Chapter 27: Through Love, Your Power Shines

(Mantle, Mantle Armor Works)

While most of the citizenry of Mantle had been evacuated to Atlas, to narrow the area that would need to be defended in the coming battle, some had obtained permission to return to operate services that were essential to the Kingdom's defense. Maintenance depots, Dust refineries, and Snowshoe Shipping were all still operational. Another business that Jaune was grateful was still operating was Mantle Armor Works, where he and Weiss were currently walking in.

Weiss had told him that rather than relying on machining bladed weapons, which she had known that Jaune would've balked at when it came to repairing Crocea Mors, Mantle Armor Works was one of the few weapon shops in Mantle and Atlas that still had a forge. Jaune took a deep breath, he definitely felt more at home down in Mantle than he did up in Atlas. They walked through the front door to be greeted with a waiting room. Any other time, Jaune would've described it as cheery. There was a roaring fireplace dominating the left wall, ringed by comfortable looking armchairs. The wood paneling made him feel like he had just walked into his father's study, which helped to put him at ease. There was a reception desk directly in front of them, with a muscular but not ovely bulky man behind it. If it wasn't for the room's television tuned into the Atlas News Network, you could almost forget the current crisis.

Now that the man had looked up at them, Jaune was able to get a good look at him. He was balding and wore thick eyeglasses which helped to bracket his wild beard. "Ah, Miss Schnee. Your order's ready. We've got a changing room if you want to switch into it." He reached down beside him, and passed a wrapped bundle to Weiss.

"Thank you, I'll do that." Weiss said.

Jaune glanced at his nametag and saw that his name was Nave. He jerked a thumb at the door to the right. "Down the hall, take the first right. It'll be the first door on your left." After Weiss left, Nave turned to Jaune. "Alright, let's see what we're working with. Let's see it, kid."

Wordlessly, Jaune emptied out the sheath of Crocea Mors, and the tip and hilt with half a blade clattered onto the reception desk.

Nave's eyes went wide. "Holy shit!"

That certainly wasn't the reaction Jaune was expecting. "Uh, excuse me?"

"This... this is Crocea Mors!"

Well that was a surprise. Jaune hadn't expected that reaction. "Well, I am-"

Nave waved him off. "Please, all of Atlas knows who you are by now. But I didn't think you would be bringing the actual Crocea Mors into battle! I assumed you were using a replica!"

"Nope." Jaune said lamely.

Nave took out a handkerchief and wiped his forehead off, "Son, I'll forgive you for not knowing this now, but you're going to learn today. For its time, this sword was a metallurgical miracle. I mean, a sword that always retains its sharpness was a fantasy back then. Except it's right here in front of us."

Jaune was flabbergasted. The story of Atreus Arc in the Arc family history was literal? He had always thought it was figurative! "A sword that will never grow dull, a shield that will never break," Jaune recited, "A sword to pierce the darkness, a shield to protect the light."

"Indeed. Now, the sticky part. I could repair the blade, but that runs the risk of compromising its durability."

Jaune frowned. That would be incredibly problematic versus Cinder. her molten glass blades could probably cut through a compromised Crocea Mors like a hot knife through butter. "So, what are my options?"

Nave grinned, his teeth peeking out from behind his mustache. "Lucky for you, kid, your fiancée called ahead. We've already got a new blade ready. We just needed your input on... well, everything else."

I'll have to thank Weiss later. "Alright, it needs to be able to accept Dust vials, have a Dust-reactive pommel, and if at all possible the crossguard needs to be made out of Mistralian Bronze."

Nave nodded, "So, just the same as the current one, basically?"

"Exactly."

Nave's hands ghosted over the destroyed sword before turning his attention back to Jaune. "You know, It'd be a shame if you didn't leave here with your weapon better than it was. Got any upgrades in mind for your shield?"

Jaune thought for a moment. How could he upgrade his shield? A firearm maybe? Or what about Dust?

He grinned. He knew exactly what to get. "Gravity Dust."

Nave took the sheath from Jaune and scooped up the broken sword. "We'll get right on it. You'll have it delivered to Atlas Academy by suppertime."

"Well, that's a relief, I was worried it would take longer."

Upon hearing Weiss's voice, Jaune turned to look at her. She was wearing a a new light blue and white dress, with a blue high-collared shawl draped around her shoulders. Dark blue opera gloves covered her hands, she wore a new red-jeweled tiara with matching earrings, and her hair was done up in a simple bun. And of course, Myrtenaster was at her hip, as always.

That wasn't even counting the armor.

Over the shawl she wore a plate vest that covered her torso but left her shoulders and arms bare so she had their entire range of movement, connected to it there were faulds that covered her upper legs. Over the opera gloves she wore vambraces, and she had new high heeled boots. On top of all that, all of the armor was in Arc colors, white with gold trim.

Jaune thought that was everything, but then he noticed that there was something different about the SDC symbol on her shoulders. It had the Arc crescents interposed on the top of the logo.

"Whoa..."

Weiss smirked, "You like it? It's made from new lightweight materials that compare to steel, so I don't lose any mobility."

Jaune grinned, "Only the best for you, Snow Angel."

Weiss giggled, "Ah, but you are forgetting that I paid for it, and the repairs to your sword."

Jaune swooped in and kissed her on the forehead. "That doesn't make me wrong." She looked up at him, and for a moment, they could ignore the impending doom that was growing closer by the second. "Do you have time to do the other thing we wanted to do? Raven doesn't seem like the patient type."

"She said to come without distractions, so I am going to do what I need to... to grieve." Weiss said.

Jaune sighed, "Ironwood basically said the same thing to me. Let's get going, we've still got a busy day."

(Atlas, Hall of Heroes)

Every Kingdom had traditions for honoring those fallen in its defense, whether it be from the Grimm, the bandit gangs that were all but pervasive in the wilds of Remnant, or those who sought to topple the system they had now, like the short-lived Crown Revolution in Vacuo.

Vale had the Memorial Wall, built after the destruction of Mountain Glenn. Hewn from black stone, it stood as a stark reminder of what it meant to be a Hunter, to know that you had chosen to be the wall between civilization and the Grimm, and that you could not afford to take one step back, even if it meant you were about to make your final stand.

Mistral had the Chamber of a Thousand Lights. Wherever possible, cremation was the order of business for a deceased Hunter in Mistral. After that was finished, the ashes were put into a Gravity Dust compactor until the ashes had been made into a synthetic diamond. The diamonds were then set into the walls of the Chamber, forever standing as a reminder of the light the deceased Hunters had been to those that they protected.

Even Vacuo had something. Near the center of the organized chaos of Vacuo City stood a brazier that housed what the locals called the Eternal Flame. The local legend was that it was originally the cookfire for the nomad caravan that would eventually expand to a great enough size that forming a permanent settlement had been more prudent than continuing to relocate. Despite all of the hardships that came with living in a scorching desert, the Eternal Flame had never gone out. Over time, it became a symbol of the hope that Hunters brought with them wherever they went.

Atlas had the Hall of Heroes. Unlike most of the important buildings in Atlas, which were monolithic to an almost ostentatious degree, the Hall was only three stories tall. It was still decked out in the usual plastic and metal motif that was all to common in Atlas. But it was still what it needed to be, a place for people to come and mourn those lost in the endless war with the Grimm.

The double doors soundlessly slid open to give Jaune and Weiss entry. There was no staff except for AK-200s programmed for janitorial and maintenance duties. Rows of kiosks stretched out before them as did staircases and elevators that could take them to the upper floors, which had yet more kiosks, albeit in more private settings.

"Did you want to go together?" Jaune asked.

Weiss shook her head, "No, I need to do this alone."

Jaune rubbed her shoulder. "Alright, just remember that I'm a Scroll call away if you need me."

He walked off, towards the rows of kiosks. Weiss chose to go to the top floor via one of the elevators. She knew that she needed privacy, because once she let the floodgates open, she was going to be an absolute disaster.

She kept walking, slowly almost as if in a daze. She knew that she only has to pick one of the rooms, but she walked on, not quite sure what she was looking for. As she turned a corner, she heard a man crying. He had forgotten to close the door of his room. Weiss moved to close it so he could have the privacy he needed, but then he spoke.

"I'm so sorry, Winter."

Weiss clamped her hand over her mouth to keep from gasping. The crying man was none other than Jacques Schnee. The screen in front of him had a picture of Winter, along with her vital statistics.

"I am sorry that I made you feel like your only out was to join the military. I never meant to push you away to the point you could barely stand to be in the same room as me."

Weiss was frozen in place. It was like a train wreck, she wanted to look away, but she just couldn't.

"Two soldiers came to the manor this morning, to tell me that you... passed. They brought... some paintings with them. Said you had painted them as part of your duties to guard a VIP. I never knew you could paint. Did you hide that from me? So that I wouldn't try to exploit it?"

Jacques sighed, then pressed on. "The man who was my mentor taught me that the world is cruel, so be cruel back. I only pretended to love your mother, and married for the power, wealth, and influence. I lied to your grandfather on his deathbed, saying that I would run the SDC as he would. I have taken advantage of the systemic racism present in Atlas to cut corners in every area of business, and the blood that has resulted is my fault. I regret all of this. Somewhere along the way, I lost sight of where I started, just a boy from Mantle looking up at Atlas and thinking that I wanted to live up there."

Weiss was astonished. Was he confessing... everything?

"But then... Winter, when you were born, and the doctor handed you to me... I was conflicted. For the first time, I thought about just... putting family before work, even though it had been a complete sham up until then. Then I saw Willow holding you. I finally fell in love with her, right then. I tried to strike a balance between work and family, and often failed. That led to the fights and how hard I pushed you and your siblings. I never told her, of course. I was too proud for that."

"Then... Weiss's tenth birthday... I was so wrapped up in the bidding war for the Vacuoan Dust mines that I... reverted. Back into a man that cared only for power. I said horrible things, I know that. I regret that. Then... I began to push you all even harder. To prepare you for the cruel world that I knew was waiting for you. I-"

"You treated us like possessions."

Jacques froze. He knew exactly who that voice belonged to. "How much did you hear?"

Weiss walked into the room but didn't shut the door. She wanted an escape route if she needed it. "Everything." She took a moment to compose herself before she laid into him, but was sure that wouldn't last long. "You made me perform concert after concert, only letting me stop after the doctor told you that I would permanently lose my voice if I continued! You wouldn't let us rest when we were sick! You enabled mother's addiction! You made Whitley think that he had to become a perfect little clone of you! You paraded suitor after suitor past me, only to challenge the man I fell in love with to a duel for the right to be with me!"

"As long as he didn't turn out to be like I am, I was not going to stand in the way."

Weiss blinked once before continuing her condemnation. "That doesn't matter! That doesn't change the fact that you were emotionally abusive to all of us!"

"I'm sorry."

Weiss took a deep breath to calm herself, she didn't need the complication of spontaneously activating the Maiden powers. "Sorry doesn't fix the lifetime of trauma you have inflicted on our family, father. Or all of the pain that the Faunus have endured under your heel."

Jacques stood up, "I don't expect forgiveness, and I will not ask for it. I just want to atone for what I've done."

As much as Weiss wanted to rattle off some pithy line about how she would never forgive him, she didn't want to waste the time or energy. Besides, she was fairly sure that he already knew. "Get out. I need to mourn Winter, and there are some other people that you need to tell all of this to. Aren't there, Jacques?"

Jacques left without further comment, closing the door behind him as he left. Weiss sank into the chair and wept. Whether it was from sadness, anger, or relief, she wasn't sure.

She turned to the screen, which still had Winter's profile on it. At a loss for words, she finally settled on something Pyrrha had said to Jaune before initiation, while Weiss had been lecturing the hopeful boy on who exactly Pyrrha Nikos was, only to find that he could not care less.

"Hello again."

(Atlas Academy, Weapon Design Lab)

Crescent Rose was dead.

Well, no. That wasn't completely accurate. It was fixable. But not in time for the final battle. The long and short of it was that the... thing that had broken Crescent Rose had cracked the fluidic compensator. Because of Crescent Rose's size and power, a traditional recoil compensator would be too heavy. Without one, it would shear through the bolt in only a couple of shots. So, Ruby had made a fluidic compensator from scratch. While it didn't fully compensate the recoil, which allowed Ruby to use the weapon to launch herself every which way, it did enough to make sure that she wouldn't shear through the bolt, leaving the gun portion inoperable.

The issue was that the Hound had cracked it. There was no quick fix for that, and a new fluidic compensator would have to be made. The downside was that it was a lengthy process.

That would take three days.

Crescent Rose would not be ready for the final battle.

Ruby stared at the pieces of Crescent Rose in disbelief. All of her ability and knowledge of weapon making was absolutely useless! She would have to go into the final fight without a weapon, making her a liability. Then Cinder would kill the others and then Salem would-

No.

There had to be an option. A new weapon perhaps? She shook her head, there just wasn't time. Even if she did come up with something new, without premade blueprints troubleshooting would take at least a week.

"Hey, Rubes."

Ruby turned to see Yang and Penny, both with concerned expressions on their faces. Yang had two cups of coffee with her. "Just figured we'd come and check on you." Yang sat one of the cups down next to Ruby.

"How are the repairs to Crescent Rose proceeding, Ruby?" Penny asked hopefully.

"They aren't." Ruby said flatly.

Yang frowned, "Ruby, what do you..." She looked over the scattered parts on the workbench, then saw the problem. "Oh, crap."

Penny canted her head to the side, "What about a new weapon?"

Yang shook her head. "Ruby would need more time than we've got without a blueprint to work all the kinks out."

Penny determined that this outcome was unacceptable. She did a search of every source of weapon blueprints on the CCTNet, only to find nothing that Ruby would use, scythe weapons just weren't widespread enough. Of course there was one blueprint for a scythe weapon that wasn't on the CCTNet...

"Wait here, please." Penny said, "I need to fetch my stepmother. She will be able to help."

Ruby turned to look at Penny, "She has a blueprint for a scythe weapon?"

Penny nodded, "Yes. Although, it is a different configuration than Crescent Rose. Dual scythes that can combine into a double scythe."

Ruby's eyes darted back and forth as she thought about how she would need to fight with that. "I can make that work."

Yang raised an eyebrow, "You sure about that, Rubes?"

Ruby shrugged. "Kind of? I'll just need to put some time in training with it after I get it built. A couple hours and I should be good to go."

"Sensational! I will be right back." Penny turned and left, leaving Ruby and Yang alone.

Yang shuffled back and forth awkwardly. "Ruby... is it true what Jaune said about that Grimm that attacked you?"

Ruby swallowed. "Yes."

A pregnant silence followed. They both knew what that meant, especially since that according to the Lamp of Knowledge, Ruby's presence and input was necessary to teach Salem the meaning of life and death. It meant that Ruby would be at risk of Salem taking her and doing exactly what she had done to Summer. To their mom.

"Honestly, I don't think it matters if Salem takes me." Ruby said, her eyes downcast. "Because if that happens, we'll have already lost and Atlas will have fallen. Taking the rest of Remnant with it." She tossed the screw she had been idly playing with onto the workbench.

Yang carefully watched Ruby for a moment. Once again, she was taking on everyone's burdens while ignoring her own. This had to stop, now. "Ruby, if you try to shoulder all the weight of protecting all of Remnant alone, it will crush you. Even Ozpin knew that was a bad idea!"

Ruby whirled around to face her sister, "Well, I'm open to suggestions, Yang!" She yelled, not out of anger but out of desperation.

Yang leaned against the workbench and looked up at the ceiling. "I don't have all the answers, but I think that if every one of us just fights to save the people we love, then we'll all be sharing the burden for all of Remnant. I mean, that's why Salem wants us divided and crap, right?"

"Yang, that sounded like a cheesy line from one of Blake's fanfictions."

Yang chuckled as she scratched behind her ear. "Well, she did rope me into becoming her Beta-reader. Doesn't make me wrong."

Ruby sighed. Yang was right, the past couple of days she had been trying to shoulder the weight of everyone, but it was just too much. However, just worrying about saving her friends, dad, and Uncle Qrow? That was a weight she could handle.

"Salutations!"

Both Ruby and Yang looked over to Penny, who had returned with a short, dark skinned old woman, with a skull topped cane and artificial eyes that looked like giant goggles. She had a rolled up paper under her armpit. She waved her cane at Ruby and Yang, "Which one of you two is Ruby?"

Ruby raised her hand, "Me, ma'am."

"Well, then." The old lady said, "Let's get down to business. My name is Maria Calavera, and I happened to be married to Pietro Polendina. However, you might know me by a different name."

Ruby and Yang looked at each other and shrugged. "Look, we're kind of short on time here, so could we move this along?" Yang said.

"Kids today! So impatient. Very well." The woman hopped up on a stool and looked Ruby dead in the eyes.

"The other name that I was known by was the Grimm Reaper."

(Atlas Academy, Training Room)

As Weiss crossed the threshold into the training room, she had no idea what to expect from Raven. What precious little she had learned from Yang and Blake was that she was callous, believing that any who didn't measure up to her idea of strength didn't deserve anything, much less survival.

Raven was standing in the middle of the room in her full combat gear, arms folded. "You done crying your eyes out, girl?"

Well, Raven certainly had callous down. "I mourned my sister, yes." Weiss said, "How does this work?"

Raven drew her sword, a blue Dust blade in place. "We're going to fight until you figure out how to use the power. Unlike the matches you've had at Beacon, I will not stop at Aura Break. Due to the circumstances of our situation I'll stop short of injury that can't heal in time for the battle with Salem."

Weiss drew Myrtenaster, and set her eyes alight with power. "Truly, you are a gracious instructor."

Raven scoffed as she activated the Maiden powers, "You're lucky that I like brats, kid." Moving as fast as lightning, she resheathed her sword, and pulled the trigger, launching it at Weiss.

Weiss had seen this trick before with Adam, and she responded accordingly. She slashed at the incoming sword with Myrtenaster, sending it flying upward. Using gouts of fire from her feet, Raven leapt into the air after it, and Weiss followed with a gust of air, lightning beginning to crackle in her free hand.

Raven grabbed her sword and smirked. It looked like this one had more fight in her than the previous Spring Maiden, at the very least. She spun around and delivered a brutal axe kick to Weiss's head, sending her spiraling to the ground.

"Congratulations. You just died."

Weiss froze as she scrambled to her feet, her hand hovering over Myrtenaster's hilt. "What are you talking about?"

"I am talking about the fact that if you had been fighting Cinder instead of me, that wouldn't have been a kick to the back of your head. It would've been her Grimm arm through your chest!" Raven snarled, "You're treating the Maiden powers like an endless supply of Dust, when they're so much more than that! You can literally bend the forces of nature to your will, and you're settling for the same old shit!"

Weiss smirked, while Raven had been monologuing at her, she had begun to conjure a storm above her. "You sure about that?"

The lightning struck an instant too late, as Raven had already sent herself hurtling towards Weiss. Weiss attempted to dodge, but her eyes bulged in horror as she realized that Raven had frozen her feet to the floor an instant before. Raven grabbed her head and slammed it into the ground, ignoring her muffled screams of pain.

Raven stalked away from her in disgust. "Is this really the best you've got? Where's the woman that was about to impale Cinder at Haven with twenty summoned swords? Where's the woman who obliterated Adam Taurus because he killed your sister and dared to lay a hand on your lover?"

There was a beat of silence as the gears in Weiss's head turned. She hadn't been able to muster up anything like she had against Adam. Why? What was the key?

Raven smirked. "I see that look in your eyes. You're almost there. I'm waiting."

Anger? No, that wasn't it. If that wasn't it, then what was... how had she brought so much power to bear against Adam? She mentally went over the story of the Four Maidens, hoping to find some clue. She shook her head in frustration, there wasn't anything that-

Then it hit her.

The old wizard, wasting away in his cabin had been metaphorically brought back to life by four young women who had unconditional, selfless love for a stranger. That was the secret, the key.

The key to using the Maiden powers to their full potential was love.

She rose to her feet, and the temperature began to drop. The air around her began to swirl, faster and faster, mirroring the storm that raged in her heart at any who would dare to hurt those she loved. Weiss marveled at what she had done, even as snow began to form and flurries began to whip around the training room.

She caught Raven's little half smile. "Told you that you would make a half decent Maiden." Raven turned around and made to leave. "You don't need me to beat the rest into you, right?"

Weiss shook her head, and turned her back to the older woman as she left. She had training to do.

(Atlas Academy, General Ironwood's Office)

"This is the plan that your subordinates gave you?" Jaune asked.

"Yes." Ironwood said, making no attempt to hide his disgust.

Jaune marveled at how the leaders of the various divisions of the Atlas Military had their heads stuck up their asses. Truly a feat of unbelievable stupidity. He looked over the holographic display in front of him, that showed infantry in parade formation marching out to fight the Grimm. The backup plan was even worse, as it called for trench warfare. Against a primarily melee based enemy.

Ironwood pressed a control on the display. "Obviously, I'm scrapping this. Now, we need an actual plan."

Jaune folded his arms, "Yeah, that would've basically handed the city to Salem. I need to see every resource at our disposal. Manpower, vehicles, artillery, air power."

Ironwood raised an eyebrow. "Well, let's start with the easy one. Manpower. Dr. Polendina told me not to trust the AK-200s or the Paladins, since Watts could've easily left a few surprises for us." Even with Watts imprisoned, Ironwood knew that would be a simple matter for Watts to still have something up his sleeve. "That leaves us with about one hundred of the new AK-250s ready for combat, since they use none of Watts's code. As for flesh and blood troops, we have approximately five thousand ready to go."

Jaune nodded to himself. "Okay... the AK-250 brigade will be our front line." As he said that, holographic representations of the new combat drones materialized on the display. "As for the other troops, we've got a big wall, so let's use it."

"Without more support, the AKs will be torn apart." Ironwood said.

Jaune scratched the back of his neck, "I know, I know... what about tanks?"

Ironwood blinked. That was certainly an idea. He punched a couple of buttons on the console, and a representation of their tanks appeared. "The AT-103, nicknamed the Crusader. It's the fastest, most well armed and armored tank we have. Its dual Buster Cannons can fire linked, or separately for a greater rate of fire. It also features a top mounted machine gun turret for targets too small for the Buster Cannons."

Jaune grinned. "Perfect." The Crusader hovered with the help of Gravity Dust, so it had unprecedented maneuvering ability for a tank of its class. The Gravity Dust projectors were situated on two pontoons bracketing the main body. "Then, the Manta squads can run air support."

Some more button presses added the new additions to the battle lines. "We just have one last problem. Salem's giant Grimm whale. The boys in the Op Center have taken to calling it Monstra."

"What do you have in the way of fast attack or air superiority craft?" Jaune asked.

"These."

Jaune very nearly whistled as the hologram resolved. A single fuselage with a thruster pod on both sides. This craft was dangerous. "The Barracuda." Ironwood explained, "Two nose mounted Vulcan cannons, one dorsal mounted Hard Light Dust cannon, and ventral weapon bays for a variety of ordinance, from missiles to target trackers."

Jaune's eyes went wide. "I think I just figured out how to kill that whale."

(Atlas Academy, Training Room)

The new version of Crescent Rose was awesome!

Sure, it was quite a departure from the old Crescent Rose. Twin one handed scythes with built in gun and Gravity Dust. The gun component was only pistol caliber, but Ruby was able to make up for that by using new Atlesian bullets. These bullets, called Radically Invasive Projectiles or RIPs, were designed to drill into a target then break apart into six pieces. This resulted in vast amounts of internal trauma, perfect for killing Grimm.

Then there was the change that the Gravity Dust brought to her fighting style. Throwing her scythes was a viable option now! Not to mention the double scythe mode, which was just fun!

Oops, Maria was talking over the loudspeaker. "Alright, Ruby. You pass this course, and you'll be ready."

"Good luck, Ruby!" Penny said.

"Knock 'em dead, sis!" Yang crowed.

Ruby turned away from the control room and moved to the starting platform. They were using a training room that used Hard Light and Gravity Dust to make solid state holographic environments. Maria had used it to construct an obstacle course of sorts, a series of floating platforms hanging over a endless void, complete with enemies and Dust traps

At least, endless until five feet under the platforms.

"Go!" Maria said.

Ruby darted forward, making an Aura assisted leap to the first platform, throwing one of her scythes at an upward angle as she did so. It was a perfect throw, embedding itself into a platform higher up.

Ruby leapt again, this time activating the Gravity Dust in the scythe she still had on hand. She barreled towards the scythe she had thrown, skipping several platforms worth of Dust traps.

Oh, she could get used to this.

With a burst of her Semblance, she grabbed the other Scythe and landed on the platform, only to be faced with a group of four AK-200s, their weapons trained on her. Ruby was already in motion by the time they ordered her to halt, pausing only to take a shot at one of the center AKs, the fancy Atlesian bullet turning the drone into scrap metal. She sliced at the drone that she had darted at right up the middle, perfectly slicing it in two. She turned and ran at the last two, firing the gun portions of both of her scythes to send her into a spin attack, cutting the remaining drones to ribbons.

"Halt!"

Ruby whirled around to find two more AK-200s. She quickly combined her scythes, and spun the combined weapon to deflect the shots from the drones. After they made to reload their weapons, Ruby attacked, separating her scythes and chucking both at the different drones. The scythes impaled both training bots in the chest, before ripping them apart as Ruby called them back using her Gravity Dust bracelets. The bracelets were a new addition, suggested by Ruby herself. They opened up new tactical possibilities that wouldn't have been possible, even with her new weapons.

Her new weapons that she still had to name.

Maria's voice came over the loudspeaker. "Good enough, I suppose. How do I turn this infernal machine off?"

Penny sighed, one that showcased a great deal of long suffering at her stepmother's less than ideal aptitude with technology. "Like this, Mom."

The simulation derezzed, leaving Ruby back in the normal training room. Giving Ruby only a few seconds to put her scythes away before Penny crashed into her with a rocket-propelled hug. "Ruby, You. Were. Amazing!" Penny said between rapid-fire kisses. Ruby blushed beet red, prompting a laugh from Yang.

"Careful, Penny. She looks like she's about to combust." Maria noted.

Yang rescued her sister from further embarrassment, "So, what are you going to name them?"

Ruby frowned. "I... don't know. Yet." The big secret of how she had named Crescent Rose was a lot less cool than it seemed. She had named it after the phase the moon had been in when it was finished. "What phase is the moon in?"

Penny cocked her head. "Waning Gibbous, why?"

Ruby drew her scythes, and smiled.

"Waxing Rose and Waning Rose."

(Atlas Academy, Ironwood's Office)

"Well, that's just about everything." Ironwood said, "We've planned for every foreseeable outcome at every stage... now we just have to hope that everything falls into place." Ironwood reached down into his desk's lower drawer, which was refrigerated to preserve the contents within, and produced two bowls, spoons, and a container of mint chocolate chip ice cream.

Jaune raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

Ironwood chuckled. "Ozpin had his hot chocolate, and I have my ice cream."

Jaune smiled as he helped himself, "Thanks, after the last couple of days... ah. It's nothing."

Ironwood sighed as he swallowed his first spoonful. He knew that look in Jaune's eyes, after all, it was the same look that he had seen in his own eyes that morning. The look of a man starting to crumble under the weight on his shoulders. "Jaune, I'm no stranger to losing friends in battle. If you need to talk..."

Jaune was silent, downing two spoonfuls of ice cream before he answered. "It's not that. I came to terms with that a while ago, cause of Pyrrha. Losing Dad and Winter hurts, but it's manageable, you know?"

Ironwood nodded. He knew exactly what he Jaune was talking about. Memories of the first mission that Ironwood had gone on after becoming a Captain came to the fore, the screeching of the Nevermores, the two Privates that had promised each other that they would get married afterwards... only to never get the chance...

Jaune continued, "It's Weiss. Somewhere deep down I knew that if Winter ever died that she would pass the power to her, but I never thought it would actually happen."

Ironwood remained silent. He had seen this more times than he cared to admit, soldiers who just needed someone to vent to, to get whatever complicated emotions that could and would get them killed... out.

Jaune continued, heedless of Ironwood's introspection. "Ever since we started dating, my worst nightmare has been Weiss becoming a Maiden. Because now, Salem needs Cinder to take the Winter Maiden powers from Weiss so she can take the Staff. I can't go through that again, General. Losing Pyrrha almost destroyed me. If I lose Weiss too... I don't... I don't think I'll be able to put myself back together."

Ironwood listened in quiet horror. These kids had no business fighting a war. They needed therapy. But it was too late for that. Too late for Glynda to sit down with them all and help them work through their trauma instead of bottling it up until they were under more pressure than a shaken can of soda pop.

Ironwood knew he wasn't good at this kind of thing. He was good at tactics, at being an unshakable pillar of stability for all of Atlas to rely on. But being support for a teenager whose eyes held pain far beyond his years? "I'm no stranger to living worst nightmares." Ironwood put his spoon down, and began unbuttoning his coat and shirt, enough that Jaune could see his cybernetic half. "I had just become a Captain. It was just supposed to be a simple Grimm extermination mission. I had planned to propose to Glyn- my girlfriend when I returned."

Jaune stared at the point where Ironwood's cybernetic half met the rest of him. "What happened?"

"The Grimm happened." Ironwood said flatly. "They just kept coming. My Aura broke, and I kept fighting, trying to save as many of the men that trusted me to lead and protect me as I could. When I passed out from blood loss, I didn't expect to wake up again."

He looked down at the hand that he knew to be mechanical. "But I did. And my injuries were so severe that I had to have half of my body replaced by cybernetics." He touched the metal plate on his forehead, "Worst of all. I felt like I wasn't worthy of the woman I loved anymore. She had wanted a family, and I... couldn't give that to her. Not after my injuries." He looked up at Jaune to see tears in his eyes. "Really? Tears for me?"

Jaune nodded. "Yeah. Family's kinda a big deal to me."

Family. Ironwood had heard through the gossip machine that Jaune had proposed to Weiss, and that she had said yes. There was one thing he could do for them. To ensure that if one or both of them died in the coming battle, that their hearts would be bound together. There was a catch though.

"Jaune, if you want, I can officiate. Marry you and Weiss, no red tape. But it has to be in battle."

Jaune wiped his eyes. "So, during phase one. Alright."

After Jaune left, Ironwood looked at his Scroll. It would be so easy to dial Glynda's number and... he didn't even know. What did you even say to your ex-almost fiancée of twenty years?

He dialed the number.

I suppose that I should start with...

"Hello, Glynda."

A/N: So, you know how I said there would be a wedding this chapter? I had a much better idea. The almighty YouTube algorithm blessed me with a certain scene from Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End. Namely, Will and Elizabeth's marriage.

Yeah. That's happening, with Ironwood officiating because you cannot convince me that he isn't secretly a big softie.

So, Jacques. Winter dying was a breaking point for him, because as far as he's concerned, if he hadn't drove her to think that she had to join the Atlas Military to escape him, then she wouldn't have. While he wasn't physically abusive in this AU, he was still emotionally abusive, not to mention enabling of Willow's addiction, which is something he will need to own up to and put right if he truly wants to atone. If you're thinking "Hey, this seems a lot like Endeavor from My Hero Academia..." you're absolutely right. That's what this version of Jacques was based off of.

When it comes to how the Maiden Powers work, we get jackshit in canon, and Jack left town. That leaves authors room to tweak them as needed. Here, I figured "Hey, the Maiden powers came into existence because the OG Maidens' pure love of their fellow man got Drunk Oz out of his funk. So, what if love -be it platonic, romantic, or fraternal- was the key to unlocking the full potential of the Maiden powers?"

Also, Weiss gets armor! Why? Because I said so, that's why.

With the mythos I've built up around Crocea Mors, it felt right having other blacksmiths geek out at it.

Sometimes you just need to vent your emotions at someone who isn't connected to them. That's what that whole thing with Jaune and Ironwood was.

Also, this chapter can also pass for "Clem is very annoyed about the state of the Atlas Military in canon, and will not abide that absolute travesty in his fics."

Next Chapter: This is it. The final battle.