The blackout didn't last too long. Atlas would certainly not have been brought to his knees by a minutia like that, too bad that in those fifteen minutes of darkness Arthur Watts and some of the prisoners had disappeared.

General Ironwood was in his office when he received this terrible news, and ordered special teams to intercept the fugitives and capture them.

When he heard the door behind him open he turned around thinking he was standing in front of Winter, but instead he saw Robyn Hill and Blake Belladonna, both holding him at gunpoint with their weapons.

"You're here to kill me, I guess."

"No, you're wrong," Robyn said.

"So what do you want from me?"

"I'm here to persuade you to send your soldiers to Mantle to protect the citizens that you will evacuate and bring here to Atlas."

"And how are you going to convince me? When my men are here you will be in the minority and will be arrested again."

"It's not that simple, General. The last time we spoke you made me understand one thing: you're afraid. You pose as a great man and refuse to let your emotions out but they show in what you do, we can clearly see that you're terrified. But you don't have the courage to admit it. You have the courage to sacrifice your own life for the world but you're not brave enough to admit that you're scared. Are you afraid of looking weak?"

"And even if I was? You have no idea what it means to live with the constant worry of fighting a war against an unknown enemy, but when I discovered that that enemy was also immortal ... then the worry became that 'fear'. But what does this change? We're surrounded by enemies. We are on our knees before a force that we cannot understand or fight against … and you expect me to listen to you?"

"You will listen to me, because deep in your heart you know you're doing the wrong thing."

"If I do the 'right' thing, I risk losing another relic and I cannot allow it."

"So would you rather be responsible for a genocide than admit that you are acting under the influence of fear?"

"If you want to save Mantle ... then kill me."

He said those words with such coldness that it seemed inhuman. His eyes didn't lie. That man did not have his life at heart, he was completely dedicated to his goal and nothing else.

Robyn was resigning herself and prepared to fire a dart but then Blake intervened.

"I know what it means to act in fear. When Beacon was attacked and Yang lost her arm, I fled. I abandoned a friend of mine without looking back and still today I carry this weight in my heart. I regret that choice." Blake put her hand on her chest. "My heart aches when I think back to the death of that man who had left me no alternatives. I never wanted to kill Adam, my desire was to forget him… but his endless obsession, his longing to possess me, ultimately cost him his life. I don't want that to happen again."

Ironwood looked into Blake's sad eyes. He sighed.

"You're right," he murmured, brandishing his guns. "If I have to die today, so be it. I will die on my feet, with my head held high, knowing that I have done my duty to the end."

"Don't be crazy!" Blake exclaimed desperately.

"I'm responsible for my choices ... and if the fate of my choices is my death ... I accept it."

Robyn fired a dart but Ironwood deflected it, using the barrel of the gun.

"If you think you can defeat me, come forward. I will be happy to send you back to those prisons with my own hands."

Ironwood kicked the desk and sent it flying at the two girls; Blake was the only one of the two to avoid the object with incredible agility and was fast enough to start shooting. Ironwood ran to avoid the bullets and returned fire by firing twice; Blake dodged the bullets and tried to stop the General using the grappling hook attached to the weapon; Ironwood dodged the blade, sheathed a gun and ran towards the girl.

Blake used her Semblance to dodge the man's punch. Robyn intervened and began to face General Ironwood in a close combat. For every blow she struck he was able to parry or dodge it and, in the end, Ironwood gained a definitive advantage which, however, was immediately exhausted by Blake, who used the rope to make a noose around the man's throat.

"Stop fighting!" she exclaimed.

Ironwood, with superhuman strength, managed to break the noose; the man turned and fired two bullets that Blake dodged using her Semblance. Robyn kicked Ironwood but he parried it; he counterattacked with a series of punches and kicks that the woman was able to avoid.

Blake prepared to stab Ironwood in the back. He noticed it and, after parrying a punch from Robyn, he shot Blake, breaking her aura. Ironwood turned and fired the last shot at Robyn, even her aura was broken.

"Done," the man said putting away the gun. "Did you really think you could defeat me? You two, together, don't even have half of my experience. Now, if you don't mind, I have some issues to solve and-"

Ironwood noticed a strange shadow cast on the ground. He turned around.

"Penny ...?"

Both Blake and Robyn were as surprised as the General to see her and, always like him, they had noticed something strange in her eyes: they were red.

"Watts ..." Ironwood took out his gun.

As soon as the man fired the first bullet, Penny threw herself against the glass at full speed and hit Ironwood with a kick, he crashed into the wall.

"Penny, is that really you?" Robyn asked.

"Are you here to help us?" Blake asked.

Penny looked at both girls and then she looked at Ironwood, she walked over to him and, in a kind manner, put her hand under his chin and slightly raised his head to look him in the eyes. When Penny opened her mouth, Watts's voice was heard:

"Isn't it fascinating to think that I've been manipulating you all this time, James? You thought you had the power, you deluded yourself into controlling me and in the end you lost."

Hearing that male voice, the two girls got scared. Penny turned to them.

"You didn't expect that, did you? This is what General Ironwood was making me do. He had given me the keys to take possession of this toy and in the end, thanks to you, I was able to continue my work in silence. James Ironwood and Ruby Rose ... two fools so different yet so similar. It will be fun to see your desperate looks when Atlas falls."

Penny took off and, breaking the wall, headed for the vault where the relic was kept.

"No ..." Ironwood said with wide eyes and traumatized by what he had just seen. "He must not reach the relic!" The man immediately got up but before leaving the office he was struck by a terrible fear. A fear so great it made him sweat and shiver like a child.

Winter reached Ironwood along with the Ace Operatives and when the woman saw Robyn and Blake she ordered Harriet to arrest them.

"No," Ironwood replied.

"General?"

"Winter ..." The man hugged the girl and said: "I need you. Help Atlas… you must fend off the Grimms at any cost. This is my latest order."

Winter was confused. General Ironwood's hands were shaking. They were no longer the arms of a confident man.

"No, I'm not going anywhere, General. I will stay by your side until the end."

"No you will not. You will organize the defenses and fight against the forces of Salem. Take as many soldiers with you as possible, evacuate whoever you can and whoever you want and find a way to get them away from Atlas."

"Why? What's happening?"

"There's a possibility ... that Atlas could fall. Penny is under Watts' control and right now she is heading for the relic. Neither of us can face a Winter Maiden… but we can save the people who live in Atlas. You can save them."

"And what will you do?"

"I will do everything possible to prevent Watts from taking the relic."

"No. I refuse," Winter objected.

"I don't give you this freedom."

"I'm free to do what I want."

"Not anymore." Ironwood came to attention. "I abdicate. Officially I will no longer be General Ironwood ... now you are in charge. You will be General Schnee. Now the defense of Atlas is in your hands."

Winter was not happy with that promotion. Moved by a whirlwind of sadness and despair she slapped Ironwood. The shocked looks of those present were accompanied by a long silence. Ironwood said nothing. Winter's gaze was like that of a little girl who was about to cry.

"Why are you doing this to me? I'm nobody without you. I'm just a soldier. Don't sacrifice yourself for me ... let me die ... please ... don't let me live with this weight ... " she cried "I'm not strong ... I can't make these decisions ... I will disappoint everyone ... I can't ..."

"You can. You're the strongest woman I've ever known. You're not a princess, you are the best soldier in our army and you deserve to take my place. Don't die with me, you're too good to die with someone like me."

"No! I don't accept it!" she exclaimed desperately. "What you are doing is suicide."

"I know. General Schnee… this is your chance to become a hero. Win where I lost and forget about me. I'm just a killing machine… I don't deserve your esteem."

Ironwood left Winter and set off.

"Why?" the girl asked, in tears. "Why do you treat me like this? Why?"

Without looking at her, he replied:

"Because you're the only star I've been allowed to see."

Ironwood left.

Winter Schnee ordered the lifeboats to be prepared and loaded the civilians then ordered the soldiers to prepare to fight against Salem's forces.

Not all the soldiers easily accepted Winter's position and luckily the girl was supported by the Ace Operatives who persuaded, obviously with somewhat brusque ways, those more uncertain men.

Unlike Ironwood, Winter did not leave Mantle behind and ordered soldiers to be sent to secure all civilians. The problem was that much of Mantle had been evacuated and no one knew where the people had taken refuge.

Meanwhile, the small team led by Ruby left the Academy of Atlas and, following Jacques' advice, headed for the Schnee mansion.

"Do you have any Scrolls here?" Ruby asked.

"Of course, follow me," Weiss replied, leading the girl to her father's office.

"What do you want to do, Ruby? Do you want to call Yang?"

"After contacting Pietro. I need to know about Penny. I haven't heard from her since we separated. We need Amity to communicate with the world. We can't fight the Grimms alone-"

"About that ..."

Weiss stopped right in front of the door that led into Jacques' office.

"What's going on, Weiss? What is worrying you?"

"Are you sure the world will listen to us?"

"Do you think Blake was right?"

"I do not know. On the one hand, I trust your plan, but on the other ... here I am afraid it's just a waste of time."

"What? No. You can't be serious. Not after everything we've been through together."

"Ruby, try to be realistic… who are we to the world? If the whole world thinks like General Ironwood then none of them can be convinced."

"I ... I hadn't thought about it ..."

"I know ... you followed your heart, I understand, but ... I think it's right to stop and reflect on what we're doing."

"You too…" Ruby murmured, saddened, "you also think I'm a failure as a leader, don't you? Not just Yang and Blake, now you too. Why? Tell me, please, what am I doing wrong. "

"You're too naive, Ruby, that's all. You have a big heart and that's a good thing at times, but… since we met we've been traveling without ever thinking of a plan, a way to fight Salem. You should have thought about it and instead ... well, you didn't."

"So I'm really incompetent."

"You have to improve, that's all."

"Tell me, Weiss ... do you think it was a mistake to lie to Ironwood?"

"I don't know. I just know you should have asked us before making that choice. We're a team, Ruby, even if you are the leader, we're still a team and you have to ask for our opinion. I'm not saying that Ironwood is a good man, well… I barely know him, but I know that he's a powerful man and with those like him you have to be careful what you say and what you don't say."

"Yeah ... maybe I really got it all wrong, but ... I promise you I'll put things right."

Ruby entered Jacques' office first, Weiss passed the girl and took a Scroll from the desk.

"Luckily I know Pietro's number, otherwise it would have been a problem."

Weiss dialed the number but as soon as she tried to contact Pietro, a message appeared saying 'impossible to make the call'. The girl tried again, same result. She tried again a third time and the same message appeared.

"Now we have another problem ..."

Winter Schnee was still in Atlas helping civilians evacuate the city. The girl was worried about leaving Ironwood alone against Watts but she knew the right thing to do was to secure those who couldn't defend themselves.

Harriet Bree had just finished evacuating two hundred civilians when she approached Winter.

"General Schnee, what are we going to do when we're done with Atlas?"

"I already said it. We need to evacuate Mantle. We have enough ships to take these people away."

"But the soldiers found no one in Mantle. Maybe they were killed by the Grimm-"

"No. They probably hid elsewhere. "

"And where will we take them?"

"In Mistral. We need to get away from Salem and reorganize the army."

"So we'll let Salem destroy Atlas?!" Harriet exclaimed, shocked.

"Atlas is just a city… what matters is that people are safe. We will find a way to fight Salem only when we have the situation under control, as things are going… strategic retreat is our best solution."

"Tsk! All the fault of those brats ..."

"I know you don't like the idea of running away, but now it's the only thing we can do."

"And what's going to happen to Ironwood?" asked Elm, who had heard the two girls arguing.

"I don't know, but his orders were clear… he gave me this power and I will use it to protect the weakest, everything else doesn't matter. Now do your duty, soldiers."

Harriet and Elm resumed their duties and Winter could breathe a sigh of relief. Her body shook with terror at the very thought of what Ironwood's fate would be. That man, who had sacrificed his body to save her, was sacrificing himself again to save Atlas. But the sadness became relief.

A strange form of happiness. Winter was happy because if Ironwood had died, at least, he would not have corrupted the image of the man he once was.

In this, Qrow was right. James Ironwood had changed for the worse. Winter couldn't understand the exact reason for this, but she knew that perhaps death would redeem him.

Yet she, turning towards the Atlas Academy, she thought back to that last hug. She thought of the last words of his. Her body began to tremble again and her eyes got wet.

"Goodbye ... James ... and thank you ..."

Penny was from behind and was looking at that beautiful relic, the Staff of Creation; when James Ironwood left the elevator, with gun in hand, the girl turned and her red eyes were engulfed in green flames. Ironwood fired the first shot but Penny destroyed the bullet with her hand. An icy wind pushed the man away and made him fall to the ground.

"Are you really going to fight, James? This toy is stronger than you think, I could kill you with minimal effort."

"You better kill me, Watts, because as long as I live you won't have that fucking relic!"

Ironwood fired two more shots and managed to hit Penny's head and heart. The girl did not fall. With an evil grin she used her swords to hit the man. Ironwood managed to dodge the blows and came close enough to deliver a punch. Penny blocked Ironwood's hand and kicked him in stomach, then a punch in the face and finally a round kick; the man fell to the ground and was hit again and again.

"You've always been the stubborn type ... it's a real shame you didn't sided with Salem, you could have enjoyed more respect."

"Watts ... stop talking ... and fight me ..."

"Do you still want to fight?"

Penny grabbed Ironwood by the throat, lifted him off the ground and punched him. After the sixth blow, the man began to spit blood and Penny dropped him to the ground and then kicked him again: this time, however, Ironwood managed to grab the girl's leg. The man fired three consecutive shots, all aimed at the girl's head.

"You've run out of bullets, James."

With the other leg, Penny, kicked the man's head; the girl recovered her distance and prepared to fire her powerful beam. Ironwood tried to intercept the girl but he arrived late and was hit by this powerful attack that destroyed his aura.

"You have lost, General Ironwood. You lost ... again."

"No ... I've not lost ... as long as I live ... I will not ... lose ..." Ironwood was injured and was crawling towards Penny.

"You can't even get up and you really think you can keep fighting? Youìre a pathetic man and above all … you're alone."

"Even alone ... I can still continue to fight ..."

"And you will die alone, James."

Penny grabbed Ironwood by the legs and dragged him to the very spot where the latter had shot Oscar; the man, still confused, thought of the irony of that moment and with a sad smile whispered:

"It's okay ..."

Penny stopped, lifted Ironwood by the throat and held him out into the void. The man was now resigned. He no longer offered any resistance.

"STOP!"

Penny turned and saw Blake Belladonna aim the weapon at her.

"Doesn't the cat want this piece of trash killed? Why? Who can ever have such a man at heart?"

"I won't let him be killed!"

"Really?" She looked at Ironwood then Blake again. "Well, let's see if the cat is faster than the toy."

Penny's blades pierced Ironwood's belly. A painful scream came from the man's mouth. Penny let go and he fell. Blake, without thinking twice, ran over to Penny as her guard was down and jumped on her and fell with her.

"You're a crazy cat, this toy can fly, don't you know?"

Blake noticed that there were holes on Penny's head and so she thought about using her blade to hit her right there, even though she didn't know what would happen. Blake's attack triggered an electric discharge that made Penny's entire body tremble, for a moment the girl's eyes lost their red color.

"Where am I? Blake? What's happening? Why did you hit me? Where's my father?"

"Penny I don't know what happened but you have to help me! Look down ... you must save General Ironwood!"

"Why? I thought he was the enemy ... "

"Penny, do it! We don't have much time!"

Penny a little reluctant eventually gave up.

"Very well …"

Penny grabbed Blake and flew down. James was unconscious. Penny accelerated using all the energy possible. Now the ground was close. A few hundred meters. Penny once missed Ironwood's hand. She touched him the second time. Too little time to save that man and in the meantime Watts was trying to regain control of Penny. The girl gave herself a last and powerful push. She reached out to James Ironwood.