Winter had been defeated. Nora and Ren were out of the game. Weiss and Blake were injured. The only survivor was Cinder Fall. Tired, breathing heavily, she walked one step at a time to the vault. Behind her were Arthur Watts and the woman who had saved him from Ruby's clutches.
Cinder touched the vault doors. A strong light came on and the doors opened. The woman could not hold back her triumphant smile and advanced towards the Staff of Creation. She grabbed it. She took a deep breath and muttered to herself:
"I've done it. I will finally receive Salem's love."
As soon as she turned she had the impression of seeing Penny out of the corner of her eye. She turned around. When she realized she was alone she calmed down and headed for the exit. The moment she stepped out of the vault she felt weakened. Her body, for no reason, fell and her aura disappeared.
The frightened woman immediately tried to get up but her Grimm's arm dissolved in the blink of an eye. Cinder screamed in excruciating pain and she begged for help from Watts. The man approached her without any hurry and took the relic then handed it to his colleague.
Cinder tried to get up again but she felt as if she weighed a ton.
"Watts ... help me ..."
When the man saw the tear fall on the girl's face, he, with a calm manner, opened the suitcase he had with him. Black smoke enveloped Cinder Fall, a chill sensation hit the woman's body and suddenly the demonic figure of Salem appeared.
"My queen… I won. I did what you asked of me and now you will have the Staff of Creation." She uttered those words with a hopeful smile of gratitude.
Salem looked at her from top to bottom. She raised her eyebrows and then, without saying anything, turned to Watts. The man shrugged. Cinder couldn't understand what was going on. Salem turned to her:
"You seem to have reached your limit, Cinder."
Those cold words hit the woman like an arrow to her heart.
"No! My queen ... no! I can still fight!" Cinder tried to get up but no matter how much strength she put into it, it was all in vain. "Damn! Why is this happening? What happened?"
"Apparently you were the victim of an unfortunate accident."
"What?! No! I'm fine!" Cinder was desperate.
"You're wrong. You are, in this state, little more than a worm. Your powers have like… retreated into the depths of your soul. It's as if they have… atrophied. You've probably used your skills too much, or you've simply never been worthy to have all that power within you."
"I can still help you!" Cinder cried in tears.
"You're wrong. Now you're completely useless." Salem stroked the woman. "Come on, don't make that face on me, it's normal that there are people destined for great things and people destined to dig in the mud."
"No! It's not true! You can help me! Help me please! HELP ME!"
"Why should I do that? Why should I help you? Who are you to me?"
That question unleashed a rush of chills that ran through Cinder's frail and heavy body. Speechless, the poor woman crawled in an attempt to hug Salem's legs.
"Please ... I without you ... I'm nothing."
"I know. I was the one who gave you the power, did you forget? You, alone, have never done anything. If it wasn't for me, you … you'd still be a whore. You're nothing, you have always been nothing ... you're just a sad and frail creature. But be glad to know that at least you've had a modicum of use. Goodbye."
Salem disappeared.
From the black smoke emerged Arthur Watts with a gun in his hand and a grin on his face.
"Nothing personal."
He fired.
The woman fell from the summit of Atlas … crying her last tears.
Watts then left with his colleague taking the Staff of Creation with him.
Meanwhile, inside Monstra, Ruby and Yang were completely unaware of what had happened at the Atlas Academy. The two girls were still looking for Oscar. They had managed not to be noticed by anyone.
"Do you have any idea where we're going, Ruby?" Yang asked puzzled.
"More or less".
"It's not very reassuring."
"I know but this is our situation and there's nothing we can do about it. It would've been nice to have Blake and Weiss with us too ..."
"It was you who ran away."
"I know. But I was mad at Uncle Qrow and didn't want to stand there and be treated like a child."
"Ruby ..."
"What?" The girl turned.
"Qrow is ..." she didn't know what to say to justify her uncle. "Qrow just wants to protect you."
"I can protect myself."
"I understand but ..."
At that moment, a few meters ahead, Hazel came out of a room. The two girls immediately hid. The man walked away without noticing anything.
"Let's go check it out," Ruby suggested softly.
The girls entered the room and then they found themselves in front of Oscar, wounded and out of breath. When he saw his friends he widened his eyes, surprised and excited, and hugged them without uttering useless words. Ruby, in tears, held the boy in her arms and promised that she would never abandon him.
"We have to leave," Yang said, worried about being discovered by the enemies.
"Don't worry ... they won't try to stop us" Oscar exclaimed sadly.
"Why do you say that?"
"Because we lost."
"What?! What are you talking about?!"
"All of Salem's followers have been called to the throne room. They're preparing to go to Vacuo."
"But the relic-"
"They took it. I don't know how they did it ... but they got the relic. They have a distinct advantage over us and they know it."
"What about Atlas? What will become of Atlas?" Ruby asked in fear.
"Fortunately for us, they don't know how to use the Staff of Creation and therefore Atlas will be safe ... for now."
"How do you know they don't know?"
"Because that's why they tortured me ..." He paused briefly then added: "Ozpin is the only one who knows how to use relics. I suggest you-"
"Blake!" Yang exclaimed. "Blake and Weiss had to protect the relic!"
"Let's leave."
Having said those words, Ruby, grabbed both her sister and Oscar and used her Semblance to leave the room.
If they had left Monstra only a few minutes later they would've stayed inside it. When the three left, the immense Grimm took off slowly and left Atlas. What would be known as the Battle of Atlas came to an end after seven long days but it was Salem who claimed the victory.
At the end of the conflict there were cries of joy for the friends found ... and weeping of anguish for those lost. General Schnee, having learned of the loss of the Staff of Creation, declared both Mantle and Atlas insecure and made arrangements with the Mistral Council to have refugees from both cities remain in the kingdom for at least two months.
When the people of Mantle learned of Robyn Hill's death they organized a funeral in her honor; May Marigold decided to run as a member of the Atlas Council to represent the poor people of Mantle.
The Atlas Academy was closed for an indefinite period, for security reasons.
When Oscar revealed that Ozpin had returned, Blake Belladonna, in the presence of the rest of team RWBY, decided to ask some important questions, to investigate the reasons that had prompted Ozpin to lie to the former General of the armed forces of Atlas.
They had gathered outside the Schnee mansion.
"After everything we've been through, I feel compelled to ask you this: why did you lie to Ironwood?" Blake asked curiously.
Ozpin, who had taken control of Oscar, did not respond immediately. From his expression it could be understood that he was gravely sorry and that he felt guilty. He sighed.
"It's not an easy question, Miss Belladonna."
"Didn't you trust him?"
"It was … myself that I didn't trust."
"What do you mean?"
"I've always respected James, I've always considered him a good friend, just like Glynda and Qrow ... but I was afraid to tell them the truth or, to be more specific, I didn't trust my ability to help them fight the same fear that had paralyzed me for centuries. The fear of Salem … it's powerful. It makes you lose the desire to fight… it annihilates you… it makes you think that the end is inevitable… it was difficult for me to suppress that fear, I could almost define it as a miracle. And miracles don't happen a second time."
"So you lied about it?" Yang asked skeptically.
"Yes. And I ended up making things worse. In a way, I feel responsible for what happened to James and I would've liked to have been able to talk to him, to be able to explain my reasons."
"Aren't you mad that he shot you?" Ruby asked in surprise.
"I'm immortal, Miss Rose. I've the experience of hundreds of men with me, these things certainly do not traumatize me."
"Do you think Ironwood will be our ally again?" Weiss then asked.
"I don't know. Part of me hopes so ... but if he decides not to help us anymore, I wouldn't blame him. It's my fault. I shouldn't have hurt his feelings and I regret that. I hope, one day to be able to make amends."
At that moment Nora and Ren arrived, they had just buried their foreman.
"I'm sorry …" Ozpin said.
Nora raised her head. The girl still had bright red eyes.
"It shouldn't have happened. First Pyrrha and now Jaune… why?"
"This is… the nature of war. We have to strengthen each other and move on."
"I have something to say …" Ren began, "Nora and I have decided to take a break."
"A break?" Yang was a bit confused.
"Yes. We will stay in Mistral for a while and then we will see what happens but, as things stand now, we have decided to move away from the battlefield."
"But-"
"I understand you," Ruby interrupted her sister. "We will not stop you."
"Thanks, Ruby."
There were exchanges of hugs with Nora and Ren and at the end team RWBY greeted the two friends before their departure for Mistral.
Ozpin, before giving way to Oscar, suggested that the girls prepare to leave for Vacuo. Ruby, then, went in search of Uncle Qrow along with Weiss but was stopped by General Schnee who told both:
"Qrow is gone."
"Where is him?" Ruby asked worriedly.
Winter then handed the girl a piece of paper: it was a letter written by Qrow. Ruby glanced at Weiss and the latter understood that she had to give her friend a little privacy. The two sisters walked away together.
"Weiss ..." Winter began.
"Yes?"
"I owe you an apology. I think I have misjudged you. You've matured a lot in this time and you've shown it during this battle. I'm proud of you and … I'm sorry."
"Me too… I've been mean to you. Initially I thought that General Ironwood was in control of your destiny but now I understand that in reality it was always you who controlled your life. I'm sorry for offending you, I hope you can forgive me- "
Winter hugged Weiss.
"Always, little sister. Always."
Weiss cried.
"I love you, Winter."
"I love you too, Weiss."
Meanwhile, Ruby sat on the steps in the foyer of the Schnee mansion to read the letter.
She took a deep breath, she didn't know what she was going to read and she felt partly responsible for turning Qrow away; part of her feared that she would read the words of a furious man, but when her gaze fell on the first words, she knew she was wrong.
'Dearest Ruby, I admit I'm not good at these things, I've never written letters of this type so in a way I think there's something to celebrate. I don't want to dwell on it and so I'll go straight to the point: I'm proud of you. I have seen you grow up, I have seen you become a very strong Huntress and also a responsible leader; you managed to remedy your mistakes and you managed to face adversity without ever bending and this, believe me, is not a common thing. You've proven that you're a strong girl and that your heart is in the right place.
But I'm not writing this just to compliment you but also to apologize for my attitude. You must forgive me if I treated you like a child, but you must understand that it's difficult for me not to see in you the daughter of the woman that I've always respected and that I've not been able to defend.
That's why I have to go. I believe that my need to protect you has surpassed my ability to think critically and in the end, inevitably, I ended up accusing a friend of having had a bad influence on you; but in truth I think it was my fault that you never managed to shine. Maybe it was my fault directly… or maybe it was my Semblance's fault, I don't know for sure and at the moment I don't care because what really matters is that you lead your team to victory.
You don't have to worry about me, I'm not going to abandon you … it's just that I need some time to be alone.
While you found your way, I lost mine. That's the truth. I need to find myself again, it won't be easy but it's necessary.
I will always cheer for you, Ruby, you have all the cards in the tables to surpass your mother and to be better than me. Never be ashamed of having weaknesses otherwise you will end up like me or like James and lose yourself. Love yourself, don't be afraid of making mistakes and believe in yourself. '
A tear wet the paper. The girl put the letter aside and wept silently, wishing she had spent more time with her uncle to notice his problems.
"Ruby …" It was Oscar. "Are you okay?"
"No. I'm scared."
He walked over and sat down next to her.
"When I saw your wound… I was scared too. Good people shouldn't suffer, that's what I've always thought. Seeing you in this state makes me feel guilty that I was chosen by Ozpin to lead you. All this is ... unfair." He placed his hand on Ruby's. "Being afraid is right. We all have to be afraid. Being ashamed of fear is a mistake because it's fear that makes us most responsible towards ourselves, others and the future. But at the same time it's necessary to be able to control fear and make sure that it doesn't take over, otherwise it can blind you."
"So what should I do?" she asked with wet eyes.
"Don't ward off fear but don't let it take control. Keep it close to you but at the right distance. I know it's easier said than done but… it's precisely by maintaining this perfect balance that you will be able to keep yourself on the right path."
She let out a slightly strangled laugh.
"You talk like you're Ozpin."
"When I was in the clutches of Salem I went through sufferings that were unknown to me. In those moments of pain Ozpin was there to protect me, to strengthen me ... " He looked at the girl and smiled. "I feel that I'm becoming one with him. His wisdom, his experiences… are becoming mine and one day he and I will be one. I'm afraid of that moment but I know I cannot avoid it."
Oscar stood up but as soon as he moved a few steps away from the girl he heard this question coming from her:
"Will you become like Ozpin?"
There was a silence for a few seconds. The boy turned and with a grave look he replied:
"No. I want to be better than him. Where he has failed I want to be successful."
"For example?"
"James ..." he replied sadly.
"Ironwood?"
"Ozpin feels guilty for what he did to him. He has always considered him a great friend and he feels bad for having betrayed his trust. He knows that all this wouldn't have happened if he had been sincere from the start. I talked to him ..." he specified "I talked to Ozpin about this. I don't blame him for his mistakes but I can't afford to repeat them … so I want to talk to James. I want to help him."
"Even after everything he has done? Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure."
"Why?" Ruby asked puzzled.
"Because it's easy to accuse a man of being evil and abandon him in his darkness and then punish him without feeling the slightest empathy. I will reach out my hand, immerse myself in the deepest darkness and bring out James at any cost."
"Why do you want to risk so much for him?"
"Because I believe in humanity. I believe in goodness, forgiveness, and friendship. Maybe these are 'childish' values for some, but these are my values and I'm willing to die for them. For too long we have fought among ourselves, now is the time to throw down our weapons." He held out his hand to Ruby. "Will you help me?"
Ruby smiled and shook Oscar's hand.
"Always."