(A/N) Those of you that don't follow ASH probably don't know why this is so late, so I'll give you the abridged version: I alternate chapters between this and that fic and chapter six kinda killed my will to write for a bit there. So yeah, that's why this hasn't been updated in a month and a half now.

Buuut now this chapter is done! So, yay!


Volume Two

Chapter Four – The Reaper's Due


/-\ Neopolitan /-\

Undisclosed Location


I sat on a particularly comfortable rafter while I waited for Roman to get back. I smirked at the sound my sword made as I sharpened it; the fine -shhhhik- of the blade running along the stone. I looked at my watch, he'd be back any minute from his meeting with Fire Bitch.

Oh, how I wanted so bad to just run her through already, but I knew I'd never win in a straight-up fight. Instead, I contented myself with waiting until she made a mistake; waiting until she was at her weakest.

Then we'd be free.

'Soon.' I thought as I gave my blade an experimental twirl, producing a satisfying whistle. I looked over to the dummy a few meters away as it lazily swung in the crosswind, smirking at the noose around its neck and the picture of Fire Bitch duct taped to its head. Just as I was considering skewering it for the thousandth time, a loud -BANG- resounded throughout the abandoned house we resided in. My cocky smirk morphed into a happy smile; he was home.

I quickly sheathed the blade within my parasol and tossed it onto the hammock behind me just as the door slammed shut. Knowing exactly where he was currently stood, I leaned backwards and fell off my perch, doing a single flip before landing happily on his shoulders.

"…Hey Neo." He sighed.

I blinked before doing a summersault over his head, giving him a concerned look after I'd landed.

"It's nothin', just the little Matchstick tryin'a get us killed again." I raised an eyebrow. "Apparently, she wants us to go 'convince'-" He said with airquotes. "- the crew of a few rogue Atlesian ships to join us."

I gave him a 'go on' motion.

"I just got a bad feeling about this one." He said. "I mean, you and I both know a couple o' navy schmucks don't stand a chance against us, I'm just worried about what made them rogue ships."

I cupped my ear, pointing upwards with my other hand.

"Nope, still haven't heard from the guys up in Atlas yet." He said, hanging Melodic Cudgel on a nearby rack. "A few little birdies told me that aliens of all things are the reason for that."

I gave him an incredulous look.

"I know, right? World's gone mad, I tell you!" He laughed, striding over to the map we used to plan our heists. "Alright, so this flotilla Matchstick's havin' us take over's supposed to be over in the Whispering Strait, just between Sanus and Vrayye." I nodded, pointing towards the 'tail' of the dragon-shaped continent he just mentioned. "She wants us to stowaway on a small freighter headed to some place on Vytal island and hopefully get caught by the fleet that way." I nodded in understanding. "…Only problem is the freighter leaves in three hours…"

I blinked, giving him an 'are you serious?' expression. At his affirmation, I bolted into action and started getting my things ready.


I sat on a crate in a damp room belowdecks, my legs kicking back and forth aimlessly as I waited for something to happen. We'd been at sea for a few days now, each of us taking a long shift as we waited for our prey to show up.

I gave a silent sigh; the only thing on the horizon was a trio of small clouds aimlessly drifting throughout the sky. It was currently hour three of my six-hour watch, and I needed some bloody fresh air. I quickly wrote out a note explaining where I went and taped it to Roman's hat; he'd find it if he woke up before I got back.

Disguised as a sailor, I stepped outside the room, the watertight door creaking shut behind me. A few minutes later and I stood alone atop the deck, my parasol deployed. I twirled it aimlessly, staring at the endless ocean.

It was somewhat calming, especially since Fire Bitch was hundreds of miles away. That particular thought alone brought a smile to my face. Part of me wished that our prey wouldn't spring the trap and we'd arrive in Vytal as the ship was intended to, but then another part knew Fire Bitch was well-connected. Our service to her would end in blood; I just didn't know who's.

The clouds chose this moment in particular to pass over us, obstructing the noontime sun. Just as I was about to head back to our room, the ship violently shook. I managed to remain on my feet, but many of the things on the deck were flung about like toys.

I turned around and before me stood a massive claw, but not one attached to a Grimm. Instead, it was linked by several great chains up to the large cloudthat hung above our ship. I blinked before realizing those cheeky bastards had disguised their flotilla as clouds of all things.

As our ship began to ascend into the sky, hoisted by the claw, I sprinted back to our room to get Roman. The moment I reached the door, it flew open, revealing the hat-clad man I was looking for. "Neo!" He shouted. "What's going on?!"

I mimed a ship traveling in rough seas, then made said ship go upwards into the sky.

"Do you know who's doing this?"

I made a 'so-so' gesture.

"The guys we're after?"

I nodded.

"Y'know, why couldn't we just stay in Vale?" He quipped before setting off, me right behind him. Just as we exited onto the deck once more, our freighter was pulled into an extremely large docking bay of some kind.

Even with our ship only being around a hundred-twenty meters, it was still a fairly tight fit inside the ship that had pulled us in. Looking around, I realized we were in the repair and recovery bay of a Sovereign-class battlecarrier. While the Atlesian seal emblazoned on the end of the bay had been spray-painted over with a red skull, the name was still very much visible. RANV Sovereign BCV-6.

Just as I'd noted that fact, several dozen Atlesian soldiers boarded our ship; their armor having red streaks spray-painted on. Since we were the only ones on the deck, currently, they surrounded us and pointed all their weapons at our heads.

I gave a silent chuckle at the thought that these idiots intended to fight us.

"Oooooh, soooo many guns!" Roman said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "We're sooooooo scared!" He turned to the nearest faceless soldier. "Hey there, how's about you be a good little drone and get your captain, now woulddya? We've got businesswith him."

"Roman Torchwick." A deep voice said from within the crowd of soldiers, causing them to part. "I thought I made it clear I never wanted to see you again."

His head snapped towards the voice, his classic cocky smile on his face. "Ah, Sulky!" He shouted. "Long time no see! How're the kids?"

The newcomer's fists clenched. "Still as dead as you're about to be."

"Ah, so someone brought 'em back, then?" Roman said, aimlessly twirling his cane. "Must've been a pretty powerful semblance to put all those pieces back together."

"You son of a-"

"Ah ah ah!" He said, wagging his gloved finger at the captain like a parent disciplining their child. "You know I didn't kill 'em, so why take it out on me? Besides, all I want is your little fleet." He hummed. "Actually, I wanna hightail it over to Argus and lay low for a few years, buuuut orders are orders." He smirked. "And the boss lady wants your fleet, so she's gonna get it."

"You and what army?" He scoffed. "I've got an entire company behind me and, unlike you, Iactually finished my stint at Atlas Academy."

Roman tisked. "Was really hopin' you'd just listen to common sense, Sulky." He said. "Neo, if you would…?" I smirked and activated my semblance moments before their first shots hit, shattering our now-illusory forms into glass.


/-\ Penny Polendina /-\

Beacon Academy


I sprinted towards the landing pads, my window of opportunity rapidly closing. The last CCTV footage I'd seen before leaving the administrator's office showed the man I needed to talk to already entering Ozpin's office. By the time I'd entered academy grounds, the meeting would've already been finished.

I was very thankful for my robotic nature, as otherwise, I was one-hundred-percent sure I would not have been able to maintain a sprint for twenty miles. While I needed to hurry, I was not red-lining my systems; no surviving facilities would be able to perform a complete overhaul.

I rounded the final corner and, finally, the man of the hour came into sight. He was dressed in full white, a quartet of black-armored guards forming a square around him. Fifty meters away from him was his destination; a green airship surrounded by half-a-dozen more black-armored soldiers.

I quickly sprinted between the two, drawing every crosshair the strangers had. I slowly raised my hands in a surrendering motion, keeping my body as non-threatening as possible as to avoid an altercation…

…However unlikely a peaceful resolution may be…

The man strode forward, stopping when he was in-line with the front two soldiers. "Would you kindly move? I've seen enough death for one lifetime; I don't need to order another one."

"With respect, sir," I started. "… I need to talk to you."

"The hell you are, girlie!" One of the guards shouted.

His eyes narrowed. "I'm a very busy man. You have twenty seconds."

I immediately placed a counter on my HUD, costing less than a second. "My father never made it out of Atlas. He was our foremost expert in dust application, and I have video evidence he hid a hard drive with likely important information stored in it near his final resting place." I said. "Much of our technology would have been lost in the invasion, but this is our chance to recover a portion. I will personally ensure you receive a copy of its contents if you choose to help me retrieve it." I finished, the last word leaving my mouth just as the time expired.

He paused, taking my statement into consideration. "You have proof, you say?"

I nodded. "The aforementioned video is on my scroll, in my backpack."

He hummed. "Pull up the video and leave your scroll on the ground, then back away from it." I did exactly as he asked, ending up approximately twenty meters off to the side. "Zimmerman, retrieve the device." One of the men from the airship nodded and jogged forward, eventually reaching my scroll.

"It's a three second clip, sir!" He shouted. "Shows exactly what the kid said it did; guy puts a hard drive in a wall safe then dies to a plasma rifle. Went down fighting."

He looks back to me. "We'll take this into consideration. What's your name?"

"Penny." I said. "Penny Polendina."

"We'll be in touch with Headmaster Ozpin. He'll let you know what we decide."

I nodded, knowing this was the furthest I would get with these people. "Thank you, sir."

He grunted. "Zimmerman, leave the phone here. It's time we left."

Minutes later, the green airship took off towards their dreadnought; their people safely aboard. Only after they'd taken off did I retrieve my scroll and begin to head over to General Ironwood to inform him of recent developments.

"Penny?!" I heard someone shout from the now-dispersing crowd.

I paused mid-stride, my head whipping around to meet the familiar voice. "Acquaintance-Jaune?" I asked, surprised he was here.

He ran up to me, though I didn't know why. "Penny, where have you been? We've been looking for hours after you ran off!"

"You were looking for me?" I asked, head tilted in confusion.

"Well, what do you expect us to do? You just ran off after Mister Schnee said your friend was dead!" He said. "We thought you might do something… well… uhh…" He trailed off.

"I appreciate you being worried about me, Acquaintance-Jaune, but I needed to know what happened in Atlas." I said, not understanding what he was getting at. "I discovered my father didn't survive."

His expression softened. "…Oh… I'm sorry…" He said. "Hey, did you still wanna go to Vale? Maybe it'll help get your mind off things."

I hesitated for a moment. "Yes." I finally decided on, giving a slight nod. "It will be a while before my request is responded to, anyway."

"Huh? Request?"

I nodded. "Yes. I asked the unknowns to accompany me to Atlas."

He blinked. "Wait, what? Why?"

"I…" I hesitated. "I need to recover my father's body…"

He stood completely still, shocked at my reasoning. After exactly one minute and forty-seven seconds, he regained his composure. "I…" He sighed. "I can't speak for the rest of my team, but I'm coming with you."

I gave him a quizzical look. "You don't need to do that, Acquaintance-Jaune, I'm combat ready."

He tapped the sword at his hip. "Yeah, so am I." He said. "And like Ruby always says, 'Don't go anywhere without a Battle Buddy'."

"Wait, does that mean you're my friend?" I asked, having never heard of a 'Battle Buddy'.

"Uhh… Sure! Why not?" He said. "Besides, isn't it a bit… weird that you keep calling me 'Acquaintance Jaune'?"

I tilted my head to the side in confusion. "Is that not how normal meat people refer to each other during conversation?"

"Uhh… No…" He said, slowly. "But anyways, I'm gonna text the team; they'll meet us here."

I nodded. "Very well, fri-" I stopped myself. "Very well, Jaune."


I sat in the back of one of their airships; a Pelican, I heard someone call it. I'd long since given up trying to decipher why it was named after the seabird and turned my attention to the mission. I sat in one of sixteen seats in the Pelican's troop bay, the entirety of huntsman Team JNPR at my side. Opposite us sat three men in black armor and another four in somewhat less protective tan armor.

"Commin' up on the LZ, boys and girls!" The pilot announced over the intercom. "Five mikes!"

"Already?" Jaune asked. "Man, where have ships like this been all my life? I didn't even need this thing!" He happily shouted, throwing his barf bag in the air and earning a glare from the soldiers opposite us. He gave a nervous chuckle before taking his bag back and trying to change the subject. "But seriously, this thing is way better than a Bullhead."

"Indeed." His partner agreed. "Our own airships would not be able to make this journey on a single tank of fuel; let alone carrying that vehicle." She said, gesturing to the closed bay door, or more specifically, the scout vehicle that hung from the airship's tail.

"Yeah," One of the tan-armored soldiers started. "havin' a 'Hog's kinda nice sometimes."

Two of the black-armored soldiers started whispering to each other, obviously not wanting to be heard, but my sensors picked up their conversation easily. "Tror du att det fortfarande finns några Covenant där nere?" One of them said, not that I could understand a word he was saying.

"Vi är inte så lyckliga, Brandman…" He sighed. "Vi planerar fortfarande att få hans kropp, eller hur?"

The first one nodded. "Esprit de Corps, Arvid."

"Vi borde inte ha lämnat honom i första hand."

"Jag vet, men vi hade inget val."

"LZ in sight." The pilot said, interrupting their conversation. "Looks clear; thermals too."

"Nobody around, then." One of the tan-armored soldiers said. "Set us down on street level, then. The Bjørnsønner can take the 'Hog and scout for survivors, we'll get our job done in the meantime."

"Copy, lieutenant." The pilot said before our craft thumped against the ground, the hatch dropping moments later.

The soldiers immediately sprinted out of the ship, guns raised, and spread out in a semi-circle around the ramp before motioning us to follow. After we were clear, the ship lifted off again, leaving only us and their vehicle. The lieutenant and one of the black-armored soldiers exchanged a few words before they all climbed in and took off, leaving only us and the four tan-armored soldiers.

My heart sank as I looked out over the ruins of Atlas. Buildings once a pristine white were marred by scorch marks, the ones that were still standing, that is; many laid in unrecognizable piles of rubble. The still-burning landscape in the distance shined a faint glow on the horizon, though most of the sky was obscured by pitch-black smoke that bellowed from the infernos.

Even though it was currently noon, the light level was scarcely above that at dusk as the ashclouds obscured the sun. I reached down to the ground, picking up some of the ash that blanketed the ground and rolled it between my fingers; staining my synthskin black.

I was brought out of my ruminations when one of the soldiers tapped me on the shoulder. "Yes?" I asked, turning around.

He held up a surgical mask. "Ash is too thick to safely breathe." He said. "We've got our helmets, but you'll need this." I would've refused his offer, but doing so would seem suspicious, so I thanked him and donned the mask. "Alright, do you know where your father's lab was?"

I nodded. "Yes, lieutenant." I said, remembering his rank. "It's only a few blocks from here, I'll lead the way."

As we continued on, we passed several bodies, most of them having been burned. I was actually thankful for my artificial nature, as I physically could not vomit, unlike Jaune. After a few minutes of walking through the ashlands, we finally reached my father's lab.

Thankfully, it was still mostly standing, though it adorned just as many scorchmarks as the buildings surrounding it. The door was forced open and, as we entered, we saw that the lobby had been ransacked; chairs and desks smashed or overturned, shards of random things on the ground.

I steeled my nerves and pushed on, leading the others through the corridors until we finally found the primary laboratory; the one marked with a plaque that read Doctor Geppetto Polendina. This door had been forced open too, and inside, my father laid motionless.

I stood in front of him, completely unsure of what to do. I was 100% sure that he was dead and thus, couldn't hear me, so why did I feel the urge to talk to him? I spent many thousands of cycles on this question, never coming up with an answer. Furthermore, I was just an android, why did I feel the urgeto do anything?

My head twitched; now was not the time to do this. I could process the day's events on the flight home. Right now, I had to fulfil my end of the bargain and open the safe. I wordlessly strode past the P.E.N.N.Y. pod, the place where my current body was assembled, and reached behind the very same bookcase I'd seen my father stash the hard drive behind.

The resolution on the video was too poor to notice, but this drive was no ordinary one. It was, instead, an experimental wireless multi-phase storage unit, one which still had power. As I stowed it in my backpack, I began downloading the contents. The download itself would take half-an-hour to complete, but I had time.

As the others moved to leave, I quickly picked up my father's body.

"Know him?" The lieutenant asked.

"He is my father." I replied in a monotone voice.

His shoulders lowered a fraction of an inch. "Everyone lost someone in this war. I'm sorry, for what it's worth…" He paused a moment. "Huh, we've got comms back. Storm must be over." He commented. "I'll radio for evac, we've got what we came for." He paused. "And yes, you can bring your father back with you."

I gave him an appreciative smile.

Suddenly, his hand snapped to his ear. "Say again, command?" He paused again. "Ah, shit. Everyone stay here; we've got a Stormcutter runnin' around."


/-\ Yang Xiao Long /-\

Shipboard Huntsman's Lodge


I threw another target up in the air, followed moments later by it being cut in half. "I'd uhh… I'd say you're still good, Winter." I said, looking at the three-dozen targets that all laid perfectly bisected on the floor.

She sheathed her saber, a neutral look on her face. "I'm still off-balance." She said, blowing a stray strand of hair out of her face.

"Well… not really…" I said, trying to comfort her and utterly failing at it. "I mean, I uhh… I couldn't've done that, and I've still got both arms!" Right after I finished speaking, I immediately slapped a hand over my mouth. "Oh, gods! I- I'm so-"

"Stop." She commanded, walking up to me. "Weiss said you carried me out of there on your back. If that doesn't earn you a slip of the tongue or two, I don't know what will."

I blinked. "Uhh… thanks…?" I said, half-asking if that was the proper response.

"Don't mention it." She immediately replied, a wry smirk on her face. My head tilted in confusion, causing her to sigh. "The arm…" She deadpanned.

"Oh… uhh… su-"

Suddenly, the doors burst open, revealing an armed and ready Weiss. "The port is under attack!" She shouted. "Ruby and Blake are already engaged. Get your helmets and let's move!" I only hesitated for a moment before scooping up my helmet on a nearby table, tossing Winter hers as we ran out the door.

"What're we dealing with? Covenant?" Winter asked.

"We don't know." Weiss said. "Ruby, got any intel for us yet?"

My comms flared to life. "There aren't any purple ships in the sky, so covvies are out. Probably."

"That's good to hear." I said. "How's about uhh… how's about Grimm?"

"Haven't seen any- wait. I've got visual on a firefight; looks like two groups of civilians." She said. "What the hell? Hey Blake, mind filling us in on why there're Vampires defending the town?"

We reached the outside and vaulted over the ship's railing, landing in a forward roll and continuing our run towards the distant gunfire.

"I don't know! But they're fighting alongside Humans!" My partner shouted into the comms.

"And against them!" Ruby pointed out. "Weiss, swing your team around the north side; we'll be the anvil, you're the hammer. Alice, set them a waypoint then tell Witherson to get his ass over here! We might need to evac the city!"

"Message transmitted verbatim, Spartan." Alice replied cheekily.

"Oh, for fucks- Wait, who the hell is she?"

"What's happening?" Weiss asked as we climbed a building, easily keeping up with our slowest teammate.

"Some woman just entered the battle." Blake said. "Given how easily she just dealt with the 'Fang lookalikes, she's trouble." She paused. "I can just make out her giving orders…" One more pause. "They're bandits." She said, anger in her voice.

"You handle the bandits themselves; I've got Missus tall, dark, and bitchy over there."

"Copy, I'll take them down non-lethally."

"I wouldn't count on that." Ruby advised. "What's you guys's ETA?"

"Just over two minutes." Weiss said as we jumped over a street filled with civilians.

"Alright, I'll keep her occupied. When you get here, hit 'er in the back but don't stick around. I've got a bad feeling about her." Ruby said, Blake humming in agreement moments later.

We sprinted towards the battle, the gunfire growing quieter with each passing step we took. Even if it was only two minutes, it still felt like hours as my heart hammered away in my chest, a nagging thought in my head that this seemed wrong somehow.

I sprinted ahead of the other two, wanting to reinforce my sister as soon as humanly possible. When I entered the battlefield, I instantly knew why it seemed wrong. I'd seen the figure doing battle with my sister before; I'd seen her in dad and uncle Qrow's old pictures.

"Raven?!" I shouted in utter disbelief.

Her masked face snapped to my position, giving Ruby the opportunity to land a punch that sent her rolling across the ground. When she got back up, her mask was missing; dislodged by both the punch and her brief encounter with the dirty street.

Her red eyes bored into my visor, making me want to shrink away, but I stood strong and opposed the person that wore my own face. I removed my helmet, showing her who I really was, but I couldn't find any words that would accurately express how I felt. Joy at finally meeting my birth mother. Anger that she left my dad and I so long ago. Disgust that she'd turned to banditry. Hatred that she was likely leading these bandits.

She smirked. "So, you finally found me and you can't even say 'Hi'." She said, an air of superiority about her.

My eyes narrowed. "What am I supposed to say? 'Hi mom, glad I found you after you left us for fucking dead'?"

"Wait, that's your-"

"Yeah, Blake." I interrupted. "That's Raven Branwen. My biological mother."

"Tch, so cold." Raven sarcastically remarked. "To refer to your mom as just-"

"You are not my mom." I shouted. "My mom was Summer Rose. I didn't even know you existed until after her and Ruby died, and even then, it was from a picture!"

"I was merely following the Branwen tradition." She said. "The tribe needed a chief, and Qrow and I were the only ones available. Someone had to pick up the slack."

"You chose murderers over your own daughter?" Weiss asked. "You're no better than my father."

Raven only shrugged. "The strong live, and the weak die. Such is life."

"Do you know what we went through after they died?!" I shouted. "Dad shut down completely. I shut down completely. One day, I went into the fucking forest and I didn't want to come back!" I said. "I wanted to die out there! I thought it would be easier for everyone if I just died! Where were you when t- the Beowolves c- came, huh?!" My voice started trembling. "W- Where was my mother when ten-year-old me gave up o- on li- ife?!"

Her gaze remained hard. "You know what I said."

"So I w- was weak, then?" I asked. "Y- your own d- daugh- aughter. You'd ju- just let me die i- if it came to it." She remained silent. "If- if it were- weren't for Q- Qrow, I- I- I would be." Her gaze broke momentarily, but it flicked back to me almost instantaneously. "I- I- I just wan- anted to b- be loved…"

I sniffed. "I tried. I tried so hard to be strong." I said. "I knew mom and Ruby would want that." I glared at her, my eyes flicking red. "When that didn't work, I looked for you. I thought we could be a family." I crossed my arms. "You're not worth the effort."

She took a step back, as if physically struck. "Don't you dare talk about your mother that way!"

"You have no right to call yourself my mom." I said. "As far as I'm concerned, you're just a bandit that needs to be stopped."

Her hand moved to her sword. "Well, if you want to believe Summer was your mom this whole time, why don't I send you to her?" She said, smirking. Before I could react, she shot forward faster than I could blink, her sword raised over her head.

I moved to block, but no strike came. Instead, I felt her throw me into a newly-formed portal of some kind. I landed with a roll, ready to jump back through said portal, but it vanished before my eyes, replaced by a gunmetal grey wall.

I searched frantically for any clue as to my whereabouts, but the only thing I could see were these… pods of some kind. That and a large '4' emblazoned on the far wall. At this point, I noticed the pod nearest to me was occupied and cold to the touch.

Before I even knew what I was doing, I leaned against the glass and peered into the pod…

…only to physically recoil in surprise when I recognized the face.

"…M- Mom?"


/-\ Raven Branwen /-\


I smirked as I sent the little brat to gods-know-where. 'Ugh, the nerve of some people!' I thought…

…right before getting clocked in the face by an armored gauntlet.

I reeled from the strike, but recovered quickly enough to dodge the follow-up. I needed distance to get my footing back, so I kicked her backwards. She was heavier than I expected, and I ended up using her as a springboard more than pushing her back. I didn't know who this person was, but she was good. I might need to pull out all the stops to win. Too bad Vernal wasn't here, I could've used a scapegoat.

Just as I landed, several giant yellow/orange spikes flew past me, one painfully pinging off my aura before I could start blocking them. Moments later, the barrage stopped, and my opponent picked up a crude sword that one of my men had dropped.

She charged forward, silent as a phantom. Just as our blades contacted, I felt a sword swipe across my back. Without thinking, I dove to the side, but the Red Soldier reacted quicker than humanly possible; attacking seemingly the moment I moved.

I kept rolling, desperately searching for an opening to recover when her three Black Soldiers joined in. They were slower, but still obstacles to worry about. Having even less room to maneuver, I gambled on rolling between the one-armed solder's legs.

It worked, and I was able to hit her in the back of the head on the way up, staggering her. I summersaulted over another barrage of spikes, but was pushed into one of the others with a white glyph of some kind. Moments later, a knife raked its way across my aura before my would-be assailant kicked me away.

Before I knew what was happening a massive fist slammed into me, sending me careening into a nearby building. I mentally checked my aura; roughly twenty percent. The situation was not under control. I could not afford to take any more hits. I blinked. When my eyes opened again, purple flames sprouted from them like miniature infernos.

It was time to get serious.

I shot out of the building, surprising the soldier-huntresses. I thrust my palm forwards, towards the Red Soldier, and created a gale; sending her flying backwards. Her golden aura flickered just from the winds, and I saw it break on impact.

The two sword-wielders tried to pincer me, but an ice wall stopped the more-experianced (yet one-handed) one while I deftly disarmed the other; flicking her rapier into a nearby building before kicking her away. Her blue aura shattered on impact and she lay on the ground, unmoving.

"Weiss!" I heard the other one shout, though her voice was muffled by the helmet.

I ducked under her strike, but a sting in my ribs indicated that the knife-wielder somehow managed to get behind me. Not wanting either of them close to me, I summoned a blizzard all around me, causing them to be blown back…

…or at least the knife-wielder was…

The one-armed soldier held herself in place with a black glyph and tried, again, to strike me. I parried three of her strikes before landing a hit of my own, dazing her enough to let me get a heavy hit in; sending her backwards.

Just as the hit landed, the Red Soldier reappeared, her golden aura flaring in the wind. She moved with inhuman speed, almost matching my own levels with the power of the Spring Maiden. The others seemed to leave us alone for the time being, content to watch their leader do battle with me.

We matched each other blow for blow, but she hit hard. So hard, in fact, that my dust blade shattered. I quickly retrieved another one from my sheath, dodging a retaliatory strike in the process. As my blade came down for another strike, I suddenly jerked to the left, dodging the thrust of a knife from behind.

I struck my would-be assailant's faceplate with my pommel, stunning her as I swept her legs out from under her. I couldn't finish her, however, as her red comrade tackled me to the ground. She grabbed a knife from her armor, the only thing saving my aura from a thorough penetrating being the fact that I quickly encased her arm in ice.

That move proved to be just enough of a distraction to allow me to kick her off me and roll away. I needed to separate them. Together, they were too much for me, but I'd easily be able to beat them one at a time.

Just as the thought left my mind, I had to deal with the red one again. I tisked; she would be first. I moved to parry another strike, but this turned out to be a very well-hidden feint, allowing her to rake her blade across my aura. One more hit and it would break.

I put all my power into summoning a blunted ice spike, using it to catapult her outside the city walls. I followed after her and actually beat her to the place where she'd land. Just as she was about to hit the ground, I sent a wild kick into her back. The impact actually broke my aura, but it also sent her careening into the city walls.

Moments after she hit, she launched herself back at me, unarmed with both her red and golden auras sparking around her. She sprinted faster than anyone should've been able to without aura and, now that mine was gone as well, I had to be extra careful.

As one of my blades glanced off her armor, I suddenly found myself envious of her equipment. That feeling, however, was quickly replaced by anger when she landed a glancing blow to my jaw, knocking out a tooth.

This needed to end now. I pulled out all the stops and unleashed the full fury of my maiden powers, further augmenting my already impressive speed with literal magic. I dodged every one of her further strikes, all the while chipping away at her armor.

After an almost-dodged strike to her breastplate, her entire left side seized up, causing her to fall to the ground. Exploiting this opening, I struck her helmet with the pommel of my weapon, shattering her faceplate and revealing a pair of furious silver eyes.


/-\ Ruby Rose /-\


"What are you waiting for?" I growled at the bitch standing over me. "You already killed your own daughter, why not her sister, too?" I asked, keeping an eye on what was left of my HUD; specifically, the motion tracker.

She huffed. "The apple didn't fall far from the tree, did it?" She opened her mouth to say something just as snarky, but was cut off by a barrage of spikes. She blocked most of them, but one got through her defenses and embedded itself in her shoulder.

She screamed and clutched the wound as three yellow dots converged on our location. At first, I thought she'd retaliate, but then she vanished; replaced by a bird of all things. The raven flew off, leaving a handful of feathers behind as the remainder of my team came into view above me.

"I told you guys to regroup at the ship…" I deadpanned.

"And let you die?" My partner asked as she reloaded the spiker in her hands. "We're a team." She said. "We don't leave each other behind."

I reached up with my still-mobile arm and gave her a Spartan Smile. "Nice shot." I said, earning a nod. "Bitch tore out a few too many servos and I'm out of aura, can one of you reach the override on my back? It's a little red dial just below the mod jack."

"I got it." Blake said as I rolled over.

Moments later, my armor shut down, and I was able to move my left side again. I stood up, swinging my limbs around experimentally as I did so. "Goddamn, this thing's heavy…" I muttered before turning back to Weiss. "How's the head? Diagnostics said you got rung pretty bad."

"Headache." She admitted. "But all in all, I'll live."

I nodded. "Good to hear, and you're keeping the spiker, by the way. I'm not risking you getting into melee without aura."

She blinked behind her transparent visor. "What do you mean? We drove her off."

"Yeah, but the Grimm won't care." All three of my teammates stiffened. "You've still got comms, right? Ask when Witherson's gonna get here." I sighed. "I just want to go home."

Blake put her hand on my shoulder as Weiss moved to contact the commander…

…only for the frigate in question to pass overhead, a trio of Pelicans escorting it.

Moments later, one of them touched down at our position. "Well, that's good timing…" I remarked as the ramp dropped.

"He says he's got men inbound to cover the evacuation." Weiss said. "We're clear to come aboard."

"Well thank god for small mercies…" I muttered as I dragged myself towards the dropship. A minute later and we'd be on the Odinsdottir, safe at last…


/-\ Professor Ozpin /-\

Beacon Academy


I put on a neutral face as James walked into my office looking as tired as ever. "I came right away," He said. "you said over the scroll that it was something that needed to be discussed face-to-face."

"Indeed." I replied. "Are you thirsty?" I said, gesturing to the coffee pot on my desk. "I have a feeling we may be here a while."

He thought it over for a moment before nodding and pulling out a flask from inside his jacket. "Knowing you, I'll need this to take the edge off." He huffed. "I still don't like that we let Penny go back to Atlas without any Troopers…"

"But she is with an entire team of my students, which would be objectively better at protecting her than her usual pair of guards." I said as I poured him a glass, leaving him some room to spike it however much he wished. "I'm still not happy about you building her behind my back, but you have my thanks for revealing her nature before something… drastic happened."

He grunted in affirmation, taking a swig from his spiked coffee. "I didn't really have a choice…" He muttered. "Let's just get on with the meeting."

"Very well." I acquiesced. "Given recent events, I believe we're out of time to find a new candidate. No matter how morally questionable it is, we are simply out of options…" I sighed. "It is time for a new Fall Maiden to be born."


(A/N) Aaaand Ozzie is back with his scheming, meanwhile, Team RWWBY know some stuff they really shouldn't've found out yet.

Some people might be wondering why Ruby thinks Yang is dead, so here's what I picture her thought process as: 1) she sees Raven throw Yang into a portal; 2) Raven says she's sending her to her mom, who she thinks is dead;3) these two things mean she's sending Yang to the afterlife. Keep in mind that she doesn't know how Raven's semblance works, so sending someone to the afterlife is on the table for possibilities (at least to her).

A lot of people probably don't know what a 'Stormcutter' is (that thing the as-of-yet-unnamed UNSC lieutenant said was flying around), so I'll just direct you to Halopedia's entry on the DAS-class Stormcutter. For the lazy, its basically a prowler-sized Covenant scout ship.

And lastly, the translations for the Swedish sections. I don't remember the exact translations, just the rough ones.

Tror du att det fortfarande finns några Covenant där nere?

Do you think there are any Covenant here?

Vi är inte så lyckliga, Brandman… Vi planerar fortfarande att få hans kropp, eller hur?

We're not that lucky, Brandman… We're still planning on retrieving his body, right?

Esprit de Corps, Arvid.

Spirit of the Corps, Arvid. (Not Swedish. USMC saying with many meanings; "No man left behind" in this case.)

Vi borde inte ha lämnat honom i första hand.

We shouldn't've left him in the first place.

Jag vet, men vi hade inget val.

I know, but we didn't have a choice.

Alright, that's all I had to say for this one, so on to the reviews!


A Fan said – "Ok with this UNSC X remnant tag team I can already see the instant checkmate (at least for now) to salems plan I mean put just one of the relics on an outbound ship from remnant and there goes her win of course there is so much more to it than that but that plan on paper is delicious but oz would never... at least till he has some marines loyal to him..."

Pretty much. As you said, the only flaw with this plan (on paper) is that it requires Ozpin to tell the truth for once in his goddamn lives.

Wolffrang said – "Good chapter man honestly this was one of the most heartbreaking chapter's of this fic especially with penny seeing her father's last moments (poor girl). Now a question for you do you know of a writer named Freedom guard He passed away some time ago unfortunately but his work was some of the best I've ever seen,if you haven't I highly recommend reading some of his work (specifically Halo x world of warcraft and halo x mass effect spartan dawn) sadly both are unfinished but if you read them you will see that he had big plans for both."

I hadn't heard of him, no, but I gave his fics a look and they had some interesting ideas.

ManticoreBlues said – "love it but what's the fate of wilt and blush?"

I wasn't thinking and had her leave it on the Odinsdottir; same with Blake's Gambol Shroud and possibly Yang's Ember Celica, I can't remember.

IcyDoom said – "Kul att se några svenska/nordiska soldater med"

Det är nog inte vanligt att se svenska på denna webbplats. Jag lär mig fortfarande, så snälla rätta mig om jag har fel. Bjørnsønner kommer snart tillbaka.

RedOctober700 said – "Adam- *exists*

Me- Sharpens Meat Cleaver with malice intent.

Adam needs to be dead. He really thinks the covvies are cute and cuddly? Bloody Incerictionist. Did he not see that the covenant does not care if you are human or faunas, they are equally dead? Of corse he did but he is to far gone in his derp face way of thinking to see that or to care! Permission to run him over with a forklift? Please? No? Damn.

Ok so I am not going to say much else for this chapter other then lets see who is causeing trouble on the boat. Hopefully, it ain't a ha. A goat on a boat.

Also somthing that came to mind. I was rewatching season 1 and 4 and noticed somthing. In season one Ruby sounds older than she does in 4. Anyone else notice that or is it just me.

I wont go into shipps, I personly have my own ideas of shipps, and I know others including yourself have your own. That and when talking about shipping you are always bound to piss someone off. So I am just going to say my peace and be done with it. That being a very simple thing. Make sure it is earned. I pesonly did not like how RT handled V6s ending. It felt forced and virtue signaling for my taste. I dont ship bumblebee. never have and probbly never will, but if done right I could accept it. season 6 did not do that.

Again that is me. You do you. This is your story not mine. ( Just leting you know where I stand and request to do it right) Ok I am done I will give you the rebuttle, but as for me, I am dropping it. I may seem negitve, and in a sence I might be, I just belive that if you do a ship, do it right. Ok I am done. whoooo. That feels good to get off."

A meat cleaver? Nah, use this -hands you a cheese grater- it's what he deserves. What can I say? His hateboner for Humanity is so big it's literally obscuring his vision of reality. Just like in canon.

Her voice is, indeed, different in V1 from the later ones. This is because Lindsay wasn't happy with how she sounded and the rest of CRWBY liked the more childish Ruby better. Hence reverse puberty.

I may be a Bumblebee shipper myself, but even I agree that hugging it out over your ex's corpse isn't the best way to start a healthy relationship. The major ones will have effort put into them, but the ships themselves won't be the primary focus of the fic.

Guest001 said – "I enjoyed this chapter, GreenTheRyno. Are Weiss, Blake, Yang, and Winter gonna be in Spartan IV armor, or are they gonna keep thier ODST type armor?"

Thanks! And they'll be keeping the ODST armor. Especially since nobody on Remnant knows the S-IV's even exist. [Insert perfectly balanced meme here]

Guest002 said – "GreenTheRyno, when is the next chapter coming out? Is Blue Team gonna eventually be in this story as well? Excellent chapter btw!"

Thanks! And probably not, but that could change eventually. I'm very known for randomly changing my mind. Also, I can't directly respond to guest reviews (one of the reasons for addressing them at the end of a chapter) so… that's why I didn't answer you.

Guest003 said – "Is said prosthetic limb going to be like Kat's arm?"

Probably.

ExodiaGeass8910 said – "I have to wonder what will happen if further UNSC forces arrive at Remnant, will they end up bringing Separatist forces along? It will be interesting to see how this goes, especially if the Atlas forces become the first to have a chance to join the UNSC proper at some point"

I can't really respond to that (because spoilers) other than I have plans in place for some of that.

Firewyrm2 said – "That does raise a couple of questions though, if the dead body Ruby remembers isn't her mom, then, who was it and will Summer return to Remnant?"

You probably meant to post this on ASH, but I'll answer it anyways. It was, indeed, her mom, but keep in mind that she was 5 years old at the time, didn't really understand death at the time, and suffered head trauma large enough to cause permanent memory loss moments later. Some inconsistencies are bound to pop up.


Aaand that's it for this long-overdue chapter! See you all in "Not All Of Us"; the next chapter.