A/N: Here's where it all comes together. This is the… 6th update in nearly 24 hours? In the past four days I've written almost 80k words across my fics and original works. This is what vacation looks like, apparently. (I'm back to work on Monday and I'm still exhausted from all this writing ughhhhh)

I mean, I guess I am technically managing to finish this fic on a Sunday, so that worked out in the end. All that remains after this is the epilogue. We made it here, folks.

Also- V6 bonus content is at the end of this chapter :D Let me know what you think!

What We Call Home

Three days were all they gave themselves. Initially, the others wanted to head to Atlas the day after their schemes were set, but Nora and Jaune refused to initiate the plan before their three-day timeline. "You need to get more solid nights of sleep and eat more food," Jaune insisted, glaring at their friends. "You all look exhausted. Besides, we all need to stock up and relax a bit."

"Yeah!" Nora cried, piling more food onto Blake and Weiss' plates. She glared at Oscar until he brought another forkful of pasta to his lips. "Besides, we've gotta enjoy good food while we can!"

"Why?" Ruby asked, happily munching away on some garlic bread. Turning to Weiss, she whispered, "Is Atlas food bland? Oh, it's bland, isn't it, you're all so stuffy-"

"Hey!" Weiss cried, tossing a napkin at her.

Nora shook her head, heaping another serving of food onto her own plate. "I don't know about Atlas, but prison food's definitely going to be worse, so-"

"Stop it, Nora," Ren chided, shaking his head ruefully. "Don't say stuff like that."

Saphron nodded emphatically as she walked by the living room, worry clear as day on her face. "Yeah, please don't do something stupid," she begged.

Terra, who looked like she had lost her soul for the past few hours, could only mumble, "It's too late. This is treasonous. I can't believe we're all helping you."

Nora smiled wistfully at the couple. She didn't like that they had eventually had to ask the pair to help them with their plans, but after talking it through over and over again, enlisting Saphron and Terra was the most efficient way to ensure that the fewest people possible were hurt.

Oscar offered, "I mean… if we get caught, we won't say you helped us?"

Terra's strangled groan of "You're getting my toddler to help you hijack a ship!" was enough to ease no one's concerns.

Qrow seemed similarly unhappy with the plan, but unlike Terra, he didn't protest it, only offering vague pieces of advice whenever applicable. It wasn't the greatest, but it was something, and everyone was happy to have at least one active Huntsman on board with their scheme.

Still, Nora was determined to enjoy the last few days she had in Argus. After they set their plan into action, there would be no going back, and she doubted she'd be seeing the city again for a long, long time. Over those three days, she made sure to take her friends around town, eating all the food she could and visiting the sites as much as possible. A three-day vacation wasn't ideal, but Nora was going to get her money's worth no matter what.

The plan simple overall. Maria had experience in piloting Atlesian airships, so Weiss would go turn herself into the base and smuggle Maria onboard in her suitcase. Saphron and Adrian would go with her to make sure Weiss boarded safely. Then, Weiss and Maria would hijack the airship. Meanwhile, Yang and Blake would go disable the nearby radar relay to ensure that no one would notice the bogey aircraft. That would give Maria and Weiss enough time to fly just northwest of Argus to the coastline, where Ruby, Nora, Ren, Jaune, Oscar and Qrow would be waiting in a clearing of trees, eventually meeting up with Yang and Blake before flying out to Solitas.

If everything went well, the entire mission would be complete in under an hour, and they'd have a smooth trip to Atlas. If it didn't go well, then…

Nora kept Magnhild reloaded and extra ammunitions on hand, just in case. She just prayed that she had enough.

The night before their mission was set in motion, Nora decided to go for an evening walk. Ren smiled, knowing her destination. "Do you want me to join you?" he asked lowly when she told him her plans as they washed their dinner plates.

Nora shook her head. They had received a message from Howl earlier that day stating that the Embers and all their followers had pulled out of Argus, and they were almost out of reach of the CCTS. So, without their base to see, there was only one place she could want to go. "I should go myself," she replied. Ren smiled, murmuring that he'd make sure that Jaune stayed out of trouble, leaving Nora to go do what she needed to do.

Pyrrha's statue was just as breathtaking as ever. Nora knelt down in front of the engraved plaque at the statue's feet, quietly tracing the letters of her name carved into metal and stone. "We'll get to Atlas, Pyrrha," Nora whispered, heart glowing in the presence of that kind smile. "I'll make sure Ren and Jaune get there safe."

Just as she had done before leaving Vale, she swore to the heavens and back that she would protect her boys. Pyrrha would have done the same, and Nora wasn't going to let her down no matter what.

So, the next day, they cleaned up their rooms, packed their bags, and thanked Saphron and Terra. "We can't ever repay you enough," Ruby said. "We're in your debt for life."

Saphron shook her head, smiling fondly at the ragtag team standing at her front door. "Don't worry about it," she laughed, Adrian in her arms; then, she nodded at Weiss. "You ready to go?"

Weiss smiled back tightly, tugging on the handle of her brand-new bulky suitcase. Muffled from within the bag, Maria's voice immediately croaked, "Be careful with me, you imbeciles!"

"Be quiet!" Weiss hushed, startling the bag's occupant into quietly sulking.

"This is insane," Jaune murmured, hyperventilating slightly. Now that it was time, he was more than a little anxious; face pale and withdrawn, he bounced nervously on the spot, checking a million times to see if Crocea Mors was still slung on his hip, if his earpiece was still in place.

Nora patted him on the back. "Jaune, don't worry! We've done crazier things before!" she said cheerfully.

Terra glowered at them all while seated on the couch. Her duty was to direct Blake on disabling the radar system correctly once the mission was underway. "I cannot believe we're doing this," she grumbled.

Yang smiled sadly. "I'm taking Bumblebee, but everything else will have to stay here. Are you sure you don't mind keeping our stuff with you?"

Saphron shook her head. "There's a big box in our storage room with your name on it, don't worry."

Nora smiled. The only thing she owned other than munitions, her armbands from the Embers, and her headphones- all of which were stowed away in her pockets or already loaded into Magnhild- was the dress Ren had bought her. That dress wouldn't make the journey to Atlas. It was unfortunate, but she had no choice but to leave it behind.

When they came back to Argus, it would be more peaceful times. At least, that was the hope. She couldn't wait for the day she could wear it again. For now, though, they had a mission to get underway.

After giving each other hugs of encouragement and whispered promises to meet soon, the group split up. Weiss, Saphron and Adrian lugged Maria to the military base on the docks. Yang and Blake went off to retrieve Yang's bike so they could head to the communications tower. The rest of the group followed Ruby to the front gates of Argus, leaving the borders under the paper-thin pretense of, "We're… going on… a nature hike?"

Jaune was just as green as before their train yard heist as he tottered out of Argus at last, promptly finding a spot to be sick in the bushes.

Eventually, all the pieces were in the place. Nora took in a long, deep breath, relishing in the crisp ocean air. It was a clear, sunny day, with only a few clouds floating idly by. What a perfect day to get arrested.

The snow was mostly melted right along the coastal path to the northwest of the city, so they trudged along until they found that Saphron and Terra's Scroll signals were growing weaker. "We're in position," Ruby announced over her earpiece. "Is everything okay?"

"We're on board," Weiss replied, already sounded exhausted. Maria replied as well, but it was muffled and tinny- likely due to her confines.

Ruby turned to face the rest of the group, the evergreen treeline at her back. "Alright, we'll all watch our Scrolls. The second Weiss is out of range of the comm tower, that'll mean she's out of range of the radar too."

Over the radio, Yang added, "And that's when Blake steps in. We're almost at the drop off."

Jaune pumped his fist triumphantly into the air. "Yes!" he squealed, his colour returning. "It's all going to plan!" When he saw Nora and Ren watching him with slight amusement, he cleared his throat and straightened up. "I mean, uh, roger."

Nora rolled her eyes with Ren at Jaune's sudden excitement. It was fair, though; who would have thought everything would be going so smoothly? I didn't even think Weiss would get on board the airship, Nora thought, awed. Shouldn't Atlas have like, screenings or something of peoples' bags? All they could do now was wait.

Thankfully, they didn't have to stand around for long. Ruby kept one eye keenly on everyone's comm signals. The moment Weiss flew out of range, she murmured, "Alright guys, this is it!" On her earpiece, she added, "Blake, you're up."

Blake didn't respond.

Nora frowned, looking down at her own Scroll. Blake's signal was still strong, and she should've already been at the radar tower by that point; what was going on?

"Blake?" Ruby repeated, glancing back worriedly at them. When Blake still said nothing, she tried, "Yang, what's going on?"

After a moment, Yang replied hesitantly, "I… don't know."

Suddenly, Nora's eyes caught sight of her screen again. Weiss' signal was back in range. "Wait, guys," she asked, holding up her Scroll, "if Blake hasn't reached the radar yet, but Weiss is already flying back, doesn't that mean that there's a chance…"

"That the radars are still working," Ren finished for her.

Ruby grit her teeth, looking up at the clear expanse of sky. The stretch of coast they had chosen as their departure was around a bend in the land, and the direct airspace above Argus itself was out of view.

Suddenly, Weiss' voice chimed in. "Ruby, we're in trouble. Cordo's onto us," she said over their comm lines. Angrily, she added, "And Maria isn't helping! Why is the radar still up?"

"We don't know! And Blake isn't responding," Ruby said.

Oscar walked towards her, panicking. "What do we do?!"

Yang's line lit up. "Keep the ship in one piece." And then, she cut out.

Nora groaned, running her fingers through her hair. I knew it was going way too smooth! We don't get that kinda luck! But what do we do? We can't just wait here. "Maybe we should fly over to help Yang and Blake first?" she offered.

Qrow's fist hit the tree trunk upon which he was leaning, spitting out his first words of the day. "Damn it!" Nora turned to look at him along with everyone else. Her breath caught in her throat, seeing the pure fear overtaking his face as he muttered, "Cordo's gonna scramble her fighters. We've got maybe ninety seconds before they're in the air, and all over Weiss and Maria. This is all my fault..."

Jaune spluttered, "Wh-what are you talking about? Y-your Semblance?"

Stepping away from the tree, Nora could only watch, crestfallen as Qrow began to ramble on, his fear turning into pure self-hatred with every word. "Every choice I've ever made has led me here, and I've dragged you along with me. Oz, myself, the others- we're responsible for the mess the world's in now. I shouldn't have come; shouldn't have let any of you come. What was I thinking?!"

Silence.

Ruby's voice was hard as she said lowly, "We're all in this together, and we're all going to do the best we can. That's all anyone can do. And I know it's what you've always aimed for. We would've come whether or not you'd let us, so stop talking like we're your responsibility! We're not!" She paused, walking closer to Qrow. Softer, she murmured, "But we could still use Qrow Branwen on our side."

Qrow looked aghast at her words, then relaxed, pondering them for a moment. Nora crossed her arms and smiled, nodding encouragingly at him. See? she wanted to cry out. Ruby needs you.

The Huntsman finally smiled, red eyes glowing with weary pride. "Hm... How did you grow up so fast?"

"I had good role models," Ruby replied instantly.

Weiss' voice caught their attention as the girl hesitantly reported over the comms, "Guys? She's not sending fighters..." Right on cue, in the distance, the sound of gears and shifting metal filled the air. After a moment, Weiss added, "Is Cordovin... piloting that?"

"What is going on?" Ren breathed. Nora could only follow Qrow's horrified gaze as an Atlesian military vessel flew around the corner, only to have a giant, robotic mechanical-armour suit following close behind, wading through the coastal water as if it were but a puddle. The machine was a dull brown covered in brassy plates; one arm was a prehensile hand, the other outfitted with a large cannons, gears whirring loudly.

Suddenly, a familiar voice filled the air from the machine's loudspeaker. "It's time you asked yourselves, children: do you truly wish to defy me?"

"You have got to be kidding me," Nora breathed. I knew I hated her, bitter old lady-

Ruby took a deep breath, then turned to look at the rest of them. Over the comms, she ordered, "Hurry back, Weiss. I need you on the ground if we're gonna take this thing down."

As the airship- presumably carrying Weiss and Maria- swung around the coastline, the massive mechanical beast following it slowly, Weiss cried, "You're joking, right? You want to fight this thing?!"

"We've fought giant monsters before," Ruby replied confidently. That bravado faltered for a moment as she muttered, "This is just a tiny old lady... with one very big robot."

"You little spider-roaches thought you could creep your way to Atlas?! Well, let's see how your resolve holds out against the might of the Atlesian Military!" Caroline Cordovin announced. Her mech suit raised one lumbering arm, the hollow barrel of a cannon pointing at the ship. Missile launchers popped out from a slot atop its arm, and a singular shot was fired towards the airborne vessel.

Nora gasped, but Ruby was ready. Extending Crescent Rose into a sniper rifle, the girl easily aimed and took the shot, exploding the bullet before it could hit the airship. Her eyes bore nothing but determination.

Flipping Magnhild into her hand, Nora grinned, preparing herself for the battle. Let's do this, she told herself. One giant murder robot can't be the worst, right?

However, the mech had other plans, giving up on the airship and turning to face the shore. Nora gulped, watching the beast halt in front of them, raising its cannon towards their group point-blank. Rings around the cannon whirred and spun, a giant Dust cartridge locking into place inside in the hollow barrel before a ball of ice began to grow within.

"I don't think I can take that hit," Nora chuckled weakly, unsure of what to do. The blast would be so big that they couldn't run in time.

Swiftly, the airship dove down behind them and Weiss jumped out, smoothly using her Dust manipulation to build a giant rock formation in front of them all. Nora nearly missed it, the motion of a giant wall of sediment solidifying before a sheet of razor sharp ice extended from the ocean surface to high above the wall.

Somehow, they were all saved.

Oscar murmured, "That was close."

Weiss ran up to join them. The moment she was within earshot, Ruby declared, "We need to figure out how to stop Cordovin and protect the airship until we do."

Promptly, Jaune said, "Then let's give her more targets to focus on."

His eyes fell onto her and Ren immediately, and she groaned, slumping over. "You mean us, don't you?"

Jaune sighed, moving to get a better look around the rock wall of Cordovin's mech. "Look at that thing. It's not designed for small enemies. I-it's probably meant for giant Grimm that come in from deeper waters. We can turn our size into an advantage. We just have to be smart."

Ruby nodded thoughtfully, then asked on her earpiece, "Maria, can you keep the ship out of harm's way?"

"They can take my driver's license, but I won't let them take this ship!" Maria said cheerfully.

Utterly unfazed, Ren muttered deadpan, "Very reassuring."

Oscar frowned, looking between them all and the airship still hidden behind the wall of rock and ice. "I'll be more useful if I go with her. From up high, I can try to spot a weakness," he announced. It made sense- the boy didn't have any projectile attacks, having only learned to fight hand-to-hand and with Ozpin's cane.

Qrow nodded. Wryly, he added, "Well, he's not the only one who can grab a bird's eye view."

Nora blinked. Oh yeah. He's a bird. That idea still felt absolutely ridiculous to her.

And so, they strategized, taking advantage of the cover the rock and ice wall formed. Ruby's plan was simple. "Make enough targets and keep moving, and she won't be able to keep track of us. Me and Weiss will get to her mech; Jaune, Ren, Nora, you'll distract her. Keep her off of us, keep moving until you get to those boulders down the coast." She gestured vaguely at a few rocky outcroppings that could provide adequate cover. "Uncle Qrow, you go get to her mech from above and try and figure out her weak point. Maria and Oscar will keep the ship intact. Good?"

Nora nodded, grinning and pulling the trigger on Magnhild, electrocuting herself. She focused the power into her legs. Time to go.

When they got into position, Ruby counted them down. "3- 2- 1- go!"

And Nora sprinted will all of her might eastwards, with Jaune and Ren on her heels. The others split off to their own tasks. Cordovin's mech stuttered, clearly struggling to keep track of everything going on. Once Nora had gotten far enough away from the rock wall to successfully divert fire from the others, she crouched down for just a moment and began pumping out grenade rounds at the machine, with Jaune screaming, "Hey! Over here!"

"What?!" Cordovin's voice boomed across the coast, startling the few pitiable birds still remaining in the forest enough to make them fly away.

"Keep running," Jaune squeaked, so Nora obeyed, sprinting off again to the right.

The ground underneath their feet was growing sandy, the ocean breeze surprisingly mild upon her face. Nora grinned wolfishly, calling back to Ren, "And you said it wasn't beach season!" She giggled gleefully, almost smelling his irritation as she ducked behind the farthest boulder, reloading Magnhild and firing more grenades at the mech.

However, the grenades never landed, exploding in a puff of smoke in front of the machine's outstretched hand. A blue hexagonal shield was the cause. Cordovin laughed into her loudspeaker, "Surely you knew Atlas was the father of hard-light Dust, or do lesser kingdoms simply lack proper education?"

Cordovin's cannon arm raised to point straight at their cover, another Dust cartridge popping into the barrel. Rock-Dust swirled before firing repeated shots at Nora's team, and Nora had to bolt away from her hiding spot. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Jaune trip and fall, one blast barely missing him. Over comms, Jaune cried, "Cordo just activated shields!"

Oscar replied from somewhere in the airship, "I saw that. We need to find whatever's generating it."

"You know," Ruby offered, "in video games, the weak spot's usually on the back of the giant boss!"

Nora paused, looking out over the water. Ruby and Weiss were standing at the mech's feet upon platforms of ice, no doubt formed by Weiss; the latter said, "Ruby, this isn't a game!"

"I'm just trying to- look out!" Ruby screamed.

Nora ran over to help Jaune and Ren back to their feet. The boys were alright, so the trio simply watched the mess unfolding offshore. The giant armour began stomping around in the ocean, each footfall causing giant waves to crash onto the craggy cliff side. "You are ants! You are lower than ants!" the commander cried. "Ah! What was that?!"

Qrow reported calmly into the comms, "Until the shield's down, we're gonna have to get up close and personal with this thing." His scythe glinted off the top of the mech, the man having somehow gotten close enough to cut through the metal beast's armour.

Ren said, "That's easier said than done!"

"Weiss and I are on it!" Ruby called. A moment later, a line of ice appeared crossing the waters and crashing against the mech's legs. Unfortunately, it seemed ineffective, Cordovin only moving the cannon to point at Ruby and Weiss.

Oscar screamed, "Ruby, move!"

Next thing Nora knew, Weiss' Queen Lancer summon was carrying the two girls towards the mech, riding through a cascade of water surging up around the bay as missiles fired. Ruby managed to leap off the mech and stab the main metal body, the force knocking Cordovin off her balance. Soon, the entire armour was stumbling backwards into the cliffs, holding onto shore with all its might. The tremors caused by Cordovin's rough movements and her grating scream were enough to almost knock Nora off her feet.

"Go!" Jaune commanded, and Nora was off, running to one side. She flipped Magnhild into a hammer and brought the weapon down on the beastly machine, grinning when her strikes left giant dents and screeching gears. To her left, Jaune was slashing at the movement joints of the armour's hips, while Ren ran up the length of its body, searching for the weak point.

Soon, the mech was mobile once more, Cordovin crying, "Get off of me!" Nora glanced at the windshield of the cockpit, spotting a blur of red rose petals before the Queen Lancer flew by to pick up Ruby. Cordovin screamed, "No, no, no, no!" swatting fruitlessly around her as the sound of rapid gunfire and deactivating shields filled the air.

Nora grimaced, spotting Ren still clinging onto the mech alongside Qrow, pumping round after round into a panel on its back. He found the shields! That victory was quickly overshadowed by the haunting realization that Ren was stuck in the middle of the ocean.

"You get back here with my man!" she shrieked, launching wave after wave of grenades at the giant mech. However, she quickly ran out of ammunition- the girl took a knee and immediately began refilling the empty barrel, seething. How dare Cordovin put Ren in harm's way-

Suddenly, Cordovin screamed, "I've had enough of you ingrates!" just as Nora felt strong arms wrap around her body. Then, the world spun, her wind knocked out of her, and she felt her Aura shatter, pink sparks fading away into nothing as she desperately fought for air, for movement, for mobility. It took but a second, but that second felt like it lasted a lifetime before she could bring herself to one knee, spots slow to clear from her vision. What- what happened…?

Jaune was lying on the ground in front of her, unable to move.

The world was spinning. Vaguely, she saw the Queen Lancer vanishing, four bodies falling to the cliff side clumsily. The airship suddenly spun around and fired a missile, but the pain in Nora's ribcage was too much to bear, and she quickly fell onto both knees, blinking tears from her eyes. There was no way to keep track of the conflict like this. Aura, come on, we can't do this now!

Over their comms line, Oscar asked, "Ruby, can you hear me? Are you guys okay?"

Nora blinked, finally dragging herself to her feet. The airship was zipping all around, recklessly grabbing Cordovin's attention. A hundred metres down the coast, Ruby, Weiss, Ren and Qrow were all watching the ship fly haphazardly. She glanced back at Jaune, carefully patting him on the back. "Heyo, Jaune," she murmured, pulling him to his feet with all her strength. The boy was heavy, but he looked close to tears, shame filling his face in the most heartbreaking way. She grinned, laughing weakly as a distraction, "You've been getting muscly, huh bud? You're so heavy! Look at those pecs!"

His dry stare made her chuckle harder as she propped him up on her shoulder. "C'mon, Jaune. Let's go."

His eyes softened. "Okay."

She beamed back. Don't worry Jaune. You're doing good.

As they limped back to the others, Ruby said over the comms, "Are we okay?!"

"I know," Oscar replied, grunting as the airship dipped and ducked around every blow from the giant mech, "we were supposed to lay low, but listen! I think I finally found a weakness!"

Nora grinned, bringing her hand to her earpiece and announcing, "Well, we're all ears."

Everyone else noticed their haggard arrival. Ren's eyes lit up. "Guys!" he cried, rushing over to Nora and Jaune. He quickly slipped underneath Jaune's other arm, supporting the rest of the blond's weight.

Nora grinned, relieved of the burden. "Hey, you," she said softly.

"Hey," Ren murmured back, lip wobbling slightly before he calmed himself down.

Oscar explained over their line, "The cylinder on Cordo's cannon rotates and locks in a giant Dust cartridge every time she changes attack styles."

"We noticed," Weiss said dryly.

"Right," Oscar continued, "but her missile launcher doesn't lock in, it pops out! Without her shields, one well-placed shot could detonate the missiles while they're still in the launcher!"

Jaune winced, clutching his stomach, but his eyes were vibrant. "We could destroy the entire cannon... Oscar, that's brilliant!"

Looking to Ruby, Nora murmured, "Can you make that kind of shot?" Oh, I wish Oliver were here. His Semblance would be perfect right now.

Ruby mulled it over. "We'll only get one chance before she catches on. I'd have to be practically staring down the barrel of her cannon."

"Well," Maria announced on their line, "I've got a way to guarantee that." Before they knew it, the airship had its doors open right in front of their group, hovering a foot away from the edge of the cliff. Without a moment's hesitation, Ruby stepped forward, boarding the ship and letting it zip off.

"Ruby, what are you doing?!" Qrow cried, reaching out for his niece.

She was already gone.

Nora said softly, "Just give her a chance. Ruby can pull it off."

Jaune nodded. "If anyone can, it's her."

Qrow looked absolutely horrified to have his niece on her own and flying right into the enemy's cannon, but he had little choice but to wait and see. The airship flew right at the mech, and just as predicted, the mech raised its arm, Cordovin enabling its missile launcher in a heartbeat.

And, just as Ruby fired her rifle, the missiles retracted into the arm and Cordovin screamed, "You! You thought you could fool me?!"

Everyone watching gasped, helpless as they watched Cordovin prepare an electric-Dust attack in its barrel. The airship wasn't able to move out of the way in time, electricity arcing off the vessel while Cordovin's lightning beam ripped through the earth. Nora grabbed Ren and Jaune and bolted eastward, dodging the blow by a hair.

Nora escaped the flurry of smoke and dust and singed earth risen up by the attack, hacking her lungs out as the ash choked the air. Jaune cried, "Look!" only to point at the airship crashing straight into the trees behind them.

Tears sprung unbidden into her eyes, heart plummeting to the floor. Ruby, Oscar, Maria, please-

Before she could say a word, Qrow was running ahead. Bolting off the cliff to gain speed, he transformed into his corvid form and flew off. Nora could only gawp at the sudden transformation, seeing it for the first time up close.

The giant mech marched towards the shoreline, Cordovin's voice booming triumphantly. "Very clever, but even the smartest apes can't compete with the intellect of man."

Jaune was near to sobbing. "Ruby, Oscar, Maria, no-" he begged, straightening up and watching the dust settle, unable to move. "Please be alright."

When Cordovin finally reached the shoreline, they all let out a collective sigh of relief when Ruby stepped forward from the wreckage, Crescent Rose in hand, staring bravely into the cockpit of the looming mech. They're okay, Nora thought, sagging in relief. Ruby looked exhausted, but relatively unscathed; in the background, she could hear Oscar and Maria's voices still.

Cordovin pointed one of the mech's giant fingers on its non-cannon hand at Ruby. "Surrender for your crimes, and accept your punishment."

"No!" Ruby said defiantly, propping herself up with her scythe. "We're going to Atlas. Bigger people than you have tried to stop us and failed, but we're supposed to be on the same side! We're supposed to use our power to protect people, but you just use yours to look down on everyone!" She took a step forward, growing more agitated with every breath. "We didn't want to steal from you. We did it because you gave us no other choice! Now I'm giving you one last chance to stand down and hear us out."

There was naught but silence for a long, eerily-quiet moment. Then, Cordovin growled over the intercom, "I've heard enough," raising her cannon to point straight at Ruby.

"Ruby," Jaune whispered. That was the trigger- Ren, Nora, Weiss and Jaune all began to sprint towards the other girl at full speed, limbs screaming, wind tearing through their hair, sweat pouring down their faces as they all simultaneously bolted forwards, begging, praying to get there in time-

Rub used her Semblance, jumping up in a blur of motion and red rose petals, diving straight into the barrel of the mech.

"What?!" Cordovin cried.

The four running stopped short. Nora watched the girl disappear into the cannon which was whirring to life, absolute disbelief running through her veins. "She's nuts!" Nora glanced over at the other three; Ren and Weiss looked absolutely horrified, but strangely enough, Jaune was simply awed, amazed.

"The missile launcher springs out," he breathed, eyes wide with wonder, "but the raw dust gets locked in!"

Suddenly, a single gunshot rang through the air, petals burst out of the canon and left behind a still, cloaked form, and the entire cannon exploded in a flurry of ice crystals and rocky spikes, the weight of it all dragging the right arm of the mech down into the water. "What?!" Cordovin screamed, her voice carrying across the ocean. "No! No!"

Before Nora could blink, Weiss had skipped ahead, holding Myrtenaster out. Black glyphs appeared behind Ruby's motionless body, slowing down her descent until Qrow ran forward from the crash site, managing to catch Ruby before she hit the ground. Nora ran up to Weiss, looking down at the exhausted, pale girl in concern. "You okay?" she breathed. Weiss nodded, and she helped the other girl to her feet, supporting her as she had Jaune just a few moments earlier.

Suddenly, the Atlesian airship's engine whirred to life. At their new position, Nora glanced back, a clear view of the ships descent marked by the destruction of the forested area lining the coast. Faintly, Maria's complaining echoed over the sounds of the ship lifting back off the ground, finally online after the electric-Dust beam passed through.

The mech thrashed and swayed under the weight of its destroyed cannon, sending massive waves crashing up along the cliffs. "No! No, no, no, no!" Cordovin shrieked. "You! You're never getting to Atlas! Do you hear me? Never! All forces converge on my position and eliminate these pests at once!"

Maria's voice rang through the trees, drawing their attention. "Everyone on board! We're making a run for it!"

"What about Yang and Blake?" Jaune protested, glancing at his Scroll. The two girls were still silent on the comms.

All of a sudden, a voice on both Cordovin's loudspeaker and their stolen airship rang in unison. "Ma'am, we've been trying to reach you! Argus is in danger!"

"What?" Cordovin breathed, voice barely projecting across the water.

The male voice, clearly from the Argus base, continued desperately, "It's a Leviathan! It began its approach during your battle! We need you!"

Nora's body stiffened, gooseflesh raising along her skin, bones creaking. A Leviathan? Leviathan Grimm were nothing more than legend; when was the last time anyone had seen one of the giant, bipedal demons off the coast of Anima?

"All units be advised," the report continued, booming over the empty coastline from Cordovin's mech and their airship. "Leviathan-class Grimm has submerged but is still on approach. Preparing hard light shields, over."

"We're getting slammed by hostiles out here! Where is Cordovin?!" another voice cried.

"This is your fault," Cordovin hissed on the speaker. "Do you hear me?"

"Ruby!" a voice suddenly called from the treeline. Nora turned alongside the others, a smile breaking across her lips as Yang and Blake jogged out of the forest, stopping in their tracks to stare horrified at the downed mech. It must have been a jarring sight.

Ruby ran forward to meet them. "Yang! Blake! Are you okay?"

"What happened?" Blake murmured.

Nora opened her mouth to answer, but a deafening, piercing roar filled the air, cutting her off. Yang turned to Ruby, asking blankly, "Was that a giant Grimm?"

"Yes," Weiss said coldly, shock falling away to sheer focus, "and we just ruined the only thing capable of stopping it."

Nora froze. Did… did we just doom Argus?

"C'mon," Ruby commanded, pointing to the hovering aircraft. "We have to go see the situation. Get on board!"

Nora patted Jaune and Ren on the shoulder before jogging to the ship, leaping aboard. Once the airship began to move, she quickly ran over to Oscar, checking him over for any injuries. "Um, Nora, what are you…?" he laughed awkwardly.

"Gotta make sure cute-boy-Os isn't hurt," she said determinedly. He blushed, but didn't protest. The moment she was done with him and the ship was flying east to Argus, she ran over Blake and Yang as well, ensuring everyone was safe and sound.

They didn't have physical injuries, to her relief. However, their eyes were puffy and red, noses pink, cheeks mottled and skin tearstained. Something happened, Nora realized faintly. That's why Blake couldn't turn off the radar.

There was no respite. Nora winced as Cordovin continued to scream after their ship, "This is your fault! Your fault! This is…" her voice trailed off bitterly.

Across the Atlas lines, a soldier said, "Ma'am, what's your status? We need an answer, over!"

But Cordovin didn't respond.

Blake and Yang collapsed onto one of the benches lining the wall, Yang grabbing Blake's hands comfortingly. Nora immediately took a seat on the floor, leaning her head against Yang's thigh as Blake began to sob. "I'm so sorry," Blake whimpered, shivering and shaking.

Nora watched her, feeling her own heart shattering at the dark-haired girl's breakdown. What happened over there?!

Yang shook her head firmly, guilt and fear mixing horribly on her face. "Don't be. This isn't on you."

"But-"

Ruby fell to her knees in front of Blake, clasping Blake's hands tenderly. "You're safe, that's all that matters." She hugged Blake, the two girls sniffling in each other's arms.

"I suppose I have to be the bad guy and say it," Maria said from the pilot's seat. "Getting the lamp to Atlas is still our top priority, and right now we have the perfect opportunity to head straight for it. We may not get another chance like this."

For a moment, the cabin was dead silent. We could just… leave now?

Then, Yang pouted, "No way!"

Weiss frowned. "We can't leave; not like this," she said firmly.

Blake wiped tears away from her eyes. "It's like you said, a Huntress is supposed to protect others to the bitter end."

Maria turned back to the cockpit as Ruby shrugged, looking back at everyone else. "We need to head for the Leviathan. Jaune, can you and Ren be ready to mask our ship?"

Ren looked at Jaune, a small smile on both of their faces. "I think we can manage."

Nora smiled fondly. They were lying- when she peeked at her Scroll, their Auras were barely remaining. Even Jaune's massive pools were nearly drained. That didn't mean they weren't going to try, though.

"Got a few ideas?" Jaune asked.

Ruby's brow furrowed, her jaw clenched, shoulders set in the angriest stance Nora had ever seen from her. "I've got one."

"Eyes up, everybody. It's back," Qrow murmured.

Nora stood, watching out of the window as a giant, terrifying titan of a Grimm screamed, bursting out of the water. A swarm of Manticores and Sphinxes flew angrily around Argus airspace, buzzing like flies, attacking the Atlesian ships attempting to take them down. The Atlas radio chatter screeched with dialogue, each soldier sounding more terrified than the last.

Three hard light-Dust shields ringed the port, protecting Argus from the Grimm- but would they last?

As they watched powerlessly, the Leviathan fired a long stream of pure flame from its dolphin-like beak, destroying the first hard light shield.

"It tore straight through," Oscar breathed in pure horror.

The control tower in the Argus base announced, "All squadrons, fall back to evacuation procedures. Disengage Leviathan! I repeat, disengage! Over!"

Brushing past Nora's side, Ruby strode forward to stand between Maria and Qrow in the pilots' seats, grabbing the radio. "No, wait!" she begged. "We can stop it!"

Qrow attempted to pull her away when air control cried, "Who is this? Identify yourself!"

Shrugging off Qrow's hand and taking in a deep breath, Ruby said, "I'm a Huntress. My team and I are heading to the Leviathan and can weaken it for you to attack!"

Nora gawped at the girl. What the hell was she talking about? "We can?" Jaune breathed for her, absolutely baffled.

Ruby turned around to face them all, her face resolute, eyes grim. "I can."

Maria mumbled, "Ruby, when I said "trial by fire"-"

"I did it at Beacon," the young woman insisted, "and at the farm."

Weiss asked, "You really think you can do it now?"

Ruby looked down, expression a mix of pure misery and resolve. "I don't have a choice."

Did what? Nora wondered, watching the exchange blankly. What is the plan?

"Manta 5-1," air control said over the radio, "your ship is currently flagged as hostile. You will receive no support, over."

Ruby picked up the transmitter once more. "Fine, we'll do it alone if we have to. We can hit it while it's stopped at the next barrier." Stopping the transmission, she called, "Ren, you're up!"

There was no time to waste. Whatever Ruby was planning on doing, they had to do it fast, before the Leviathan reached Argus.

Immediately, Jaune placed a glowing hand on Ren's shoulder. The latter took in a deep breath, allowing his own pink Semblance to spread across his body, the floor, the ship itself; within seconds, the entire Atlesian ship was masked completely from the Grimm, all of its occupants as calm as could be.

Nora smiled woefully. I guess that practice on the train did some good, huh? Dutifully, she took tucked herself underneath Jaune's arm, supporting him in case the ship made sudden movements and he lost his balance.

It was right on time, too. Qrow barked an order to evade, and the entire ship jolted vertically. The sudden movement startled Ren and Jaune, the boys falling to their knees despite Nora's attempt to keep them upright. Their camouflage from the Grimm disappeared in an instant as both of their Auras ran out. "Damnit!" Jaune said.

"That's all I've got!" Ren sighed, sweat streaming down his face.

Blake was hovering worriedly by one of the windows. "It's on the move again! We need to stop it!"

Turning to Ruby, Yang asked, "What do we do?"

Ruby thought hard for a moment, eyes drifting to an unsuspecting Weiss. Quietly, she murmured, "Nora, Yang- how much ammo do you have left?"

"Plenty to waste on this sucker," Nora replied automatically, feeling the rounds remaining in her deep skirt pockets. Yang hummed in agreement, locking in a fresh clip into her gauntlets.

Ruby nodded. "Distract the Leviathan. I can stop it, I know I can." Then, she turned to Weiss, whispering the rest of her plans in a frenzy.

Nora sighed, calling to Maria, "Open the door!" and whipping out Magnhild. Yang joined her at the opened passenger bay without complaint, holding out her fists, ready to fire. Nora screamed, "Eyes on us, ugly!" Then, the two girls unloaded their projectiles onto the Grimm, flinching as the monster's giant row of three, beady eyes alongside its mask turned to look at their tiny ship.

"Is it working?" Blake asked.

Maria replied, "Unfortunately, yes. Hang on!"

Nora grimaced when her trigger finger pulled only for the shot to come up empty. "Am I out?" she breathed, patting down her pockets. There were only a few more rounds left. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Blake supporting Weiss, the girl sitting in the center of a large, glowing white glyph.

As she reloaded her grenades, Nora watched Weiss' Queen Lancer carry Ruby in front of the Leviathan. Without thinking, she held out her hand behind her. "What is she planning on doing?" Nora cried.

Within the blink of an eye, Ren's hand was in hers. "I don't know."

"She's using her eyes," Yang explained, mouth set in a hard, unfeeling line. "Remember how she petrified the Grimm at Beacon? She's trying to do it again." Suddenly, she froze, glancing over Nora's shoulder before activating her earpiece.

Yang continued to cry out.

Nora continued to fire round after round into the skull of the Leviathan.

However, her world had long since grown silent. Ruby's going to… use her eyes?

She had heard Ruby mention it a few times. They had talked about it after the Fall. But… to think that Nora was here, that she was going to see it again…

In an instant, Nora felt weightless. She was suddenly back at Beacon, kneeling helplessly on the ground beside Ren; her body bruised and broken, her eyes trained upon the top of Beacon Tower.

And the white light that drowned out all other light and sound and scent was back, carrying away Pyrrha's ashes on the wind.

When Nora could see again, she staggered, nearly toppling out of the airship. A strong arm looped around her waist, yanking her backwards. "Nora!" Ren cried, grabbing her close against his chest. "Nora, what's wrong?"

She shivered and shook, curling up against him, dropping Magnhild's empty form to the side and watching mutely as the Leviathan- now petrified by Ruby's silver eyes- began to move again. Its gaping maw shook off the stone encasing it, white beak pointing at the girl.

"Ren," she puffed, "Ruby, she's-" She clambered back up to her feet, head spinning as she picked up Magnhild once more, clumsily filling up the barrel with the last few rounds in her stash. Ruby- we have to save Ruby-

But a familiar, egotistical voice rang through the air, stopping her from firing at the half-petrified beast. "I'll take it from here! After all, I was sworn to protect the people!"

They all pivoted to look westward, gawping at a cannon-less mech sprinting towards the Leviathan. The Argus commander had ripped off the entirety of the cannon arm somehow, mobile once more without it. Before their very eyes, the remaining arm of Cordovin's mech receded within the metal, replaced by a giant drill. Nora blinked- long, slow, lethargic, exhausted- and then, the drill pierced through the Leviathan's frozen body, dissipating it into rancid ash and dust.

It… it's gone? Is that it? We're done?

The weight of it all slammed into her, her Aura-less body collapsing under the strain of their fight. Nora sagged backwards against Ren once more, collapsing against him after a moment. Ruby was safe. Argus was safe. Ren and Jaune and everyone was safe. In the distance, she could hear a faint roar coming from Argus- from the city's people. Wryly, she thought, I knew that it was going too smoothly earlier.

The white light that had changed her entire world over half a year earlier hadn't taken anyone else away this time, so all she had to do was close her eyes, sink into Ren's arms, and sleep. Yeah, I can do that.

And when the Queen Lancer brought Ruby back to the airship and Weiss collapsed backwards on Nora's lap, Ruby falling forward into her arms, her friends around her and Ren holding her waist tight, sleep was exactly what she did.

***BONUS CONTENT FOR VOL. 6!

A/N: I wanted to leave my final author's note for the epilogue, so here are the bonus bits from a bit of V6! Hope you enjoy :D

[33]

And Nick's like ok well we're gonna see y'all later don't worry so nora's like in the trainyard that's right I've figured it out are you ready for me to burn your base to the ground round 2 electric boogaloo and he's so fuckin salty

…

And everyone defended her cuz she's their bean and that's how they knew carob and everyone

…

And caelus and everyone says ok so we're gonna go take them out and nora's like what's the plan and he's like well lil buddy THERE'S A STORM COMING AND I'VE GOT A SHITLOAD OF FIRE AND ELECRTRIC DUST and she's just SUPER FUCKING STOKED

…

And jaune's like fine fuck I guess we're gonna go murder some people?

[34] Storm-diving

So the plan gets there cuz carob is also an electric boy although he's also a brick shithouse and he's like

And oliver's like dw guys we'll do intel cuz his semblance does he have one? GOOD AT GUN

So they go to the trainyard where the argus limited is being held and they're like well I guess we're gonna fight

Before they go kalian pulls renora aside and he's like look if things get bad we'll protect you

And they're like we're practically huntsmen you know

And he and howl and caelus are like well yes but you're basically our kids too and he's all tsundere about it

…

Is nick just chunky large body heartless? Maybe, he slap the tum sometimes too I guess

…

And then caelus is like THE STORM IS HERE and with nora they just light the entire train up when sotz's like fuck yall think you can run away

And the train is boned

[35] Returns

So that's the story of how the authorities suspect that renora were involved but they're like lol nope we're totally innocent what are you talking about and they try their best to not get caught or anything