Chapter 78

Can I just say my job is killing me. I just want uni to start so I can get on with my life ugh. Here's a new chapter! Also I finally got around to ordering P5 Royals so I'm excited for that to come!

'This is your fault! Do you hear me!' Cordovin screeched, waving the only functioning limb of the robot at the circle of friends in a vain showing of indignance. In the distance, the massive Leviathan dipped its head into the water, diving below the surface and sending tidal waves cascading from the entirely non-violent movement. Jaye decided not to think about the damage that could be caused by an actual attack from the gargantuan Grimm, poking his head out the door of the airship to address Cordovin.

'Right, because you bringing out a giant robot to capture one stolen airship is entirely the fault of a bunch of students and a single drunk crow.' Jaye rolled his eyes at the glass of the robot where he assumed the woman was. 'But you know what you're right. Sorry for wrecking the thing you were using to kill us.'

'You forgot two assassins and two assassins in training.' Kamina said, emerging from the trees with the two girls in tow. Yang ran forwards to her sister to embrace her, while Kamina stared anxiously out at the Grimm with a weird cross between a grin and a grimace plastered across his face. 'Shit, what's my face look like right now? I can't decide whether to smile or cry.'

'Like it always does; the inside of an asshole.' Jaye replied, folding his arms as he stared at the Grimm. Regardless of what he said, he shuddered when he caught sight of the horrific creature, and dread started to pool at the bottom of his stomach as the monster advanced on the city. Kamina caught sight of the robot still struggling in vain against the exploded cannon.

'What the heck happened here?' He asked, raising an eyebrow at the boy, and Jaye shrugged.

'Your guess is as good as mine. I was down in the base blowing up their airships, though I guess we could really use said airships right now.' He shook his head helplessly at the Grimm lurking beneath the surface. 'One of the few times I wish I hadn't done something so helpful.'

'You know, I guess then it kinda IS your fault, since I'm betting one of the reasons she pulled out the giant robot anyway is because you blew up her ships.' Kamina laughed brilliantly at the boy, slapping him on the back. 'Good job, you doomed a whole city.'

'Hey, give yourself some credit, you helped a bunch.'

'I know, I'm proud of it.' Kamina said, turning back to the Grimm and contorting his face into a weird look again. 'Nope, still can't decide whether to cry or smile. It's so cool yet so devastating!'

'In a weird way I kind of agree with you.' Artemis said, pacing up behind the boys as she put her bow away. 'That is insanely cool, yet insanely bad for us.'

'It's awesome, like a Kaiju or something.' Apollo added, and Jaye gave them an "are you serious" look.

'Whose side are you lot on?' He asked, folding his arms across his chest.

'My side!' The fox boy declared, jabbing his chest with his thumb. 'All jokes aside, everyone on the ship, we're getting out of here!'

'That's what I said!'

'No one listens to you. I have to say it; it sounds better coming from me anyway.' The fox boy's ears perked up as a hideous shriek came from under the water, the sound so loud it eradiated cleanly from under the water's surface. 'That is not a happy shout.'

'Was that a giant Grimm?' Yang asked, taking in the sight of the robot stuck arm first into the sea bed, and Weiss turned to face her teammates.

'Yes, and we just ruined the only thing capable of stopping it.' She said. They all stared at each other in silence for a few seconds, basking in the solemnity of the situation, and Kamina cleared his throat loudly.

'So… all aboard?'

'I'm so sorry.' Blake apologized, hands curled up in her lap as her cat ears dropped in shame. Yang kept the faunus girl's hand clutched in her own, as if afraid she would disappear again.

'Don't be. This isn't on you.' She said, squeezing the girl tightly as she protested, looking up as Ruby placed her hands over theirs.

'You're safe. That's all that matters.' She said simply, giving the cat girl a wide smile. She hugged the faunus girl tightly, nearly falling over as the airship shuddered. Maria gave the pilot a dirty look.

'Can't you hold a damn airship straight boy? Who taught you how to fly?' She scoffed, and Jaye flipped her off over his shoulder.

'Firstly, I taught me how to fly. And secondly, it ain't my fault some old lady didn't learn evasive maneuvers and took a beam of lighting dust to the nose.' He said, swearing as the altitude dropped again. 'If this thing falls out of the sky, I'm blaming you Maria.'

'I got your picture I'm coming with you, dear Maria count me in.' Kamina sang quietly, musing to himself as the two bickered.

'Count me out. I'm good mate.' Jaye snorted, and Maria snorted right back.

'Wonderful, no one wants you around anyway so it works out great.' Her face turned serious, giving the cabin a dark look. 'I suppose I have to be the bad guy and say it; getting the lamp to Atlas is still our top priority. And right now, we have the perfect opportunity to head straight for it. We may not get another chance like this.'

The morality of the situation weighed on everyone's minds, all except for Jaye, who was mumbling to himself: "oh sure when Maria says it they listen, but when I say let's go nooooooooooooo I'm invisible", while fighting the temptation to turn the airship sideways and dump everyone out. Weiss turned haughtily to the old lady.

'No way!' The heiress declared folding her arms underneath her chest. 'We can't leave, not like this!'

'Um, no we totally can.' Jaye said. 'It's a free sky and I can fly wherever I want.'

'It's like you said, a Huntress is supposed to protect others to the bitter end.' Blake said, balling her hands into fists, and Jaye took a break from staring across the empty sky to stare at the girls.

'You can't be serious.' He said, and Ruby gave Maria a "what can you do about it" shrug. 'Oi!'

'Jaune, can you and Ren be ready to mask our ship?'

'Don't ignore me!'

'I think we can manage.'

'Got a few ideas?'

'Oi!'

'I've got one.' The smol girl said, and Jaye made a sound of annoyance at being ignored by everyone at the same time, rolling his eyes at the once empty sky that was now flooded with Grimm.

'I'll tell you where you can put that idea.' He muttered to himself, his words trailing off into angry mumbling as he set course for the Leviathan, folding his arms across his chest as they made a beeline straight for the massive Grimm. 'Like I'm not even effing here.'

Roaring in fury, the Leviathan far ahead had risen above the water once more, its massive frame visible to the entire city ahead dreading its arrival. With a mechanical whirr, numerous pillars rose from the seabed, bursting through the water surface and sending pearls of seawater cascading around. Rising to full height in a matter of seconds, they activated with a quiet hum as hard light dust spread out in a ring around the base and the city, forming several layers of dust walls surrounding the city and its residents. Either undaunted or unknowing, the massive Grimm advanced uncaringly until it hit the dust walls with a rumble. It roared in defiance and confusion, staring with hatred at the translucent honeycombed walls now denying entry to its new feeding ground. It backed up a few massive paces, growling in confusion at the shields now generated around the city, and the Atlas military base had finally managed to get a few of its fighters into the air. They circled the massive Grimm, their sights focusing in on its head.

'Target stopped. Engaging, over!' The pilots called over the radio, releasing a group of missiles into the creature's head. With only two ships in the air, it was difficult to mount an effective offence at the gargantuan creature, and the missiles exploded relatively harmlessly against the dirty white exoskeleton covering its face. The Leviathan roared in anger, its voice reverberating across the entire region, and the air suddenly filled with the smell of dew as thunder crackled in the mouth of the creature. The gills surrounding its neck lighting up in a bright orange, a pillar of flame and electricity shot out from the beast's throat, slamming into the hard-light dust wall with an incredible force. Holding steady, the shield looked as if it would hold against the onslaught, but whether by coincidence or intelligence the creature began to turn its head towards the pillars generating the shields. Jaye narrowed his eyes at the exposed machinery, wondering why the shield didn't cover the parts like it did for Cordovin's mech, and realized with horror that it would be destroyed by the beam. Helpless to stop it, he could only watch as the pillar of fire burnt straight through the shield generators, dispersing the first layer of shields and letting the Leviathan through to the next.

The destruction of the first shield layer a big blow, and the creature potentially having discovered the true weakness of the incredible defence created by Atlas, the radios crackled to life as the pilots started calling for evacuation procedures. Ruby snatched the microphone off the dashboard.

'No wait! We can stop it!' She yelled, shaking the mic in her hand as if it would get her message across more seriously.

'Who is this? Identify yourself!'

'I'm a Huntress. My team and I are heading to the Leviathan and can weaken it for you to attack!' She said, earning herself incredulous stares from the rest of the party. Jaune leaned forwards to the girl.

'We can?'

'I can.' The smol girl declared, turning to face the blond. Jaye cleared his throat.

'What with your laser eyes? Look at the size of that thing!' He waved a hand at the creature before them, nearly swerving the airship as he jerked the stick in his excitement. 'No, we're better off evacuating and getting the hell out of here. We go down there and get Jaune's sister and her family and vanish.'

'Ruby, when I said trial by fire-!' Maria began, but the red-hooded girl cut her off.

'I did it at Beacon and at the farm.'

'You really think you can do it now?' Weiss asked, and the girl cast her eyes down to the floor.

'I don't have a choice.' Ruby said.

'Yeah you do. I just gave you one: get Jaune's sister and her family and get the hell out of here!' Jaye said, and Ruby shook her head at him. He studied her quietly for a long moment, giving her an exasperated sigh and turning his head back to the skies ahead. 'Ruby, I don't believe in coming in clutch at the last moment just because you need to. I believe in skill and training, coming in clutch is a skill like any other, and those take time to achieve. This… power of yours, it's incredible like nothing I've ever seen. But it's also unpredictable, and as you are now you can barely use it.'

'I can do it.' The girl said, balling her hands into fists, staring resolutely at the boy in the pilot seat. 'I know I can.'

'Can you?' Jaye muttered, and the girl tried to smile reassuringly at him. Jaye yanked himself out of the pilot seat, stalking towards her. He gestured at Maria to take over, pacing into the back of the airship.

'I won't fly us to our deaths. You can do it if you're so inclined.' He declared, picking up his blades from the back of the cabin. He slotted them into his belt, turning to the door and placing a hand on it.

'We're not going to die Jaye. I need you to trust me, just like I trust you.' Ruby started, but he cut her off with a hand.

'You trust me because I've given you a reason to. I've trained relentlessly all my life to do the things you expect me to be able to do. You barely learned about this power a week ago!'

'You trusted me back with the cannon, didn't you?'

'That's different. That was straightforward, and you're a good enough shot with a suitable semblance to pull it off. I didn't blindly trust you; I weighed your odds and knew they were good.' He grimaced at the girl. 'I don't risk lives for no reason.'

'There is a reason. A good one.' Ruby started, but Jaye shook his head.

'I ain't paying for your funeral. I've paid for two funerals in my lifetime. That's two too many.' He turned slowly to her, letting his hand fall to his side. He locked eyes with the girl, dead serious, and she stared back just as hard. 'I don't need another.'

'Promise you won't have to.'

'That's what she said to me too. She promised she'd be here with me no matter what.' There was no doubt who he was talking about, and the girls flinched internally as they realized he was still raw from the loss. He was still grieving, even if it seemed like he wasn't, and Yang mentally slapped herself for not realizing it. 'She was more skilled than you, she lived longer than you, she's done more insane things than you. She promised me she'd be here for a long time, but now I'm going to wait a long time to see her again.' He took a deep breath, his eyes hardening at the girl. 'Don't make us wait for you.'

'There are innocent people down there who will die if I don't act.' Ruby declared, her lips trembling as she continued to fight the boy. 'They'll wait just as long for their loved ones if I let them die!'

The bang resounded through the airship, shocking everyone as the raven-haired boy slammed his fist into the metal wall of the cabin. Ruby clammed up immediately, watching the furious boy in silence. He raised his eyes to hers once more, his mouth curling into a hardened grimace.

'I don't care about them!' He hissed, seizing the girl by the shoulders and lifting her off her feet. Ruby made a sound of alarm as he shook her, and Yang stepped forwards to the pair. Blake halted her with a hand, keeping a firm grip on the blonde's arm as she shook her head. Jaye let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. 'I care about you. They can die for all I care, you can't!' He cast his gaze briefly around the people in the room. 'None of you can! I don't want to see anyone else I care about die as long as I can do something to stop it!' He loosened his grip, letting her feet back down onto the ground. 'We can leave. Right now. We can do what we need to do and move on; you don't have to risk your life for these people who mean nothing to you!'

'You're right. I don't.' Ruby said, her lips still trembling as she touched the boy's face gently. She smiled at him, chucking gently as he refused to meet her gaze. 'But I want to. I know you're hurting; I've been there before. When our mother… Yang and I were devastated. Indigo, she must have meant so much to you. Heck we barely even knew her, and we miss her. What more you?' She raised the boy to her eye level, and Jaye looked away sullenly. 'But you can't let that stop you from wanting to do things for the greater good. A Huntress is supposed to protect others to the bitter end. That's the creed my mother lived by, so I'll live my life like she did, even if it kills me.'

'That's a stupid way to live your life.' He muttered, and Ruby hugged the stoic boy tightly.

'Then we're both idiots. Stupid, foolish idiots who love too much.' She laughed brilliantly. 'You're such a horrid assassin; your heart is too tender for that sort of business.' Jaye gave her a quizzical look, and the girl giggled at him. 'Oh, don't give me that. You told us the full story, didn't you? If you were really the stone-cold assassin you were before, you would've killed those twins without a second thought. If you were even half as uncaring, you wouldn't have gone back to save them. The fact that they're still alive is proof you have a good heart. A heart for those you can save.'

'No idea what you're talking about.' Jaye said, turning abruptly away from the smol girl and putting himself down on the benches in the airship. 'If you die, I'll kill you myself, got it?'

'I'll be too dead to care!' Ruby laughed, and in that moment Jaye's mind flashed back to Beacon. Back to Velvet, who Damian had almost killed. Maybe actually killed; till now he had yet to see her again, so he had no way to know for sure. He grimaced even harder to himself, setting his eyes down to the metal floor. The young leader noticed his reaction, placing a hand gently on his shoulder. 'I promise I'll make it back. Swear it.'

'You better.' He muttered, and the radio crackled to life with an electronic hiss.

'Manta 5-1, your ship is currently flagged as hostile. You will receive no support, over.' The voice on the other end said, the fear and uncertainty clear in his voice, but Ruby continued undaunted towards the massive creature.

'Fine, we'll do it alone if we have to.' She declared, raising the microphone to her lips. 'We can hit it while it's stopped at the next barrier. Ren you're up!'

Jaune placed his hand on the ninja boy's shoulder, boosting his aura to cover the ship. Their vehicle turned desaturated as they flew under the Grimm radar, Ren's semblance keeping them all calm and unknown to the hellish creatures of the god of destruction. Swerving their way through the perilous airspace, the multitude of Grimm and Atlas forces currently in combat barred any clear path to the shield wall ahead. Finally bursting through the pack, the precious few minutes it took clearly costly as the Leviathan had reached the second shield wall. Stopping once more at the honeycomb wall, the creature clearly had more intelligence than they had given it credit for, as it charged its flame breath once more. Jaye shot to his feet.

'Too close, pull up!' He yelled, and Maria laid into the controls with a passion. Pulling up just short of the creature, the beam it fired from its jaws missed them by a hair as it set in to the shield wall. Diverting its beam once more to the generators on either side, it was clear that the creature had figured out the effective way to break through the shielding, and that made it even more dangerous than before. Letting out a gasp, Ren and Jaune fell to their knees from the effort, the effects of the fight with the robot clearly taking their toll.

'Damn it!'

'That's all I've got.'

'It's on the move again!' Blake called, gesturing out the windows as the Leviathan began its advance to the last wall. 'We need to stop it!'

'What do we do?' Yang asked her little sister helplessly, and the girl turned slowly to her white-haired partner. She gave her a look, one that spelled trouble, but with a whole city's lives on the line Weiss couldn't find it in herself to say no.

'Eyes on us ugly!' Nora yelled, firing off her rocket launcher at the massive Grimm. Artemis and Apollo fired dust arrows at it, denoting relatively harmlessly against its exoskeleton, and the Leviathan roared in defiance. It turned its beady eyes on the airship still firing on its head, and the twins promptly detonated several dust arrows in its exposed eye sockets. Howling in rage, it promptly turned towards the ship.

'Is it working?' Blake said, and the twins swore as the Grimm screamed at them.

'I think that answers your question.' Apollo said, sliding the door shut as Maria turned the airship away from the Grimm, watching its massive head swivel around to track them. Blake rushed over to the white-haired girl crouched in the centre of the airship, sword buried in a glyph and eyes shut in concentration.

Atop a Queen Lancer summon

'Okay, okay you can do this.' Ruby quietly panicked to herself, tilting her body to keep balance above the glowing apparition. 'You have to do this!'

The Grimm summon slowed to a halt in front of the Leviathan, and Ruby felt a pang of fear shoot through her chest. She screwed her eyes shut, trying her best to focus, and took a deep breath. The sounds around her became amplified as she expanded her awareness, blocking out the sounds of battle and the Queen Lancer's wingbeats beside her ear. She focused on the sea, the gently rumble of the waves, and flinched as her sister's voice appeared in her ear. She yanked the earpiece out of her ear, tossing it carelessly into the ocean. Refocusing herself, she searched through her memories. Images flashed before her eyes; her father, her family, Zwei, Beacon. She smiled gently to herself as her team appeared behind her eyelids, smiling gently at her. The Vytal festival, Penny, and finally Pyrrha. She gasped as a horde of terrible memories came flooding back to her; Jaune, training silently on his own, watching a video Pyrrha had made for him to train when she wasn't around. The sweet girl, bless her soul, pained the smol girl deeply, and she flinched as she remembered Yang, arm severed, unconscious after the Fall. Pyrrha, lit up in flames. Penny, lifeless. Her eyes opened slowly as she felt a horrible stench blow past her face, barely stifling her scream as the Leviathan came face to face with her again. The twins launched more arrows into the creature, swearing as it blinked, and the projectiles deflected off its eyelids. Still its eyes remained fixed on the girl, and Ruby glanced down in horror at the lamp still attached to her belt. The Leviathan raised its immense jaws, lunging down towards the girl, and Yang screamed out for her sister as Jaye flung himself out of the ship.

'MINA!' He yelled, and the orange-clad assassin apparated beside him. Seizing him by the arm, they vanished in a burst of orange, reappearing with a fury as they buried their blades into the creature's face. It snarled in pain, raising its head as the boys stabbed it repeatedly. Undaunted it reached for the girl again, and Ruby raised her hands in a hopeless attempt to protect herself.

'JINN!'

Time stopped once more, the once nearly invisible wings of the lancer slowing to a halt. Ruby heaved a sigh of relief, not turning around as she heard the clinking of chains behind her.

'I'm sorry, I don't have a question for you.' She said, turning meekly to face the blue woman floating with her hand on her chin. 'I just, needed a little more time.'

'I know.' Jinn said, scowling gently at the girl. 'And while you don't seek knowledge, just this once, I will give it freely.' She leaned forwards to the girl. 'I will not allow you to use me without a question again.' She raised an eyebrow, a sly grin breaking across her face. 'Even if this was clever.'

Ruby thanked the misty woman quietly, turning back to face the Grimm still frozen in place. She spotted the boys perched atop its carapace, giggling as she caught sight of Jaye's face mid-stab. Eyes wide, face screwed up with effort, he was a sight to behold with his wakizashi clutched in hand. On the other side, Kamina was attached to the face of the Leviathan, claws buried deep in its body with the shit-eating grin never leaving his face. She burst out in a fit of giggles, feeling the happiness flooding through her body.

Bad things may have happened to her, horrible things, but she'd lived through them. The people she still had were here now, and that was something to give thanks for. Behind her eyes, the visage of her mother appeared, their faces the splitting image of each other, smiling her beautiful smile as is seeing her daughter again for the first time in a long time, and in an instant light flooded the surroundings as time resumed its flow. Ruby blinked the light out of her eyes, catching sight of the massive Grimm encased in stone, and heard a barely audible swear as Jaye struggled to yank his hand out from the stone. Kamina had ported away the moment he saw the light, escaping being encased in stone, and Jaye swore at the girl in the distance. She laughed aloud this time, waving at him as he flipped her off, gasping in horror as a rumbling filled the air. Jaye felt himself wiggle loose, nearly falling off the creature the stone cracked under his feet. He felt his hand come free, burying his sword into the side of the monster's face to stop his descent. The shards of stone fell off the creature in waves, nearly jolting the boy loose, and he grasped Kamina's outstretched hand as the fox boy hauled him atop the Grimm's head. They stumbled, stabbing their weapons down to hold themselves in place, flinching as the booming voice of Cordovin's speakers sang out over the din of noise.

'I'll take it from here!' The woman declared, charging towards the Grimm in her robot. It's right arm detached; it brandished its remaining limb as the hand sank back into the forearm. A drill popped out from the hole, expanding to size as it began spinning, and Jaye wondered where on earth that drill was when they were fighting it earlier. 'After all, I was sworn to protect the people!'

'Oh no.' The boys said, glancing at each other as the woman charged. They hailed the airship desperately, trying to get the attention of the old woman, and cursed as the airship simply took off in the other direction. They waved at Ruby and she made a gesture that said, "I can't control this thing!", turning back to the robot as it charged for the giant Grimm. Cordovin drove the drill into the black body of the creature, the engine whining in effort as the drill spun, killing the beast and evaporating it into black ash. Jaye and Kamina screamed as they promptly dropped through the ashes, flailing desperately for something solid to grab onto, and Ruby gasped as they fell. Seizing the flailing boy, Kamina vanished in a burst of orange, expending all three of his charges as he lunged upwards for the hovering summon. Arm outstretched, he stopped short of the leg of the glowing creature, grasping in futility as he was nearly a meter out of reach, and they slowly toppled backwards towards the water below. Ruby lunged for them, well out of reach, making a face as they plummeted towards the water below. Righting themselves in the air, they pointed their feet first down into the liquid below, holding their breaths as the shot into the water. Ruby watched the splash where the boys had been with bated breath, heaving a massive sigh of relief as their heads popped out of the water. Jaye froze a platform next to him and his best friend, clambering atop the ice with no small amount of swearing. He flipped off the airship as it approached.

'You stupid old lady, where'd you keep your eyes huh? Oh right I forgot, YOU DON'T HAVE ANY!' The boy cussed out the airship as the door opened, taking Blake's hand as she pulled the two boys aboard. The tempered glass window of the robot opened, revealing the diminutive woman standing as regally as she could before the group, and Blake swatted away their hands as Jaye and Kamina flipped her off from the cabin.

'Thank you.' Ruby said, addressing the base commander. 'And I'm sorry.'

'I'm not.' Kamina piped, earning himself an elbow from Artemis. 'What? I'm many things, but liar is not one of them.'

'But idiot is, isn't it?'

'You bet.' The fox boy said, winking at the cat girl. 'I'm real dumb.'

'Shush.' Blake shushed them both, eyes still trained on the arrogant woman standing in her robot. Jaye raised his pistol to his eye, lining up his sights with her head, and the cat faunus promptly pushed his weapon down. 'Are you both competing for biggest dumbass today?'

'Hey, I still want payback for the ton of shit this bitch gave us.' Jaye said, begrudgingly putting his pistol away and taking Yang's hand. 'Besides, I get the feeling if I shoot her now it'll save us a whole lot of trouble later.'

'We best be ready to run.' Kamina said, glancing at the old lady in the pilot seat. 'You finally figure out those evasive maneuvers yet?'

'You looking for a fight fox boy?' The old lady said.

'Always, old lady.'

'Shush!' Blake shushed them again, gesturing at the smol girl still perched atop the summon. 'Listen!'

'The Atlas Military can handle the stragglers.' Cordovin said. Ruby gave her a look of surprise.

'What are you saying?'

'I'm saying I don't think anyone would notice if one more ship went missing in my lengthy report.' Cordovin said, a devious smile breaking across her face. She turned back into the pilot seat, the glass of the shell closing up as she turned it around and made her way back towards the base. Jaye raised an eyebrow as she went, glancing about the area suspiciously.

'She cannot be letting us go.' He said. 'I don't believe it.'

'Can't you just take a good thing for what it is?' Yang rolled her eyes at the boy, dragging him away into the back of the airship. They argued softly as they went, bickering about the circumstances while the girls watched the robot turn the corner to the base. Yang finally shut Jaye up by sealing his lips with her own, and the girls bundled themselves back onto the airship and they took off. Jaye and Maria took turns piloting the ship, keeping an eye on the radar in case Cordovin went back on her word and sent fighters after them. Still, after a few hours of staring at the screens with nothing to alarm them, Jaye had to bite his words and admit that Cordovin, though stupid and pompous, was at least a woman of her word.

'We should have just enough fuel to make it.' Maria said, giving the red-hooded girl a smile.

'Thanks Miss Calavera.' Ruby said, turning back to the cabin occupants. Qrow stopped her gently.

'Hey Ruby. You did great out there today kid.' He said. 'Just don't go giving me heart attacks like that again.'

He raised the flask to his lips, hesitating before the drink. He stared at the leather-bound bottle, finally lowering it into his lap instead. Ruby watched him lower the flask, a grin breaking across her face as she pounced on her uncle.

'I love you too!' She said, squeezing him tightly. He gave her a small smile, patting her on the arm, and the girl made her way into the back where the girls were gathered. The three remaining girls of their team were seated on the bench by the back.

'I'm sorry you had to go through that nightmare.' Weiss said, fiddling with the hem of her dress. 'But I'm glad Yang was there for you in time.'

The girls smiled across each other, and Yang too the faunus girl's hand.

'We were there for each other.' She said, and Jaye shifted uncomfortable against his spot on the wall.

'Took the words right out of my mouth.' Nora said, laughing as they patted each other on the back. The girls turned to Kamina and Jaye, smiling wistfully at their friends.

'Does it get an easier?' Yang asked, squeezing Blake's hand. 'Taking a life?'

'Hey we kill chickens all the time. I ain't guilty; they're delicious.' Jaye said, grinning at the girl. They continued staring at him, and he cleared his throat quietly, casting his eyes down to the floor. 'If you don't think of them as people, then yes. It gets very easy. That's how we did it.'

'But you can't do that.' Kamina smiled painfully, clapping a hand on his partner's shoulder. 'If you let yourself fall into that hole you stop looking at people as people. Life becomes nothing to you, and you can't live that way. Sure, we did it because we had to, but that doesn't make it right.'

'Keep that guilt in your heart. It will weigh you down, and that's okay.' The raven-haired boy smiled at his girlfriend, at his teammates, at his friends. 'Every life matters; doesn't matter whose it is. It took us a long time to realize that.'

'Too long.' Kamina added, shaking his best friend by the shoulder. Jaye held out his hand to Yang, and she took it gently. 'Take your time to come to terms with it; we can't help you with that.' The fox boy grinned sadly. 'We're still figuring it out too.'

'Well heavy talk aside.' Jaye said, turning to the smol girl standing by the pilot seats. Ruby gave them a startled look, glancing across their faces.

'Hey stop it!' She warned, and Ren gave her a bemused look.

'You petrified a Leviathan.' He said matter-of-factly, raising an eyebrow at the girl. 'After diving down the barrel of a cannon!'

The group burst into laughter, the relief after the battle clearly flooding over them in a wave.

'Hey don't act like you all haven't done crazy stuff before!' She yelled, thrusting a finger at the small boy sitting on the floor. 'I mean Oscar made a successful crash landing! He's a 14-year-old farm hand!'

'That was seriously impressive.' Jaune said, smiling at the boy, and Oscar scratched the back of his head.

'We'd have been stranded without you.' Blake encouraged, and the farm hand chuckled sheepishly.

'Thanks, but I've been meaning to tell you guys.' He cleared his throat. 'I didn't land the ship on my own.'

'Ozpin took control?' Nora asked, voice rising, and Oscar shook his head.

'No, he guided me. And then he was gone again.' The boy admitted, cupping his hands in his lap. Yang's anger flared.

'Does this mean he's been watching us this whole time?' She hissed, and Oscar stared blankly at the wall.

'Well you gotta have something to do while you're hiding.' Jaye muttered, earning himself a glare from the blonde.

'I don't know.' Oscar finally said, shaking his head. 'I don't know but… at least it means he's looking out for us.'

A dark shadow was almost visible as it cast itself over the group. The mood spoiled by the revelation, Jaye caught Qrow's eye from the pilot seat, begging for a proper distraction.

'If you've never seen Atlas in person, you don't wanna miss this.' The gruff man said, jerking his head over to the windshield. The ragtag group got to their feet, squeezing into the small hole of the cockpit to watch the city unfold before them. Ruby swallowed quickly.

'Is it weird I'm sorta nervous?' She asked, and Yang shook her head.

'I'll believe we made it to Atlas when I see it.' The blonde declared, and Weiss tilted her head at the blanket of white ahead.

'Well believe it.' She grinned, right on time as they burst through the clouds. The gargantuan city erupted into sight, truly a marvel as the floating kingdom hovered silently far above the ground. It was a sight to behold, no matter how many times one had seen it, but it filled Jaye and Kamina's stomachs with dread The twins noticed their conserved looks, and nudged them quietly.

'Why the long face?' Apollo asked, elbowing the raven-haired boy harder. Jaye swatted him away, glaring at the faunus girl as she wrapped her tail around his leg.

'Well? Spill.' She said, and Jaye rolled his eyes at the girl.

'We have a uh… reputation in Atlas.' The boy said, and Kamina nodded quietly.

'They don't exactly know what we look like, or so we thought, but that little encounter at the radio tower says otherwise.' He said. 'They recognize me at least.'

'Well you're wearing exactly the same outfit as you did the last time we were here.' Jaye rolled his eyes. 'I told you, you need a wardrobe change.'

'Please, you always wear the same shit.' Kamina rolled his eyes. 'I wouldn't be surprised if we get arrested the moment we touch down.'

'Only you'll get arrested, not me.'

'Says who? Your ass is more likely to get caught.'

'That's only because you can teleport.'

'Hey don't be a hater. You know what they say, haters are just jelly.'

'Your face is jelly.'

'I love jelly.' Artemis said, and the two boys promptly told her to shut up. 'WHAT YOU SAY TO ME BITCH?'

They promptly started fighting in the back of the aircraft, somehow managing to not get in the way of the others who promptly ignored them.

'You know, you make the trip up to Atlas over and over again, but you never quite get used to the view.' Maria said, tilting the stick to approach the nearest landing pad. Weiss thrust her head between the pilot seats, a crease furrowing her brow, and the girls glanced quizzically at her.

'Weiss, what is it?' She asked, following her gaze upwards to the airspace above the kingdom. Hovering above the city, hundreds of ships stood at the ready, prepped for attack, as if expecting a war of some sort.

'The Atlas Air Fleet.' She stated. 'I knew all of our ships were called back but…'

'They're set up like they're expecting an attack.' Qrow muttered, and Kamina elbowed Jaye in the ribs, the group finally done fighting in the back of the ship.

'Well would you look at that. They set up a welcome party just for you!' The fox boy grinned, earning himself a kick from the boy.

'I'm pretty sure you're included.' Jaye said, narrowing his eyes at the fleet. 'Still, it's a bit excessive, even for me.'

'Guess we'll find out.' Yang muttered, raising an eyebrow as she spotted several smaller fighters at the ready in the distance. The radio crackled to life.

'Manta 5-1. Welcome home.'

Big chapter for a big ending to Volume 6. This was a volume where I felt they really got back on track with what they wanted out from this series and went back to the Monty Oum roots. Volumes 4 and 5 were a bit of a letdown, but I feel like this volume really brought back a lot of the things we wanted; a good story, crazy shit, interesting characters that add value to the story, nice fight scenes and a bright color palette for the beauty in things. I'm hyped to start on volume 7, so let's just get into it.