Chapter 68

"So…" Jaune's voice broke the silence that filled the Manta as it calmly flew towards Atlas. "Now that we're away from Argus and danger… care to explain properly, Adam?"

"I suppose now is as good a time as any." Adam replied with a sigh. "Let's start with introductions. Everyone, this is Blake and Ilia, former friends and now former enemies who have agreed to try things my way. So they're basically going to try it out as Huntresses with us. As for everyone else…" He quickly ran down introductions, pointing out each of his now rather large group of friends and allies.

"Thank you for allowing us to join you." Ilia stiffly thanked everyone. Blake nodded and muttered a quick thanks. It wasn't an annoyed muttering, but rather an awkward one. They must still be processing everything. That should be expected, they have just agreed to abandon their ideology and try a new one. I'll pick up the slack. They're my responsibility after all.

"What happened is pretty simple all told. As Yang can attest, they ambushed me. Apparently, they were betrayed by the White Fang and removed from power. They decided if they could capture or kill me, then they could regain control. Not just of the White Fang, but their lives in general. We fought, I won. And then… Well, I convinced them to try things my way for a while. It was all very emotional."

Jaune and the others nodded along, taking the information into consideration. "I'm not asking you guys to trust them all of a sudden. Just give them a chance to change. Like the chance I was given."

"Alright then. We'll keep an eye on them, but I trust you, Adam." Jaune let out a sigh and smiled. The rest of his team nodded their agreement.

"I'm already on a team with one ex-White Fang leader," Weiss shrugged, "what's two more?"

"I'm sure they understand the situation. We won't be so forgiving next time." Yang sent the pair a focused look.

Qrow simply shrugged from the co-pilot seat while Maria ignored them. Oscar folded his arms. "I'm also okay with this. We can always use more friends."

Ruby smiled and walked over, breaking an invisible boundary that had appeared between them all. She walked right up to Blake and held out a hand. "Hi! I'm Ruby, Adam's friend! It's good to properly meet you! He's told me a lot about you!" Ruby's bubbly smile caused Blake to blink in confusion before slowly, ever so slowly, reaching out and taking the offered hand.

"Thanks… what did he have to say about me?" She glanced his way, to which he coughed and avoided her eyes.

"Well, he told me you liked books a lot! I read a lot of comics and Yang always read a lot of fairy tales and stories to me when I was younger. Oh and he said that I'm a lot like you were when you were younger! Anyway, wanna talk about books?" Ruby's rapid-fire words would be enough to put anyone on the back foot, but Blake was especially vulnerable right now.

"O-oh… um. Sure?" Blake replied, looking to Ilia for help.

"Oh right! It's Ilia, right? Wanna join in?" Ruby's beaming smile was like the sun.

"Sure. Sounds like fun." Ilia replied a little awkwardly.

How easily she's able to pull Blake and Ilia into hanging out. Ruby, I salute you. Adam smiled and quietly chuckled to himself. I do remember once saying she would probably be better at convincing Blake. Heh. Things are beginning to look up a bit…

"Oi! We're here." Maria's voice cut through the quiet vessel, rousing those who had been taking a well-deserved rest after informing Blake and Ilia of everything they knew. As they gathered around the cockpit, sounds of awe filled the room.

"That's strange…" Weiss muttered, dispelling such a feeling. "The fleet isn't normally like this."

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked.

"Well… there's more of them here and they're positioned to cover a lot of ground around Atlas and Mantle. The former makes sense considering the fleet pulled out of Mistral, but…" She trailed off.

"It's like they're expecting a fight." Adam finished.

"Yeah." Weiss bit her lip as she nodded. "But if the entire fleet is here… they might have abandoned some of the outlying settlements."

"They would do that?" Ruby asked, horrified.

"Atlas has done worse." Blake answered with narrowed eyes.

"But it's hard to abandon entire towns without hurting public opinion." Adam countered. "I imagine they've evacuated what they could. Solitas isn't exactly hospitable anyway."

"James… What the hell are you doing?" Qrow muttered under his breath.

"Manta Five-One, welcome home." The radio crackled as a female voice welcomed them. "Please proceed to docking bay Omega Three."

"What do we do?" Maria asked. "I would prefer not to be arrested."

Everyone's eyes naturally fell on Ruby, who cupped her chin and hummed in thought for a moment. "We don't know enough about the situation. Going straight to Atlas will cause trouble, so we should hide in Mantle and send word up. Weiss, you can call your sister right?"

"I could, once we're down there. She can get us a meeting with Ironwood."

"Alright then. Take us down into Mantle. We'll ditch the ship and go into hiding." Ruby decided.

Maria nodded and brought them lower down, flying them into the much darker city. "Manta Five-One, we read you going off course. Please raise and head to docking bay Omega Three." Maria's goggles rolled, as if she was rolling her eyes, as she ignored the radio.

"That… doesn't look good." Jaune grimaced as he pointed to a screen showing Ironwood giving some sort of announcement.

"A reminder that Atlas is here to protect you. Please follow all orders given by our men and women in uniform."

"Please make sure to return to your homes before curfew. This is in place to protect you during this trying time."

"Remember that Atlas is here for you."

The screen continued on and on. Adam let out a low snarl. "So he isn't content to control the entirety of the kingdom's defences now? He's using his two seats to take over everything…"

"My sister will know what's going on I'm sure. We've had our differences but she'll help us." Weiss tried to sound sure, but it wasn't making it into her voice.

"About that…" Yang pointed down at another screen, where Winter was doing much the same as Ironwood.

"Please report any suspicious activity to the nearest soldiers. Failure to do so is a punishable offence." She called.

"Winter…" Weiss let out a disappointed sigh.

"Since when did people call the military when something is suspicious?" Nora asked, utterly confused.

"Well, probably during martial law…" Ren trailed off with a wince.

"Which is basically what this is." Adam scowled. "Bastard." Blake looked at him with a frown and a raised brow. He sighed in response. "I don't have to like him, Blake. Besides, it's our job as Huntsmen and Huntresses to work to help the people. We'll get in contact and try to set him straight."

"And if he doesn't?" Blake questioned.

"Then we'll go around him. Help the people ourselves." Adam looked back at her with a firm eye.

"If he tries to stop us, we'll stop him." Yang said with a shrug. "Especially if he tries to lock you guys up. You're on our team now. Whatever you've done is in the past." She turned to look at Blake. "Stay on our side, and that'll remain the truth."

Blake nodded nervously.

"Manta Five-One! You are disobeying order-"

"Take a hint lady!" Maria yelled, shutting off the radio and turning the ship around into a side street. It came to a landing with a shudder. "Right. Let's move." She grumbled, hopping off her chair. "I know somebody who can help us out."

Blake swallowed as she looked around. The city was a dark, almost wet grey. Not only in the bricks used for the buildings, but in the attitudes of the residents too. The people seemed… beaten down.

Now they understand how we feel. She held back a smile. She couldn't help but think that in some way it was a good thing. All these humans now could understand what it was like to be a Faunus. Of course, it wasn't just humans suffering here. A mining truck passed them by, coming from the crater that the 'great floating city of Atlas' had come from.

Each and every miner was Faunus.

Does that not prove my point? If we don't fight back, they'll just make us into slaves. But despite that thought, another one entered her mind. Years of fighting, and they're still treated this way. I thought fear made us progress but… nothing has changed.

If they didn't fight, nothing would change. But if they did, nothing would change either. There was no victory. There was no change. If we don't fight back, they'll use it to show that this is our place. But if we fight back they will use it to show why we can't be allowed freedom.

It was an eternal conundrum with no answer. At least, no simple answer.

So then Adam. Do you think your peaceful ways can change Atlas and Mantle? Can you change these cities? I'll admit that the Schnee's mind has been changed, so can you do it to everyone? It was the ultimate question. The answer to which would determine her own path.

If he failed, then she couldn't follow him. It was that simple to her now. But it did raise another question for her: was she okay with it being that simple?

They passed by a pair of drunks, who gave them all a glare that turned dark once their eyes reached Adam and Blake. Ilia at least looked human enough to confuse them. Adam's single visible eye glared back, causing them to grumble in anger. That was all they did, however. The group crossed the road without incident.

Blake's hands clenched into fists as she thought. Am I really okay with just following Adam? Just doing whatever he asks? There's a certain sense of freedom in letting him make all the choices but… not making my own choices? Didn't I fight against people trying to take that away from me?

But then if she wasn't going to just follow him, what was she going to do? She could feel a headache coming on. Between giving up on all of my ideals and deciding to follow Adam, learning everything about this Salem woman and arriving in Atlas… I don't know if I'm in a position to think all of this through. There's no easy, simple answer for me. So what should I do?

Everything was still so fresh in her mind. She hadn't even fully wrapped her head around magic and gods and immortals and relics, so how could she really think about her future in any complex fashion? Her mind was a mess.

I suppose, for now, all I can do is what I used to. Follow Adam, while maintaining who I am.

As Blake made that decision, Maria pushed open the door to a clinic and brought them before her old friend.

"You're… team RSTY!" Pietro gasped in surprise, looking between them.

Ruby shrugged. "Yeah… why do you know that?"

"My daughter told me so much about you! You helped her out so much and I'm ever so- cough cough- grateful." The old man smiled.

"Your… daughter?" Ruby cocked her head to the side in confusion. Pietro opened his mouth to speak, but his jaw clacked shut as a siren sounded, filling them all with dread. How many sirens have I heard recently? Ruby wondered as she and the others rushed outside.

The street lights had turned red, a group of Atlesian Knights was retreating down the road while firing on two dozen Sabyr's. The cat-like Grimm sped down the street and tore the machines apart with relative ease. And then they turned their eyes on Ruby and the others.

Crescent Rose sang as Ruby drew her beloved scythe. "Alright, everyone. Let's take them out quickly."

"Blake, Ilia. It's been a while but stick by me." Adam ordered. "It's best if they fight with someone they know how to work with." He said in response to the look Yang sent him.

They rushed forward, meeting the Sabyr's in the middle of the street. A dozen Huntsmen and Huntresses met two dozen Sabyr's in battle.

Blades sang, gunfire sounded, Grimm died.

It didn't take them long to cut down their foes. As the lights turned back to their usual, a sound similar to rockets filled the air as a new figure appeared, landing in the middle of the road.

"Ah!" Pietro called, coming up behind Ruby with Maria. "Dear, why don't you say hello to your friends?"

"Huh?" Ruby looked on in confusion and growing surprise as the figure turned…

Penny Polendina smiled as she sprinted over. "Salutations!" She called, tackle-hugging Ruby to the floor with a laugh.

"Bwah!? Penny!? What!? But! I! You!?" Ruby floundered as she got back to her feet once Penny let go. "You died!" She finally got out.

Penny grinned back. "Yup! But then Dad rebuilt me! I'm combat ready!"

Pietro let out a chuckle. "Did you think I'd let a little dismemberment stop me? Heheheh, no. Once Amity returned to Atlas with the fleet I recovered her core and got right to work. I came up with a lot of upgrades from watching the tournament. I doubt you'd have it as easy now, Ms Nikos." Pietro smiled at Pyrrha, showing that there weren't any hard feelings.

"Once I was rebuilt, General Ironwood assigned me to protect Mantle! Oooooo now that you're here we can catch up! I can't wait to hear about everything you've been up to since Beacon fell!" Penny excitedly bounced up and down. A siren called out from far away, however. "It will have to wait!"

With a quick goodbye, she flew off, leaving Ruby and her friends confused, but also happy to see Penny alive and well.

"Well… that was something." Adam shrugged.

"You can say that again." Yang sighed.

"Well… that was something." Adam said again with a smirk, earning a fist to the shoulder from Yang. It succeeded in lightening the mood, however, producing a laugh from everyone there.

It was sadly cut short, as Ren furrowed his brow in confusion moments before a surprise attack was launched against them. "Wha!" Ruby shouted in surprise as a thick cord wrapped around her body, trapping her arms against her torso as the two ends of the cord, a set of orbs, glowed purple and were drawn together.

In a moment, a dozen pairs of gravity bola's flew in from several nearby buildings, trapping everyone by Pietro and Maria. Five figures dropped into sight as Ruby collapsed to the floor.

A man who seemed to be the leader walked over with a cocky grin and removed Crescent Rose from her belt, throwing it over to an Atlesian Knight who followed after him. His gaze then fell on the shimmering lamp on Ruby's waist.

"Hey! I'm a licensed Huntsman!" Qrow growled. "What the hell!?"

"Unlawful entry. Stealing a military vessel. Discharge of unregistered weaponry. Travelling with known and wanted criminals." The leader listed out their 'crimes' as he took the lamp. As he mentioned criminals he gave a pointed look towards Adam and Blake, earning scornful glares from the entire party.

Pietro coughed as he came over. "Clover! This is-"

"Doctor." The man, apparently named Clover, interrupted. "Please head inside. This is a military matter." His firm voice cut down any attempt Pietro could have made to help them.

Within less than an hour of arriving in Mantle, they'd been arrested.

A/N: I'm back! Haha! Feels good to get back into the swing of things, though it took a bit to do so. Hence the delay in getting this out. My week off was good, though with NZ in lockdown I couldn't do a party. It'll have to wait sadly. Oh well. Chapter-wise it's pretty simple. Mostly bringing everyone up to speed, arriving in Mantle, Blake thinking a lot and the return of Penny and arrest. Not overly much to talk about yet. The next chapter will though. With both Adam and Blake as important characters, and the ability to take my time thanks to this being fanfiction, I'm going to try and do a few more things during the montage section. We'll see how it goes.

I hope you all enjoyed and I'll catch you next time!