and then glancing to Elizabeth. "I'm fighting that psychotic bitch with you!"
Elizabeth nodded nervously through her pain. "I'll try as well."
"Fine!" Ozpin snapped as Cinder slowly advanced, anger written all over her.
"The power," She said, looking at Ozpin. "Where's the power?"
Ozpin sighed. "Not here."
"Where…" Cinder hissed. "Or should I more accurately as who? Who did you give the power to?"
"How did you find her in the first place?" Ozpin countered, turning his cane in his hand while he continued to stare at her. "She was well protected -"
"Not enough," Cinder said, shaking her head slightly. "And she found her, not me. This is a supporting factor in what she said too. This whole time...right beneath our feet. She was right about you. Such arrogance."
Several moments passed in which they simply eyed the other and their movements before Cinder tossed her ashy black hair over her shoulder and ran towards Ozpin with her weapon at the ready. The movements blew out the already faint green light coming from the torches and the pod which had held Amber's body had no more light radiating from it while he used his dark green aura to block her from harming him. Rose used a conjuring spell to add some illumination in the darkness and quickly sent a harsh spell at Cinder from behind that bound her feet with rope. Turning to see the sorceress, Cinder narrowed her gaze before summoning a fireball in her hand to burn off the ropes. Standing up again, Cinder adjusted her target to Rose while Elizabeth ran at her from behind and attempted to tackle her but was harshly flung against the wall, crying out in pain while Ozpin helped her back up. Pulling Elizabeth as close to the elevator as possible, he motioned for her to wait until there was a distraction so that she could escape and she nodded weakly through the pain that was threatening to consume her as it ravaged her body.
Further away, Rose shoved her spell book away into her bag and approached Cinder quickly, grasping the woman's wrists by surprise. Temporary shock overtook her and she didn't respond fast enough to avoid getting pinned to the ground by Rose who attempted to use a spell to bind her there though Cinder managed to push herself up and summon a bow and arrow that she shot at Rose. Stopping her incantation to incinerate the arrow before it could touch her, Rose looked to Elizabeth who fired a shot that Rose caught and redirected the bullet towards Cinder though it missed by less than two centimetres. A heavy blast of aura from Cinder sent Rose flying backwards and she was slammed into the machines though her own aura prevented her from being injured despite still feeling the pain. Casting away her illumination spell, Rose made an attempt at taking Cinder by surprise but stop when bright flashes of Ozpin's aura and Cinder's began.
His cane clashed sharply against her own weapon and she her gaze temporarily followed what she could faintly see of Rose's figure as it moved towards them to engage in the fight as well. Deciding to twist the matter to her advantage, Cinder collapsed against the floor and slid herself back while melting the floor as she did so before using her powers to alter their form to sharp ice crystals. Manipulating them, she sent all of them towards Ozpin instead of Rose who had become a secondary target though her annoyance grew when he managed to deflect all of them and, with the help of being temporarily made invisible by Rose, caught the former Schnee by surprise as he struck her several times with her cane - eventually managing to send her back.
Though it was a stretch and a serious risk to take, Cinder attempted to merge her abilities as a natural born sorceress with the powers she had gained from Amber. Levitating herself into the air, her eyes sparking slightly in allusion to the faint powers that she possessed, Cinder focused the majority of her strength into her abilities as a sorceress while Ozpin slammed his cane into the ground - a force field surrounding him and Rose therefore unable to help. Using her anger towards her abuser, her mother, to increase her sorcery, Cinder created an incredible blast a fire with Dust that had only been increased in severity by her sorcery as Ozpin leapt towards her to attack with his barrier surrounding him. Breaking it with the last bit of her strength, Cinder pulled out a thin sword and shoved it through him and his cane dropped out of his hand while he fell to the ground dead. A scream escaped Rose as she watched the cane fly through the air and she drew it to her with her powers with tears rising in her eyes. Seeing his body on the floor, Rose let out a strangled noise that Elizabeth responded to by running towards her as Cinder landed on the ground.
"No!" Rose screamed while Elizabeth stared in horror. "Oz….Oz...Ozpin…"
Elizabeth sharply grabbed Rose by the arm and forced her to look at her as the younger woman dropped the cane in her hand. "Use one of your spells and let's go. We can't do anything -"
"I know," Rose said tears streaming down her face while she used an illusionary spell to allow them to escape through the elevator and back out to Beacon's courtyard. As soon as they were in the centre of the courtyard, Elizabeth looked at Rose who was trying to cry silently but then loudly began to sob and Elizabeth pulled her in close and rested the younger woman's head on her shoulder while she cried. "Oz…"
January 13th
Amity Colosseum Docking Bays
10:45 PM
The chaos continued to ensue as people continued to escape through the docking bays of the Amity Colosseum while the Atlesian Soldiers directed them as calmly as possible to the Air Buses that would take them to safety. There was one girl that broke down into tears while someone else tried to comfort her though it certainly didn't help when the White Fang used some stolen bullheads to drop more of the creatures of grimm of by the docking bay near where two Atlesian Specialists - one of which was Winter Schnee - were escorting General James Ironwood and quickly took out an ursa though a goliath Beowolf turned up behind them. Noticing the Beowolf while ordering the two specialists to stay back, James began to run towards it and steadily gained speed as he moved towards the grimm that was charging at him.
Taking his revolver quickly out of his coat, James ducked under the first swipe of the Beowolf while sliding under the second attack by the creature - following this immediately by shooting at the grimm several times before it began to charge towards him once again. Firing another few shots, James ducked under yet another swipe before catching the impending one with his cybernetic right hand. With some control, the General sent a shot to the monster's feet with the explosion sending it in the air and, still retaining a hold on it, James swung it harshly down to the ground before lifting up and shooting it through the skull while its inky blood splattered out before it dissipated. The grimm gone, James began to walk towards his dropship with Winter and her partner though stopped when the students gathered and Ruby looked at him with slight concern for what was going to happen to all of them.
"What's going on?" The silver eyed girl asked.
Looking to her first but then addressing everyone else, James started. "Grimm are crawling all over the city. The White Fang's invaded Beacon, and, to make matters worse, some...vagabond has seized one of my ships. Until we regain command, the skies are out of our control. So I'm -" James cut himself off as he shot a creep that was attempting to attack before finished and turned for his ship. "Going to take it back."
"What should we do?" Jaune asked and the General stopped and turned to face the students who were exchanging looks.
"You have two choices. Defend your kingdom and your school...or save yourselves. No one will fault you if you leave." Finally getting onto the dropship with the two specialists, James gave one last order before temporarily looking back at his son who was holding his sword at the ready for a grimm attack. "Let's move out!"
The dropship took off quickly and Winter and the other specialist monitored the going ons from the back that was completely clear while the General flew towards the city. What they didn't know, however, was that James's former teammate was commanding one of the Atlesian command ships and had seen the General take off in an attempt to get to the city. His hands focusing on the controls while he fidgeted with them as if he was a giddy child, Roman smirked as he began to look for the controls for the ship's guns so that he could shoot down the General's dropship. Finally finding it, Roman laughed and adjusted his hat before he began to set the aim for his target. In the dropship itself, however, James and the specialists were unaware of what Torchwick was doing until a sharp jolt hit the back of the ship and Winter opened the door to the cockpit in panic while her partner jumped out of the back as the smoke began to trail into it. Locking the door to avoid the smoke for as long as possible, James looked at Winter in confusion before the dropship quickly began to plummet to the ground.
"No!" James shouted angrily, turning to Winter who was shaking. "Schnee, is there anyway -"
Using a time dilation glyph, Winter slowed down time just enough for them to be able to survive the crash though though they were coughing heavily as the smoke filled the area - half of his uniform torn off which exposed his cybernetic right side and her feeling almost dizzy from the sudden smoke inhalation though when she realized that they had landed in a part of the downtown sector there was a moment of temporary relief when they managed to escape the crash site and head towards the main part of the city where the grimm were attacking. Back on the airbus that had allowed their escape from the Colosseum, however, all of the students were watching in horror while they watched the dropship fall from the sky and Allen began to scream incoherently while Sun restrained him from running back towards the stadium like Ruby was doing with her semblance, knowing that if the youngest Ironwood-Goodwitch tried that that he would get himself killed.
Almost gleeful for having done what he had assumed killed his former teammate, in contrast to the students, Roman was still playing with the controls while talking to himself. "Hmm...let's see, what does...this button do?" A noise was heard and Roman began to giggle as he pressed another one. "Oh, fun! How about...this one?" Hearing nothing in response, Roman shrugged. "Hm. Alright, nothing."
Her Atlesian Military disguise still on, Neo entered the room with a scroll that Cinder had infected with her Red Queen virus and he inserted into the console of the ship while laughing again.
"Oh ho ho! Now this one, this one's going to be fun!"
While Neo walked away and began to wander the ship, Roman infected the Atlesian Knight 200s - the virus turning their LED lights a foreboding crimson as the few squadrons that were in Vale turned on the hunstmen and huntresses as well as the soldiers and specialists. Though not an imminent threat as they were all quickly dispatched and the Atlas Military personnel continued to fight alongside the huntsmen and huntresses that were fighting for Beacon and for Vale, it was still a start for many and subsequently, as Rose and Elizabeth finally rendezvoused with Glynda, Qrow, Caitlin, and Cas in the City Of Vale, they temporarily paused in shock before Elizabeth shot off the two heads of the AK-200s that were advancing on them.
"What the hell was that?" Glynda asked, knocking back the last one with her crop. "Elizabeth -"
"I don't fucking know!" The woman declared in exasperation. "I'm just -"
"Rose…" Qrow began slowly, noticing Ozpin's cane in her hand. "Where's Ozpin?"
Startled by the question, Rose broke off into tears again and that was an answer in and of itself even before she forced herself to speak. "Cinder...she...she killed him!"
"No…" Glynda said, horrified by the idea while her cape fluttered in the wind and Caitlin and Cas exchanged a look. "How did she -"
"Not now," Elizabeth told her and Glynda sighed, crossing her arms after adjusting her glasses. "Really, Glynda, not now."
"Oz is dead?" Qrow asked, not wanting to believe it to be true. "No, he -"
"I had to watch him fucking die!" Rose screamed, her voice hoarse and her despair prevalent. "I had to see him, my husband, the only person I've ever truly loved die! Do you even know what that's like, Qrow, because I don't think that -"
"I know exactly what that's like!" Qrow snapped and she stopped crying in surprise. "Because Cinder killed Summer Rose -"
Rose collapsed onto the ground as a sharp pain hit her in the side upon a grimm swiping at her though Caitlin quickly shot it down and Cas began to deal with some of the other grimm before her partner began to help her. Elizabeth and Qrow circling around Rose who was struggling with even finding the motivation to get off the ground as everything seemed to be folding in on itself, Glynda knocked back several creeps with her riding crop and Qrow and Elizabeth occasionally fought grimm that came near the Prime Minister Of Vacuo. Unexpectedly, however, several beringels began to surround Caitlin and Cas who, though starting to shoot, were slowly getting pushed into a corner though, much to their surprise, the grimm were shot through the head and an ursa was taken out by a blur of white and blue that slowly stopped while smoke cleared nearby and James walked out, taking out the remaining grimm without hesitation before looking to all of them.
"This area's secure, we need to -" James said while Qrow's expression began to shift to apparent anger as he charged towards James who flipped his revolver in hand before steadying himself for the attack. "Qrow, this isn't my doing!"
The younger man swung his scythe quickly as he sped past the General who turned fast enough to see the griffon lunging towards him. The single swing sliced the grimm in two and, once landed and setting his scythe on his shoulder, Qrow scoffed. "You idiot. I know you didn't do this."
James temporarily relaxed with a sigh and lowered his head, placing a hand on his forehead, while Glynda rested a hand on his shoulder before speaking, her voice shaking. "James...there's something that -"
Shifting to face her, he met her gaze with worry. "What happened -"
"Ivy lost her...her left arm…" Glynda told him quietly as she tried to steady herself. "And Ozpin's dead."
"What?" He said, looking at her in shock. "Our daughter lost -"
"Guess to who," Glynda said, her voice dark as she crossed her arms tightly with her crop still in her hand.
James shook his head. "Cinder. She killed Ozpin too, didn't she?"
Glynda nodded weakly as they looked to Rose who was slowly getting off the ground and was being steadied by Elizabeth. "Was she trying to take Amber's power?"
Elizabeth sighed as she pulled Rose into her to keep her steady. "Yes, but, considering that power is in you, she obviously doesn't have it...thank god."
"So what now, General?" Qrow asked as he looked to James while Cas wrapped an arm around Caitlin.
James looked to Glynda before she tightly wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately before letting leaning into him as he spoke and rubbed her back. "Someone's done the impossible and gained control of my machines. And that enormous grimm seems to be fixated on the school. Glynda…" He said gently, knowing she was upset even if she wouldn't admit it. "Form up the local huntsmen and establish a safe zone here in vale. We need to evacuate Beacon; Qrow, I'm leaving that to you, Schnee, and the rest of my men. I still need to get to my ship."
Upon hearing a loud crashing noise, all of them turned to see the source while they observed James's ship slowly nose dive into the ground while Qrow laughed. "Well, it won't be much of a walk."
January 13th
Beacon Academy; Vale
11:30 PM
"I'm not bleeding anymore!" Ivy exclaimed, glaring at Emmett while he paced. "And my...it's covered! I can fight! Please!"
Emmett sighed, pulling a sleeping Hope close to him. "Ivy, I don't need you to lose any more...limbs… and -"
"Not fighting in the city! Here!" Ivy screamed, watching Adam Taurus run past. "Adam Fucking Taurus is here, and he -"
"I know!" Emmett snapped, looking at her with tears. "Cinder Fall is here too, and I want to hurt her for what she's done to my family just like you want to hurt Adam for what he did to your sister!"
"Adam is the reason Caitlin fell into depression! Him and Ilia!" Ivy continued to scream though her voice was growing strained. "I need to fight! He's -"
"Fine!" Emmett shouted back and she stopped while he opened the door. "But be careful because no one, no one wants to lose you!"
Nodding, Ivy pulled out Marfil and walked out, slowly breaking into a run as her gaze was changed to the burning interior of Beacon's dining hall. It wasn't long before she heard a scream of terror that was quickly silenced and Ivy almost collapsed on the ground as she heard the voice of Adam Taurus speaking to Blake though she couldn't make out what they were saying. Shaking, Ivy began to back up though her sister and Cas quickly came up behind her with Jaune and Pyrrha who were both just as panicked as the rest of them. Caitlin and Pyrrha exchanged a glance before Caitlin readied Catalejo and made a preliminary shot at Adam that Pyrrha perfectly manipulated towards him with her semblance. The bullet went into his arm and he glared as he ran at the source and Caitlin swallowed nervously as he half shoved her against the wall while grimm began to attack the others.
"Well…" Adam said, beginning to press her even further against the wall while she struggled. "It's nice to finally see you again, Cat!"
As he continued to press up against her and tried to kiss her, she had just enough of a range of motion to elbow him in the neck though he shoved her right back against the wall. "I know you don't realize that I'm not that ignorant girl I was six years ago!"
Adam nodded and tried to pull her closer to him while the others were distracted by grimm. "You know, I've waited a long time for this moment. You may be human, true, but that doesn't mean that I can't enjoy the pleasure of fucking you."
"Really?" Caitlin hissed, knocking her head hard against his to distract him before she stepped on top of his instep with force and the kicked him in the groin just hard enough to be able to escape from him as her. Steadying Catalejo in her hands, she pointed it at him with her eyes enraged. "Well you'll never get near me ever again! Not unless I'm fighting you and, believe me, I will fight you! You're cause is the right fight, but you're going about it in the wrong ways for the wrong reasons! You and Ilia think you're like me, but really you're not! Because the two of you want revenge above all else and while I've wanted revenge, while I've wanted to hurt people, I don't take others for my own gain no matter how noble what I want is!"
She fired another shot that hit him in the foot and he screamed before noticing Blake attempting to help others inside the disintegrating dining hall with Ivy. Pyrrha and Jaune took out a small nevermore that was flying at them quickly and as soon as Cas saw her running towards them and shooting down a creep, she sighed in relief. Pulling Caitlin into her tightly, her partner's breathing heavy from the fear that still had not faded, Cas didn't let go of her hold on her until she swung Shimmer over her shoulder and into her hands as she closed her eyes to allow the memories of her mother to help her remember why she fights against Cinder and her associates.
"Casey Emmeline Ciel-Schnee!" Emmeline exclaimed as her seven year old daughter attempted to lift up her rifle but instead opted to lean on it against the wall. "No, put that down! Cute as you may be, I don't need my daughter to get herself killed!"
"What's going on?" Emmett asked, coming into the room with panic in his voice before using a glyph to shift the rifle away from his daughter. "Cas! Are you alright?"
The seven year old pouted and sat down on the floor. "I'm fine. I just want to learn to fight like mommy."
"Cas…" Emmeline said, bending down and tilting her daughter's face towards her before kissing her forehead affectionately. "Of course daddy and I will teach you how to fight. Just a few more years while you get a better handle on your semblance, okay?"
The girl nodded. "Okay."
Emmett smiled faintly as he wrapped an arm around his wife before he pulled her into a deep kiss. "I love you so much, Emmy, and I -"
"Cas!" Caitlin screamed as she shot a grimm that was running at them. "Look out -"
Her eyes snapped open and Cas ducked out of the way of an incoming griffon that Jaune and Pyrrha sliced into pieces. Turning to her partner, she sighed. "Sorry."
"Are you alright, Cas?" Pyrrha asked and the girl shook her head with tears in her eyes. "Cas?"
"No, I'm not," Cas admitted, looking to Pyrrha. "I...Pyrrha, you know who killed my mother, right?"
Pyrrha nodded as she felt herself growing sick at the thought. "Cinder."
"Exactly…" Cas said, her voice breaking. "But did you know that she's my aunt?"
"No, I didn't," Pyrrha said, walking towards her before embracing her lightly. "But I know what it's like to have a family member that does terrible things. A family member that you don't want to be anything like or believe is family when they still are."
"Who?" Cas asked, wiping her tears off as they continued to fall and Caitlin pulled her closer. "Pyrrha, I thought -"
"My father…" Pyrrha began shakily. "Is Roman Torchwick."
Cas looked at her in shock. "Does he know?"
Pyrrha hesitated but nodded. "Yes, my mother told him a few years ago. I only found out back...well back in the beginning of the year."
"It's okay," Caitlin told her, trying not to judge. "Because Roman Torchwick used to be a teammate, a friend of my parents and Cas's father."
Pyrrha sighed as Jaune kissed her cheek and she looked at them, laughing weakly. "I suppose that does make me feel a little bit better…"
"It's nothing to be ashamed of," Jaune told her with another kiss to her cheek. "Pyrrha, none of us get to choose to be born or choose who we're born to -"
With that, Pyrrha cupped Jaune's face with her hands and kissed him fervently. "Jaune I...I love you."
Jaune smiled and pulled her close to him. "I love you too."
While they all took the temporary moment of calm, the inside of the burning building was chaotic. Ivy was staying as far away from Adam and Blake as possible as she looked around for her partner who wasn't answering her scroll though she could hear every word they spoke. Changing her appearance temporarily into that of Ilia, albeit in the clothes she was currently wearing and missing an arm, Ivy hoped that if Adam noticed her that he wouldn't start to assault her and she hoped even more so that no one saw her like this. It wasn't until she looked to her left and saw only her shoulder that Ivy gasped in horror and shifted herself back while the words of Adam and Blake became the forefront of her focus though she retained her grip on Marfil.
"This could've been our day!" Adam shouted at his former partner. "Can't you see that?"
"I never wanted this!" Blake exclaimed as she looked around in horror before she began to shoot at him. "I wanted equality! I wanted peace!"
"What you want is impossible!" Adam roared as he sheathed his sword and knocked her over. "But I understand, because all I want is you, Blake. And as I set out upon this world and deliver the justice mankind so greatly deserves, I will make it my mission to destroy everything you love."
"Blake!" Yang exclaimed in shock at seeing her teammate being beaten though tears formed in her eyes as she noticed Ivy and her missing arm. "Ivy!"
Seeing the horror on Blake's face, Adam smiled evilly as he watched the blonde girl pull Ivy into her tightly before kissing her gently. "Starting with them." Drawing his sword, Adam stabbed it into Blake's left hip while she screamed in pain and Yang looked in shock with Ivy's good hand wrapped around one of hers.
"Get away from her!" Yang screamed in defense of her teammate while Blake began to speak though none of them could hear it.
Sheathing his sword once again with a sick smile, Adam waited for the two girls to make the first move. Both screamed while Yang's eyes turned red and Ivy steadied Marfil in her hand as the two of the ran towards him. Firing at him while Yang readied herself to punch him, Ivy missed and began to curse as she tried again though she stopped short when she saw Adam drawing his sword and slashing it at Yang while also applying his semblance. Yang, unaware of what he was doing, flew through the air still to attack him but he separated the lower half of her right arm from her and Ivy shrieked in horror. Running towards her partner as she fell unconscious, Ivy tried to steady herself but Adam quickly moved towards them. As he raised his sword to kill both of the blondes, Blake suddenly flung herself in between them to allow Ivy to pick up Yang and escape while she used her semblance to distract him before running off as well. Reaching Caitlin, Cas, Pyrrha, and Jaune reasonably far away from the dining hall, Yang slowly regained consciousness and when she did Ivy ran her right fingers over partner's forehead before kissing her while she cried.
"Yang…"
"Shh…" Yang said, speaking through the terrible pain. "I'm still here and I love you. I always will, my beautiful shifter…"
January 13th
Beacon Academy; Vale
11:39 PM
"Emmett?" Weiss asked, hesitantly walking onto the airship having gotten his text. Sighing in relief when he turned around, she smiled when she saw Hope. "What's wrong?"
Emmett looked at her before leaning against the wall. "Weiss, I hate asking you to do this, but can you watch Hope while I go and find Cinder?"
Weiss didn't respond for a moment before nodding. "Alright, fine. Go get her."
Pulling her into a tight hug, Emmett smiled weakly at her as he ran out into the main courtyard of Beacon Academy before seeing Ruby nearby, about to get attacked by a grimm. Rushing to the girl's side, Emmett used his semblance and dust to stop the grimm from attacking her and watched as his sister and that green haired girl climbed up onto the top of Beacon Tower but it almost seemed as if the green haired girl was trying to get away from Cinder. The familiar cracking sound that was akin to gunshot rang out as Cinder approached where the girl was hiding and Emmett could only imagine what Cinder had done to her. The terrifying thing was the moment he looked back up at the tower and he saw a woman - one who was significantly shorter than Cinder even in heels, was dark haired, had the same sniper rifle as Cas and had that all too familiar face, even from the distance.
Horrified, Emmett's thoughts all traveled back to the day Emmeline died and Ruby's hardened glare towards Cinder only motivated him to fight the woman further. Whatever she was doing, he reminded himself, wasn't real. There was no way that was Emmeline because not only had he watched her die, not only had he attempted to wake her in his distress, but because he knew that the dead stay dead. Whatever game Cinder was playing, he knew it was for him and though he felt that he should be better off not fighting her, he couldn't stop Ruby from doing so and a drive to protect her began to consume him. It wasn't until the illusion of Emmeline started to fight her for its life that Emmett felt a shiver run through his spine, his wife's final scream returning to him for not the first time.
"We've got to hurry!" Ruby told him as they finished clearing the grimm away and she looked to the tower. "Emmett -"
Analyzing the side, Emmett nodded and used several glyphs to bounce her up towards the tower while she used her semblance to get herself the last bit of the way up. As soon as she was safe, Emmett used his glyphs to send himself up though when he saw his sister again he felt his stomach constrict and a sinking feeling weighing him down while a spike headache began. Forcing himself up and landing just beyond the ledge, Emmett stood next to Ruby in horror while what he knew had to be an illusion continued to fight before its aura seemingly depleted and it collapsed in a heap on the ground as Cinder approached it though she turned to look at her brother before letting the illusion speak through broken gasps before it choked off into tears.
"Emmett...please, this could be a second...a second chance for...for...for us. I...I love you and -"
"What the fuck have you done?" Emmett demanded, unable to bear looking at the illusion and instead glaring at his sister. "The fuck -"
"This isn't personal, Emmett," Cinder told him as she turned back to the illusion and summoned her sword while Ruby looked to Emmett who suddenly pulled out his own blade and held it to his sister's throat.
"You know something?" Emmett growled, the wind whipping his long white waves around as he remembered how ignorant he had felt after attempting to use true love's kiss to save Emmeline - even right before they closed the casket. "Cas told me very specifically that she thinks you should bleed for what your hands have done and I agree. Now that I've thought about it, this is who you've always been, isn't it? A psychotic, power hungry, bitch with more care for -"
"Stop it!" Cinder exclaimed, tears forming in her eyes despite her not wanting them to. "I love Cas as if she were my own daughter! Honestly, I wish she was my daughter because I love her! I want her to be safe, I want her to be happy, and the rest of the world I'll watch burn but not her! I will never hurt Cas and -"
"You have hurt her!" Emmett snapped, pushing up his glasses while still restraining her. "Because you killed her mother right in front of her and she'll never be able to forget that! I doubt that, as good a person as she is, she'll ever be able to forgive you for that either because you -"
"I didn't want to hurt Cas!" Cinder screamed, struggling to break free from her brother's grasp and his glyph. "Never, no I care about her too much!"
Emmett shook his head before slapping her. "You couldn't give a fuck about anyone but yourself if you tried."
Taking advantage of his distress, Cinder took a risk and used her powers to subtly break his glyph so she could escape his hold and begin to kill the illusion of Emmeline Cecilia Ciel. "As for you…"
"No!" Ruby screamed as she began to run at Cinder though she felt herself stopped by a powerful glyph cast by Emmett turned to her and began to shout.
"Ruby! Don't do this, she's manipulating us!"
Remembering that her brother was a prominent member in Ozpin's group, Cinder looked to him angrily. "So, Emmett, what happened to the other half of the Fall Maiden's powers? I shot an arrow through her and her life support but I didn't gain of the power…"
Emmett smirked and crossed his arms. "Wouldn't you like to know?"
"It was a member of the group, wasn't it? Or was it one of those children like her," Cinder said, gesturing to Ruby at the last before continuing. "That Ozpin continuously mislead until his death in the vault?"
Emmett looked at her in shock though this was quickly followed by horror. "Ozpin's...dead?"
"Well I should think that as the one that did the deed that I would know," Cinder replied with mock indignance and a self satisfied grin. "It really did terrorize Rosalinde Varna though, I must admit. Elizabeth Morell's face was reasonably terrorized as well but that might have -"
"You don't need to go on," Emmett told her with a heavy sigh while Ruby continued to fight his sustained glyph out of the corner of his eye. "Because I know by now that you don't care what you have to do for power."
Cinder smiled and nodded. "In that case, then tell me who took the power? Based on...Ozpin and his arrogance, it was someone in the group, wasn't it? Forcible aura transfer can bypass the age rule, right? Still...hmm...was it Prime Minister Varna or Glynda? Considering that they're the two youngest women in the group, I mean."
Emmett hesitated but responded anyways, knowing that she would figure it out soon enough on her own. "Glynda."
"Interesting, though not surprising considering she's only forty," Cinder said, turning to smirk at the illusion of Emmeline that shook and placed a hand on its rifle. "Well, Emmett, I hope you know that my life, my legacy, will drown out all of yours - ridiculous fortune or otherwise."
Aura still depleted and her struggling to get up despite not being injured, Emmeline glared at Cinder while her pale pink aura faintly radiated around her before dissipating as the sorceress looked over to her. "You know I have no choice, Emmy," Cinder told her, causing Emmett's eyes to widen and for tears to begin to fall though they were nothing compared to the sobs of the illusion while the sadist went on. "So therefore you know why I have to do this. Oh, but don't worry because I'll take very good care of Cas. I love her, remember."
Summoning a glass sword like she had when she had killed Emmeline the first time, Cinder readied her arm to throw it into her nonexistent opponent, enjoying the fact that she was torturing her brother before she was going to finally kill him and, she supposed, the brat that had followed him into the trap. Still, she turned to Ruby who was looking at Emmett's horror before remembering seeing Emmeline die the first time and, whether this was real or not, she didn't care about anything besides it stopping. Her semblance finally breaking from the glyph, Ruby attempted to run at Cinder but she found herself so weakened that she fell to her knees and was helpless to do anything as Emmeline stood up with her rifle in hand. The woman attempted to shoot Cinder but wasn't fast enough and, as she tackled her, Cinder shoved the sword right through her like she had when she had killed her the first time. As the illusion faded in the pale pink that Emmeline's aura had been, Cinder kissed it's cheek before turning to her brother who was about to engage her in a fight before seeing Cas down below and running down the tower with his semblance to his daughter, thinking Ruby was behind him. She wasn't and was instead suddenly levitated from the ground and her arms spread perfectly sideways while a bright white light left her eyes in response to the horror of all of the torture and all of the pain while it surrounded her. On the ground, Emmett heard his sister scream something incoherent and by the time Ruby went unconscious and fell off the tower, Emmett was ready to catch her with a glyph - doing so just as Elizabeth walked off an airship from the city and saw her assailant barely escape once again though this time with the help of some unrecognizable figures.
January 18th
Patch
1:32 PM
"Ruby?" Elizabeth asked, gently pushing the door to the room open and sitting down on the foot of the girl's bed while she sat up. "Are you doing any better?"
She bit her lip and looked at her nervously. "I...I don't know. I...I...I know she's dead, but I...I saw Emmeline Ciel on the top of the tower that night. Emmett did too - Weiss was with Hope - and he...he broke down, terrorized by what he was seeing despite knowing it wasn't real and… and then seeing her kill Emmeline on the top of the tower just to...just to torture him...I...I...I felt this weird pain in my head and everything went white…"
Elizabeth hesitated, remembering the conversation she and Tai had had a few days prior about Ruby's silver eyes. "Have Qrow or Tai talked to you about this yet?"
"Talked to my daughter about what?" Qrow asked, leaning into the doorway with his flask in hand. "I think she just woke up."
Standing up and glaring at him, Elizabeth sighed and pulled Ruby into a tight embrace before looking at her sadly. "I'm going to be in Atlas for the next several weeks with Tai, Violet, and Yang. You and Qrow can come too but...there's a lot I have to answer for now."
"Was Penny your fault?" Qrow demanded though he felt guilty when seeing the tears rise in her eyes again. "Sorry, I...I should have realized. You're not resigning like Gregory, are you?"
Elizabeth shook her head. "I'm going to answer to my mistakes and assert to the rest of the world that the United Kingdom Of Atlas is more than happy to deal with whatever questions foreign leaders might have. Not to much surprise, Vacuo is the most accommodating although Rose has already made some...reasonably sharp comments about having AK-200s in Vale to being with, stating that although the soldiers and Special Operatives, alongside huntsmen and huntresses, overpowered them quickly that it shouldn't have gone as far as it did. She also commented on the necessity of finding Cinder Fall, though that's something everyone agrees on. I just...watching Ozpin die was...well I suppose however...however horrid it...it...it was for me that it...it was much worse for Rose."
"If you're blaming yourself for Oz's death, don't," Qrow told her as she left the room. "I know you blame yourself for so much, but Ciel's death wasn't your fault and neither was Ozpin's."
Elizabeth sighed with tears in her eyes. "You don't know what it's like, but I appreciate the vote of confidence nonetheless."
As soon as she was gone, Qrow sighed and sat down in the chair next to her bed. "So, how you feeling?"
Ruby sighed as she looked to her father. "Um...I kind of hurt...all over…"
Qrow chuckled and crossed his arms. "That makes sense, after what you did."
"You guys keep saying that!" Ruby exclaimed, not understanding. "That I did something! What are you talking about?"
Qrow leaned forward. "What's the last thing you remember?"
"I was with Emmett on top of the tower and...and Cinder had some sort of illusion of Emmeline Ciel!" Ruby said as she cried and tightly gripped her blanket while tears fell. "And...and Cinder….she...I think it was a trap because it kept breaking him and he...he didn't want me to fight her because...and then...then after she killed Emmeline again he saw something and started to go down the tower and I...I had seen so much, it was so painful watching him suffer like that! It was so hard to realize that she's even human - she said she loves Cas like her own daughter - and...and the pain that was everywhere slammed into me with the world going white…"
"Anything else?" He asked gently while she wiped tears from her eyes.
"I remember...I remember my...my...my head hurting…"
Qrow sighed. "That night you met Ozpin, what was the first thing he said to you?"
"I...I don't know!" Ruby said, unsure of why he asked that. "I think it was something about -"
"Silver eyes," Qrow finished for her. "That's an extremely rare trait."
"So?" The girl demanded and he looked at her seriously.
"You're special, Ruby," Qrow told her with his voice steady. "And not in the 'daddy loves his special angel' kind of way. You're special in the way your mom was. Remnant's full of legends and stories, some of them true, some made up. But there's one Oz told me from a very long time ago. Back before Huntsmen, before Kingdoms, it was said that those born with silver eyes were destined to lead the life of a warrior. You see, the creatures of Grimm, the most fearsome monsters mankind had ever encountered, were afraid of those silver-eyed warriors. They were the best of the best. It was said that even a single look from one of these fighters could strike a Grimm down. Heh. It's a ridiculous story."
Ruby looked at him oddly. "But...you think that I might be…"
Qrow laughed before looking at her seriously again and walking over to the window. "Well, a giant monster is currently frozen on top of Beacon Tower. And you're here, safe in bed."
"Wait...wait…" Ruby began slowly, eyeing his movements closely. "How did you know what Ozpin said to me...the night we met?"
Sighing, he turned to face her. "All those missions I go on...all the times I'm away in some far off place...it's been for Ozpin. But he's missing now. Something's been set into motion. With Oz gone, I'll have to pick up where we left off. Rose has his cane, of course, but...Ruby we were a group and we were divided. I won't deny that and...maybe, just maybe, if we hadn't been Beacon wouldn't have fallen. But it doesn't matter, because what's done is done. We just have to move forward now. Somehow."
Kilometres and kilometres away in the capital city of the United Kingdom Of Atlas, Qrow wasn't alone in the feeling of having been divided. As soon as he set his bag down in his room with Hope safely asleep in her own room, Emmett immediately looked to the photograph of him and Emmeline that he had on his nightstand. Tears escaping him, Emmett set the image down and kicked off his shoes before he set his glasses aside and began to sob into the pillows. Anger towards his sister for what she had done and now recognizing it as a trap, Emmett cursed himself for being so ignorant, so hopeful yet his thoughts turned when he recalled a conversation he and Emmeline had had shortly after Hope had been born.
"Emmett…" Emmeline said as she sat down next to him, ruffling his hair as she woke him up and handed him his glasses. "I know that you're scared, but there's something I want you to know."
"What's that?" Emmett asked, curling into her tightly while she kissed him. "Emmy, I don't want to lose you. I can't lose you -"
"And if for some reason you do," Emmeline said, cupping one of his cheeks in her hand. "I want you to remember why I wanted to name our daughter Hope."
"Emmy…" Emmett began, his voice breaking and tears welling in his eyes at the thought of losing her. "I -"
"Emmett Arthur Schnee…" Emmeline told him as she wrapped herself around him. "I wanted us to name our daughter Hope so that we could both always look at her and see the best in the world. Even if it all seems bleak, impossible, or just bad...there's always a light at the end of the tunnel. Hold onto that shining light because it will get you through whatever happens."
"I love you!" Emmett choked out, pulling her into him and kissing her while she laughed as he fell on top of her.
"I love you too, Emmett," Emmeline told him as she brought him back down into another kiss. "I love you too -"
"Daddy?" Cas asked hesitantly as she walked into the room and he looked up. Sighing heavily, Cas wiped her own tears away. "I miss her too."
"What is it Cas?" Emmett asked her, relieved to see her but also wanting to be alone.
The girl hesitated. "Do you think Weiss will be okay with Jacques?"
Emmett sighed. "She better be or he's coming down hard."
As father and daughter spoke, in a different part of the United Kingdom Of Atlas Yang was sitting on top of Ivy and kissing her intently with her good hand on Ivy's shoulder while Ivy's remaining arm was wrapped around her partner's waist. Gently breaking the kiss, Ivy leaned her head onto Yang's shoulder while she used her right to stroke her partner's hair and shaking as she shifted her head to face. Nervous by the feelings that Yang was so clearly exerting that all but attacked her abilities as an empath, Ivy kissed her partner softly before waiting for her to speak and when she did it was some of the last things she had expected.
"Ivy…" Yang began slowly. "I know I don't turn eighteen for another few weeks and I know you won't be twenty until September but...but I...when I turn eighteen and if you agree…"
"What is it Yang?" Ivy asked her, concern bubbling. "Yang, is something wrong?"
"I know this is sudden, but we...we could have lost each other during the fall…" Yang said as she started to cry. "And…"
"Yang, I'm right here…" Ivy reminded her. "And I'll never leave."
"I'll never do that to you either," Yang vowed before sighing. "Ivory Glynda Ironwood-Goodwitch, my sweet shifter, will you marry me?"
Silent tears rolled down Ivy's face while she nodded. "Yes…"
And finally, just above them and also dealing with the end of the beginning, Cas had come from the City Of Atlas to see her partner. Wrapping an arm around her waist while Caitlin looked around her room, Cas sighed and pressed play on Heirsound's Slow Motion. Pulling her close, Cas let Caitlin cry into her while she began to do the same and the lyrics slowly took over them…
I'm no stranger to lucid dreaming still these days my memories are fleeting, rarely waking these limbs are sleeping. Fearful living, history is repeating now
Fold all you've ever held close and let it go. We've seen how fast they're falling. We move in slow motion.
oh oh
Can't rob the future of what it holds. No idea where we're going, we move in slow motion.
I've been stuck inside a water dream; I'm the same but I am lost at sea. Faces pass, all of them in front of me. When I yell I have a soundless scream
Fold all you've ever held close and let it go. We've seen how fast they're falling. We move in slow motion.
oh oh
Can't rob the future of what it holds. No idea where we're going, we move in slow motion.
Loving the things we know, learning to let them go
Fold all you've ever held close and let it go. We've seen how fast they're falling. We move in slow motion.
oh oh
Can't rob the future of what it holds. No idea where we're going, we move in slow motion.
Loving the things we know, learning to let them go.
We move in slow motion...
