It was supposed to be a simple operation: subdue and capture Tyrian Callows, returning him to Atlas custody as Pickerel failed to years ago. And to the luck of Ace Operative Ebi, it had gone without a hitch. Despite Robyn's numerous counts of unnecessary roughness with him after the fact, the killer had hardly been an effort.
While most of Clover's colleagues would claim the success fell entirely on his own Good Fortune, he chalked it to the way Qrow fought: Completely unrestrained yet not reckless. Due to the man's unpredictable nature in the fight and the hardly coordinated teamwork of the trio, Tyrian had gone down without even inflicting so much as a single hit. He almost went down too smoothly for Clover's liking, but a mission completed was a mission, nonetheless.
The ride back to Atlas, however, was far from routine. Halfway through, their scrolls were overridden by a desperate announcement from Miss Rose. Was James calling Martial Law and abandoning Mantle? Communications were cut off immediately after, and the four sat in silence for a few moments.
"Declaring martial law?" Robyn growled. "We can not let him do this."
"Ms. Hill, I'm sure the General understands the enormity of his-" Clover began to reason before his scroll pinged. Retrieving the device to see what the issue was, his face fell. He slowly stood and walked towards his partner.
"Qrow," he sighed. "You should know I've been asked to bring you in."
Robyn's scroll flew to her hand as a cackle came from the imprisoned man on Clover's side of the transport. "Ooh, a free ride and a show."
"There's also an alert out for Team RWBY's arrest," Clover continued, internally flinching as he did.
"Has James lost his mind?" Qrow hissed, gripping the hilt of his scythe.
"He's trying to stop anyone who might get in the way of his inhumane plan," Robyn snarled as she stood, aiming her crossbow. "Looks like he underestimated me. Again."
"Only Qrow is under arrest," Clover explained, in an attempt to placate the woman from Mantle. "After all we've been through tonight, please don't make me arrest you as well."
Robyn's snarl deepened as she pulled back on the trigger for her weapon. Clover sighed internally and opened Kingfisher to its full length.
"Cut it out, both of you," Qrow growled. "We're almost back to Atlas. Let's talk to James personally and-"
"It's taking a very long time for this show to get to the good part," Tyrian egged on.
"Shut up," Qrow growled again, gripping Harbinger's hilt tighter still.
"He's right," Robyn replied, steadily guarding the trigger, not taking her eyes off of Clover. "Let's get this over with."
"Robyn!" Qrow shouted as the crossbow fired. Clover blocked the bolt with Kingfisher effortlessly and retracted it as Robyn charged. He hooked her shield and threw her to the ground with hardly an effort.
"Fine," Qrow said with an irritated sigh. Harbinger expanded into its greatsword mode as Qrow swung at Clover. The two quickly entered weapon lock as they locked eyes.
"I wish it hadn't come to this," Clover called, as the force of Qrow's blade pushed him downwards.
"It doesn't have to!" Qrow shouted.
Robyn leaped up from the floor, slamming her cross-shield down onto Kingfisher, causing both Qrow and Clover to leap backward.
"You can hug it out once we've taken him down!" Robyn snapped towards the scythe wielder.
Clover cast a swing from Kingfisher, and Robyn cleanly deflected it into the bar holding Callow's restraints in place. As the three traded blows, the prisoner slid his binds off of the broken bar, scuttling his way to the unknowing pilots.
The ship rocked, and the combatants fell to the floor. Qrow and Clover looked up to see Tyrian hunched over a bleeding pilot, laughing maniacally. Qrow was first to his feet and grabbed the man, shaking his torso violently.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" he shouted in disbelief at many of the events transpiring at that very moment.
"The will… OF OUR GODDESS!" the prisoner screamed in return. He kicked the throttle stick downwards and hurled himself through the window.
Clover scrambled to his feet, snarling to himself as Kingfisher's line trailed towards the man, barely missing Qrow… and completely missing Callows as he tumbled towards the tundra, still laughing as he fell.
The Operative and Huntsman cast a glance at each other. One cut short by a wall of white as the transport plowed into the snowy tundra of Solitas.
A low groan snapped Qrow back into consciousness. The sound of snapping metal quickly followed it. He sprang to his feet and stared out towards the source of the sound.
A small collection of the anchor lines fell from the city, falling towards Mantle as Atlas itself remained stationary in the sky. Then, as he watched, the city slowly began to rise.
"James…" he whispered. "What have you done…?"
Another groan rolled out of the transport, a more human one. Qrow spun to see Clover shakily getting to his feet. He gripped Harbinger's hilt tightly, the events just before the crash having shaken his perception of the Ace Operative.
"Qrow," the other man firmly stated, Kingfisher extended and a bolas in his other hand.
"Let me guess," Qrow responded, rather snidely. "I'm under arrest for treason to Atlas? Or just for being on James' bad side?" Harbinger folded into a scythe, better suited for non-human opponents.
"I wish it weren't the case," Clover shot back, clutching his side as he stepped forward. "We don't have to fight, friend."
Qrow laughed sourly at that. "You don't know my friends. This," he gestured around, ending on the transport, "Is how it always goes."
"That's a shame," Clover replied. "You were a pleasure to work with, even with that endless cynicism of yours."
The Operative took two steps forward, out of the wreckage, before breaking into a run at his fellow huntsman.
The sounds of clashing metal and irritated yet pained groans snapped Robyn back into the world. She got her feet and stared out towards the tundra as the battle came to a quick end. Clover practically threw Kingfisher's hook around Qrow's leg and then yanked it backward, tripping the Huntsman up. In mere split seconds, as Qrow hovered in the air, Clover whipped his bolas around the other man, sticking him entirely in a bind before he fell flat on his back into the snow of Solitas.
"Qrow Branwen," Clover announced solemnly, "You're under arrest for treason to the Kingdom of Atlas."
"Why couldn't you just do the right thing, instead of what you were told?" Qrow snarled as Clover regretfully stood above him.
"I trust James with my life, Qrow. He gave me a new leg to stand on, and I'd follow him to the end of days." He sighed, looking away before turning back. "Sometimes, the right choice is the hardest to make."
"Well, you're just a regular old bootlicker then, aren't you?" Qrow growled, glaring up at the other man.
Clover closed his eyes and turned away, filled with regret at everything that had transpired. "I'm sorry."
A whistle then rang out from the crashed transport, and Robyn shakily hobbled out of it. "HEY! Lucky Charms over there, snap out of it!" she roared, drawing the undivided, yet confused, attention of both men. "I don't know if you two have noticed the state of things, but Callows has gotten away, and Atlas is leaving us behind. Who's under arrest here is the last thing we should concern ourselves with."
The three looked at each other, with Qrow and Clover acknowledging that her words were true. Atlas had risen during their battle; there was no denying that.
"Now then," Robyn determinedly continued, with a clenching fist. "Who's ready to take our home back?"
"That power, These memories, You're back, aren't you? You saved me."
"Actually, you saved us."
A thundering rumble rolled through the sky, and Oscar looked up towards the floating city of Atlas as it began to rise.
"Oscar, I-"
"Stop," Oscar firmly stated. "All I want to know is how we save Atlas next."
A roar of thunder and a deep growl tore through the sky. Oscar turned towards the mountains of Solitas. A large cloud of jet black and blood-red rolled towards Atlas. But it wasn't this that attracted Oscar's attention.
"Ruby!" a voice called out., full of panic and distress. A voice that Oscar quickly recognized.
"Blake? What's happening? What's going on?" he called back, turning on a heel towards the direction of the Faunus' shout.
A moment later, she appeared on the roof of a nearby building, visibly shaken by something. "Oscar, wh- What are you doing down here? Why aren't you with JNPR?"
He put on an awkward smile and rubbed the back of his neck, trying not to make eye contact with the huntress. "Yeah, about that…"
He unclipped The Long Memory from his back quickly and leaned on it while also clutching at the spot where Jam- Ironwood had decided a bullet would look nice. His aura flickered weakly in response to the memory, the gunshot still echoing in his mind. The way his eyes went dark as the night as the trigger of Due Process was pulled would live in his nightmares for a long time, Oscar speculated, Ozma offering no reaffirmation or denial to this belief.
"Don't worry about me," Oscar smiled to the best of his ability. "What has happened to you? How is your team?"
Blake tensed at the latter question, shifting somewhat uncomfortably. "Weiss and Yang are at Pietro's workshop, with luck, evading the military. And Ruby is…" She looked away, back to where she'd come from, before quietly speaking one singular world-crushing word.
"Gone."
Oscar felt several old lives cry out in terror, most distraught of all, Ozpin. He looked back at the cloud, stagnant in the sky, his eyes narrowing as the thought of who commanded it came to the front of his mind. His eyes closed, and a familiar presence seeped forward. When he spoke again, it wasn't quite him. His eyes glowed hazel for a brief second before the glow dimmed.
"Then, we indeed are in the darkest timeline." His hand clutched tightly onto The Long Memory, hoping for some semblance of normality. There was nothing.
"I don't presume it would be bold to ask if you had your scroll, Miss Belladonna?"
Blake quirked an eyebrow, and her face took on a more negative structure. "Yes, I do, but the General cut comms when he put out an arrest warrant for us all."
"James, what have you done," Oscar growled under his breath. "You don't think we could rendezvous with the remainder of your team?"
Blake shook her head. "If we go back now, that only ruins us. We'd all be arrested immediately, hardly in a good position to plot out our next move. Besides, what good will grouping up do if he's getting away?" She gestured to the city, which had risen slightly during their conversation.
"Damn the Pools of Destruction," Oz growled again. "He's completely unreasonable at this point. I doubt even Glynda could get through that Mettle-encased skull of his."
"So," another voice spoke up. Blake and Oscar readied their weapons in defense as Robyn Hill shoved through the ruins of an alleyway. Behind her, Clover Ebi and Qrow braced against each other.
"What's our next move?" the almost-councilwoman continued, flashing a determined scowl. Oz surveyed the three newcomers before calmly placing The Long Memory onto the ground for support once more.
"Qrow," he began. "Would you be willing to-"
"No," the taller man quickly shot down. "That's one of your little secrets Oz, and I'm not jeopardizing myself with it."
Oscar took a heavy breath before moving on. "Mr. Ebi, would your communications be active?"
"Affirmative," he replied before trailing off. "If my scroll had survived the transport crash."
Oz grit his teeth before breathing deeply again. "Very well. Our only chance of communication is null and void, and it's not like James would even listen now. Ladies, gentlemen, we are completely on our own. And worse off, Salem is approaching."
"Oh?" Robyn replied. "Then explain that."
Oscar turned, and his eyes widened in shock as he stared at the cloud. "She's… Turning back?"
"Ruby…" Blake whispered in an upsetting realization.