(This Starts after Chapter 40, but the change that starts it happens in 39)

"Are you sure about this?" asked Yang, not for the first time, looking around them. They were in the cafeteria, Beacon's cafeteria. This was the place where they, and all the students, tried to decompress from the daily grind of study and learning to be heroes. It was here that Ruby had asked them to take her, and she nodded a bit, still a bit wobbly on her feet, after a week or more off them. She was resolute, however.

"We can't let this stand, not now. We know too much, and if we leave here, if we go away…well, it'll either happen, just like we think it will, and everyone here will be in danger…or we'll be hunted down and killed," the last had been Ruby's own conclusion, but…none of them could deny it. Not now, not after everything they'd seen. They were the loose end to whatever Fields had represented, and that painted a target on their backs.

Worse, the White Fang had reason to hate them now. Team RWBY had killed…they weren't sure how many. A hundred or more? And that video of Yang actually refusing to kill a guard at the Chivalric Arms facility was likely to go viral amongst their kind. This woman, who didn't care about killing them, bemoaned having to kill the ones who not only kidnapped her sister, but tried to kill her.

At least, that was what the recording had said. It had been from a friend friend, according to Blake. Some woman named Ilia. Well, she had been a friend anyway. The foot she showed off, a block of wood, with Blake's name carved into it with some rather…harsh words. Apparently Blake had left under some rather bad conditions, and well, the woman wanted them to know the White Fang would remember them.

Would this make up for that? Would the White Fang care? SHOULD they care? This wasn't like they were going to help. They weren't out there, screaming from the rooftops about Atlas and Chivalric Arms actions. They had gone on that interview, and when the news lady had told them not to say things while the cameras were rolling, they'd listened, and only said what they'd been told to say.

Ruby steeled herself, taking in a deep breath. Uncle Qrow would tell her this wasn't her fight, that she should keep her head down, and just leave. He would lie to her, because it was for her own good. But he'd be wrong. They were involved, deeply involved in Blake's case, once they'd forced her to tell them what had happened. And as to 'good'? None of this was good in the slightest.

She was aware, as Leader, she should keep the team together, but Yang…she was her sister, and on finding out what Blake had done, what she'd hidden. The two would never be able to work together again. Ruby found it hard to trust the woman herself. She wanted to. She really, really, really wanted to trust her, because she was the Leader, but then, hadn't Adam been Blake's leader too? And more, by her own admission.

She was still willing to help them with this, however. She'd said it was the least she could do, so as Ruby walked towards a table, limping a little still from the drugs, or just from lack of use of her legs for so long, she steeled herself regardless. She was going to show Jaune, show Qrow, show Blake, show EVERYONE that she was not one to go quietly into that good night, and as she finally got to the table, she nodded to the others.

Weiss needed no other sign, she walked right up to the doors to the cafeteria, and placed her hand on them, as Blake and Yang walked to the corners, looking outside, the sprawl of trainee huntsmen and huntresses all ignoring them, as the tumult of their voices filled the air, and Ruby took a deep breath, before taking a step forward, standing on the bench of the table, and then once more, to stand on it.

"Um…can I have your attention please?" she asked, not quietly, not softly, but still, it would have been shocking to a civilian how fast the cafeteria began to quiet down, how the volume of voices lowered, until finally, every eye, over two thousand of them were staring at her, just like they'd been trained to do in situations like this, so they didn't miss any info that might be needed for something.

"Yes, um, hello. I don't know too many of you, Beacon and especially those of you from the other Academies, but I have something to say. Something important to say," she began, her back going straight, as she felt all those gazes pressing down into her, with an almost physical crush behind them. She wasn't used to this, didn't want to do this, but she was the one who'd said they HAD to do this, so it was her who was the one who needed to say it.

"My name, because I know so many of you know it by the news, even if you don't know my face, is Ruby Rose. I'm the leader of my team, Team RWBY," she began, and she could see eyes go a little wide, a few of the less well mannered students pulling up scrolls to confirm what she was saying, pulling up the headlines from that morning, headlines that had pictures of her and her team, smiling forced smiles in front of the camera.

"Just to make sure we're all on the same page, two days ago, my team rescued me from the clutches of an evil, vile, terrible man, who was planning to do awful things to me, to get something from someone important. He was killed during their attack, and I was freed. That's what the news is reporting anyway," she explained, taking a deep breath, trying not to panic, trying to focus through this. She had to tell them.

"But the news is leaving things out. Awful things, things people should know. But my team…no but I can't do anything about it. I'm afraid…I won't deny it. I was hurt, twice over, and now, I can't stand this city. I can't stay here, because I can't trust this place, and it means that, even if I don't agree, I can understand why he's doing what he's doing," she said, rambling a little, rubbing her shoulder, trying to work up the courage to keep going, as her eyes drifted over to her sister and Blake, who were looking out the windows, and gave her the thumbs up.

"My team weren't the ones to rescue me, not on their own. If they'd tried, they would have been killed, because the one who held me, he was a Monster. I've seen people throw that word around a lot, so let me tell you, he was a man who killed innocents, who tortured families, and most important to you, he and his people killed Hunters to steal their semblances, murdering them in cold blood," she said the last, and rather than being shocked, rather than gasping in awe, she could hear a few people suck in breath. After all, they were listening to her, they would listen, until she was done, then judge if she was telling the truth.

"I don't know how they did that, but I've seen the video. Mathew Fields, head of Chivalric Arms, the man who the news is calling evil, well, he was worse than anything they're saying. He was a murderer, and he's the one who created Null, and tried to sterilize every faunus on the planet," she said that, and the cafeteria froze. She'd heard the phrase, 'you could hear a pin drop' sometimes before, but this was the first time in her life she'd been in that sort of silence.

"That's right, that's one of things they're keeping from the public, they say because it would cause a panic, but I think they're just covering it up again. We haven't been able to talk to the woman, and our proof was taken from us, by Beacon first, and then handed over to the Council, but I know it's true, and I ask that you believe me, please," she almost whispered the last, but no one spoke up, no one said anything, instead, she looked around, and saw she had everyone's full attention.

Even Cardin's. She was shocked to see concern in his face from this announcement. Didn't he hate faunus? But then, it was a leap from, I'll beat them up and bully them, straight to genocide, and apparently, no one here in this room was willing to allow that to go unanswered, as she saw at a tenth of the room pull out things that she knew to be their weapons, as if they were waiting for her to say who was behind it.

"I-," she was cut off as Blake gave a shout, and Weiss nodded, her hand suddenly moving, and glyphs appearing on the door, creating a huge sheet of ice blocking the only easy way into the cafeteria. The walls were armored(Like most of Beacon), and the glass was probably bullet proof, given what it took during food fights, so as the shadowy forms outside moved with purpose towards it, she knew her time was almost up.

"We…we were told not to tell anyone, that it would cause a panic, but I don't doubt that it's still being worked on. An agent they're planning on putting in the water. And the Beacon staff, they have a person, down under the school, her name's Amber Arc, and Jaune Arc, Null is coming to claim her. They don't want me to say that either, because you might play hero," she said, and they could hear pounding on the door now, and even on the walls. The staff trying to get in.

"He saved the faunus when he saved me, and so I owe him. My team owes him. So I'm going to pay him back, and demand the Headmaster, demand the school tell the truth, the whole truth. But I'm not going to win, not on my own, so I wanted to ask everyone here, if they'd help me. Help me do one last right thing, before I leave this place," she said sincerely, and as if it had been planned, the doors suddenly flew off their hinges, revealing those behind it.

She'd expected Ozpin, the Headmaster looked furious, very much unlike his usual stoic self. Deputy Goodwitch too, apparently she was very, very unhappy with this. Professor Port and Doctor Oobleck were confused, but they stood with them. The biggest surprise was her uncle Qrow, standing there looking…positively terrified, as he already had out his weapon, the teachers beside him having theirs as well, having used them to bust through the door.

And they were then given pause, as almost a thousand weapons were pointed at them. After all, the foreign students weren't about to let their gear out of their sight, and the Beacon natives weren't about to let the intruders show off alone. So just about everyone in the room was armed, and as the staff stared at them, they saw all that firepower directed at them, the students looking unsure as they stared back.

The stand off continued for what felt like a few hours, as they just stood there. No one was willing to pull a trigger, despite weapons being drawn, and finally, it was Glynda Goodwitch lowering her crop, and literally turning around that decided it. She was not going to back Ozpin in this, and the moment she decided that, Ozpin was lost, as he tried to order the students to stand down, tried to get them to return to their rooms. When the other teachers lowered their weapons…well you can guess how that went.

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Over the next eight hours, Beacon changed. Ozpin wasn't able to…not unwilling to, simply unable to, fight everyone, especially as the teachers took him into custody, locking him in one of the detention rooms. He could have gotten out, save for a few of the students sitting outside. A few DOZEN of the students, all with eyes on the room he was in, ready and able to take him down.

To their credit, the information on the sterilization agent, once they confirmed it existed from some of the staff, stayed in the group of students. They were, after all, training to be heroes, and they knew the value of keeping spirits up. Some even pointed out how this secret could probably ruin a kingdom, if it brought the Grimm down on all their heads in force, on top of causing a civil war.

But they were not taking this lying down, either. In the eight hours since the announcement, the world shifted greatly. Suddenly, Chivalric Arms found itself subject to raids, every facility, every outpost, every office, by Huntsmen and Huntresses acting on information sent through channels by the students. Those raids, unannounced and with no warning, soon saw battles in the street, as those doing the investigating found themselves opposed by force far beyond the legal limit.

In eight hours, CA's stock was bottomed out, eight members of the Atlas Council, five of Vales, and all of Mistrals had been arrested, on charges ranging from Kidnapping and Murder, to other, even less savory things. They protested their innocence, of course, before the camera, but Chivalric Arms, as ever, was meticulous in records keeping, and had kept just enough to bring down anyone who might oppose them in the future.

Suddenly, the truth of the Arc's capture, what was done to him, what continued to be done to his family, was all over the news. It was enough to wash away a lot of the hatred he'd accumulated, as the public saw him in a new light. A tortured soul, instead of a violent monster. It wouldn't clean him completely of the blood he'd spilled, but as the names of those he'd slain were quickly associated with Chivalric Arms…it certainly made his 'victims' look a lot less innocent.

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"You think this will make up for it?" he asked, as he stood there, beneath a huge banner hanging on the side of the school facing the Emerald Forest. How they'd known he was there…well, he didn't know but he'd guess it was someone's semblance. They were smart too, with a marked area for him to stand outside of, while over a thousand of them stood there, weapons at their side, but not held at the ready.

At the front of the group were the four from the Docks. He'd never forget their faces. But they had Amber with them, standing there, looking so happy to see him. The banner, it had told him they had her, and to come to them to get her. He hadn't believed it at first, figured it was some trick, but this close…he knew it was her. He could feel the happiness from her, as she tried to rush forward, only to be stopped by the blonde.

"We don't know, honestly. But we're giving you back your sister, and we're…sorry for what happened. We aren't sorry for what we did, we did what we're supposed to do when people steal the stuff to make bombs, but we are sorry you lost someone, and for everything that happened to your family," said the red head, and Jaune winced a bit, involuntarily, as he knew she WAS right…but still, he couldn't forgive them, not after they called him a monster.

"And so what, you want me to take her and go? You think you can bribe me to just leave you alone?" he asked, spitting towards them, and Weiss scoffed, before coughing, and then standing aside, an older gentleman, Ironwood, coming up behind her, and standing before her.

"I'm holding you to our bargain, if that's what you're asking. We had a deal, I would do everything in my power to help you rescue your sister, and you would leave the Kingdoms alone," he declared, and Jaune was actually taken aback…mostly because he hadn't noticed Ironwood in the group.

"I…I might not be able to do that. I have obligations, ones that require me to do something else in this school, and my allies wouldn't like it if I turned aside just because I got what I wanted," he said, laying it out there, feeling there was no reason to lie, and Ironwood nodded, before speaking again.

"I understand. You have been wronged, grievously, by my friends, by my allies, and by my nation. I will try my best to make that right. Those responsible, they will be brought to justice, and if the Council protects them, then the Council will be dissolved. My Atlas has no use for men and women such as them, if they are so spineless," he began, and it was obvious it was a speech he was beginning.

"But I will not allow one man's wounded heart, honest as that heart is, to harm this world. The one you're working with, she works for the very source of the Grimm, their dark queen. They are the reason Fields was allowed to continue, the reason that people are forced to huddle together and shiver in terror, as the forces of darkness and decay literally claw at our door," he had walked, away from the rest, to stand near Jaune. Very near, as in, within range of his ability near, though he stopped at the edge of that range.

"So, I offer you one chance. You said before, that you were no monster, save the one the world forced you to be. Here and now, you are being offered a chance to be a man, and stand with us against the night. Make the wrong choice here, and I will not hold back," he said it simply, and for all that Jaune had been running roughshod over him…that was when his hands were tied. They were no longer tied, thanks to everything that had happened, and he knew it.

In the end, he looked from Ironwood to Amber, who smiled at him. It was a disarming smile, one that told him it would be alright with her, no matter what he chose, because he'd protect her. He would too…but if he chose wrong now, it would be because he CHOSE it, not because it was forced on him. He wouldn't be able to claim the world was against him, not when he was being offered everything he wanted.

"I…have a call to make," he said at last, and then vanished into the brush again.

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The end of the day saw Cinder dead, and the Grimm she'd summoned scattered. The White Fang, after retrieving Amber Arc, were allowed to leave. There were a few in Ironwood's command that asked if that was okay. They were terrorists after all, but the General shut those voices down with a simple reminder that, for now, they had bigger fish to fry, and they would deal with their own problems, before looking for more.

The news, depending on who you listened to, called this a power grab by the Huntsmen. A blatant and clear snatching of authority, regardless of the evidence. Those voices found themselves challenged at every turn, however, as the Huntsmen and Huntresses demanded they present their own proof that any of their number were seizing power, instead of merely allowing another election.

There were grumbles of course. The candidates were picked by the Huntsmen community, after all, but in the end, with the outlying villages, including a loud cry from Ansel over the death of not just the Arc family patriarch, but over a dozen law enforcement officers and public servants who had investigated their deaths. All of them were found to be caused by CA, and thus, the demands for answers there drowned out any cries of innocence for those associated with them.

It took weeks of doing, but slowly, that stain on the soul of Atlas was scrubbed clean. The world, with the choice of a group of young women to stand up for themselves, to shout on the top of a table that this was not what they would have in their world, saw it change. For one family, as they reunited in a place far from the Kingdom's, it was enough of a revenge, and Null…and Jaune would seek no more recompense for their actions…or their words.

In her Citadel, far from the lands of men, the Dark Queen of the Grimm found herself…amused. The game was no longer in the dark. Her name, even her face surprisingly, was being shown to one and all, broadcast as the source of monsters, as the heart of all corruption. She hadn't had so many people looking at her in…millennia at least, perhaps even longer than that.

So the game was to be played openly, and as the Forces of Light assembled, she would gather her own. Dark creatures, borne of hate, suffering, and sorrow would pour from her lands, a dark tide, but it would find itself breaking upon the wall of heroes that stood against it, for they had hope now. The Grimm were not things of nature, not creatures that simply were. They had a source, and a leader.

That spark of hope would burn in every heart, and it would ignite a flame in the core of a young woman who would, against her brother's wishes, join the fight, dragging him along with her, and against their power, even the gods fell silent. So as the darkness broke, as the heroes surged, the Dark Queen smiled. This was how the game should end, and she was laughing as she leapt into the final battle, whatever its outcome might be.