Manta airships patrol the skies around the City of Atlas, keeping in communication with each other over radio. As Maria pilots the group's stolen Manta toward the city, they receive radio contact.
"Manta 5-1. Welcome home. Please continue your approach to Atlas docking bay Omega-12. A security team will meet you there. Over" A woman on the other end spoke.
Ruby and the others aboard Manta 5-1 look around at the large military air fleet surrounding the kingdom's capital "I don't understand. What's happening here?".
"I don't know" Qrow said.
"This is nothing like how I remember Atlas" Katrina said, her cat tail and ears twitching nervously.
"But we are here. We got the lamp to Atlas, so I guess we land and get some answers" Jaune suggested.
"I'm not so sure. I've never seen our forces deployed so aggressively before. If we land in a stolen ship, there's no way the security team will let us anywhere near Ironwood. They might even take me back to my father" Weiss said.
"We won't let that happen" Julius reassured.
"So…" Blake began.
Weiss, having gotten an idea, suddenly looks up "Winter!" She brings out her Scroll "Put some distance between us and the fleet".
"You don't have to tell me twice" Maria said.
"I'll see if I can contact my sister as well" Katrina added pulling out her own scroll.
As Weiss and Katrina walk to the back of the ship, Maria steers the ship toward Mantle. As people wander the streets of Mantle, the group looks over the city through the Manta's windows. They fly past a giant screen on the side of a skyscraper.
Ironwood's voice comes from the screen, catching their attention "...cannot express our appreciation enough. Many describe these as uncertain times, and while that may be the case for the rest of the world, I can tell you what is certain. The Kingdom of Atlas will remain strong, and it will remain safe. That is my promise".
Ruby and Yang look saddened, the latter speaking "General Ironwood. He looks…".
"Tired" Ruby finished.
"James, what have you been doing?" Qrow asked himself.
Four Atlesian Knight-200s are seen walking down a street in Mantle, while civilians around them complain about their presence. A small drone floats along a sidewalk, while a pair of small children hide in an alley. One of the children picks up a rock and throws it at the drone, which spins around to look, prompting the children to hide against the wall. Weiss sadly stares out of Manta 5-1's window with her Scroll in her palm.
Her Scroll is set to call Winter, who does not answer "This isn't right. None of this is right.."
Novus shakes his head; Atlas had changed significantly since he was last here, and not in a good way at all.
Once again, the stolen Manta receives contact over the radio "Manta 5-1, we've noticed a detour in your route. You are to make your way to docking bay Omega 12 immediately. Do you copy? Over".
"We're kind of running out of time here, kids" Maria said.
"We need to ditch the ship" Yang declared.
"Agreed. Get lost in Mantle and buy ourselves some time" Qrow said.
"I'm telling you; my sister can take us to Ironwood" Weiss insisted.
Blake, who has been staring out of a window, looks over her shoulder and speaks up "Uh, Weiss?"
Weiss walks over to Blake's side and looks out the window with her as a familiar voice plays from a giant screen "A reminder. Failure to cooperate with Atlas military personnel is a punishable offense. If your sector is under lockdown…".
Weiss looked shocked "Winter?".
"No offense, Weiss. I'm not sure that's a good idea anymore" Qrow said.
Weiss tenses her shoulders and turns to Qrow, fists clenched "There's obviously something very wrong. If we can just talk to her, then we-".
Qrow cuts her off "Look, I'm not even sure we should be talking to Ironwood until we know exactly what's going on with Mantle".
"Kat, any luck?" Julius asked.
Katrina put her scroll down in disappointment "Nothing on my end either."
"But-" Weiss began but is interrupted again
"Everyone, calm down" Maria said before she sighs "I know someone who can help with both".
They were contacted again, the woman sounded angry now "Manta 5-1, you are to make your-".
Maria shuts off the radio in annoyance "Geez, lady, take a hint!".
After landing the stolen Manta in Mantle, Maria cautiously exits an alley by slowly shuffling along with her cane. When she sees the coast is clear, she picks up her cane and walks normally, and everyone else exits the alley with her. In the distance, a small group of Atlas soldiers run down a street in the direction that Maria and the others came from. The group begins walking through Mantle together. Trucks drive past, and Atlesian Knight-200s stand on various sidewalks. A small child places a poster of a white-haired woman on a street lamp. There is a hologram board displaying news articles with the following headlines
"Missing Journalist Found Slain"
"Election Imminent: Mantle Hometown Hero vs Atlesian Tycoon"
"Embargo: The Right Call? Pressure and Criticism Continues to Mount on Council"
"Outer Wall Damaged Resources Stalled"
"What on earth is going on here?" Julius asked himself.
This definitely isn't how I remember Atlas. Summer agreed.
"Come on now, hurry! It shouldn't be much of a walk" Maria ordered.
"Is this many soldiers normal?" Jaune asked.
"No. At least, I didn't think so" Weiss answered.
"I mean, I knew there were a few soldiers" Katrina said, "But definitely not this many."
At the back of the group, Yang notices a whirring sound and stops to take a look "Huh?".
There is a small drone hovering to her right. The camera part of the drone lifts up, focused on her. When Yang shrugs it off and resumes walking, the drone follows her. She stops again and looks at it in surprise and confusion. As she leans in to take a closer look, the drone takes a photograph of her face with a bright flash, which Yang recoils from. In response, Yang kicks the drone, knocking it out of the air and causing it to tumble into the street, where it is struck by a car.
Yang cringed at the drone's destruction "Ooh…" She turns to see everyone else in the group staring at her. She awkwardly shifts her posture with a sheepish smile "Maybe we should pick up the pace".
"What is it with all these people down here just going along with the General?" Hector asked.
"You have to remember; the Kingdom had just lost the Great War. The people of Mantle needed a sign of a brighter future, and that sign was Atlas. After all, a home in the clouds is as bright as it gets" Maria said.
They look up at the City of Atlas, while the earlier broadcast from Winter plays once again nearby. A pair of trucks drive by with miners, covered in black material, sitting in the beds. Posters depicting a white-haired woman are plastered across one of the buildings that the trucks pass, with the text "PROTECT MANTLE" printed on them.
Novus paused to look at the poster; he couldn't explain it, but there was something about that woman that looked vaguely familiar.
Winter was back on the screens "We are here for your safety. Thank you for your cooperation".
Blake and Nora watch the second truck as it drives by. Nora crosses her arms and looking away "Unless you're the one having to look up at it".
Blake looked sad "This whole city, it just seems awful".
A drunken voice calls out from nearby "Yeah?" A drunk man comes stumbling down from a porch "You don't like it here? There's plenty of space out in the tundra".
Blake sighs "Sorry, I didn't mean to-".
"Atlas is the greatest Kingdom in the world, alright?!" The Drunk man shouted.
Ruby stepped forward to confront him "Hey!".
Blake steps forward ahead of Ruby, speaking quietly to her "We can't cause a scene".
The drunk man's equally drunk buddy speaks up "The embargo... The embargo's got us in a rough patch. But it'll blow over, you'll see".
"We try and help the other Kingdoms, and this is what happens? I say let 'em rot!" The first one said loudly.
"I apologize. I didn't mean to insult you" Blake said.
The drunk man spits on the ground, glaring at Blake "Stupid Faunus like you wouldn't unders-".
Before he could finish, Julius lashed out, throwing his knife which pinned the man to the wall by his shirt. Julius then teleported in front of the man and got in his face, his eye glowing orange; after what happened with Adam, no one threatened Blake in front of him and got away with it.
"Try it again" he threatened, "and I might consider aiming somewhere else."
"Julius" Blake said, "He's not worth it."
Julius sighed, then pulled his knife out, then summoned a glyph that threw the man into a dumpster. The group flees while a pair of Atlesian Knight-200s investigate. The group approaches a building with a glowing green plus symbol above its front door.
The side door opens, and a Faunus with a prosthetic arm exits, waving cheerfully to the man who speaks to her from inside "And no more heavy-lifting, yah hear?".
"Ah, it's good to see you again, old friend" Maria said.
An older man is sitting behind the desk, shuffling things around in a drawer. Maria clears her throat, startling him, and he lifts his head to look at her, shutting the drawer. Maria smiles at him.
Ah, yes, yes. Have we met?" The man asked.
"Well, this is off to a fantastic start" Ren said.
"Cybernetic optical implants" Maria began as she points to her eyes "You adjust them. Every ten years or so?".
The man stares at her for a few moments before throwing his hands cheerfully into the air "Maria!" The robotic chair he is sitting in begins walking out from behind the desk "Yes, with the cybernetic optical implants! I adjust them every ten years or so". He offers his hand to her and leads her to an examination table while laughing "Oh wow, has it been that long already?".
"Ah, I know. I age like a fine wine. Would've been here sooner if I hadn't run into these jokers. At the time, I thought they might need my guidance while fighting a little old Sphinx" Maria said.
"Oh, did they?" The man asked.
Qrow clears his throat "And this is?".
"So impatient. I didn't think I'd need to introduce one of Atlas' finest minds" Maria said.
"Working in a place like this?" Yang asked. The building creaks, and a ceiling tile falls to the floor.
"He likes to keep a low profile. Something I've come to realize none of you know anything about" Maria said.
"You can call me Pietro" The man introduced himself.
"Finest heart, too. This pharmacy is just where he volunteers when he's not building the future of Atlas alongside Ironwood and Samuel Hayden, up in the clouds" Maria explained.
"Oh, it's stuffy up there. Down here, I get to help the locals and have a little fun. I'm currently working on shoes that make you dance. Wanna try 'em on?" Pietro asked.
Nora looked excited "YES!".
Yang steps in "Before we get to that, we were wondering if you could help us. We came to Atlas hoping to talk to General Ironwood, but um…".
"What exactly has been happening here?" Blake asked.
Pietro coughs "Well, the Fall of Beacon took a toll on all of us. James was no different. I couldn't tell you exactly what it was he saw there, but it changed him. He's…".
"He's scared" Qrow finished.
"Paranoid would be the more appropriate term. You have to understand, it wasn't just the Grimm, or the mysterious new monsters that appeared. Someone completely dismantled Atlas security code, made it their play-thing, and made us look like traitors to some and buffoons to everyone else. Whoever managed to do that is either a genius or one of our own. I fear the answer may be both, and so does the general" Pietro explained.
"Maybe Atlas isn't as safe as we thought" Ren said.
Hector scoffed, "That's the understatement of the century."
"After we came all this way, we can't just leave, can we?" Oscar asked.
Weiss stepped forward "How does the council feel about all of this? Or Winter Schnee? Do you know anything about her?".
"Well, the council's so scared, they'll agree to whatever he wants. Though, some representatives from Mantle… Wait, you're… You're Weiss Schnee!" Pietro realized. Weiss gasps and steps back, with her friends looking nervous.
Yang stepped forward with her prosthetic arm outstretched "Wait, what was it that you were trying to say about Mantle?".
Pietro looked at the prosthetic "You painted it".
Yang withdrew her arm, confused "What?".
"Is everything okay?" Ruby asked.
"You're Team RWBY!" Pietro said happily.
The Team RWBY girls look at each other in confusion with the leader speaking "You know us?!".
"Oh, my girl, I do. I most certainly do. And I feel like such a dunce for not recognizing you sooner. My daughter's told me so much about you" Pietro said before he looked at Novus, "And I certainly remember you, Novus Sureya. Seeing you around here again makes me feel safer already."
Novus nodded in reply.
"Hm, I see you're still a bit on the mute side." Pietro then said. Then, he noticed, Julius and Hector "You two were on Team RHPD. I remember you from the tournament."
"That was temporary" Julius replied, "We're Team JRHD now."
"I see"
"Wait who is your daughter?" Ruby asked.
Their conversation is interrupted by the sound of an alarm and people screaming. Outside, civilians are running, and the lights from the street lamps have turned red.
"Ah, trouble" Jaune said as the group runs outside.
Pietro reached out to them "Wait!".
Everyone in the group draws their weapons. Upon drawing her katana, Blake looks at the broken blade, exhaling sharply before folding the blade down to wield it as a gun.
"I guess the city defenses aren't doing much" Oscar said.
Nora glanced at Ren "Somehow, that doesn't surprise me".
Down the road from them, growling is heard, and an Atlesian Knight-200 is thrown against a lamp post. Another robot is thrown, and three more back up into view, shooting at Sabyrs, which tackle and destroy them one by one.
"Well, we didn't come this far to fail now!" Ruby declared.
Ruby changes Crescent Rose into scythe form and aims the sniper barrel toward the Sabyrs, which finish destroying the Atlesian Knight-200s and charge toward her and her friends. Everyone readies their weapons. Yang charges forth using recoil from her gauntlet, followed by Ren launching himself forward.
"Hey!" Nora shouts before making Jaune help her to launch forward by using his shield.
After Yang uppercuts a Sabyr, Ren lands on another one's back, stabbing his guns' blades into it, and it leaps into the air to knock him off, only for Nora to slam it to the ground with her hammer. Jaune beheads a Sabyr, and when a second one leaps at him, he blocks with his shield and stabs it just above its collarbone.
Qrow slices two Sabyrs in half, leans back to dodge a third as it attempts to tackle him. He transforms Harbinger into scythe mode and uses it to hook the Grimm as it makes another attempt to tackle him. As he finishes spinning his scythe, he plants its blade into the ground and punches another Sabyr in the head, then uppercuts it into the air. He then kicks Harbinger upward, catches it, straightens the blade, impales the Sabyr, and slices another one that leaps at him from behind the deceased Sabyr's smoke.
While Qrow shoots at more Sabyrs, another one turns its attention to Oscar. It charges him, and he leaps into the air and stabs at its skull with Ozpin's cane. While he watches it die, another one leaps at him from behind, only to be sniped by Ruby, who smiles and nods to Oscar.
Ruby transforms her rifle back into scythe mode and runs forward. As a Sabyr leaps at her, she does a flip and slices it in half. She continues running, fires Crescent Rose, and begins using her Semblance to speed down the street, before appearing to split into three blurs of red that go around a Sabyr, which splits apart with a roar. The blurs converge and transform back into Ruby, who stabs the tip of her scythe into the asphalt, swinging forward on it and landing on the ground. She fires Crescent Rose and lets go of it, sending it spinning through a Sabyr and into the air. She leaps onto and kicks off of another Sabyr, spinning and catching her scythe. She fires Crescent Rose to keep up momentum and slams the blade into the ground, sending out a shockwave that takes out two more Sabyrs.
Julius, Novus, and Hector formed a ring with their backs to each other. They fought guns blazing. Novus then switched out his shotgun for the chainsaw and added gravity dust to the tank, causing the blade to glow a purple color. He then threw the active chainsaw towards the closest Grimm, and it spun in a purple circle of death as it flew through the Sabyr, then flew off to the next, and the next, and the next, until all the Grimm around them were killed. Novus raised his hand, summoning the chainsaw back to him.
Hector whistled in admiration "Neat trick."
Julius nodded in agreement "Let's keep going!"
Meanwhile, a large group runs down the road where Katrina faces them, a smug looks on her face. Chuckling, she reaches for her katana and shoots forward with her speed semblance, cutting down each of the Grimm. She stops at the other end behind the disintegrating bodies and shakes her head in disappointment "Aw, that was too easy."
After Weiss slices through a Sabyr, four more come running toward her from another street. She casts four black glyphs, using them to levitate the Grimm. As they flail helplessly in the air, Ren leaps from Sabyr to Sabyr, cutting each of them in half. Meanwhile, another Sabyr attempts to run up behind Yang while she finishes one off, only to be shot by Blake, who smiles and nods to Yang.
Julius headshots another Grimm before turning to Blake "Behind you!"
Suddenly, another Sabyr leaps into the air behind Blake, who gasps and turns to face it. Before she can fight back, a green laser fires from the sky, cutting the Grimm in half. More lasers shoot from above, striking down the remaining Grimm. The alarms throughout the city stop, and the street lamps change back to their normal color. Everyone watches as a figure with long hair flies into view, with green jets coming from her feet. She twirls in the air and slowly descends.
Pietro and Maria walk outside to join the group, while Ruby stares at the girl before gasping and gaining a look of recognition "Penny!".
It was indeed Penny, she looked a little different from last time they saw her, but there was no mistaking it. It really was her…and Novus stood in total shock.
Pietro smiled "Darling, why don't you say hello to your friends?"
Penny turns to look in the direction her father's voice came from. Upon seeing Ruby, she gasps and her eyes shine with joy. Ruby smiles and puts her weapon away.
Penny leans forward a little "Sal…".
Ruby looked confused "Huh?".
Penny lowers to one knee as a high-pitched charging noise is heard "U...".
Ruby got nervous "Uh…?".
Penny begins gleefully sprinting toward Ruby at high speed "Tations!".
Penny leaps and activates her jets, rocketing forward and tackling Ruby, who flails her hands around in front of her and screams, eyes wide. Upon crashing to the ground, Ruby groans in pain. Everyone else puts their weapons away and approaches the pair. Penny pops back up onto her feet, while Ruby slowly rises with her hand on her head.
"It is such a pleasure to see you all again!" Penny said happily.
Ruby began to speak tearfully "Penny, I… I-I thought you…".
"Died? I guess, in a manner of speaking, she did. But we were able to recover her core from Amity Arena once it had made its way back to Atlas. It took me some time, but…" Pietro began.
"I'm as good as new! Better, even! And now I'm the official protector of the city!" Penny said.
"That's my girl. We're not going to let a little ripping to shreds stop us, are we?" Pietro laughs, then coughs.
"No sir!" Penny said while knocking on her head with a clanking sound.
"This is…" Weiss began with a smile
"Strangely wholesome" Blake said with a smile of her.
"Sounds like Penny to me" Yang said.
"There's someone else here, too" Pietro said, "Surely you remember Novus here."
Penny whipped around to face Novus, a look of pure joy appearing on her face. She ran up to him and grabbed him in a hug "DAMIAN! I'm so happy to see you again!"
Novus didn't move, but everyone else looked confused.
"Wait," Jaune asked, "Did you just say his name's Damian?"
Penny looked up at Novus and smiled "Don't you know it's me?"
Novus slowly reached up and pulled his helmet off to everyone's surprise, revealing his scarred yet handsome face underneath. He stared dumbfounded at Penny for a few moments, then, slowly brought his hand up to her face. Penny rested her head in his hand as she continued smiling "It's still me, Damian."
Penny then leaned up and briefly kissed him on the lips, then whispered "I still love you."
After the kiss, Novus started to break down in tears and lovingly embraced Penny, who happily returned the hug.
Then to everyone's utter shock, for the first time in almost a year, Novus spoke.
"I love you too, Penny."
"Oh my God…he talks!" Julius exclaimed, "Good to have you back, ol' buddy!"
Everyone else could only watch in silence at the scene in front of them
Pulling out from the hug, Penny excitedly grabs Novus's shoulders "We have so many things to catch up about. I cannot wait!" Just as Penny finishes her sentence with a grin, the city's alarms begin blaring again "It seems we will have to wait"
Penny bounces backward and salutes. As she charges her jets and then rockets off into the sky, she continues speaking quickly to Ruby and Novus even as she takes off.
"Let's talk more later! I can't wait to hear about all of your adventures and tell you how I have been and I am just very excited about the whole experience!" Penny shouts.
"I can't tell if I completely understand what's going on or have, like, a million questions" Nora said.
Pietro was on his way back to the pharmacy "And thankfully, I have about a thousand answers. But let's get out of this weather first".
Maria followed Pietro "I have absolutely no idea who that child was. Is she important somehow?".
"So, your real name's Damian?" Hector asked Novus.
Novus nodded, though his voice sounded slightly rough due to not having used it for so long "Yes."
Julius stroked his chin "Interesting. Also good to know I'm not the only one with a messed up face."
This only earned him a pointed look from Damian.
"That was unexpected" Jaune said.
Ren smiled "Never a dull moment".
"But I wouldn't say unwelcome. I was honestly expecting things to go a lot rougher" Qrow said.
The group begins following Maria and Pietro. However, as they walk, Ren and Katrina sense something behind them. Before anyone can react, several boluses wrap around Nora, Oscar, Jaune and Ren, the spheres at the ends of the ropes locking into place with Gravity Dust. Blake turns to look back at the commotion, just in time for all of Team RWBY to be caught. Katrina, Julius, and Novus, were the last to go down. As Ruby lands, the Relic of Knowledge comes unhooked from her belt and clatters to the ground. Qrow draws his sword and looks for their unseen enemy, before being captured himself. Five uniform-clad people come out of hiding and surround the group.
"Good work, team" The man who looked to be the leader said.
"Hey! What's going on?!" Oscar asked.
Qrow looked at the leader "Hey, pal! I'm a licensed Huntsman! Just helped save everyone?".
The looks down at Qrow, twirling a horseshoe on his finger. He puts the horseshoe away and picks up Qrow's weapon. The other uniformed operatives begin gathering everyone else's weapons, while Atlesian Knight-200s approach, and the operatives hand the confiscated weapons to the robots. The leader then approaches Ruby, picks up the Relic, and looks at it.
"Hm. Let's get them loaded into the next transport" He ordered.
"Enough!" Novus yelled, managing to stand up in front of them. Then raising his arms, pulled them apart and snapped the boluses in two. Then, Julius teleported out of his restraints, drawing his pistol as Hector materialized next to them, having used his Semblance to evade capture.
"This has gone far enough" Julius said. Suddenly, one of them, a girl with her hair done in a V on her head, shot forward, knocking Hector and Julius to the ground, but Novus remained unmoving and grabbed the girl's wrist, ready to snap it.
"Let her go" the leader said, "I recognize you from the General's instructions. He can come with us, but only him."
"Please! We were just trying to help!" Ruby pleaded as Novus let the girl go.
"What is the meaning of this?" Pietro demanded with cough "What are the Ace-Ops even doing down here in Mantle?".
"Ace-Ops?" Ruby asked.
"Doctor, good to see you. Well, we heard a report of an unauthorized ship making an unauthorized landing, followed by an unauthorized use of weapons by unlicensed Huntsmen" The man listed.
Maria turns and walks away as Pietro speaks "If we could just talk this out-".
The leader tossing the Relic from one hand to the other "They'll be able to talk this out once they get to Atlas. Let's move out!".
"Wait!" Katrina called, "I know someone in the military!"
"Do you now?" the leader asked.
Katrina frantically nodded "Does the name Harriet Bree mean anything to you?!"
The other looked in surprise as the girl with the V hair looked over and gasped: "Katrina!?"
Katrina raised her eyebrows in a mixture of recognition and surprise "What the hell did you do to your hair?!"
Harriet looked to the others "Let her go."
"You know her?" asked the boy with a wolf tail.
Harriet nodded "She's my sister."
"Your WHAT?!" exclaimed everyone present.
The leader stooped down and undid her bindings, then helped her up "She can come with us as well then. The others, however, still need to be sent to Ironwood. Relax, I'll make sure they're not harmed."
A few minutes later, the gang, minus Katrina and Novus, was placed in the back of a prison transport.
"Now, this… This is much closer to what I was expecting" Qrow said.
The back doors of the transport are slammed shut.