RWBY: Destiny of Remnant

by UGX7

In the wake of the fall Team RNJR sets out to bring Cinder Fall to justice while the new Fall Maiden overlooks her master's plan in Haven City. Meanwhile Weiss tries to help a friend, Yang struggles with the loss of her arm, and Blake deals with guilt over the White Fang. Meanwhile someone from Cinder's past returns and Salem's newest pawn rises. Arkos, WhiteRose, SunnyBees, Renora

15. RWBY Reunited

RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late and great Monty Oum.

Read, review, and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated, thank you! Thanks to all the reviewers, I appreciate all your kind words and thoughts. Seriously, you guys keep me going so share your thoughts.

RWBY: Destiny of Remnant

Chapter 15: RWBY Reunited

The three ships flew in the air over Haven towards the factory. The first ship was the craft that Winter had purchased, it was piloted by Weiss and the passenger area contained Blake, Yang, Ren, Nora, Team SSSN, Team CFVY, Penny, Taiyang, Raven, Qrow, and Ashe along with Zwei. The ship from Vale was still piloted by Ross and it had Glynda, Oobleck, Port, Bianca, Violet, Flynt, Neon, Teams CRDL, ABRN, BRNZ, NDGO, and Dr. Chloris who had supplied all three ships with advanced medical combat equipment as she knew they'd need it. The third ship, V19 from the White Fang was piloted by Sienna and its guns were operated by Shani and Indigo.

"So, everyone here is aware of the danger right? No matter how hard we fight a lot of us will get hurt and maybe even a few of us will die." Qrow said as he looked at the kids around him, seeing Neptune looking nervous as he transformed his trident into gun-mode. Yang could see the effect's these words had on her friend and glared at her uncle.

"Uncle Qrow, you sure know how to darken the mood." Yang said.

"He's right Yang, we're going to have to fight as hard as we can to win this." Blake said as she loaded up Gambol Shroud with a few different Dust clips.

"I have gone up against much worst odds in the past." Raven said as she glanced to Taiyang.

"Tell me about it; I know that in the long run it doesn't compare but do you remember that Kraken we went up against off the coast of Vacuo?" Taiyang asked, as he remembered one of Team STRQ's last missions before graduation was to kill a giant Kraken Grimm that was terrorizing a town on the southern coast of Vacuo.

Raven smirked behind her mask and said "I remember having to jump into its mouth to save you."

"Whoa, I remember that story; you three took on the tentacles and mouth while Summer attacked the head." Yang said, remembering the old bedtime stories Taiyang and Summer would tell their children.

"I'm pretty sure they kept leaving out how Summer punched her way through one of the beast's eyes and then smashed her way through the skull." Qrow said nostalgically.

"Why didn't you ever tell us that part?" Yang asked.

"You know Summer, she didn't want the stories to get too violent." Taiyang said.

"Never stopped me." Qrow stated dryly.

Velvet smiled a bit as she checked her camera, she had a full catalogue of weapons to copy: Nebula's crossbow, Cardin's mace, Crescent Rose, Gambol Shroud, Ember Celia, Myrtenaster, Coco's purse, Yatsuhashi's greatsword, Penny's swords, Ruyi and Jingu Bang, Ashe's shotgun, the StormFlowers, Magnhild, Neon's nunchaku-glowsticks, and Milo and Akouo. She was practically a walking powerhouse with this camera. She looked to Yatsuhashi who gave her a small smile and a nod. Velvet returned it, but she couldn't help but feel nervous and it showed.

Coco nudged her friend and said "Hey, relax Velv, we'll be fine."

"We're going right into the fire; we may even have to face off against this Salem." The rabbit Faunus said.

"I highly doubt that, Salem is powerful but she never engages in a fight, she's more of a chess master controlling the pawns than anything." Raven said.

"And she's got a surplus of those, obviously." Sun said.

"When we go in Raven and me will worry about Cinder Fall, you just worry about finding Ruby and Arc and getting the hell out." Qrow said.

The kids nodded, knowing their rolls well enough. "You sure it was a good idea to let that Cardin guy on the rescue team?" Sun asked.

"He was a bad person in the past but I think he wants to make up for it, I think we can count on him until we make it out of there." Velvet said.

"Everyone deserves a second chance." Blake added as she glanced to Yang and smiled.

"Okay, but if he acts like a prick let me know, I'll teach him some manners." Sun said with a smirk.

"Will do, but only if you let me give you a hand." Yang said.

"The factory is in sight now; we'll be there in one minute." Weiss called from the cockpit.

Ashe nodded and spoke into the radio; "Okay, everyone get ready! Sienna, don't land with us, you just keep circling up high and if any ships come out of that factory start blasting them down."

"You got it." Sienna said.

Inside of the Vale ship Glynda watched as the students prepared for battle; loading up guns and hilts with Dust, getting their swords prepared, talking quietly amongst themselves, some were even looking at each other as if it would the last night of their lives.

Maia Chloris approached Glynda and asked "Are you sure there's no other way?"

"If there was an alternate way I'd take it but for now this will have to do, I don't like sending these children into battle anymore than you do but we're out of options and out of time." Glynda told the distressed mother.

Maia looked to Reese who was whispering something to May. She hated this entire situation, it would be a disaster and it would be a miracle of only a few of these kids died but she couldn't stop them, the fate of innocent people was in their hands.

"Things look grim, dear doctor, but rest assured we will do our best to make sure these fine young warriors make it out alive." Port said proudly as he loaded up his blunderbuss/ax hybrid.

"Indeed, it will be difficult as we will be outnumbered and outmatched but we must try, if Cinder Fall and the rest of these criminals get away with their plans billions of innocent lives will suffer and we shan't allow that to happen." Oobleck said as he expanded his thermos into its expanded form and made sure the bomb was safely inside his otherwise empty backpack.

"This isn't gonna be easy, but we got no other choice if Ironwood's being controlled and the cops are under Ante's power. I'm ready to take a risk for my brother." Violet said as she loaded up her pistol/taser weapons.

"I just hope I only have to kill those robot things." Bianca muttered as she checked the rifle Ashe had given to her.

"No, sis, you're doing it wrong, let me show you." Violet said as she took the rifle away from her elder sister and began to show her how to properly use it.

"We're here; I'm setting us down now so you can make the first approach." Ross said from the cockpit as the ship began to land. Only the teachers and Violet would disembark the ship and would be joined by Qrow, Raven, Taiyang, and Ashe to make the first attack on the front gate of the factory while the ships would land at a safe distance so the guards could not open fire on them while they were idle.

Glynda stood up and addressed the students, "You know your parts and I know you will play them well. Do not make any moves towards the factory until the bomb detonates, speaking of which, Miss Zedong, are you ready?"

May nodded as she adjusted the scope of her sniper rifle. "I'll hit it dead on, just plant it down and run, I'll make it go boom real nice." She said.

"Excellent, good luck everyone, do your best and I know you'll make it." Glynda said.

"Yes Professor Goodwitch." All the students said, ready for action.

Out the outside of the factory a small security outpost building connected to the complex via platform walkways observed the ships fly towards them.

"Should we call Lady Cinder and report this to her?" asked one of the security guards.

"No, they're busy with the duel, send Burke and his men out to deal with these intruders." Lancaster said as he walked out of the room to get a better look from outside.

The Vale ship hovered a few feet above the ground as Port pulled the door open and stepped aside for Glynda to lead the way. Glynda turned to see the other airship hovering ten meters away as the stolen White Fang ship began making passes overhead with cannons ready.

Ashe jumped out of the ship first, followed by the remaining members of Team STRQ. "Okay, just hang back until the bomb goes off, I promise we'll be okay!" Taiyang said to Yang as he hugged her.

"Just don't get your butt kicked too badly, dad." Yang said as she hugged him back.

"We'll watch his back, just like old times." Qrow said as he took out Reaper.

"We will all be fine; I'm more worried about you." Raven said as she made some adjustments to her sword's scabbard.

"She won't be rushing into danger alone this time." Blake said as she tightened her grip on Gambol Shroud.

"Right, you'll rush into danger together." Raven said with a smile behind her mask.

"That's the basic idea." Ren said dryly, knowing full well that while they had a good chance of succeeding tonight they had an equal chance of defeat. It could go either way.

"Just stick to the plan and you'll be fine." Ashe said as he walked ahead of the group towards Glynda. "You ready for this?" he asked, wondering if he was ready for it. He remembered his fight with Cinder at the construction site, how she could have killed him but she hesitated. Maybe there was still hope for his sister...

"I've been in more fights in the past few months than I care to count, be it with the Grimm or with these people. I'm ready to put an end to it." She said as she gripped her wand tightly.

"Amen to that Goodwitch." Qrow said after he took a swig from his flask and jogged up to the front of the group.

"Here come some guards, armed with laser rifles by the looks of it." Violet said as a group of ten human guards in gray armor approached them.

"Robots?" Qrow asked his sister, who shook her head. "Okay, let's get to it."

"Halt! State your business now or we will apprehend you." The leader of the guards, Burke, said.

"Heh, listen buddy, we know who's in there. We know that it's Cinder Fall and her cronies, so drop the act and make this easy on yourselves, okay?" Qrow said.

The guards responded by aiming their guns at the eight trespassers. Ashe and Raven quickly unsheathed their swords as Taiyang aimed his gauntlet at a guard's head while Oobleck activated the flame on his thermos and Port and Violet both aimed their guns at the guards.

"Gentlemen, this display of weaponry is unnecessary. I think that you know how badly things will turn out for you if you continue working for these people." Glynda said calmly.

"Shut up, we're arresting you here and now; I think Lady Cinder will be most pleased to deal with you personally." Burke said.

Qrow and Glynda looked at each other. Glynda sighed and nodded her head as Qrow smirked. "Right." He said as he whipped out Reaper in its scythe form and sliced it at the lead guard.

Burke fell to the ground, his helmet covered face sliding off his head with blood spilling down in a smooth, thin sheet.

Before any of the other guards could react the group of eight sprung into action; Glynda used her telekinesis to send two guards flying, Violet shot one in the knee, Ashe slashed one guard across the chest and blasted one of the retreating guards in the back, Taiyang knocked one guard out with a mighty punch to the stomach, aided by the metal gauntlet he was wearing.

Oobleck jumped into the air and landed behind a guard and used his extended thermos to sweep him down by attacking the back of his legs which he followed up by bashing the guard in the head with the blunt kanabo part of his weapon. Port blasted one guard in the gut with the mighty blunderbuss half of his weapon and then quickly slammed the ax portion into the final guard.

As the brief skirmish came to an end Taiyang noticed his ex-wife was now absent. "Where's Raven?" he asked.

"She probably went ahead to make sure the alarms don't go off. Now let's cause some trouble." Qrow said as he walked on.

"I like this guy's style." Ashe whispered to Glynda as they followed the male Branwen.

"You'll get annoyed with him sooner or later." Glynda said, allowing herself a smile.

At the main entrance to the factory the captain of the guards, Lancaster, rushed into the main exterior control room, wondering why the alarms hadn't been raised. To say he was annoyed with his lookout staff was an understatement, he was flat out hoping that Cinder would make examples of them. He opened the door that led to their room and began to shout "What the hell are you idiots doing? Are you blind? We're under attack and we..." he was stopped by the sight of nearly everyone in the exterior security room was dead, the only one alive was a masked woman dressed in red and black and armed with a large, deadly sword.

"I..." he tried to say but was too terrified by the sight of the massacre.

"Run little man." Raven said as she pointed her sword at him and Lancaster wisely did as she instructed. "Pathetic." She muttered as she plugged her scroll into a computer and uploaded a virus, one that would disable the alarms and the security cameras.

"This will give us a little advantage." She said as she grabbed her scroll and used her sword to open up a swirling black portal.

Outside the room Lancaster ran out to a platform and could see the small army that was gathering on the edge of the factory's perimeter, the fences destroyed by their weapons. An underling ran up to him and asked "What do we do sir?"

Lancaster assessed the situation and made a decision, "Have all our available men get out there and fight and get some airships up now. I'll call Lady Cinder and ask her permission to use the Grimm Knights, she'll be annoyed but I think she'll understand." He said.

The guard nodded and ran off to tell the others. Lancaster took out his scroll to call Cinder and just as he was about to push the button to make the connection Raven appeared from behind him and with one quick swing of her sword she decapitated him. As his headless corpse fell to the ground she swiped the scroll out of his hands and examined it. "Hmm, interesting." She muttered as she opened another portal.

On the edge of the factory's perimeter the large group all gathered around ready for the bomb to go off. May had gotten on top of a parked car and was using the scope of her sniper rifle to keep track of Oobleck who was frantically fighting guards. Once he placed the bomb they would retreat and May would take her shot.

"Man I hope I don't mess this up." May muttered.

"Relax May, you'll do fine, you're one of the top three snipers at Shade Academy." Brawnz encouraged, hoping to make her more confident.

"Why didn't we bring number one?" asked Roy, who got a slap from both Brawnz and Nolan as an answer.

"Just keep your eye on the target and you'll do fine, kid." Ross said as he loaded up a small rifle.

"You're helping us out?" Fox asked the pilot.

"Sure, it's probably fate of world battle; you kids need all the help you can get. It's been about seven years since I was in a battle directly, but I'm still quick enough." Ross said as he looked towards the battle before them.

Fox nodded and looked to Coco, "Velvet was right, we're going right into the furnace, but I'll have your back."

Coco smirked and gave him a slap on the butt "And I've got yours."

Velvet giggled at her friends antics before she looked up to Yatsuhashi. "I know you got my back, but do you know who has yours?" she asked.

"You do of course and I wouldn't have anyone else." The large teen said, which made Velvet blush.

Penny looked at the factory, Ruby was in there and she needed help. Penny would help her best friend with some of the upgrades her new body had. She looked at her arm and smiled inwardly, she hadn't told the others about one particular upgrade, a trump card she would enjoy playing... hopefully on Cinder herself.

Weiss, Blake, and Yang watched the battle unfold and the blonde of the group was amazed by how well her dad was fighting, she had seen him fight before but never like this. She saw him slash a guard across the chest then blast two down with rapid blasts of the flamethrowers on his palms. He kicked a guard down then jumped on his chest to launch himself forward to another guard and let out a burst of flame that engulfed the thug in fire. Then he used the claws on his gauntlets to slash a guard's throat open and followed it up with a stab to the stomach, killing the guard quickly so he wouldn't suffer.

"Never seen dad get that brutal." Yang commented.

"Ruby's in there plus he's probably letting out a lot of pent up anger." Blake said.

"Heh, like father like daughter I guess." Yang said with a smile.

Blake returned the smile until she felt someone grab her shoulder. She turned to see Sun with Neptune standing behind him.

"So... Blake I uh..."

"Go on!" Neptune prodded as he took a few steps back, he gave a meaningful look to Weiss and the white haired girl nodded in understanding.

"Yang, let's give them some alone time." She said. Yang nodded and stepped away from her partner to allow the two Faunus their moment.

"Sun, I promise you I'll be okay; I have my team with me. I need to do this Sun, I have to make things right." Blake said.

"I know. I just want you to know Blake that I... I don't know what I'd do if I lost you. I really care about you so just be careful." Sun said, trying to ignore the sounds of battle in the background.

"I will be. I'd be devastated if something happened to you too, so promise me you'll be okay." She said.

"I can't, got those three nerds to take care of and they're... they're... oh screw it." Sun said as he grabbed Blake by the shoulders and pulled her in for a kiss. Blake's eyes widened at first but she eased into it and returned the kiss. This kiss with Sun felt better than any kiss she had shared with Adam, it was hungry and passionate but it was gentle and loving, not rough and forceful like Adam had been. It felt... right.

Yang and Weiss looked on smiling, "Go get him, kitty cat." Yang said.

The three remaining members of Team SSSN watched as their leader finally made his relationship with the girl he cared so much about official.

"Finally." Muttered Sage.

"Think long do you it'll last?" Scarlet asked.

"Oh, until they die." Neptune answered.

"No, I meant the kiss. They're a bit... too into it." Scarlet said.

"Eh, they have to breathe sometime." Neptune said.

Blake and Sun parted lips and gazed into each other's eyes. "Wow." Was all Sun could say.

Blake blushed as she smiled at him "We'll make it through this together, I promise." She said.

"Speaking of which I promised Yang I'd get a 'told you so' when you guys come out of that factory with Ruby, make sure I get that." He said.

Blake nodded and said "We'll all make it out of there, just don't get yourselves killed out here."

"Not easy, I mean Neptune and Scarlet need constant attention..." he began, making Blake fail to repress a giggle.

Ren and Nora observed the couple's interaction and Nora sighed dreamily. "They're perfect for each other." She said.

"I suppose they are..." Ren said, sounding distracted and distant.

"Renny? What's wrong? Well beside pretty much everything that's been going on recently and what we're about to do and..." Nora said before Ren placed a finger on her lips to silence her.

Ren sighed and said "Nora, I... I don't want us to end up like Jaune and Pyrrha, I have to come clean; we've known each other for nearly a decade and I... in case something happens to either of us I want you to know that..."

The green clad ninja was silenced as his best friend jumped into him and captured his lips in a very eager kiss. Ren's eyes were wide as they could go as Nora pulled away from him, smiling.

"I've always wanted to do that. Boop." She said as she touched his nose and Ren simply smiled in return.

Weiss observed this with wide eyes; she personally couldn't believe that Nora and Ren had gotten together before she could find any real significant other. Yang apparently sensed this and gave the heiress a playful pat on the back.

"Cheer up Snow Angel, you'll find love one day." She teased. Weiss simply responded with a huff.

Weiss looked towards the fight and noticed some airships were lifting up, ready to attack. She was worried at first but when Sienna's ship began to attack she felt relived. Sienna wasn't a fighter pilot but she apparently had more than enough experience dealing with winged Grimm so that gave the three Arc sisters above a bit of a chance. The ship's cannons began firing and a small, somewhat sloppy dogfight began.

Meanwhile, Ashe was in the fray of the fight, surrounded by guards. His shotgun was empty for the moment and was now using both of his pistols to try and blast them down but these guards were good at dodging. He managed to hit one or two of them before a very muscular guard charged Ashe and managed to knock Ashe to the ground but he was saved as a mighty blast from Port's gun blasted the brutish guard away.

"Get up! We'll take them together." Port said as he ran into the skirmish and quickly helped Ashe up, deflecting a few laser blasts with his ax, following it by slamming the powerful blade into a guard's stomach.

"Thanks, you're a way better fighter than I thought you'd be." Ashe said as he blasted a guard down. He decided to ditch the firearms for the time being and he took out his sword and swung it outwards, cutting a guard's arm off.

"And you're a good fighter for a Guerrilla Huntsman." Port admitted as he punched a guard down and followed it up by slamming the ax down on him.

"I try." Ashe said as he stabbed his sword backwards and impaled a guard who was trying to sneak up on them and finished him off with a slash across the chest.

"Ha-ha! Bully!" Port laughed as he blasted a guard away.

All of a sudden a rain of lasers began firing on them. "Behind me!" Ashe yelled as he used his Semblance and aura to create a shield. He glanced to where the blasts were coming from and saw about six guards all with laser rifles blasting away at them.

"The others are busy; can your gun take those punks out from here?" Ashe asked.

"This is meant for close range fighting not..." Port began to say before he silenced himself and looked at the guards. It was then Ashe noticed the guards had stopped firing. He looked to see Raven standing above the six guards, all of them dead.

"I trust you are both alright?" Raven said.

"We're fine, my dear, you just helped out of a minor spot of trouble." Port said.

Raven nodded to her former teacher as she handed Lancaster's scroll to Ashe. "I took this from the lead guard's body, I saw that he was about to call your sister." She said.

Ashe nodded and asked "The alarms and all that crap taken care of?"

"Yes, I have deactivated the alarms and security cameras within the factory. I don't know why the robots haven't been sent out yet." Raven said as she sliced a charging guard down.

"Maybe they're hoping to defeat us without using the heavy artillery. They probably assume these Grimm Knights are still a surprise." Port speculated.

"I doubt it; I've already destroyed a few of them." Ashe said as he reloaded his shotgun.

"My guess is they want to remain as hidden as possible, but once the bomb goes off we'll have to face the Knights." Raven said.

"Well at least the kids won't have to hold back." Ashe said as he jumped into fighting a guard armed with a sword.

Up ahead Taiyang and Glynda fought side by side with Taiyang punching and blasting guards with his gauntlets and Glynda lifting up objects and debris and bringing them down on the enemy troops. They were making a big show of themselves to attract the bulk of the guards to them while Oobleck, Qrow, and Violet made a run to plant the bomb.

"Been a while since I've had to fight this hard!" Taiyang said as he used his gauntlet's claws to stab a guard in the stomach.

"I haven't battled humans like this in a long time, last time was when I was stranded on that ravager island for two weeks." Glynda said as she grabbed a guard by the head, smashed his face into her knee and then used her wand to create a powerful energy ball that blasted said guard and several of his cohorts away.

"Yeah, remember hearing about that, didn't you get a medal for bringing those guys in?" Taiyang asked as he set a guard on fire.

"Yes, I did." Glynda confirmed as Ashe, Raven, and Port joined them.

"This is the best fight I've had since the Vytal disaster." Port said as he cleaved a guard in the shoulder.

"No much of an improvement, Peter." Glynda said as she lifted up a parked car and slammed it into a group of guards.

"Is the bomb in place yet?" Raven asked as she deflected a blast aimed for Taiyang.

"I don't think it is." Taiyang said before they were bathed in a bright light.

Hovering over them was one of the three airships; the other two were still engaged in fighting V19 but the crew of this ship had decided to engage the ground based attackers. It opened fire on them but Glynda quickly created cover with the debris around them.

"Glynda, toss me up to that ship." Taiyang said. Glynda nodded and used her telekinesis to grab hold of the fellow blonde and she launched him into the air. Taiyang soared through the sky and when he began coming down he aimed his legs at the cockpit of the ship. He landed on the windshield and broke through the glass with a powerful kick. He heard the pained screams of the pilot, who now had glass embedded in his torso, and he knew he needed to put the man out of his misery so he quickly blasted the pilot with the flamethrower. Taiyang pulled his lower body out of the cockpit and he leaned in and grabbed the controls to yank the ship away from the group. He got out and used his flamethrowers to incinerate the controls and then he jumped down.

Glynda moved to catch him with her Semblance but Raven stopped her. "Let me." The maverick Huntress said. She crouched down, jumped high into the air, and caught her ex-husband.

They landed on the ground perfectly with Taiyang in Raven's arms as the ship spun out of control and crashed off to the side.

"Do you think they heard that?" Port asked.

"Oh no doubt, they probably know we're here now." Ashe said as he blasted another guard down.

Raven let Taiyang out of her arms and he smiled at her. "You always did catch me." He said.

"I only regret ever letting you down." She said.

Taiyang sighed and said "Raven... I..."

"Kiss and make up later you too, I think Qrow and the others need our help." Glynda said. The couple glared at the teacher, with Taiyang about to object to her statement before Ashe cut them off, he could see that up ahead at the main door Qrow, Oobleck, and Violet were cornered by two dozen guards.

"Toss me up like you did with Taiyang, I'll jump right into those assholes and help Qrow and the others fight 'em off." He said.

"Are you sure? Coming down is much harder than it looks." Glynda warned.

"Just do it, we gotta get that bomb ready." Ashe said.

"Okay, just don't blame me if you break your legs." Glynda said.

"I'll be FIIIINNEE!" Ashe cried as Glynda quickly threw him in the sky and towards the cornered trio before he could prepare himself.

Glynda gave her companions a sly glance and said "I did warn him."

"Let's give the man a hand." Port said as he rushed towards the site with the other three following him.

At the main door Qrow spun Reaper around as fast a he could, deflecting lasers and bullets. He glanced at Oobleck's backpack and got nervous when one of the blasts grazed it.

"Keep that bomb safe, Barty! If they hit that sucker we're fucked." Qrow said.

"First off, quit calling me Barty. Second: don't worry; I've made sure this pack could withstand more than these guards are capable of hitting it with so it should be fine." Oobleck said as he blasted a guard down with his thermos' flame feature.

"Yeah, it'll be fine but what about us?!" Violet cried. She had been in a few firefights before, only natural in a cop's line of work, but this was more than she had ever seen.

"That I cannot guarantee." Oobleck stated.

"You really know how to woo the ladies, Oobleck." Qrow said sarcastically with a sly smirk on his face.

"HEADS UP!" screamed Ashe as he came down from the sky.

"What the...?!" cried a guard before Ashe landed on top of head, feet first. Ashe whipped out his pistols and began blasting guards down. He had decided not to start using the Haakskeekah just yet, as it would take up too much of his aura and he wanted to conserve it for the much more important fights he'd no doubt be in tonight.

Qrow smirked and said "About time you decided to chip in." He quickly spun around and began slicing guards apart with lighting fast speed and brutality. Violet was amazed at how fast Qrow moved with the Reaper, she could barley even see the blade of the scythe move with the naked eye before the guards fell to the ground dead.

"Alright, now that they're taken care of..." Oobleck said as he quickly placed the bomb in front of the giant steel door.

"Excellent work, Barty." Port said as he blasted a guard down.

"Thank you, Peter." Oobleck said as he made sure the bomb was prepared.

"How come he gets to call you that?" Qrow asked as he cut another guard down.

"Because I like him." Oobleck said.

"Well that just hurts my feelings." Qrow joked as he kicked a guard in the stomach, making him double over in pain only for Qrow to finish him off by stabbing Reaper through his torso. He looked to see Ashe finishing off a few more guards while some of the smarter guards began to simply run for it.

"Is the bomb ready, Bartholomew?" Glynda asked.

"Affirmative! We should probably get to a safe distance so Miss Zedong can do her part." Oobleck said as he began to run ahead of the group.

Glynda looked around at the dead guards, their blood on the ground. She sighed and whispered "I can tell that many of you were truly not evil at heart, may your souls find peace in the afterlife." She ran after the others, regretting the loss of life and the lives that would no doubt be taken later on this night, but she found comfort in the fact that if they were successful countless lives would be saved by their actions tonight.

At the end of the perimeter May kept an eye on the battle.

"They've set up the bomb, they did it!" she announced.

"Yes!" cheered Neon.

"Okay Schnee, so how far do they have to be to be safe from a shockwave?" Flynt asked.

"Uh... I don't really know, the bomb we set off on the island had a massive blast and I don't really know how much smaller this one will be since Professor Goodwitch emptied some of the payload but we should wait until their closer to us until you shoot it, May." Weiss advised.

"Gotcha." May said as she kept her eye on the bomb.

Once the eight adults were close enough Qrow began yelling "What are you waiting for, kid?! Shoot it! Shoot it now!"

May took a deep breath as she focused as hard as she could; she had the bomb dead bang in her crosshairs.

"You can do it, May." Encouraged Brawnz.

"We know you can." Added Roy.

"Take the shot." Said Nolan.

May put her finger on the trigger and muttered one word: "Bang."

She pulled the trigger.

Everyone shielded their eyes as a massive explosion of fire and Dust, rocketing up into the sky, creating a huge blast that one tenth of Haven City could see.

"Well, if we didn't have their attention before we do now." Qrow said with a wide smirk.

"Way to go May!" cheered Brawnz as the sniper jumped off the car.

"Yeah, I made that shot! Yes!" she cheered, feeling very happy with herself.

"Don't start celebrating just yet, this is just the beginning." Raven said.

Ashe took out the scroll Raven had given him and quickly brought up Cinder's number. "Okay, this thing has Cinder's number on it so let's see if she's home." He said.

"Boy would our faces be red if this was the wrong factory." Blake deadpanned.

A familiar voice soon came from the scroll; "Lancaster, what is going on out there? Who is attacking us?"

Ashe grinned to the others and said "Take a guess, sis."

"Ashe." Cinder hissed.

"I'd give real money to see the look on her face right now." Yang whispered to her teammates, getting many agreeing nods.

"Correct, now let Ruby and Jaune go and maybe we'll only kick your ass a little bit, oh and tell Saul Jude to come out here so I can shove my shotgun up his ass and then down his throat." Ashe said, but she cut off the call. Ashe grinned and said "Hung up on me, ain't that just the way."

"What are we waiting for? Let's get in there!" Yang said as she pounded her gauntlets together.

"She's right, okay everyone who's goin' in come on! Glynda, Taiyang, get these kids ready 'cause I think they'll be sending out some of their bigger guns like those Grimm hybrids." Qrow said.

"Just get my daughter out of there." Taiyang said.

"And my brother." Bianca added. Ashe approached her, grabbed her hand, and looked into her eyes

"I promise you, I'll get your brother out of there and back to you." Ashe said.

Bianca nodded and said "Thank you, Ashe."

"Okay, let's get in there before the rest guards can recover or figure out what's going on, let's go kick some ass." Qrow said.

"You don't have to tell me twice." Coco said with a smirk as she led her team towards the factory.

Blake took one last look at Sun and gave him a small smile which he returned.

"Go get 'em Cardin." Sky said to his leader.

Qrow and Ashe ran ahead with Yang, Blake, Weiss, Ren, Nora, Penny, Cardin, and Team CFVY following them, but Raven lingered behind. She looked to her former husband and walked towards him.

"Taiyang I just wanted to tell you that no matter how tonight ends; there are times when I regret the choice I made and time I don't, but no matter what I have always loved you and our daughter." She said. Taiyang looked at her and shook his head.

"Sometimes I wonder what my life would have been like if you had stayed... but I'm happy you made your choice. Because you left me I married Summer, and even though she's gone I have Ruby... and despite how harsh I've been to you I want you to know that no matter how hard I tried I couldn't really forget my feelings for you. I guess I never stopped loving you either." He said.

Raven took off her mask and their eyes met. Despite how long it had been she still looked just as beautiful as the day he first asked her out. She leaned in and kissed him on the lips. Taiyang was too shocked by this action to properly react; he didn't even return the kiss.

"Make this fight a good one." Raven said as she began running after the rest of the rescue team.

Qrow and the others had been watching, and Yang had wide eyes at what had just transpired between her parents.

"Is Yang okay?" Penny asked.

"She's fine, just a little shocked to see her parents kissing like that." Blake explained.

"Why? Don't parents do that?" Penny questioned.

"Penny... we'll explain later." Weiss said with a repressed smile, but she couldn't help but poke fun at Yang. "Looks like your parents have rediscovered their love..."

"Oh shut up Weiss." Yang said.

"What was that about?" Qrow asked his sister.

"I... I just felt like I needed to do that." Raven said as she put her mask back on.

Qrow simply nodded and shrugged, then signaled for the kids to follow him into the factory. Behind them Glynda, Taiyang, Port, and Oobleck led the remaining students, two Arc sisters, and one dog into battle. Zwei looked up at his owner and rubbed up against his leg.

"Thanks buddy." Taiyang said to his pet.

"Taiyang, what will happen between you two once this is over?" Glynda asked.

"I honestly don't know." He said as he put his confused emotions behind him so he could focus on the coming battle.

---

Inside of the throne room Cinder glared at Ruby with as much hatred as she could muster. "Enjoy it while you can, Ruby. I'll make sure my brother and whoever else has come to your rescue suffers for this idiotic stunt. West, get to the main computer terminals and begin transferring all on-site data to the next safe point." She said.

"At once, my Lady." West said before he quickly ran out of the room.

"Cinder, begin transferring the Grimm to the ship, as well as the Grimm Knights that are not yet online. The less they know about what we've been doing here the better. Most of the Grimm Knights that are operational will have to help with the transportation of the Grimm and the Knights, but I think the ones left for battle will be more than enough for Ashe and these troublemakers." Salem instructed. Cinder nodded as she used her wind powers to lift Fireball's flamethrower out of the pit and returned it to him.

"What about the kid, what do we do with her?" Ziz asked as she held the struggling Pyrrha in place.

"Victor, I want you to take her to your lab and place her inside of a cryotube, we can turn her back into Fotia later." Salem said to Giger.

"No! No you can't!" Jaune screamed as he struggled to free himself from Salem's power.

"Oh, but I can, Jaune." Salem said as she used her powers to slam Jaune into the floor of the pit. She looked up to the Grimm Knights behind Ruby and made a gesture. The Knights shoved Ruby into the pit with Jaune. Ruby landed on her front but she pressed herself up to glare at Salem.

"You won't get away with this Salem, I'm a little surprised that Ashe Kasai is responsible for this attack but if he's causing those explosions I'd say he might have a chance of taking your minions on." Ozpin said.

Salem sighed and said "Oh William, you truly know how to try my patience."

"I know." Ozpin said with a smile. He suddenly unleashed his aura and ripped the cuffs apart. He grabbed one of the human guards, ripped the rifle out of his hands, threw the guard away and Ozpin quickly began shooting down the Grimm Knights in the room before Cinder blasted him with a powerful ball of Dust and fire, smashing him into the wall. Ozpin got up and managed to land several punches on Cinder before she smashed a mighty fist into his chin, making him spit out blood as he fell to the ground.

"What did you think you'd accomplish with that?" Cinder asked as she used her powers of the wind to squeeze Ozpin's throat, preventing air from flowing into his lungs so the man couldn't answer.

"Place him into the pit, after Pyrrha is frozen you three shall join her." Salem said as Cinder tossed Ozpin into the arena with Jaune and Ruby. Ziz tightened her grip on Pyrrha and flew up to the floor level and shoved her into the waiting arms of the Grimm Knights. Pyrrha struggled as hard as she could but the mechanical soldiers were too strong and she was too tired out from the battle that ended mere moments ago.

"Jaune! Save yourselves, I'll be alright!" she cried as the Knights began leading her out.

"Pyrrha! NO!" Jaune cried as he ran forward to the wall and attempted to climb up.

"Jaune, don't! It's too dangerous!" Ruby cried. Cinder smirked down at them as she quickly ran to a console and pressed a button and panels slid out of the floor, sealing the three inside.

"No!" Pyrrha yelled as she fought to get out, but to no avail as Giger and the Knights led her out of the room. Cinder watched as Pyrrha was led away, but she had learned not to underestimate the girl so she looked to her two students.

"Emerald, Mercury, go with him and make sure she doesn't escape." She ordered.

"Won't you need us out front?" Mercury asked, annoyed that he was basically getting reduced to prisoner escort.

"We got it covered, kid." Lao said as he unsheathed his katana.

"Yes, we must act quickly if we are to salvage this." Salem said as her eyes scanned the room. "Ziz, Steppenwolffe, Jude, Ante, all of you; get out there and go to war. Do not hesitate to kill." she ordered.

"We will not, my mistress." Steppenwolffe said, saluting her.

"Mind if I tag along with Nikos? If Ashe and whoever's with him get inside here they'll probably be heading for these two kids," Ante said as he gestured to the closed pit, the sound of Jaune banging on the wall coming from inside, "so if they find out about Nikos being alive they'll come for her. Plus if we gotta take Ozpin and those two brats with us you'll need more than those robots and these two kids to escort them."

"Sadly he isn't wrong." Emerald admitted.

"You have a legitimate point, you may join them. You there," Cinder said as she pointed at one of the human guards, "you and the rest of your men will stay here and make sure these prisoners do not escape."

The guard saluted her, "I will not fail you, Lady Cinder."

"So many people have promised that and so few have made good on it." Cinder said.

"Uhhh... where did the old man go?" Emerald asked aloud, making everyone realize that Norvik was gone.

"Oh great, the senile serial killer is on the loose." Muttered Ziz.

"Shall I track him down and recapture him, Mistress?" Steppenwolffe asked.

"No, let him go for now. He is but a minor annoyance right now and we have far more pressing matters to deal with. Cinder, you know what to do." Salem said as she opened a portal and took her leave.

Cinder assessed the situation before her and knew she had to act quickly if they were going to make it out of this.

"Alright; Jude, Ziz, Steppenwolffe, Neo, enforcers, with me, we shall deal with these idiots together." Cinder said as she led them out of the room. With that everyone left the room save for the guards who stayed to make sure Ruby, Jaune, and Ozpin didn't escape.

"Better call those keepers and tell them to unleash our Grimm, we're going to need them." Steppenwolffe said.

"Right." Cinder said as she took out her scroll and called up the underground tunnels where the Grimm were kept. "Hello, Keeper Matilda we need you to..."

"Lady Cinder, did Commander Drakos lose the fight?" the woman asked, sounding rather nervous.

"In a way, she's not dead but why do you want to know?" Cinder questioned as she stopped walking, allowing the others to get ahead of her.

"It's the Wyvern, Lady Cinder! A few minutes ago it went mad, it was roaring and trying to break out of its pen but we have managed to sedate it." The head keeper said.

"Good... that is rather odd, maybe she has a bond with the beast. Matilda, begin transferring all the Grimm into the ship, including the Wyvern, we're under attack and must abandon this factory. Unleash the Griffons and Beowolves, we will need them for the battle." Cinder ordered, feeling lucky that the tunnels had been soundproofed so the outside world could not hear the Grimm's roars; it gave them a slight advantage over their attackers.

"Right away, my Lady." The keeper said before the call ended.

Cinder soon caught up with the other warriors as they made their way. "Your Grimm will be up here shortly, you can lead them into battle however you wish." She said to the remaining Grimm hybrids.

"Excellent." Steppenwolffe said as he drew out his sword.

"How many do you think are out there?" Trooper asked.

"I have no idea, but we'll destroy them no matter their numbers." Cinder said as Grimm Knights began to join them in their march towards the front door. The factory had a total of twelve thousand Grimm Knights completed but only seven thousand were online and most of those Knights would be relegated to other duties such as transporting the Grimm or escorting Pyrrha, but they still had over two thousand of the robots to assist them in the battle.

Cinder smirked to herself. 'This will be easy.' She thought. The Grimm Knights were not yet fully ready to battle Hunters, as their victims so far had been mere street trash, but their numbers would overwhelm the attacks.

As they walked on to war none of them noticed one of their number had vanished.

---

Meanwhile Qrow ran ahead of the rest of the main team as they made their way towards the blown open factory. The flames were scattered about and most of the bodies had been vaporized in the blast but all the same Qrow could smell death in the air and he'd occasionally see a charred body part. A part of him felt bad that he had to lead these kids into a battle this bloody, but it needed to be done.

Up ahead a few human guards as well as a dozen Grimm Knights began to storm out of the factory. "Head up everyone we got some company!" Ashe yelled as he took out his shotgun.

"Yatsu, toss me." Fox said.

Yatsuhashi nodded, he grabbed his teammate and tossed him toward the Grimm Knights. Fox landed in the middle of the robots and quickly went to work using his blades to slice the robots apart, cutting them off from their legs and severing their arms.

"Let's give him a hand!" Yang said as she pointed her robotic one towards the Knights and began to shoot them down.

"If that's a joke..." Blake muttered as she opened fire with the Gambol Shroud with Ashe aiding them by blasting his shotgun.

Coco and Cardin ran towards the human guards and began to attack with their melee weapons. Cardin used his mace to smash guards down, taking one in the chest, two in the stomach and one in the side while Coco moved with a stylish grace as she bashed guards down with her heavy purse. She jumped up and landed in the middle of four guards and then jumped again and spun around, smashing all of them with her purse.

She turned to see one guard rushing her as he tried to blast her. Coco shook her head and smashed every blast shot at her away with her purse until the guard was close enough and then she whammed him with a mighty uppercut with her bag.

"Oh... Mama..." the guard muttered as he lay sprawled in pain on the concrete.

"Sorry, I'm not your mama." Coco said as she knocked him out with a kick to the head.

Cardin whistled, admiring Coco's handiwork. "Got to admit Adel, you're pretty badass for a fashionista."

"You're not too bad yourself, freshman. Besides, a girl's got to have a hobby." Coco returned with a smirk.

"Which is the hobby? Fashion or hunting?" Cardin asked.

"That's for me to know and the world to find out." Coco said proudly.

"Let Glynda and the others handle these chumps, right now saving those two is our top priority." Qrow said as he walked into the smoking entryway of the factory.

"I must inform you that attacking us was a very unwise move, one that you will pay for dearly." Said the voice of Dr. Sherizawa as he stepped out of the smoke, several Grimm Knights and human guards flanking him.

"Dr. Toma Sherizawa." Weiss hissed as she held up her rapier, everyone noticed the edge Weiss had in her voice so they knew this man meant business.

"Weiss Schnee, the little pampered brat that destroyed my Atlas Armor. How's the scar?" The scientist mocked, allowing himself a cocky, taunting grin to spread across his features.

"It's doing fine, but I think it's time I returned the favor." Weiss said as she created a glyph.

"If you want a fight I shall be happy to oblige. I've wanted to use this for a while now." He said as one of the guards handed him a small metal box. Sherizawa pushed a button on the side of the box and it transformed into a mesh of metal as it enveloped his body in a metal battle suit.

"Uh, Weiss, did you know about that?" Yang asked.

"Of course I didn't!" Weiss cried.

"Do you like it? I call it the Dark Armor, a new and improved, and much more subtle, version of the suit you destroyed. It's not robotic; it is a suit that responds to the wearer's commands, all made possible my employers. Now, shall we battle?" Sherizawa asked as gun came out from under his wrist.

"We do not have time for this bullshit. Haakskeekah!" Ashe yelled.

Sherizawa dropped his stoicism and cried out in surprise as he was sent flying several meters onto his back and pinned down by Weiss who used her glyph to jump up and land on his chest. Qrow, Raven, Cardin, Yang, Blake, Coco, and Yatsuhashi finished off the Knights and the guards.

"Well that was a disappointing field test." Sherizawa muttered as Weiss held her blade to his face.

"Where is Ruby? We know she's here so where is she?!" Weiss demanded.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Sherizawa hissed.

Weiss growled, but she soon got an idea. She looked to Yang and said "I think he knows where Ruby and Jaune are, make him talk."

The blonde brawler smiled and said "My pleasure." She walked over to them and grabbed Sherizawa with her robotic arm, squeezing his throat as hard as she could without killing him. "Tell me where my little sister is or I'll pop your head like a zit!" she threatened.

"You won't kill me, child." Sherizawa said.

"Maybe she will not, but we can do so with ease." Raven said as she gestured to Qrow and Ashe, who was walking towards Yang and the doctor.

Velvet's ears perked up and she said "Heads up, more of those robots are coming!"

Coco transformed her purse into the minigun form and Velvet copied her, the two women of Team CFVY began opening fire on the Grimm Knights, aided by Blake and Qrow.

Ashe glared at Sherizawa and said "That move I used on you, the Haakskeekah? Want me to try it at close range? It's been a while since I did that, blew a man's head up, I mean a total gore explosion, some of his brains landed in my hair and it took like an entire day to get the blood off of me. I wouldn't mind repeating the experience if you don't tell me where my sister has those kids."

Sherizawa now looked scared, an emotion he barely ever experienced anymore. "Very well, they're in the throne room but they could have been moved since I left."

"Thanks, doc." Yang said with a smirk as she smashed him into the floor followed up by Weiss stomping on his head.

"Weiss can you find the throne room on that schematic?" Yang asked.

"Of course I can." She answered.

"First thing's first, we have to ditch these robots!" Qrow shouted.

"Allow me." Weiss said as she held out Myrtenaster as she formed a glyph. She used one of the Dust crystals within her weapon to create a giant wall of ice, separating them from the main hallway. Laser blasts pounded against it but it managed to hold.

"Good job, Schnee." Coco said as she began reloading her minigun.

"Come on, the map says there's a way around them down there." Weiss said as she pointed to a corridor alcove.

"What about the others?" asked Penny.

"They can take care of themselves; they'll be able to hold off those robots, the sooner we get Ruby and Jaune out of here the sooner we'll leave." Blake said and with that the group ran down the other hallway, out of sight.

As they ran off the wall of ice continued to take blasts from the Grimm Knights until it was totally destroyed by a fire blast from Cinder. She looked down to see Sherizawa as he got up. She had noticed Neo's absences after Tom-Tom pointed it out, but she couldn't deal with the girl's antics right now, she'd punish her later.

"What happened?" she demanded as Sherizawa recovered.

"Your brother, the Schnee heiress, the robot girl, a group of others... they've made it inside of the factory and are currently going to rescue Rose and Arc, might want to do something about that." He suggested.

"Yes I do." Cinder said as she glanced to Jude. "Jude, you and I will go after them. You can have my brother, leave the children to me."

"It will be my pleasure." Jude said with a dark grin.

"There were two others, adults, one I recognized as Qrow Branwen but the other was a masked woman I did not know." The doctor added.

"Uh, Cinder, you might want to take a look outside." Trooper said. Cinder looked out through the smoke and debris and saw something she didn't expect at all.

Glynda Goodwitch stood with Taiyang Xiao Long, Bartholomew Oobleck, Peter Port, Teams SSSN, ABRN, NDGO, BRNZ, half of Team FNKI, most of Team CRDL, a man and two women whom Cinder didn't know, and a dog.

"Hello, Cinder Fall, I think it would be best if you just surrendered right here and now to spare yourself the humiliation of losing to us." Glynda said as the large group around her got into battle ready poses with Zwei even baring his teeth as if he was about to bite someone.

"I don't have time for this, destroy them!" Cinder ordered.

Ziz spread her wings and darted out of the factory opening, flying over the group. "You want a war? Fine by me!" she yelled as she rose up both of her hands. Glynda looked ahead to see Steppenwolffe charging them but he was not alone as a pack Beowolves were now running out of the factory.

"Open fire! Pour it on!" Glynda ordered. Port, Neptune, Scarlet, Sun, Reese, Nadir, Dove, May, Bianca, Violet, and Ross all fire on the Beowolves and the Grimm Knights that were charging them. Some fell but some charged on, avoiding the blasts. Steppenwolffe launched himself forward, his sword aiming for Glynda only for Taiyang to slam into him.

"Insolent fool!" Steppenwolffe snarled.

"Bring it on, big bad wolf." Taiyang beckoned as he activated his flamethrowers.

Glynda was about to run to help him fight the hybrid but her attention was stolen as the sounds of Griffons flying off of the factory's roof and towards Ziz.

"Get 'em boys!" Ziz ordered as she took out her weapon and began blasting at them. Glynda got rid of her shots, however, by creating small magic shields.

"Keep at it!" Glynda called to the students as Nebula, Neptune, Scarlet, and Reese all began to fire on the Griffons while Sun, Sage and Sky jumped up to use their long range melee weapons to cut the flying Grimm down with Sage cutting two in half following it up by decapitating another with Sky slicing the wings off of one Griffon, making land on the ground and roar in pain only to be finished off by a shot to the head from Scarlet's flintlock. Sun, however, was fighting very ferociously, jumping from Griffon to Griffon and blasting them with his weapons.

Glynda looked forward to see Sherizawa and the enforcers charging into battle. She knew this was going to be a long night.

Inside the factory entryway Cinder watch as the chaos escalated, standing aside so more guards and Grimm Knights could join in the battle.

"It appears the underlings have them under control, wouldn't you agree Jude?" she asked, only to see that Jude was gone.

"Typical." Cinder muttered as she walked away to engage the intruders in battle and allow the skirmish outside to resume without supervision. No matter what Cinder knew that this pathetic attempt at a rescue would fail and she would be victorious in the end.

---

Ruby watched as Jaune continued to bang on the walls of the sealed off pit with Crocea Mors, still demanding to be let out. "You idiots! You sons of bitches! Don't you know what you're allowing to happen?!" he screamed.

"Jaune, give it up. Those thugs aren't going to let us out." Ruby said.

Jaune looked at his friend and said "I have to try! I can't lose her, not again!" He continued to bang on the walls with his sword frantically trying to do something that would help him escape this pit.

"Jaune, I'm trying to think of something but I can't concentrate with you banging on the walls!" Ruby scolded. Jaune sighed and stopped his tantrums.

"Sorry Ruby... I..." tears began to fall out of his eyes, "I can't lose her... I don't think I..." he tried to say before he looked at Ozpin and glared. "This is all your fault!" he screamed.

"Jaune, you don't mean that." Ozpin said calmly.

"Yes I do! Ever since you took Pyrrha down into the vault our lives have been nothing but hell! Salem may have started this, but you didn't do anything to stop it! All you did was make it worse! They turned her into a hybrid, mind raped her, tortured me and Ruby, all because you couldn't do enough! You don't deserve to be the Headmaster of Beacon!" Jaune yelled.

"Jaune!" Ruby cried, shocked that Jaune, of all people, would say that to Ozpin.

"No Ruby, he has to answer for what he's allowed to happen." Jaune snapped.

"Do you really think that, Jaune? If it wasn't for me you'd never even know Pyrrha or Ren or Nora or even Ruby." Ozpin said as he got up. "All you'd be is ordinary Jaune Arc, a nobody. I let you into Beacon despite your faux transcripts, I was one of the few that saw the potential in you, the power you obviously have if your victory in that fight is anything to go by. Yes, I am to blame for some of your suffering, I have made more mistakes than any man, woman, or child on the planet and what has happened to you and Pyrrha is proof of that. My failures have gotten my students hurt and twisted by Salem. I have good intentions, Jaune, but not the best way of achieving them. I am so sorry for everything that has happened to all of you."

Jaune glared at Ozpin and then he fell to his knees. Ruby ran over to him to see if he was alright, which he was despite how taxing the fight had been on his body.

"I'm sorry Professor Ozpin. I'm so, so sorry... you're right. I'd rather have had Pyrrha and my friends in my life and lost them then never have them at all... I'm sorry." Jaune said as he began to cry.

Ruby couldn't help herself and she hugged Jaune. "Jaune, you were awesome in that fight." She said, trying to make him feel better, but it did little to comfort him.

He returned the hug, gave her a sad, tired smile and said "Thanks Ruby, I learned from the best."

Ozpin sighed and said "It's alright; you do have a point, Jaune. I am not fit to command that academy anymore. My mistakes are too many and too egregious to ignore and I shall answer for my failures soon, but for now we must focus on getting out of here."

"How?" Ruby asked.

"Am I correct in assuming that they kept your aura drained?" Ozpin asked, to which Ruby nodded.

"I have been subtly building up my own aura reserves ever since I awoke in Salem's dungeons with Norvik; I made that foolhardy move so that I could be left behind here and so I could escape with you. I know an old technique that can transfer energy from one body to another, I can give both of you my energy." He said.

Ruby nodded, "Do it Professor." She said as she gave him a hand. Jaune looked to Ruby and decided this was the best course of action for now so he grabbed Ozpin's free hand.

Ozpin closed his eyes and murmured some words that neither teenager before him could understand and then they felt an immense power surge through them. They both fell backwards and cried out in shock as they felt their strength return to them.

Ozpin looked at the two young Hunters "Use... this energy wisely... it took a lot out of me." He said through ragged breaths, but his focus was soon taken off of them and put on the screaming coming from above the pit.

"No, no, I... AH!" screamed one of the guards. The sound of rifles firing could be heard as could horrified screams.

Jaune looked to Ruby and asked "Think its Ashe?"

"Could be; keep your grip on your sword just in case." Ruby said.

"In case of what? Whoever's up there has to be on our side." Jaune argued as he picked up Akouo, which had been left behind on the ground.

"Jaune, I don't..." Ruby began but she was interrupted by the floor above them opening up and a dead body of a guard falling next to Ruby. "Oh man!" Ruby cried as she stepped away from the corpse that was slashed apart.

She turned to see Jaune looking up and gawking at something, she looked up and she had to gasp at the identity of their rescuer who stood at the control panel.

Neo.

She stood before the pit, covered in the blood of the guards she had slaughtered with her estoc out and a slightly crazed look on her face, complete with a grin. She looked down at them and gave them a wink. Ruby and Jaune looked at each other, totally lost. Neo pressed another button and the ramp came out of the wall as she returned her estoc into her umbrella.

"Come on, don't you know a rescue when you see one?" she asked.

"How can we trust you?" Jaune asked.

"I killed all the guards, opened up the pit, and I was the one who sowed seeds of doubt in Pyrrha's mind to convince her everything was not what it seemed. I am betraying them to help you, so get out of that pit now before Mercury and Emerald return!" Neo said.

Jaune and Ruby glanced at each other and Ruby broke the silence by saying "Why not? It wouldn't be the craziest thing to happen today."

Jaune nodded and led the way up the ramp, followed by Ruby and Ozpin. Neo made her way to Cinder's trophy case and smashed it open with her umbrella.

"Rose, you're going to need this." She said as she tossed Crescent Rose to Ruby. Ruby caught her trusty weapon and grinned.

"Thank you." She said as she lovingly rubbed her weapon.

"Thank me once we're out of here." Neo said.

"If they find out you helped us they'll kill you." Jaune pointed out.

"Obviously, that's why I'm joining you." She said.

"Whoa, wait a minute; you think you can just buddy up with us after everything?" Jaune asked.

"Nothing I did to any of you was personal, I was acting under Roman's orders the entire time and I only worked for Cinder because I needed to be to act out Roman's final order." Neo said.

"Final order?" Ruby asked, confused. She had been there when Roman Torchwick was killed by a Griffon, to her knowledge he had given Neo no such order.

"Yes. When you knocked me off the flagship I was floating away but I could still see what was happening... I... I saw Roman, my best friend, eaten alive by a Grimm. He died because of Cinder, those Grimm attacked because of her plans so she is responsible for Roman's death." Neo said, tears threatening to swell.

Ruby sighed and said "Neo, right?" The multicolored girl nodded, "I'm sorry about Torchwick, I didn't want him to die. If I could I would have done something to save him but everything happened so fast that I was helpless."

Neo sighed and asked "What were his last words?"

Ruby didn't like this, but since Neo helped them she deserved to know what happened to Roman.

"He went on about how he was going to lie, cheat, steal, and survive... and then that Griffon ate him." Ruby said.

Tears began to steam from Neo's eyes so she turned away to hide them.

"Isn't that just our luck?" Neo said sadly as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"I'm sorry. Was he your... uh, boyfriend?" Ruby asked as Jaune collected Milo from the trophy case.

Neo laughed and said "No way, he wasn't by BF, or my brother, or my uncle, father, or second cousin twice removed. He was my best friend."

Ruby nodded and asked "So what was his last order?"

"I'll explain once we're out of here but right now we should probably go save Pyrrha." Neo said.

"Now you're talking my language." Jaune said as he handed Milo to Ozpin, who nodded in understanding.

"Come on, if we move quickly we can prevent them from freezing her." Neo said as she led the group out of the room.

Ruby transformed Crescent Rose into its scythe mode and grinned. "Time to be heroes again." She said.

"Again? I'd have to be one before." Jaune said as he walked after Neo, the only thing on his mind was saving Pyrrha.

Ruby was about to object, but knew he didn't want to talk about that. Despite what Jaune thought of himself Ruby knew he was a hero, how he helped Pyrrha turn back into her true self was proof of that. Ruby glanced to Ozpin who shook his head.

Ruby knew that sooner or later Jaune would realize how much he was truly worth.

---

Ashe rounded a corner with his pistols drawn but no one was coming. "We're cool, let's keep moving!" he said. The rescue team ran down the dimly lit hallways together, hoping to encounter little resistance. So far they had only run into a few guards and Grimm Knights and had dealt with them easily.

"You think Professor Goodwitch and the others can stand up to Cinder?" Velvet asked.

"I don't think we have to worry about her, that witch will most likely be after us." Qrow said.

"Good, I'm hoping to give her one right in the face." Yang said as she flexed her mechanical fist.

Ashe rounded a bend again and slammed to a halt, causing Weiss to bump into him before she could scold Yang.

They all looked ahead to see Cinder standing calmly in the large hallway.

"Hello, little brother." She said as her eyes glowed a piercing gold.

"Cinder..." Ashe said nervously. Everyone prepared their weapons and got ready to fight, they all knew that they had to deal with Cinder, no matter how fatal it could be.

"Wait!" Ashe cried, "Let me talk to her!"

"Are you serious?!" yelled Qrow.

"Ashe, I know she's your sister but you can't talk sense into her!" Velvet said.

"What is wrong with you?!" shouted Cardin.

"Don't be an idiot!" Weiss scolded.

"Just let us have this okay? Ceasefire?" Ashe called to Cinder who nodded in agreement.

Ashe ignored this however and walked towards his sister and felt somewhat vindicated when Cinder's eyes dimed down and she did not pull out any weapons.

"You're very brave to approach me like this." Cinder said.

"Well if you try anything I'm pretty sure these guys behind me will kick your ass." Ashe said.

"We can do it now if you want!" Yang called, only to get an annoyed smack from Weiss.

Qrow and Raven looked at each other, they knew this was an incredibly risky move, but Cinder seemed to be stable for now, but they both knew what to do; if Cinder did anything they'd spring into action. 'Hope this idiot knows what he's doing.' Thought Qrow. Raven however had a different thought; if Ashe made even one wrong move she'd end him.

Penny made her own plan to deal with Cinder as she careful held her arm up, which went unnoticed because everyone's attention was on Ashe and Cinder.

"Cinder, don't do this. Let Ruby and Jaune go and turn yourself in. I can't make any promises but if you help us stop Salem I think they'll have a least a little mercy." Ashe said.

"No Ashe, I cannot and will not turn against my master, she has given me everything, she gave me the means to gain my new powers. She has made me what I am." Cinder said.

"What you are? Do you understand what you are? You're a murderer, a terrorist, and a monster but I think you can redeem yourself if you help us fight Salem. You didn't kill me when we last fought, the only reason Nora wrecked you is because you hesitated. I know there's still good in you." Ashe said.

"I'm sorry Ashe, but you are wrong and your view of good and evil is pathetic, when you showed me your memories I thought your past had taught you that the world cannot be separated into two very narrow and dogmatic viewpoints. My master will make this world what it should be." Cinder said.

"That's insane and you know it. Please Cinder! You have to see how utterly crazy this is! You have to tell me that you're planning to betray her at the last minute; because if you're half as smart as you think you are you have to know that once Salem gets what she wants she'll destroy you. You're nothing but a weapon for her and she has done everything to make you blind to that; she's messing with your mind, she forced you to kill mom and dad and she made you do god knows how many horrible things. Don't be a mindless weapon for that witch, please! You're her weapon and she'll use you however she sees fit and eventually she'll decide that you're of no use to her and she'll cast you aside and that's if you're lucky." Ashe said.

"She will not simply cast me aside, my powers are far too great for her to ignore." Cinder argued.

"Not compared to what her power will be if her plans succeed, you'd be an insect against a dragon." Ashe pointed out. Cinder hung her head, secretly knowing that Ashe had a point; if she were to turn against her master now and help her brother they'd stand a chance against Salem but they'd have no chance if she waited until Salem accomplished her goals.

She sighed and said "I'm sorry, Ashe, but I cannot. She gave me everything."

"Wasn't I enough?! Weren't mom and dad enough?! Wasn't our family enough?" he asked, tears about to come out of his eyes.

"... No. I wanted more, I needed more. More than a life as the Aura Crystal's guardian could possibly give me. I wanted power and through Salem I gained that power and I will have more. You can be a part of that, Ashe. This is my final offer, join me or die like the rest of them." Cinder said.

Ashe closed his eyes and said "My sister truly is dead, isn't she?"

"No, but her brother is." Cinder said as she quickly created one of her swords. Ashe reached for his sword and took one stepped to the left, ready to fight his sister only for a large, powerful laser blast to slam into Cinder and send her into some sort of machine in the side of the hall. Ashe's eyes widened and he looked back to see Penny with her left arm transformed into some sort of laser cannon.

She had played her trump card.

"I think I enjoyed that more than I should have." Penny said with a small smile as her arm turned back to normal. Everyone looked at Penny in amazement, some with shock but it wasn't an unpleasant surprise all things considered.

"Penny, what happened to your arm?" Weiss asked, a little stunned.

"Upgrades." Penny said, her smile growing bigger.

"Got all kinda of tricks up your sleeve, don't ya?" Coco said, smirking as she gave Penny an affectionate rub on the head.

"Literally." Fox deadpanned.

Cinder rose up, powerful flames erupting out of her hands. "I'm going to tear you apart personally this time, you little puppet!" she spat.

"That's funny coming from Salem's puppet." Qrow said as he ran towards Cinder with Reaper in sword mode. Cinder quickly blocked the strike with her sword and kicked upwards, knocking Qrow back. She jumped back up and sent a torrent of flaming Dust at him but he sliced it in half with the sharp blade of Reaper.

"Get going, Qrow and I will take her." Raven ordered.

"Right, come on!" Blake said as she and the others made their way past the battle as Qrow kept them shielded from Cinder's attacks with the quick swings and spins of his weapon.

Ashe took one look back at Cinder but quickly looked away as Blake grabbed his arm. "Come on, I'm sorry Ashe but there's no hope for her." She said. Ashe knew that deep down they were right, there was no hope for his sister now.

"I guess there isn't." Ashe said as he ran off with them.

Raven loaded up a red Dust crystal into her scabbard and swung it down vertically, creating an arc of fire which Cinder quickly met with a fire blast of her own but this allowed Qrow to strike her with a kick to the chest.

Raven looked to Yang who lingered behind watching as her mother and uncle fought the Fall Maiden. Raven looked to her daughter as she met a strike of Cider's with her own.

"Go Yang, save your sister." Raven said as Qrow sent Cinder flying into the wall with a wild volley of strikes with the blunt side of his scythe.

"Good luck, mom." Yang said.

"Good luck yourself... I... I love you." Raven said.

Yang stared at her mother for a brief moment before Weiss called "Yang, come on!"

Yang sighed, despite what her mother had been doing she didn't really know if she could say those words to Raven. "Kick her ass, mom."

Raven had noticed Yang's hesitation and while it did hurt a bit she understood Yang's emotions would naturally be conflicted. "I will." She said.

As Yang ran after her friends Raven whipped around and ran towards Cinder with her scabbard ready to unleash another blast of Dust fire. She slammed it down to the ground and a wall of fire rushed at Cinder who quickly managed to gain control of the blast herself.

"Bad mistake." Cinder said as she sent the fire at Qrow.

"Shit." Qrow muttered as he began spinning Reaper as fast as he could which deflected the blast of flame away from him, as Cinder and Raven engaged in battle. The two black haired women slammed their blades into each other over and over before Qrow rushed back into the fray only for Cinder to crouch down and recreate her dome made of fire and wind which forced both Hunters away from her.

"Trying to hide? Didn't take you for a coward." Qrow mocked.

He soon regretted his words as Cinder detonated the dome and sent both Hunters flying into the wall. Cinder used her powers of wind to grab both of them by the throat and begin choking them.

"I have learned to love this little ability." Cinder said.

"Well I've got an ability that I love; fighting dirty!" Qrow yelled as he whipped out a small explosive out of his pocket and tossed it at Cinder. She quickly used the wind to catch it and contain the blast but in doing so released her adversaries. Raven changed crystals and sent a sharp blast of ice flying at Cinder only for the Fall Maiden to incinerate it as she created her bow and arrow and began unleashing a series of arrows on them but the two slashed them down.

"We're gonna be doing this all night." Qrow muttered.

"Do you truly believe you can last that long?" Cinder asked as she jumped away from more ice blasts from Raven's scabbard.

"Do you?" Raven returned as she dodged an arrow.

Cinder smirked and said "I don't believe, I know I can."

---

The large group of ten teenagers, one adult, and one robot ran down the hallways of the factory as the battle outside raged on and they tried to leave behind the Fall Maiden.

"Weiss, how much further to the throne room?" Coco asked.

Weiss looked at the updated layout on her scroll and answered "Not far, we should be there soon."

Yang glared at Ashe as they entered another large alcove in the factory. Her eyes had not turned red but deep down she was fuming. She approached Ashe and began to rant at him furiously. "You've got some nerve pulling an idiotic stunt like that!"

"I'm sorry but she's my sister, I had to try and talk to her." Ashe argued as the group came to a halt.

"After everything she has done it's foolish to think that a few words can change her ways." Yatsuhashi stated.

"You're right, I know but I..." Ashe tried to say before Yang slapped him with her organic hand.

"You what? You love her? Is that it? Even if she is your sister she's not worth it! Even if she did turn against Salem she'd still have to pay for everything she's done, every person she killed, every life she ruined!" Yang cried.

"Wouldn't you try as hard as you could to save Ruby if Salem turned her?" Ashe hissed.

"Don't you dare try to play that on me, you son of a..." Yang began before her partner stopped her.

"Yang calm down now." Blake said firmly as she placed a strong hand on Yang's shoulder. Yang glared at Ashe but she backed down. "I'm sorry about that; Yang's always been very emotional about..." Blake tried to say before Ashe stopped her.

"No, she's right. I... I wanted to believe that the big sister I loved so much was still in there, but I guess it was pointless to hope." He said.

Blake looked at him sympathetically before she said "The reason I ran away, the reason they needed to find me was because someone from my past, someone I used to love, hurt my best friend." She glanced at Yang as she said this. "Before I left him I wanted to believe so badly that he could change but after a while I saw that there was no way he'd ever overcome the hatred he had inside of him. A part of me still wants to think that he can stop being the monster he is now but I know that will never come to pass. Sometimes you have to let go of the people you care about for the greater good."

Ashe nodded and said "I guess you're right."

As they continued to walk down the hallways Velvet knew she had to say something to Ashe "Look, while Blake has a point, I don't think it can all boil down to that. If Cinder did hesitate to kill you like you said then there's still hope. When I was a child I used to think that there was no hope for Faunus equality because of how one boy treated me, a kid so cruel and prejudice towards Faunus that he even broke that old 'no hitting a girl' rule so he could punch me. Because of people like that it took years for me to fully open up to humans and once I did I knew I was wrong. When we were in my home town before we got roped into this mess we spent most of our time slaughtering Grimm but one day an Ursa got close to the village and nearly killed the guy, I hadn't even seen him in years. There was this dark urge in me to let the Ursa have him but I knew I'd be no better than him if I did that so I put my grudge aside and saved him. After that he got on his knees and thanked me for saving him and once he realized who I was he begged for my forgiveness. He had changed over the years and wanted to be forgiven for his past sins. So maybe you're on to something Ashe, maybe everyone can change if given the chance." She said.

Ashe sighed but said nothing.

"Velv, as nice as your speech is I think we can cross off any hope of Cinder Fall turning good." Fox said.

"Yeah, I mean I used to be an asshole but I wasn't a monster like Cinder." Cardin pointed out.

"Yeah, two different things, Velvet. People can stop being assholes but there's no way in hell someone can change when they've become what Cinder has." Yang said as she looked ahead and she saw someone come out of another hallway, someone she recognized all too well; Torchwick's little minion, the girl dressed in pink, brown, and white armed with an umbrella.

"YOU!" she shouted as her eyes flashed red and she launched forward like a rocket.

"Yang, wait!" cried Weiss but Yang ignored her teammate.

Neo held her arms up and shook her head before Yang slammed her into the wall. She lifted Neo up with her metal arm and said "Okay, tiny, I know you're more or less the quiet type but I think you should give me one good reason as to why I shouldn't..."

"YANG!" an all too familiar voice cried. Yang turned to look down the hallway to see her little sister and Jaune running towards her with Ozpin lagging behind.

"RUBY!" Yang cried as she dropped Neo opened her arms up as Ruby used her Semblance to rush at her big sister. "You're okay!" the blonde said as her little sister got closer and closer until Ruby jumped at her.

The two sisters fell to the ground as Ruby smashed into Yang and hugged her as tightly as she could. "I've missed you so much! How did you get here? Are you okay? What happened to your arm? Oh my god it's robotic!" Ruby said as she realized the changes her big sister had gone through.

"Yep, new and improved!" Yang said through teary eyes as she hugged her little sister to her. "I'm back for good, sis."

"I thought you'd never get over it! I thought... I thought you were..." Ruby tried to say before Yang silenced her with a grin.

"They couldn't keep you down so they can't keep me down either." Yang said before she added "You did good Rubes."

"Ruby!" cried the rest of the rescue team as they finally caught up with the elder sister.

"Weiss! Blake! Ren! Nora! Everyone!" Ruby cheered as she got back up. She saw Jaune come out of the hallway to meet up with everyone.

"Guys?!" cried Jaune.

"Jaune-Jaune!" cheered Nora as she launched herself at him, knocking him down.

"Hey! I'm happy to see you too, Nora, but don't just plow into me like that!" Jaune said, chuckling as he hugged his friend back.

Nora laughed as she noticed Jaune's beard was gone. "Wow, nice shave." She said.

"You can thank Ante for it." Jaune said with a smile.

"Blake, you came back!" Ruby said as the cat Faunus hugged her.

"I had to, Ruby. Sun and Yang said you were in trouble so I knew I had to help you, even if it meant losing the chance of tracking down the one who hurt Yang." Blake said with a big smile. Ruby nuzzled her head into Blake's chest and hugged her friend even tighter, amazed that Blake would abandon her own mission to come save her.

"I knew Sun would keep his promise."

"Sun's promise?" Blake asked.

"He said that he'd bring you back and he did!" Ruby said.

Blake remembered her own promise to Sun she had made and knew that now she had to keep it. She smiled and said "Yeah, he did."

"Ruby Rose!" Weiss shouted. Ruby lifted her head from Blake's chest to see her partner looking very annoyed and grumpy.

"Uh-oh." Ruby said.

Weiss grabbed Ruby's shirt, jerked her forward and said "Do you have any idea what I had to do to get here?! How much trouble I am in because I wanted to help you?!"

"Uhh... no." Ruby answered, innocently. "Ow!" she cried as Weiss bonked her on the head.

Weiss sighed and said "Just... never worry me like that again, you dolt!" And with that she pulled Ruby in and kissed her on the cheek Ruby's blush was as red as her hood.

"Woo! Way to go, Schnee!" Coco cheered.

"Oh shut up." The now blushing heiress snapped.

"She's a keeper, Ruby." Coco joked.

"I know she is." Ruby said before Yang grabbed both younger girls and hugged them to her, squeezing them both rather tightly.

"Come on Blake, group hug! Team RWBY is back!" Yang cheered as Blake joined in, wrapping her arms around her partner, managing to reach both Weiss and Ruby.

"And I hope it's never apart again." Blake added happily.

"Yang, sorry but your arm is a bit too... Penny!" Ruby shouted as she noticed her robotic friend.

"Salutations Ruby." Penny said with a warm smile.

"Y... you remember me?" Ruby asked as Yang released her.

"Thanks to Weiss I do, I don't know how, even without my original memories, I could ever forget my best friend." Penny said as he arms spread open. Ruby didn't even hesitate as she rushed into Penny and hugged the robot girl as hard as she could.

"I thought I lost you." Ruby whispered to her.

"I'm sorry for worrying you." Penny said kindly as she returned the hug. "You should know that it was Weiss who broke me out of Atlas, she helped restore my memory... she saved me Ruby."

Ruby looked to Weiss and said "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

Weiss smiled and said "I couldn't let my partner's friend die, could I?"

"Die?" Ruby asked.

"We'll explain later, right now more hugs." Penny demanded as she pulled Ruby back into one.

Meanwhile Ren walked over to get Nora off of Jaune and helped his leader up. "It's good to see you're alright, Jaune. I knew you'd make it." He said.

"Thanks Ren, nice to see you went with my plan." Jaune said as he gestured to the rescue team.

"Are you alright? You look like you've been through a lot." Ren said.

"I have, but I'll live." Jaune said as he saw the others looking at his changed appearance.

"So... you're part Grimm now." Blake said.

"Only a little, I think we can find a way to undo it." Jaune said with a small smile.

That was Velvet needed to know that her friend was still himself. She ran towards Jaune and hugged him. "Oh thank god you're both okay!" she said as she kissed him on the cheek.

"Nice to see you too, Velvet." Jaune said as he hugged his Faunus friend back.

Yang smiled at Jaune and said "Hey Vomit boy, nice eyes. Trying to copy me?"

"Wouldn't dare." Jaune answered as he smiled at her. Blake and Weiss returned the smile to him.

"I'm glad you're alright, you had us worried there." Weiss said.

"Sorry about that." Jaune said.

"Hey Jaune, Ruby." Said Ashe, making his presence known.

"Ashe... weird to see you again after what we found out from Cinder." Jaune said, noticing Ruby had pulled away from Penny and was now looking at the man as well.

"Look, kids... I'm sorry I lied to you, I wanted to stop my sister, hell that's why I was coming here in the first place, so when I met you kids and found out what you were doing I wanted to help you take her down. I'm sorry I kept the truth from you and I don't blame you if you hate me but I can only apologize and point out that we are literally in the middle on an enemy base with a war going on outside so can we discuss this later?" Ashe said.

"I... guess after everything that's happened and considering that you're here to help save us that I may forgive you." Jaune said with a bitter smile.

"I think I can forgive you, everyone deserves another chance." Ruby said to Ashe as she walked to him and hugged him. Ashe smiled and thanked the girl before her returned the hug.

Jaune looked to see Cardin and his smile grew. "So, you kept your word." He said.

Cardin returned the smile and said "Hey, honor of the Winchesters and all that. So we even now?"

"Not really, considering the weeks you blackmailed me... but it's a pretty good start." Jaune said as he offered his hand out, which Cardin quickly accepted and shook.

Neo tried to get up but soon went back down as Fox held his blades to her throat. "I would recommend staying down." He said and she simply nodded in response.

"It's okay, Fox. She's on our side." Jaune said.

"You sure about that?" Yang asked, doubtfully.

"Considering the guards she killed to free us I think we can assume she can be trusted until we get away from the factory." Ozpin said as he made his way out of the hallway, limping slightly.

"Professor Ozpin!" Velvet cried.

"You're here?! Oh wow, our odds are actually looking pretty good now!" Cardin said as the headmaster greeted his students.

Ashe smiled at the older man and said "Hey Ozpin."

"Hello Ashe, good lord, you've grown quite a bit."

"Twenty years can change a guy." Ashe agreed.

"You two know each other?" Ren asked.

"I met him once; he came to visit my family when my parents found out about Salem's interest in Cinder." Ashe elaborated.

Ozpin nodded and looked to Fox. "It's alright Mr. Alistair, let her up."

Fox looked to Neo and withdrew his blade. "If Ozpin says you can be trusted for the time being then you can rise." He said.

Neo nodded and picked herself up. "Well now that you're all one big happy family once again shall we get on with it?" she asked, shocking Yang with her ability to speak.

"She's right; we should probably get out of here." Yatsuhashi said. The group began to run in the opposite direction until Ruby and Jaune ran in front of them.

"We have to move but we can't leave yet! We have to get to the labs and save Pyrrha!" Jaune objected, making Ren and Nora look at each other. They had noticed Ozpin was using Milo in spear form as a new cane but chose not to point it out. Jaune began to run ahead, not listening to the others' cries of confusion. Ren and Nora ran forward, calling out to Jaune as everyone followed him.

"Wait! Listen Jaune, Yang's mother was able to sneak in here..." Ren began before Ruby interrupted him.

"Your mom was here?!" she cried as she ran ahead.

"We'll tell you all about it later." Yang promised her little sister.

"... and she told us that you were talking to a Pyrrha that wasn't there..."

"No, Ren! She's wrong! Jaune's right, Pyrrha's alive but we have to move now if we're going to save her!" Ruby cried. Everyone looked at the girl with wide eyes, not knowing if they were telling the truth or not.

"Are you sure about that?" Ashe asked.

"Yes I'm sure! They brainwashed her into thinking she was someone else called Fotia Drakos and they turned her into a Grimm hybrid..."

"WHAT?!" everyone screamed, skidding to a halt.

"It's true, but Jaune managed to beat her in a fight and win! Ashe, he used the ultimate attack on her in reverse and it worked! It brought her back but now Emerald and Mercury are taking her to a lab so they can freeze her and take her away! We have to save her now!" Ruby said desperately, using the best 'leader' voice she could.

"Raven said that Jaune was supposed to fight Drakos to the death, that's sick." Velvet said, furious at what these monsters had done to her friends.

"And judging by how banged up Arc seems to be it looks like he got his ass kicked." Coco observed as Jaune ran ahead, desperation on his face.

"Actually Jaune won." Ruby said.

"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute! Jaune beat P-money?!" Yang cried.

"Yeah, it was a pretty hard fight though, we should probably help Jaune before he goes off alone!" Ruby said, pointing out how far ahead Jaune was.

"What are we standing around talking for? Let's go save her!" Nora said as she began to run after her leader, her now officially together-together boyfriend tagging along.

"Don't have to tell us, we gotta get her back." Yang stated.

"Right, do you know where the lab is on that layout, Weiss?" Ren asked.

"I don't think so." Weiss said as she took out her scroll again.

"I can point it out to you." Neo said as she ran over to Weiss. She looked at the layout and pointed at a room. "There, that's Giger's lab, they took her there. If we hurry we can still stop her from being put into cryo-sleep."

"Good, let's hurry!" Velvet said.

"Are we sure we can do this? What if it's too late?" Cardin pointed out.

"We'll figure all that out later, if they've frozen her we can unfreeze her but now we gotta follow Arc and move!" Coco said.

Everyone began running ahead with Ozpin lagging behind until they caught up with Jaune, who was a bit confused as to where to go when he came to a cross section in the hallways.

"This is the way to go." Neo said. Before he could take off Ashe stopped him.

"Jaune, wait! You said they turned her into one of those Grimm hybrids, what makes you think she can be saved?" Ashe asked.

Silence reigned as Jaune glared at Ashe. He slowly approached the older man and asked "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that... maybe you can't save her. I now know that Cinder can't be saved and I want nothing more than for her to just change back to how she was but things aren't that simple, kid! I... I don't... I..." Ashe struggled to find the words. He looked at Blake and remembered what she had said a few minutes ago.

"Jaune, I have learned that sometimes... the people we love aren't worth the lives of others." Ashe finished.

Jaune answered Ashe by smashing his fist into Ashe's jaw so hard in sent him flying into the air and down on his back, shocking everyone.

Ashe looked up, wiping the blood off his mouth as he looked up to the glaring Jaune.

"They are to me!" Jaune yelled. "Everyone I care about is! I'd gladly die for each and every person I care about, including most of you!" he said to the small crowd around him. Some of them doubted that he really meant that but some like Ruby, Ren, and Nora knew he truly did. It was just the kind of person he was.

Jaune looked down to Ashe and continued, "I used that Ultimate Attack thing on her, I saved her, I brought the real Pyrrha back and I cannot let them take her away again! I'll do it myself if I have to but I won't let Pyrrha down again!"

Everyone watched as Ashe rose up and looked Jaune straight in the eye. He spat out blood and put his hands on Jaune's shoulders but the blonde Huntsman didn't flinch.

"Jaune... I'm so proud of you." Ashe said.

"...what?" Jaune asked.

"I see so much of myself in you, Jaune and yet you are a better person than I ever was or could ever hope to be, you never give up or back down no matter what is thrown at you. I know that I'll probably never get a happy ending of my own, but I'll make damn sure that you get yours. So I will help you save the one you love." Ashe said.

Jaune looked to his friends and asked "Well now that that's settled we can't waste anymore time. You guys coming?"

"My pleasure! Lock and load everybody, the mission has changed!" Coco said.

"What about Ozpin? He's in no shape to fight with us." Blake pointed out as they continued to run as fast as they could down the halls.

"I'll get him outside and to the ships then I'll join the others in the battle." Fox said.

"You won't make it alone and you don't know the way, I'll go with you." Neo said.

"Whoa, not alone you won't, you living ice cream cone." Coco objected.

"Then I will accompany them." Penny said.

"Are you sure Penny?" Ruby asked.

Penny nodded, "You are all more than capable of saving Pyrrha, but I'm more useful out there in a big chaotic battle. I'll be fine as long as you come out of this okay." She said.

"I'll be fine, just stay safe." Ruby said.

"Yeah, don't want you goin' to pieces again!" Yang joked, only to get an annoyed groan from everyone except Ashe who just smirked.

The combined group made their way to a splitting hallway, one way leading to Giger's lab and the other towards the main entrance.

"This is where we part ways, good luck everyone." Ozpin said as Neo went ahead to be the smaller group's lookout.

"Nice to see you're alive, Ozpin. Try to keep it that way." Yang said as she, Ashe, Jaune, Blake, Ren, Nora and Cardin went down the hall first, running as fast as they could.

Fox looked to his teammates and felt a little nervous.

"Coco, Velv, Yatsu... stay safe." Fox said as he began to follow Neo down the hallway.

"We will, just watch that nice ass of yours." Coco teased.

"I'm more worried about your nice ass." Fox shot back with a smirk.

Coco's jaw dropped and Velvet giggled, even the usually stoic Yatsuhashi looked like he was going to laugh.

"I'll get back to you." Coco said before she and the rest of her team followed the rest down the hall. She looked at the smiling Velvet and whispered "Not a word."

Ruby looked at Penny and smiled. "See you at the ship, I guess?"

Penny returned the smile and said "I'll be waiting for you."

Ruby watched as Penny followed Neo, Ozpin, and Fox down the hallways and hoped that she'd be okay out there.

"Come on Ruby." Weiss said. Ruby nodded and the two girls ran after the rest of the rescue team.

"So you saved Penny?" Ruby asked.

"Yes and it wasn't easy I..." Weiss was cut off by Ruby speeding in front of her and placing a kiss on the Schnee heiress' cheek.

"I hope that's a good enough thank you." Ruby said, smiling as Weiss was now blushing.

"Uh... let's get moving, I should probably start explaining what you missed." Weiss said as the two caught up with the others.

Ruby's smile could barely leave her face right now, her team was back and they had a chance to save Pyrrha. She couldn't save her before, but now that they were together again they'd make up for that.

---

Pyrrha struggled as hard as she could but the grip of the Grimm Knights was too strong. If she was at full strength she could easily take them but that fight with Jaune and the emotional fallout of their reunion left her exhausted, and even if she could use her Semblance on them, the others inside of the room would simply blast her. She had been stripped out of her Grimm Commander armor and left in a gray tank-top and her black shorts so they could freeze her as well as to make it easier to hold her down.

She glared at Giger and his assistants as they prepared the cryotube, loading little compartments on its side with ice Dust powder, enough to freeze her but not enough to kill her.

Mercury, Emerald, and Damien watched as the scientists went about their work, transferring computer documents and loading up experiments into crates. Damien looked at the large metal door that led to the Chimera's chamber.

"So that's where you keep the big hodgepodge Grimm?" he asked.

Giger glanced at him and answered "Correct, Mr. Ante."

"I thought you'd be loading it up by now." Emerald said.

"When dealing with the Chimera we need extreme precaution and a battle going on outside tends to make our guards a little nervous and that kind of emotion gets the Chimera excited. Once the attackers are defeated we shall sedate it and transport it to the ship." Giger explained.

"If this thing is as dangerous as I think it is why do you keep it so close?" Damien asked.

"To keep an eye on it." Giger said, his voice was a bit on edge as he said this and Pyrrha noticed it and the senses given to her by the Grimm essence allowed her to sense the doctor's fear.

Damien nodded, not really understanding but he didn't have time to prod Giger for more information. He looked to Mercury and Emerald and said "Okay kids, go on back and get Arc, I think these guys will be ready to freeze Nikos soon enough, may as well get lover boy ready too."

"Why aren't you coming with us?" Mercury asked.

"Don't jinx it!" Emerald scolded.

"Because I got where I am today by being smart and I know Nikos isn't a weakling, so if she gets so much a slight upper hand we're screwed! Go get Arc." Damien ordered.

Emerald glared at the crime lord but Mercury just shrugged.

"Knights, with us." Emerald said to the group of twenty Grimm Knights inside of the room. The two teenagers departed, taking all but two of the robots in the lab with them, meaning that most of the guards in the giant laboratory were human.

Damien approached Pyrrha and stroked her chin.

"Well, now that you know who you really are allow me to properly introduce myself; I'm Damien Ante, and you're beautiful..." he began before Pyrrha interrupted him with a kick to the groin. "Ow! Bitch!" he cried, doing his best to ignore the snickers from the other humans in the room.

"What? Was it the line? God knows I've used it plenty of times." Damien said as he grinned at Pyrrha. "You got fight in you, I think I like you even more now."

"Wait until I'm at full strength, then you'll love me." Pyrrha growled.

All of a sudden a roar sounded off from behind the steel door of the Chimera's chamber, causing a few guards to aim their guns at it and one or two lab technicians to jump.

"Remain calm everyone, it cannot breach the door, we have tested its limits and it can hold the Chimera back." Giger assured his staff.

"You better be sure about that doc, I saw that thing in action once I wouldn't like to be around with it on the loose." Damien said.

"Mr. Ante, I created the Chimera. What you saw was merely an example of what it can do. The only way it could escape it if someone opens the door via my remote" Giger said as he gestured to a remote device strapped to his wrist, "or with the consoles above the chamber."

Ante looked up and sure enough there was a walkway above the Chimera's chamber that he hadn't noticed before. He wondered how one could get up there until he saw a ladder that led up to it as well as a series of rafters and catwalks.

"How much longer 'til we can put this bitch on ice?" he asked.

"About seven minutes for the tube to be properly prepared and three minutes for a safe freezing process, once she is done we can freeze the others quite easily." Giger answered.

Pyrrha glared at Giger and said "I know you're afraid!"

Giger looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"You're afraid of whatever abomination you have behind that door, I can tell that you're all afraid!" she said.

"My dear, if you had seen or even had a slight understanding of what I have made you'd be afraid too. You may have Grimm essence inside of you but that thing is a hybrid of human and Grimm as well, but there is no humanity in it, only the Grimm." Giger said.

"Then I can control it!" Pyrrha said.

"Go ahead and try." Giger invited as he went back to work on the cryotube.

Pyrrha looked towards the metal door and concentrated, trying to reach out to this creature with her senses. If she could control something like the Wyvern then she could control this Chimera.

But then she felt something; something worse and filled with more blind rage and blood lust than any Grimm she had ever encountered. She felt something so dark that the feeling of dread she got from it was matched by Cinder and exceeded only by Salem.

She could feel the Chimera within the chamber and Pyrrha understood why everyone else, even Ante, feared it. She couldn't help but be afraid too as she stopped trying to contact it.

---

As this was happening a man of the age twenty-four ran down the halls of the factory, trying to find some exit from this place so he could get out. He had only taken a job as a guard for this factory because it paid well and would be perfect for his silent loner nature as he was required to keep as quiet as possible.

When he had seen what was truly going on he knew he'd have to keep quiet or it would cost him his life. Even if he told somebody they couldn't protect him, no one could from these people. So he was stuck serving as a guard for this empire of terrorists, murderers, and god knows what else. He had seen the Grimm Knights and the hybrids, had seen what they had done to Pyrrha Nikos and others, but he knew he had to remain silent or he'd suffer the same fate.

Some would call that cold, but he didn't care. He just wanted to live and no way in hell was he going to do that by fighting a bunch of pissed off Hunters.

He had only been in the factory for a few days and didn't know the layout very well, all he knew was what little they allowed him to know. Cinder Fall and the other higher ups of this facility hired him because he was poor and desperate and than meant he could be easily placed under firm control.

"Come on, come on! There has to be an exit somewhere!" the man said to himself.

"I can show you a way out." Said a voice from behind him.

The man jumped and aimed his gun to the figure that had somehow snuck up on him.

"Who are you?!" he demanded.

"Oh, just an old man who wants his freedom just as much as you." Said an old bearded man in ratty clothes. "I know a way out and we can make it together while everyone is distracted."

The guard lowered his gun and nodded, he was suspicious of course but this was just some weak old man who looked like he hadn't seen the sun in years.

"Okay, let's go." The guard said.

"Wait, take off your helmet and let this old soul see a friendly face." The old man beckoned.

The guard saw no harm in this so he took off his helmet to show an average, clean-shaven face.

"What is your name?" the old man inquired.

"Huan." He answered.

"Hmm, in an old tongue that word means 'fortunate'." The old man said.

"If I was fortunate I wouldn't be anywhere near this place." Huan joked as the old man got much closer than he would like.

"I suppose you are correct, you are not lucky." The old man said as he grabbed a pen out of his pocket and stabbed it into Haun's throat.

Huan tried to scream out but he couldn't; blood and ink poured down his throat, mixing together. He tried to call for help but he merely gurgled blood out of his mouth. He fell to his knees, his arms struggling to reach the pen.

"I know it is painful, but it will be over soon my boy. Look on the bright side; at least I showed you the way out." Norvik whispered to the dying man.

Norvik stooped down, yanked out the pen and slammed it into Haun's eye. Haun managed to give out a weak cry as he died.

"Oh thank you, Huan. It has been so long since I've done the thing I was born to do." Norvik said as he picked up Haun's gun. He didn't quite understand these advanced guns but he understood the basic concept so he tested it out on Huna's dead body, firing a blast into it.

"Oh, this will do nicely." Norvik said as he turned around and began walking down the hallway. He had felt Ozpin storing up aura while they were in the cell but he had not told Mistress Salem because he wanted to have this to himself, he wouldn't let the mistress have Ozpin.

Ozpin life was his to take.

"Come to me, William Ozpin. Join your team." Norvik said to himself.

---

What was left of the rescue team continued to run to Giger's lab. Ashe and Yang led the group as Weiss and Ren explained to Ruby and Jaune what they had missed.

"I don't care if he was controlled, I am going to punch General Ironwood the next time I see him!" Ruby said angrily.

"This is a heck of a lot to take in. I just hope my sisters will be okay out there." Jaune said.

"Considering the Violet managed to survive being part of the first attack I think your sisters have a good chance of making it out." Ren said.

"How much further to the lab?" asked Yatsuhashi.

Weiss looked at her scroll. "Not much further, all we have to do is take a right turn up ahead, go down that hall, go up the stairs, down the left hallway and we'll be there." She said.

"Sounds good, be ready to fight because they'll be bound to have some guards on her." Ashe said.

"Hey, one of the doors up ahead is opening." Said Yang.

A man that Ruby and Jaune recognized all too well stepped out of one the rooms in the hall and once he saw them his eyes went wide.

"West!" Jaune shouted.

"Oh dear..." West said. He turned to run back into the room he had just come out of only for Yatsuhashi's sword to stab through the door and prevent him from taking another step further.

"Nice throw, Big Y." Coco said to her large teammate as Ruby rocketed forward and grabbed West.

"Wait, please! I have nothing to give you, I healed your friend didn't I?" West begged as Ruby pinned him down as he tried to pull something out of his pocket.

"Only because Salem ordered you!" Ruby hissed.

"Whoa, down girl!" Yang said as she pulled her younger sister off of the doctor.

Ashe grabbed West and slammed him into the wall with Jaune, Weiss, Ren, Coco, and Cardin all pointing their weapons at him while Yatsuhashi yanked his sword out of the door.

"Okay, I recognize you from the construction site but I don't really know you, West." Ashe said.

"He's one of Salem's followers but he has a healing Semblance, before stuff started to go down Cinder had him transfer all the data stored in this place to another base so we couldn't get any of our hands on it." Jaune said.

"So that means he must have some info in his head." Coco stated with a sly grin.

"Uh... no! I won't betray Mistress Salem!" West cried as he reached for his pocket again, but Coco grabbed his arm and shook her head.

"That so? Ashe put him down." Coco said. Ashe glanced at her but did as she asked. Coco looked to Yatsuhashi and nodded.

West was sent flying down the hallway by a mighty punch from Yatsuhashi but was stopped by a wall.

"Nice one Yatsuhashi." Velvet said.

"Another perfect 10." Coco agreed.

"Remind me never to get on his bad side again." Cardin said to Jaune.

"Let's go see if you changed his mind."

West got up to see the group approaching him once again. He pushed himself up as he heard a familiar voice calling him.

"West!" call Emerald from down the hallway. West looked down to see Emerald, Mercury, and twenty Grimm Knights coming towards him. He got up and limped towards them.

"Some of the intruders got inside, Arc and Rose are loose! Stop them!" West cried.

As the rescue team ran towards them they could hear Emerald's voice.

"Is that who I think it is?" Blake asked.

"Oh yeah, get ready Yatsu because it's payback time." Coco said with a grin.

The group came around the corner and came face to face with Cinder's two underlings as West got behind them.

"Oh crap!" Mercury shouted as he saw how outnumbered they were.

"You!" Yang screamed as she pointed at Mercury as Emerald pulled out her weapons.

Ruby transformed Crescent Rose, Weiss held up Myrtenaster, Blake got ready with Gambol Shroud in its katana form, Ren aimed his StormFlowers, everyone was preparing to fight.

"So you got out. I assume you're trying to save Nikos." Emerald said.

"Correct, now stand down and you won't suffer." Jaune said.

"Much, there is gonna be a lot of suffering in your future but not that much." Coco added.

"You think you can take us on?! We got you out numbered nearly two to one! You're dead meat, assholes." Mercury said.

"Is that a fact? I don't think so. Guys, step down. Team RWBY's got this one." Ruby said as she stepped forward. Yang smirked and copied her little sister's actions, flexing her metallic arm as she did so and smiling darkly at Mercury.

Weiss stepped next to Ruby and created a Glyph below them as Blake stood next to Yang.

"You sure you want to handle this by yourselves?" Jaune asked.

Ruby looked at her friend and said "We're finally back together, I think we need to celebrate by kicking some butt."

Jaune, Ashe, Nora, and Coco smiled at that.

"You heard 'em, let them handle this, but make it quick!" Ashe said as he and the others took cover in the previous corridor.

"Right." Yang said as she glared at Mercury.

"Ready for round two, righty?" Mercury mocked.

"Oh yeah." Yang said as her eyes flashed red.

"Okay, Ice Flower will take on those robots, Yang will take on Mercury, that leaves Emerald for you." Ruby said to Blake.

"Sounds good to me, I've been dying to try this out in a fight." Weiss said as she knew she wanted to show off her new summoning ability.

"Bring it on." Emerald said.

"If you insist. Now!" Ruby cried as she wrapped her arms around Weiss' waist. Weiss created a series of Glyphs up the walls and she propelled herself up them with Ruby holding on as the Grimm Knights fired at them. Emerald began shooting at Blake who took cover behind a support beam while Mercury and Yang charged towards one another.

Yang's fist connected with Mercury's boot as he kicked up and both collided at once, knocking each other back a bit. Yang followed up with a series of punches, moving too fast to give Mercury to act and forcing him to bob and weave between the blows until he grabbed her head, used it a leverage to haul himself up, and kicked her in the stomach.

"Ah!" she cried out in pain.

"I like your new arm, Xiao Long, but you're just a copycat." Mercury said as he taped on his pant leg, creating a banging sound. Yang grimaced, those damn metal feet packed quite a punch, but so would her metal hand.

She jumped up and over him and managed to get off a shot from the Ember Celia right into his back, blowing him flat on his face but he jumped up before Yang could finish him off with a metal punch.

Meanwhile Weiss and Ruby landed on the ground as West retreated and hid behind a pillar. Ruby began blasting at the Grimm Knights with the Crescent Rose while Weiss summoned a white glyph with white swords spinning around it on the floor.

"Weiss, you're doing that now?" Ruby asked as she shot the head of a Grimm Knight clean off. "Have you..." she tried to say before she was forced to focus on fighting the Knights due to their number. She swung Crescent Rose into a Knight's torso. Ruby briefly had a flashback to the memory of the man she had killed but she knew this was not the time nor the place so she forced it out of her mind. She finished the Knight off by blasting its legs off and quickly shot the arms and legs off of another Grimm Knight, leaving it a twitching limbless husk on the floor.

"To answer you question Ruby; yes I have! Get ready to move out of the way!" Weiss cried as she leaned to the left to avoid being hit by a blast, pouring all of her energy into summoning the Atlas Armor Knight.

Ruby was surprised that Weiss had finally managed to pull the summoning off, but she knew that she needed to keep Weiss covered for the time being so she quickly began spinning Crescent Rose around to deflect to laser blasts the Grimm Knights were firing at them.

Emerald kept firing at Blake who was rushing at her, using her Semblance to leave fading shadows behind to distract Emerald, but it didn't work. Blake jumped up and slammed down Gambol Shroud but Emerald managed to parry with the sharp blades attached to her guns.

Blake leaned forward and backflipped over Emerald and she spun around trying to knock her legs out from behind but Emerald jumped up to avoid the attack. The mocha-skinned thief turned around and began blasting at Blake but the cat Faunus managed to create a stone clone of herself too absorb the blasts.

Blake took a brief moment to catch her breath as Emerald stopped firing but it was short-lived as Emerald jumped on top of the statue and began firing on her from above. Blake rolled out of the way and jumped back up and used her Semblance and a Dust crystal in her weapon to create a fire-charged shadow and sent it at Emerald. Emerald recognized this and quickly got out of the way as the shadow collided with the stone Blake and the two shadows exploded on impact.

Emerald landed on her back but she opened her eyes to see Blake walking towards her, blasting down two Grimm Knights that tried to stop her. The Knights bought Emerald enough time to recover and slam her blades against Blake's.

"You should've stayed on the run, Belladonna." Emerald said.

"I'm not running anymore, murderer." Blake said as she slammed her fist into Emerald's chin, knocking her backwards. "Do you remember a Faunus named Tukson?" she asked.

"Wha... yeah, Cinder and Taurus had us kill him to make an example to any White Fang deserters... oh boy." Emerald said as she realized what Blake was saying.

"He was my friend and you killed him, he will have justice." Blake said as she ran at Emerald.

Meanwhile Mercury kicked wildly at Yang, the blonde brawler kept dodging all of his attack, trying to find an opening. She saw none so she decided to make one herself. She jumped down on her back, lifted her legs up and held herself up with her arms and fired off the Ember Ceilia's shotguns, blasting herself upwards.

Mercury watched as she flew up into the air and came down, her metal fist ready to punch him out. Mercury jumped up, ready to meet her metal to metal once more. They did connect, but Yang reached out with her other left arm and grabbed his shirt and pulled him up close enough so she could headbutt him.

The two fell to the ground, both combatants jumping back up quickly. Mercury fired off some Dust rounds and controlled them to crash into her but she punched through them, though they did manage to slow her down. Mercury snarled and ran at her but Yang fired at him with her Gauntlets, only for the gray-haired fighter to jump up and at her, kicking her in the chest and knocking her flat on her back. He attempted to stomp on her but she quickly cuaght his leg and yanked him down with her.

As he was slammed on the ground Yang leaped up and slammed him in the stomach with her half metal elbow, making him cry out in pain. Mercury grabbed her metal fist and forced it at her face, but she opened it in time and quickly gained control.

"Nice try." she said as she grabbed him by the neck with her other arm and threw him into the wall.

Mercury recovered and used the guns in his boots to propel himself upwards. He landed behind Yang and knocked her down with a sweeping kick. He tried to stomp on her head but she caught it, but she struggled to keep it away from her face.

"Looks like I win this time." he said.

"Not on your life!" Yang cried as she let her organic arm let go of him and used the single gauntlet to blast his robotic leg.

"AH!" he cried out in pain, he fell backwards but Yang's robotic hand kept a grip on him. She jumped up, his leg still in hand she lifted him up over her head and slammed him onto the floor. She kept her grip on him as she began to twirl around, picking up momentum. Soon enough she released him and opened a barrage of Dust blasts from her gauntlets at him hitting her target multiple times, particularly in the legs.

Mercury crashed against the wall, moaning in pain. He glared up at a cocky Yang.

"Smile while you can..." he said as he aimed his foot at her. He tried to fire off his right boot only for it to explode on him. He screamed out in pain as his right foot was reduced to a smoking metal piece of scrap. One of her blasts had hit his boot directly in the firing mechanism and when he tried to shoot at her the backlash destroyed his foot.

"Looks like the shoe's on the other foot." Yang said as she grinned darkly at him.

"You stupid bitch... I'm gonna tear both your arms off and shove 'em..." he tried to say as he grabbed a pipe on the wall and pulled himself up but was stopped as a mighty punch from Yang's steel hand smashed his head into the wall, knocking him out.

Ruby kept spinning Crescent Rose around, occasionally stopping to slice a Grimm Knight apart, buying Weiss time until she was ready.

"Anytime now Weiss!" Ruby cried as she ducked a blade from a Grimm Knight trying to take her head off.

"Ruby, get behind me now! It's ready!" Weiss said. Ruby nodded and jumped behind Weiss.

Weiss' mind was clear of all emotions or distracting thoughts as the glyph in front of her glowed and a massive metal figure appeared from a bright burst of light. Out of the light was the Atlas Armor Knight, it's massive sword posed to strike. Ruby's silver eyes were as wide as they could go, her jaw dropped as the Armor stood before her like a magnificent divine warrior.

Weiss smirked as the Knight swung its sword down, demolishing four of the thirteen Grimm Knights left. They were cut to pieces by the strong slash, cut in half with their arms laying severed on the ground. A lone Grimm Knight flew up on the Armor's head and began blasting but the armor reached up with one free hand and crushed it, allowing it to fall into a crushed pile of metal on the floor.

The remaining eight Knights poured laser blasts onto the giant Armor, but it was no use. It rushed at the Knights and slammed its mighty sword down only for all but one of the robots to jump out of the way, the unfortunate one being cut in half vertically. It preformed a roundhouse kick, sending two more Grimm Knights flying into the wall where Ruby finished them off with some blasts from Crescent Rose.

Ruby drew back as two Grimm Knights charged at her. She fired at the closest one, blowing one of its arms clean off but it kept coming with it remaining arm wielding a deadly blade. It managed to score a hit on Ruby's arm but at the cost of its own life as Ruby eviscerated it down the chest. It fell to the ground, just barely operational as the other Grimm Knight attacked Ruby and tried to blast her. As Ruby jumped out of the way the second Kinght's blasts hit the first one, destroying it for her. Ruby aimed Crescent Rose and fired five times, blasting the robot's torso apart.

Weiss watched as the Armor Knight destroyed another Grimm Knight with a punch that smashed it apart and destroyed the penultimate one with a slash across the chest, causing everything above where the heart would be to slide off.

Weiss smiled until she noticed that one Grimm Knight was missing. She looked up and saw it hanging onto the wall, looking right at her. It jumped, blade out and ready to kill. Weiss used the ice Dust inside of Myrtenaster and sent a blast of ice at the murderous robot, freezing it as it fell. It fell to the ground, one arm cracking off as it did so. It slid on the ground until it was in front of Weiss. She held up her rapier and stabbed the Grimm Knight in the head, ending it.

Weiss looked up to see Ruby smiling at her. "That was pretty awesome, Weiss! You finally did it!" Ruby cheered.

"I've been waiting to use this in battle, it was worth it." Weiss said. She turned around to see the Armor Knight kneeling before her, bowing. Weiss nodded and dispersed the glyph and the Armor. "Rest, you have earned it." she said as she propped herself up on her blade.

"Are you okay?" Ruby asked.

"Yes... that just took a lot out of me, I think I'll need more practice with it." Weiss said, clearly winded from how much aura the summoning took.

"Looks like everything's taken care of except Emerald." Ruby said as she watched the thief fight Blake.

Blake slashed Gambol Shroud on frantically, backing Emerald up to a pillar. She knew how to end this fight, but she'd need a brief break so she quickly created another stone shadow, which allowed Emerald the opportunity to strike back and unleash a barrage of Dust bullets on her. Blake loaded up a purple Dust crystal and jumped over the statue again, slamming the sword down to create a purple arc that slammed into Emerald and knocked her on her back.

Emerald opened her eyes to see Blake standing over her with Gambol Shroud pointed at her throat.

"Okay, I give." she said.

"Like you have a choice?" Blake said with a small smile as Ruby, Weiss and Yang joined her.

The four girls stood together, victorious.

"Well, I'd say this was a pretty good victory for Team RWBY, wouldn't you guys say so?" Ruby asked.

"Definitely." Weiss agreed.

"Without a doubt." said Blake, smiling.

"You bet." Yang added with a smirk.

"Nice work guys." Coco said as she and the others came out from the other hallway.

"You took them down hard, if it wasn't for everything he's done I'd feel a little bad for Mercury." Velvet said, cringing at the sight of Mercury's ruined leg.

"Don't, they deserve all of this and more." Jaune said.

Coco knelt down in front of Emerald and said "Hey there, remember me?"

Emerald glared at the leader of Team CFVY but everyone's attention was taken away from her when Ashe said "Wait a minute, where did West go?"

"And that's my cue!" cried the doctor as he jumped out from behind the support beam he had been hiding behind and threw a small device that was shaped like a hockey-puck at them.

"Shit! Look away!" Ashe cried before a blinding flash of light went off with a loud bang.

"Ah! My ears!" cried Velvet as she tried to recover from the attack, both sets of ears hurting from the bang

"What the heck was that?" asked Ruby as she kept her eyes shut

"A mini flash bang, I've used 'em a few times." Ashe said.

Yang growled furiously as she looked to see Emerald trying to get away. "Oh no you don't!" she snarled as she charged after the thief. She jumped up and slammed down on the girl with a kick, only for her to fade away, just another illusion.

"What the...?" she said in total confusion.

"Illusionist, remember?" Weiss said, rolling her eyes.

"They're getting away!" Coco said as she saw Emerald and West retreat to the staircase.

"We have to go after them, if they get to the lab before we do we may lose Pyrrha!" Jaune cried.

"Right, come on!" Ruby said.

The group began to give chase after the two when a deep voice screamed "Ashe!"

Everyone turned to see a tall, dark man standing at the end of the hallway. A man Ashe recognized all too well.

"Saul Jude. By the pricking of my thumbs something wicked this way comes." Ashe said, his voice filled with hate and dread. Everyone else looked up, fearing what would happen next.

Jude smirked and added "And ring the bells, both loud and deep. Oum is not dead nor doth he sleep."

Ashe walked away from his younger friends and said "Guys, get Pyrrha and get out of here. I'll take care of him. Leave without me if you have to just get her and go!"

"Ashe, I know who this man is and what he's done to you. Good luck." Jaune said.

"Thanks, you too." Ashe said to his student.

"Be careful, Ashe... don't die on us." Ruby said.

"I'll try not to." Ashe said as he drew out his sword.

The teenagers watched as Ashe and Jude approached one another, both looking like they were going to enjoy this fight too much.

"Let's move." Jaune said. He led the team up the stairs, leaving the two old enemies to battle.

To Be Continued...

I'm sorry for leaving you on yet another cliffhanger, but I have to. I'm even sorrier that the next chapter will take a while to write, like ten days at least so please be patient, plus I need breaks my some time off, trust me when I say Chapter 16 is going to be huge, maybe even the longest chapter of the story with a ton of stuff going on. So see you in about two weeks. Though I may split it into two halves so as to not keep you guys waiting. Also props to you if you recognized what movie the exchange Ashe and Jude have towards the end is from.

There was supposed to be more of the outside battle but I decided to save it for next time. Plus I felt I needed to focus more on Team RWBY's reunion and their battle with Mercury, also I wanted to save the action so I would still have ideas for battles next chapter.

Sorry the opening of this chapter is a little weak, the action isn't my best but I'm saving it for later... and I used a lot of my effort on the fight scene in the last chapter. Time frame of this chapter is a bit screwed up as well but the first scene in the throne room happens immediately after the end of last chapter while the first battle is happening simultaneously with most of the last chapter

Also is it true that Rooster Teeth is trying to make it so sponsors see episodes of their shows a week early?! That's a pretty shitty thing to do. Guys, I love you to death but recently you've been very hard to like, seriously what the hell is wrong with you?! I guess deciding to kill off Pyrrha isn't the only incredibly stupid move you've made. I mean, I've come to expect that from sites that have gone downhill like Channel Awesome but not you guys, come on, you're better than this.

Please leave a review and leave your thoughts, a part of me feels a bit down because of how low this story's review/fave/follow count is compared to other stories and I work really hard on this story so I want it to be good, sorry if I'm being whiny. I mean I put everything I have into this story, I try to make it as good as I can and feel like I fail at that since I don't get much coverage, so please give some feedback or at least tell me what you thought of the story. But I really shouldn't complain, I mean this has gotten way more attention than any story I've ever written so maybe I'm just being a prick.