Chapter 24 – Hearts and Minds

Eryka

If there was one thing Eryka hated the most about being a wanted fugitive by the entire world… it was public transport.

Getting to Vacuo was already going to be a challenging task, but they were not as fortunate as Team C.P.P.R with finding a Hover Sail, or as Blake's Team where the people aboard the boat were kind and had not forgotten that they were heroes. Eryka kept her hood up and her head down as she sat beside Winter at the bar aboard a Airship. It soared across the sea between Anima and Sanus, and aboard were all kinds of people.

As Eryka sipped her coffee, she listened in, hearing all the different discussions. The people here were the more common kinds of people, unlike the Ferry that Blake's team were aboard. Where they had just adapted to the new world and were more than happy to report any Huntsmen or Huntress activity to the Black Gallows. And of course, Black Gallows were always aboard these vessels.

This one especially – since it had some very wealthy individuals here, and judging by the discussions and, most importantly, the casino in the centre of the ship? It had a lot of Lien aboard it. Pirates were still a danger and having a Black Gallows defence aboard it did not make it completely impossible for such a heist to occur. "Of course the one Airship that we could stowaway on was a damn Casino Ship." Eryka sighed.

"Just act normal, we can't hide in the storage bay, they have so many sensors down there… we'd be detected faster down there than up here." Winter whispered back to her girlfriend, sipping her coffee as well.

Eryka listened carefully, turning to see the Happy Huntresses, Saphron, Terra and Adrien sat at a table, all keeping themselves incognito. In a little cage was Dulcis as well, staying as quiet as he could. They all had their weapons on their person, hidden behind their cloaks just in case. Eryka couldn't stop paying attention to the people around her.

"Did you hear? Recently in Vacuo the Black Gallows caught an entire team of Huntsmen. Executed them in the streets." One man mentioned.

"Good, criminals like that deserve nothing less. I'm glad they've been culling them… they're unnatural." The woman he was speaking to said.

Give me a reason bitch…

I will break your fucking jaw.

Eryka glared furiously at the two people who were sat across the bar from them, sharing a pint of beer together. She slowly clenched her hand into a fist, feeling her scarred knuckles tighten, bringing back memories of when she fought in the pits when she was younger. But then Winter's hand gently rested on her thigh, immediately tempering her flame. Winter said nothing, just looked at her with a soft smile.

Sometimes that was all Eryka needed to keep her dark side in check, and Winter knew exactly how to read her. Beneath all her jokes and funny nature, Eryka did have one hell of a dark side. And some days… that dark side was appearing more often.

Perhaps losing Neptune was causing something inside her to snap, something dark… something she thought was long buried. But as they sat there, they both immediately looked away from the people and had to be as calm and unsuspecting as possible. Because a Black Gallows soldier had just sat down next to them, and judging from his lack of armour and official clothing? Adorned with some medals?

He was high ranking, and therefore was very dangerous. Eryka looked at her reflection in her still warm coffee and the Black Gallows Officer spoke with the Bartender. "Vasillias Wine." He said, Eryka nearly scoffed at the irony of it all. He turned his gaze and looked at the two women who were keeping their heads down. It felt like his eyes were burning into the side of their heads.

He shuffled up to their side.

"Hey there." He greeted, his voice was cold and gravelly. "Can I buy you two gals a drink?"

"Sorry, pal." Eryka said with a friendly smile as she raised her mug of Coffee, and so did Winter.

He chuckled. "Ah, fair play."

But he did not move, and Eryka was already beginning to feel nervous. Black Gallows Officers were sometimes far more dangerous than soldiers because they were clever. But there was already something she noticed with this particular soldier. Well, she heard it before seeing it… his cybernetics. It was only when she glanced down at his arm did, she notice that he had been purposefully adding cybernetics to his own body to improve himself in combat. His legs were cybernetic, both arms… and judging by the lights glowing through his clothing… he even had chrome on his torso too. His eyes were glowing red as well… which meant he was probably scanning them.

Don't give him anything to scan.

"I'm curious, how do two beautiful women such as yourselves end up on this Airship?" He asked as he leant against the bar, sipping his Vasillias Wine.

"Ah you know… wanted to have some fun together. Pooled some money together." Winter said with a smile, even putting on a pretty convincing accent. End of the day… a Schnee has a very recognisable voice.

"The two of you… together?" He asked curiously. Eryka just nodded and raised her mug. "Well, well… you chose quite the romantic vessel to fly aboard tonight. You two enjoy your evening." He winked, standing up and leaving them to it.

They both sighed with relief, then stood up and walked away from the table and approached the one with the rest of their team.

"That was way too close." Eryka sighed with relief.

"How much longer have we got?" Saphron nervously asked.

"A couple more hours. Just keep calm, we'll make it through this. And if anything does happen… hide. Hide anywhere you can." Robyn informed, but as they spoke, they turned as another individual approached them.

He did not have any cybernetic implants like that Officer had, but he was very wealthy, that much was certain. He wore a red suit and had a golden necklace, with a pair of Bull Horns that had gold metal adorning the bone. "How has your flight been today? My name is Aaron Cassidy, I own this vessel. I hope everything has been customary for you all." He greeted, Saphron smiled brightly.

"Oh it has, thank you so much. Everyone has been ever so kind." Saphron sweetly said, knowing exactly how to be polite, even to people that gave her the heebie-jeebies.

"Well, this trip is actually funding the Black Gallows and their admirable efforts across Remnant. Oh… seeing what happened six years ago… still brings me delight." Aaron sighed with a smile, everyone fell silent as they stared at him, but it was Terra who spoke up.

"Excuse me?" She asked.

"The Inhumane Necessity. Yes, most see it as tragic, yes… but if you ask me? It was a long time coming. Those academies were disgusting, an insult to what our society stands for and it was due time that they got what they deserved. We needed a real military protecting us, not foolish children driven by fairy tales." He explained with a smile on his face, which made them all look away.

Terra wanted to punch him, but Saphron sat forward. "Yeah… so how about a toast then? To the Slaughter of Sanctum?" Saphron asked, Terra glanced at her, hearing her voice slightly tremble.

Saph… careful…

"Slaughter of Sanctum? Now there's a woman who knows her history." Cassidy chuckled with a grin.

"Oh we didn't just know it… we lived it." She said, gesturing to her wife and son. "We used to live in Argus. Saw it all go down."

"Yes… a nasty day then but looking back it was all worth it." He shrugged. "Commander Killian had to make some very difficult decisions."

"Yes, he did… but… was it?" She asked with narrowed eyes.

"Was what?" Cassidy asked.

"Was it worth it? Murdering… butchering… all those poor innocent children? Not even teenagers… children. I could hear the gunfire from my home, see the smoke and the fire. Hear the screams…" Saphron's voice was trembling but not from fear, from heartbreak… horror of what she experienced that horrifying night.

Not only did she have to come to terms with her brother being killed that night, but she heard that going down as well simply down the street from her. And it… still… haunted her, every single night.

"I knew parents who had children going to that Combat School… some of them were friends. Some of them… aren't around anymore… either because of… the Revolution Efforts… or just because they couldn't live with what they lost that night. I nearly couldn't… after losing my brother." Saphron explained, Robyn readied herself.

Emotions were boiling in Saphron, she was furious… filled with hatred for the people aboard this Airship who were celebrating the deaths of so many good innocent people. And children.

"Indeed – all fondly remembered by Salem's Kingdom." Cassidy brushed her words off with a smile, Saphron's eye twitched.

"Yeah… and they're all dead." May agreed, glaring at him, he turned his head to her, and he smiled.

"Well it was a small price to pay for the future. I mean if we hadn't culled the weak and the impure then we would have never had the world we have now. Free from their kind and their way of doing things." Cassidy shrugged with a bright smile on his face.

I wanna kill him… I'm gonna kill this bastard…

May glanced at Robyn who was shaking her head slowly. They couldn't cause a scene… but the anger was brewing in everyone here. "In the end… it was all worth it."

"Depends on who you ask, don't you think?" May asked curiously.

"What're you getting at, sweetheart?" Cassidy inquired.

"All those people who died? The Men… Women… Children… was it good for them? Gunning down innocent children in a school because… what? They were part of a system you disagreed with? How was it good for any of them?" May questioned, her fist clenched tight underneath the table.

"Well it doesn't matter anymore… their worries are over, and their sacrifice has helped us become stronger. I was once nothing more than some bum off the street… now look at me! I have more money than I know what to do with, and there are so many other good men and women out there who are just like me. People who adapted to this new world… people who have been waiting for it. All we had to do was wait… wait for the scum to be burned away from the world. And Salem is going help us grow even more powerful, and when the Huntsmen and Huntresses are nothing more than scary bedtime stories decades from now? When ever last one is eating dirt? Or just dust in the wind? Only then… will the world finally be safe… and we will all be strongest." Cassidy explained with a genuinely evil look on his face.

Saphron was beginning to tear up from rage as she sat there, then he raised a glass and smiled.

"Hail Salem." Cassidy said, taking a sip from his glass.

It took everything they had for them not to kill Cassidy, but luckily, he had no idea that he was speaking to a group of Huntresses just then, and he hadn't even realised that they were all Fugitives.

Saphron felt her nails dig so hard into her hands that she was drawing blood, Terra gently gave her a tablecloth, letting her tend to her wounds whilst May watched Cassidy leave with dagger eyes.

"That was even closer… we need to get off this frickin Airship. Before we start killing everyone in here." Eryka snarled viciously.

Cinder

She slowly came to…

Her head was pounding with pain, but breathing was even harder. Felt like her lungs were on fire, and she couldn't help but cough. It was a heavy, wheezy cough, the kind that left you completely breathless at the end of it. She slowly sat upright, spotting Penny first, leant against the wall… she seemed to be offline. Her eyes were open, but her irises were grey instead of green, and she was not moving. Ruby was laid on the ground as well, with Tyrian fiddling with the Relic on her keychain, still trying to get the thing off.

He growled with anger. "Why don't we just kill her and be done with it?" Tyrian barked, pointing the Queen's Servants at her head, opening the barrel, but Hazel shoved him away from Ruby.

"Leave her be!" Hazel yelled.

"I'm with Hazel, Jinn seems to have quite the emotional connection with Miss Rose. I feel killing the child will not do us any favours." Watts stated, Tyrian snarled as he paced back and forth like a wild dog.

"Will you quit pacing around? You're stressing me out." Icarus sighed, leant against the wall, rolling his eyes. Tyrian growled as he stormed towards Icarus, the Bionic Winged Mercenary swiftly stood up to challenge him. "Yeah? Go on then, attack me for your precious queen." He mocked.

"Watch your tongue!" Tyrian screamed.

"Or what?" Icarus yelled back, Hazel just sighed and walked outside, slamming the door shut behind him. Watts suddenly sent the Grave Dust forward, forcing the two apart.

"I did not come here to be a babysitter. Both of you, get out of my sight before I kill you both. Wait by the Gyrfalcon until it is repaired and refuelled." He warned, glaring at them, Tyrian stared at him with gritted teeth. But Watts just stared right back, completely unafraid of Tyrian. The Scorpion Serial Killer on the other hand was definitely intimidated by Watts, since he never knew what the man was plotting in that clever brain of his. Watts stared at him relentlessly as he walked out, then turned to Cinder as she came to, still coughing her guts up.

"Well, well… that's quite a cough." Watts said as he approached her, crouching down in front of the Fall Maiden. She wheezed and spat out some of the seawater still in her system.

"Looks like accidentally drinking a gallon of sea water isn't good for you… who'da thunk?" Cinder chuckled, rubbing her reddened throat, Watts had that look in his eyes, the one that Cinder… hell… nobody… could possibly figure out.

"Perhaps…" Watts said suspiciously as he rose back up to his feet, but Cinder chuckled softly as she rested her head against the wall, looking to her right to see a still unconscious Pyrrha Nikos. Seemed like Cinder was the first one up.

Like always.

Ruby was always the one to sleep in the longest, lazy bum. "Appears things haven't changed… you having to keep the lunatics in check all the time." Cinder chuckled; Watts chuckled as he slowly walked around the room.

"Yes, you haven't missed much in that area. Tyrian is always a good boy when around Salem… but as soon as he is away from her… it's like trying to keep a Mad Dog on a Leash." Watts stated. "Hazel is still his boring self; Icarus loves to throw fuel on the fire that is Tyrian Callows… and… well… Mercury and Emerald are just as suspicious as they always were. I'm certain you know exactly what I mean by that." Watts stated, turning to the Fall Maiden once more.

"Oh I do…" Cinder agreed. "I'm surprised you kept them around, without me to keep them in line."

"Salem has her way of… reconfiguring people…" Watts stated, he approached the table and picked up his Revolver. "It's a shame you left us; you could have gotten everything you could have ever wanted."

"I have everything I could ever want. Well… I did, you blew up one of those things." Cinder said.

"Adam did that, which was disobeying Salem's direct order to leave you be. But then again, if I seem to recall… I offered you a deal, didn't I? We all did, more than once. To keep you and your precious little family out of this. You should have taken it." Watts said to her, Cinder softly chuckled.

"I always was a migraine, you said it yourself, Arthur." Cinder stated. Watts smirked sinisterly at her as he walked towards Ruby who started to come to. Her silver eyes opened, and she gasped fearfully, immediately reaching out towards Penny.

"PENNY!" She screamed, but Watts slammed his boot against her cheek, pushing her against the wall.

"You needn't worry about her. I've put her into a sleep for a while… she'll only reactivate when I allow it. Y'know, like any old tool." Watts stated, glaring down at Ruby with a cruel smirk, she gritted her teeth.

"YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HER! She's more human than you could ever hope to be…" Ruby growled with fury. Watts softly chuckled.

"Y'know of all the things I predicted… her to genuinely develop feelings of love was quite the surprise. Polendina did do a very good job of creating her artificial aura. But… she is still a machine, and her body does whatever I command. Of course… she is still completely aware of everything her body does… she simply cannot stop it." Watts explained, walking around the room.

Ruby immediately lunged for him, but he swiftly drew his gun and aimed at Penny. "I wouldn't… one bullet through her head… and that's it. No switching her back on." He promised, grinning.

Ruby had to stay where she was.

Pyrrha came to as well, looking ahead to see Arthur Watts with his gun aimed at Penny. "It appears the Spirit in the Lamp has taken a shining to the four of you, to Miss Rose in particular. If things were different, I would have killed you all in your sleep by now."

"Very brave… big hard man, aren't ya?" Cinder scoffed, until suddenly Grave Dust wrapped around her throat, choking her.

"Careful… you wouldn't want that cough to get even worse." He warned.

"That's enough! Just tell us what you want!" Pyrrha yelled, in her eyes she could see the Brother of Darkness looming in the shadows, his arms crossed. Watts turned his gaze to Pyrrha, and the Grave Dust that was choking Pyrrha returned around his hand, swirling between his fingers.

"Everything." He revealed. "Knowledge… power… I want it all. And Jinn will tell me how." Watts stated, turning to the Lamp on Ruby's belt, keeping the Gun aimed at Penny. "Summon her."

"No." Ruby answered.

Watts clicked the hammer of his Revolver down. "Do you really want to test my patience?"

"It won't work! She only answers to those she deems worthy… and the fact you can't even pick up the lamp shows how she views you, doesn't it?" Ruby questioned, Watts stared at her, and he sighed.

"Alright, how about a little incentive?" Watts asked her, he turned to Penny and raised his over hand, and the rings shone blue. Penny's eyes flickered back to life but only her head was able to move.

"Ruby? Ruby? Where are we?" She nervously stammered, until suddenly there was a loud crack. Watts fired his gun into her side, blowing a hole in her torso, causing green oil to splatter across her dress. She screamed in immense agony.

"NO! STOP!" Ruby begged desperately, he then crouched down and grabbed Penny by the chin, pressing the hot smoking barrel against her Temple.

"SUMMON HER!" Watts roared.

"FINE!" Ruby screamed back, she closed her eyes with grief, and she just sighed. "Jinn…"

The Lamp took a few moments, but then the blue smoke swirled out from the Lamp, rising up in the air. The smoke formed into her beautiful body, and she floated over Watts, but she was reserved unlike her flirty and energetic self. "Doctor Arthur Watts…" Jinn greeted, as time slowed around them all to a complete pause.

"Finally…" Watts smirked as he walked away from Penny, shoving her head aside.

"You have a question for me?" Jinn inquired softly.

"I do." He began as he approached.

Then he asked.

"How do I kill Salem?"

That… was not what any of them were expecting. All of their eyes widened with total shock when they heard the words leave his lips. Even Jinn looked surprised by the question.

"You seek power… her throne…" Jinn softly said.

"I know what will happen if Salem gets what she wants, she does not care for the consequences, but I would rather be able to survive. And I want what is rightfully mine. I have asked you your question… now hold your end of the bargain… and give me my answer." Watts demanded.

Jinn stared down at him. "Beware, Arthur… your desires may not end the way you hope they will."

"I believe I will decide how this story ends." Watts stated, staring up at her as she floated over him. Her blue eyes narrowed then she sighed, but for the three of them… they could not hear the answer. Time seemed to skip for all of them as she delivered her answer to him, and then she retreated back into the Lamp as quickly as she formed. And time resumed back to normal.

Watts stood tall and he smirked sinisterly, holstering his pistol, and staring down at Ruby as he walked away from her.

"Got what you wanted?" Ruby questioned with fire in her eyes. He stood in the middle of the room, and he held his free hand up, moving each individual finger. He turned slightly and they just saw his smirk beneath his moustache.

"Not yet."

Ruby, Cinder and Pyrrha all winced and gasped as they felt they heads begin to ache badly, like somebody was pressing their hands against their temples extremely hard. "Oh fuck…" Cinder strained.

"What's… happening?" Pyrrha groaned in pain.

"Watts'… Semblance… he's using it!" Cinder growled in pain…

… then the entire landscape changed around her.

Ruby

"Emerald Sustrai has talent with tricking your minds… but her power is nothing in comparison to mine. Have you ever wondered… what your futures could have been? Allow me to show you… For your mind is the clay… and I it's sculptor." Watts' voice echoed in her mind as he began to form whatever he wanted her to see.

Faintly… Ruby could hear Penny screaming… but then it returned back to normal.

Ruby fell forward, her palms landing in cold muddy water. For some reason, she could not control her body, or even her words… it was like she was shoved and strapped to a seat, being forced to look through the eyes of a completely different individual. She gripped onto Crescent Rose and swung around, slashing straight through the throat of the Ursa. The huge Bear Grimm roared in fury as it crumbled away into thin air, the bone armour broke apart and the blood smothered teeth and fur faded as well.

She sobbed on her knees, covered in mud and blood… then she saw what was left of her dear sister. Yang was ripped apart by the huge Grimm, the day she was teaching her how to fight hand-to-hand, due to always being too reliant on Crescent Rose to survive. But now… her best friend from birth was dead… and she was alone. The pain she felt in her heart made her feel sick as she covered her eyes.

No… No that's not what happened!

What is this? What are you doing to me?

"Have you ever wondered… how things would have gone in your life if a single moment happened differently? Who would you have become?" Watts' voice asked her, sounding like a haunting phantom in the back of her mind.

Stop it… Get out of my head!

When Ruby lowered her hands from her silver eyes, she gasped with tears in her eyes, finding Valravn there. Taiyang was on his knees, and the terrifying old enemy spun his Scythe through his fingers, pressing it against the side of his neck, forcing him to lift his head.

"Where is the child of lost light?" Valravn snarled viciously.

"Go… to hell… you goddamn monster." Taiyang snarled right back, Valravn said nothing more, cutting straight through his throat so fast that blood burst from his jugular.

"DAAAAD!" Ruby screamed with heartbreak as his body slumped forward, Valravn's head swiftly turned, and he laughed darkly. Ravens and Crows all cawed as they swirled around him. But just as he shot forward to strike the Silver Eyed Girl down, Ruby rushed away in a flurry of red petals. She ran as fast as she could from Valravn.

She ran for days…

… and days turned to weeks.

The sound of Crows and Ravens echoed through the sky, bringing her unending fear of those red eyes from the inhuman man that was hunting her. "Valravn… Valravn… Valravn…" The whispers spoke deep in her mind.

She was covered in dirt and grime, hiding from the Branwen Tribe as they patrolled Vale, searching for her. Ruby kept Crescent Rose close, ready to fight back if she had to. But luckily the Bandits left before they even noticed. She limped through the woods, her boots with holes in them, and her feet bled. She sniffled but turned when she saw a small tortoise waddling through the grass. She aimed her rifle at the little animal… and took the shot.

She had to survive somehow.

Blood covered her face and hands as she ate the dead turtle, ripping as much edible meat from the shell as she could, and moving on before Valravn's Tribe could catch up with her. She continued to walk through the wilds of Vale, her hair grown much longer, and she was completely unrecognisable from the sweet Huntress in training that was back at Patch. Blood stained the blade of Crescent Rose, after a few Bandits hunting her.

She stopped and turned when a stray bullet flew towards her, but she deflected it and gritted her teeth savagely. A Bandit rushed towards her – it was Shay – and he fired his Revolver at her repeatedly. She deflected every shot, then zoomed forward, but just before she cut him clean in two, one shot hit her in the thigh. Blood sprayed everywhere as the halved corpse of Shay collapsed into the dead leaves, and Ruby tumbled into a ditch.

She winced in pain as she held her leg, holding the bleeding back as long as she could. She still did not have time to celebrate though, because she heard many footsteps make their approach on her.

The first thing she heard… was a man whistling away and grinning as he approached. He spun Melodic Cudgel around his finger as he towards the ditch she was laying in. "Well, well, well… lookie what we have here?" Roman Torchwick greeted with a sinister smirk on his face, approaching her with Neopolitan beside him, Hush rested on her shoulder. They walked with a team of White Fang soldiers who had their guns trained on her. "Quite the weapon you're packing there, Little Red."

"Wanna closer look?" Ruby barked, immediately going to behead him, but he dodged her blade and smacked her in the gut with his cane. She crashed back down into the ditch, but Roman was still smiling as he crouched down in front of her, resting the cane over his knees. He took off his hat and smiled at her.

"My, my… you've got quite the fire in you, kiddo." Roman chuckled.

"I don't want any trouble." Ruby wheezed.

"Well then you probably shouldn't have taken a swing at me." Roman replied.

"Or I probably shouldn't have missed." Ruby laughed with quite a disturbing laugh, completely unlike what Ruby would really do. Roman smirked and laughed back at her, admiring her.

"Y'know… it's been quite a long time since I have decided to do the Good Samaritan thing of saving a random bum on the road… right Neo?" He asked, she just gave him the middle fingers, making him chuckle again. "But I gotta say… I like you and how much of a little badass you are, red. And I think we could use someone with your skills, especially my employers." Roman greeted.

He picked up Crescent Rose and offered it back to her. She held it in her hand then looked at him with confusion, which was doubled when Neo chucked an Apple to her, which she caught immediately.

He smiled. "Name's Roman Torchwick… and you?"

She raised the red apple to her mouth and forcefully took a bite out of it. "Ruby Rose."

Ruby watched as the memory continued, showing the Branwen Tribe completely set ablaze, and she fought alongside Roman, Neo… and the Children of Salem. Cinder blasted fire from her hands, burning the tents down, and Tyrian laughed maniacally as he stabbed Oscar Pine to death with the Queen's Servants, gaining immense pleasure as he waited in pain.

Raven, Qrow and Valravn were forced to their knees, and she approached them… and Salem emerged from the shadows with blood on her hands and the side of her cheek. The Three Branwens looked at the Dark Queen as she slowly walked back and forth. "I have committed a great deal of resources to the sacking of your tribe, Valravn Branwen. You have been assaulting our missions for far too long… but as you can see… my newest addition to my children – Ruby Rose…" She introduced, as Ruby stood before them, clad in jet black robes and armour with a black version of Crescent Rose in her hands.

Qrow and Raven both gasped in fear, but Valravn just stared right back at her. "Normally I would hunt down people like her – but she has a bloodlust that even I admire, so who would I be to stand in her way?" Salem asked, turning to Ruby and gently squeezing her shoulder. "Go on… do it for your sister and your father. Avenge them, daughter." Salem softly said to her, before stepping back to let Ruby have her revenge.

She walked towards Valravn, glaring down at him. "You didn't know who we were… and yet you lead that Ursa… and let it devour my sister. She was the most important person in the whole world to me… and then you butchered my dad." Ruby stated as she stared at them, pacing back and forth. "Back then I never would have imagined I would become as strong as I am now… but here and now? All I see is red… and when I see red? It is merely a question of what I am capable of. Now I understand… the people I loved were holding me back from what I could do. But not anymore… now I am capable… of whatever I want."

Valravn remained fearless as he stared her down, spinning Crescent Rose through her fingers. "So this? Is for letting me off that leash."

Ruby screamed with rage as she cut Valravn down, then Raven and then Qrow.

A few weeks later…

The Attack on Beacon began.

Ruby had cut down so many people, so many good students who just wanted to save the world. She killed Penny, and let Adam take Blake. The entire Academy was falling apart around her.

Cinder battled Pyrrha on top of the tower whilst Weiss went to go help, only to be confronted by Ruby Rose. She stared Weiss down, and the two were complete strangers to each other. Weiss screamed with fury as she launched towards Ruby, and the two battled together in the same part of the courtyard where they first met.

But in the end… Weiss rammed Myrtenaster into Ruby's ribs, pushing her down against the ground. Ruby gasped, choking on her own blood as she stared up at Weiss, who stood over her with gritted teeth.

Weiss screamed with hatred, and stabbed Ruby over and over again in the heart, until she died, covering her white dress in her blood.

Then the Episode ended…

Pyrrha

"What if… Ruby Rose hadn't gotten to you in time? What would have happened… if you were not there to help when they needed you?" Watts asked her in her mind.

She saw it… what would have happened that fateful night. Ruby jumped up the Tower off Weiss' Glyphs, landing just in time to see Cinder loose the arrow and fire it directly into Pyrrha's sternum. Pyrrha jolted back with a gasp and yelp, shuddering, hiccupping breaths as she felt her life fade and an indescribable final pain rushed through her body… and then… nothing.

Cinder gently cupped her cheek, and burned her body to golden embers, leaving only the circlet behind. Then Ruby snapped, unleashing the full power of her Silver Eyed. "PYRHAAAA!" The Wyvern was frozen to stone, and Cinder was badly injured. But she saw what Cinder would become, a Grimm arm consuming the one which stole Amber's power.

Then… the hallucination showed more impactful events. Jaune stood in the dark woods of Anima whilst a tired Ruby watched with grief in her heart. Regret… even guilt. He swung at the air, following that training video she left for him, just in case things ended the way that she feared they would.

"Alright Jaune, just as we practiced. Shield up, keep your grip tight, and don't forget to keep your front foot forward." Pyrrha's voice reminded through the message, six months dead at this point, yet he had progressed so far in those months, doing everything she taught him off by heart now. "Ready? Go!"

The future events continued, and she saw Team R.N.J.R first encountering Tyrian Callows, to Qrow being poisoned by his stinger, to the Nuckelavee. And in every single one, they saw how he was always there for them. He was being crushed by the weight of his grief over losing Pyrrha… but he never gave up. He never faltered, he just kept fighting.

For them.

It made her… so proud of him.

She then saw them inside of Mistral Academy, Leonardo Lionheart stood over them, with Raven Branwen here as well. Hazel, Mercury and Emerald were here as well… alongside Cinder Fall. It gave Pyrrha a reminder, of just how much Cinder had changed from who she was back at Beacon, and how far she is from what she could have become. She smirked sinisterly at Jaune as he let loose at her.

"How can you be so broken inside? To take so many lives… and rub it in our faces like it's something to be proud of?" Jaune growled, his voice wobbled.

"Jaune?" Nora reached out to him.

"ALL WITH THAT DAMN SMILE ON YOUR FACE!" Jaune roared, gritting his teeth with tears rolling down from his eyes. Cinder's smirk faded as Emerald looked up at her.

"I'm gonna make you pay for what you did! Do you hear me?" He yelled again.

"Kid!" Qrow yelled… it was strange for Pyrrha… seeing Qrow there for some reason. After everything he did… why would he be there?

"WELL? SAY SOMETHING!" Jaune roared, Cinder just looked more confused if anything, and her words made even Pyrrha enraged at this variant of her.

"Who are you again?" She replied, looking almost repulsed by his existence. And that was it, he roared with rage as he extended Crocea Mors into its old Broadsword Form and he sprinted towards her.

Then the scene shattered into the next as he ran towards her, and now he had a much younger Oscar Pine by the collar, pinning him against the wall. "How much longer can we even trust him?" Jaune growled.

"Jaune!" Yang shouted.

"How do we know if it's really him?" He yelled, shaking Oscar, making the young boy nearly cry from fear. "What if we've been talking to that liar this whole time?"

"JAUNE!" Ruby yelled, with an expression Pyrrha saw more and more of in Ruby these days… anger. But her voice, like always, silenced the whole room, and immediately stifled his rage. He stormed off, and then the scene flashed forward to another, where she saw that same Statue that was made for her in Argus.

I wonder… if it is even still there… if it has been defaced after… everything that has happened? Ripped down by Salem's Fanatics?

Maybe it should be… I never wanted a monument.

It was such a calming moment, he just stood before her statue, and she could feel his pain… he could feel how much he missed her. Just like how much she missed him now, and she reached out to touch his cheek, but he never felt her… none of it was real, after all. He turned when Ren and Nora ran beside him and looked at the statue with him, Nora holding two coffees for him, at first Pyrrha assumed they were both for Nora, knowing how energetic she always was. But it was for Jaune.

"I'm sorry… I've been a terrible leader… and a terrible friend… I…"

"Jaune… this has to stop." Ren interrupted.

"We… heard what you said to Cinder, back at Haven. You're not being fair to yourself, we love you, just as we loved Pyrrha. We're teammates… family." Nora softly said with a smile.

"We don't want to lose you too." Ren said to him.

"I… I think she knew she wasn't going to win… that she might not make it out alive. But… she also knew she was the only one that could try." Jaune said, and Ren smiled proudly as he looked up at her statue.

"And so she did…" Ren said, and Pyrrha teared up as she looked at them.

"Maybe we should too…" Nora added.

"Yeah… we should." Jaune agreed.

"Pyrrha may not be by our side anymore… but we can fight like she is."

"And in a way… she will be." Jaune wisely said, which Pyrrha felt deeply in her heart.

Even in death… he was always helping her.

Nora reached the second coffee cup out to Jaune, and he accepted it, smiling back at her little smile. "We should check back at the house, c'mon." Ren said, he and Nora walked away first, but Jaune waited a few more moments, looking at Pyrrha's statue as an Atlesian Airship soared across the Argus Skyline.

"Thank you…" He softly said, and he walked away with Nora and Ren, moving on from his grief, and continuing to grow.

What she realised… she will soon have to do… but she was not at that stage yet.

Not yet.

Time skipped forward once more, and they were now in Atlas… and Pyrrha gasped with a slight smile, seeing his new haircut. I like it. He and her team were fighting together against Centinels that burst through icy walls, but then… she saw Ruby again. And… Salem. She rose from a fallen Seer in a tall pillar of smoke.

"The Brave Huntsmen and Huntresses that bested Arthur Watts… congratulations." Salem greeted, and Pyrrha even noticed who else was in the room. Not only was it Team R.W.B.Y… but Ironwood as well… she had almost forgotten what he looked like, alongside the Ace Ops? It was like the Black Gallows had never existed…

"We stopped Tyrian too, we'll stop Cinder and anyone else you try to send here." Ruby retorted.

"Dear girl, their goal was never victory. It was merely to set the stage." Salem said, arms outstretched while she spoke, Ironwood had his gun aimed at her constantly. Plus his human arm appeared to be in a cast.

"For what?" Ironwood questioned; Salem smirked as she turned.

"For me." She answered, and as the conversation continued, she saw the end of it, as Ruby defiantly spoke against Salem.

"We've seen what you're capable of… the lamp showed us." Ruby said, Salem's expression changed to anger.

The Relic… maybe… maybe we need to ask her a question as well… the same one Watts asked.

"It showed us everything. We've seen that you can't be killed, but we've also seen you fail. We don't have to kill you to stop you… and we will stop you." Ruby promised, but Salem's silhouette floated before her, staring down.

"Your mother… said those words to me." Salem snarled.

"My… mother?" Ruby's voice cracked.

"She was wrong too." Salem finished.

And in a rare moment of vulnerability, Pyrrha watched Ruby have a mental breakdown. The moments changed once again… Pyrrha had no idea where she was, but she saw… Penny…

Penny was human… yet she was dying again, with bleeding stab wounds in her ribs. And Jaune was standing over her. "Penny… just hold on! My semblance, I can…"

"No… there's not enough time to heal me." Penny whimpered, Pyrrha saw Weiss fighting against Cinder alone in this strange domain. Where are Ruby, Blake and Yang? Where is everyone? "She can't get the power and the staff… but there is something you can do."

"No… I-I-I, I don't know where the others are but… Weiss can give us time!" Jaune begged her.

"Let me choose… this one thing… trust me…" Penny begged, and Jaune stared at his own reflection in Crocea Mors as he drew it. And to grant her final request… he drove the blade into her heart, killing her… so she could choose who the power goes to.

And then… the final moments appeared to Pyrrha, of Jaune running as that domain disintegrated away, and he jumped to the portal, only to plummet, and disintegrate… just as she did. Pyrrha gasped in horror, dropping to her knees, watching as Atlas came crashing down onto Mantle, being flooded completely.

As the Hallucination ended… she heard Watts' voice in her mind.

"No matter what… the outcome is always the same. Jaune Arc's fate has been decided… he will always… fall."

Cinder

"The end… of the path that Salem has paved…" Watts whispered in her mind, and Cinder swung around with her axe, thinking he was behind her… but she was alone.

At first.

The landscape was completely unrecognisable to her, blackened and destroyed, and the moon was whole in the sky. She stared at the full moon with shock… disbelief… she has lived so long seeing the moon destroyed… seeing it like that? It felt unnatural, but as she walked, she felt her boot hit something soft.

She looked down and gasped, seeing a mangled remnant of Vernal reaching out for her, groaning in immense unending agony. She was not alone, the floor was not ash… it was the interlinked bodies of screaming men and women, Humans and Faunus… even animals… all screaming in endless pain as they writhed constantly. She walked over them all and saw the top of the hill of ending pain.

And she saw her at the very top, holding someone by the throat.

As she approached, she gasped… seeing the twitching corpse of the Brother of Darkness, one of his horns hacked off from his head. Then… she saw her holding the dimmed corpse of the Brother of Light, with the Relic of Destruction in her other hand.

"Finally… justice…" Salem softly said, a smile on her face.

Cinder gasped in fear of what she saw.

And her vision swiftly ended.

Ruby

She gasped, finally freed from that nightmare, falling forward, and vomiting onto the floor. Watts stood before them, crouching down. "Yes… everyone seems to have the same reaction to my semblance. Showing people possible futures, alternate lives… it always seems to terrify people. Make them sick." Watts said as he looked at her with a smirk.

Ruby's silver eyes suddenly shined bright with rage, and she lunged forward, punching Watts across the room, and swiftly dashing across the room to grab onto Black Thorn in the corner. And she pinned the blade against his throat.

He laughed; of all things he could do in this moment… he laughed. "Uh, surely you should be aware of your surroundings?" Watts asked her, Pyrrha and Cinder quickly got back up, shaken by what they saw, also feeling sick.

"The only one who should be worrying about anything right now is you." Ruby snarled, but he still chuckled.

"Why don't you check on Polendina?" He asked her, she raised a brow and turned to where she was.

Her silver eyes widened. "Penny?" She gasped; she was gone. Only that green liquid was left behind.

Cinder and Pyrrha both looked around.

"Penny?" They both called out. Then it hit Ruby, her eyes narrowed, and she gritted her teeth.

"What did you do?" Ruby barked, pressing the blade harder against his throat.

"Oh you know… let her stretch her legs." Watts chuckled, she scraped his throat, drawing blood.

"Try it, bastard. I'll kill you without hesitation." Ruby warned.

"Oh I'm sure you will, but if I, were you? I'd better go catch little Penny… before she burns Vale to the ground. Be a shame for dear Dr Polendina to be dead before you can help her, wouldn't it?" He asked, their eyes all widened, and Ruby immediately shot forward, toppling the back door down. Cinder and Pyrrha both followed her, escaping immediately.

Tyrian burst through the door with the other Children of Salem. "What did you do? WE HAD THEM!" Tyrian roared, aiming his weapons at Watts, but he just calmly walked right past Tyrian Callows.

"All according to plan. They will lead Jaune Arc right to the Relic. And I will have what I need." He assured with a sinister smirk; Hazel narrowed his eyes as Watts left.

Tyrian turned as the treacherous Arthur Watts walked to the Gyrfalcon.

Salem's Second in Command clearly was not as loyal to the throne as Team C.P.P.R first thought.

But right now… they had to find Penny.

Because that Virus could cause so many innocents to die in the coming moments.

Author Note - What a chapter, I had some fun here (I love hallucination sequences, and this was extra fun)

So Watts has one of my favourite revelations here with what he truly intends to do, and I love it because it works so well with his character. He has always been planning on killing Salem to take the Throne for himself, because he is endlessly hungry for power. Plus I love his semblance, showing possible futures and alternate lives. Makes him really interesting, especially when you consider the fact he cannot see his own future, yet can show possible futures to everyone else.

Ruby's was really messed up but fun to explore, having Pyrrha's be the Canon Show was a fun inclusion. And Cinder's was scary as hell. And now Penny has been hacked into once more and is gonna attack Vale. Let's hope they can stop her in time.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please review, follow and favourite!

Stay tuned for the next chapter!

- Matt