Penny sits alone on an examination table in Pietro Polendina's Atlas laboratory. A robotic arm reaches out and gently pats her head, before moving away. She sadly looks at her reflection in a nearby glass wall.
Novus, Ruby, and Pietro watch sadly from a window in the outside room.
"I've never seen her so sad before" Novus said, "It makes me worried."
Pietro nodded "You and I both. What's happened recently has certainly taken its toll."
"Will she be ok?" Ruby asked.
"Hopefully," Novus said, "The people saw who the attacker was, so she won't be blamed for hurting anyone. Once we figure out where Tyrian is and capture him, this whole thing should blow over."
"If only it were that easy" Pietro said, "She didn't hurt anyone, true, but no one saw her try to protect them either, so her loyalties will still be questioned."
Ruby looked sorrowful, "She doesn't deserve this."
"No, she doesn't" Novus agreed, "But there's not much we can do about that right now, is there?"
Ruby sadly looked down; she knew Novus was right.
Pietro got a call on his scroll. "Looks like Dr. Hayden needs to speak with me. Can you two keep Penny company?"
Ruby nodded. "Of course."
As Pietro left, Novus and Ruby walked into the room Penny was sitting in. Novus removed his helmet as Ruby put her arms around her friend. "Don't worry, Penny. We'll find a way to help you. I promise."
"As do I." Novus said. As Ruby pulls away, he then cradles her face with his hand. "I lost you once. I'm not losing you again."
Penny smiled before leaning up to kiss Novus, and then smiling at Ruby. "Thank you. Both of you."
The three temporarily forgot the situation they faced as they enjoyed each other's company.
…
In Mantle, an armored truck drives past the TV's and continues on its way down the road, while Robyn, Joanna, and Fiona follow it via the rooftops. The Atlesian Knight-200 drivers bring the truck to a screeching halt when they find May standing in its path. Down the road to the left, a pair of soldiers come running from around a corner to check on the source of screeching tires.
"Everything alright over here?" When the soldiers make it around the corner, they only see an empty intersection "Uhhh, hello?".
May is using her Semblance to project a dome around the truck and the Happy Huntresses, which renders them invisible to all outside the dome. Fiona is sitting on the truck's hood, while Joanna pushes the damaged AK-200 robots out of it. Robyn stands nearby, overseeing them. Fiona places her hand on the truck, and a shockwave travels from the truck to her hand, which shimmers with Aura. The truck begins disintegrating from the back, forward. Fiona jumps down from the hood, and the powder flows into a black hole in her palm, which disappears as she makes a fist.
Robyn nods "Good. Let's move before more show up".
Sometime later, Ironwood is in his office, reviewing footage of the truck becoming invisible.
"This is the worst case scenario!" He angrily slams his fist on his desk "More people are dead, Penny's been wrongfully accused, and somehow, Jacques Schnee is sitting on the council".
Ren, Nora, Roman, Ruby, Qrow, Winter, and Clover are present in Ironwood's office. All of them looking worried.
"That's the second shipment for Amity that was hit today. It seems election night was the last push Robyn needed to go from hometown hero to full-on vigilante" Clover said.
"I'm afraid the problem is more complicated than that" Winter said.
"How so?" Roman asked.
Ironwood sighs and begins pacing behind his desk "It seems Robyn has emboldened our suppliers in Mantle. They're refusing to sell us provisions until the city is adequately repaired. With Robyn redistributing the goods her team has stolen, the Amity Project is completely stalled".
Ruby decided to get back to talking about the tower "There has to be some way we can finish the tower. We're so close".
"There is - declaring martial law" Winter said, making Ruby, and Nora's eyes widen, and they look at Ironwood, who stares outside through the window. Roman just shakes his head in disbelief. "You can't be serious."
"You're not actually considering that, are you?" Nora asked in worry.
"What's more important? Establishing communications, unite the world? Or appeasing a few city blocks?" Ironwood asked.
Nora was getting emotional "Don't make it sound trivial when you know it isn't. You keep talking about how we just need a little more time, but you're not the one having to struggle".
Ironwood turns around to face her "We have all had to make sacrifices for the greater good. Mantle has had to bear a lot of the burden, yes, but-".
Nora interrupts him and approaches his desk, becoming even more upset "They're bearing all of it! The longer this waiting game goes on, the harder each day gets for people down there and now you wanna send in more soldiers? You can't just force people to fall in line. If you do that, you'll just be trading all of these problems for the Grimm!".
Ironwood steps forward and stares at her, eyes narrowed, while she stares back, panting. He lowers himself into his chair and rests his face in his hands. Ruby walks forward to stand next to Nora "Please, General Ironwood. Squeezing Mantle this way… That kind of division plays right into Salem's hands" She rests a hand on Nora's shoulder "That's why Tyrian is here framing you".
"Right, the reason we called you here in the first place. You're sure this was the man you saw?" Clover steps toward Ruby, brings out his Scroll, and presses a button to project a screen that displays a file about Tyrian. The file contains a photograph of Tyrian's face, as well as an image of Tyrian from undercover footage. Portions of the file's text appear to be classified.
"Tyrian Callows was accused of murders all across Anima. A homicidal maniac who escaped justice when his prison transport was attacked by Grimm. After that, he was never seen again" Winter explained.
"Well, he works for Salem and he's here" Ruby said.
"If we ever had any doubts Atlas was Salem's next target, I think those are officially out the window" Qrow said.
"But now we have a suspect, and thanks to Hector and Novus, we have witnesses. We can tell the people" Ruby pointed out.
"That a long-lost serial killer is loose in Mantle and the military has no idea where he is - might make things worse before they get better" Clover said.
Nora was getting annoyed "I am so sick of secrets! If we just told everyone about Amity, about Salem-".
"We can't!" Everyone turns to look at Ironwood "If we talk about Amity now, we risk Salem's forces, who we know are here, working to sabotage it. If we tell them about Salem now, we risk falling to the Grimm before we can reunite Remnant" He stands up, slamming his hands down onto his desk "We have to finish the tower. I want Robyn Hill in custody".
"That would be unwise" said a robotic voice as Hayden entered the office, "Arresting a hero of the people would only make things worse. Plus, she's more than you realize."
"What are you talking about?" Ironwood asked.
"Nora is right about the almost absurd amount of secrets, so I will reveal this one. Believe it or not, I've been monitoring Robyn before she even became popular with the people."
"Why? Who is she to you?" Ironwood asked.
Ruby suddenly thought back to Jinn's vision; the point where Salem put the barrier around Sentinel Prime. She gasped, getting the attention of the others.
"You okay, Red?" Roman asked.
Ruby looked to Hayden; her eyes wide. "She's…Novus's mother."
Hayden nodded. "Indeed. She also is currently the commander of a hidden warrior clan created from the Night Sentinels known as the Champions of Atlas. Trust me, they may not be full blooded Night Sentinels, but they are not someone you want to make an enemy of."
There was stunned silence in the rom as this reveal began to settle on each of them. Even Ironwood found himself at a loss for words. Fortunately, Clover cleared his throat and spoke for the silence got too awkward.
"We'll figure it out" he said.
Roman took the opportunity to step forward. "If I may, General; being a former criminal myself, I know how to handle people like this. Tyrian obviously wasn't working alone; the power doesn't just shut itself off like that. It's possible that this same person is also messing with the video footage, making it seem Penny just stood and did nothing. If you want, I can look for these accomplices and take them down."
Ironwood thought for a moment, then nodded, "Do what you need to. Hayden, you and I will discuss Robyn more later. Anyone else not assisting with Roman needs to focus on Tyrian" Ironwood begins heading for the door, hands clasped behind his back "I want to know who he's working with, where he's hiding, what he's planning, and how exactly that video of Penny got all over my kingdom" He stops in front of the door and turns to look at everyone sternly "Do I make myself clear?".
"Yes, sir" Clover and Winter said.
"Yes, sir" Ruby and Nora give Ren a surprised look, and he stares calmly ahead.
Hayden then spoke up. "While they're busy, we're going to try and open the gateway."
Ironwood nodded. "I would like to be there when it happens."
That would unfortunately change though, as everyone were invited to dinner at the Schnee Manor, where Ironwood will be defending his seat on the Council. With this news, Ironwood gave Hayden permission to attempt to open the gateway without him.
While Ironwood left, Hayden remained in the now cleared portal room with Elena Richardson, Julius, Novus, Anton, and the Maidens (all except Khione, who had opted to go to the Schnee manor). The chamber had been filled with lots of equipment from Hayden's research team, and a pair of large power cores dominated the room, hooked up to the portal itself.
"Alright then" Hayden said, "Let's begin."
Elena guided Julius over to the core cylinders as she explained, "These cores are connected to the portal itself, so all you need to do is channel your magic through the cores, which should hopefully reach the barrier around Sentinel Prime and damage it."
"Seems easy enough" Julius replied as he placed his hands on the two cores.
"Remember what we taught you" Sandra said.
Spring was bouncing nervously. "Oh man…"
"This is pretty nerve racking, I agree" Autumn said.
Julius closed his eyes and concentrated, tapping into his magic. Slowly, red lightning began crackling from his hands, traveling through the cores and through the stone gateway.
"Focus!" Elena shouted, "You've almost got it."
With a few moments, the red lightning had made it through the stone gateway as Hayden activated the portal. Everyone watched in tense anticipation as it continued. Julius could sense the barrier as his magic struck at it.
"Come on! You got it!" Novus shouted.
You got this! Summer said in his head.
Emboldened by the others' cheering, Julius continued his efforts, but then he felt it. A tingling sensation the began crawling up his arms as his magic attack continued. Fear began welling up in his chest as he realized what was happening.
"We've got a crack!" Elena shouted, building up the excitement of the others. Julius however, yelled out in a mixture of terror and exhaustion as he let go of the cores, falling back and clutching his arms. Khione and the Maidens immediately ran over to check on him.
"Are you alright?" Spring asked in concern, "What happened?"
Julius was panting in fear. "It happened…I should have known this would happen!"
"What would happen?" Novus asked.
Slowly, Julius rolled up his sleeves, and the others began to gasp in horror as well; his arms had turned pure white…just like Salem's.
…
In Sentinel Prime, the Slayer ran over to a terrace of the fortress, having been called over by Novik.
"What?" the Slayer asked.
"Look" Novik said, pointing towards the barrier, "It's begun."
The Doom Slayer followed Novik's gaze and smiled as he saw the large crack in the wall. It was only a matter of time before the rest would fall.
They were not the only ones to notice; the Kahn Makyr sensed the crack from her realm. She looked toward Remnant as anger began to build up. "No…"
It may be time to inform Salem of this new occurrence; this plan could not fail.
Let me know what you think so far!