Good morning, afternoon, or evening! I hope you're all well and that the cabin fever is being kept at bay. Remember to stay healthy!

If you haven't seen any of volume 7 yet, then the coming chapters might go over your head, so be warned!

I'll see you guys at the bottom!


Mercury wouldn't admit to a lot in life. He would never tell any of the gang that he didn't mind their presence or tell Roman that he was a better father figure than his real dad. He'd never say that Jaune and Ren weren't pretty okay to chill with or tell Neo that he saw her as an actual friend.

He would add to that list by never admitting to the high pitched scream that left his mouth when he looked out the window and saw the entire Atlas Armada awaiting them when they arrived.

That didn't change the fact that it scared the absolute shit out of him.

At the very least, he wasn't alone.

"Holy hell that's a lot of guns being pointed at us," Miltia said as she and the others stared at the fleet surrounding Atlas. From every angle the floating city was being patrolled by airships, some standard sized and flying around the city or certain spots, others giant and floating in place, ready to shoot anything and everything out of the sky.

It looked like they were preparing for war.

"So how do we get into Atlas when there's a wall of ships in our way?" Melanie asked.

"We could always go through it?" Nora suggested. They all gave her a look and she shrugged.

"Just sayin."

"Regardless," Qrow said, "we need to get to Atlas. Can we land in Mantle and fly up?"

Maria hummed. She was about to respond when the radio went off.

"Excuse me; you are piloting an unauthorized ship in Atlas airspace. You have two minutes to confirm your status before you are grounded," a woman said. They all looked to the old woman and she shrugged.

"Well we don't have the ability to do that so it looks like we're going to Mantle!" she said, immediately pulling back on the steering wheel, sending the ship careening down rapidly. As they were all standing, everyone except for Mercury and Maria were sent flying backwards, crashing at the back of the ship as it nosedived.

"Brace for impact!" she laughed. They all grabbed something, Ren muttered his will, ready to see his parents again, before the ship tore its way down an alley, losing pieces as it scraped along the concrete.

It crashed through two dumpsters and carved through a parked car, bumping the buildings on either side and sending Sparks flying to and fro. It finally stopped when it lost speed and gently tapped the side of a bakery.

It promptly caught fire after that.

They all scrambled out and ran down the alley, none of them looking back, not even when they heard the ship explode. As they rounded the corner they hugged the wall and held their breath. Maria just walked slowly over and stopped in front of them.

"We made it to Atlas!" she said jovially. Mercury gagged before running to a nearby trashcan and throwing up.

"Oh don't be such a baby! That was one of my smoothest landings in years!" the retired huntress laughed. The others shivered. What did her bad landings look like?

They all gave a collective sigh of relief. At the very least they had made it. It had been a rough path here but they were here.

Sadly it came at the realization that they numbered four people less than when they began.

"So how do we get up to Atlas?" Yang asked. Weiss hummed.

"There should be a transport shuttle that can get us there. If I remember correctly they're normally located on the ends of the—"

"We don't need to take those slow things! I have a friend who can get you to Atlas in no time!" Maria claimed as she started walking away.

"What!? Wait, we're not following you anymore! We all got to Atlas so we can part ways now," Mercury said as he finally righted himself again. The lady shrugged.

"Oh I'm sorry, do you know how to get to Atlas?" she hummed.

"No but apparently Ice Queen does—"

"Ah! But those shuttles won't be running during lockdown like this! So how do you all plan on getting up there, hm?_

They all remained silent before they turned to Qrow. He shrugged in a 'don't ask me' way and they all turned to Oscar instead.

He shook his head. Ozpin was still fortifying himself away from whatever had him so scared. Oscar could very, incredibly faintly see... a family portrait?

At any rate they didn't have any options and they all groaned. Qrow chuckled.

"Looks like we're sticking with you granny," Qrow said. She humphed.

"Damn right, you spoiled bitches. I know my way around a city or two," she said, turning and walking confidently down the street.

They all followed, with no better leads on how to get to Atlas from Mantle. They arrived at a back alley and were ushered in quickly by Maria. When she closed the door behind her they all took a moment to look around the space they'd been brought to.

It looked like somebody's home mixed with a tech department. It was a big difference compared to the rather dull exterior of Mantle. They heard someone coming and turned.

An older man sat in front of them. He had dark skin and white hair as well as a beard and glasses. He wore a scally cap and vest.

Most notably he sat in a chair that moved with bionic legs.

"Maria! You brought company I see," he said.

"My apologies Doctor, I would've warned you but I didn't get the chance, what with some minor turbulence we went through," Maria said sweetly. They all paled. Minor turbulence? They crashed in an alley and then the ship exploded!

"Well don't worry about it. Friends of yours are probably respectable enough," he claimed.

"You should see the silver haired one, he's like you! Doofus! Show him your legs!" Maria said. When he raised an eyebrow and looked towards Mercury, the assassin shrugged. He reached down and rolled up a pant leg, showing off his prosthetics. The doctor hummed in fasciation.

"You'll have to tell me how they work. I specialize in bionics, made this chair myself, and I designed and do the maintenance for Maria's eyes," he explained. The others were mildly surprised. That was an impressive resume.

"Ah, I have a daughter around your age as well, but she's out right now," he said. Maria stamped her foot down and said they'd have time for that later.

" Enough of that Pietro! These things have been needing a tune-up for weeks now!" she said, pointing to her eyes. Pietro chuckled and ushered her to another room.

As they all looked around Yang looked out the window and up at the moon. She hoped Ruby was doing okay right now.

Or that she was alive at the very least.


Ruby watched with nothing but confusion on her face as Roman paced the throne room of Salem's tower.

Salem sat upon her throne, relaxed and looking content. Glynda sat to her left at the end of the long meeting table. Ruby and Chew sat beside Glynda while the seat across from her and to Salem's right was meant for Roman and Neo. Neo was currently scanning the relic of knowledge, attempting to appraise it to see how much they could pawn it off for. Roman left his seat vacant however.

He was instead pacing and rambling. Now Roman roaming wasn't a bad thing, or even confusing in and of itself. It's what he was talking about that confused her.

"...and if the city is really floating freely as you say, why don't we just get a really big Grimm and pull the city here! Nobody dies, you get the relic, and I get to say I am truly the greatest thief in all known history for stealing an entire city!" he finished, looking back to the other occupants of the room.

"Any questions?" he asked. Ruby raised her hand.

"We're not in classes Red, you can just ask," he deadpanned. She let out a little 'oh' before continuing.

"Aren't we supposed to be... stopping these guys from stealing the relic and destroying the world? No offense to you guys," Ruby pointed out. None of them looked too offended in the first place.

"Oh young, silver eyed warrior, I don't care about destroying anything," Salem said as she stood up, "I just don't want Ozpin to have them or he'll really fuck things up around here. Whether he means to or not."

Ruby looked more confused and slowly raised her hand again. Roman just sighed and pointed at her again.

"What happens when Ozpin gets all the relics and maidens together?" she asked. Roman looked to Salem, also not really knowing. She sighed and waved her hand around.

"If all the relics come together then the gods of this world will come down and judge humanity. If they don't like what they see; i.e me, then they'll destroy the planet," she said as though it was the most boring news she could recount.

The others just stared at her silently.

"What?" Glynda asked, thoroughly confounded.

"Exactly as I said," Salem repeated, "should the relics come together we will all die. My goal is just to make sure they never have the chance of being reunited."

Neo slowly looked to Roman, who was frozen in shock. As he looked back to her she could practically hear his body creaking as his muscles remained stiff. Her face said it all.

Look what you got us into!

His seemed to scream back.

I didn't sign up for this!

They both turned back to Salem, who was now sipping tea daintily out of an ornate cup.

"I understand this might seem shocking to you, but rest assured that I do not plan to let all of Remnant die... again," she added very quickly at the end.

"Okay, okay, I think you owe us an explanation," Roman said, finally sitting again and staring at the woman. She grimaced and placed her tea upon a Seer, which floated away.

"I... suppose you all should know the truth," she said as she set her gaze among them.

"My queen! Truly you don't intend to let these, these, outsiders in so easily?" Tyrian asked as he leaned across the table, "Please my goddess, I beg you to reconsider!"

Salem rolled her eyes and started to tell them anyways.

"Long ago, before even faunus, aura, or even dust, there was a beautiful woman trapped in a tower by her father," she began.

"Why was she trapped?" Ruby asked. Salem hummed.

"I never quite figured that out myself," she said. The four blinked.

"You wha?" Roman asked. She laughed into her hand.

"That woman was me. And I can only assume my father didn't want me to become tainted by the outside world. I assume since you know of me, that old fool has told you all about magic's existence?"

They nodded. She hummed. That made this slightly easier.

"Well, that old fool, my father that is, didn't prepare for a brave knight to traverse the tower and rescue the maiden within," she smiled bitterly, as if remembering something that no longer brought joy.

"That knight went by the name of Ozma, and he was as valiant as they came. Sadly he was taken from me by an awful sickness," she said, actually appearing quite sad at the memory.

"Oz... ma?" Roman asked. She nodded.

"My husband at the time," she sighed. Roman and Glynda sputtered.

"You were married?" Glynda asked incredulously. Salem laughed.

"Surprised? You've both seen what I can do," she hummed, Roman tugged his collar and Glynda flushed a little, "besides, this was before I looked how I do now."

"So how'd this happen then?" Roman asked, gesturing to her entire person out of curiosity.

"What the history books have never seems to find is that this world was once ruled by the brother gods of lift and dark, beings of immeasurable power," she went in to tell them about her efforts to bring her beloved back, their refusal, her attempt at persuading the god of darkness to help, only for her to be cursed with immortality.

She continued with her plan to turn the world against the gods and how they cursed her yet again by leaving her alone and shattering the moon. She told of how she tried killing herself in the pools of darkness, only to become even more tainted by the gods powers. Roman cut in here.

"Wow, these two sure sound like assholes to me. I mean, I'm sure that's blasphemy or something but really, killing the whole planet? How is that a solution!?" he asked. Glynda nodded along. It seemed excessive for sure.

Salem laughed.

"You do not understand how good it feels to hear someone other than me say that," she sighed happily.

"So what happened next?" Glynda asked, "After you became immortal what inspired such a change in ethics?"

Glynda was of course asking how Salem became an evil overlord of darkness. The ancient woman hummed as she cupped her cheek with her hand.

"The god of light seemed to be having cold feet on his decision to wipe out humanity," Salem started back up, "so he made a deal. With Ozma."

Roman raised an eyebrow.

"He made a deal with your dead husband?" he clarified. She nodded and rolled her eyes.

"I assume you can guess who my husband is?"

"Ozpin," Glynda proposed. Salem nodded and Roman rubbed his temples. This would be a hard one to explain when they met back up.

Neo gasped slightly and they looked at her. Neo just stared at Salem and tilted her head. When the woman nodded Neo glared and crossed her arms in a humph.

"Why is she doing that?" Roman asked, looking between the two. Ruby quickly rushed to fill him in, wanting to be helpful.

"Apparently Salem and her husband had a fight and it killed their kids," Ruby said nonchalantly.

The table was completely silent and Ruby looked around before realizing what she had actually said. She quickly turned to the queen of Grimm.

"I'm sorry!" she said, looking terrified for her life and embarrassed all the same. Neo just gave her a look of disappointment.

Salem sighed and waved it off.

"It was going to be said eventually I suppose. Likely much less blatantly but that matters not now," the woman said. Ruby flushed more and played with the hem of her skirt.

"So what? You and Oz have been fighting over these maidens and relics for thousands of years?" Roman asked. She tilted her head back and forth before nodding.

"That about sums it up, yes," she said. Roman leaned back and blew out. That this didn't completely blow his mind said a lot about what he'd seen the last year or so.

"So your plan is to gather the relics so that Ozpin doesn't accidentally kill the whole planet again?" Glynda asked.

"More or less. That wise-ass doesn't realize how bad it will be if he brings those foolish gods back to Remnant. So long as I'm still here they will keep killing the people of this world," Salem growled. Roman was beginning to understand atheists now. These gods sounded like the kind of guys he'd want to kick in the balls.

"So how do we get through to Ozpin and tell him not to bring the relics together?" Glynda asked.

"Last I was with them they were still in Argus, but I don't know if they ever got to Atlas or not," Ruby informed them. Hazel growled.

"I see no reason to try and deal with Ozpin. It would be better if we just hid the relics from him and made him search for them instead," the giant spoke. Roman rubbed his chin.

"As easy as that sounds, I think Ozpin has more time than almost anyone at this table to figure out where the relics would be hidden. Plus Red had a point; we have no idea if they made it to Atlas or not," the thief said. Watts cleared his throat.

"I think there's a simple solution to that," he said, eying the lantern within Neo's hands. She looked down at it quizzically and raised an eyebrow.

"What's it do?" Roman asked.

"The relic of knowledge is capable of answering any question you may have," Salem explained. Roman looked at the lamp. This thing was capable of that? How?

"So how do we... ya know, make it work?" he asked. Salem shrugged.

"I don't know. I know an ancient and powerful spirit resides within but you need to say their name and I do not know it. Only Ozma does," she sighed. Roman looked at it.

"So there's a genie in there?" he asked.

"More or less," Cinder groaned, a headache forming from being in proximity to the oaf her master had fallen for.

"Well what are genie names? C'mon people, we can figure this out," he said as he took it and inspected it.

"What about Genie!?" Tyrian asked. Roman scoffed.

"As if! That'd be like naming it Djinn!" he said.

Suddenly everything seemed to slow down, and the fire coming off the torches in the room froze in place.

The relic began glowing before a blue haze filled the room. They all covered their eyes as a bright light shone from the lamp. Roman coughed, waving a hand in front of him to rid the smoke from his face.

He looked up and saw a giant pair of boobs right in front of his face.

"Whoa," he let out. Glynda flew across the table and slapped a hand over his eyes in an instant. Salem growled as well.

"Hrrngh," the feminine figure groaned as she stretched wide. She blinked and looked around before zeroing in on Roman.

"Ah, hello. You're not Ozma..." she said, floating down and observing the crook. He finally managed to pry Glynda off of him before looking back at the genie.

She was a light blue color and had golden chains and jewelry adorning her every feature. Her hair flowed as if in constant motion and her legs were surrounded by a mist that hid them from view.

She was also very, very naked.

Neo got a nosebleed, but was quickly drop-kicked by a jealous Ruby.

"Roman Torchwick. World renown thief and voted Vale's second most attractive man two years in a row," she paused for a moment, "and the most attractive man last year. Congratulations."

"Thanks?" he said. Glynda and Salem were still glaring at him so blinked and shook his head.

"No thanks are necessary. I am simply stating facts," she said before continuing, "I am Jinn, the spirit created by the god of light to aid humanity in its pursuit of knowledge, and there are two questions remaining this century."

They all stared at her and blinked. She hummed.

"You all seem to have more than two questions..." she pointed out. Roman stepped forward.

"Okay but we need to know the location of someone. Well, a group of someones," Roman said. She nodded and stared at him.

He looked around. Salem and Glynda nodded, Ruby was busy beating up Neo, Tyrian seemed unperturbed by the being, Hazel's eyes were slightly wider, Cinder looked bored, and Watts looked incredibly interested.

"What's our little ragtag group of misfits up to?" he asked. She closed her eyes for a moment before opening them and smiling.

"They are currently in an Atlas jail cell," she answered proudly.

They all blinked.

"Qrow, what the hell did you do..." Glynda groaned. Jinn didn't respond to Glynda but continued answering Roman's initial question.

"Allow me to inform you of what they are currently doing. Right now they're..."


Qrow paced around the cell. It had been a stressful day so far and he was really looking forward to the part where it got better.

Knowing his luck, that wasn't going to happen.

"Mr. Branwen! I highly suggest that you stop pacing, as it can be disruptive to others sleeping—"

"I get it, you bucket of bolts!" he yelled.

There was also that.

The ginger haired robot that had been harassing him and the others since they got arrested. Just goes to show you what helping gets you in Atlas.

Shortly after they'd met Maria's friend, the siren for Grimm went off and they sprung into action to help. Halfway through Penny had shown up, much to the surprise of everyone. She left to go deal with Grimm on the other side of Mantle, and before they could do much else, the Atlas special operatives came and arrested them for the unlawful landing of a stolen aircraft.

The twins were leaning against the cell bars, talking to the operatives as though there was nothing wrong.

"I bet the strip clubs in Atlas are bottom tier compared to the shit you can find in Mistral," Melanie said. The man she spoke to, a bald monk like guy with some seriously creepy eyes, ignored her entirely.

"Yeah, and these operative uniforms do nothing for the eyes," Miltia said, scanning the team that had apprehended them.

"Uniforms don't need to be flashy. Neither to outfits for huntsman," one woman replied finally, be it out of annoyance or defence. She was shorter compared to the others, and had dark skin and a tuft of cream white hair towards the front of her head.

"That doesn't mean you guys had to wear outfits that made you look so flat," Melanie said as she checked her nails.

"What the hell did you just say!?" the woman shouted, attempting to grab her through the bars. Another woman, this one hefty and full of muscle, held her back and shook her head.

"Not worth it Harriet," she said gruffly. Harriet glared at them and sat back down.

"Also what is that haircut? I mean seriously—" Qrow tuned them out as Harriet was restrained from attacking them again. The twins laughed haughtily and he smirked. At least they could make the most out of the situation.

"Is this really necessary?" Pyrrha asked from her cell. She had her own, and was chained up like a monster, with shackles on her arms and legs and her hands bound by a pair of heavy cuffs that covered her entire hand in a conical like shape.

"With your semblance we can't take any chances. And yeah, we know what it is, don't look so surprised," a dark skinned faunus man said, his black tail low and still.

Pyrrha sighed and tried to sit as comfortably as possible. Jaune, Ren, and Nora sat in the cell beside her.

"So when do we see Ironwood?" Jaune asked. The same faunus scoffed.

"What makes you think we're just gonna let you see the general? You think that it's that easy? That you can just somehow get an audience with—" he was cut off by the leader of the five operatives getting a call.

"Yes? General Ironwood sir! You do? Okay, they'll be there right away sir. Over," he turned to all of them.

"The general wishes to see you now," he smirked. The faunus just froze where he was before dropping and groaning.

"So what was that about it being that easy?" Mercury asked, smiling at the man. He growled and unlocked the cells. Mercury had his legs confiscated and so he was carried by the large woman.

"Make any funny moves and you all go back behind bars," he said.

They were left through the halls of the Atlas base, before walking through a circular room and stopping before a metal door.

"Sir! We're here with the individuals," the leader said again. There was a buzz before the doors slid open.

In Ironwood's office, Winter and Penny stood on his left and right, and he sat behind his large desk, fingers in a tent before him.

"Thank you five for your work. You may unbound them," he said. They all hesitated a moment before following orders.

Pyrrha sighed as the cuffs were all slowly removed and blushed a little when she realized she was the only person now being unbound and that everyone was watching her.

"It's good to see you all again," the general said as he stood and walked around his desk. In the time since they'd last seen him he'd grown a full beard. He looked worse for wear, his eyes tired and full of apprehension.

"James. You look like shit," Qrow said. Winter was about to speak up when he held up a hand.

"You look pretty haggard yourself Qrow," he said with a small smile. The drink smirked and stepped up, hand held out. Ironwood took it and the two gripped the others arm.

"Good to see you alive," Ironwood said.

"Good to see you haven't lost your place as general," he returned. The general sighed and stepped back.

"After the fall, it was definitely up in the air. Perhaps still is..." he said. He looked around and noticed something. He raised an eyebrow and looked back to his operatives.

"Is this all of them? It would seem like we're missing some based on what I was to believe," he asked. Qrow winced and reached for his flask before halting and brushing his hand down his shirt instead.

"About that..." he sighed. He told Ironwood about what happened to Roman and Ruby, and how Glynda and Neo had gone after him and the relic.

Ironwood growled as he took in the news. Salem had the relic and had taken their allies away to add insult to injury. While he and Roman had butt heads initially, the general couldn't deny the man's adaptability.

"We will have to see what we can do about that at a later date. As it is now, my men are stretched thin making sure the city is safe," he said.

"I get protecting the city, but would that really leave you all out of soldiers?" Jaune asked. James hummed a little before starting to walk back and forth.

"Very perceptive of you. No it normally wouldn't. But I've been working on something. Something big," he said. The operatives all stepped back as Ironwood pressed a button on his desk. The center of the room raised as a holographic projector sprouted from the floor.

"Allow me to explain," he said.

He told them of his plan to use the remains of Amity Arena as a hub and tell the world about the threat of Salem. He was adamant that their attempts at fighting a silent war had been fruitless. By the end of his explanation, they were all quiet.

"Can we really do that? Can we just... tell the world about Salem?" Yang asked.

"And even if we did, can the people of Remnant fight back if or when she starts coming down on them?" Blake added. The general sighed.

"These are all things I considered and have implemented into the plan. But with this, the negativity in the air from the fall, and the upcoming election I have very little ground troops to be sending out. We'll be lucky if this plan ever even happens, let alone if it works," he said.

"Let us lend a hand then," Qrow suggested, "these kids have done enough to know their way around a fight or two. You send your men to do the easy stuff and we'll take care of the actual problems."

Ironwood hummed, a small smile coming to his eyes. He nodded.

"I think that would work," he said.

"Sir, are you positive?" Winter asked. Weiss crossed her arms and looked at her sister.

"We made it here, didn't we?" she claimed. Winter narrowed her eyes and nodded once.

"Yes, but that was after the mess you left Haven and stealing an airship from a military base in Argus," Winter pointed out.

"And? What's saving the day without a little property damage?" Mercury asked. The others all nodded while the Atlas personnel in the room all made a face at their attitude.

"I... suppose your spirit is part of your ability," Ironwood said hesitantly after a moment.

"Allow us to get you set up," he said, stepping past them.

"Set up?" Nora asked. He smiled, though they couldn't see it with his back to them.

"I think you're all in need of some upgrades," he said simply, continuing onwards.

"Thank the Lord I get my legs back again. Pretty sure this constitutes as cruel and unusual punishment," Mercury said as he was carried after the general.


"... and now I have sufficiently answered your question and am unable to grant you more knowledge unless you ask another question," Jinn finished telling them.

Salem hissed quietly under her breath. Ozpin had made it to Atlas. That meant he had another relic under his control. Not to mention they still didn't know where the winter maiden was. As tempting as it was to ask Jinn where she was, having the winter maiden wouldn't exactly do anything for them if Ozpin had the staff of creation.

"I'm just saying, stealing the city is sounding more plausible now," Roman said. Glynda smacked him on the back of the head lightly and he shrugged.

"My queen, their plan would be disastrous for us in the long run," Watts said, referring to Ironwood's scheme, "If they succeed we may never have a chance to obtain the relics."

Despite what reasons her minions initially joined her, Salem knew that they wouldn't disobey her. Even if they did, they all knew their chances of obtaining the power and revenge they all wanted was all but impossible on their own.

But just outright attacking Atlas or stealing relics would only draw attention to them anyways, essentially playing out that annoying generals plan for him

They didn't just need to be quiet, they needed to be silent. They needed to fly under the radar.

"Roman," Salem said softly as she came out of her trance. He looked over and quirked an eyebrow up in response.

"I have a task I'd like to ask of you," she said, looking over him, Glynda, Neo, and Ruby. Chew stood at attention when Neo looked over.

"I've been known for my creative problem solving from time to time," he said. She smirked.

"Then please indulge me," she said with a glint in her eyes. Roman raised an eyebrow at the look she was giving him. It wasn't the same predatory look she gave him before sex.

This one was more like someone who just watched everything fall into place.

"How would you like to become the world's most famous thief after all?"

Glynda and the girls looked at him. She and Ruby sighed while Neo grew an excited look at what she saw.

He was grinning. And he had that fire in his eyes that she hadn't seen in a long time.

"What's the saying? History in the making?" he asked. Salem laughed. It was a beautiful, melodious laugh, and yet still evil in its own way.

"They'll be talking about it for generations," she assured.

And so the counter plan had begun.


Mercury tapped his legs on the floor a few times.

"They feel heavier," he said, annoyed.

"You'll get used to the weight," the leader of the ace-ops, Clover as they'd learned, told him. He grunted.

"Easy for you to say; you've never had prosthetic legs," he whined.

"You'll see that the upgrades added to your weapons and equipment were tailored to you based on hours of footage we have from the Vytal Tournament," Ironwood said as he walked into the room with Winter.

They all inspected their weapons. Nothing seemed especially different for WBY, other than Yang now being equipped with rounds that could be detonated remotely. Jaune's shield gained a dust extension, as well as modifying his standard rifle to take dust rounds. Stormflower now had the ability to launch the blades on the handles out. Nora could apparently ride Magnhild now, which made Ren pale and fear for his life.

They looked to the three former criminals who were looking over their new weapons.

Mercury's legs looked more or less the same, with the internal mechanisms being covered in order to prevent anything jamming them. Likewise, Dr. Polendina had installed a spring mechanism within that significantly improved his movement and stopping power. He didn't know that at first and accidentally jumped headfirst into the ceiling, knocking out a light.

The twin's blades had both been sharpened, and a slot for fire dust was now included on the shins of Melanie's boots. The same slots were on the back of Miltia's hands but for lighting dust instead. Both twin's blades could also now extend with pressure from their hands or heels respectively.

"Anything else we should worry about? I don't wanna launch myself into anything like Merc," Melanie asked.

"Yes actually! We noticed you two fight in tandem so father added a new dust implementation to your blades!" Penny said.

"And that would be?" Miltia asked.

"Try striking your blades together with each other. Oh, and mind your eyes," the android advised.

They looked at each other and shrugged before closing their eyes, used to knowing each other's movements. Melanie kicked up and Miltia slashed out. When the blades connected the dust within both activated and a bright flash went off.

"Ow! Fuck!" Mercury cried as he shielded his eyes.

"Wow that was really bright," Nora said as she blinked rapidly.

The twins opened their eyes, still having seen the light from behind their lids.

"That's gonna be annoying around friends," Melanie said.

"But oh so fun around douchebags," Miltia smirked.

"I can't believe you gave the kids flashbangs," Qrow muttered to Ironwood. The general chuckled.

They all turned to Pyrrha. She looked down at her weapons and held them up, inspecting them.

"I don't feel much of a difference if I'm being honest," she said sheepishly.

"Try the button on your shield's handle," Penny tried whispering but she didn't seem to have the hang of it. They laughed as Pyrrha held Akouo in front of her and felt around for the switch.

It was against the side that her arm would rest against. She placed it on her arm and pressed the shield down into her forearm. She yelped a little when blades popped out of the edges, pointing upwards and away from her arm slightly, and began spinning.

"Is that a saw blade shield?" Blake asked. As they all went over their newly improved weapons, Qrow sighed.

Ruby would love to see this. And that she wasn't here made him butter again. Why didn't he go after her? And what the hell was Ozpin hiding?

He'd give anything to see his niece again.

Suddenly a soldier ran in and saluted quickly to the room of higher-ups.

"Sir! We have an incoming ship from the North quadrant! There's no authorization at all!" he said. Ironwood raised an eyebrow before narrowing his eyes.

"Why bring this to my attention soldier?"

"Well... that's the part that's hard to explain..." he said.

"Try," Ironwood commanded. He nodded.

"The ship is on fire," he said. He breathed a sigh of relief. That actually wasn't too hard to explain after all!

"What!?" Ironwood shouted.

They were led to the monitor room and the soldier brought up the north cameras on the largest screen.

"What the hell is it doing?" Ironwood asked, thoroughly confused.

"We have no idea. We can't get into contact with it. Permission to ground it?" the soldier asked.

"Permission granted," Ironwood allowed.

"All units in the North sector take down unidentified burning ship," the soldier called in through his microphone. The other end replied with a Roger and they watched as the surrounding ships and turrets aimed at the ship.

Except every shot they took missed.

"North sector, what's wrong? Can you get a lock on the ship?"

"Negative soldier, we can't get a lock on them," a soldier replied.

They watched as the destroyed ship turned and rolled, getting closer and closer to the city.

"What on Remnant is it trying to accomplish?" Ironwood asked.

"I don't know but the flying reminds me of the fall when Torchwick flew that bullhead into that warship," Nora said.

They were all silent for a moment, sad at the reminder of their lost friends. They looked out of the window. Then they all blinked.

"When did the ship get that close?" Pyrrha asked.

"And is it just me or is it getting closer?" Jaune added.

The ships left engine blew out and the ship began spiraling towards the window.

"HANDSOME AMPUTEES FIRST!" Mercury screamed as he threw himself out the door. The others screamed and followed him as the ship exploded through the window.

The room was a mess of exposed wires, broken glass, cement, and metal, and ruined computers. The damage alone would cost thousands, and the ruined and still very much in fire bullhead sitting in the center of the room would also cost a lot to remove.

But that would be after Ironwood killed whoever was inside, provided they weren't already dead.

Ironwood stomped into the ruin comms room and on top of the toppled bullhead. He brushed fire off of his shoulder and pried the door clean off the ship before pointing his gun inside.

"You have the right to remain—" he paused and they all tensed, " wait... Glynda!?"

They gasped and ran in immediately. He hauled her out of the ship, her clothes torn in places and an especially long rip in her shirt on her shoulder running down her mid back. Her eyes were closed, glasses cracked, and her breathing was shallow.

When they looked in Yang almost cried.

"RUBY!" she yelled as she pushed past the general and took her sister. She was unconscious, like Glynda, and she looked like she'd been fighting for days.

The twins looked in and gasped. Neo was there too, Chew standing over her and growling, hardly able to stand at all. His fur was singed and his teeth were barred. One eye was stuck shut from soot.

There was a series of coughs and swearing and they looked into the cockpit.

"...Good to know... we were... missed," Roman groaned as he pulled himself up, barely conscious.

"Roman!" Qrow shouted as he helped the thief up.

"What's up you drunk bastard," he wheezed before coughing again.

"Are... are they?" Nora asked, hugging Ren as they looked at the three women. Roman shook his head and winced.

"They're fine... but..." he grit his teeth and swore, "they still have the relic."

"Forget the relic for now, we need to get you all medical attention," Ironwood said, leaving no room for hesitation.

"Cool... now that that's settled..." his eyes rolled back as he passed out. Clover turned on his earpiece.

"Med team! You're needed immediately!"


Roman woke up and looked around. The room was dark, but he could make out the white ceiling and the sound of machinery beeping away. He still had his hat on.

He cleared his throat and stretched for a moment before speaking.

"We're alone ladies," he said. As if a switch had been flipped the three rose, Neo even yawning as though she'd just had a nap.

"I cannot believe that worked," Glynda huffed. She made a face of annoyance as she realized her glasses were missing. Likely still broken as well considering their act.

"Is it... okay to lie to all of them like this?" Ruby asked. She had been the most against the plan.

"It's this or the overwhelming weight of God. Your call kiddo," Roman said. Ruby rolled her eyes but didn't argue further.

Neo looked down at her legs, chew had been placed on them and was still sleeping. He deserved a treat for his performance. She'd have to remember to get him one.

"So what do we do now?" Ruby asked. Roman sighed as he rubbed his arms.

"We steal the relic of creation," Roman said as he stood, not wanting to be stuck in the stiff hospital bed anymore.

"But doesn't Atlas need the relic to stay floating? And I know we can't let Ozpin gather all the relics but is gathering them for Salem that much better?" Ruby asked.

"To answer your second question Ms. Rose, we're not giving the relics to Salem. She told us before we left that they are going to be spread out throughout the Grimmlands and buried," Glynda said.

"And as for how to steal the relic without killing anyone," Roman said as he took off his hat, "Salem gave me this little thing."

He pulled a small, black stone out of his hat. There was a red mark on it, a sigil of sorts. It glowed slightly and despite it's material, was most weightless.

Neo tilted her head. Roman tossed the stone up and down.

"Apparently this thing is like a magic generator. It can't do anything special like the relics but it puts off the same kind of energy. She said it won't last forever but by the time it runs out we'll likely all be dead anyways," he explained.

"To think such a small stone holds such great power," Glynda said. Roman nodded. He watched the queen make it in front of him.

She just... coalesced it. Out of thin air. She seemed very winded afterwards but assured him that her power would return. Apparently being immortal really took away the stress of waiting.

"But where is the relic?" Ruby asked. Roman shrugged.

"That's the best part of the heist Red! We're all criminals now!" he said. Ruby dropped and Glynda rolled her eyes.

There was a knock at the door.

"Hello? I thought I heard people in there! Are you all awake?"

Roman threw himself back in bed and the others followed suit. He gestured for Ruby and Neo to close their eyes and they did.

"Yeah I'm awake!" he called, making his voice sound hoarse. The door opened and a nurse came in and looked over him and Glynda.

"I should've assumed the two licensed hunters would be up first. How are you both feeling?" the nurse asked as she walked inside the room.

"I've been through worse," Roman joked before wincing and coughing. Glynda repressed the urge to groan. The man was too good at lying and it scared her sometimes.

"Ah Miss, these are yours. They've been repaired and paid for already," the nurse said as she walked over to Glynda and handed her a small black case. Glynda opened it and found her glasses, good as new. She nodded in thanks.

"Please rest for now. In the morning the general will be by to speak with you," she told them before she closed the door and left. As soon as the door clicked shut the girls were both up again.

"So we just have to wait here until morning? Can't the general just come now so we don't have to sit around doing nothing?" Ruby asked, clearly not enthused with the idea of staying in the hospital room for more time than they had to.

"No can do Red," Roman crushed her spirit, "we gotta stay here and live up our lie."

"What's our alibi again?" Glynda asked. Roman waved his hand in front of himself.

"Leave the lying to me. Hop in when you get a chance, I'll make sure it's easy to follow," he said. Glynda sighed but didn't argue further. If anyone could weave a tale and somehow get away with it, it was Roman.

Neo stretched before sprawling out and cuddling Chew. The rest followed suit and got comfortable.

It'd be a boring few hours.


Roman opened his eyes as he heard the door. He was met with the steely gaze of James Ironwood.

"Torchwick."

"Irondick."

The two stared the other down. Roman adjusted himself in his bed.

"So was the beard an impulse thing or...?"

"Shut up Roman."

"Good to see you too James," the thief smiled. The general rolled his eyes but wasn't glaring so that was a good sign.

Roman made a show of turning and looking over Neo before sighing and laying back again. Ironwood noticed and his eyes softened a little.

"They say you'll all make a full recovery. Your auras were completely depleted," he told. Roman looked off to the side. That had been easier to pull off than he initially thought. Salem knew a spell that could drain aura so that had been easy. The hard part was piloting the bullhead while on fire and crashing it with no aura.

They were the ones who set the ship on fire in the first place of course so it was mostly controlled, but that didn't mean it wasn't hard to keep calm the whole time.

"Yeah. It was rough out there," Roman said. The general nodded.

"Very few have ever gone where you were and lived. The only ones who have only touched the borders, never willing to traverse the land," he explained. Roman knew why. The place was a breeding ground for Grimm. And he'd just come from the center of it!

"We saw her," he said. Ironwood nodded and sighed.

"Based on your conditions we assumed as much. Luckily you managed to get out without any injuries. That crash landing could've killed you though," he said, his eyes narrowing slightly as he commented on their strangely good condition.

"The crash must've knocked them out. These three were still kicking when we were airborne," Roman claimed. The general nodded.

"That you managed to keep the ship from combusting midair was a feat in and of itself," he said. Roman nodded and leaned back. Glynda slowly stirred and blinked her eyes open.

"Hello James," she said simply. He nodded back.

"Good to see you're okay Glynda," he said politely. Roman sighed dramatically.

"And I only get a shut up? James, I'm hurt," Roman said. The general's mouth twitched for a smile for a brief moment, but he didn't allow it to happen.

There was a commotion outside and they could hear nurses yelling for someone to slow down. Suddenly the door burst open and Yang and Qrow stood in the opening.

Yang ran over to Ruby's bed and inspected the girl. Qrow saw she was still asleep and sighed before he turned and looked at Roman. He smiled and nodded. Roman sent him a two fingered salute.

Behind them he could see the others all peering in. They looked a mix of relieved and happy.

"So you managed to look into the jaws of the beast and live, huh?" Qrow smirked as he pulled a chair over and sat by the thief's bed.

"It was looking bleak for a while there. They tried drilling me for something useful. Cinder, the pompous bitch, was sure I knew something useful. Jokes on her; I don't know anything useful!" Roman quipped. The two men shared a laugh and Qrow sighed in relief, looking over at Ruby.

"How'd you find her?" he asked.

"I'd also like to know that. Based on Qrow's story, she was taken days after you. So where did you find her?" Ironwood asked. Qrow bumped the man's shoulder with his own.

"Relax James. Roman's with us, remember?" they both looked back at him and Roman shrugged.

"Well it went like this..."

Glynda rolled her eyes as Roman weaved a lie. She didn't roll them because it sounded too far out. She rolled them because it sounded believable.

Ruby finally stirred awake when Roman started getting loud. She was about to ask who was yelling when she was crushed into a hug.

Yang had her in a vice grip, and was swaying back and forth slightly.

"I'm okay Yang... Roman found me... please let me go! I need air..." Ruby squeaked. Yang finally released her and Ruby gasped for air. By this point Neo and Chew had also awakened and we're watching. Chew barked to notify that he also wanted attention.

He got it when the others came in and checked on the four. Nora ran over and hugged the dog and Neo at the same time, shoving Neo's face in her boobs and forcing Chew's paws directly into her stomach. She coughed as the wind was forced out of her.

"Oh great, the kids are back," Roman said with a very fake smile. Mercury flipped him off and Roman responded in kind.

"And here we were ready to reap the benefits of you will," Miltia sighed as she held her cheek with one hand. Melanie mirrored the pose with the opposite hand.

"We were so ready to organize that funeral," Melanie followed up. Roman rolled his eyes.

"Okay, one; I don't have a will. I launder all my money. And two; I wouldn't allow Junior to let you two plan anyone's funeral," he smirked. They scoffed but there was no malice to it.

"So Salem has the relic of knowledge," Ironwood clarified. Roman sighed and nodded.

"It was either save the relic or save Red," he said, nodding back towards Ruby, who blushed at everyone looking at her.

"I figured the kid with the magic eye lasers was gonna be more helpful than the glorified paperweight in the long run," he said. Ironwood sighed but didn't make any attempt to argue the point.

"At any rate," Roman started, trying as hard as possible to steer the conversation away from their supposed escape from the Grimmlands, "what's going on around here?"

"It's election season," Qrow said. Roman gagged.

"Throw me back in the Grimmlands," he groaned. That managed to get aaugh out of Ironwood.

"The sentiment is shared," he said.

"Who are the candidates?" Glynda asked. Mercury answered before anyone else could.

"It's down to the literal devil and an edgy PTA mom," he said.

"Who?" Roman asked. Weiss rolled her eyes.

"Robyn Hill and... my father," Weiss reiterated. Roman winced. Jacques Schnee? The dictator-esque CEO of the largest dust company on the planet? Mercury wasn't wrong with the devil thing. Roman may have been a thief, a crook even, depending on who you asked, but at least he wasn't a slave driver.

"And who's the other candidate?" Glynda asked.

"We don't really know her that well, but apparently she's been trying to steal supplies from the general's trucks to give to the people of Mantle," Jaune said. Ironwood nodded with his assessment. Robyn Hill had been an obstacle lately when it came to transporting supplies to the site of the Amity project.

Roman's face scrunched in disgust. Stealing to give back to people? That's the most charitable kind of stealing! Which makes it the stupidest kind of stealing! Thank god he had his right to vote revoked after his second criminal sentence six years ago. Really dodged a bullet with that one.

"So what're we doing here then?" Roman asked. Ironwood stepped forward and looked among the four formerly incapacitated hunters.

"Allow me to fill you in," he said as he launched into his plan. They already knew his plan of course, but they listened as if it were the first time.

"That's quite the plan," Roman said, acting like it surprised him, "and you think it's possible?"

"With our technology and all of you as capable hunters u think we have a chance," he said. Little did he know that they didn't need that chance.

The nurses came in and told them all that they had to leave for them to check if the four were set to leave. An hour later and they were discharged, walking out with the others. Neo even got a sticker and a lollipop that was meant for younger patients. Not that she really cared.

Roman took a look around the halls of the Atlas military base. He'd always thought the only time he'd see the inside was if he was arrested. Go figure.

"Hey kid, where the hell is Oz?" Roman asked Oscar. He shuffled a little as he looked for the right words.

"He's... hiding," he said carefully.

"Hiding?" Glynda asked. What did that even mean?

"Well, when Ruby got kidnapped Qrow mentioned something about Salem building a family and he just kinda... went away," the young boy explained.

The four looked confused and shocked on the outside but on the inside were groaning in annoyance.

Come on Oz! Don't leave the rest of the world to deal with your ex-wife! Do it yourself! Your students are not your marriage counselors!

"At any rate, we must get to work on the Arena, with or without Ozpin to help us. The faster we get Amity up and running, the faster we bring the fight to Salem," Ironwood claimed, "For now, you four should go back to the rooms that have been put aside for you. We will begin the active phase of the project starting tomorrow morning."

He pointed Roman and Glynda towards a room while WBY led Ruby and Neo to their room. They were about to round the corner when someone gasped.

"Ruby?" a familiar voice said. Ruby and Neo turned around. Both were shocked at who they saw; one was in awe while the other was terrified. Neo hadn't ever seen someone she killed alive and moving again after all.

"Penny?" Ruby asked. She was about to ask how she was alive when the android launched forth and tackled the girl. They slid all the way down the hall until they stopped at a wall.

"I was wondering when you would arrive Ruby!" Penny exclaimed as she rose and spun Ruby in circles. The reaper looked like she was getting progressively sicker with each cycle.

"Hi Penny! Please stop spinning! I'm gonna girl!" Ruby cried as they continued spinning. Finally she was placed back down and she wobbled before she fell over.

Neo came over and helped her up. She still shook but she stayed standing this time. Neo looked at Penny and gave her a little wave.

"Hello Neo! How have you been since last we saw each other?" Penny asked. Neo looked back at everyone else as if to ask 'is she serious?' before remembering it was Penny and that meant she was, in fact, serious.

Neo was about to reach for her scroll when Penny stopped her.

"Worry not! I am equipped with over one hundred languages!" she said. Neo shrugged and signed.

You're not mad that I killed your ass? she asked. Penny's eyes glowed before she smiled and stood with her hands on her hips.

"I'm not even a little upset! Now I'm new and improved and ready to fight!" she said confidently. Neo looked at Ruby who just shrugged and mouthed 'go with it'.

Neo smiled at the android and nodded. Penny beamed and grabbed both girls.

"Now! Your friends told me that you two are enacting a relationship!" she said excitedly.

"Oh, well uh, yeah we've been together for a few months now—"

"I'm curious about this human concept! Have you two taken part in the intercourse?" she asked.

Everyone froze in silence, even Ironwood, who's eye twitched a little as he made a mental note to speak to Pietro about his daughter later. Ruby was as red as her cloak. Neo had her face in her hands and was trying to avoid eye contact with Yang, Qrow, and Roman.

"Gingers am I right?" Nora said aloud. Mercury just stared at her, lost beyond a doubt.

Roman groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose.

It was good to be back.

Right?

No. He would have much rathered the pampering he got back in the Grimmlands with Salem. Judging by the look on Glynda's face, she was thinking much the same thing.


That'll do for now.

Roman and the others make it to Atlas, but not to help.

To do what he does best!

Do I hate Ozpin? No, not at all. But if he knows the gods will destroy the planet if Salem's still around, why does he want to bring them back? It just seemed kind of strange to me. Perhaps they'll touch upon it in the next season.

But now we are in season 7! I have plans for this, as this is likely where my story will diverge entirely and possibly end.

The end isn't soon, it's just in my mind now. Rest assured, I have more story to write, and other stories planned!

For now, please stay healthy, keep up the social distancing, and have a wonderful time!

And don't bite off more than you can chew!


Omake: Penny gets a crash course in sex education

Penny sat before Ironwood, Qrow, and Roman. The three had taken her aside to explain why one couldn't just shout about two people having sex in a populated hallway.

That slowly revealed something somewhat frightening.

"I apologise! But I am unaware of what makes intercourse so taboo! I do not understand the feeling or cultural significance at all as it was not programmed into my database," she informed.

The three men shared long stares with each other. Roman excused them as they turned their backs towards the girl.

What she didn't know was that they played rock, paper, scissors to see who'd try explaining things first.

Ironwood lost immediately in the first round. Then Qrow. Roman rejoiced that he had to go last as it meant she probably wouldn't care by that point.

"Well Penny, you see... sexual intercourse is a very special thing to be shared between two people—"

As if forgetting that they'd played for order at all, Qrow jumped in and cut the general off.

"Hold on a minute James, sex isn't necessarily anything special. Some people get laid all the time! Not to mention that porn exists and if you call that sex anything but boring then the only thing that's special is you," the drunk slurred. Ironwood groaned.

"Yes, but when it is about people you know, it's generally more than just friends with benefits!" he argued. Penny tilted her head to the side.

"What are friends with benefits?" Penny asked. Roman separated the two and stepped forward.

"Friends with benefits are... just the best," he said.

"Goddamnit Torchwick we're supposed to be teaching her good morals!"

"Hey! He's not wrong! There's no problem with two friends sharing a bed!"

"Yeah and we haven't even started on foreplay!" Roman added in.

"Fore... play?" Penny asked, thoroughly confused. Who knew intercourse had so many different parts! It was like an intricate machine!

By this point the three men were just arguing over what sex really was while also continually adding more concepts with each point.

Penny's eyes were wide open in awe.

There was so much to learn!

"I will become a master at intercourse!" she exclaimed.

"ROMAN! JAMES! QROW! WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST HEAR!?" Glynda screamed from the other room.

All three men paled.

"Truce?" Roman asked. Ironwood and Qrow looked at each other before looking back and nodding.

The three sprinted out the room as the sounds of one incredibly pissed Glynda Goodwitch stormed the halls. Atlas personnel stood no chance if they didn't move in time.

The poor souls. They didn't even know what was coming until she tossed them out of the way with telekinetic powers. Ironwood knew for a fact that the military's insurance didn't cover that.

The three men continued running until late into the night. Parents would later tell their children stories about the event, and none would know if it were true or not.