Here we are at Chapter 135. Time to see how our heroes handle the not so little magic trick Oscar pulls off and what comes after. I do not own RWBY. They belong to roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 135. Enjoy.
Chapter 135: Closing Walls
At the Schnee Manor, Ruby and Blake help Klein tend to Nora while Edom helps Onyx tend to Penny. Meanwhile, Azula sits at a table nearby while Khazhak watches the battle from the window. A moment later, Voshkie'ahk wakes up again.
"Ugh... Brother," Voshkie'ahk calls out.
"Easy, my child. You still need to recover your strength. You went through too much this time," Tiamat soothes her.
"Voshkie," Khazhak moves and kneels by her side. "How are you feeling?"
"To think that you would plummet through the atmosphere to save Penny, and you didn't use your power to do so. And here, I thought I was partnered with the crazier of the two siblings," Bahamut notes.
Voshkie'ahk sighs, but smiles, "Better. But, still not back to full strength. How's Penny?" she looks to her friend on the other bed.
Onyx finishes scanning Penny, "Well, I at least found the problem,"
"What problem?" Edom asks.
"Someone implanted a virus into Penny's systems. A very good one. From what you told me, it is mostly likely Arthur Watts' handiwork. He created a virus that would infect Penny and control her with a precise set of commands. And it appears those commands are to open the vault and then... self-terminate," his words worry the group. Ruby kneels by Penny's side and holds her hand. "Going through her scans, I found that she's missing one of her swords. She communicates with her swords through a special system in her programming that allows her to move them as she does. Sort of like controlling them with her mind, if you will. However, the communications for such a process operates on a two-way streak," Onyx explains.
Khazhak realizes something, "Our battle with the Ace Ops. They took one of Penny's swords and then just... retreated. I thought that was weird before, but now we know why,"
"I remember that Ironwood had Watts in custody... Oh no, Ironwood, that damn fool! He must've gotten Watts to create that virus in order to control Penny and bring her to the vault so he can open it, use the relic, and raise Atlas into the atmosphere. I can't believe he would be so stupid! Watts hates Ironwood with a passion. There's no way he would just do as Ironwood asks, not without... without a way to use his situation to his advantage," Onyx widens his eyes.
"Just like down in Mantle. Ironwood has no idea that Watts played him for the fool he is. And now, Penny is paying the price," Khazhak says.
Ruby looks to Onyx, "But, if you figured out the problem, then you can fix it, right?"
Onyx shakes his head, "Not under these conditions. I helped Pietro create Penny, but I wasn't as familiar with her inner workings as him. And I don't have the equipment I need here that I could use to fix that problem. I snuck away from Ironwood's compound. I haven't been back in hours. There's no doubt that he believes I've turned traitor. The second I show up there, he'll either lock me in a cell, or shoot me on the spot. And from what you told me, Pietro is still on Amity, out of communications range. I'm sorry," Onyx hangs his head.
Edom rests a hand on his shoulder, "Just do whatever you can. At least, now we know what's wrong with her. That's better than nothing,"
"Okay, so what do we do now?" Azula asks.
Khazhak sighs, "Whitley and Weiss managed to get the order out to the SDC ships to go down to the crater and evacuate the people down there. That's one problem dealt with for the time being. The battle outside is still raging on, but something has to come to a head. We haven't been able to get in touch with the others, and we can't get to Robyn and Qrow, or take down Ironwood in this mess. Now with so many of us still injured," Khazhak looks across the beds in front of him. He stands up and walks back up to the window to cross his arms. "We just need to-," he says as Weiss enters the room with some tea for everyone, but then suddenly, a blinding flash of light crashes through the window, causing Weiss to drop the tea and everyone to shield their eyes.
…
The flash of light was an explosion that Oscar set off at the Monstra. The blast was so large and powerful that it kills the Monstra, and takes out a large number of smaller Grimm through the kingdom. When the light fades, all that is left is the remains of the Monstra as it begins to disintegrate into dust. After the initial explosion, Neo is seen leaving the battlefield, with the relic of knowledge in her possession, revealing she stole it. She makes it to the city without anyone noticing... Well, almost anyone.
"Well, that certainly was a surprise," Neo looks back to see Kamir'ahk land behind her and takes a look at the mess left behind by Oscar. "I sure wasn't expecting that big of a fireworks display. But, then again, it was quite interesting," he turns and sees the relic Neo is holding. Neo gets defensive. "Don't worry your pretty little head there, Neo. I'm not going to kill you and take the relic. Now then, the only reason I can think of that you would have the relic and NOT return it to Cinder of Salem immediately is this: you plan to use it to get what YOU want, don't you," Kamir'ahk smirks. The look of disdain that Neo gives him is all the answer he needs, but that only makes him smile more. "Well then, with Salem out of the way... for a while anyway, I think we've earned ourselves some time to have a little fun," he leans in close to her face. "You want Ruby Rose. I want Khazhak. And I know that wherever she goes, he's not far behind. Cinder has been keeping you from your revenge for so long, and I never liked her to begin with. Always thinking that just because she's suffered, that means she's entitled to everything in the world," Kamir'ahk leans back and begins walking around Neo. "However, suffering alone isn't enough. You have to be clever, not just powerful, and you have to earn your rewards, not just have them handed to you on a silver platter. I didn't gain the strength I possess now by whining and getting a hand out like her. I earned it, through endless battles across the planet," Kamir'ahk faces Neo again. "But, enough about me. So, how about instead of Cinder using us to get what she wants... we use her to get what WE want? When Salem gets back, Cinder will need something to keep her in her good graces, or else she's finished. And you have that little something. What do you say: up for a little fun?" Kamir'ahk shows a sinister smirk.
Neo looks hesitant at first, but slowly smirks back and the pair shake hands. They have a deal.
…
Meanwhile, back near ground zero, Yang, Porphyrius, and the others managed to find Oscar and Jaune heals him up with his aura. As they look around, Yang gets a call from her scroll and answers it. The scroll shows Weiss, Blake, and Ruby on the other end.
"...Blake? Guys?" Yang mutters.
Blake is the first to speak, "Yang! Oh, thank goodness you're okay. Where are you guys? We've been trying to contact you,"
Porphyrius walks up, "Yeah, we're all good here. How about you guys? Are you all alright?"
"We're... alive. Though, it might be better if we talked face to face on that matter. Are you guys up in Atlas?" Blake explains.
"Yeah, we're up in Atlas. It's a long story," Porphyrius replies.
"Okay, that's okay. It helps, actually," Blake replies.
Meanwhile, Ren, Oscar, and Lloyd turn their attention to Emerald, "What do we do about her?" Oscar watches as she sits on the ground, holding fleeting ashes in her hands.
"...Hazel," tears form in Emerald's eyes as she tries to come to terms with his death.
"...I'm sending you a map," Weiss sends a map to Yang and Porphyrius. "You're in the agricultural area. Just head to this access point to reach the red line subway tunnel. After that, just follow the route I've sent you and it'll take you straight to us. We're hiding out at my family's manor. We'll wait for you there," Weiss says.
"Understood, we'll be there soon," Porphyrius replies as they wave back to them before the call ends.
Yang looks back and sees Oscar nod his head to Emerald and quickly doesn't like what he's implying.
A few minutes later, the group is already in one of the subway tunnels making their way to the others. Jaune lights the way with the flashlight on his scroll, but everyone still has their weapons out. However, some of those weapons are aimed at Emerald, including Yang's and Porphyrius'. Jaune and Ren have their weapons out for Grimm, and Lloyd is holding Emerald's arms behind her back with his claws at the ready, and Yang is holding Emerald's pistols.
"You have got to be joking. You want us to bring HER to where the others are? To work with her?!" Yang is completely against the idea.
"I'm just saying that it makes the most sense. We're all Salem's enemies now, and that includes her. Salem will try to kill her the second she gets the chance, just like with us," Oscar defends Emerald.
"Oh, and we're supposed to just forget the fact that she helped Cinder and Salem kill so many innocent people back in Vale during the Fall of Beacon? How she screwed with Khazhak's match, Yang's match and got Team RWBY disqualified from the tournament, and got Penny killed the first time during her match against Pyrrha. You weren't there, Oscar, so you have no idea what really happened there. What SHE helped happen!" Porphyrius lets out his anger at the thief.
"But-," Oscar begins.
"No, I'm with the half-breed here. You don't like me. I don't like you. So, how about we go our separate ways and never see each other again?" Emerald suggests.
Lloyd's grip on her arms tightens, "Oh, please, you really think we're gonna just let you go after everything you did. Let's also not forget the fact that you tried to kill us with Cinder back at Haven. You're not going anywhere,"
"We can't let all of our actions stem from fear. If she can help us, I think we should consider it," Ren sides with Oscar.
"SHE is part of the reason that Khazhak and I both lost our arms at Beacon. I'm not just going to... forgive her for that. Everything that happened to us at Beacon. She lied to us, tricked us. She cannot be trusted," Yang declines the idea, while Ren sees purple petals flowing around Emerald with his semblance.
"You don't have to forgive her, or trust her right away. You all have every reason to feel that way. Just... give her a second chance. We've already gotten a lot of help from someone... we don't really trust right now," Oscar says.
"You mean Ozpin?" Ren gets his attention and smirks. "I had a feeling,"
"Wait, what?!" Most of the group yell.
"Ozpin is back?!" Lloyd glances back.
"Look, I know how you all feel about him right now, but he saved my life. When we were tortured, he took it... so I wouldn't have to," Oscar then takes out his cane. "He entrusted me with this. And the massive amount of power he had stored within it. Kinetic energy that he had stored up lifetime after lifetime in the cane he built,"
"So, that's how you did that back there? You released all of that stored up energy?" Jaune asks.
"No, not all of it, but most of it. We have to be careful with how we use the rest," Oscar holsters his cane. "He trusted my judgment and it saved us. I want to reciprocate that trust, there's a lot to sort out, but Oz really does want to help us," Oscar says, leaving the others hesitant about what to do about that.
"Thank you, Oscar," Ozpin thanks him.
Just then, they hear what sounds like a baby crying up ahead. They move to the sound of the cries and find a large number of people taking shelter at one of the subway stations beneath Atlas.
The group put their lights away, "All of Atlas is down here," Jaune notes.
They walk through the area, feeling the worry and concern from everyone around them. As they walk, Emerald gets a good, hard look at the fear in their eyes, the doubt that they'll survive the coming storm as the war for Atlas continues above them.
"Looks different, doesn't it?" Porphyrius gets her attention. "The despair you helped create, the chaos you helped sow. The lives you helped ruin. Looks different when you're seeing it up close instead of far away in the shadows, huh," Porphyrius glares at her, making her feel guilty.
"Lloyd!" they hear and look to see Lloyd's parents, Silver and Brina Colemine running towards them. "Oh, thank, goodness you're alright," Silver says, causing Lloyd to release Emerald.
Brina gets a look at her son's face and gasps, "Oh, my poor baby. What happened to you?" she touches his face.
"I'm fine, Mom, I'm fine. That's not important," Lloyd gently takes her hands off his face.
"But, your face, and-I mean, what happened to your body-," Brina begins.
"Happened a long time ago. But, like I said, that's not important. How did you guys get here?" Lloyd asks.
"We were on one of the evacuation transports that took us from Mantle to Atlas before General Ironwood halted the evacuation. Then, when the alarms went out, we came down here for shelter. What is going on out there?" Silver explains.
"It's a long story. One best told along the way. If you like, then you'd better come with us," Lloyd replies, and the parents nod.
The group, with the new additions, walk through the subway station and continue on their way to where the others are.
Oscar looks to Emerald, "I've seen what you can do Emerald. However, this fight ends, we could really use someone like you," he says as they continue walking through the dark tunnels to their destination.
…
A while later, Ruby opens the front doors of the Schnee Manor with just about everyone else with her to greet Yang's group. Yang smiles at her younger sister, who jumps into her arms and they spin around. Tears of joy fall from Ruby's eyes as Yang smiles down at her.
"I missed you too," Yang replies.
They separate to allow Yang to hug Weiss while Ruby greets Jaune and Ren. After hugging Weiss, Yang looks over at Blake, who hesitates to greet her and looks away. However, Yang gently coaxes her on the shoulder to look at her and smiles at her, which Blake reciprocates and the two friends hug each other. Khazhak and Edom greet their brothers, with Khazhak hugging Porphyrius first. He lets him go, but his eyes widen upon seeing Lloyd's scarred face, Lloyd glances down, but Khazhak holds a supportive hand on his shoulder and smiles. Lloyd smiles back and the sworn brothers hug it out. Separating, Khazhak goes to greet Jaune and Ren while Lloyd hugs Edom, but then notices Azula approaching from behind. He steps back and tries to hide his face when Azula is right in front of him. Azula places a hand on his face to get him to look at her, and her eyes widen slightly at seeing what is beneath his skin. Lloyd glances away, afraid that she's scared of him now, but Azula defies expectations by kissing the damaged half of his face, stunning him. He looks back, only to see her smiling affectionately at him, and he smiles back as he holds her hand, which his parents notice and smile as well.
Ren walks inside the manor, "Where's Nora?" he wonders, prompting a solemn Weiss to walk ahead and escort him and Jaune to their injured teammate.
Ruby and Khazhak turn back to Oscar, "Oscar, you-," Ruby begins, but then stops when she notices Emerald standing behind him.
The pair are shocked, but immediately go for their weapons and get ready to fight her.
"No, she's okay. She's with us," Oscar steps in between them to defend Emerald.
"Care to run that by me again?" Khazhak is not buying it.
"Emerald helped me escape and get to the others, and then she helped us get out of the Monstra and away from Salem. It wasn't just her either. Hazel... Hazel freed me and got me and Emerald out. He fought against Salem to buy us time to escape... And he gave his life while doing so," Oscar explains, causing Emerald to glances away at the mentioning of Hazel.
The others are still hesitant, but take their hands off of their weapons. However, Khazhak walks up to Emerald... and then grabs her by the collar with his dragon arm and pulls her in close.
"Khazhak, wait!" Oscar yelps.
"Shove it!" Khazhak shuts him down while staring down Emerald. Emerald is scared, mostly due to the fact that this is the first time she's seen Khazhak's dragon arm before and has no idea how he got it. "What you did for them... is the only reason I'm not killing you," he makes his intentions clear and then releases her.
Oscar is about to say something else before they all hear a beeping noise. It's coming from Ruby's scroll. Ruby pulls it out and finds May on the other end, herself already back at the crater.
"Kids, the cargo ships you sent. They're here, but... but they didn't come alone!" May exclaims.
"May, what are you talking about?" Ruby is worried.
"Oh, gods... RUN! Everyone, into the mines!" May shouts before they hear an explosion and then lose the connection.
"What was that?" Lloyd asks.
Just then, an alarm goes off and everyone checks their scrolls, "This is an emergency CCT broadcast," a female robotic voice says before Ruby makes a large screen from her scroll so everyone can see.
It shows the SDC cargo ships on their way to the crater... only to get shot down by Atlas military airships.
The screen then shows Ironwood standing under one light in a dark room, "I have always promised to protect this kingdom. It's technology, its future, from those who would see it destroyed. Our enemy is crippled, but one individual still denies Atlas its salvation. The Protector of Mantle," Ironwood says, prompting everyone to show angry or worried looks. "Penny, wherever you and your friends are, I need you all to listen. I know how much Mantle means to you. So, I'm going to give you a choice. You can bring yourself to Atlas Academy and do your duty; help me save as much of Atlas as possible, and Mantle will be left to fend for itself. Or... you can all watch as I destroy it," he continues, making a few of the girls gasp in horror. "I have ONE bomb. That's all it will take. If there is no Mantle, then there is no reason for you not to work with me. Neither of us wanted it to come to that... but one of us is willing to do it. If anyone tries anything other than what I've order, Mantle... is gone. You have one hour to respond. I hope you will live to the title I gave you," Ironwood says and then ends the message.
The message was sent all across Atlas and Mantle, so everyone heard it, and are now scared. At the manor, Ruby hears growling behind her and looks at Khazhak.
"Khazhak," Ruby mutters, worried.
Khazhak clenches his fists, lightning surging around his dragon arm, "I don't know how right now, but when I get the chance... I am going to KILL Ironwood..."
And that's the chapter. Yang and Porphyrius's group finally reunite with Ruby and Khazhak's group, with Emerald in tow. Though tensions are high, they have a new threat to deal with, now that Ironwood has threatened to bomb Mantle off the face of Remnant if Penny doesn't do what he wants her to do. Will Ruby and her friends be able to save both Atlas and Mantle? What will happen to Penny? Until then, please Read and Review.