Chapter Forty-One

Malware

Ruby gave Ozpin no time to process the sight of her rocketing towards him, nor did she give him a choice when she grabbed his wrist and pulled him from his hurried step into a full blown, semblance-induced sprint from one end of Beacon to the other.

As she skid to a halt and stabilized the Headmaster (though, surprisingly, he hardly looked affected by her semblance at all), in her silver eyes reflected the pulsing, bright fire pillar that was the slowly growing explosion. It lit up the darkened strip in a warm orange glow, and the silver wisps of smoke traveled from Mercury's form to wrap around the entirety of the slowly expanding fire. Jaune was by Mercury's side now, his hands settled on Mercury's shoulders as he poured his semblance into Mercury to boost his aura, and Jaune and Pyrrha's lockers lay in the pavement, weapons already on their person. Penny, uncertain what to do, had formed her swords into two sets of four, rotating and ready to blast off beams of energy.

Ozpin raised his brows. "Mister Black."

"Oh, nice of you to show up." Mercury's response was saturated in sarcasm and noticeably strained as he pushed more of his aura into keeping the bomb's explosion slow-crawling. "Not to rush you, but if you could somehow stop this bomb from killing us, I'd appreciate it."

The Headmaster flicked his cane to the side, wielded it like a sword. He meandered to the right of Mercury and with critical eyes examined the slowly growing catastrophe that threatened the foundation of his academy. Ozpin looked back at the other students, including Ruby. With a small, easily missable nod, Ozpin squeezed the handle, and the gears of his cane began to glow.

Ruby furrowed her brows and shuffled forward for a better view. She unconsciously drifted toward Mercury and Jaune, who still contained the blast with time. Her hand found Mercury's back. "What is he doing?"

Mercury's response was strained. "Can't look. Need to focus. It's… a lot."

She had no chance to form a reply. Ozpin twirled his cane and slammed it into the pavement, torso half-bowed with it. Green energy burst from the cane and ran to wrap around the huge mass of fire and debris until it reassembled a translucent green sphere. It… looked like a shield, but it didn't look like hard light dust.

"Deactivate your semblance on my word, Mister Black," Ozpin ordered calmly, eyes closed and head bowed. Mercury grunted an affirmative.

"Look!" Pyrrha pointed beyond the green orb Ozpin was solidifying more and more with each second. "Look at Vale! It's- more bombs are going off!"

Ruby followed Pyrrha's extended arm to Vale's cityscape. The darkened city flashed with blasts of light that morphed into burning fires. Plumes of smoke shot into the sky and created a dense smog in the air. Some bombs blasted open buildings, some parks, and far beyond, near the edge of Ruby's sight, the walls around Vale crumbled under focused explosions. Grimm, both aerial and on-foot, converged in the distance on the suddenly panicking city. Ironwood's ships already assembled and began to fire at the approaching Grimm.

"She's targeting the whole city!" Jaune breathed as horror blew open his blue eyes. "How- how are we going to-"

Ozpin suddenly burned a great green, so bright Ruby squinted and shielded her eyes. "Now, Mister Black!"

With a relieved groan, Mercury disengaged his semblance. Ruby braced one hand on his chest as he sagged his weight into her, and Jaune's grip on his shoulders shifted to one of his arms. The explosion before them rushed to strain at the green orb that encompassed it, but while the sphere flickered, it held true. Ozpin twirled his cane yet again, dragged the end of it along the pavement, and swung it in a large arch up.

The sphere rocketed into the sky, far above them and ascending beyond even the Amity Arena. Moments later, the green sphere disappeared and the explosion created a deadly firework in the air, safely away from anything it could have harmed. Ozpin huffed, fixed the spectacles on his face, and turned to the gobsmacked students.

"Good work, Mister Black. Are you alright?" Ozpin praised as he walked forward with his cane.

"Uh. Yeah?" Mercury darted his gaze between his cane and the now dissipated sphere. "That… wasn't a semblance."

An amused smile edged across his face, but it held a heavy weight. "No, it was not."

Ruby looked between Mercury and the Headmaster with a raised brow and half open mouth. Was - was Mercury implying that Ozpin was using magic? No, this wasn't something she could focus on now. She looked to her right to see Jaune staring back at her, his mouth set in a firm line and his blue eyes determined. He seemed to know what she was thinking, because he sent her a sharp nod and an encouraging grin.

"Professor Ozpin," Ruby spoke. "What's the plan?"

Ozpin nodded, all semblance of levity gone from his expression. "Ruby, try to contact Qrow, Glynda, anyone. Miss Polendina, alert James. Lastly, Miss Nikos, we need to-"

"Hello, people of Remnant. I know you can hear me."

The already tense situation turned suffocating as Ruby and Mercury locked eyes. As he reached for her, she surged forward and wrapped her arms around his waist, the need for comfort outweighing their strained relationship. They, along with the rest of those with them, turned to Amity Arena, where the screens along the outside of the arena displayed the sinister gaze of Cinder Fall.

"My name is Cinder Fall. I'm sure you've heard of me on the news, and I'm sure your Kingdom leaders have told you plenty about me. I have been declared a terrorist, and a threat to all kingdoms. You may have heard how our dearest Atlas General ran me out of Beacon, out of Vale, with heroic valor." Cinder tutted and shook her head. "Look how well that turned out."

Ruby felt a confusing swell of anxiety, fear, and deep rage fill her. Mercury's fingers curled around her in a vice grip.

"Ask yourself: why is it that the might of the Atlas military, combined with the forces of Vale, are unable to contain a group such as the White Fang? Why have I been able to operate under Headmaster Ozpin's nose as a student with little issue up until recent? And if you resist the implication that our kingdom leaders are inept to fulfill their oath to protect us and uphold peace, then look to the events of the Vytal Tournament." The screen flickered to Yang and Mercury's match. Ruby felt her heart clench as Mercury, on the screen, crumpled to the ground, and she rushed in from off-screen to shield him. Beside her, Mercury tensed. "Why is it that an attack on a participant fell upon his fellow competitors when his life is threatened while Ironwood's ships could hardly maneuver around to address the issue? Why was it so woefully easy to gain access to the entirety of Atlas's systems through a simple computer virus? And why is it that Ozpin's own students commit the same acts that I have been villainized for? Is this not the daughter of the founder of the White Fang? I remember a bow, last time I saw her..."

The screen switched to a different feed yet again. Ruby felt as if Cinder reached through the screen and personally punched her straight in the heart as her teammate, Blake Belladonna, sat straddled over one of the team members of BRNZ with her sword piercing his chest and her cat ears out for all to see. Ruby felt her fingers curl and bunch up Mercury's duster as Blake, on the screen, rolled off the student's body, face drenched with tears, and then, as if spooked, wrenched her head around to gaze straight into the camera, right back at them all.

"It's doctored, Ruby," Mercury rationalized to her quickly, urgently, as his hand traveled up and down her back. "It's doctored footage, I don't know how or when Cinder got it-"

Ruby shook her head. "Pyrrha-"

"I'm calling her now," Pyrrha answered before Ruby even could ask her to do so.

"Let me make this clear: this is not a tragedy, and this is not an accident." Cinder's face reappeared on the screen, her eyes filled with fire and smirk planted firmly on her face. "This is my gift to you. All of you. To open your eyes. Look at all that has happened since the start of this tournament, and look even further. Look at every moment, and ask yourself this: When it comes to a war, a battle, a clash of kingdoms-" Her smirk turned into a cat-like grin, and the fire in her eyes ebbed to leak out full-blown flames. "Who do you think you can trust?"

The screen flickered to a red background with a black queen chess piece.

Ruby couldn't tear her eyes away from the screen. She felt fear build in her chest, and she tried so hard to clamp down on it, push it away so it wouldn't show on her face. She couldn't be afraid. Every choice she made until this point was in an effort to delay Cinder, to stop Cinder, and this… she needed to stop this.

"Ruby, Blake said Adam Taurus was on Beacon grounds?" Pyrrha stated this quizzically. "And- something kept making her see things that weren't right. She's with Weiss now, and they're holding off Grimm. The White Fang are bringing them in on Bullheads!"

Mercury hissed. "Emerald. She's here."

"Which means Cinder must be close too," Ruby murmured. She jolted as a hand, not Mercury's, landed on her shoulder. Ozpin stared down at her with a grave expression. Mercury made a displeased noise as Ozpin laid a hand on his shoulder as well.

"Ruby, Mercury. Gather as many students as you can, and evacuate."

Ruby shook her head. "B-But the school, I'm not just going to abandon it! I'm not going to run away!"

Mercury stayed silent, but his arm grew tighter around her waist.

Ozpin closed his eyes, defeated, and opened them with endless adoration aimed at Ruby. "Then stay strong. Fight hard. Live. No matter what happens today, you must move forward."

"We'll rally the students," Mercury proposed. He nudged Ruby, looked down at her with a grin. "Right, Gem?"

Ruby nodded as a determined gleam in her eyes made her eyes shine brighter. "We'll buy you time for the transfer, Professor."

Despite the incoming horde of Grimm, Ozpin found it in him to huff a small laugh. "I won't ask how you know of the transfer. Never stop amazing me, Ruby. I… do hope to see you again. And you as well, Mercury." He glanced between the two with an odd, unreadable look. It was a mix of pride, amazement, and… love? "Do me proud. I have no doubt you will, as you always have."

As Ozpin turned away from her and Mercury, an immense sadness hit her. She felt her eyes well with tears, and before she could think it through, she untangled herself from Mercury, tapped Ozpin's arm, and hastily wrapped her arms around his middle in a hug as he turned. An immense desire to sob seared through her as Ozpin returned it without hesitation. Ruby pulled away after a moment and wiped at her eye. "S-Sorry."

Ozpin smiled. "Goodbye, Ruby."

The Headmaster spared a farewell nod to Mercury, then turned and wordlessly urged Pyrrha to follow. Pyrrha lingered to give Ruby her scroll and smiled at Ruby and Mercury, but it was shaky.

"I'm glad you're with us, Mercury," She said earnestly. "I'll find you both after the transfer, okay?"

"Sounds like a plan," Mercury said.

"After all this, I'll help you with your Maiden powers." Ruby insisted. "We'll get through it together."

The redheads shared a quick hug, and Pyrrha pressed a quick kiss to the crown of Ruby's head. "Thank you, Ruby. And good luck."

"I'm coming with you," Jaune insisted. He gripped his sword and shield tight. "We'll find you after this transfer Maiden thingy. Whatever it is."

They exchanged brief waves, and the partners ran off together after Ozpin. Ruby watched them go, and the hollow, bitter wound within her ached as they grew smaller.

"Alright. That thing with Ozpin was weird," Mercury quipped as he walked forward with his duster fanned around his legs. In the back of her mind, she had to admit, Ozpin's inclusion of Mercury in some of his praises was a bit odd, especially since Mercury admitted to her some time ago he avoided the Headmaster like the plague because of his previous covert-operative status. He looked back at Ruby. "You ready for this?"

Ruby pushed down her fear, the wrongness that brewed in her gut, and managed a cocky grin. "More than anything. They don't stand a chance against Quicksilver."

As Mercury smirked back at her, and the silent Penny readied her swords beside her, Ruby pushed down the disturbing but unshakeable feeling that she'll never see Professor Ozpin again.

Neo clung to Amethyst for dear life as the Maiden roared through the sky with electricity licking at her heels and the darkened sky howling with Grimm.

When the ice shattered, Cinder was gone. Picked up by a Bullhead that she leapt onto as she was pushed into the air by that explosion. No doubt she was rocketing her way toward Beacon now, toward the Fall Maiden. Neo couldn't do much else but sit there like dead weight as Amethyst sent a wave of wind out in all directions, knocking down White Fang left and right before the Maiden scooped Neo up, flung her onto her back, and blasted off.

"We should be catching up to the ship soon," Amethyst yelled over the high winds. Apparently, to save time Amethyst sent a command to Boa to start piloting the ship back to Beacon. It gave them both a chance to survey the damage. "Brothers, how much dust did Cinder pack in those damn warehouses?"

Neo heaved a silent sigh as she watched the myriad of explosions far below them. The bombs were scattered enough so the city wasn't a total wreck, but it wasn't pretty either. She had no doubt Cinder could have nuked the entire city of Vale with the amount of dust Roman raked in.

And with that stray thought, Neo's eyes widened. Roman!

She was supposed to break him out when the final stage of the plan went through. What would happen to him now? Would - would Cinder bother to break him out? Would she get someone else to?

With narrowed eyes, Neo made up her mind. Mercury and Ruby had each other, and all of the students, and the Atlas soldiers to back them up. They didn't need her. Roman might. Roman will. She had to get to him.

Her left arm and legs clenched tighter around Amethyst as her right hand reached for Amethyst's scroll, which Neo still had. She wrapped her fingers around it in a vice grip as the torrential winds tried to rip it out of her hands. She shoved it right before Amethyst's nose, which the Maiden protested.

"Neo, do you want me to crash into a Grimm- oh, what?" Amethyst slowed her speed and squinted at the message.

{We need to secure Roman. I was supposed to break him out but Cinder probably got someone else to do it}

"Oh, how lovely," Amethyst replied with her tone dripping in sarcasm. "Alright, where are-"

She felt Amethyst seize under her, her muscles suddenly taut and unbearably strained. Neo, concerned since this woman was, quite literally, standing between her and a fall to her death, tapped at her shoulder.

"T-The transfer!" Amethyst gasped out. "Amber, the Fall Maiden, she's- we need to get to Beacon!"

A transfer? That sneaky Headmaster must be trying something to swindle the Fall Maiden powers away from Cinder. Not that Neo minded, of course, but Amethyst's sudden desire to go rocketing away from Roman wouldn't do. Neo shook her head as she typed out another message, not sure if it was true but willing to lie if it meant reaching Roman first.

{We won't get there in time}

"You don't know that!" Amethyst's tone switched from determined to a high-pitched, grief-stricken wail.

A dark look crossed Neo's face. With impulsive recklessness, Neo unraveled her legs and arms from Amethyst and pushed off her. She let gravity take her and suddenly she was falling. Her mismatched eyes scanned the ships and Grimm, unknowing of which one held Roman, but resolved in the fact she wouldn't need to puzzle it out. She grinned as, seconds later, the air was knocked out of her once Amethyst caught her around her waist.

"Okay okay! I'll take you to him, just don't do that again! If Oz found out you hurled yourself to your death I'd be flayed." Amethyst growled as she allowed Neo to climb back around to her back. She surveyed their position, and sighed. "On my scroll, find Boa's commands. Tell him to converge on the flagship's position."

Neo nodded against Amethyst's back and keyed in the command to Boa. Amethyst took her scroll back moments later.

"Neo. I'm putting my trust in you here." Amethyst warned. "Don't make me regret it."

She hummed as loud as she could to acknowledge Amethyst. It seemed to satisfy the Maiden, because not long after, she searched the skies yet again, then shot off in the direction of one of the larger battleships.

"Okay, let me give you the rundown of this ship before we storm it," Amethyst barked over her shoulder. "It's not your standard prison ship. It's made up mostly of cells, but there's plenty of armaments ready to deploy at a moment's notice. So, if we happen to be identified as intruders, expect a lot of Altesian Knights to be on our ass in seconds. Torchwick's cell is on the main level. There's an emergency hatch on the top of the ship I know the code to, or we can do this the hard way and I'll blast a hole into the side of the damn thing to get in. Either way, it's not going to be fun explaining this to, uh - oh, what the hell are they doing?!"

Neo peeked an eye open against the harsh wind to look in the direction Amethyst was groaning. She strained her eyes to see the back of the battleship open up and a small army of deactivated Knights crashed and rolled out of the ship and towards Vale.

"What kind of people is Ironwood hiring these days? I swear…" Amethyst trailed off with a grumble. Seconds later, a piercing shriek sounded off to their left. "AH!"

Amethyst redirected and a griffon zoomed past. A shot of purple lightning webbed from her palm and encompassed the griffon. It plummeted down towards the earth with spasming muscles and non-functioning wings.

"The Grimm are starting to notice us. Neo, you need to stay calm."

Neo scowled at the back of Amethyst's head. She was calm. Without a scroll, Neo extended her arm in front of Amethyst since they currently weren't moving, and pointed her finger with attitude at Amethyst's face.

"I'm calm. But, it looks like the Grimm are starting to concentrate around- WOAH!"

She huddled closer to Amethyst as the Maiden lashed out at the murder of griffons flying forward and snapping their beaks at the duo. Neo watched as Amethyst flexed her fingers and purple strings formed between her fingers. More, thicker strings attached between the griffon and they were pulled together to crash and maul themselves. The screech of Nevermores sounded behind the pair, and Amethyst lurched forward to take off towards the battleship yet again.

"Don't let go of me!"

The Summer Maiden's voice was drowned out from the swarms of griffons and Nevermores bombarding them. The forced calm Neo felt was ripped away as spikes of fear pulsed through her at such a level she hadn't felt in years as she clung to the Maiden. Tingles of heat and frigid air danced along her skin as Amethyst generated lighting and ice to ward off the mass of creatures converging on them.

The closer they came to the ship, the more dense the Grimm numbers were. Neo felt a claw or a beak just barely skim her back more times than she could count. Her eyes darted around for an opening, and in hopes that Amethyst's Bullhead would arrive.

"Neo," Amethyst gasped through pants, her arms waving as she conjured a myriad of elements to take down Grimm after Grimm. "The battleship - it's firing at the other damn ships! I think - think some of your old friends might already be on it."

A low growl rumbled through her chest. It was the closest thing to noise she could make. A determined gleam entered her eyes as Amethyst used the purple strings (she supposed it was Amethyst's semblance) to pull a large Nevermore off-course and zoomed through the opening. She flew along the side of the battleship, but just as Neo thought Amethyst would manage to get them to the top, one of the cannons along the side of the ship fired. Amethyst twisted so her torso shielded Neo, but the pure force of the hit caused Neo to lose all air from her lungs. Amethyst cried out as her purple aura flickered around her, and she desperately tried to correct course as they tumbled down.

Thinking fast, Neo pulled out her parasol and flicked it open. The wind immediately pulled at it so hard Neo thought her arm might pop from its socket. She grit her teeth as she tightened the hold her legs and arm had around Amethyst, and let the wind carry them. Amethyst breathed a sigh of relief as the roar of an engine grew closer behind them, and seconds later, the walls of Amethyst's Bullhead appeared and the pair fell to the ground as the Maiden's autobot moved to stabilize the ship after the risky maneuver.

"Apologies for the delay, Lady Laverna," The autobot's drone echoed through the ship's speaker.

Amethyst coughed as Neo uncoiled herself from her body. "I, urgh, guess they could see us. Whew. Th-Thank you, Boa."

Neo pushed herself to her feet and closed her parasol. Urgency struck through her bones, and she tapped the ground with a heeled foot in impatience.

The Summer Maiden struggled to her feet, but her cutting blue eyes locked onto the Grimm-darkened sky on display before them. "Neo, there's - there's too many Grimm. We can't approach yet."

An overwhelming desire to scream coursed through her for the third time in an hour.

"Boa. Take us up, above the ship! I'm - I'm going to clear out as many as I can from here," Amethyst said slowly, her eyes already streaming with blue fire. She stumbled to the open hatch and braced a hand on the side, then looked back at Neo. "Once I think there's a lull, you're jumping. I'll use my semblance to make sure you land alright. I-I can't do much else, my aura's too low."

She had no time to question. Neo merely schooled her expression into a hardened frown, and nodded.

Amethyst turned to the chaotic city before them, and moments after she spread out her arms, a great storm roared from above.

"Yes, I'm at Beacon-" Slice. "No, Ozpin's with Pyrrha and Jaune, they're doing the transfer - what, no, is that really important right now?" Bang! Smack! "I don't know where Yang is, but I'm with Merc and Penny right now -" Swish. "Oh, don't start, Uncle Qrow!"

Mercury chuckled under his breath at Ruby's increasing volume as he caved in the skull of a young Ursa. He hated how careful he had to be with this chest wound, but Penny's vicious assault with her string swords more than made up for his more docile approach. Not too far away, Ruby growled and swung her scythe in a smooth motion that decapitated two beowolves. "Where's your uncle?"

"He's down in the city with Miss Goodwitch - Uncle Qrow, I've gotta go, but just try to get up here! I love you!" Ruby hung up and tucked her scroll into her pocket as she blocked a swipe from a creep. A beam of green energy from Penny's sword dissolved the attacking Grimm to green liquid. "See anyone else?"

He scanned the area. "I see a bunch of people grouped up near the entrance. And Knights."

"We cannot move from this location," Penny spoke up with firmness. "We must secure the airstrip to ensure an escape route. If someone does not keep it clear, none of us will make it out."

"We can't just sit here and wait for more Grimm!" Ruby snapped in frustration. She heaved a sigh and refocused. "Merc, did you manage to get a hold of anyone?"

Mercury ducked as Penny's swords arched over his head and impaled an overzealous beowulf. "No response from Yang, Weiss is with Blake still, Jaune just texted that Pyrrha got in some pod thing, and that's it."

He could see the frustration fester in her as she gripped her scythe so tight her knuckles went white. In the distance, he could see more Bullheads arrive that poured Grimm onto Beacon grounds. Clusters of students and Knights spotted the campus with specks of color against the dark and grim atmosphere. Mercury watched as the desire to split into three so she could help as many as possible entered her eyes, and the sudden lock of her jaw made him think she might just try.

"Ruby, you have to conserve your aura," Mercury reasoned quickly as he strode forward and caught her wrist. "You can't risk it breaking, not here, not like this."

Ruby looked between the students and the distance and Mercury before she let out a helpless whine. "But my team! And my friends, this - it's my responsibility to keep them safe! I-I don't know where any of them are-"

"Ruby!"

"Well, there's two of them," Mercury offered as Scarlet and Sage raced toward them. Scarlet's coat that he normally shrugged off before a battle was around his shoulders.

"We've been looking everywhere for you!" Scarlet exclaimed.

Sage nodded to Mercury. "Nice to see you up."

Scarlet's eyes briefly went to Mercury in acknowledgement, but the tension around his eyes was prominent. Mercury tried to stop the scowl that pulled at his mouth. Seems like it's trouble in paradise for Neo, too.

"Where is everyone else?"

"Most are by the courtyard, but Yang is still MIA. Weiss and Blake found their way to us not long ago with your dog. Blake's aura is… troubling." Scarlet shifted his grip on his cutlass. "I know a good amount of transfer students are on the other side of the school though. I- I saw Roy Stallion get plucked up by a Nevermore. May and Nolan went after, but I don't know…"

"Join us at the courtyard," Sage urged as a gloom threatened to overtake the redheads at the thought of the student's demise. "The Knights are helping us control the flow of Grimm, but we need all hands."

Ruby nodded. "Then that's what we'll do. But… the airstrip."

"I'll hold it down." They twirled around to see Penny, mouth set and swords floating around her. "It seems the negative emotions from within the academy are drawing them away from here. I'll aid from a distance while simultaneously ensuring our route. I've called all able soldiers to this location as well."

"That'll work," Scarlet commented. "I guess we should stick around until the soldiers are here to back her up."

"Sounds like a plan." Ruby loaded her scythe with a full clip of bullets, but she saved her dust-infused cartilages. "Anything else we should know?"

"Looks like we've got another backstabber," Scarlet mentioned with a scowl. Mercury tried not to bristle as Scarlet's eyes eased to Mercury for a split second, but he tried to not take it personally. "Tempest attacked Blake with Adam and Emerald. Apparently, her semblance is bloody annoying. Can make a small bullet hit like a slug and a papercut feel like a full slash by a katana."

"Great." Mercury felt his lips curl at her name. No wonder he had a bad feeling whenever she was around. And she pointed him in the direction of the Summer Maiden, like she wanted him to get killed! Er, well, maybe that thought had more merit, since at that point, Cinder was pretty discontent with him.

"Tempest…?" Ruby furrowed her brows. "What about Rama and Cherry?"

"Considering Rama is MIA and Cherry is fighting alongside us with her violin? I'd say Cherry is with us, but Rama is up in the air. As for Rai-"

Ruby cut Sage off. "Rai is with us. I can explain more after. For now though-"

A peculiar sound reached Mercury's ears. It was like… a beam weapon powering up? He reached over and placed a hand on Ruby's shoulder. She stopped talking and tuned into the sound as well. Hesitantly, he looked over his shoulder, and for a moment he felt relieved to see it was Penny. But then he realized it was aimed straight at them. Then he looked at her eyes.

They were red.

"Get down!" Mercury pushed Ruby to the ground as Scarlet and Sage dove in opposite directions. The beam of energy shot past them seconds after they hit the ground, and Penny abruptly stopped her assault as Sage and Scarlet came at her from the sides with their respective swords in hand.

Penny parried and wove between Sage and Scarlet's blades as Ruby rushed to stand again. "Penny, what are you doing?!"

"I can't - something has been uploaded to Atlas's systems through the main battleship. It- it's telling me to attack you! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Ruby!"

"Oh, great, my bodyguard can be hacked." Mercury groaned. That virus Cinder implanted into the system, of course, did more than she told him. Why did he ever trust a word that crazy bitch said?

"Mercury!" Ruby objected with a shrill tone.

"Sorry!" He really needed to find his filter, since it seemed to have fallen off after he nearly popped a lung. Or maybe it was the whole 'no more double-agent' thing, since he pulled back on the sarcasm. Kind of.

The android knocked Sage down and spiked her swords into Scarlet's torso, only for his aura to protect him from the blow and send him spiraling back. Mercury grit his teeth and lurched forward, kicked his leg up, and brought his heel down on Penny's head. She bent with the blow, but somersaulted back as he tried to follow up. He brought his arms to his face as she sliced her swords at his face, where they glanced off his armored forearms harmlessly.

"T-The rest of the robotic units have been given the same order!" Penny yelled with panicked fear in her eyes. They flickered from green to red. "The Paladins and Knights are attacking our friends!"

Ruby darted forward, as did Scarlet, to occupy Penny. The android avoided and countered their attacks easily. Ruby cried, "Can't you fight the hack? I don't want to hurt you!"

"Nor I you, but you must disable me! I - I have no control over my defense protocols."

"I have no clue what either of you are talking about, but if Penny wants us to 'disable' her, then let's just knock her out!" Sage roared.

Penny, despite discussing the potential bodily harm she will receive, replied, "If you can generate enough force I encourage you to try!"

"Why'd they turn on us?"

As Blake slashed down another trio of robotic Knights, Weiss zipped around from glyph to glyph while blasting them away in droves with wind dust. The heiress huffed as she landed back to back with Blake. "I don't know! Just keep fighting, and stick together!"

"Weiss, my aura-" Blake gasped out. "I don't know if I can hold out much longer. I'm afraid to even use my semblance."

Weiss scowled as she risked a glance down at her scroll. Blake was right: her aura was steady on the decline, and her fight with Adam already took a good chunk out of it. It didn't help that the video Cinder sent out caused a few of their peers to turn on Blake, but Weiss adamantly defended her until it was a moot issue with the incoming Grimm. "Use my glyphs as cover if necessary, and stick by someone at all times. If it's between just you and a Grimm, assess the risk and run if need be."

She could hear Blake fire her pistol at distant Knights. "I don't want to just leave you alone to fight!"

"And I would rather you run than be grievously injured!" Weiss snapped as she sprinkled fire dust on her rapier and swung it out in an arc. The fire burned through multiple Grimm and fried the circuits of several Knights. She then formed glyphs under Neptune and Velvet so they could reach the head of an Alpha Ursa. "You won't be abandoning us, alright?"

"I'm not sure- watch out!"

Weiss felt Blake push her forward, and seconds later a resounding boom sounded off from where she was just standing. She yelped as she felt her feet leave the ground, but two of Sun's clones caught her and pushed her upright. Weiss turned with her rapier up to the threat, only for her jaw to drop.

She screeched, "We've got a Paladin!" Then she spied Blake, in a low crouch on the other side of the huge mech. "Blake, get out of here!"

"No!"

"Hey, Snow Angel!" Neptune called from behind her. "Iceberg!"

She acted on instinct. She formed a glyph and jumped high above the mech as it fired where she was just standing. Weiss twisted around, searched for Neptune, and swung her rapier around to hit him with Time Dilation and ice dust. Just as the glyph formed under Neptune's feet, Weiss formed another glyph to dodge left as the Paladin fired multiple rockets at her. Below, Neptune's body shuddered with time manipulation and his trident iced over. With a bellow, he dashed forward and leapt to bury his trident in the juncture between the mech's body and left arm.

Blake took this opportunity to dash forward and swipe at the frosted over gears and wires with Gambol Shroud. She passed and slashed once, then used the ribbon on her weapon to pull herself back while in midair to slash at the limb again. Neptune and Blake dropped on either side of the Paladin as the arm with the rocket attachment fell off. As Weiss dropped to stand on the ledge of the statue of the King of Vale, she smirked.

"I won't even ask how you remember that old name," She addressed Neptune.

"Hey, come on now. Jupiter would never let me forget about the ship name of 'the one that got away.'"

To her chagrin, that pulled a snort of laughter from her. That smirk was short lived though, as another Paladin sounded from behind her. She heard the crackling aura of Ren and Nora as they cried out for each other. From the right, Coco screamed and powered her mini-gun's bullets to turn from regular caliber to practically armor piercing as she tried to down the mech in front of Blake and Neptune.

"Blake, you really should-" Coco started.

"I'm staying right here," Blake growled. She flipped back as a griffon swooped down and tried to take her in its claws. Weiss's eyes widened as the faunus nearly flipped right into a boarbatusk, only for Blake to dispatch it with a quick slash. "I'll be fine!"

Neptune, while he weaved around the still kicking Paladin, threw his trident and speared it right into the griffon's neck. The monster screeched, and Neptune ran forward to grasp his weapon yet again and drag it along the beast's throat. It's wings went limp and it slumped forward as Neptune rushed to free his weapon.

"If it'll make you feel better, I'll run with ya, Blake!" Neptune pushed out a breathless joke.

Despite Neptune's attempt at levity, Weiss felt deep annoyance toward Blake's stubborn, headstrong expression, and really, if Weiss needed to drag Blake away with her ear (regular ear, she means, not her cat ear) pinched between her fingers she damned well will. Her annoyance at her teammate morphed into pure panic as the ground shook and an Alpha Beowulf that easily spanned three stories high dropped from Beacon's roof.

Weiss leapt from her perch and used her glyphs to speed past the now-sluggish Paladin. "Blake!"

Blake turned, saw the huge Grimm rearing back it's paw, and only had enough time to brace herself as the creature swung its arm and proceeded to backhand her so hard she went flying through the glass windows of the building beside them. The fearful scream from Blake as she was flung away caused Weiss's blood to freeze while fury burned through her bones. She felt her aura flare, heard a glyph ease into existence behind her, but she couldn't focus on any of it beyond this huge Grimm that tried to ignore her and lumber after the prey it just punted. With a great battle-cry, Weiss reared back Myrternaster to slash at the Beowulf's heel…

Only for an Arma Gigas arm holding a greatsword to swing over her head and cleave the Grimm right in half, just under the boneplate on its chest. The bottom half disintegrated into nothingness, but the top half slammed to the ground with such force Weiss stumbled and nearly fell, and the keening Alpha roared in her face as it clawed for her.

A hand latched around her elbow and yanked her back just as the meaty paw was about to smash her into the ground, and she fell back into Neptune in a awed daze. As she heard the faint melody of a violin and saw sprinkles of different colored dust coat the Alpha, her eyes gravitated to the still active summon. It was a glyph she never created before, with greatswords sticking out instead of the regular snowflake points, and in the center was an entire, functioning armored arm and sword. She… she summoned! And… oh, she was so tired. She felt her balance go unsteady and she leaned more heavily into Neptune to stay upright.

Her focus was torn away as another wail ripped from the Grimm's throat, and in a burst of fire and electricity, the Alpha type shuddered and went limp. With a small huff, Cherry Nereza, clad in her black ballerina outfit and colorful ribbons hanging from her limbs, landed on the slowly disintegrating Beowulf's head. Her face was stony, and her face splattered with blood.

"So, Tempest's a traitor?"

Weiss blinked. "Um. Yes."

"Understood. So was Rama." Her vermillion eyes narrowed. "Was."

Weiss eyed the bloodied bow with wariness, but her concern for Blake overrode the not-so-subtle implication that Cherry murdered her teammate. She tentatively called, "Blake?"

A different voice answered, "Weiss!"

She craned her head to the left. "Yang! Where have - ah, where were you?!"

Yang panted as she slowed to a stop before the duo while also eyeing Weiss's summon, but must have decided it wasn't worth asking about right now. "Had to punch my way through three units of Knights, that's what. Where are Ruby and Blake?"

"Uh, I don't know, uh, Ruby, but Blake-" Weiss gasped out the words, suddenly unable to catch her breath as the amount of quick dashing and glyph forming she had to do caught up with her. "She was literally backhanded by an Alpha Beowulf in, uh… that direction." Weiss waved to the right.

The blonde's lilac eyes looked more focused than they were since the match. "I'll find her. You stay here."

"Be careful!" Neptune warned.

As Yang ran off, Weiss sighed and managed a thumbs up. Coco, after some indecision, folded her weapon into its briefcase and pursued Yang. Seconds later, the Paladin from across the way shot beams at her allies, and Yatsuhashi screamed Velvet's name while a distressed wail from a distant Scarlet caused Weiss to groan. "Neptune, you think you can handle that Paladin?"

Neptune nodded. "Just make sure Scarlet doesn't get himself killed."

With a grimace, she turned, eyed the airstrip in the distance, and murmured, "No promises."

I've said this in some replies but since it keeps coming up, a disclaimer: I don't know the events of RWBY after v5. Aside from small bits I research when my friend looks over my chapters and points me to something that might be useful, that is. While, yes, v1-3 help guide this story, and likely events within v4-5 will too, not everything is going to be following canon.

That aside, my favorite Fall chapter to write has gotta be CH44. No spoilers!

Car ride: Glad you're excited! I hope you enjoy the next string of chapters :)

The Baz: XD

Astray-Tech: Ay nice, haha. Though I suppose I dropped many, considering how Vale is exploding all over. Glad you enjoyed :)

Arkham Wyntier: Indeed they are! Though the numerous bombs definitely did help.

The Night Whisperer: When at war, no character is safe from a little maiming, that's all I'll say.

Antex-The Legendary Zoroark: Thanks! I'm glad you're nervi-cited!

Dragon Lord Draco: Thanks! I love giving Cinder brain cells. Lol

astroe091: Twas an accident! I just looked up what you're talking about and... yikes. That's dark. Very interesting concept though.

Servos New Head: Yep, you saw Merc's semblance at work there! And yes, Ruby has a tendency to float around dangerous people who are very smug.

Next chapter: Bleeding Gold, Burning Green

Lonessa out.