October 3rd
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 although 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. The specialists quickly took out an ursa but 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 were 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 they were coughing heavily as the smoke filled the area. Half of his uniform had torn off which exposed his cybernetic right side. Winter herself felt 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. She and her partner hadn't yet noticed their uniforms and hair, too, were in utter disarray. 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.
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 huntsmen 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 Elizabeth finally rendezvoused with Glynda and Qrow in the City Of Vale, it seemed things were about to take a turn for the worse. 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 chair of the Atlesian National Security Council declared in exasperation. "I'm just -"
Elizabeth and Qrow began to fight again while everything seemed to be folding in on itself. All of them were yelling at each other, and Elizabeth knew her hands were shaking while she reloaded her gun. Qrow gave her some cover, but she still had a terrible feeling that it wouldn't be enough. Glynda knocked back several creeps with her riding crop in the meanwhile, but even she was starting to worry that things were going to be even worse. In a moment, she thought she might be right. Unexpectedly, several beringels began to surround them, pushing the three of them into a corner. Then, 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," He said, rolling his eyes. "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. "Jamie…"
Shifting to face her, he met her gaze with worry. "What happened -"
"The girls left with Ozpin, Cristal, Emmeline, and Emmett," Glynda told him quietly as she tried to steady herself. "And…"
"What?" He said, cupping her cheek. "Glyns –"
"Hate to be the bearer of more bad news," Elizabeth started, swearing under her breath as she looked at her scroll's feed of internal security cameras. "But Cinder's in the vault…she must be looking for –"
"Amber's powers," Qrow surmised, swearing when he realized Winter had come up behind him. "Oh, goddamn it, Ice Queen –"
"Sir, I believe I may have some –" Winter started, straightening herself out and turning to James.
"I'm sure," He said, putting up a hand to silence her. "And, once this situation calms down a little, I believe I have answers."
Elizabeth fired another shot at an approaching grimm, and the silence that followed hung for a time.
"So, what now, General?" Qrow finally asked.
James looked to Glynda, who was ever so lightly 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. "You and Elizabeth can 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.
Qrow laughed dryly. "Well," He remarked. "It won't be much of a walk."
October 3rd
Beacon Academy
City of Vale
Vale
Downtown
11:39 PM
"We've got to hurry!" Ruby called to Weiss as they finished clearing the grimm away and she looked to the tower. "It's -"
Analyzing the side, her partner nodded and used several glyphs to bounce her up towards the tower while the red haired girl used her semblance to get herself the last bit of the way up. As soon as she deemed it was safe, Weiss used her glyphs again to send herself up after though, when she saw her aunt again, she felt his stomach constrict and a sinking feeling weighing her down while a spike headache began. Forcing herself up and landing just beyond the ledge, Weiss stood next to Ruby in horror while Pyrrha fell to over, her aura flickering and depleted. Cinder had not noticed either of them and was focused solely on her target, who she believed was the key to the powers she had craved and been charged with obtaining no matter the cost.
"Oh, Champion," Cinder said, shaking her head and looking at the considerably weakened huntress with a patronizing stare. "You are almost as talented as your mother, if the rumors I've heard are to be believed. It's too bad she'll never see the fruits of her labors."
Suddenly, the sorceress and former Schnee glanced over to where Weiss and Ruby were and froze the red-headed girl with her magic and tried to knock her niece off of the tower. Weiss felt herself trip into a free fall off the tower, but she caught herself with what little energy she had to spare by pushing all of her aura into a glyph that slowed her down enough for her to only slide loosely into safety. She didn't dare try to get back up there, but she was terrified for Ruby. Even more so, she was almost certain of what her aunt's plans for Pyrrha were and none of them were pretty. It was the end of something, and Weiss brushed tears away from her eyes. It stung like hell, and she was almost certain, in that moment, that everything she had known had changed.
"Do you believe…in destiny…" Pyrrha forced out, meeting the unwavering gaze of her opponent.
"Yes," Cinder shortly replied. "And it is my destiny to –"
"No!" Ruby screamed as she began to run at Cinder, whose binds had weakened considerably but not enough to release her from them.
"I haven't got a choice, here," Cinder informed Pyrrha, patting her cheek for a moment. "Sorry."
Summoning a flaming bow with only a single arrow, Cinder readied herself to shoot it into her young opponent, enjoying the fact that she was torturing her that scythe wielding girl that had followed into the trap. 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 Pyrrha bowed her head and set down her weapons. It seemed she had accepted her fate. Cinder deftly released the arrow, and watched the girl disintegrate. Then she screamed. There was no change, no power. Her target had been wrong. She turned towards Ruby, thinking she had been the real maiden, but then realized she couldn't have been. She was too young to have such control as to hide them and the former Schnee knew that her psychitity would have revealed it the first time she had touched that brat's scythe.
Before long, and in nothing short of pure rage, Cinder summoned a glass sword and ignored her first-born niece running towards her sister below. The former Schnee turned to Ruby but she was not fast enough. By the time she had thrown the sword, the girl wasn't an easy target and was instead suddenly levitated from the ground. Her arms were 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, Winter and Weiss heard their aunt scream something incoherent and, by the time Ruby went unconscious and fell off the tower, Winter 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, this time with the help of some unrecognizable figures.
They were all wearing masks, and some of them were shrouded by the darkness.
October 4th
Atlesian Air Space
City of Atlas
Atlas
Downtown
3:28 AM
Ivy swallowed hard as she watched and listened to everything. Cristal and Ozpin had long stepped into a different room of the transport and their kids had followed. About an hour before, Devin Katt had become suddenly rather curious, alongside Grace Wile and Genevieve Sieben, about how the ship flew and had stepped into cockpit and sat down while they watched everything the military pilot did and took in everything they could see. It certainly wasn't standard practice for the Atlas military, but the fact that Emmeline had deemed it acceptable has made it so. Now, alone in the small main part of the transport were the Ciel-Schnees and the Ironwood-Goodwitch twins. Samara had sat down beside Caitlin, whose hands were badly shaking again as she tried to adjust her glasses. Lysithea had set down her sword and gun awhile before and looked rather dejected against the wall. Her long white hair was in tangles and it seemed she didn't care what was happening. She was numb. Edward had come over beside her and was trying to play, but she barely even smiled. Emmett was still holding Emmeline tightly against him, rubbing her back, stroking her hair, and murmuring to her. Ivy felt cold seeing them and gently pressed a hand against her still flat abdomen, wanting to sob. Even if Adam hadn't done what he had done just hours before, things would never have been like that. She was now feeling as if her world had been shattered, and she was done for. Either way, she was done hiding.
"Guys…" She said, her voice shaking. "I…"
"What is it?" Caitlin looked immediately to her sister in concern, and Samara tightened an arm tightly around her. The eldest Ciel-Schnee knew that Cate could feel all of the energy radiating from the auras around her, and she knew it was making everything worse.
"Ivy?" Emmeline said gently, noticing how frigidly the twenty-year-old huntress' hands seemed to be shaking. "Are you –"
"No," She choked out. "I just…"
"You look sick," Lysithea noted, gesturing for her to sit down which the young huntress hesitantly did. "Is something wrong?"
"In some ways," Ivy admitted, burying her face in her hands and crying for a long moment.
Emmett sighed. "Come on, get it out there. Is it what happened? Ivy, we're all fine, and –"
"One person won't be," Ivy said weakly, bleary eyed. "This time next year, they'll probably feel as alone as I do now…and they're going to be stuck with me."
Emmeline raised an eyebrow. "Ivy, you're talking nonsense."
"I'm not," She said, staring at her hands and unable to meet their gazes. "I…I've been seeing someone… someone none of you will approve of since the day of the breach. Maybe it was a mistake, maybe it was poor judgement, but it was what I needed, what I wanted for once in my fucking life…and while he tried to kill my sister and I'll never forgive him that…he's the reason I'm…he…Adam…is the reason I'm pregnant."
An awful silence befell them for what seemed like the longest time.
"Adam Taurus?" Caitlin finally said, her voice airy in disbelief.
Ivy nodded weakly. "Yes."
"Adam Taurus?" Her sister repeated, screaming as she stood up. "You've been seeing Adam fucking Taurus – a terrorist – and you –"
"He was different when I knew him six years ago but I thought he was still –" Ivy weakly protested.
"That was six years ago!" Her sister shouted. "Six goddamn years ago, which, if I hadn't gotten as lucky as I have five times by now, I may not have fucking survived if I hadn't –"
"Maybe if you –" Ivy yelled back.
"We are at war with the group Adam is in and supports!" Caitlin bellowed over her sister. "And you've been seeing him and are having his kid? What the hell else have you done?, Told him things we hear about every so often at home but can't repeat? Is that how Cinder knew about PENNY because you did months ago and told Adam?"
"I had nothing to do with that, I swear I never revealed a damn –" Ivy started, sobbing again.
"Really?" Caitlin disdainfully shrieked. "By the sound of it, you're a traitor, a –"
"Cate –" Samara began, following quickly after her but pausing when she disappeared.
Samara hesitated but went off in the same direction she had before Cate's semblance had overpowered her because of her emotions, forcing her to vanish against her will. More silence followed their exits, and there was an ominous edge that seemed to hold over them. Lysithea pulled Edward away and into another small room to play checkers, leaving Emmett and Emmeline alone with her. They were both incredulous at words and were still staring at her in utter disbelief.
"I can't believe this," Emmett said, shaking his head ruefully. "Treason…it's…no, I can't. I can't deal with this right now."
He stepped out of the room as well, throwing his hands up in exasperation and leaving only Emmeline and Ivy in the main room. A terse silence was all that was between them for the longest time, and the general said nothing until she heard the door slam behind Emmett as he joined Lily and Eddie in another one of the transport's small rooms. For just a moment, Emmeline eyed Ivy sadly, her arms crossed.
"What you did," She finally said. "I want you to know, is not treason. It was a mistake...and stupid, but you're young and you're human. I'm sure you'll have to answer a few things to Elizabeth and a few ranking members of the security council, but you'll be cleared so long as you tell the whole truth."
"I know," Ivy sniffed, feeling as though her tears would betray her again.
Emmeline sighed. "Ivy –"
The twenty-year-old huntress looked up suddenly upon Emmeline tightly embracing her, holding her as if she were still a small child, and, after a time, Ivy began to tell her everything.
October 6th
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 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 as the chair of the security council."
"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, 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, Vale is the most accommodating while Varna 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. The Valerian President commented on the necessity of finding Cinder Fall, though that's something everyone agrees on. I just...I'm sorry, I have a lot on my…with all that's…"
"If you're blaming yourself for all this, don't," Qrow told her as she left the room. "I know you blame yourself for so much, but Penny's death wasn't your fault and neither was what happened that night."
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 on top of the tower and...and Cinder had cornered Pyrrha!" Ruby said as she cried and tightly gripped her blanket while tears fell. "And...and Cinder….she...I think it was a trap because she tormented her, taunted, and…she shot her and Pyrrha…she fell over...and then 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..." Ruby swallowed hard. "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 hiding in Atlas now. Something's been set into motion. With Oz being hard to contact, I'll have to pick up where we left off. We'll all have to make our way to Atlas eventually…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."
Miles and miles 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 Edward safely asleep in his own room, Emmett found his gaze caught by the last full Schnee family picture that had been taken before Nicholas' death. From what Cristal had told him a month prior about her biological father to all of the betrayal that seemed to have marred them all, he couldn't help but feel guilty upon the hatred rising in his chest. 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 and –
"Emmett?"
He glanced towards his wife, who had sat down on the edge of the bed beside him, her soft, warm hands gently on his back.
"I don't know what to do either," She finally said. "But…at the end of the day, there's not –"
"Anything we can do," Emmett finished, his voice weak and yet also bitter.
Emmeline leaned over and pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead.
"I'm right here when you want to talk," Emmeline told him, lightly squeezing his shoulder. "Even if –"
Emmett suddenly embraced her tightly, startling her for a moment.
"I'm sorry," He whispered. "For everything."
"It was never your fault…" She gently reminded him. "It never has been."
October 18th
City Of Atlas
United Kingdom Of Atlas
Downtown
12:34 PM
"We know now, as intelligence reports continue to come in, that the terrorist attacks on Beacon Academy were orchestrated down to very last detail," Atlesian President Ronnie Ciel felt his hands tighten around the podium from which he was addressing the crowd of reporters in the presidential manor's press room. In that moment, he didn't try to release the tension. "While the details remain vital to national security, I am allowed to inform you of what transpired."
Murmurs of assent were heard and then fell silent upon Ronnie sighing heavily.
"The terrorist organization known as the White Fang was largely responsible for the attacks," He finally said, feeling sick with every word he spoke. "However, there was coordination between them, and the mob boss by the name of Roman Torchwick. As well, Cinder Fall, an escapee of maximum security prison in Atlas back in 2007, was present and involved as well. Torchwick is dead. Fall's status is unknown."
"President Ciel," A reporter said, standing up hesitantly. "What do you mean when you say Fall's status is unknown?"
"Fall was present and involved in what transpired," Ronnie began as calmly as he could muster. "However, she was last seen at the top of Beacon Tower and has not been seen since then. We believe she is alive, but we do not know where she is nor do we know how she escaped. What we do know is that she was aided by known-serial killer Tyrion –"
"Tyrion Callows is alive?" Another reporter incredulously exclaimed.
Ronnie nodded shortly. "Yes. Tyrion Callows was never confirmed dead but this has become a major concern, yes. Callows was a serial killer in Vale, and he is a dangerous. He is not in Atlas, but the State Department has issued restricted travel to Mistral and Vacuo, where he has been known to have received refuge before."
The room was almost in an uproar at the news, and Ronnie allowed the press secretary to calm the scene before he calmed himself to address the situation at hand as best that he could, all things considered, while the world seemed to crumble around them.