Here we are at Chapter 136. First off, that finale was insane. Even I didn't see that post-credit scene coming, but it at least means that Team RWBY is still alive. Cinder messed up big time, and she'll pay for it soon enough. Also, I changed the one scene from the last chapter with Yang and Blake and I need to make this one thing clear: in my story, there is NO love triangle between Blake, Yang, and Porphyrius. In my story, Yang and Blake are close, like family, but that's it. Those looking for that will not find it here. Anyway, let's see how the gang handle this ultimatum given out by Ironwood. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 136. Enjoy.
Chapter 136: Risk
As Ironwood gave out his message, everyone in both Atlas and Mantle heard it, and everyone is terrified by his words, even more so than from all the Grimm swarming around them all. Back at Schnee Manor, most of the group is in the dining hall, trying to figure out what to do next with what they've learned. Ruby, Yang, Blake, and Lloyd are sitting at the table, while Edom and Emerald are leaning against the walls, arms crossed, Weiss is walking around the table, and Oscar and Porphyrius are staring out the windows.
"Okay, so Ironfart wants Penny, or else he'll drop the bomb down on Mantle, killing thousands of innocent people, and basically doing Salem's dirty work for her," Lloyd notes.
"But, how do we stop him?" Yang asks.
Blake's cat ears fold down, "Qrow and Robyn are still in his custody, and May told us that Atlas security drones are watching the crater. So, they're trapped too,"
Porphyrius groans, "They wouldn't be trapped in the first place if Ironwood hadn't shot down those ships Weiss and Whitley sent out. I can't believe he's become so petty that he'll do that just to get what he wants,"
"That's not our only concern. Salem is out of the way, but she won't stay out of the way for long. Once she puts herself back together, she'll move again," Oscar reminds them.
"So then, it's impossible," Ruby moans.
"See," Emerald gets their attention. "If 'Miss Hero' with all the answers doesn't have one, then we have ours,"
"Shut up!" Weiss gets annoyed.
"Okay then, why don't you just leave?!" Yang threatens her.
"I second that opinion," Lloyd gets up and joins her as they approach Emerald aggressively.
"Can we please just give each other a chance?" Oscar stops them. "Emerald's not with Salem anymore. And... Ozpin is back," he tells them, much to the ire of everyone else. Ruby rests her head on the table, groaning and making Blake feel worried about her.
"So, he finally decided to show up after practically abandoning us back in Anima. His timing is piss poor," Porphyrius notes.
"He couldn't have shown up earlier when things went to Hell?" Edom voices his irritation.
Oscar sighs, "All of this doubt, and worry, and distrust; it's not going to solve anything-,"
"Then nothing has changed!" Ruby slams her hands on the table. "We're in the exact same place we were yesterday! Arguing over what to do while the kingdom waits to die," Ruby gets out of her seat.
Yang approaches her in an attempt to comfort her, but Ruby brushes her off and runs out of the room. Worried for her sister, Yang runs after her.
Meanwhile, Voshkie'ahk comes out of a room, now back to full strength thanks to Jaune's aid. She walks to find Khazhak waiting for her, leaning against a wall with his arms crossed.
"How are you feeling?" Khazhak faces her.
"Much better now, thanks to Jaune. I'm mainly glad that I'm all better so he can work on Nora. She was in worse shape than I in my opinion,"
"Jaune's aura should be able to help Nora recover her strength, but as for those scars... I don't think those are going away anytime soon. She really pushed herself this time. It kind of reminds me of when I sparred against her back at Beacon. Because of her semblance, mine became obsolete. I had to fight without it in order to beat her, lest I give her a power boost. I never lost of course, but she did make things interesting," Khazhak moves off the wall.
"...How are the others?" Voshkie'ahk asks as they begin walking through the hall.
Khazhak sighs, "About as well as the situation will allow, and that isn't much. Salem is out of the way, temporarily, and Emerald is on our side, though I'm making sure at least one of teammates is nearby to keep an eye on here. I won't trust her right off the bat. She may have helped the others back on that giant Grimm, but that still doesn't excuse all the suffering she's helped committed in the past. They told me that Hazel sacrificed himself to give the others a chance to escape, and that the relic of knowledge is missing, which means that Salem doesn't have it anymore. That's a few problems out of the way now, but Ironwood practically made that obsolete with his declaration to bomb Mantle if Penny doesn't give herself up. And we don't have a plan right now,"
"And yet... you still want to kill him," Voshkie'ahk mutters.
"Ironwood has gone way off the reservation this time. He has to be stopped, or else innocent people will die. Lionheart was one thing, but Ironwood has become something far worse than him. You can't tell me that there's redemption for him," Khazhak makes his intentions clear.
"No, I won't argue with you on that. But, is killing him really the answer?" Voshkie'ahk asks.
"If we don't put him down, he'll never stop. Ironwood has always believed that victory must be obtained at any cost, no matter how many bodies pile up because of it. We can't let that go on," Khazhak clenches his fists.
Voshkie'ahk stares at him, "You have that same look in your eyes. It was the exact same look you had... when we banished Kamir'ahk from our home,"
"THAT was different. He killed our mother, Voshkie. He tried to kill Ruby, he nearly killed me, and he tried to kill you. Before that, he hurt you-," Khazhak argues.
"And maybe we hurt him first!" Voshkie'ahk interrupts him, stunning Khazhak. "While I've been lying around, I've also been thinking about that time long ago. That maybe we could've done something different. Yes, Kamir'ahk hurt me. Yes, he went too far that time. But maybe, we went too far too. Instead of trying to help him with whatever darkness was in his heart, we only made it worse by pushing him away. I'm not saying I forgive him for killing Mother, or for what he did to you, but... he's our brother. Like it or not, he's part of our family. I already lost Mother and Father, and I nearly lost you. I am SO tired of losing family like this. There has to be a better way. I know you have things you need to sort out with him, but please... Please, brother, at least consider the possibility... If not for Mother, or Father, then at least for me. Please," Voshkie'ahk has her hands together, practically begging him now.
Khazhak sees the desire in his sister's eyes, the inner strength in them. She truly believes there is a chance with Kamir'ahk, despite his transgressions. While Khazhak would rather kill Kamir'ahk for what he did, just like Ironwood, he couldn't bring himself to do so if it meant hurting his sister in the process.
Khazhak sighs, "I will... try. I can't say whether I will do it, but I will try. For you, Voshkie,"
Voshkie'ahk smiles and gets a little teary-eyed, "Thanks, Khazzy," and the siblings hug it out.
Meanwhile, Klein and Onyx continue to work on helping Penny, who remains unconscious. Onyx sits before he, working on his scroll as he goes through her systems. Azula sits in a chair on the sidelines along with Whitley and Willow. This is way beyond her abilities when it comes to robotics like this.
"How is she faring, Dr. Onyx?" Klein asks.
Onyx continues to type away, but groans, "Oh, while Watts was always a self-centered, egotistical bastard, he was highly intelligent; I'll give him that. While it's easy to see that this virus is his handiwork, there's no way for me to cut it off here. Firstly, I'd need to cut out from the source. Unfortunately, the source is coming from one Penny's blades, and that is most likely locked up in the Atlas military command center. After Edom and his friends' last expedition there, security will no doubt be doubled from what it was before. There's no way we'll be able to get in there anytime soon,"
Just then, Jaune walks into the room, "Hey, you guys need any help here?"
"There's not much we can do, I'm afraid. The most I've been able to do is isolate the virus and keep it from spreading throughout all of her systems, but that is only a temporary measure. Worse, for the sections already infected, I can't fix them. Not like this," Onyx then clenches his head in frustration. "When Ironwood was looking for the next big thing for Atlas, I was originally working separately from Pietro, working on my own project. But then, I met with him and saw what he was working on; WHO he was planning on giving life to. Seeing his plans for Penny, I realized that my idea was grossly inadequate. I saw the potential for his idea, what she would be able to do. More importantly, I saw a part of myself in Pietro that day. He always wanted a daughter of his own, and I failed to be there for my family when they needed me the most. I understood him. I became determined to help him achieve that goal. We worked together, tirelessly to help Penny come to life, even at the cost of Pietro's own aura fragments. To Ironwood and the Atlas military, she was just a weapon, just a machine. But to me, and more importantly to Pietro, she us much more than that. There are times when I feel that she's more human than most of the people I worked with. That's why I want to help Penny. She represents what the Atlas military... no, what the kingdom of Atlas itself has long forgotten," Onyx explains.
Back with Khazhak and Voshkie'ahk, they walk down to the main room, finding Yang and Ruby there, sitting on the stairs and hugging each other.
"You feeling okay, Ruby?" Khazhak asks as they join them.
The sisters separate, "I've been... I've been better," Ruby replies.
Khazhak and Voshkie'ahk sit down next to them, "You're not the only one who feels that way. This whole mess has taken its toll on all of us. The losses we've had to endure, the suffering we've gone through because of Salem and her machinations. But, that's precisely what she wants. For us to give up. Because if we do, she wins. I told you once before back in Anima, and I'll say it gain here: I will fight until my dying breath to stop her because I refuse to simply lie down and die like some dog. I can't let it all be for nothing. Things didn't go our way. In case you hadn't noticed, this isn't the first time they hadn't gone our way. The Fall of Beacon was a perfect example. The train crash on our way to Argus. Nothing ever goes according to plan. All we can do is make the best plans with what he got, prepare as much as we can for them, and hope things go alright, but be ready in case they don't,"
"A sound piece of advice. Just like when my kind and I invoked the ritual to bind our wills to our descendants," Bahamut notes.
Khazhak kneels before Ruby, "Ruby, I know things are hard right now. They'll likely get more difficult down the road. While I may not know what awaits us down that road, I do know YOU. You are like the flower of life in the field of darkness, always blooming beautifully and brightly. You never wilt, you never give up. And I know you won't now. I wouldn't have pledged my life to you if I believed you would,"
His words make Ruby blush, and Yang feel like she shouldn't be here when the two lovebirds are seemingly having another touching moment.
"You're not alone in this," Voshkie'ahk gets their attention. "There's no point in trying to bear the world's problems on your shoulders alone. You have wounds, but wounds heal, just like everything else. For a while, I thought I was alone, but then I met Tiamat, and I found the strength to keep moving forward. And that choice allowed me to find my brother again, to meet Yukari, to keep going. There are times when we fall, but as long as we can rise back up, then we're not done yet. Not even close,"
"Our kind may be all but extinct, but even so, we still fight. The same can be said for humanity," Tiamat says.
Ruby wipes her tears away, as does Yang, "You know, sometimes I wonder if you should be in charge with all these speeches of yours, Khazhak," Ruby jokes.
Khazhak chuckles, "They're nothing compared to yours, little rose. Besides, I'm only at my best when I'm destroying things, but you... you are at your greatest when you create things. And the thing you create better than anyone else... is hope,"
Yang coughs into her hands, "Get a room," she jokes, causing the couple to blush and Ruby to punch Yang in the arm, feeling embarrassed.
Though the mood has lightened up a bit, it gets ruined when they hear a loud crash and look back to see Jaune running down the stairs.
"Come on, hurry!" Jaune says as he runs past them, prompting them to follow him outside the front door.
Outside, Willow, Whitley, Klein, Azula, and Onyx watch from a balcony as Penny appears on the ground, her eyes red once again from the virus.
Penny gets back up, "I can no longer be delayed," and prepares to take flight.
The group get outside and Ruby uses her semblance to appear in front of Penny, "Please, please-!"
Penny's body fidgets, "I-I must... Open the vault," she fights the virus while holding her head. "I... I do not... I do not want," she continues as the others come out. "Ruby... Stop me!" Ruby wraps her arms around her, but then Penny's eyes turn red again. "I must open the vault... And self-terminate," Penny then takes flight with Ruby still holding on.
However, Blake throws her chain-scythe, wrapping around Penny's right arm, while Ren fires his pistol blades to wrap around her left and they hold her down. The others help them and they begin to pull her back down. Khazhak and Lloyd grab her legs to bring her to the ground and Weiss and Porphyrius use their semblances to pin her to the ground.
"We'll hold her down!" Porphyrius yells.
"But, what do we do?!" Nora asks.
Just then, Penny's Maiden powers flare up, releasing a shockwave that knocks away Weiss and Porphyrius' semblances. Penny starts to hover again, but Lloyd activates his semblance, encasing his body in steel to hold her down.
"Argh, I must... open the vault... and self-terminate!" Penny struggles from the power of the virus.
Just then, Emerald fires off her chains, hooking onto Penny's shoulders, "Get her down, now!" Emerald calls out to Jaune.
Jaune moves to amplify Weiss' aura, allowing her to bring Penny back down as her powers dissipate.
"Penny, please! Tell us how we can help you!" Ruby begs as she hold her friend close.
"...Kill me," Penny declares, much to everyone's shock and horror. "Kill me... please. Kill me... and I can make sure that the power goes to you," she looks at Ruby.
"Don't give us that defeatist bullcrap. There is absolutely no way we're killing you! You're our friend. We lost you once before, and we're not going to lose you a second time!" Khazhak shoots down the idea.
"Please, do it. I can't... I can't fight it anymore!" Penny begs.
"Yes you can!" Nora gets their attention.
"Nora is right. That virus is only one part of you. But virus' only work on machines, and you're NOT a machine, Penny. I know this because you've been fighting it all this time. If you were just a machine, you would've given in a long time ago," Voshkie'ahk adds.
An idea comes to Ruby, "She's right... She's right. Jaune, boost her aura!"
Jaune runs over and amplifies Penny's aura. After a few tense moments, the virus' effects fade and Penny returns to normal. Penny calms down and nods, much to their relief and joy. Ruby, Nora, and Voshkie'ahk hug Penny while everyone else kneels or sits around them, happy that their friend is out of danger.
"Did... Did I stop the virus?" Jaune asks.
Penny looks at her hands and eventually frowns, "No... It's still there, but-,"
Ruby holds her hand, "You've got an aura Penny. A soul. That's who you are: our friend. Not a machine," she and the girls hug together.
"I think you're wrong by the way," they all look back at Emerald. "I highly doubt you're in the same place you started," she puts her pistols away. "I mean, yeah, you guys have been getting your asses kicked. Some of that... my fault, but like, you're at WAR. You're gonna take some losses, you're gonna take some damage from time to time. It's just, I mean... Look, I'm just saying that I'm going to be super pissed you guys finally decide to give up right after I switch sides,"
Oscar smiles, "Switch sides, huh,"
Emerald realizes what she said, but then frowns when everyone starts laughing at her expense.
Khazhak sighs, "Well, if the weasel boy can change and not like end up like his jackass dad, who's to say that Emerald can't change,"
"Well, sorry. Whatever," Emerald glances away, but then Oscar walks up and helps her up.
Oscar turns to the group, "If you all wouldn't mind. I really think Ozpin has something to say to you all,"
Though most of the group is still upset at the mere mention of his name, they all look to Khazhak and Ruby for the say so. Ruby nods to Khazhak.
Khazhak looks back, "Well, if he something to say, then say it,"
Oscar gives control to Ozpin, "I was recently... reminded... of an old fairy tale. A young girl flees the consequences of a choice. To a magical place. But, having never learned from her initial failure, she only succeeds in spreading it... I've failed ALL of you. I should've trusted you with the truth, and I shouldn't have fled the moment you all learned it,"
"It was... really rough, but-," Yang begins.
"Recent events have shown us what happens when we don't use trust appropriately," Lloyd adds.
"Withholding trust is a mistake, but... blindly giving it is a mistake as a well. It all depends on who you're giving that trust to, and how they use it," Porphyrius notes.
"Trust is... a risk," Weiss adds.
"Trust is something that can't be taken, or given, lightly," Edom says.
"Trust... must be earned. But, trust must be tempered with caution. After what has happened, I think we have a better understanding of why you did what you did," Khazhak finishes.
The group look between one another, smiling at learning this new lesson.
"And I hope you will give me a chance to earn that trust back," Ozpin asks.
Ruby eventually nods, prompting the others to nod with her. Ozpin smiles as Emerald joins her.
However, Penny suddenly holds her chest in pain, "I can still feel it fighting me. Trying to take over again,"
"I can't just keep amplifying her aura forever," Jaune laments.
"And we're running out of time. Ironwood's deadline will be here soon," Lloyd notes.
Nora holds Penny, "Guys, she has to go to the vault,"
While everyone else frowns, Ruby starts to smile, "That's actually a risk... we hadn't considered.
"I can see it in your eyes. You're thinking one of those crazy ideas of yours again, aren't ya," Khazhak then smirks. "What do you have in mind, little rose?"
…
In another part of Atlas, Cinder and Watts are in one alley, but look back when Kamir'ahk and Neo appear, with Neo aiming her umbrella at Cinder.
"The girl who's idiocy flares higher than her own flames," Nidhogg mocks her.
"I believe you owe us something, Cinder. How's this sound: one relic for two heads," Kamir'ahk smirks sinisterly.
And that's the chapter. Khazhak, Ruby, and their allies get their heads clear of some problems, and help Penny with her own. While Ironwood's deadline is looming, they hatch another plan. Will they be able to save Penny and stop Ironwood? Until then please Read and review.