A New Approach.

Ruby gazes out the window of the police airship as it flies over Mantle, then turns and looks at her friends. Nora chews at the bolas restraining her wrists, while everyone else sits silently, the only sounds being Nora's growling and the muffled chattering of the guards piloting the ship.

"Where do you think they're taking us?" Ruby finally asked.

"I'm gonna go with jail" Qrow said.

"Never believed being arrested was how my first visit to Atlas would start" Severa said.

"I still can't believe that fishing pole guy took us out like it was nothing" Jaune said.

"Welcome to Atlas. Those were Ironwood's Ace Operatives" Weiss said.

An unfamiliar man sitting with the group finally speaks up "Hmm? You guys had a run-in with the Ace-Ops? Ironwood must really have a bone to pick with you".

Weiss rolled her eyes "They're not that big of a deal".

"Not that big of a deal!? The Ace-Ops are the elite-of-elite military Huntsmen and Ironwood's personal attack dogs" The Man said.

"So they got you too, huh?" Nora asked.

"Pfft! I wouldn't let myself get caught by them. I'm here because I've been speaking out against Atlas' exploitation of Mantle, and General Ironwood is trying to silence me" The man said.

"You threw a brick at her ship!" The Pilot reminded.

The man speaks proudly "It's worth it if it gets people talking about our cause!".

The pilot sighs in annoyance as Blake spoke "Our cause?".

"Yes, the fight for better conditions in Mantle! Lead by the charismatic, talented, lovely Robyn Hill and her Happy Huntresses!" The man began to speak, making the main pilot presses a button, causing the window between the cab and the back of the ship to begin slowly closing. The man notices this, stands up and begins frantically shouting to the window so the guards can hear him "They were all top Atlas Academy graduates, who could've signed up for the military, but Robyn and the Huntresses chose to stay in Mantle. She's gunning for a seat on the Kingdom's council, and when she gets it, she's gonna put an end to Ironwood's tyranny!".

"Happy… Huntresses?" Oscar asked.

Yang looked unimpressed "Is that their real name?".

"Hey, it's not any more wierd than our teams being named with the first letters of our names" Lyre said.

"Don't you think "tyranny's" a little dramatic?" Weiss asked.

The man turns around to respond and looks surprised upon realizing who had just spoken "Easy to say for a Schnee heiress, living comfortably up in Atlas".

Weiss sighing sadly "Not anymore".

Lyre gave her a sad look, knowing Weiss has lost almost everything she strived for. The airship finally makes it up to the City of Atlas, and Ruby looks out at the city in awe, while Nora is once again chewing her restraints.

"Whoa, it's gorgeous up here!" Ruby's comment causes Lucina, Jaune and Nora to leave their seats and look out the window with her.

"Don't let that fool you" Weiss said.

"Hm?" The man stands from his seat and looks outside "This isn't the police station".

"It's… Atlas Academy" Qrow realized.

The ship docks on a landing pad in front of Atlas Academy and is met by a pair of guards, who open the ship's rear double doors to let the teams, Oscar and Qrow exit. Ruby gazes up at the towering academy while more guards line up along the path leading to the building.

"I guess we will be seeing the General. For better or worse" She said.

The group heads up to the school while the man watches in confusion and curiosity from the airship.

"So, what do we do?" Ren asked.

The group finds themselves riding a rising elevator inside the academy with their wrists still restrained, accompanied by guards.

"I don't know yet. But we should be careful with what we say" Ruby said.

One of the guards looks over his shoulder at them and they quickly queit down, needing to be careful not to give the guards a reason to believe they would try something.

Blake speaks quietly "We'll follow your lead, Ruby".

Ruby smiles but then starts to look worried again. The elevator beeps as it arrives at its destination, and the guards escort the group out into a hallway and down a flight of stairs. They arrive in a room just as Ironwood walks through, speaking to someone else.

"I swear if I have to sit through one more council meeting like that…" He turns toward a small flight of stairs on his way to his office, accompanied by Winter, Penny and Ingrid. The robot girl notices the group and stops with a gasp.

"Yay, you're here!" Her celebratory greeting catches Ironwood, Ingrid and Winter's attention, causing them to stop and look.

Weiss steps out from behind Ruby and approaches them "Winter".

Winter gasps lightly in surprise, and the sisters' reunion is quickly interrupted by Nora leaning in and holding up her bound wrists, grinning and waving her fingers.

"Anyone wanna give us a hand with these?" She asked.

Winter takes a moment to collect herself, returning to her usual stern demeanor and addressing the guards "You have ten seconds to take those off before I start hurting you".

The Guards looks at each other in confusion.

"She means you" Ingrid clarified.

Finally understanding the situation, the guards frantically begin removing the bolases from everyone's arms, apologizing profusely while Ironwood watches with a smile. The bolases fall to the floor, giving off a purple glow and retracting the ropes before emitting a beep noise.

"Please, come in" The group follows them into Ironwood's office "It is so good to see all of you".

Yang massaged her wrist "Our reception didn't really convey that".

"Well what did you expect? You arrival wasn't exactly normal" Ingrid said.

Ironwood sighs "I sincerely regret how you were treated by my team".

Qrow rolls his eyes with a small huff. Ironwood walks behind his desk to sit down, and Penny and Winter take positions standing at either side of the desk while Ingrid stands next to him.

"When a rogue airship entered our airspace, it raised some… red flags. We assumed the ship was stolen" Ironwood said.

"Stolen?" Ruby laughs awkwardly, before taking an apologetic tone "Okay, yeah, it was stolen".

Ironwood's eyes widen in surprise. He then smiles, and his shoulders move a tiny bit with a silent chuckle. Winter, meanwhile, finds no humor in the situation and begins scolding Weiss.

"You stole an Atlas airship?" Weiss watches with a frown as Winter approaches her "What were you thinking!? You might've been shot down! How unbelievably irresponsib-".

Weiss surprises and interrupts Winter by hugging her "I'm sorry I worried you. But we did what we had to do".

"I…" Winter sighs and hugs back, calming down "I suppose I understand" She then turns her head to glare at Qrow "But I cannot believe that you allowed this to happen, Qrow".

"You try stopping these kids when they have their mind set on something. Speaking of which…" Qrow looks at Ironwood "We have some important information for you that's… confidential".

Winter returns to her position beside Ironwood's desk.

Penny moves beside Ironwood "Oh, is it about the Relics?".

Winter moves to Ironwood's other side "Or perhaps the Winter Maiden?".

Qrow looked surprised "You told them?".

Ironwood stands from his desk and retrieves the Relic of Knowledge from a drawer, making it grow to its normal size as he holds it up "Did you really think you were the only one who got to work on a new plan after Beacon? With Ozpin gone, I needed my own team of people I could trust. So yes, I told them. The Ace-Ops too. Which is why I'm so glad you're here… with this. Until now, I believed it was impossible to truly turn the tide against Salem. Oz has pushed her back, has kept victory out of her claws, but she will keep returning stronger and stronger… unless we destroy her".

He places the Relic atop his desk, while Ruby looks deep in thought "But… what about the Atlas Relic?".

"You mean the Staff of Creation?" Ironwood asked.

"It's safe inside the Vault!" Penny assured.

"And the Winter Maiden?" Qrow asked

"She is secure and in stable condition" Winter answered.

Yang looked up "Stable condition? What does that-".

Qrow quickly cut her of before a misunderstanding could occur "She's, uh, not exactly a spring chicken".

"I know how this all looks. Recalling my military? The embargo? I probably don't seem the most trustworthy right now" Ironwood said.

"Then why continue it?" Blake asked.

"The people of Mantle are hurting!" Nora added.

"I needed to ensure Salem couldn't infiltrate Atlas. And I wanted my military here, protecting my people" Ironwood answered.

"But it's not protecting them! It's making everyone hate you" Yang pointed out.

"It's a price I'm willing to pay" Ironwood reaches over to a glowing panel of buttons on his desk and taps a button that resembles a table emitting light from its surface "Just as you all have been entrusted with the knowledge of Salem's existence, I need you all to trust me. I have a plan".

Shutters come down outside the windows, darkening the room. A circle in the center of the floor bearing Atlas' emblem begins to rise up, prompting Ruby and Oscar to step off of it. As Ironwood talks and makes his way over to it, the circle continues to rise and transforms into a table.

"Ozpin believed the best way to fight Salem was to do so in secret. Whether that was the right choice or not isn't for me to say. But we find ourselves in a position of needing, well, a new approach" Ironwood explained.

"And what do you suggest?" Qrow asked.

Ironwood brings out a tiny remote and presses a button, activating a hologram display of Amity Colosseum, which hovers above the table.

"That's… Amity Colosseum" Jaune realized.

"Where the Vytal Festival is held?" Oscar asked.

"Indeed. When Beacon fell and everyone on Remnant lost contact with one another, I knew our current system was outdated. Amity was built to bring the nations together, and it will serve that purpose once again" Ironwood presses the button again, and the hologram Amity Colosseum gains an antenna atop it. Ruby and her friends stare at the hologram and look at each other.

"Isn't it great? We're not going to just replace Beacon Tower. Building a new tower on top of Amity Colosseum will re-establish global communications!" Penny said happily

"By launching the tower high into the atmosphere, our scientists believe we can create a sort of… satellite out of reach of the Grimm and capable of maintaining global communications even if we were to lose another tower" Winter said.

"That is great" Ruby admitted.

"James... you don't need the entire military for this" Qrow said.

"I will for the next part, where I finally tell the people about Salem" Ironwood said.

Qrow looked shocked "Huh, so that's why you withdrew your troops, to handle the panic that would break out in Atlas".

"Yes, panic is inevitable, and panic brings Grimm. But I believe we are ready. Once Atlas has come to grips with the fight ahead, I'll use Amity Tower to spread the message to all of Remnant" Ironwood said.

"But everything will fall apart. Grimm will be everywhere!" Weiss reminded.

"You're right, but Atlas is willing and prepared to assist" Winter assured.

"Trying to hide the truth from the world will eventually kill us all" Ironwood presses a button on his remote, and the hologram disappears, the table transforms and recedes into the floor and the shutters pull away from the windows.

"Oz spent his whole life, many lives, keeping this secret" Qrow said.

"Yeah, and look how well that turned out" Ingrid said.

"Ingrid" Ironwood said sternly.

Ingrid flinched before she sighed "Sorry that came out wrong. What I mean is that Salem's secrecy is her greatest weapon. Good soldiers and huntsmen are dying while fighting an enemy they don't even know about. Once the panic settles down, everyone will know who is trully responsible for all the suffering in the world, and we can finally unite to stop her for good".

Ironwood smiled proudly at her before he begins heading back to his desk "And without Oz here to guide us, all I can do is use my best judgment" Behind him, Oscar shifts uncomfortably. As if sensing something, Ironwood stops and looks back "What is it?".

"Actually, Oz isn't completely gone" Oscar said.

"Uh, Oscar here is… is the next Ozpin" Qrow explained.

"Oz?" Smiling, Ironwood quickly and eagerly approaches Oscar, who looks nervous "I'm so glad you're here. I didn't think you-"

Oscar puts his hands up and interrupts Ironwood, as the latter crouches to Oscar's level "Not quite. He's kind of, um, gone... at the moment".

Ironwood's smile fades, and he lowers his head "That's not normal. How did he-".

"We don't know" Ironwood, Qrow and Oscar look at Ruby "We were in a train crash, and ever since, well… suddenly, Oz wasn't there anymore".

Her friends looked surprised. Sure, Ruby was telling the truth about Ozpin being gone. But she was lying about the reason for his absence... And seeing Ruby lie like that was a little unsettling.

"That's the worst news yet" Ironwood said before rising to his feet "Did you learn anything from him about the Relics before…?".

"He told us the lamp can answer three questions. But all the questions were used up already" Ruby answered.

Blake and Yang look at each other. Again, only half true. Ozpin did tell them that, but there was still one question left.

"Right, right" Ironwood walks back behind his desk and stares out the window "Ozpin told us that too, once upon a time. At least we have you, Oscar. You're safe here in Atlas. Maybe together we can figure out how to bring Ozpin back".

"Thank you, sir. I mean, uh, general. Uh, Ironwood?" Oscar said smiling awkwardly, Ingrid giggled a little, earning looks from Winter and Penny, making her quickly compose herself witha blush.

Ironwood picks up the Relic of Knowledge, walks over to Ruby and offers it to her.

"You're giving it back to me?" She asked.

"After what happened with the Ace-Ops, I don't want you to think I'm keeping anything from you, especially something as important as this. For the time being, I think it's safest with the people who brought it here" Ironwood said and hands her the Relic.

"Um, thank you" Ruby shrinks the Relic and hooks it onto her belt, exchanging a look with Oscar.

"We must work together if we're to fight Salem and win. Now, if you're all on board…" Ironwood said.

Ruby thinks it over for a few seconds, then looks at Ironwood "Tell us how we can help".

Ironwood smiled in relief "Good, because getting the Amity Tower ready to launch won't be easy. But first, I think we need to get those weapons of yours up to our standards".

A hologram screen appears, showing footage of Blake drawing her broken katana before their fight against the Sabyrs in Mantle. Blake reacts with embarrassment earning a giggle from Severa.

"Remember, this is Atlas. While assisting the military, we will provide you with the best equipment our scientists can devise" Winter said.

Nora looked exciting "Ooh!".

"Really?" Ren asked.

Yang put her fist in the air "Yeah!".

Upon exiting Ironwood's office, the group encounters the Ace-Ops once more.

The Faunus member of the team, named Marrow was telling a story "So, that was the second time I got banned. Then there was the third time when-".

"Alright, cut the chatter" Their leader Clover said.

As Ruby and her friends walk down the stairs, the Ace-Ops approach them.

Clover was the first to speak "I'd like to sincerely apologize for the miscommunication down in Mantle. We didn't intend to-".

Suddenly, the talest member of their team, Elm Ederne, pushes her way past Clover and Marrow and begins frantically shaking Ruby's hand, accidentally flailing her about in the air "I feel so bad, honestly! If we had known who you were, we'd be laughing over a hot meal right now and-".

Partway through her second sentence, Elm drops the now-dizzy Ruby on the floor.

"I understand. You were just following orders" Ruby gets to her feet, groaning, only to be spun around by Weiss.

"I mean, you could have asked us some questions first" Weiss said.

"Questions are for the weak. But we're all on the same team now. Not that I'm happy about it" Marrow crosses his arms and soon realizes that his tail is wagging. He reaches back and grabs it, much to his teammates' amusement.

"Still, in our defense, you did show up in a stolen airship. What did you think was going to happen? You do know stealing from the military is a serious offence right?" Edelgard asked as she walked up "You are lucky that you're not in prison right now".

"We just wanted to say we're sorry. And that we're looking forward to working with you on our next mission. You might be students, but you've been fighting just as hard as we have, if not harder" Clover said.

The 3rd female member named Harriet spoke "Exactly why I'm looking forward to seeing what you kids can do".

"Not everything's a competition, Hare" Another member named Vine said, earning an annoyed look from Harriet.

Penny enters the room and slides in front of Ruby, throwing her hands up in excitement "C'mon! Let me show you around campus".

She enthusiastically marches away, with Ruby and friends following her. Ironwood exits his office just as Qrow begins to walk away from the stairs in front of the office.

"Qrow" He spoke and Qrow stops and turns around as Ironwood descends the stairs and approaches him "I meant it when I said it was good to see you again".

"Uh, yeah, you too" Qrow said awkwardly.

Ironwood steps forward and hugs Qrow, who looks confused at first but then hugs back with a smile and an eye roll as he gently pats his back. Elsewhere in the school, Penny leads the Teams and Oscar through various hallways, while the group becomes more and more tired as the tour goes on.

"So that way's the cafeteria, and that way is the training rooms. Oh, and over there are the classrooms!" Penny said happily.

Ruby stretches, yawning loudly. The group comes to a stop, with everyone looking exhausted. Nora leans against Ren, asleep on her feet.

"This all looks great, Penny. But where are we staying?" Ruby asked.

Penny turns to face them "Remember, you're in Atlas now. As the most well-funded school on Remnant, every teen at Atlas Academy gets their own room! And if that wasn't enough-".

"So we're staying in the dorms?" Ren asked, wanting to get to the point.

"It'll be just like Beacon again!" Penny said with an excited dance and hop.

Nora collapses to the floor.

Later that night, Severa had gone to the bathroom to wash up a little. She looked at her hands which was shaking... and she could see blood on them, no matter how many times she washed them. She looked in the mirror and removed her eye patch... revealing the empty socket where her eye used to be.

"Severa?" Came a voice which made Severa jump in surprise, turns out it was Blake "Oh sorry! Didn't mean to scare you".

"Apologize to my heart! Gawds Blake!" Severa said while rubbing her chest.

Blake smiled sheepishly before she looked at Severa's empty socket, making the red head quickly put her eye patch back on. So she was still sensitive about that, not that Blake could blame her.

"We... haven't really talked much recently, have we?" Severa asked.

"No... we haven't... Severa... I'm really sorry that-" Blake began but Severa stopped her.

"No, I'm sorry" She said, making Blake look at her confused "You already apologized for your mistakes and you've worked so hard to make up for them... to prove that you wont run away again... I should've just taken your word for it... I was just...".

"You were scared of being hurt again" Blake realized and Severa's silence confirmed it, so Blake walked up to her "Severa, you had every right to not believe me right away... I broke a promise and hurt you in ways I'd never want to hurt anyone... Least of all someone I love".

She gently lifted Severa's patch, who did nothing to stop her.

"When things gets to hard, I always ran away. I ran away from Adam, I ran away from my friends... and I ran away from you. When you needed me the most, I just ran away because I believed you would be safer without me... no, I ran because I was to much of a coward to face my problems and I left you to deal with your own pain alone... I can never apologize enough for that, I can only hope that you-" Before Blake could finish Severa kissed her.

Blake gasped in surprise but quickly kissed back as they wrapped their arms around each other. The first true kiss they've had in a very long time... And both proved to be very pent up as when they broke the kiss Blake removed her top exposing her bare chest. Severa stared for a moment before Blake smiled when Severa's pants hit the floor.

They resumed kissing and... well, lucky for them, the bathroom was soundproof.

.

Sorry, what happened next will be left to your imagination.

.

Tell me what you think.