I wanna apologize for this being so late, but meh, pretty sure you guys know how I am by now.

Also thanks for the kind words lukienthebronzeknight and Astray-Tech and Legoupman for the understanding. I actually did get sick after staying awake for forty-eight hours to do my assignments. After which I had an exam the next day, AND I had to do prep work for another group project on the Thursday, and study for a quiz that I did yesterday. I feel like most of these days I'm running on fumes.


Chapter 64: Atlas and Birthdays


The ship cruised through the dark skies over Atlas territory, fast approaching the city. As the vessel broke through the cloud cover they saw, hovering over a deep pit like a floating island, a majestic, breath-taking sight that could only be seen from the airship, the pristine metropolis of Atlas, and below it, Mantle.

Atlas was like a finely crafted, clean, ideal metropolitan city, with advanced technologies and lights galore, while Mantle looked like a grimy slum, bleak and dirty with pollution from the various mines clouding its atmosphere. The smog that hovered over Mantle hung low so it never broke through to Atlas, much to their people's delight.

"Everyone, I present to you… Atlas," Weiss said almost unwillingly, as she gestured toward her home city.

"And below it… Mantle," Blake finished for her.

Ruby gasped audibly, "That's Mantle?! People actually live down there?!"

Blake nodded silently, "Yeah… well the smog doesn't float up, the people of Atlas, the only ones with the ability to clean it, aren't affected. If they aren't affected, they won't care."

"That's horrible…" Hex said, covering her mouth with her hands.

"Yeah but… you gotta admit, the view's pretty sweet." Nitro pointed out, as they all drank in the majesty of Atlas.

Suddenly there was a call on the radio, "Manta 5-1, this is Atlas base. We have your pass-code, proceed to dock bay Omega-12, a security team will meet you there," a woman said through the radio.

This made everyone confused, "Security team?" asked Luna, looking slightly nervous. As they broke through the last bit of cloud cover they saw what looked to be the entire Atlas military deployed.

Ships were cruising the airspace as if patrolling it. "What's going on here? This is highly unusual," Maria said as she and everyone else began feeling the creeping anxiety washing over them.

"I've never seen our forces deployed in mass like this. If security is this tight, and we land in a stolen ship, it's highly unlikely we'll even get anywhere near Ironwood. They'd toss us in jail and maybe even carry me back to my father…" Weiss said, with a downcast gaze.

The others all shared worried glances, "Weiss, we'd never let anything happen to you, if we have to take on the entire Atlas military to do it, we will." Nova walked up and placed a hand on her shoulder. Ruby followed suit and roped an arm around the Schnee's right.

"You've got all of us backing you, there's no way in hell we'd let them get you." The red leader chirped.

Weiss shot them a warm smile, "Thanks guys, you're the only family I need." She leaned into Ruby's arm. She pulled out her scroll and turned to Maria, "Put some distance between us and the fleet, I got a plan," she then began to contact Winter.

Maria smirked, "You don't have to tell me twice."

They flew the ship low, falling out of the Atlas space and onto Mantle air, despite the pollution, the city still bore a clear sky. It was exactly how it looked from the air as it did close up. Bleak, monochrome buildings, unhappy people, and lots of billboards.

The ship passed a few towering corporate buildings with large electronic screens on their frontal faces, most of them had advertisements but suddenly they all flashed on with the face of the unmistakable General James Ironwood.

The crew gasped as they saw the man, his hair was greying, his face sunken in and his eyes bleary, no amount of make-up could hide the bags that hung so heavily from his lids.

"Many discard these uncertain times, and while for the rest for the world that may be the case… The Kingdom of Atlas will remain strong. That is my promise. I will do everything in my power to ensure that." The general said, with his hands behind his back and his white suit, bright against his darkening features.

"General Ironwood… he looks…" Blake started.

"Like me after a few days in the lab. Damnit James what have they done to you… or rather, what are you doing to yourself…?" Elain spoke up, she'd been mostly quiet for the ride with the occasional comment, but she did spend most of her time snoring away. Her unusual quietness didn't go unnoticed by the team, but no one bothered to question it.

Nova could tell, for some reason, his mother was nervous.

"Manta 5-1, we have noticed a detour in your flight path. You are to report to bay Omega-12." The woman said on the radio, but she went ignored it.

"Ugh damnit! I can't get through to Winter, if we could just talk to her…" Weiss cursed, trying to dial again.

Before she could, Nora pointed to the window, "Uhh… Weiss? Isn't that your sister?"

They all saw the billboard outside change to the visage of Winter Schnee, her eyes stern and cold as ever, "Remember, failure to comply with Atlas military rule is a punishable offense. If your area is in lockdown, remain there until it is lifted." She said with authority.

"Winter…" Weiss muttered under her breath.

" Ugh Weiss? I'm not sure that's a good idea anymore…" Qrow said with a disgruntled expression. He was no fan of Winter or at least he pretended to not be, and this wasn't giving him a good feeling.

"But she…"

"Look, no offence, but I'm not even sure we should be talking to Ironwood right now. This whole thing smells rotten."

"Alright so anyone else got a plan?" Jaune asked meekly.

"Get lost in Mantle, buy ourselves some time until we can figure things out," Nova said thoughtfully.

Blake and Ruby nodded, "Agreed, we need to find out more on what's happening here," Ruby said.

"I may have someone who can help…" Maria said.

"MANTA 5-1, REPORT TO…" the woman said again but Maria picked up the radio, "Geez lady, take a hint!"


They took a detour and parked the ship in an alley before quickly evacuating the shuttle. They made their way down the sidewalks of Mantle, bypassing various citizens all looking depressed and disgruntled. Even more prominent than the citizens were the sheer amount of Atlas soldiers, thankfully no one was the wiser, despite them all sticking out like sore thumbs.

"This whole city feels… wrong…" Ruby said shuddering.

"The people wanted a shining beacon of hope, and what better than a home in the clouds, Atlas. The people of Mantle work hard to one day buy their way up there, but many can't afford it. To them, it's just a golden dream." Weiss said somberly.

"Unless you're the ones looking up at it…" Blake said appalled as a truck with miners loaded in the back drove down the streets at a steady pace, all the people covered in some type of black tar.

On the streets were a pair of drunken men, swigging away at flasks that looked like Qrow's but a lot cheaper. As they passed them, one of the men stood up. He was wearing a thick winter coat and a newsboy cap. He'd heard what Blake said.

"What you don't like it here? Well, there's plenty of fuckin space out in the Tundra!" he slurred.

"Hey, we didn't mean…" Blake tried to apologize.

"ATLAS IS THE GREATEST KINGDOM IN THE FUCKING WORLD ALRIGHT?!"

Ruby looked livid, "Hey…!" she would've begun mouthing off when Blake stopped her.

"No… it's alright. We can't cause a scene." Blake said sombrely.

"The…The embargo has us in a rough patch but we'll make it through, you'll see!" the friend slurred also joining in.

"We stuck our necks out helping the other Kingdoms and all we get was distrust! BUNCH OF BULLSHIT I SAY! They could all fuck off!" the loud one yelled.

Blake bit down on her lip fighting the urge to speak up, "We apologize."

The man began to unscrew his flask, "Eh stupid Faunus like you wouldn't…" suddenly he was cut short as Luna and Weiss suddenly glowed with power, as the man was picked up, into the air and thrown into a nearby dumpster.

Everyone on the team looked at them. They just shrugged and fist-bumped each other, "Meh it was worth it." Luna said waving her hand dismissively.

Before commotion could properly start, they booked it, running away from the scene before the soldiers could arrive to find out what was happening. If they stayed, questions would've been waved and it would've resulted in their instant arrest.


After a few minutes of continued walking, the team came across a strange-looking pharmacy, the doors were open and a warm, yellow light emanated from within. The place gave off a calm and inviting presence, as though saying all were welcome. A cheerful woman in miner uniform jogged out with a bandage over her right arm, a smile plastered on her face as she waved back at someone inside.

"Take care now! And watch out for any heavy lifting!" An amiable, gentle voice of an old man called back.

Maria calmly strutted in, leading the team.

The interior was brightly lit with bookshelves lining the walls, various charts and diagrams plastered on whatever free space was available. A desk sat at the corner of the room and behind it, a dark-skinned old man with a white beard and glasses perched, reading into a book. He wore a cream shirt with a red vest over it and khaki long pants.

"Hey old friend," Maria said as she approached the counter.

The man looked up from his book and regarded her, "Do I… know you…?"

"Well this is off to a great start," Ren said dryly as they all filtered in.

Maria tapped her eyes, "Mechanical optics? You tune them up for me every ten years or so?"

It took a moment before it finally registered, "OH MARIA! YES! Has it really been that long?!" he exclaimed.

"I know right? I age like fine wine. How've you been?" she said looking rather giddy, which was strange for her.

"Oh you know the same old, what about you? How come you're so late?"

"You wouldn't believe the drama I went through to get here. I would've been in sooner if I hadn't met these jokers." She pointed to the team.

"Um… are you going to introduce us?" Jaune asked, scratching his head.

"Sorry I didn't think I needed to introduce one of Atlas' greatest minds," Maria said smiling.

"Huh? In a place like this?" Weiss asked as she said that a panel from the ceiling fell onto the floor proving her point.

"He likes to keep a low profile, something I realize you lot don't have the slightest clue how to do."

The man chuckled, "It's alright Maria, you guys can call me Pietro."

"Don't sell yourself short. This man is a genius and has the biggest heart. He's down here helping people when he's not up there leading the future of Atlas, along with Ironwood," Maria praised him, which alarmed them to no end. Maria didn't praise anyone. Ever.

"I just like to give back to the people, plus it gives me time to have a little fun every now and then. Saves me from that stuffy place up there." He pointed upward, gesturing to Atlas.

Elain was the first to burst forth from behind the group, her eyes gleaming with a fire that only came out when she was working on something she enjoyed, even Nova was a little unnerved by his mother's sudden vigour, "Pietro? As in the Dr. Pietro Polendina?! The one who invented the first Atlas mainframe? The one who headlined the market with affordable bionic limbs?!"

Pietro scratched the side of his face in embarrassment, "That I am, though headlining is a bit of an overstatement..."

"Are you kidding me?! I am such a huge fan! Your earliest inventions on nerve responsive biometrics were what inspired me to pursue a career as a medical scientist! My name's Dr. Elain Flareheart, it's an absolute honor to meet you!" The wolf Faunus said scrambling forward and vigorously shaking his hand.

Pietro just laughed awkwardly, "I'm glad to meet a fan, didn't think I had any..."

"We were hoping you could help us? We need to talk to Ironwood." Yang said coming forward, she didn't want to ruin the moment but they were pressed for time.

Pietro stroked his beard, "That's going to be quite difficult. Since the Fall of Beacon, Atlas has been in a tough spot, losing the faith of the other kingdoms didn't help much either. Ironwood's been keeping a tight lockdown on everything. It's to make us as safe as possible but it's put major restrictions on the citizens, especially Mantle, and a lot of people are suffering down here because of it."

"What about Winter Schnee? You know anything about her?" Weiss asked feverishly.

Pietro shook his head, "She's been assisting the good General with everything. It's hard to trust anyone when our own security was hacked. To do that it would've had to be a genius or someone on the inside. Ironwood thinks it might be both… wait a minute… you're Weiss Schnee!" he exclaimed, making everyone in the room flinch.

He then noticed Yang's arm, and gasped audibly, "You! You painted it!"

Yang tilted her head confused, "Excuse me?"

He spun around, staring at the people before him, noticing the shining silver-haired dragons, "Oh my word… YOU'RE TEAM ASHNRWBY!"

"You know us, sir?" Nova asked, slightly alarmed.

"Well of course I do! My daughter has told me so much about you!" Pietro began. He came out from behind his desk and they all saw that he wasn't walking, but rather riding a mechanical chair with moving legs. It was like a spider.

"You're daughter…?" Ruby asked, but was interrupted when the sound of a loud blaring alarm was heard. It was like an air-raid horn, blasting through the air.

"GET OUT OF THE STREETS! GRIMM ARE ATTACKING!" someone said from outside.


The team instantly bolted out of the door and were met with the sight of running people and Atlas soldiers fending off packs of Beowolves.

Grimm, in the city, it wasn't something that was generally common. Most cities had borders to protect them, but Mantle was pretty open to the tundra that surrounded it. Still, Grimm tended to avoid densely populated areas like this, so an outright assault was strange.

Nova held them back for a moment, "Wait, maybe the authorities can handle this? If we draw attention now we're done for..."

Ruby flinched, clenching her hands around her weapon still sheathed, "But... fine..."

They observed the soldiers firing their rifles, killing a few Grimm but with their rate of fire and the number of monsters, they were about to be quickly overwhelmed, noticing this, Nova clicked his tongue, "Fuck it, go wild guys, they need help."

"The Grimm are becoming bolder… more aggressive…" Hex muttered. She and Blake still hadn't told the others about what happened at the Argus communications relay.

The team wasted no time, breaking off to take out the Grimm that seemed to be overwhelming the soldiers.

It wasn't proving to be much of a challenge, as the team easily cut through them, but they had to hold back quite a bit. If they used the full force of their power on Grimm, it wouldn't just be a waste, they'd be attracting more attention than they needed, so they stuck to old-fashioned blades and guns.

They were just about done with the pack when more suddenly began to sprout out of seemingly nowhere.

"Ugh do these things ever get tired of dying?" Nitro complained as he punched a Beowolf so hard it flew back, crashing into three of its kind and all of them disintegrating into black mist.

Nova drew Helios and cut through a line of Grimm with a single slash, before sheathing his weapon, "They just rush in and die with no hesitation. Makes me wonder why Salem doesn't send more of those hyper Grimm we fought at the lake. They seemed less, boring."

"Don't jinx it now, I for one like cutting down fodder," Weiss said as she stabbed two Beowolves with one strike.

"These kids are impressive," Pietro whispered to Maria as they hugged the pharmacy door, staying out of the line of fire with Elain.

"Meh, I was better in my day." The older woman shrugged.

Suddenly as they were cutting down the monsters, two green lasers shot out of the sky, evaporating a hoard of the beasts instantly.

"What the…?" Yang questioned as suddenly the sound of roaring jets were heard.

"AH, There she is, my daughter! Sweetie why don't you come to say hi to your friends!" Pietro called out to the sky.

They all looked toward the person of interest and instantly shock formed on the faces of team ASHNRWBY. Ruby's eyes went wide as she couldn't believe what she was seeing, it was like watching a ghost walk the earth with her own eyes.

Landing calmly on the ground was the unmistakable figure of Penny Polendina. She was wearing pretty much the same thing they saw her in the last time, except her skirt was darker and her hair was much longer, and fluffier, extending to her middle back rather than her shoulders as before.

Penny's eyes landed on Ruby and they swore they saw her irises widen as well.

There was a brief moment of tense joy before Penny got down on her knees, leaving Ruby confused. Confusion slowly morphed into horror as she saw Penny take up a running start pose.

"Sal…" Penny started.

"Oh no…" Ruby mouthed.

"U…"

Ruby began frantically waving her arms, "NO! NO WAIT!"

"TATIONS!" Penny finished, propelling herself forward like a rocket, crashing into Ruby with a tight hug, skating them across the asphalt, and Ruby possibly taking a sizeable hit to her Aura levels, causing the rest of them to wince.

Once the red leader recovered, Nova walked over and helped her up.

"Penny! I thought… we thought…"

"She was dead?" Pietro finished for them. "In a manner of speaking she was, her core survived thankfully. It took me a while but I was able to restore her, and she's better than ever."

"Oh! I missed you guys so much!" Penny wrapped her arms around Nova and Ruby, "I have so much to talk about!"

"Penny's been quite busy these past few months," Pietro explained.

"Yup! I'm now the official protector of the people! I can't wait to hang out with you again," the android chirped.

"Us too! I mean, it's really good to see you again Penny." Nova said with a warm smile. He wasn't directly friends with her as Ruby was, but he regarded her as a close ally, someone he cared for because Ruby cared for her.

"Mr. Dragon I see you're looking better! Or... Miss Dragon?" Penny titled her head as she regarded Nova.

Ruby and Nova both blinked, "How can you…?" the dragon was confused as to how she could tell he was both when his body was currently male.

"Your DNA composition is wildly erratic, comprising of an extremely complex combination of…" Penny began to ramble.

"Nevermind, forget I asked," Nova said with his sweat dropping.

The air-raid sounded again, this time from far away, "That's my call, gotta go! I'll catch up with you guys later BYE!"

"PENNY WAIT!" Ruby tried to stop her but she was already gone.

Pietro chuckled, "Look at her go. I'm so proud of her… come on, you all have some important matters to discuss with me."

They were about to walk off when, out of nowhere, the bare brief sensation that lasted a millisecond prickled the back of everyone's necks. At first, they disregarded it as the Grimm from earlier, expecting something to pop out, but they were blindsided by the sound of whirling wires.

"GET DOW-!" Nova called out but it was too late. Metal bolas flew out from the shadows wrapping around everyone, knocking them all to the floor one by one.

It wasn't difficult to break out off, Yang and Nova could brute force or melt it, Luna could've broken it with her powers but they didn't need to.

As they were about to free themselves from their wire-trapped restraints, five people emerged from the shadows of a nearby alleyway.

A tall, well-built man with a clean-cut, he looked like the definition of a boy scout as an adult, on his uniform was a green four-leafed clover pin. Following this man was a canine Faunus, probably wolf from what Elain could tell, he had dark blue hair and dark skin, behind him stood a thin and extremely pale man with a bald head. This pale man had many piercings on his face and his gaze was something that warranted distrust, he reminded Ruby of a snake for some reason.

The last two individuals were an extremely tall tan woman with heavily built muscles and brown hair, and a shorter girl around Ruby's height with a shaven had save for blonde mohawk, she somewhat reminded Nitro of a rabbit, though he wasn't sure why.

They ignored any struggling cries from the team as only the armed combatants of Team ASHNRWBYJNR were shoveled into an Atlas prisoner transport ship, their weapons were seized and so was the relic.


"Just great, we're here for what, not even a full two hours and we're already arrested!" Weiss hissed. They were sitting side by side in the vehicle, their hands bound by cuffs.

"Well, who would've expected the fucking black ops squad to come barging outta nowhere and take us out!" Hex blurted clenching her fists.

"Tell us again why we aren't just breaking outta these things and commandeering this ship?" Yang asked Nova, after which the two drivers looked back, "HUH?!". Yang quickly corrected, "N-Not that we could…?"

Nova leaned close so the escorts couldn't hear, "Because one, those guys seemed kinda strong and fighting against Atlas military forces are probably not in our best interest. We'd be labeled as outright criminals or worse. Secondly, even if we did break out, I doubt we'd be able to escape unscathed, and we'd be on the run for god knows how long..."

Everyone mouthed an 'O'.

"Who were those guys anyway?" Ruby asked, referring to their captors previously, "They were good."

"What you don't know who the Ace-Ops are?" A male voice said drawing their attention to a rather uninteresting man sitting with them, reminding them they weren't the only prisoners.

"The who?" Nora asked.

"The Ace-Ops duh, only the best, most elite Huntsmen in all of Atlas, not to mention Ironwood's personal lapdogs?" the man said again.

"Nope never heard of 'em," Blake said.

"Hmph, what are you, tourists?"

"Why were you arrested exactly?" Weiss asked confused as to why an annoying man was here.

"I was arrested for speaking out against Atlas' exploitation of the people of Mantle," He said proudly.

"You threw a brick at our ship," one of the drivers responded dryly, to which the team just shot him irritated expressions.

"BUT IT GOT YOUR ATTENTION! ANYTHING TO MAKE YOU TALK ABOUT OUR CAUSE!"

"Oh boy…"


The ship cruised through the cloudless Mantle air, past the pollution, and into the territory of the shining city of Atlas

"Wait this isn't the police station…" the man said warily, "This is…"

"Atlas Academy," Weiss finished for him.

He looked back in wonder, "Just who are you, people…?"

"The less you know the better," Nova said grimly.

The team was escorted off the ship, everyone filed into the academy with their hands still bound by the wire hand-cuffs. They were surprisingly sturdy. Yang was prepared to brute-force her way out of them but now that she was standing upright, she could gauge that the cuffs would need at least 100% Aura augmentation to her fists.

They were escorted by two armed guards through the grey, "I seriously hope getting arrested doesn't affect my future eligibility for a certificate of good character," Nitro joked lightly, though the atmosphere felt slightly heavy.

It was a shot in the dark by Nova, he was thirty-percent sure they were being brought to a council to stand trial for stealing an Atlas airship, and fifty-percent sure they were being taken to Ironwood. The other twenty-percent was that they'd be taken to Winter, either way, it was a risk he was taking for his team.

After about thirty seconds of walking through the halls of Atlas Academy, Nova's fears were somewhat abated as curiously enough, his Faunus hearing picked up the distant conversing of Ironwood and Winter. They were right around the corner if he were to judge. Blake's ears were also twitching so he was sure of it now.

As if fate played its hand, at that very moment, Ironwood, Winter, and Penny rounded the corner just as the team was escorted inside. The former of the three ignored the soldiers but the latter spotted them distinctly, "Oh good! You're here!" Penny chirped, causing Ironwood and Winter to turn around.

Ironwood's eyes met the team's and his widened with surprise. Weiss stepped forward from behind Ruby, "Winter…?" she called out meekly.

The woman in question froze as she spotted her sister.

"Uh… anyone wanna help us with these…?" Nora asked raising her cuffed hands.

Winter glared sternly at a guard, "You have ten seconds to remove those things or I will begin hurting you…"

"UH YES MA'AM!" the soldier saluted before rushing to un-cuff everyone.

Once they were freed, Nova and Ruby approached the front, "This is one hell of a warm greeting James," Nova said with a devious smile.

Winter and Ironwood both almost choked on air, "YOU! You're alive?!" Ironwood exclaimed, losing his composure.

Nova shrugged and gave them a cocky grin, "Hey what can I say? I'm a hard man to take down."

Ironwood coughed into his fist, "Ahem, yes of course… come with us… we have much to discuss," he gestured toward the entrance to the academy.


Inside Ironwood's office was very open, large floor space with the Atlas crest tiled in a circle around what was reminiscent of a glyph. At the back of the room was not a wall, but a large glass window, a single desk sitting on an elevated platform just in front of it.

James sat at the desk with Penny and Winter on either side of him.

"It's good to see you all again," Ironwood said with a gentle expression, his tired eyes, and sunken cheeks, it was hard for him to hide the relief on his face. To team ASHNRWBY who knew him previously, it was like looking at a completely different person. "Especially you, Prince Flareheart," he gestured to Nova who shuddered at being called 'Prince'. He knew Ironwood was just trying to extend his courtesy but, it didn't really make him feel any better about it.

"Please… just call me Nova, James. After all, we've been through, pretty sure we can drop the formalities, or would you have me call you 'General Ironwood'." Nova said with air quotes.

Winter looked slightly peeved, "That would be preferred-" she was silenced by James.

"Calm down Winter. He's right, if any of them were to call me by my role at this point it'd be strange. They earned the right to be treated as equals, especially after what they did at the Fall of Beacon." He said.

"You say it's good to see us, but our welcome party could've been… better?" Yang pointed out, still rubbing her wrists from where the cuffs were.

"My apologies, with everything that's been going on, receiving word that an unaccounted ship heading for us, we assumed it was stolen." Ironwood explained.

Ruby began to chuckle nervously, "Stolen? PFfftt… what…"

"We totally stole it," Nova said plainly.

Winter was furious, to say the least.

"YOU DID WHAT?! YOU STOLE AN ATLAS MILITARY SHIP?! YOU COULD'VE BEEN SHOT DOWN! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW RECKLESS AND IRRESPONSI-" Winter was cut off when Weiss ran up and hugged her tightly.

"I'm sorry I worried you… but, we had good reason," Weiss said, holding onto her sister. Winter sighed and hugged back, "I'm sure you did…"

"AND YOU!" she started again.

"Oh boy…." Nora groaned.

"QROW! How the hell could you let them go through with something so reckless?!"

Qrow shrugged, "Me? Stop them?! What are you crazy? You try talking them out of it when they've set their sights on something. I'm lucky to be alive!"

Nova threw a thumb at him, "He's right, I did kick his ass,"

"No you didn't, I totally…"

"Kids please," Winter seethed, "We have important issues to discuss."

Qrow nodded, "Exactly, some which require, discretion?" he looked at Ironwood.

"You mean about the Maidens?" Penny prompted curiously.

"Or the relics?" Winter followed suit.

Qrow almost choked, "YOU TOLD THEM?!"

"I should be saying the same thing to you," Ironwood gestured toward the teenagers who rubbed their heads embarrassed. "Ozpin kept things a secret because he thought it was beneficial for him, but, he's gone now and I think it's time we…" he felt all of them suddenly grow quiet.

"What is it…?"

Oscar was nervously rubbing his arm, "Well… actually…"

"This kid is well… the next Ozpin," Qrow explained for him.

James instantly grew slightly happy, "Oz? I had no idea…" he was on one knee before Oscar, making the poor boy rather nervous.

"Not really. The truth is… he's not exactly here right now…" Oscar said shakily.

Ironwood blinked rapidly before standing up, "What…?"

"There was a train crash, we got derailed on our way to Argus and after some conflicts with Salem's forces, Oz went dark, we think it may have been head trauma, but…" Ruby started, she lied as easily as she breathed which was rare for her, Nova was genuinely impressed.

"That's not normal… well no matter. Until we can somehow get Oz back, we'll just have to operate as I planned." He looked concerned but not worried, as if he was almost grateful Ozpin wasn't back.

Nova looked between his team and then to Ruby, when their eyes met, they shared a silent conversation.

'What should we do? You straight-up lied to him!' Nova said with his eyes.

Ruby shrugged and shook her head, 'What did you want me to do? Tell him outright?! BAD IDEA!'

Nova rolled his eyes but then pinched the bridge of his nose, 'Fine, I see your point. We might not be able to trust him. Let's hear him out first'

Ruby thought for a moment before nodding vigorously.

Nitro, Luna, and Weiss watched them with unimpressed looks. To them, Ruby and Nova were just subtly glancing and expressing to each other just out of Ironwood and Winter's view.

"Are they… talking to each other?" Luna asked tilting her head.

Nitro fake gagged, "If they weren't couple goals already, they can now reach each other's minds…"

Weiss rubbed her temples, "I simultaneously feel jealous and the urge to strangle them, anyone else?"

Luna and Nitro both raised their hands. Penny's also shot up, "I don't know why we're raising hands but this is fun!" she chirped.

They went ignored.

Ironwood turned to them after walking to his desk and picking up a remote. He then clicked a button and the glass window-wall shrouded with a cover and the room went dark, the center glyph opened to reveal a table, with a holographic projection of what appeared to be Amenity Arena.

"Do you all know what this is?" Ironwood asked.

"Amnity…Colosseum?" Hex prompted, "But I thought it was destroyed when Beacon fell?"

"Correct, but what you're looking at isn't just Amity Colosseum, it's also…" the hologram shifted to zoom in on the top where a long antenna stuck out.

"A CCT TOWER?!" Hex gasped.

"Exactly, well done Miss Zephyr, forgive me I don't know your first name."

"Hex."

"Miss Hex, what you're seeing is a new and improved Amity Tower. With this tower launched into the atmosphere, not only will we be reconnecting the Four Kingdoms by its symbol of peace, but also re-establishing cross-continental communication." Ironwood explained.

Qrow gaped in awe upon realizing the implications of this, "James this is, incredible… but for something of this size to me made…"

Ironwood chuckled, "Oh it's already been made. All that's left is to launch it, but to do that we need the council's permission as well as preparing the launch site. We need to get a few more things up and running before we can establish a launch."

"This is all well and good but… you don't need the entire military for this. What you're doing, it's affecting the people of Mantle, they're paying the price for this military force." Yang said.

Ironwood sighed, "A regretful side-effect, but the military is needed for what's to come after it's launched." He turned to them and folded his arms behind his back, "With the communications working again, I plan to relay a message to the entire world of Remnant, to let everyone know about… Salem, and the truth."

Qrow almost fell over in surprise, "James! You can't be serious! Oz spent his whole life, many lives, to protect this secret. If the people found out it'd cause intense panic."

"And brings more Grimm! Everything would fall apart!" Weiss exclaimed. It made no sense to her why Ironwood would want to encourage something like that, but on the other hand, she was slightly rooting for the idea of spreading the information.

"Which is why Atlas is fully prepared to offer its military support. It's time the people knew, the first step to overcoming our enemy is to band together and unite." He clicked off the hologram. "I don't expect you to…"

"How can we help?" Ruby asked quickly, with a strong gaze.

Everyone turned to her so she sighed, "The general is right. We need to unite and stand against Salem, if we remain divided, if the people remain in the dark, then when everything falls, it'll be worse than where it began."

There was an intense moment of pause before Nova inhaled sharply and walked up to her side, and took her hand in his, "If that's what you think is best, then it's what we're going to do to," he turned to Ironwood. "Talk to me James, what do you need our team to do?"

Ironwood smiled, "Well, for starters, how about getting you guys up to par huh? We'll have the Ace-Ops train you, and help you finish what you started at Beacon."

"The..Ace-Ops?" Blake looked slightly irked.

Penny glomped Ruby, "OH THIS IS GOING TO BE SO MUCH FUN! I'll show you around campus!" she extended her arms and grabbed the closest three people, which happened to be Nova, Weiss, and Luna, into a group hug, much to their distress.

Ozpin reached under his desk and pulled out the Relic of Knowledge which had been confiscated previously, "As a sign of trust, you can have this back," he said handing it over to Ruby.

"Sir? Why..." Ruby was confused as to why Ironwood was just handing a teenager back one of the most powerful artifacts in all of Remnant.

"Because I have full faith in you all. You've protected it thus far, and so I believe it belongs to you know," he affirmed, folding his arms.

Nova was surprised, he hadn't expected the general to outright place his full faith in them, given the circumstances. He'd assumed hostility and mistrust, perhaps even a few lies, but the General held nothing back from them... maybe it was them growing accustomed to Ozpin, but having genuine faith placed in you was something foreign.


The team was escorted into the main room where they came face to face with the very same people who captured them previously, and an extra plus two very familiar faces.

Next to the Ace-ops, clad in similar uniforms, were a distinctly familiar Red-Macaw Faunus and A black-haired Fox Faunus.

Ragnar Faux, with his bright, pink eyes and Krome with his scarlet red wings, chatting away with the Ace-Ops, lightly laughing with the large woman and Wolf-man.

Ironwood coughed into his fist, "Ahem," he said getting the attention of the other party in the room. The Ace-Ops instantly stood at attention facing the general, "I would like to introduce you all to our new comrades, they were students of Beacon who fought bravely at the Fall, and some of the very few people in the world I would place my whole-hearted trust in. They may still be kids, but they are some of the brightest and finest Huntsmen and Huntresses I know, even if they still have a lot to learn." He stepped to the side and gestured to the team.

Ruby waved nervously while Yang folded her arms looking rather annoyed. Nova elbowed Ruby for her attention so she would stop waving and actually greet their new allies.

Before they could, however, Krome yelled out, "OH! MY! GOD! IT'S YOU!"

All eyes turned to him and Ragnar, and it barely took a moment before Nitro's eyes widened in surprise, "KROME?! RAGNAR?! HOLY SHIT!" the red-head said zipping past his team and meeting the two, giving them both big hugs.

"I thought we'd never see you guys again!" Ragnar exclaimed, taking a light bow, much to the Ace-Ops surprise, as he approached Nova, the latter of whom just chuckled nervously.

"You thought that? Dude, after it all went to shit, we weren't even sure what to do with our lives… we would've looked for you but… with everything going on…" Hex said with a sad smile as she remembered what happened back then, the painful memories that were resurfacing.

"You know each other?" Ironwood asked confused, looking between team ASHN and the two junior Ace-Ops.

"Yes sir, it'll be a pleasure working with them again," Ragnar said with a chirp.

"Um, General Ironwood sir, are you going to introduce us…?" the male wolf-Faunus asked.

Ironwood nodded, "Students of Beacon, meet the Ace-Ops, Clover, Vine, Elm, Harriet, and Marrow," he introduced them in order, of the boy-scout leader, the pale man, muscular woman short girl, and Faunus man.

Clover walked up to meet them, "A pleasure to meet you, sorry for uh… before, just doing our job you know?" he apologized with a smile that looked like it made Krome swoon.

"I assume you're the leader?" he asked, extending a hand to Nova who took it and instantly put strength behind it, making Clover respond by resisting his strength, the veins on his hand becoming more defined from the force he was resisting.

"Actually, we're both leaders of this team," Nova responded with a dangerously cheerful smile and nodding his head to Ruby. "Name's Nova Flareheart, and No hard feelings," Nova said genuinely releasing his firm grip.

Clover felt a bead of sweat run down the side of his face, he wasn't sure why but he got the feeling that this kid didn't take kindly to their previous encounter. He extended his hand to Ruby who shook it once, "Nice to meet you, I'm Ruby Rose, I hope we can get along," she said with genuine kindness.

Clover sighed with slight relief, at least someone on that team was sane.

"Ace-Ops, you will be in charge of training them up to standard, they might've made it this far but they never got to finish their Beacon training," Winter instructed sternly.

"We're training rookies? Huh, and I thought these two were a handful…" Marrow said glancing at Ragnar and Krome.

Qrow smiled, "Don't underestimate them, there are things they can do that would probably blow your minds," he said before stepping away from them, "James, I'll be heading to take a snooze," he waved.

"But you don't even know where…" Winter tried but he was already gone, making the elder Schnee pinch the bridge of her nose, "That man…"

"No Qrow's got the right idea… I think they all deserve some rest after what they've been through. Penny will show you to your quarters. You begin the day after tomorrow." Ironwood said with a tired gaze, thinking that he himself also needed some sleep.

"James, we left…" Nova started, referring to his mother and Maria who were left back in Mantle when they were captured.

"The old woman and your mother? Yes, I just received word from Pietro, the situation has been explained and arrangements will be made," Winter said as she tapped on her scroll. "For now just get some rest."

Nova scratched his cheek nervously, "Well there's that but you guys also seized our weapons?"

Weiss hugged Winter again, "Thanks, Winter."

The elder Schnee gave a rare smile and hugged her back, "Of course sister."

As Penny escorted the team, Nova waved back at Winter, "Yeah thanks Cousin!" which caused her to shake her head, flabbergasted.

"WHAT?!"


The teams were given separate living quarters, with Oscar bunking with JNR, much to their disappointment. It would be hard getting used to sleeping away from their significant others in the case of Nova, Ruby, Yang, and Hex but the accommodations were flexible...sort of. Ruby had moved inside her room with her team and just before Yang and Weiss could follow her in, Nova pulled them aside.

"What?" Yang asked as they were now alone in the narrow corridor.

Nova looked around the doorframe to make sure Ruby wasn't listening, "Yang what time is it?"

Yang opened her scroll and checked, "About... ten o'clock?"

Nova sighed, "Okay good we have time I think... Weiss, what's a good restaurant, or something like that here in Atlas?"

Weiss blinked rapidly, "Huh?! What's this about?"

The dragon leader groaned, "Guys, I know things have been crazy but... what day is it?"

They both stared at him confused, "October 30th why?" Weiss responded.

Yang instantly paled as recognition dawned on her face, "Oh... my... god..."

Weiss was still confused, "What's so special about today?"

Nova shook his head, "Not today but tomorrow, October 31st, is Ruby's birthday!" he hissed in a whisper so no one could hear but them.

Weiss instantly pulled out her scroll and began scanning her contact list, "Okay Atlas has a nightlife so most places are still open even with the embargo..." she then found a number and took off around the corner to talk on the phone, while Nova and Yang began hatching plans.

Yang paled, "Oh please tell me you did not just say that..."

After a few moments, Ruby came out of the room, "Uh... guys? What's up? Why're you standing outside in the halls?"

Yang began frantically straightening herself, "Oh just um... Nova was showing me this funny cat video on his scroll...? Yeah, that's it!"

"OOOH I WANNA SEE!" her eyes gleamed.

Thankfully, the dragon did in fact have a few videos of cats doing cute things on his scroll downloaded, for his own enjoyment, so he showed her one, "OH IT SHHOO CUTE WITH ITS WIDDLE PAWS!" Ruby cooed as she observed a kitten lying on its back and slowly caressing the empty air with its paws.

Once it was done, Nova made his way to his room, which was next door to RWBY's, "I think I'm just gonna hit the hay, see you in the morning," he waved to Ruby who pouted at him leaving so soon, but she had to admit, even she was exhausted. She was pretty sure the moment she fell on a bed, she'd pass out.


Passing out was apparently not in the reaper's agenda as Ruby found herself staring up at the ceiling of their darkroom, clad in her pajamas as she hugged a pillow. Her eyes were in pain, her head was killing her, but she just couldn't sleep, something was missing and it was killing her inside.

"Ugh!" she let out a growl as she threw off her blankets and trudged to the door. Maybe splashing some water on her face and a walk down the halls would help her mind.

The moment she stepped out, however, she was met with a peculiar sight, as to her left, coming out of his own room, was none other than Nova Flareheart.

The two stared at each other in surprise for a moment before bursting out into a fit of quiet giggles, "Couldn't sleep either?" she asked.

Nova shook his head, "Yeah, the bed's fine but... something's just... missing... you know?"

"Something or someone?" she asked turning pink.

Nova rubbed his right arm with his left, "You caught me there. I don't think I can sleep without you next to me."

She smiled warmly, and walked up to him, taking his hands in hers, and resting her head against his forehead, "Me neither. Do you think we could get Ironwood to give us private rooms?" she asked quietly.

"You know he won't... that'd be unprofessional, of us and him."

"Yeah I know... but..."

"Wanna get late-night snacks instead? I memorized where the kitchen was when Penny was giving us a tour," he said with a smirk.

"Did I ever tell you how much I love you?" Ruby asked teasingly.

"No, please do tell," he said smugly.

She just laughed and pushed him forward so he could lead the way.


The dormitory kitchen wasn't like Beacon's at all. It was almost futuristic with high-tech machines and electric stoves. Even the common fridge was massive enough to hold all kinds of goodies. On the other hand, similar to Beacon, the common room was connected to the kitchen so it wasn't all unfamiliar.

As Nova began whipping something up in the kitchen, Ruby found herself reclining on one of the plush sofas in the common room. It was a decently sized grey and blue room, much like the rest of the academy, with four three-seater sofas around a glass coffee table. There was a mounted Dust Display Television on the north wall and two potted trees in each corner. A large blue and white rug with the Atlas crest was laid out in the middle of the room.

"It almost feels like Beacon..." Ruby muttered to herself, "Almost..." memories of their time at the Academy came back to her. Those peaceful days of lazing around the dorm, playing video games with their friends, laughing with each other as they told stories. She missed those days when all she had to worry about was passing her next exam. This longing for them caused her to let out a loud sigh, a ghost of a frown playing on her lips when she remembered that things would never be like they used to.

They'd come so far, and so many things had happened, she was pretty sure that if she were to look at her past-self, from Beacon, she'd be unable to even recognize her.

"Ruby, are... you okay?" Nova asked as he came into the room. He set down their food on the coffee table and took a seat next to her on the sofa, sitting on the right between Ruby and the chair arm.

She wiped her eyes and turned to him, "Yeah... just remembering Beacon. I... really miss those days."

Nova's expression fell, as he too began to remember, but he quickly brightened it, "Well if you want to feel even more like Beacon..." he pointed to the coffee table, "TA-DAH!"

She looked over to see two plates of what appeared to be full stacks of chocolate-chip pancakes, and two mugs of hot chocolate, "WOW! They really had all the ingredients?!"

Nova smirked, "Right?! That fridge was so stocked it's stupid. Anyway, dig in, I learned the recipe from Nora so..."

Ruby stabbed her fork into the stack and took a solid bite, "MMM! ITSH SHOO GOOD!" she said with a full mouth, swallowing with glee.

"I'm glad you like it... where did the stack go?" he blinked and in that split second all the food was practically inhaled into the red reaper. She just gave him an embarrassed smile, "Heheee!"

They sat in silence for a bit as Nova finished off his food. Once he was done, Ruby scooted closer and leaned on his shoulder, wrapping her right arm around his left, entwining their fingers, "Thank you for this, it really did make me feel like we were back at Beacon. Things have changed, and it might not be the same academy, but we can still try to make it work," she nuzzled into his arm.

Nova smiled warmly and stroked her hair, "No thanks needed, I gotta treat you like the perfect queen you are every once in a while right?"

She giggled and slapped his arm lightly, "You always treat me like a queen, what makes today so special."

The dragon placed a hand under her chin and raised her eyes to meet his, "You really don't know?" he asked.

She hummed, "Is it like a holiday?"

He chuckled and leaned down, pressing his nose up to hers, "Happy birthday, Ruby," and he closed the gap, for a sweet, long kiss.

When they broke for air she smiled brightly, "I-Is it really today...?"

"Yeah, I could never forget, even if you paid me," he answered honestly, pulling her into a tight hug where she rested in his lap and leaned her head into the crook of his neck.

"Thanks for remembering, even when I forgot," she said with a cute yawn.

Nova just wrapped his arms securely around her as he leaned back, the two falling into a long sleep.


-Atlas City-

"Alright Ruby, it's your birthday so, where do you wanna go?" Nova asked as they paraded down the streets of Atlas city in broad daylight. According to Ironwood, they were allowed free-roam within the confines of the city, and Nova was thoroughly enjoying the opportunity, and from the look on Ruby's face, she was too.

The red leader smiled, "Let's just go for a walk? If we find somewhere fun then we'll just go there."

Atlas being the shining majesty in the sky lived up to its name entirely. Skyscrapers lined the city like pillars holding up the clouds, the air was clean and so were the streets. It was almost like a blemishless society, not even a piece of candy wrapping could be seen on the side-walks. On the surface, it seemed to be the embodiment of perfection, but Nova knew better.

He felt it in the eyes of the people as they walked through the bustling streets. Most of the citizens wore expensive or fashionable clothing, if he were to guess, he'd say the average person's underwear was more expensive than his whole suit of clothing combined.

Pompous people and fancy cars, luxurious clothes, and the self-important were what truly defined the city of Atlas. Ruby seemed to not notice the strange looks they were getting as she merrily walked down the concrete side-walk, swinging her arms as Nova was subject to carrying her shopping. They probably stuck out worse than sore thumbs since Faunus were extremely rare in Atlas, they'd not passed a single one since leaving Mantle. It wasn't that there was a no Faunus policy, just that most Faunus people despised Atlas because it symbolized everything they hated and that most were also too poor to afford the living expenses.

The red reaper wasn't usually one for shopping for clothing, or accessories like most people... no... these bags were loaded with various cases of Dust, ammunitions, gun polish, key-chains, and snacks. Anything she saw and liked, Nova bought because money didn't mean anything, not to him or her in their line of work. He figured he'd have to get legitimate pay at some point, but he didn't see himself burning through his ill-gotten gains anytime soon.

The idea that it was originally Jacques Schnee's money that was paying for all this made him chuckle. He'd never met the man in person, but from all the stories circulating, as well as from Weiss herself, he didn't feel a shred of guilt about spending the money... or having Hex plug them in for a few more dollars

Maybe one day he could use the money that was gained by the exploitation of the Faunus, and give back to the Faunus, though he wasn't sure how. His thoughts were interrupted, however, by the feeling of his scroll vibrating in his pocket, on it was a message from Luna that read "Ready."

He quickly tapped out a response of "On our way."

"Hey, Nova?" Ruby called out as they supposedly aimlessly walked through the streets. In truth, Nova was subtly guiding them in the direction of the restaurant that Weiss booked.

"Hmm?"

"I'm glad we could spend today together. It's not the seventeenth birthday I imagined, but it's been wonderful. I'm just... never mind..." she said with the last part trailing off.

Nova flinched, "Nope! You don't get away with that. If something ain't perfect, I need to fix it. So, what do you need?"

"I just... I wish everyone was here to enjoy it with us," she said seemingly forlorn. She'd asked the others to come with her this morning, but they were all busy, and not one of them remembered what day it was. She didn't blame them with all the chaos of recent events, hell even she herself forgot, but it still stung a bit.

The dragon saw her crestfallen face and felt bad. It was technically his fault their friends were all busy, but Ruby would see why when they arrived... which was right now. Standing before them, a block ahead, was a quaint looking restaurant, It wasn't large like the multitudes that lined the tourist traps of the city, nor was it luxurious and plush like the town.

It was a simple one-floor building with sunny-yellow walls and a large double door at the front and cute windows with potted plants on the window-sills, Rose bushes lined the outside the building which occupied the street corner, giving it a natural, earthy feel, compared to the highly advanced city. On the front of the building, just above the doors which were on the corner of the street, was a sign that said 'The Bonfire'.

Nova took the lead, shifting all the shopping bags to his right hand and tugging Ruby with his left, "Come on, let's go grab a bite in there," he said pulling her toward it.

She blinked, rousing herself from her sadness, "Huh? Oh sure, why not, I'm getting hungry," she said, forcing a smile.

They opened the doors to find a cozy interior. Slightly dimmed warm lighting, caramel coloured flooring, and walls that matched the sunny exterior. There were several tables with joint seats, the types you'd find at a family restaurant, lining the wall opposite to what seemed to be a diner-style counter.

A singular woman stood at the entry-way inside, behind what appeared to be a wooden podium. She was wearing a black waitress uniform with a white undershirt over a black vest.

"Are we supposed to be in here? This place looks closed..." Ruby said as she looked around to see no sign of other customers.

Nova waved his hand dismissively, "Nah it's fine," he approached the lady and she regarded him, "Hi, we're here for the evening special?"

Ruby blinked in surprise. Why was Nova acting like he'd been here before?

The woman nodded firmly, "Of course! Right, this way sir," she said as she lead them off. Ruby just awkwardly followed, confused as to how Nova seemed to know this place.

The waitress sat them down at a large family table booth that seemed to have been specially organized. It was one of two semi-circular booths that were joined together, with enough seating for more than ten people.

"Did we get the wrong seating? It's just the two of us..." Ruby pointed out as she and Nova sat on the spacious seats.

The waitress just smiled and place down two menus and left wordlessly.

"As I said, it's fine. Any minute now..." he said aloud, tapping his right-hand index finger on the table.

Silence followed after making Nova's eyebrow twitch, "I SAID, ANY MINUTE NOW!" he announced loudly, and the sound of a soft male voice saying 'Oh shit right' behind them was heard.

Ruby's question barely had time to form as a thought when out from behind the booth popped Luna, Yang, Weiss, Blake, Hex, Nitro, Jaune, Nora, Ren, Elain, and Oscar, each holding up balloons and Yang and Hex popping confetti, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY RUBY!" they all yelled simultaneously.

"WAHHHH!" the red leader almost jumped out of her skin from surprise. "W-What's going on?!"

Yang roped an arm around Nova, "It's a surprise party, duhhh!"

"I-I don't understand... how... where...? I thought you were all busy today!" Ruby said exasperatedly.

Nora smirked, "What you think we're too busy for you?! That we'd forgotten your birthday? HELL NO!" she then proceeded to pop more confetti.

"To be fair, we didn't actually know until this morning, when his royal highness told us," Ren said pointing to Nova who smiled sheepishly.

Ruby was beginning to choke up, "You did all this... for me?"

Nova shrugged and smiled warmly, "Not all of it. Ice princess organized the venue, Yang co-ordinated the surprise, and Luna and the others got decorations. I know it's not much but... it's the best we could do with only a few hours..."

The reaper was silent for a moment, and they all were worried that they'd done something wrong.

"You guys..." she started.

"Oh boy... did we do something wrong...?" Hex asked nervously.

Ruby just let out a sniffle, "YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST FRIENDS I COULD EVER HOPE FOR!" she let out a cry as she launched herself at them, tackling Nova, Yang and Weiss to the floor, followed by Nora diving into the pile.

"Alright, while you guys hug it out, I'm going to order us some food," Hex said with a light right chuckle as she walked toward the counter.

"We didn't exactly have time to do shopping for presents so you'll just have to get an I.O.U from us," Jaune said rubbing the back of his head.

Ruby just lightly punched his arm, "Are you kidding? Just you guys being here is the best present in the world, the only thing that could possibly make it better is if..."

The door to the restaurant opened and in came a very familiar orange-haired android with a wrapped present in the shape of a box, with a red bow on the top. "Sal-u-tations, friend Ruby! I hear it is the anniversary of your birth, and according to my knowledge of humans, it is customary to bring gifts!"

"PENNY!" Ruby squealed as she ran up and hugged the android, "How did you... who...?"

"Prince and Princess Flareheart told me to come, and as your friend, I would never miss the day of your birth. Congratulations on aging one more year, you are now older. It is strange, I don't get why humans celebrate being older but..."

"Oh can-it Penny, I'm just glad you're here," Ruby said rubbing her face into her clothes before releasing.

Penny smiled, "You're welcome, this is for you!" she handed Ruby the box.

Ruby curiously opened it and let out a squeal of delight, "WOW! THESE ARE AMAZING!" she cried as she pulled out from the box, a belt with a rose symbol on the front, along the strap, were dust cartridges and what appeared to be throwing knives. It was essentially a utility belt, specially designed for Ruby.

"Woah, those are some impressive blades," Blake said as she admired the daggers. They were small and thin, but the blades seemed to radiate energy as if they could be powered by something.

"Dust powered energy throwing knives, made by my father. They're prototypes but he figured you should be the one to have them," Penny explained.

Ruby broke into a wide grin and hugged the android again, "Thank you so much, Penny!"

"Ahem!" Elain said, coughing into her fist, "After you all left me in Mantle, and then escorted me to Atlas, only to be told that today was your birthday, it didn't exactly leave me with much time. That being said..." she reached into her bag that she carried around and drew out a black canister, like an under-barrel flashlight, except it didn't have a bulb. It was filled with a translucent gel-like substance and had a compartment for dust shards, and a single switch was situated at the back.

Ruby took it and rolled it around in her hands, "What's this...?"

"It's a little something that I was working on. Bioluminescent nano-machines. It's a gel made of a different type of nano-machines from the ones flowing through his veins," she jabbed a thumb toward Nova, "This stuff, when activated by any energy source, including Dust, emits a light. Sort of like a flashlight except it doesn't produce heat, will work exceptionally even under-water, can detect things only visible through ultra-violet rays with electric dust, and it won't run out of power once it's been supplied an initial charge. It should come in pretty handy if you attach it to your weapon.

Ruby gaped, "This is... incredible..." she mouthed.

Elain folded her arms proudly, "Heh, it's the only one like it in existence, for now, so don't lose it alright?"

"Is it really okay for me to have something so precious?" Ruby asked earnestly.

Elain just pulled the girl into a hug, caressing her head, "Sweetheart, you're definitely worth the investment. Besides, I already trust you with something even more precious,"

Ruby hugged back, "What's that?"

"My son," the older woman answered, "Don't feel pressured though sweetie if things don't work out with that idiot, you're still family to me."

"HEY!" Nova yelled in protest at being called an idiot.

Ruby stifled a giggle, "Don't worry aunty, he's the best boyfriend in the world. I'd be a fool to give him up,"

Elain groaned, "What did he do to deserve someone as amazing as you?"

"That's the same thing I ask myself daily, mom," Nova said sheepishly.

"Honestly guys, this is the best birthday I could've asked for. We've fought to come so far, and there are no people in the world I'd rather be with than you guys. My only wish is that my dad could be here," Ruby said with a bitter-sweet smile.

Nova approached her and took her hands in his, "Hey, when this crazy mission to save the world is over, we can have a proper birthday for you, and pops will be there too."

Ruby wiped a stray tear that threatened to leak from her eyes, "Yeah... though this impromptu party seems exactly like our style, I can't say I don't love it."

"True, we do specialize in the area of not planning."

"AMEN TO THAT!" Nora said as she waved what appeared to be a pitcher of beer, how she obtained that no one will ever know. "NOW LET'S PARTY!"


AND THAT'S A WRAP! I feel like these chapters never go as I originally plan because of conflicting ideas in my head, but hey I kinda like how this one turned out. Also you're probably like "This author really likes having them fall asleep on couches" to which I say: Couches are the superior beds. Give me comfy couch and a blanket over a bed any day, it's so much cozier.