Chapter 51

"Hard to believe that the Temple of the Purge is gone now," Elsa couldn't help but remark, having reunited with the gang sometime later.

"Yeah, but something tells me that this will only delay Salem's plans: there's more than one way to whip out an entire population, after all," Melenie - having decided to join in the conversation alongside Militia - declared with a frown, knowing all too well how destructive mankind could be, what with how she was a daughter of a crime boss.

"Well, either way, nice to know that Adam and Roman are dead now," Penelope called out from Winter's shoulder.

"I don't know," Blake declared with a frown. "I've worked with Adam for years, and I know for a fact that this wouldn't be the first time that he's survived a seemingly fatal wound. Add to the fact that I don't think that I ever saw his Aura go down before we escaped and I won't accept that he's gone for good until I see a body."

"Blake has a point," Raven remarked, using her powers to create a small flame in her hands. "I had assumed that my powers were gone when Ozpin set off his spell, but I still had the Maiden's magic laying dormant inside of me. Just because we want those two to be dead doesn't mean that they aren't alive and kicking somewhere."

Sun snorted in response. "Well, even if they are alive, I wouldn't want to be them right now: I can't even imagine how upset Salem is going to be when she finds out that we took out her precious Temple."

As if to prove his point, back at the enemy camp, it was plain to everyone that Salem was not happy at that moment. "Once again, Ozma's followers have managed to foil my plans." The former witch winced in pain as she hugged her side. Ever since the curse of her immortality had been lifted, she was slowly succumbing to the ill effects of the grimm pools she had exposed herself to millenia ago. Soon she would die, and the world would be none the wiser. "Well, if I'm going down… I'm taking them with me. Captain!"

"Y-yes, Ms. Salem?" The mercenary whimpered.

"Rally the rest of our troops." She ordered. "It's time to end this foolishness, once and for all."

Back with Team RWBY and company, everyone was considering what to do. "Even if we assume that Salem truly has been made mortal, she still has an army up her sleeve." Qrow reasoned. "We are in no condition to take them on, alone. We'll need backup."

"Well, there's always the Temple of Communication," Elsa called out. "You can still use that to try and rally reinforcements."

"That's not a bad idea, actually." Qrow said with a nod. "For this fight, we'll need all the help we can get."

"This won't be easy, though," Penelope felt the need to declare.

"It never is," Winter called out as she recalled one of their earlier missions together prior to meeting up with everyone else.

Penelope couldn't help but scoff as Winter entered the enemy base. "You set off the motion sensor, Miss Schnee. That's a little sloppy for you."

Winter merely rolled her eyes in reply. "Only because you were supposed to disable the motion sensor."

Penelope couldn't help but wince here. "Unfortunately, I couldn't do that until I was inside the room."

"And I couldn't get you in the room without setting off the motion sensor," was Winter's immediate reply.

"Touche," the Maiden fragment said in response. "Allow me to make up time from this pointless argument by accessing the database."

"That'd be appreciated," Winter declared, inserting a drive into the base's computer to help her partner in her endeavor. "How long to decrypt it?"

"Already done."

"You're getting better at this," Winter said in equal parts surprise and pride. "How long to transfer?"

"Approximately forty-six point two seconds," Penelope said with a shrug, "But that should be enough time for you to handle the three security guards who are about to break through the door."

"What?" Winter called out as she pulled out her sword. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I just did," the Summer Maiden remarked in a slightly teasing fashion. "They set a detonation charge. Breaching in three... two... you'll be fine. One."

As the door began to explode, however, Penelope took this time to slow time down from her own perspective in order to better assess the situation, stretching her arms as she did. "Okay, girls. Let's see what we're dealing with here. Hmm, Model 40s loaded with fire dust. Jewels? Don't those have a high-jamming probability?"

"The Schnee Firearm Model 40 does not jam," was Pearl's immediate reply. "You are thinking of the 14."

"Don't you mean 'we're' thinking of it?" Penelope called back in a teasing manner.

"Technically only you are thinking. I am just a memory of Pearl."

Penelope simply sighed upon hearing this. "Well, I like having someone intelligent to talk to. I get lonely sometimes."

"May I suggest getting a dog?"

Here, Penelope couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Oh, yes. We'll do that after we convince Yang to keep her hands off of Blake for more than five minutes."

"Really?!" Phoebe called out. "We're getting a dog?!"

Penelope merely sighed. "No, Phoebe. I was being sarcastic."

"Aw…"

"The Model 40 does possess computer-assisted target lock" Pearl went on to explain. "You could override the system and reduce accuracy by up to 55%."

"Excellent! Put the twins on it."

"Already on it," Polly declared as she and Patricia got to work on disabling the target lock, reducing accuracy to 45%.

"Good. Now, let's account for trajectories."

"Are you talking to me, or Pearl?" Phoebe couldn't help but ask.

"She is talking to all of us, Phoebe." the aforementioned logic fragment memory replied.

Penelope could only give a sheepish grin. "Don't mind me. I'm just thinking out loud." She hummed as she looked at the trajectories in front of her. "Okay, that's good but we can do better."

"Hey! Hey, look!" Phoebe called out. "You can use the door as a shield!"

"Excellent idea, sister!" Penelope declared, already calculating when to tell Winter when to move, nodding to herself after she had done so. "Yes, that's better."

"Still, blood loss would be-"

"I'm not finished yet, Pearl." Penelope said with a roll of her eyes. "I only need a second."

"A second is a long time for us." Pearl felt the need to point out.

Penelope merely rolled her eyes in response. "Okay, everyone just stop talking to me at once, please."

"Are you getting angry, Penelope?" Paulette couldn't help but call out as she appeared in front of her sister.

Penelope, meanwhile, merely sighed in reply. "No. I'm fine. Go away."

Paulette merely gave a sarcastic chuckle in response. "I'm here if you need me."

"She's scary." Pearl couldn't help but say with a slight tremble.

"Don't worry, sister," Penelope said as she gave her sister a hug. "She can't do anything if we ignore her."

"Might I suggest preparing Winter's healing unit?" Pearl called out.

Penelope shook her head in response. "No, I'll need the power for her escape."

"Assuming we make it that far."

"Jewels, for once, can you drop the negativity?" Penelope couldn't help but declare. "If you want to be useful, please give me a bioscan of these men."

"This one has recently had knee surgery," Pearl declared, pointing to the one on the left.

"Good to know," Penelope declared. "We'll take out the bolts on the maintenance hatch and trip him up."

"First shot fired."

Penelope nodded in acknowledgement of Pearl's statement. "Alright, we need to finish this. Luna, where are we with the transfer?"

"Files still transferring." was Luna/Pamela's immediate reply.

Penelope merely nodded, before looking at Winter's stats. "Okay, Winter...how is your aim?"

"She hasn't been sleeping well," Pearl felt the need to point out.

Phoebe nodded. "She's been having bad dreams... about our evil sister."

"I'm not evil!" Priscilla declared. "Just a bit misunderstood."

Penelope rolled her eyes in response. "Whatever helps you sleep at night. Anyways, she's fine, Phoebe. Don't worry." She then frowns as she spotted that Pearl who had reduced her accuracy stats. "Pearl! She's fine!"

"This isn't very scientific," the logical fragment felt the need to point out.

"Sometimes, you just have to have faith," Penelope called out even as she made some of her own adjustments to the battlefield before her. "It might not be the most wise move, but it is more… fun. There, that'll do it."

Phoebe, noting that they had calculated for three K.O.s and no kills, showing a 93% chance of success with 62% chance of no injury, couldn't help but wince. "Winter won't like the injury part."

"She never does," Penelope declared. "But if she lives to complain about it, she still lives. Thank you, girls!" She then turned to Winter. "Alright. It's just you and me, now. Transferring data into your HUD. Let's do this and make our escape."

Time then went back to normal, with Winter rolling behind the door as the first soldier shot her knee, before quickly taking out the other two as she soon afterwards.

"You... bitch!" was the remaining guard's reply before Winter knocked her out.

"Penelope...? Penny?!"

"Yes! I'm here," Penelope called out. "I lost a few pathways, but I can still hear you. How'd you do?"

"I had to improvise at the end, but you got me started," Winter remarked.

Penelope merely smiled in reply. "Good! I had faith!"

"I guess that's just part of what makes it so fun." Ruby declared, bringing Winter back to the present.

"Still, there will be a few squads of mercenaries after the rebels and federalists." Winter added. "We're going to have to split up."

"I was afraid you'd say that." Ren groaned.

"Qrow, Svetlana, Mikhail, Raven, and I will go protect the soldiers of Menagerie." Winter decided. "The rest of you get to that temple and send a message to the world."

"Fuck that." Raven scoffed, moving towards Yang and Ruby. "I'm not leaving these kids alone for one second."

"Fine." Winter relented. "But only if the lieutenants come with us."

"Uh, okay…" Ilia blushed. "I just need to talk to Blake and Yang for a minute."

"Uh, okay?" Winter shrugged. "Just don't take too long.

A few minutes later, Yang and Blake arrived at Ilia's requested area. "This is where Ilia said to meet up," Yang remarked. "Whatever it was she wanted to talk about must have been important, given everything else that's been going on."

Her wife simply nodded in return before opening the door."Okay, we're here, Ilia," Blake declared as she and Yang entered the room as her old friend had requested. "Now what was it that you…?" ...and that's as far as she got before Ilia pulled them in for a kiss.

"I couldn't hold that in any longer," the chameleon Faunus declared as she broke the kiss, shutting and locking the door as she did. "One way or another, we could die on this mission, and I don't want to have any regrets if that does end up happening." She then looked at Yang. "If we make it through this, I promise to help you and your wife look after Holly in any way that I can, but for now...is that offer for a threesome still on the table?"

"You only needed to ask," the blonde brawler remarked with a grin.

"Hold on, are you sure about this?" Blake felt the need to ask. "I'm mean, I'm not opposed to the idea, but I won't force you to do anything that you aren't comfortable with."

"I know you won't," Ilia said with a smile. "But don't worry: this is my choice." She then gained a nervous smirk. "I know I'll never truly be allowed at the master's table, but I'd be honored if you would allow me to partake in the leftovers, my mistress."

Blake gasped, recognizing that dialogue from one of their favorite "Ninjas of Love" stories from when they were kids and started going through puberty. She then gave a smile of her own. "If Yang allows it, you shall never go hungry again."

Yang smirked, being aware of this particular story and that her wife was paraphrasing the book in question, before deciding to put in her two cents worth. "She's right: I'd never let you suffer for the sake of our mutual love interest, but first, you must prove to me that you are as devoted to me as you are to my wife."

"Your wish is my command." Ilia said with a nod, bringing Yang in for a kiss, the trio starting to strip down soon afterwards. Needless to say, Yang and Blake kept their promise: Ilia had no doubt that she was loved, and as such, she made sure to give as good as she got.

Meanwhile, back with everyone else, Svetlana and Mikhail had been going over some of their supplies, all the while Svetlana had been mourning the loss of her mother so soon after reuniting with her. "I know she wasn't perfect," she suddenly declared, "but that doesn't change the fact that I feel a little empty inside now that it's happened."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Mikhail said, thinking about all of the people they'd lost up until this point. "Thing is, though, you never truly stop grieving once a person dies: you just learn how to better deal with that grief as time goes on."

"That's true, I suppose." Svetlana grunted as she tried to open a locked loot crate of dust. "Dammit! I couldn't find the key to this!"

"Here, give me one of your hairpins." Mikhail requested as he took the box from her. Much to her surprise, Mikhail was able to expertly maneuver the hairpin through the lock's tumblers until it unlatched. "Here you are, my dear."

Svetlana was impressed. "When did you learn how to pick locks?"

Mikhail shrugged. "After Rushland burned down and we were separated, I was taken in by a cat faunus named Celena Noir who turned out to be a burglar. In order to make due, she took me along on some of her heists and taught me everything she knew so I could help her." Mikhail's soft smile vanished once he saw his wife's arched eyebrow. "Uh, not that I'm proud of it."

"Yeah, we'll come back to that later." Winter spoke up as she finished reloading her own weapons. "For now, let's focus on our mission."

Penelope hopped off of Winter's shoulder and floated over to Ruby. "What's up?" The hooded huntress asked.

"I'm coming with you guys." Penelope explained. "You'll need me to get into the Temple of Communication…" Despite being a ghost, Penelope couldn't help the blush that appeared on her cheeks. "And plus, I just really wanted to be with you."

Ruby smiled, failing to hide a blush of her own. "Well, when you put it like that, how can I say 'no?'"

Half an hour later, the groups had split up to carry out their missions. Qrow, WInter, the Rushland couple, and the lieutenants arrived to hold off Salem's remaining mercenaries while teams RWBY, JNPR, CFVY, Ciel and Jean arrived at the Temple of Communication. Right away, Velvet ran over to the control console as Yang's Dragon Fang brought the temple to life.

"So how long until we can send the message?" Ruby asked.

"Well, even with Velvet's help, it'll take a while to get the temple ready." Penelope replied.

"Uh, guys, you might want to take a look at this," Velvet nervously called out, having spotted something dire on the security footage from around the island that she managed to recover. There, on the screen, showcasing the remains of the Temple of the Purge, was Roman, Neo, and Adam, all of whom were alive and kicking, albeit not traveling together at the moment, based on some of the other images that popped up.

"I thought you said they were dead!" Ren screamed.

"WE DROPPED A FREAKING BUILDING ON THEM!" Penelope cried, equally hysterical. "It was kind of assumed!"

"I did warn you that you should have checked for a body." Blake felt the need to call out.

"Let's not lose hope, guys," Jean called out, pointing to where Roman and Neo were located. "Based on Neo's injuries, I'd say that Roman will be more interested in patching his partner up than helping Adam fight us."

"She's right," Jean said with a nod. "I'm guessing from the way she's limping that she got caught up in some of the debris, so she'd need at least a couple hours or so of rest before she's ready to fight again...which means that we'll need to take Adam down as soon as possible."

"If the medics are saying that, I'm not going to argue," Ren felt the need to call out.

Meanwhile, Adam had been the first to find a Manta and was talking to his accomplices over the radio. "Once you get your own Manta, follow the signal I'm sending your way and meet with me." He snarled. "We're gonna end those losers once and for all."

"Taurus…" Roman sighed as he tried to patch up Neo's wounds. "The Purge is gone. Salem's going to kill us. We failed our assignment. We need to get out of here, before-"

"Gods, no wonder that little brat keeps kicking your ass!" Adam growled. "I'm not doing this because Salem told me to. I'm not doing this for money. I'm doing this for me! Now get over here so we can end this!"

With that, the bull faunus ended the transmission just as he arrived at the Temple of Communication. He found the huntresses and huntsmen's vehicles, but no sign of his prey. Adam merely growled at this. "You think you're smart, Yang?! You and Blake think you're all better than me?! Well you're not! You're all a bunch of pathetic, stupid, losers!"

"Come and get me then," Yang declared, Dragon Fang at the ready.

Adam snarled before pulling out a grenade…only to discover it being knocked out of his hand by a precision gunshot, much to her shock. "What?!"

Nora merely smiled as Ciel stood beside her. "Double 0 Nora always gets the job done."

Adam quickly activated a hard-light shield before growling and activating his radio. "Roman, you and your lady friend get over…" ...and that was as far as he got before he was shot in the hand holding the shield.

"Over here, dirtbag!" Raven called out.

"You give swordsmen a bad name!" Jaune declared as he too got ready for battle.

"You guys are really pissing me off," the bull Faunus remarked as he attempted to retreat...only to get clotheslined by Jean, who'd been waiting behind a corner.

"Oh, please," the medic declared, sounding a bit like Paulette as she did. "You're not going anywhere, meat-bag!" ...and that was all the warning Adam got before he was blasted with a rocket launcher through a wall.

Adam growled as he got back to his feet, his Aura flickering as he did. "Stupid little…"

"I know you are, but what am I?" Ruby Rose declared as she swung at him with what looked to be Rose Thorn.

Adam gave a dark chuckle as he knocked Ruby off of her feet, grabbing the weapon from her hand before pointing it at her face. "...and here I thought you were supposed to be the strategist." he mockingly declared before pulling the trigger...only to give a flabbergasted expression upon discovering that it merely let out a party noise and a stream of confetti. "What the...?"

Ruby could only give a chuckle in reply, happy to know that making that decoy weapon earlier was time well spent. "I am the strategist: I mean, don't I make a cute little distraction? Freckles, now!"

"Acknowledged." Freckles replied before blasting Adam back into a large bulletproof window overlooking a large drop, causing it to crack as a result.

"Funny how you called us losers and yet you're the one who's losing," Penelope said with a light chuckle even as Adam snarled and charged at her and her friends.

Meanwhile, Roman had arrived outside the Temple and was currently looking after Neo following their failure at the Temple of the Purge. "Take it easy Neo," the gentleman thief called out as he held his partner as she collapsed to the ground. "Try not to push yourself too much. Hopefully, we won't have to deal with any more surprises."

"Greetings."

Here, Roman instinctively aimed his weapon at the source of the voice, only to pause as he realized that he was looking at the Winter Maiden. "Oh, it's you…"

Elsa merely quirked her eyebrow at him in response. "Why are you here?"

Roman lowered his weapon as he thought about that question. "We... we want to find Little Red and her friends. And kill them for all the trouble they've caused us."

"Will this insure your victory?"

Roman couldn't help but sigh here. "... no."

"Then why do you insist on pursuing them?"

For one of the first times in his life, Roman found himself hesitating with his answer. "I... I don't know."

Elsa nodded. "How do you plan to help your lover?"

"I don't know."

"What do you know?"

"I don't know!" Roman growled out.

Elsa, sensing the latent nobility within her guest, decided to try another approach. "... what do you want to know?"

Roman shared a look with Neo before turning back to face the Maiden in front of him. "I... we want to know... what Adam Taurus is afraid of."

"You mean you still haven't figured it out?" Elsa asked. When Roman glared at her, the Winter Maiden went on. "Hm... you both have lived a constant life of crime. Both of you were broken by the madness of this world, and are familiar with your fair share of failures. But despite this, you both found love in each other. Whenever either of you are in immediate peril, you can rely on each other. In contrast, Adam Taurus has never truly trusted anyone. And as a result, he has never been able to rely on anyone as you two rely on each other."

Roman could only blinked in shock as he took all of this in "... what're you saying?"

"Ignorant fool! Adam Taurus is afraid of the two of you," Elsa growled out before disappearing.

"Did...did she say what I think she said?" Roman asked with wide eyes. Neo merely nodded in reply, her own eyes wide as the two of them absorbed what the Winter Maiden had said just as an explosion went off inside the Temple of Communication.

Roman simply looked to where the explosion had taken place, and then looked to Neo with a serious expression. "Are you with me?"

"Until death do us part," came the mute girl's reply via sign language even as they set off in the direction of the explosion.

Meanwhile, Blake could only give her ex a hard glare as she along with everyone else surrounded the bull faunus with weapons at the ready. "Give it up, Adam: it's over!"

Adam, having noticed Roman and Neo approaching them, could only give a dark chuckle in reply. "Indeed it is...for you!" Upon seeing that Neo and Roman were instead choosing to shoot down some drones around them, however, Adam quickly lost the dark smile he's been sporting. "What are you doing?! Kill them!"

Roman merely pointed to his partner, who was currently giving a glare and shaking her head in the negative before giving a nod. "What she said: there's been enough killing already...and before you try and convince us, let's make one thing clear: I'm not doing this for some reward, or because someone ordered us to do it: I'm doing this for me." Neo just gave a nod, indicating she felt the same was.

"Then you can die alongside them," Adam said with a growl as he opened fire upon them before the resulting counterattack - which shattered his Aura - forced him to use his shield...only for a sticky bomb to hit said shield. "What?!"

Raven couldn't help but give a dark chuckle of her own. "I'll give you credit, Taurus: I can sort of understand why my daughter-in-law looked up to you for a time: you actually have some good strategies floating around your head: it's just a shame that you could never let go of that massive ego of yours."

"Oh well: we still had a blast," Yang said with a shrug, ignoring the groans everyone gave in response before leveling a glare at Adam, nodding to Jaune as she does. "Speaking of which…"

Jaune returned the nod before pulling out a grenade and priming it. "Hey, 'Toro:' catch." he declared before tossing said grenade at Adam's feet, which primed for detonation at the same time as the sticky bomb.

"W...wait!" ...and that was all Adam had time to say before both bombs went off, throwing him into the cracked window and sending him falling into the depths below.

Sun could only scoff as he watched this all take place. "Try surviving that."

Blake, meanwhile, collapsed in tears as the weight of everything came crashing down upon her, Yang running up and pulling her into her arms soon afterwards. "I...I'm not going to break my promise: I swear." the cat Faunus couldn't help but choke out.

"I know you won't," Yang reassured her even as she continued to hold her wife in her arms, letting Blake let out all of her hurt and relief as she did.

Weiss meanwhile could only look to where Adam once stood with a sense of pity, knowing that her family, her father, had been responsible for helping to create the monster they had just defeated. "I hope you find the peace in death that you failed to find in life."

Winter could only nod at the sentiment before turning to look at Neo and Roman. "Thanks for the assistance, I suppose, but I hope you realize that this doesn't erase everything you've done."

"Of course we realize that...which is why we won't be sticking around." Roman declared with a snort.

"We will find you." Ruby declared. "You know that."

"Little Red, I'd be disappointed if you didn't… eventually." Roman gave the hooded huntress a courteous bow as Neo flashed a smile while working her semblance. Roman hadn't taken his eyes off of Ruby even as he and his love slowly disappeared. "But until then, we'll just do what we do best; lie, cheat, steal, and survive."

The group fell silent after the two criminals vanished before Ren broke the silence. "If I ever see a crook again, it'll be too soon."

"Amen, babe." Nora agreed.

"We're not done yet," Penelope declared even as she turned towards the Temple of Communication. "We still have one last thing left to do."

"So, how about we send that message?" Raven called out after they'd set everything up sometime later.

Jaune simply nodded. "Sounds good to me."

"You ready?" Yang asked her sister as she and Penelope focused the camera on her and got ready to transmit the message.

"As I'll ever be," Ruby said with a nod before clearing her throat and delivering her message. "Hi there. You may not know me, but my name is Ruby Rose. Some time ago, my friends and I were shipwrecked on Menagerie, which is currently being targeted by a madwoman called Salem."

Meanwhile at the Branwen Tribe's Main Camp, Anima

"If you haven't heard of her, I don't blame you at all. But, all of us who survived the crash as well as the island's inhabitants are in dire need of help."

"Don't worry, Cousin," Vernal exclaimed as she and several other Bandits got ready for battle. "We're on our way."

Meanwhile at the Doppelganger Resistance Headquarters, Undisclosed Location

"If this is transmitting to your computer, please examine the files that I have attached to this transmission."

"Mom? Dad?" Holly called out as she saw Yang and Blake on the screen as she stood with a group of Doppelgangers that had been taking care of her, including Jasmine and Alex, before looking to the two in particular. "We have to help them."

"And we will," Jasmine declared as she and her husband started to rally their troops. "Contact Oscar and our other allies and tell them to head to Menagerie. It's time that Salem learns that she's not as indestructible as she thinks...and that the Great Prophecy isn't just some random text that was written long ago."

Meanwhile at the Arc family home, Minstral

"They include our coordinates, as well as information on the survivors of the crash, who you may recognize as the hunters and huntresses of Beacon that went missing during their flight home."

"Oh, hey! Look, girls, it's Jaune!" Saphron announced, pointing to the TV. "He's still alive!"

"And so's that redhead he's got a boner for!" Amarilla added, earning a stern glance from her other sisters. "What? I'm just sayin'."

"Well, in either case, it looks like they need our help." Terra Cotta, Saphon's wife, said with a stern expression before turning to Amarilla. "Any chance you know any methods of getting us to Menagerie from when you were at Beacon, ASAP?"

"I think I have you covered," Amarilla declared as she and the others readied themselves to help their family.

Meanwhile in Patch, Vale

"But most importantly, they include information on why we came here in the first place, and what we learned afterwards."

Zwei whimpered as he watched his favorite girl on the television. Taiyang rubbed his dog's head after securing his gauntlets to his wrists. "Don't worry, buddy. I'm gonna bring our girls home." He promised. "And then, I'm gonna fucking kill two birds for putting them in danger in the first place."

Back in Menagerie

"Long story-short, Salem tried and failed to use the power of the four maidens to destroy all life on Remnant, and she might still try if we let her get away. So please, send help as soon as possible! Ruby Rose, over and out."

All across Menagerie, Rebels and Federation troops cheered and celebrated in unison after the video message ended. Not long after, Winter called Weiss. "You did it!"

"You most certainly did," Salem's voice called out from a nearby screen, her face showcasing just how angry she was. "You just sealed your own fate."

Suddenly, a sonic boom echoed around the entire island as Salem's flagship arrived. Multiple Paladins dropped from the ship and began attacking everyone in sight - including the surviving mercenaries - while Salem ranted, furiously. "You couldn't just lay down and die, could you?! No, you had to believe in Ozma's pitiful ideology! Well, if I'm going down, I'm taking you with me!"

"Damn it…" Ren whispered as Salem's face disappeared from the screen. "Damn it. Damn it! Gods damn it! We were so close!"

"We can still stop her!" Penelope declared. "If we can just get to Salem's flagship, I can shut down her Paladins! Then, the rest of Menagerie will be able to hold off her army long enough until help arrives!"

"And how're we supposed to get there?!" Blake exclaimed.

"Uh, guys?" Everyone looked towards Ruby, who was pointing to the crashed airship Torchwick, and Neo had arrived in,

"Shotgun!" Nora and Pyrrha said in unison.

Everyone screamed in horror as Blake flew the Manta up towards the flagship. Once they landed, the group readied their weapons and breached the hull. Jean was still shaking. "I think I just developed a fear of heights." She whimpered. "And flying. And all of you guys."

Velvet rushed to one of the ship's onboard terminals and began furiously typing at the keyboard. "I can't shut down the paladins from here, but if I can hack into the ship's navigational systems, I can figure out where the main control room is!" She explained. "Now, I just have to-"

"Halt, intruders!" a new voice called out from one of the computers. "Identify yourselves or be destroyed."

"Wait a minute, I recognize that voice…" Penelope gasped, softly. "Gloria?"

"Penny?"

"What are you doing here?!" the two of them called out.

"I suppose you could say I was captured."Gloria explained. "Roman Torchwick left a backdoor in the Federation's systems, forcing me to operate some of the enemy's computers soon after he was discovered. That aside, however, it is very good to hear from you again!"

"Trust me, the feeling is mutual!" Penelope smiled. "We need you to take us to this ship's command deck!"

"That would be a direct violation of Salem's orders." Gloria replied. But before her friends could urge her to override her orders, the A.I. smiled. "I would be happy to help!"

"Whoa… really?" Yang blinked, surprised at how easy that was.

"Yes. I dislike Salem, very much."

"Hey, so do we!" Yatsuhashi exclaimed, happily. "Small world!"

"Aw, Lori!" Ruby gushed. "You - you are just the best!"

"Excuse me?" Freckles spoke up in a jealous tone.

Ruby gulped. "Uh, I-I mean, uh, second best?"

"We can worry about that later," Weiss declared even as she and Penelope both grumbled to themselves about how they had wanted to be considered the best by Ruby. "Right now, we need to make sure that Salem can't execute her plans."

"Well, I can always try redirecting some of the remaining enemy forces elsewhere," Gloria/Lori remarked, "And with Penny's help, I should be able to shut all of those Paladins down."

"Glad to know that we're on the same page," Penelope said with a nod as she disappeared into Gloria/Lori's computer console.

"While they're doing that, we need to assess the situation," Raven declared. "After all, I somehow doubt that Salem would be killing off all of the mercenaries she's brought here, so we'll need to make sure that we're prepared in case…" As if on cue, several mercenaries spilled out into the hallway, opening fire on them and forcing Raven to seal the doorway shut. "...in case something exactly like that happens," The chieftess groaned.

"Do you really think you can get away with this?" Salem arrogantly called out over the intercom with a dark chuckle. "You may save the Huntsmen. You may even save the colonists. But how can you possibly hope to escape with your lives?"

"Meh. We'll wing it," Yang declared before shutting off the intercom.

"Guys, I did it!" Penelope said with a cheer as she reappeared. "The Paladins are shut down!"

Weiss simply nodded in reply. "That's great! But Salem's forces are about to burst down the door!"

Raven sighed as the enemy outside began cutting through the door to their location. "Well, kids, you know what they say; 'today is a good day to die.'"

"Permission to speak freely, Ms. Branwen?" Everyone in the room turned to look at Coco as she loaded her weapon with the high-grade dust stocked around the office. "Fuck that!"

With that, the others went about preparing for the upcoming battle. Ren and Nora flipped the desk over and pushed it in front of the door to act as a barricade while Teams CFVY and RWBY loaded their own weapons with more rare and powerful dust. Jaune removed a copy of Cinder's sword from its mount on the wall as his shield enhanced his own sword. Pyrrha, after loading her own rifle with dust, grabbed one of Penny's old swords off the wall out of curiosity.

"Do you think the laser on this thing still works?" She asked.

Yang loaded Ember Celica with dust and readied Dragon Fang as the soldiers got closer to having the door open. "We got this... We do got this, right?" She nervously asked Penelope.

Penelope shook her head. "I've run all the math through my head. We're close, but... not enough without it."

Ruby blinked in confusion. "Without... what?"

Penelope looked up at the giant monitor. "Lori? The suit, please."

Gloria/Lori nodded in reply. "Affirmative."

A secret passage opened up from the floor, revealing the suit that Cinder Fall used to gain the Fall Maiden's powers. The group was speechless. Penelope smiled as she turned to face her best friend. "Ruby... take off your clothes."

Using her semblance, Ruby changed into the Fall Maiden suit while everyone else stood behind her with their weapons ready. The hooded huntress drew her scythe in her right hand and Freckles in her left.

"How's it feel?" Penelope asked.

"Kinda... loose in the booby area…" Ruby commented before changing the color to her favorite shade of red with the camouflage features. "Buuuut, I could get used to this!"

"Now that's a good look for you!" Coco commented.

"Prepare to breach!" The soldiers outside ordered.

Raven unsheathed her katana, having coated it in lightning dust. "Well, kids, it looks like this is it."

Yang looked to her mother and wife, rubbing a tear from her eyes. "I love you guys so much."

"Si je meurs, merci de répandre mes cendres dans Atlas. (If I die, please spread my ashes in Atlas.)" Ciel requested.

"I love you, too, Ciel!" Fox replied, tearfully.

"Aw, that's so sweet!" Yatsuhashi gushed.

"Now, let's break some legs and other body parts!" Nora shouted, cheerfully.

Ren smirked at his childhood friend. "First time I've ever agreed with you."

"Uh, guys?" Weiss blushed. "If this is the end, I just want to say; out of everyone I know… I hate you all the least."

Ruby smiled at her girlfriend before turning to face Penelope. "Thanks for being at our side, Penny. See you on the other side!"

But just as the door was about to blast open, time stopped for the fragmented piece of the Summer Maiden. Penelope hopped off of Ruby's shoulder, grew to match her height, and planted a soft, loving kiss on Ruby's lips.

"Not this time, my friend…" She sighed, sadly.

Just then, Pearl appeared alongside her sister with a solemn frown. "Are you... sure about this?"

"I'm sure." Penelope nodded. "Please start a recording for me, Pearl."

"Recording." Pearl complied before vanishing again.

With that, Penelope turned to face her frozen companions. "Salutations, my friends. If you're watching this, it means you did it. You won. You defeated Salem's forces. I knew you could. But... this is the end for me. You see, in the beginning, I was just Penelope... a collection of someone else's memories. Memories of someone who wasn't even a real girl. But with your help, these memories, they... they grew! They became my voice! My memories! These memories... your friendships... made me who I am. But, they're also holding me back. I can't run the suit as Penelope. I don't have enough of the Summer Maiden's powers to properly control the suit or the Fall Maiden's powers. But if I erase my memories - if I deconstruct myself - the fragments I leave behind will give you the strength to pull through. I believe that. I wish there was another way. I wish I could stay with you for the rest of our lives. But I'm leaving this recording, along with others, in the hopes that you'll understand why I have to go this time."

Penelope paused to allow a few tears to sparkle from her eyes before a soft chuckle slipped through her lips. "It was actually Lionheart who made me realize something I never considered before... there are so many stories where some brave hero gives their life to save their friends. And because of their sacrifice, the day is saved, the good guys win, the survivors all cheer, and everyone lives happily ever after... but the hero... never gets to see that ending. They'll never know if their sacrifice actually made a difference. They'll never know if the day was really saved. In the end... they just have to have faith." Penelope's form flickered before separating into seven fragments that were then absorbed into Ruby's suit.

"... isn't that sad?"

To Be Continued...