All right folks! The end for Volume 8 is nearing and I will do the story after publishing the last chapter. I don't know when the next Volume would be released, so you better wait for it to be released so I can continue this story.
Of course, I'll be only waiting for the transcript for it, so it might take a lot longer for an update to happen for this story.
I'm rally just happy that I made it this far and I am genuinely starting to tear up from the progress that I have made.
For now, let's get right into the story.
"Talking"
'Thinking'
"Pokedex"
Pokemon Moves
'Telepathy'
Flashback
"Narrator/Singing"
Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY or Pokemon
Chapter:73 Taking Chances
The entrance to one of Atlas's underground subways is being circled by Grimm. We then see the inside of the subway, where the people of Atlas overhear Ironwood's voice from the broadcast.
"If anyone tries anything other than what I've ordered, Mantle is gone," On the billboard of a tall building, circled by Grimm, Ironwood's message to Penny is being played. "You have one hour to respond."
Inside a mine in Mantle, many people, including Fiona's Uncle, are listening and reacting to the speech with shock and fear.
"I hope you live up to the title I gave you."
Fiona, who was listening to the broadcast on her Scroll, drops it and begins to cry. Joanna and May embrace her to try and comfort her.
Ironwood and Winter are walking down a corridor. Two guards emerge from one of the side paths and, upon noticing Ironwood, salutes them while doing their best not to look Ironwood in the eye. Their reaction is noticed by Winter, who chose not to comment.
Somewhere else in the base, the Ace-Ops are seen talking with each other.
"Of course he's not going to do it," Elm said with certainty.
"So what, he's bluffing? With the whole city?" Marrow questioned as he wasn't convinced after everything that happened.
"It may finally push the kids to see reason," Vine said with hope.
"Who cares?" Harriet angrily said.
A door opens behind them to allow Ironwood and Winter access to the room. The Ace-Ops line up and stand at attention.
"Good, you're here. I need a squad of drones in standby to drop the payload," Ironwood said as Winter's eyes widen.
"Sir, what for?" She asked him.
"I believe I was clear in the broadcast. If they give me a reason, I'm gonna remove Mantle from the equation," The Ace-Ops look in shock as he continues. "This is how we save Atlas."
Ironwood begins to walk away from the group. Marrow walks towards him, distraught.
"You call this saving Atlas? Doing Salem's job for her?" Marrow questioned him as the General stops but didn't turn around. "I believed in you! I thought we could work towards something better. But now you're throwing it all away."
Harriet grabs him by the shoulder and moves him in order to stand between Marrow and Ironwood
"If you don't shut your mouth, I'm going to do it for you," She threatened him.
"If this is what gets the children to cooperate, then it's worth it," Vine said while Elm was somewhat in agreement.
"I don't like this either, but the top priority is…"
Marrow walks past Harriet to get closer to Ironwood.
"Do you even believe what you're saying anymore?" He questioned them as he turns towards them. "Do any of you believe in anything? I used to wear this rank with pride. Now I see it for what it really is: a collar."
Marrow walks past the the Ace-Ops and away from Ironwood. His eyes widen when he hears a gun cock before he is punched in the face by Winter.
Ironwood pulls back his gun as Winter restrains Marrow.
"You want a collar? Fine," Winter said as she picks up and holds on to Marrow as the Ace-Ops look on in shock. "I'll throw this traitor in the brig. Where he belongs."
Ironwood nods and allows Winter to take Marrow away while he holsters his gun. He walks past the rest of the Ace-Ops, who get out of his way and stand at attention.
At the Schnee manor, Team RWBY, Emerald Vic, Nomad, U.Pikachu, and Oscar are in the meeting room. Weiss is pacing around the room, Emerald is leaning against a wall and Oscar is looking through the window with U. Pikachu on his shoulder. Everyone else is sitting at the table.
Yang sighs and said, "Okay, Ironwood wants Penny, otherwise Mantle is done for. So, how do we stop him?"
"Qrow and Robyn are still in his custody, and May said that the Atlas security drones are watching the crater, so they're trapped too," Blake said.
"Even my access to their system was cut off after our break-in earlier," Vic said in frustration. He really was angry with the General from how he viewed Penny now.
"Easy boss," Nomad said as Vic calmed down a bit, but the giant of the group was angry as well.
"And Salem isn't going to stay gone for much longer," Oscar added, making the situation more dire.
"So then, it's impossible," Ruby said in sadness.
"See? If Miss Hero with all the answers doesn't have an answer, then we have ours," Emerald said, unintentionally taunting the group.
"Shut up," Weiss said in annoyance.
Nomad tried to stand up, but Vic and Oscar held him back as he had a look of anger that he wanted to vent on Emerald, even if she was a woman. Gender equality guys.
Yang then approaches Emerald instead and said, "Okay, then why don't you just leave?!"
Emerald back away in fear from the animosity they were giving.
"Can we please just give each other a chance? Emerald's not with Salem anymore, and Ozpin is back," Oscar assured them as Ruby grumbles into the table while everyone else goes quiet. "All of this doubt and worry and distrust, it isn't getting us anywhere."
Ruby slams her hands on the table.
"Then nothing has changed! We're in the exact same spot we were yesterday. Arguing what to do while the Kingdom waits to die," Ruby said, clearly distraught from the situation in hand.
Yang lays her hand on her shoulder to try and comfort her, but Ruby shrugs the hand off and runs out of the room. Yang hesitates for a second, then runs after her.
Jaune attempts to heal Nora's scars with his Semblance. Ren is sitting on the edge of the bed while Pyrrha was on the other and Monarch float above them.
"I'm... glad you're alright," Ren said but Nora didn't respond. Eventually Jaune stops using his Semblance with a sigh.
"Ah, sorry. No matter how much I boost you, they won't go away," Jaune said as Nora get up in a sitting position.
"Don't apologize. I got hurt doing what I always do, just another ditsy move from Nora," She said as Ren stood up.
"Th-that's not true," Ren said in denial.
"How would you know? We were supposed to be a team, but that didn't matter to you. When things went wrong you pushed us away. You shove people out so you don't have to feel things that are hard!" Nora yelled as she gasps for breath before attempting to calm herself down. Ren looks away before replying.
"You're right. I should be apologizing, to both of you. W-when we lost Oscar and things got difficult, I said terrible things," Ren sits back on the bed. "I've been so...angry, at myself. For not being as good as the Ace-Ops, for what happened at Robyn's rally, for losing the lamp. I thought if I just focused on working harder, getting stronger, that we...I, wouldn't fail. But, my biggest failing was as a teammate and as a partner."
Jaune, Pyrrha and Monarch looks between Ren and Nora several times before the two humans get up in a rush.
"Ah ha! Ha ha! Uh...All water under the bridge, buddy! Ha ha! I'm uh...Gonna go see ifKleinneeds any help with Penny. Hey Pyrrha, can you come? You might help restrain her," Jaune asked his girlfriend.
"Sure," She said as the two exits the room in a rush, with Monarch in tow, and shuts the door loudly.
"Ren, I just wish, I mean, why didn't you say anything? So we failed as a team, but we succeed as a team too," She asked him.
"I was the one holding us back. Not Jaune, not Pyrrha, not you. Me," Ren admitted.
"Well, you're wrong. All I do is make dumb jokes and smash things with a hammer. I hardly gave my mom's Pokémon barely any command at all during the evacuation, they just stood guard," Nora said a Ren went closer to her.
"What? That's not true," Ren said as Nora sighs while leaning her head back and closing her eyes. "You put everything you have into what you do. You support everyone around you, you help without worrying about how it might hurt. And that's what I love about…"
Nora's eyes wide in shock.
"That's why I... I love you."
Nora takes a deep breath and looks away from Ren. Neither of them say anything for a while.
"When my mom ran from the Grimm and left to protect me, you found me when I was alone. We became Ren and Nora. But I realized on this mission apart, I don't know who "Just Nora" is. And if I'm ever going to find out, then I have to do it alone. Because I've always loved you, Lie Ren, and that pretty head on your shoulders seems like it's doing a lot better," Nora said as Ren chuckles at the last remark. "But I still got to get mine sorted out before I can be the partner you need. Is that...okay?"
Ren looks at her with his Semblance. He sees whitish pink petals slowly falling off her, and gives her a small smile, and brushes her cheek as she starts to cry.
"It's definitely okay," He said as he removes his hand from her cheek and taps her nose. "Boop."
Nora gives a small giggle, and the two rest their foreheads together.
Qrow and Robyn are in a locker room, looking for their weapons. Qrow finds his sword and pulls it out while Hunch walks around him.
"You got those halfway cameras on a loop?" Qrow asked the former candidate as Robyn doesn't respond, her eyes on a screen showing Ironwood's speech and Mantle.
"He's... really gonna do it," She muttered while Qrow approaches and gives Robyn her weapon.
"Not if we stop him first," Qrow said as Robyn grabs her weapon but looks away, unsure about what Qrow said while Hunch let out a whimper.
Further away from them, Jacques listened in while searching for a weapon that he could properly use while Stalactite stood beside him. He just cursed under his breathe because of what the General was doing and he needs to protect his family somehow. Then he saw the perfect weapon for him.
The four stealth around the base with Jacques having a metal staff in hand, being careful to avoid being noticed by a couple guards taking the elevator. They make their way to one and Qrow tries to call it in, but is stopped by Robyn, who grabs his arm.
"There might be a better way," Robyn tried to change his mind. Qrow shakes the hand off and glares at Robyn.
"I'm telling you there isn't," He said.
"Well, this isn't just about you. It's about everyone."
"I'm going straight up to the Academy and I am ending this."
"Or we fail and people get killed."
"He deserves this!"
The three panics as Robyn covers his mouth with her hand. She looks around to make sure no one heard them before letting go.
Robyn sighs then said, "Listen, I get it. You are hurting. You've been hurting for a long time. But let's stop pretending that what you're trying to do here is for anyone but yourself."
Qrow continues to glare but doesn't say anything in return.
"Clover was a lot of things. You respected him, but I gotta tell ya, I think you're the better Huntsman. Not because you're the one who walked away, but, because you're the one fighting for what was right," She said as Qrow's glare softens and he looks away. "Don't go telling me that's changed."
They hear the elevator next to them ding, signaling someone's arrival. Qrow, Robyn and Jacques ready their weapons while Stalactite ready to pounce, but when the door opens, they lower their weapons slightly with looks of surprise.
Vic sighs as he was beside Penny's sleeping form while Jaune and Klein is tending her. He softly touch his lover's hair while she was in her deep slumber and grew worried for her.
Alongside him were his team and Pyrrha with Randy and Nomad guarding the door, while Pyrrha and Mel were with him in the room.
"I hope that you'll be okay soon," Vic said in a whisper as he grab Penny's hand.
"We'll find a way," Mel assured him as they look at the unconscious gynoid. "You know, I'm also in a relationship."
Vic look at him and said, "You do? Who?"
Mel blushed and said, "The same girl from the house that I crashed in."
"No way," Vic said as he find it funny that something like that happens to Mel.
"Yeah, it was a rough start since I did destroy parts of their house, so I had to become their personnal butler for a while in exchange for me living with them till I pay their debt," Mel said as he remembered those days. He was even relieved during the Fall of Beacon when heard that she was safe. "I'm just saying that you should have a little faith. Have faith that she would be safe and sound."
Vic nods from his best friends advice and he kept his grip on Penny's hand.
"How is she now?" He asked Klein and Jaune.
"While I don't understand some parts of her body, I could say that she will be fine for now. Especially when her body is made of metal," Klein said.
"Her Aura is slowly regenerating and might give her enough strength to move," Jaune said.
"Thank Arceus," Vic said in relief as he look at Penny's face.
Suddenly, her eyes open as she sat and surprised the occupants in the room.
"Penny! Are you okay? Do you feel anything wrong?" He asked her but she backs away from them.
"S-Stay back!" She warned them as her green eyes changes to red because of the virus as she did manage to take control but the virus was stronger.
"Stay strong," He said to her till Penny pushed him away because of the virus and went for the window.
"Grab her!" Mel yelled as he went to grab the gynoid but she jumped out of the window with him and caused the others to scream.
Randy and Nomad bust the door open and saw thaf Mel was missing and the broken window.
"What happened?" Nomad asked.
"Penny is going for the Vault! Everyone stop her!" Vic ordered as he the rest of his team, Jaune and Pyrrha quickly went outside the room, down the stairs, and they saw Yang and Ruby there. The then followed them to the exit.
Outside, Penny is seen laying on the floor with Mel still clinging on her by her neck. She gets up, her eyes fully red.
"I can no longer be delayed," She said in a robotic tone as she begins to walk away. Ruby uses her Semblance to get in front of her and grab her by the arms.
"Penny please!" Ruby pleaded.
"Fight it for Vic!" Mel pleaded as well as Penny twitches uncontrollably.
"I...I must...open the Vault," The gynoid's eyes then flashes between red and green. "I, I do not want...Ah!"
Emerald emerges from the entrance and looks on in shock as Oscar runs past her.
"Ruby, Mel, stop me!" Penny pleaded.
"Penny!" Ruby shouted as she grabs her by the waist as Penny's eyes settle on red.
"I must open the Vault and self-terminate," Penny said as she takes flight with Ruby and Mel still holding off. Penny is stopped from her flight by Gambol Shroud wrapping around her right arm. Ren takes the moment to grab Penny's other hand with the hooks from Storm Flower. Blake, Yang, Jaune, Nora, Oscar, Vic, Randy and Nomad grab the chords, and together they drag Penny to the ground, onto a Glyph made by Weiss and Pyrrha using her Semblance to keep her down.
"We've got her!" Weiss shouted.
"What do we do?" Nora asked.
Penny's eyes flare, as she summons a tempest around her. The wind causes Weiss to recoil, canceling the Glyph and made Pyrrha stop using her Polarity. Penny tries to lift herself up with the summoned wind.
"I must open the Vault!" Penny yelled in desperation as her eyes alternatively change from red to green. "And self-terminate."
Emerald joins in, using the chain sickles from Thief's Respite to grab Penny by the shoulders. She looks back at Jaune.
"Do something!" She shouted at him as Jaune lets go of Gambol Shroud and heads towards Weiss and Pyrrha. He powers the two up with his Semblance, allowing Weiss to make a stronger Glyph and making Pyrrha's Polarity more powerful, grounding Penny once more.
"Penny please. Tell me how to help you,"
Ruby pleaded as Penny narrowed her eyes.
"Kill me," She said as Ruby's and Mel's eyes widen. "Kill me. And I can make sure the power goes to you."
Ruby doesn't reply as everyone else looks in in horror.
"Don't you dare think like that!" Vic yelled as Penny look towards him. "Don't you dare even think there is no other way! There might be way! There's must always be one.!"
"That virus is just a part of you!" Nora yelled as well. "If you were only a machine, you never could have fought back for this long."
"She's right… She's right! Jaune! Boost her Aura!" Ruby called out to her fellow leader.
Jaune runs from Weiss and Pyrrha, and begins using his Semblance on Penny. Her eyes continue to flash, but it starts to slow down and eventually disappears. Penny sits still, shocked, but eventually gives Jaune a nod.
The danger, having seemingly past, causes Ruby to hug Penny in relief. Everyone sees Oscar and Emerald approach her in relief, with Vic and Nora giving Penny another hug.
"Did... I stop the virus?" Jaune asked as Penny looks at her hands, contemplating Jaune's words.
"No. It's still there," Penny simply said.
"But you've got an Aura, Penny, a soul. That's who you are, our friend, not a machine," Ruby said.
"Also the love of my life," Vic said as he give Penny a peck on the cheek, which made her blush.
The group enjoy a moment of silence, being happy that they didn't lose Penny.
"I think you're wrong, by the way."
They all turn around to look at Emerald, who was sitting on the ground with her legs crossed.
"I highly doubt you're in the same place you started. I-I mean, yeah, y-you guys have been getting your asses kicked, some of that my fault, but like, you're at war. You're gonna take hits," Emerald then look away as she to figure out what she was trying to say. "Look, I'm just going to be super pissed if you all finally decided to give up the moment I switch sides."
Oscar smiled and said, "Switched sides, huh?"
Emerald opens her mouth to reply, but is unable to retort.
"Aww," Yang said as the group begins to giggle at Emerald's look of embarrassment.
"Or like, whatever," Emerald said as Oscar offers Emerald a hand, which she accepts, and lifts her up. Ruby felt somewhat jealous for some reason when she saw that but didn't know why. Strange.
"If you all wouldn't mind, I really think Ozpin would like to say something," Oscar said as everyone silently looks at Ruby.
She snapped out of her thoughts and said, "Go ahead."
Oscar's eyes briefly flash gold, and Ozpin walks forward and U. Pikachu went off his shoulder.
"I was recently reminded of an old fairy tale," Ozpin said. "A young girl flees the consequences of a choice, to a magical place. But, having never learned from her initial failure, she only succeeds in spreading it. I failed all of you. I should have trusted you with the truth and should never have run the day you discovered it."
"It was rough, but…"
"I think after everything that's happened here, we understand," Blake finished for Yang. "Trust is..."
"Trust is a risk," Weiss finished.
"A gamble that we must always be aware of," Randy said.
"Since trusts have some cons of its own," Nomad said.
"And I hope it's a risk you can take on me again," Ozpin said.
Ruby silently nods her head at Ozpin.
Penny frowns, clutching her chest in pain.
"I can still feel it fighting me," Penny said.
"I can't just keep amping her forever," Jaune said.
"And we can't keep Ironwood waiting," Ren said as Penny held her head in pain.
"Guys, she has to go to the Vault," Nora said as everyone looks down in thought, except for Ruby and Vic who look around at everyone.
"That's actually a risk we haven't considered," Ruby said.
"We might still have a chance on this," Vic said.
Some time later, Ironwood is standing in the Vault with his Scroll in his hand, in a phone call with Ruby.
"She'll do it."
In an alley in the City of Atlas, Watts attaches a Scroll to some wires inside a damaged Atlesian Knight. Static-filled audio of Ironwood's voice can be heard.
"The Academy entrance. Penny comes alone."
Watts looks up to see Roman and Neo approaching. The latter spins her parasol and then points it at Cinder who is standing behind Watts, and Cinder looks over her shoulder and smirks at Neo.
And that is it for that chapter.
The next chapter would be the third chapter before the end of Volume 8.
The end is really nearing and the beginning of a new story coming this year. I might even decide to make a trailer for it if I want to. I might struggle to even make one so I'm gonna that one in my suggestion lists.
The new story will be one of my favorite stories especially since I finished both the 1st Gen group of the Adventures Manga. I completely the personalities of the first four main characters and I love them. There might be some Red x Blue (F) fans out there, but I'm gonna Red x Yellow and Green (M) x Blue (F), so if you're a fan of that then I'll be happy that I'm not alone on this one.
But for now, this will be the end of this chapter and I'll see you guys on the next one.
Vic out Peace